Wednesday, April 29, 2015

As part of the Smithsonian libraries for more than 30 years, Thomas currently directs the operation of twenty libraries located in each of the Smithsonian’s museums and research institutes. In this talk, she reflects on the changes over those years and shares some of the future strategies for libraries.

After the keynote grab a cup of coffee and network with other conference attendees and speakers. Then get ready for more learning as our last day of sessions is chock-full of relevant content!

Whether you are planning a dedicated makerspace at your library, or just want to offer great maker programming, Hamilton will inspire you to work with your community to design, experiment, innovate, and create at your library. He discusses why the maker movement and libraries are a perfect match, shares makerspace ideas and programs for all ages, and supplies ideas and anecdotes from makerspaces and innovators that will inspire.

As the volume of free online resources continues to grow exponentially, so do the challenges faced by librarians and other information professionals in their task of finding, evaluating, and facilitating community access to this free content. This presentation promotes free social media tools and mobile apps and shows how these can be successfully applied in libraries and other working environments. Developed specifically for “info pros” who want to use tech tools to innovate, improve, and add value to services, it focuses on innovative concepts and trends that are rapidly being “mashed up” and adopted in the library world. Learn about tools and apps supporting the latest trends in cloud storage, crowdfunding, ebooks, makerspaces, MOOCs, news aggregation, photo and video sharing, self-publishing, social networking and bookmarking, video conferencing, visualization, and wearable technology.

Is this the way of the future?  Learn how Uintah County successfully integrated its Library, Archives, and Museum into one department. They share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Learn how they make it work and some of the challenges of balancing priorities with our professional "cousins".

Crowdsourcing support (through sites such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo) is a challenging and often daunting task. In order for a truly successful campaign, there are a variety of steps that need to be meticulously maintained and followed. This session helps you learn the basics, from start to finish, about launching your new idea through a crowd- sourced campaign. It also discusses various methods and strategies to find extra money so that you may do more! It shares strategies and methods from a business perspective that libraries can use to have successful wins. Learn how to do more with less, find new sources for funding, and build a strategy to get more for your library.

Cataloging with RDA in USMARC is only temporary and transitional. The ultimate solution is BIBFRAME, currently on trial by the Library of Congress and other libraries. A year ago, no one knew what the successor of MARC would be like, but now it has a tangible form. BIBFRAME, an abbreviation of Bibliographic Framework Initiative, is based on linked data and the semantic web technologies. Speakers describe both the technology underneath and user experience with the BIBFRAME and linked data model. They focus on the latest development of BIBFRAME and its flexibility for accommodating community profiles, interconnecting them, and adding value to information by creating new data. They share their experiences and insights with BIBFRAME accompanied by demos that show it as more than a replacement of MARC, since it represents forward-thinking in information and content organization. Hear about semantic web applications in libraries and the future of cataloging.

Are you looking for new ways to assist and connect with library users? There are tons of tools and new digital technologies that can broaden your online presence. As more and more people develop digital lifestyles, spending significant time online, libraries can capitalize on this opportunity to connect with and provide services to tech- savvy users and new adults. Users are now living in the “cloud” with several options to store files, communicate through video, consult health services, and engage in online distance learning to enhance their everyday lives.

Come find out how you can take your technology training program to another level at your library. This session helps you rejuvenate all aspects of your program, including hiring and training of staff, designing and building new computer labs, curriculum design, partnering with community organizations, having an online and social media presence, and marketing and building relationships with key people. Learn all about how the NYPL TechConnect program doubled its tech attendance to 80K in just under 2 years, by taking a blended learning approach, traditional strategies, and tapping into the tech trends to create innovative practices and services.

Since the emergence of e-books and skyrocketing Wi-Fi usage, public libraries have seen an influx of customers seeking increasingly complex technology assistance. Hear how one library district identified this need in its community and created a unique, customer-facing technology team working under the IT department. The superstar team is comprised of former engineers, retail workers, and librarians who all help patrons with technology needs from an Apple Store inspired Tech Bar service point in each library branch. These needs have ranged from 3D printing a miss- ing piece of gym equipment to dropping beats in our media labs to resurrecting dead laptops. To further the community’s tech knowledge, the team also showcases the library’s investment in beta technologies such as Oculus Rift and Google Glass. Get tips and techniques from inception to implementation, and staff and patron feedback, as well as how it might be replicated on a small or large scale at your library.

Anyone can found a small business. But how do you find clients? Librarians can help entrepreneurs create personas of their preferred clients, use online tools to pinpoint those potential clients, and make targeted marketing decisions. More members are using libraries as their co-working space and to run their small business. Our experienced librarians show you how to make your members money!

Community-led librarians listen to the community in order to discover what they want from the library. But what does this mean for technology? From learning to use a mouse to designing a robot, community technology needs can be varied. What if your community doesn’t know what technology is available to them or its potential? How do you leverage community partnerships to make technology resources available to everyone? Archibald talks about how to discover the needs in your community, connect people to technology covertly, and change how we see and do technology in the library world. Denver PL staff discuss its Community Technology Center, which teaches 50–60 tech classes a month on everything from moving a mouse to beginning with JavaScript. They share what they’ve learned about teaching technology effectively during the last several years. Using their web development classes as a focus, they talk about the development and implementation of the library’s current web development class track (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WordPress) and compare it with our programs teaching web development to teenagers, includ- ing a 2-week DevCamp for teens held this past summer. They discuss how they approach teaching teens and adults differently, ways to tailor the same material to different demographics, and how class selection, lesson plan development, and evaluation process work. Put their technology teaching tips to work right away in your community.

With the advent of digital communications and electronic resources, corporate information services continue to transform physical spaces in order to stay relevant to user populations. The MITRE InfoDesk introduced 3D printers as the first step in creating a makerspace, a place for staff to create, to collaborate, and to innovate. This session reviews lessons learned, best practices, and the way forward as MITRE expands its service portfolio to include 3D printers.

In response to the changing needs at NIH, the library’s Informationist service has been expanded into several non- traditional areas, including bioinformatics, data services, bibliometrics, and custom information solutions. This session explores the development of the custom information solutions service that offers technical consulting services, web development, database architecture, and taxonomy development for research groups at NIH. Get tips and ideas for custom information solutions and services in your library.

You may be familiar with using bibliometrics, the quantitative analysis of scholarly literature, to assess the impact of researchers. But have you used it to assess the impact of your collection and to perform evidence-based collection development? Bruss discusses three different studies the NIST Research Library conducts using bibliometrics to make data-driven decisions: an annual collection impact study, a biannual journal collection development study, and a large-scale evaluation of its print journal archives. She discusses the tools used to gather and analyze the data, the decisions made using the results of the bibliometrics studies, and how the library uses the data to demonstrate its impact to stakeholders. Howard University and Swets present their findings from a recent study on metrics to quantify the importance of their resources, measure return on investment, and justify their decisions before budget holders. Learn how you can apply the same methodologies to your decision-making process.

Many federal libraries today operate with a large amount of autonomy but within the context of some larger structure: department, agency, or even branch of the government. This panel explores approaches that different federal agencies are taking to collaborate while operating in a decentralized structure.

Content is increasingly being provided digitally through various means. Limited resources (money, staff time and skills, equipment, space) make it imperative to collaborate and cooperate within and across institutions. Museums are rich in both artifacts and original research content. The library and archives are a major source and influencer in getting this content into the digital universe. Hear how some research and museum librarians are implementing initiatives within their institutions as well as collaborating with similar institutions worldwide through the Biodiversity Heritage Library and California Audiovisual Preservation Project initiatives.

As libraries continue to transform and grow, the role of the library as a physical space has increased in importance. But one area often given less attention in designs is staff space. In today’s more user-centric library model, traditional departmental divisions are being replaced by blending of skills, expertise, and new models of staff interaction. Bostick and Irwin look at how academic libraries are incorporating these staff spaces as a critical part of change management. McGettigan shares her work in designing spaces to bring together physical and digital resources for 21st-century customers. Using 4 Square Thinking and Planning, she shows examples of the physical and digital in perfect harmony, with space planning based on the way their new and future customers want to learn and interact in order to be successful

Remaining current in today’s fast paced, information-driven world is a challenge for everyone—information comes at us from all directions. We all use online newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites, social media, etc., to stay current with world and local events, and librarians use similar tools to keep up with the profession’s trends and issues. How do you stay current? How do you keep it all organized? During this jam-packed session, speakers introduce 20 tools for keeping up with the world of libraries in technology, and then demo useful tools, apps and practices to keep it all straight.

Hear what our information industry and gadget geek learned when he recently attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) promoting libraries to the exhibitors. The CES show is one of the largest technology shows in the industry; it’s where companies from around the world release new products, unveil innovative ideas, and do hands-on demonstrations. Pichman brings all the action to you in this jammed-pack session of tech gadget goodness. Learn what new technology is out there and how it affects libraries and their communities. Discover what tech we should implement in our makerspaces and fablabs. Pick up lots of ideas and insights from our ambassador to CES!

Digital resources are dominating library collections and changing how library’s holdings are assessed and evaluated. This affects the workflow of the library staff, meaning that library management systems must evolve to meet their needs. Three cutting-edge libraries have pioneered the change by implementing a new library services platform at their libraries. Each shares their experience and how implementation is enabling their libraries to be strong community partners in research. They discuss how they have used technology to help their academic communities by streamlining their workflows and gained more efficiency with a new integrated management system capable of capturing all formats in the library collection. They talk about the ways new functionality has enabled library staff to make data-driven decisions about their collections to better meet member needs and expectations, and how it eliminates redundant tasks and provides staff relief from resource management to devote more valuable time to their researchers.

For thousands of years libraries have been connecting people and technology; makerspace in libraries offers seemingly unlimited potential for springboarding learning, discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. How much is real, and how much hype? From 3D Printers and laser cutters to microprocessors and robotics toolkits; hear examples of everything that's gone wrong -- and the things that have gone right that make it all worthwhile.

Libraries and information agencies are under increasing pressure to demonstrate value. The key to demonstrating actual value is good data on services and programs. Cervone reviews the key considerations in an effective assessment and evaluation program and provides ideas and tools for your own assessment and evaluation efforts.

Libraries of all kinds—public, academic, special and government—are being asked to demonstrate their value. While we all agree that demonstrating the impact of our outcomes is crucial to our success (and even our survival), many of us are working in libraries that do not have the skill set to tackle impact studies. Our speakers look at crunching your own numbers to demonstrate impact, including learning how to build your own impact models using common key performance indicators (KPIs). They discuss how to use the data you are already collecting to measure impact, and how developing new data collection tactics will help you define and differentiate your value.

This session provides an intro for using the logic model to review and improve services and, to look at how the services are developed, delivered, and managed. It uses real world examples to show the model in practice.

Citation counts have long been the standard measure of academic research usage and impact. As the internet is becoming more popular for scholars to disseminate information and research, alternate metrics (also called altmetrics) are recognized as valid indicators for the significance of digital scholarship. They include activities on social networking sites, blogs, and wikis such as views, downloads, saves, cited, tweets, mentioned or discussed. Traynor highlights some practical ways institutions are using these new metrics today and what the future holds. Hulser shares his experience with altmetrics and other tools to raise the awareness and relay the importance of library services to management and the general community. Rider librarians discuss web-based traditional metrics and major altmetric sites accompanied by demos. They also talk about related issues such as open access content and authors’ release of copyright to the publishers as well as what early research is showing: that open access content attracts more attention, and altmetrics are early indicators of scholarly impact for published works; research that receives more attention on the internet also receives more citations in publication; successful cases of promotion and tenure are reported supported by altmetrics.

Many libraries use social media channels to connect with customers, to answer questions, and to just “be there” for their community. Do you know if your social media channel is successful, and are you meeting your library’s goals? Most social media channels have analytics or insights that will help figure this out. This talk explores analytics for different social media channels and explains what you should track and why.