Tame The Web » Conferences & Presentations

Handheld Librarian: Keynote Today

Michael — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:46:49 +0000

I am about to present my keynote for the Handheld Librarian Conference. The slides are here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/HandheldLibStephens.pdf

Extra Links:

Pew Tablet & E-Book Reader Ownership: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/E-readers-and-tablets.aspx

Why QR Codes Are Failing: http://www.imediaconnection.com/article_full.aspx?id=30267

Pongr: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/162/pongr

Save the Date: Library 2.012 Conference

Michael — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:42:59 +0000

From a press release about this year’s free, online Library 2.012 Conference:

As information professionals from all around the world digest the wealth of information shared during the inaugural Library 2.011 Worldwide Virtual Conference, a second round of inspiration is underway with the announcement of the Library 2.012 Worldwide Virtual Conference!

Save the dates of October 3-5, 2012, for an inspiring global conversation about the future of libraries. The fully online Library 2.012 Conference will be held in multiple time zones, available in multiple languages, and feature multiple tracks. The conference is sure to be brimming with knowledge as information professionals worldwide meet online for this free forum. Sign up for conference news and updates at Library2012.com.

In the meantime, if you missed one of the 160 presentations given at the Library 2.011 Conference, don’t worry. We understand that you had to sleep at some point during the 24-hour, two-day conference! All the presentations were recorded and can be accessed on the Library 2.0 website.

The San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science is a founding partner of Library 2.011 and Library 2.012 conferences. The nationally-ranked school offers two fully online master’s degrees, a fully online certificate program, and a doctoral program: Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), Master of Archives and Records Administration (MARA), Post-Master’s Certificate in Library and Information Science, and the San José Gateway PhD Program. Learn more at: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu

Call for Speakers: Internet Librarian International

Michael — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:56:44 +0000

ILI 2012 Call for Speakers Open!

If you would like to be considered as a speaker, please

submit your ideas here.

The deadline for submissions is 12 April 2012.

Internet Librarian International is the innovation and technology conference for information professionals. The conference attracts hundreds of library and information professionals from around the world.

Internet Librarian International 2012 will take place at Olympia in London 30-31 October (with pre-event workshops scheduled for 29 October). We invite participation from a wide range of professionals – new and established – from all over the world to share their experiences of developing and delivering innovative information services. We seek dynamic speakers from all types of libraries – public, academic, government, national or commercial – as well as those working outside a ‘traditional’ library setting.

Share your success stories. Tell us what lessons you’ve learned if things didn’t turn out quite as expected. This is your chance to help others to rethink and recharge, and to benefit from the insights of others.

Re-imagine, Renew, Reboot: Innovating for Success

This year the conference will focus on how information and library professionals are successfully delivering innovative products and services to ever more demanding customers in a fast-changing technology landscape. Library patrons, users and customers now expect access to information wherever they are, on a variety of devices. Budgets remain under pressure. Access to information, data and knowledge is becoming more open and transparent, with partnerships and new social media contexts expanding knowledge sharing in new and surprising ways.

With all this going on, librarians need to stay at the leading edge of service provision. What innovative and imaginative solutions can make a real impact on our ability to serve our customers and our institutions? Share your experiences with your peers at Internet Librarian International.

Possible topics fall under the following headings.

Meeting the ‘everything everywhere’ demands of customers
New and innovative uses of technology
Managing and maximising resources
Redesigning services and products
Using the internet for research and reference
Marketing the service and reaching new audiences
Educating and mentoring users
Career opportunities – new skills and new roles
Ideas for full or half day workshops

But don’t limit your imagination - click here to see more ideas.

How do I participate?

If you would like to be considered as a speaker, please submit your ideas here. The deadline for submissions is 12 April 2012.

The advisory committee will review all submissions and you will be notified in May 2012. If your proposal is selected, the primary speaker will receive a free registration to the full conference, which includes lunches and a drinks reception.

We’re looking forward to receiving your suggestions and ideas.

Val Skelton, Programme Director

Katherine Allen, Conference Director

Please note that the expenses of attending Internet Librarian International (including travel, accommodation, and any other expenses) will be the responsibility of the presenter. By submitting your proposal, you acknowledge that you accept this financial responsibility.

Possible topics include:

21st century collection management
Big data initiatives; open data
Content management
Creating new products
Demonstrating impact; influencing management; working with customers
Development and rollout of library apps
Digital libraries; digitisation projects; digital curation
E-learning, information literacy; training skills
E resources; ebooks; ejournals; creating digital collections; ebook policies; acquisition management; contract negotiation
Financial challenges; new sources of funding; innovative ways to manage costs
Future planning; service redesign; mashups; marketing the service; raising the profile, collaboration and partnering
Gamification initiatives; location awareness
Information legislation; copyright; data protection; managing digital rights
Leading edge technologies
Librarians as agents of social change; community development and cohesion
New ways of skills development; developing unconferences; managing tweetups
New roles for information professionals
Mobile, multiplatform information provision; working with tablet devices
New ways of creating content; crowdsourcing; user generated content
Managing information flows
Open access; open source
Open data; linked data
Outsourcing, offshoring, insourcing
Publishing trends
Redesigning websites; usability; optimisation
Semantic web
Supporting the mobile workforce
Taxonomies; ontologies
Using social media tools to maximum effect; podcasting; Twitter/YouTube techniques
Using the internet for research; search tips and techniques; new search tools
Web publishing; web technology; the cloud
Web scale discovery
Sector specific case studies – we are interested in case studies from a range of settings including academic libraries, public libraries, corporate settings, government libraries, health/medical libraries, law libraries, and non-traditional information settings

Submit your ideas here

Kindle for Beginners

Michael — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:42:47 +0000

Kindle for Beginners, a photo by Lester Public Library on Flickr.

Office Hours Extra: The Salzburg Curriculum

Michael — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:59:10 +0000

The mission of librarians and museum professionals is to foster conversations

that improve society through knowledge exchange & social action

Lifelong learning in & out of formal educational settings
These topics are equally applicable to librarians and museum professionals
These topics must be contextualized

The following values permeate these topics:

Openness & transparency
Self reflection
Collaboration
Service
Empathy & Respect
Continuous Learning/Striving for Excellence (which requires lifelong learning)
Creativity and imagination

The Salzburg Global Seminar convenes numerous meetings throughout the year focused on creating solutions for issues on an international level. In October, I was honored to participate in the session co-sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services “Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture.” Representatives from libraries and museums from over 20 countries came together for five intensive days of discussion and deliberations about the future of cultural institutions in a time of hyper-connected social participation. Working groups formed to provide solutions to the many challenges discussed. As part of my role, I was asked to participate, present about emerging technologies and blog the sessions.

I joined the working group devoted to building the skills of librarians and museum professionals. Lead by Dr. David Lankes, Syracuse University, our group adopted this mission statement: “The mission of librarians and museum professionals is to foster conversations that improve society through knowledge exchange & social action.” We developed several curricular topics/skills to frame our work: Management for Participation, Asset Management, Cultural Skills, Knowledge/Learning/Innovation, Technology, and Transformative Social Engagement. The framing statements are reproduced above this post.

Technology:

crowdsourcing / outreach
ability to engage and evolve with technology
ability to impart tech to community across generation
creating and maintaining on effective virtual presence

The technology focus I recently explored in SJSU SLIS’s Student Research Journal (http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=slissrj )includes the ability to engage and evolve with technology, the ability to impart technology to cross-generational communities, and the ability to create and maintain an effective virtual presence. These should already be part of an LIS student’s educational experience. Evolving as technology does afford information professionals the chance to continuously adapt services, access and collections to the information environments of our constituents. Online presence – what you do, what you say within the professional networks – can carry a lot of weight. See “The Role of Mentoring” for more.

Transformative Social Engagement

activism
social responsibility
critical social analysis
public programming – fitting to larger agenda
advocacy (organizing communities to action-political, policy)
sustainability of societal mission
conflict management
understanding community needs

Another interesting and dynamic section of the proposed curriculum – transformative social engagement – merits further exploration and discussion. Under this banner, our group selected a series of thematic areas future LIS grads should experience as part of their preparation for future professional positions. The forthcoming report from the seminar and IMLS will include further details, and Lankes explores the curriculum as well in an video at his blog (http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?p=1349). These ideas about transforming communities, however, have already illuminated my planning and content for courses and I wanted to share them.

Fluency in critical social analysis, “participating deeply within the community,” as our group defined it, transcends the more simple notions of community outreach and “going where the users are.” Consider the public librarian participating in community planning or development, or the academic librarian housed full time within their assigned liaison department. The potential for enhanced understanding of the needs of those particular communities is enticing. Stressing this need for participation, Lankes posited “Why showcase culture if we are not enabling conversations about that culture?” as part of his remarks during the seminar.

Related is understanding and participating in advocacy efforts. As part of my new faculty orientation at SJSU, I spent a day with other new professors touring various service agencies in the Bay Area. We were introduced to various initiatives, community service organizations and supporting entities. At a lunch and presentation at the Health Trust, a Silicon Valley organization promoting wellness, I had a realization – everywhere we visited could benefit from the skills, ethics and knowledge of an information professional as a means to extend, support and sustain the success of these organizations.

Both of these areas have something in common: the information professional with these skills may spend more time OUTSIDE library walls than within. This shifting paradigm is one that Lankes illustrates well with his emphasis on a positive future for librarians instead of libraries.

I took many good things away from my work at the Salzburg Global Seminar. I have a new appreciation for the work of museum professionals and cultural institutions. The boundary between what we do in libraries and what they do in museums – especially in a technology-enhanced participatory age – has become less blurred. Imagine a mash up library/museum school of the future where transformative social engagement, cultural memory and knowledge creation/curation techniques are cultivated and taught.

There’s much more to the proposed curriculum. My hope is this curriculum, began in Salzburg, will inform and guide the evolution of educational programs far and wide.

I am off to the ALISE meeting in Dallas today and thought it would be fitting to publish this post on the way.

Links

Seminar Session: http://www.salzburgglobal.org/current/sessions.cfm?IDSpecial_Event=2961

Full text of the Curriculum: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?p=1345

Beyond the Walled Garden – An Essay in SJSU SLIS Student Research Journal

Michael — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:49:35 +0000

I have an invited contribution in the new issue of SJSU SLIS Student Research Journal:

http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/slissrj/vol1/iss2/2/

I recently participated in a meeting convened at the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria. For five days, over 50 librarians and museum professionals from all over the world gathered to critically examine the impact of participatory culture on library and museum work. The event was sponsored by both the seminar and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Participatory culture, defined by Henry Jenkins in Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture (2006), “is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices” (p. 3). When barriers fall away, participation is possible.

The seminar included presentations, working groups, and discussions centered around how library and museum service should adapt to an environment in which participation is not only possible, but encouraged. The working group I joined developed curricula for new professionals in both arenas. One aspect we highlighted was the importance of engaging with technology. Within that area were three skills our group strongly believed future professionals should possess: the ability to engage and evolve with technology, the ability to impart technology to cross-generational communities, and the ability to create and maintain an effective virtual presence.

Use the link to read the whole essay.

Citation: Stephens, Michael (2011) “Beyond the Walled Garden: LIS Students in an Era of Participatory Culture,” SLIS Student Research Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 2, Article 2.
Available at: http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/slissrj/vol1/iss2/2

Office Hours Extra: Listening to Student Voices Video – The Future of the Academic Library: A Symposium

Michael — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:38:23 +0000

Office Hours Extra: Future of Academic Libraries Symposium – Heretical Thoughts about Library School Video

Michael — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:18:03 +0000

Thanks Highland Park Public Library!

Michael — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:28:33 +0000

My last presentation of the year was at the Highland Park Public Library Staff Day. Thanks to everyone who made the morning such fun!

The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/HighlandParkStephens.pdf

Thanks Aurora Public Library & Aurora Community!

Michael — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:45:51 +0000

I had a great time presenting for the group of community stakeholders – including the mayor – for Aurora Public Library. The talk surveyed the technology and innovation landscape for library services. The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/AuroraLibTechTrends.pdf

FoxValleyMom covered the event: http://www.foxvalleymom.com/2011/12/library-technology-expert-stephens-addresses-city-and-library-leaders/

Thanks Brookfield Public Library!

Michael — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:59:57 +0000

I was honored to be asked to talk about library technologies and trends at Brookfield Public Library last week for their staff development day. Thanks to all who made the talk and lunch after such fun.

The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/BrookfieldTech2.pdf

Last Presentations of the Year

Michael — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:00:10 +0000

Greetings from Aurora, Illinois. I am back in the Chicago area for my last two talks of the year. This afternoon I’m presenting an emerging technology trends overview for a group of community technology stakeholders that will be as siting the Aurora Public Library with technology planning for the future. Then, Friday morning I present at staff development day at Highland Park’s public library.

It’s been a great year of travel and changes but it’s nice to have the approaching holiday break.

Thanks Arizona Library Association

Michael — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:54:13 +0000

A big shout out to everyone attending the Arixzona Library Association conference in Tucson and to the folks who participated in my workshop on technology planning on Monday.

The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/AzLATecnoPlanning.pdf

Links for the presentation:

Technoplans Vs Technolust at Library Journal 2004

Taming Technolust article at RUSQ: http://www.rusq.org/2008/08/18/taming-technolust/

Thanks Richland County Public Library!

Michael — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:47:45 +0000

Thanks to everyone at the Richland County Public Library for making my keynote at their Staff Education day so incredible! I enjoyed chatting with the staff and learning about the great work going on at RCPL.

My slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/HyperlinkedInnovations.pdf

Salzburg Global Seminar session Info

Michael — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:10:15 +0000

Many audio files, photos and video are available here:

http://www.salzburgglobal.org/current/sessions.cfm?IDSpecial_Event=2961