Sponsors: The Antarctic Circle and Athy Heritage Centre Shackleton Museum
Co-Sponsors:

Launched: 3 November 2018.         Last updated: 1 June 2019

Accessed at least many times since 3 November 2018.

Contact: Robert Stephenson, Coordinator, The Antarctic Circle.
    Library Tel: 603-532-POLE (7653).
    Home Tel: 603-532-6066.
    Cell/Mobile Tel: 603-933-2471.
    E-mail: antarctic-circle@comcast.net
    Alternative E-addresses: ac@rs41.org or 5327653@gmail.com
    Download a printable one-page flyer.

SouthPole-sium v.4Countdown
link Yes, against our better judgment, we're now on Facebook (although not very actively).


LAST ENTRY

REGISTRATION COMMENCED ON JANUARY 31, 2019

Home
Principles of the SouthPole-sium
Schedule/Agenda
Registration information and Form
Those who have registered
Those who are planning to attend, have expressed interest in doing so or are unable to
Subjects of talks proposed to be presented so far
Subject ideas for talks that might be presented
Dublin & Ireland
Stephen's Green Hibernian Club, our venue
Accommodation options
Sunday Excursion to Athy
Updates & E-mails
Blog/Comments

FINAL DETAILS

When: Friday - Sunday, 7-9 June 2019.

Where: Dublin, Ireland. All-day tour on Sunday to and from Kilkea and Athy.

Organizers/Sponsors: The Antarctic Circle (Robert Stephenson, Coordinator) and the Athy Heritage Centre Shackleton Museum.
Organizing Committee (The Irish Contingent): Laura Farrelly, Kevin Kenny, Jim & Geraldine McAdam, Joe O'Farrell, Jonathan Shackleton, Robert Stephenson, Seamus Taaffe and Margeret Walsh.
We welcome co-sponsors (individuals, organizations, businesses). Their donations will allow the SouthPole-sium to break even! Contact antarctic-circle@comcast.net if you are interested in helping out.

Inspiration: The annual (October) Shackleton Autumn School in Athy, Ireland. (Inspiration but not duplication. See www.antarctic-circle.org/athy.htm) And, of course, the first SouthPole-sium held 15-17 June 2012 in Jaffrey, New Hampshire (see www.antarctic-circle.org/gathering.htm); the second SouthPole-sium held 1-4 May 2015 in Craobh Haven, Scotland (see www.antarctic-circle.org/gathering2.htm) and the third SouthPole-sium held 12-14 May 2017 in Oslo, Norway (see www.antarctic-circle.org/gathering3.htm)

Subject Focus: In approximately descending order: Books, Bookcollecting, Bibliography, Writing & Publishing, Expedition publications, Diaries & Journals, in addition to related subjects within the areas of history, art, photography, poetry, music.
     95% Antarctic (pressure from bi-polar bibliophiles has led to the insertion of a minuscule window for Arcticana, preferably tied-in somehow with the Antarctic).
     To see some comments on the early planning of the SouthPole-sium v.4, click here.

Non-focus: Science, political issues, Arctic (except as above).

Concept: The SouthPole-sium is being organized as an informal and enjoyable opportunity for those interested or involved in the Subject Focus (see above) to come together, meet one another, trade ideas and pursue common interests. In other words, the SouthPole-sium will be something of an extended "bull session," social hour, and networking opportunity.

Approach: All attendees will be encouraged to participate, either by giving short (15-20 minute) presentations on their subject(s) of interest or by actively participating in the discussions or by generally helping out in the running of the event. Although a bit unstructured this seemed to work well in Jaffrey, Craobh Haven and Oslo. Any attendee reading a paper may be sent packing!
     Those wishing to make presentations should contact the Coordinator (Rob Stephenson) who will forward the information on to Joe O'Farrell. This time around we will ask several attendees to organize ahead of time some talks around some common subject thread and to moderate the resulting sessions (see below 'Volunteer Opportunities').

Venue: The venue for Friday afternoon through Saturday evening will be the Stephen's Green Hibernian Club in central Dublin.
The venue on Sunday will be an all-day coach tour.

Parking: Those attending on Saturday can receive a 50% discount through the Stephen's Green Hibernian Club at the 'Q-Park' Car-Parks; Royal College of Surgeons & Stephen's Green Shopping Centre. This is capped at a maimum of €10 for 24 hours. Tickets are validated in reception on departure, the stamp is not time sensitive.

Likely Attendees: Bookcollectors, booksellers, librarians, archivists, writers & publishers, historians. Amateurs more than academics. Attendance will be limited to 90 (At the previous SouthPole-siums the attendance ranged between 59 and 66.)
     To see the names of those who have said they're coming or who have expressed interest (or not), click here.

Cost: There are three registration options:

a) "The Full Monty" This covers all materials and all events on all days (lunches, breaks, receptions, banquet, coach tour). €225 per person

b) "Social" This covers receptions, the banquet and the coach tour. Not included: Saturday sessions, breaks and lunch. €180 per person

c) "Fri-Sat" This covers all materials and events on Friday and Saturday. Not included: Sunday coach tour. Also €180 per person

The cost of registration may go up in all categories by €20 after May 1st.

     Not included in the registration is accommodation.
     (One of the principles of the SouthPole-sium is that everyone attending pays the registration and no one attending gets paid to do so.) Two exceptions were made at the first SouthPole-sium to persons who contributed much in kind. One person fell into this category in Scotland in return for services rendered.
     Cancellation: In the past, full refunds were given up to a week before the start of the SouthPole-sium and partial refunds after that. The same will hold true this time.
     No sponsorships, grants, donations, etc., were solicited for the first SouthPole-sium. Several co-sponsors came forward in Scotland, some in the sense of having to cancel but not asking to have their registration fees returned. Co-sponsors are welcomed and are are invited to donate the equivalent of $100 or more.

Currency Conversion: The costs associated with the SouthPole-sium are stated in Euros (€). If you are not paying in Euros you should make certain that your payment equals the Euro amount. As of March 17, 2019, €225 equalled (rounded off) $255 or £190; €180 equalled (rounded off) $204 or £155.

Registration: Registration commenced on January 31, 2019. In earlier SouthPole-siums the maximum number was set at 100. In no instance did we approach that number (Jaffrey, 59; Craobh Haven 63, Oslo 66). This time around we are limiting the total number to 90 because of the room size at the Hibernian Club. Registration will be on a 'first come, first served' basis. If you're not on the list, and the number reaches the maximum, you'll probably be out-of-luck.

         • Registration fees may be paid in US dollars, sterling or euros. ($ checks should be made out to 'The Antarctic Circle.' £ cheques should be made out to 'Robert B. Stephenson.' € checks should be made out to 'Athy Heritage Centre.' Direct deposits in sterling may be made to a Royal Bank of Scotland account. One may also use PayPal. Those who wish to pay with Euros using a credit card may do so by contacting the Athy Heritage Center, athyheritage@eircom.net or +353 59 863 3075.
Information on these options are included on the Registration Form.

         • Registration information and Form.

         • To see who has registered, click here. (Activated after January 31, 2019.)

Conference Packet: Each attendee will receive a packet to include an agenda/schedule, a list of expected attendees with contact details (for those who wish to make them known), a name badge, four specially produced keepsakes and any catalogues, papers, etc., that attendees might wish to make available beforehand.

Expected numbers: A minimum of 40, and up to but not exceeding 90. The smaller the number, the easier it will be to have meaningful discussions with a maximum involvement on the part of the participants. This will also simplify logistics, meals, etc. The preliminary budget with a contingency suggests that 50 attendees represents the break-even point and the goal is to break even. The organizers/sponsors will not profit from this.

Honoraria, etc.: None. Registration, transportation and accommodation will be paid for by all participants. The only exception in Scotland was that one attendee who had the registration waived in return for services rendered.

Group Photograph: At some point during the weekend we'll set up a group photograph which will be placed on the website and will be downloadable. Also, it would be nice to have someone who is willing to take photographs throughout the SouthPole-sium. These will be place on the website as well. Any volunteer photographers? (In Scotland and Oslo, Cathy Cooper did a great job!). The group photo might be taken on Sunday during the coach excursion.

Volunteer Opportunities: Organizing and managing the SouthPole-sium is a largely volunteer undertaking. It will be pretty much under control up to the point that it actually happens. That's when some volunteer help will be very much appreciated. Among the tasks:
• For anyone arriving on Friday afternoon: a variety of setting-up tasks.

• Registration and greeting attendees (Friday afternoon, Saturday morning.)

• Audio-visual (Kevin Kenny does a great job with this but he may welcome some help.)

• Organizing and Moderating a multi-presenter session. We expect 'The Irish Contingent' (The Organizing Committee) to handle this.

• Photography (as indicated above). NEW: Cathy Cooper has once again agreed to take great photos!

• Auctioneer and Assistant Auctioneer (to keep track of the lots and collect the money) We may hold an auction sometime on Saturday. This will depend on attendees and organizations donating books, Antarctic related items and ephemera. The Auctions in Scotland and Oslo were enjoyed by all.

• Quizmaster (present the answers and the prizes). The only contest this time are the three Acrostics.

• Master of ceremonies at the Saturday evening banquet. Rick Dehmel was terrific in Scotland and Oslo. Sadly he is unable to attend v.4. We think Joe O'Farrell would be an excellent replacement.

• After Dinner Speakers. Bob Burton gave a great one in Scotland.

• Music. Will we have any musicians amongst us?

Agenda / Schedule:
To see the final version go to gathering4-agenda.pdf.

Sunday Excursion: A coach excursion is planned for all day Sunday. See http://www.antarctic-circle.org/gathering4-athy.htm
         The itinerary will include 35 Marlborough Road in the Donnybrook section of Dublin (where the Shackletons lived after leaving Kilkea House), lunch at Kilkea Castle, Kilkea House where Shackleton was born, the village of Ballitore with its many Shackleton connections, the Athy Heritage Centre Shackleton Museum with its Antarctic displays and the Shackleton statue, a visit to O'Briens across Emily Square for a pint and eventually back to Dublin, possibly via Lucan, site of the Shackleton Mills.

Displays/Exhibits: Some of the booksellers and publishers attending the first three SouthPole-siums set up modest stalls of books for sale. And attendees were invited to bring duplicates for sale or trade. This time around we'll be limited in space so this may prove to be difficult. However, on Sunday some collectible polar books will be for sale at the Athy Heritage Centre Shackleton Museum.

Auction: An Antarctic book and artifact auction will be held,—probably at the Saturday banquet—but it will depend on attendees and others bringing things to add to the sale. It was great fun last time in Scotland. Items may be donated by attendees with the proceeds going to support the costs of the SouthPole-sium.
         Some of those items that will be auctioned are shown here.

Dress: The SouthPole-siums in the past have been informal dress-wise. But the Hibernian Club has a dress code. No jeans and similar. Jackets aren't required but collared shirts are. Some may wish to dress up a bit for the Satuday evening banquet.
The latest from the Club: ""Dress code for both days for men and women would be no torn jeans, no runners/trainers, slogan tee shirts or leisure wear. I trust everyone will be casual but semi smart."

AV, etc.: Computers, projectors and a sound system will be available during the day-time sessions and at the banquet

Presentation Files: Any attendee who plans to project anything on a screen (PowerPoint, Keynote, images, etc.) should, if possible, get the file(s) to Rob Stephenson or Kevin Kenny prior to the gathering. This should minimize glitches. If you are bringing your own laptop be certain that you have the correct connectors and dongles. If you bring files on a CD, DVD, or thumbdrive, make certain that they can be accessed and shown on a Macintosh Air with the most up-to-date system. We will have a Windows laptop available as well.

WiFi: The Club will have WiFi available.

Accommodation: There is a wide range of accommodaton within easy walking distance of the venue. But some local accommodation may be found here. Unlike in Oslo in 2017, we've been unsuccessful in making arrangements with a Dublin hotel that might serve as the "unofficial offical" SouthPole-sium hotel.

Website: A portion of the antarctic-circle website is devoted to the SouthPole-sium, the schedule, the names of the registrants, details on accommodation, etc. If you are reading this now, you're probably on the website.

Facebook: Yes, we've succumbed. We have a Facebook page on which we'll be posting news from time-to-time (but not every hour or day).

Moderated Sessions: At the first SouthPole-sium, a moderated session kind of materialized on its own. David Stam was the one who got it going. The focus: "What to do with your collection when you're on the way out?" Give it to an institution? Sell it? Consign it to auction? And so on. We had some spirited discussion.
         What moderated sessions might work this time around? The state of Antarctic book collecting today? Books yet to be written? Works-in-progress? Ireland in the Antarctic? Have a look at Subject Ideas for Talks that might be Presented and Subjects of Talks proposed to be Presented so Far. What do you think?

Book Launch(es): One or more books will be launched (or otherwise presented) at the SouthPole-sium with the author(s) talking briefly about their work and selling/signing copies. Let us know if you have a book to launch or highlight.

Proceedings: A summary of the weekend may be put on the antarctic-circle website, including the names of attendees, photographs, etc. Individual participants may submit summaries of their remarks on appropriate subjects, whether presented or not, which will be put on the site as well. There will be no printed proceedings.

Keepsakes: Four Keepsakes have been prepared which attendees will receive in their conference packets. They include a talk Scott gave on May 27, 1910 at the Royal Institution of Great Britain on The Forthcoming Antarctic Expedition; A Poem written Aboard the S.S. Runic by a certain Reverend Saxton; Some Irish Antarcticans; and Historic Huts in the Antarctic from the Heroic Age by Bob Headlnd.

Contests: Past SouthPole-siums have featured a variety of contests. Participation has been spotty at best. The only one this time is Three Acrostics.
Entries so far.

Things to do Before, During & After: There are many things to do and see in Dublin but not a great many with Antarctic connections.

Questions or Comments Call Rob Stephenson at 603-532-POLE (7653). This is a landline. Or ring 603-933-2471 which is a cell/mobile line.
Rob can also take international calls via WhatsApp or Apple's Facetime using 603-933-2471.
E-mail: antarctic-circle@comcast.net
Alternative e-addresses: ac@rs41.org or 5327653@gmail.com


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