Our resident Goblin in the Library, Josh Neff, was interviewed about Library Camp Kansas for LISNews. Listen to the podcast!
It’s March 19th! I’m here in Manhattan, KS for our first Kansas Library UnConference, which we’re calling Library Camp Kansas. Approx 100 people signed-up and we’ve got a great mix of people… from academic libraries… from public libraries… from special libraries, too.
See the Flickr photos from the event!
Read blog posts from the event! A few posts about the event include:
Eudora Welty said, “A good snapshot stops a moment from running away”. People have been taking photographs to record memories for hundreds of years. Digital cameras now make it easier and more instantaneous than ever. This weekend, Diana and I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of the Turner Community Library in Kansas City. My sister teaches at Turner Middle School and has been GIDDY waiting for this library to open since it’s so conveniently located for her students. We ate hot dogs and took a tour of the new facility. Diana captured all of it with her digital camera. You can see the photos in our Flickr account.
It has become part of our routine to take photographs at events and to post them in our NEKLS Flickr account. It serves as a photographic diary of where we have been and what we have done. It has become a tool for promotion and a tool for communication. Many NEKLS member libraries have Flickr accounts (Tonganoxie, Richmond, and Hiawatha, for ex).
The library world has been fairly word-centric and I think we’re just starting to realize the potential benefits of sharing images… the power of a picture. Flickr, of course, believes in this power and is collaborating with TechSoup on a new project called Flickr for Good, donating Flickr Pro accounts to individuals working with non-profit organizations. Check out TechSoup’s site, not only for information about that project, but also for ideas about how-to get the most out of Flickr.
I promise this blog post is not just an excuse to quote Styx lyrics….. It is, in fact, an excuse to talk about Legos. Have you explored Legos lately? These are not your mother’s Legos. Check out, for example, the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System. Wow! It’s the kind of toy that has dramatic teaching potential, but might be too expensive for a lot of families. The Plainsboro Public Library in New Jersey has created an innovative and exciting program using Lego NXT Robotics. Local engineers are involved with mentoring the student participants. Imagine the possibilities! Wheels are turning… or should I say gears are moving.
(Thanks to Henry’s dad for the heads up about this cool project!)
Ready to participate in a new type of conference?
Think some of the most valuable and most productive sessions at conferences are the hallway and dinner conversations?
Want to get to know some of your forward-thinking Kansas library colleagues better?
Join us at Library Camp Kansas: the first Un-conference for people interested in customer-friendly libraries, library 2.0 and thinking about how we can all improve our services and organizations to meet the needs of our communities.
This is not a conference with experts behind a podium. It is an opportunity for dialogue and conversation. Sound good to you? Join us on Wednesday, March 19, at K-State’s Hale Library!
Details:
Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Registration starts at 9 a.m.)
Hale Library, Hemisphere Room
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS
A complete agenda and links to lunch options, directions and parking information are available on the unconference wiki at: http://librarycampks.wetpaint.com/page/Unconference+Details.
Topics:
The participants of Library Camp Kansas choose the topics to be discussed the day of the conference. Potential topics can be posted ahead of time to the wiki: http://librarycampks.wetpaint.com/page/Discussion+Topics.
Registration is free. Visit the “Invitation to Participate page” to register online:
http://librarycampks.wetpaint.com/page/Invitation+to+Participate
If you need a parking permit, you must register by Friday, March 7.
Due to space limitations, overall registration is capped at 100 participants.
What’s provided:
Free wi-fi. Some laptops are available for those who can’t bring their own. Flip charts and meeting supplies will be provided as well. Snacks and drinks thanks to K-LIRT. Parking permits thanks to NEKLS.
What you should bring:
Great ideas, great questions, an interest in collaboration, laptop with wi-fi (if possible), and money for lunch.
For more information, check out the Kansas Library Camp wiki: http://librarycampks.wetpaint.com/
To see how other library camps and unconferences have worked out in other states, see http://www.blyberg.net/?s=unconference&submit=GO
and http://librarycampnyc.wikispaces.com/Program.
Questions? Please contact:
Brenda Hough
Technology Consultant, NEKLS
bhough@nekls.org ~ (785) 838-4090
Hope to see you there!
Many of you may be familiar w/the first Cookbook released by TechSoup’s
MaintainIT Project. Well, now they have released another! It includes practical
tips and techniques and stories from libraries around the country.
Download the FREE Joy of Computing: Recipes for a 5-Star Library here: http://maintainitproject.org/cookbooks
Find out what libraries and library supporters had to say about wireless, time
and print management, and laptop checkout programs. Kudos to the following Kansan contributors, whose experiences were included to help make this Cookbook a practical and handy resource:
Sharon Moreland, Tonganoxie Public Library
Kim Priest, Mary Cotton Public Library
Ken Werne, Johnson County Library
Jamie Kelley, Marysville Public Library
The MaintainIT Project will continue to create guides focused on supporting public computers. You can share your challenges and successes so libraries can learn from *your* experiences, too. Remember, what may be, “that’s nothing!” to you, may be an “aha” to someone else! Email my friends Sarah, Chris, and the rest of the team if you’re interested in being involved: maintainit@techsoup.org.
Wikipedia! Most likely you have used the free user-created online encyclopedia, but have you explored the resource beyond the basics? If you’re interested in learning more and in participating in a thoughtful discussion about Wikipedia, consider attending this class at Johnson County Library on Monday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Central Resource Library in the Carmack Community Room. The class will last until 8:45 p.m. I attended a similar class at Johnson County last fall and thought it was really worthwhile! It’s FREE, but registration is requested.
“Borrowers from the nation’s largest library systems rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid overdue fines and unreturned materials every year. Now, 900 libraries, such as the Queens and New York Public Library systems, have turned to Unique Management Services, a collection agency that reports the 30% of overdue borrowers who fail to respond to repeated requests for payment to credit bureaus.”
The killer line from this article?
“I’m going to Borders, just to be safe. I may have to pay more upfront but at least I won’t have any problem getting a house to keep my books in.”
Is this something anyone is doing? And more importantly, is it something you *would* do, given the chance? Why or why not?
One day, two great free online presentations! On Tuesday, September 18th, consider attending one (or both) of the following sessions:
From 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM, Gina Millsap and Rob Banks will be the guest presenters for the free SirsiDynix Institute web seminar, “Dump the Org. Chart: Get `Er Done!: Management for a 2.0 Library” For more information, including connection instructions, see: http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/seminar_page.php?sid=94.
Then from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, Colleen Eggett (training coordinator for the Utah State Library) will be the guest presenter for a free WebJunction Rural Library Sustainability InFocus webinar, “*A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Library Surveys”. For more information, including connection instructions, see: *http://www.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=13496
One of the best things about my job is getting to spend time in so many different libraries. Most of the ideas I propose to one library are based on things I have seen in other libraries. The best new ideas are often based on the recycling of other ideas.
The MaintainIT project is all about gathering and disseminating library stories. Their recent Joy of Computing Cookbook (available as a free download) is a collection of practical tips and stories about successfully providing computers for the public. Additional cookbooks are in the works.
This week, I have been paying special attention to the MaintainIT blog as Sarah and friends drive a bookmobile around northern California. They will spend two-weeks on the road, taking pictures and talking to the people in rural libraries. I look forward to learning about the libraries there…, but I’m also hoping that at the end of those two-weeks, Sarah and the team will feel so fired up about visiting libraries that they will turn the bookmobile to the east and to the north and will come visit some of the stellar libraries here, too! (That’s an open invitation!)