Innovative libraries create positive user experiences and learning environments by connecting people to information and ideas. Not only do successful and innovative libraries require a deep understanding of their community and creative new practices to embrace the changing context in which they operate, but they need investment by their community partners for research and support. Hear about the latest directions from our knowledgeable keynote speaker.

Learn more about publishers’ models and join in the discussion of how libraries and publishers are seeking ways of working together for the benefit of authors, publishers, and libraries within the ebook environment.

It’s happening all around us: Electronic content is accounting for more and more of our library “circulation,” and our budgets are moving to match that reality. Studies and news items about libraries and technology paint picture after picture of nearly exponential growth for econtent access in the coming decade. As that happens, what role will your library really play? What technologies and devices will our library patrons use to access our materials? What needs to happen in your library in order to ensure that it thrives as econtent access infrastructure needs dramatically shift? The current trends are discussed along with a look at the rights that all ebook consumers should enjoy in regard to their digital content.

Hear from our panel of publishers about their ebook challenges, strategies and plans for the future.

The falling barriers-to-entry of publishing has lead to a flood of new books every year in a variety of formats.  Each year, it will become more and more difficult to keep informed on the books coming onto the market, and which will appeal to an individual reader.  This is a growing problem for the library of the future.  This session will highlight what librarians can do to provide stellar readers’ advisory and will showcase BookLamp.org and the computer-based Book Genome Project for a technology developer’s perspective of what will be possible for reading recommendations in the near future. 

The first presentation discusses moving digital mountains — making ebooks easier to obtain, easier to talk about, and worth marketing to the community! “eReady Learning Takeovers” were the answer for transforming overly busy lunchtime locations by offering ebook instruction alongside a nice sushi roll or having a side of downloadables with your Portobello taco. The community responded enthusiastically, and in 1 year, the ebook circulation increased 266%. Speakers share how they implemented this initiative by building successful partnerships with local businesses, increasing competencies and interest throughout staffs, and creating a buzz about ebooks. Filled with tips and insights. Forbes discusses ebooks and new portable technologies, such as tablets and e-readers, that have enabled academic libraries to explore new and innovative ways for users to access leisure collections. She discusses how technology can be leveraged to support patron-driven acquisitions that make the library relevant and user-centered, while supporting the mission of the academic library to promote literacy, cognitive development, and critical-thinking skills.

With the decrease in acquisitions of print material and increase in digital content, how can libraries be creative and appealing for their customers? As part of their strategy to improve patron access to collections through merchandising, MPL has created a new organization principal, C3, to emulate a “bookstore” environment. Hear about the concept, user experiences, and productivity increases.

From infographics to Tumblr, from visual search to operation dashboards, visual information is the hot-new-thing. The way we compile and share information is changing. Kopecky and Porcaro explore how the changing face of information, especially the rapid expansion of the visual, provides opportunities for creating library work environments in which traditional technology training evolves into encouraged exploration, and change becomes the normal, and welcomed, mode of operation. Chang describes how a digital dashboard brings data to life. Displaying library IT operations with real-time snapshots of key performance indicators, this visual dashboard allows them to evaluate data and situations at a glance without the lengthy reports and spreadsheets. They also created a platform-independent, mobile-friendly version with data visualization features.

When creating a new library service (digital or physical), it’s natural to leap straight into the world of concrete implementations. Before you know it, you’ve bought a lot of expensive furniture or technology, but it no longer fits your needs. Etches talks about stepping back one abstraction layer and designing services by examining behavioral and activity patterns. Get some great tips and techniques that you can use in your environment.

Hear how one library is currently redesigning its website and invigorating its web presence. Cummings discusses the informal web usability methods used during the library’s web redesign process. Getting permission from each of a number of stakeholders was not timely, so get some insights and ideas from the creative tactics used to get input and feedback from library patrons to inform design decisions.

Claassen shares tips for using an agile development approach to design and build a mobile library site in just 2 months. She discusses the tools they used, including Zend Framework, PHP, and JavaScript to build the interface; Basecamp to track progress; and an app to handle hours display for different branch locations. Franklyn shares collaboration steps and missteps experienced by staff working with teens through usability testing, site overhaul, and success. DARPA speakers share their secrets in building a patron-driven library by integrating new functionalities in library websites and portals with makeshift solutions essential in their innovation strategies. Explore examples of how highly effective improvised web solutions can support library staff and users alike. Discuss how user-friendly, open-source tools are providing librarians with boundless creative opportunities to engage with patrons without getting bogged down in expensive, overly complicated projects.

In spring 2011, the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale found itself at the center of a media frenzy. The public relations office was fielding daily, often hourly, telephone requests from print, radio, and television journalists across the globe, who were all eager to get the scoop on the latest development at the Yale Law School. The story, featured on National Public Radio, appeared in newspapers from Sydney, Australia, to Taiwan, and, at the height of national interest, was the most emailed article in The New York Times. Happily, the story was a uniquely positive one; sitting at the heart of the media storm was a small, brown, cross-breed terrier called General Montgomery, Monty to his friends, the newly minted Yale Law School therapy dog. Quite a few law libraries now encourage a good deal of “outside the box” thinking, and are encouraged to provide creative services to patrons. Hear how the therapy dog illustrates one innovative library’s approach to fostering innovation in library services.

John Seely Brown told the Internet Librarian 2011 audience that tinkering is essential for learning and this session looks at the maker culture, where people do-it-themselves or tinker! They are coders, fabricators, educators, and activists dedicated to the public sharing of information and knowledge and taking control of technology for themselves. Whether it is hacking gadgets, creating open source hardware and software, or even designing hi-tech apparel, maker spaces in local communities worldwide are helping people connect with technology in new ways. This session provides an introduction to maker culture, explains the essential role librarians can play in this movement, and discusses what it means for our relationship with and understanding of technology.

Several Ohio libraries are partnering to develop and implement artificially intelligent virtual agents. Targeting both the least and the most proficient computer users, an artificial intelligence agent offers instruction and assistance to users unfamiliar with the library’s services and resources. This presentation looks at artificial intelligence agents in libraries, the process of both creation and customization using AIML, implementation, and user response and demonstrates various implementations of the agents in websites,WebPacs, and information kiosks.

Higher education is shifting from the passive use of audio, video, and graphics in its curricula to incorporating instruction and assignments that involve digital media creation. This session features two case studies: Loyola/Notre Dame Library’s experiences with equipment and software, staffing, training, and marketing, and McMaster University’s creation of Lyons New Media Centre with amenities such as a gaming theatre, editing suites, a 9’x12’ video wall, a dedicated classroom, and a green screen. Hear about the exciting services both are providing.

There are so many great uses for tablets and apps! This panel discusses how these libraries are integrating tablets into their programs and services: Norwalk’s integration of tablets for kids, adults, and for staff to help with patron research; Darien’s use of iPads and apps for children’s’ literacy building; and Emporia State’s creation of customizable Android tablets into its library.

Have you ever returned home from Computers in Libraries excited about the new tools and tips that you learned about only to be told, “No!” before you get started? This session presents strategies the FBI Library used to build a relationship with the IT department and get buy-in from the library director to move forward with new technology projects. It then looks at how an academic library has been gaining the administration’s go-ahead and library staff’s agreement to try new ideas.

EPA National Library Network’s webinar-driven National Training Program reaches hundreds of staff at their desks in more than 20 EPA locations across the U.S. Created in direct response to a 2009 Information Needs Assessment, the program showcases locally developed library training in a “class of the month.” Webinar set-up, promotion, technical troubleshooting, and reporting are centralized at the network level, and promotion and webinar technology is integrated with email and online calendars, so each class is virtually paper-free. At Sandia, a webinar calendar of database vendor events and short video tutorials keep researchers up-to-date on new resources and library services. Screencasting and calendar tools are used in everyday user education as well as virtual reference services. Get lots of ideas for your environment from these speakers!

Benchmarking against other libraries is an excellent way to discover innovative practices for your library. Three federal librarians who have recently conducted benchmarking projects discuss: advantages of benchmarking for libraries; how to choose benchmarking partners, write questions, structure the conversation during the meetings, and identify best practices;. best practice findings from three recent benchmarking projects; which innovative practices the federal libraries decided to adopt; and how the new practices worked out.

These government libraries are going beyond the usual to meet users where they are. eLibraryUSA is an effort by the U.S. Dept. of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs to provide patrons of U.S. Embassy Information Resource Centers around the world with information access that’s the norm at U.S. public libraries and universities. Zammerelli and Weir discuss the technical, licensing and administrative issues and solutions in a global project management. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is a world-recognized center of innovation and discovery. Burns shares her experiences organizing various types of community outreach: mobile librarian services, symposia, online and digital promotion efforts, and community events.

Large-scale indexes such as Thomson-Reuter’s Web of Science, Elsevier’s Scopus, and the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed give information professionals an ideal position to develop a set of valuable services that define and defend the organization’s value. To do this effectively requires an understanding of the scientific and business needs of their organization, an agreement on the organization’s preferred measures of success, a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the various measures available, and of how the metrics are best applied. Get some tips on how to do this in your organization.

Cloud computing is one of the most important technology trends of the times. The phase of client/server computing is fading into obsolescence, replaced by entirely web-based systems, increasingly deployed through SaaS. Libraries and other technology-oriented organizations now have options through infrastructure-as-a-service offerings such as Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud and Simple Storage Service to ramp up computing capabilities quickly, enjoy free access for smaller projects, and take advantage of usage- based subscription models for larger-scale production projects. Breeding expands on these topics and provides a basic explanation of cloud computing that focuses on real advantages and disadvantages for libraries. Hulser illustrates the advantages with a case study of going from manual library operations to 21st-century information management and access using a cloud-based ILS.

Most any library can be a target, so join our expert and get some ideas on how to make your library and your home more secure. Carver covers privacy, as it is closely related to security, and should be taken seriously. He shares many ways to stay safe online, how to secure your browser, PC, and other devices you and your patrons use every day. He also tackles some common security myths, talks about secure passwords and network security, as well as hardware and PC security. Carver discusses security issues that you’ll find in your library as well as tricks sysadmins can do with servers to make things safer for you, and that you’ll never see as an end user.

Libraries have a natural affinity with open source software, and many have implemented it for their strategic automation infrastructure, including ILS and discovery systems. In his analysis of the library automation industry, Breeding tracks the pace of adoption of open source library automation. Come hear his perspectives on the current and emerging trends of open source in the industry relative to proprietary products and how it fares relative to broader trends such as comprehensive resource management, cloud computing, and new-generation discovery. McDermott provides a case study based on a directive from City Hall: Ditch the $60,000 ILS and migrate to an open source system — in the next 3 months. After the contract was signed with Lib Lime, California’s Crowell Public Library did in 6 weeks what usually takes half a year, going live with Koha, an integrated library system essentially written by volunteers. Hear about the perils and the joys of embracing a new ILS technology that is almost ready for prime time.

The worlds of social media and technology are changing faster than we can blink. Join four tech-savvy info pros as they discuss how Google+ will change the landscape (and indeed how it had more than 25 million users in several months after its launch last June), what it means for libraries, how you can harness its power and tools to use it for yourself and your organization, and how it changes the privacy game. This panel also discusses the impact of “yet another” tool and how and why your library should get involved.

This panel of authors and practitioners discusses the changing role of systems librarians.

School librarians know the importance of teaching students digital literacy skills, but how can we partner with classroom teachers to ensure that these skills are addressed in all disciplines, not just library instruction? This presentation is chock-full of practical ideas for integrating the fundamentals of digital literacy into your school’s curriculum. Tips for working with faculty, project samples, and helpful resources are showcased. Tools include Glogster, Scratch, wikis, blogs, Audacity, Voki, Creative Commons, and more.

The ebook market is driven by a single-user purchase model, but publishers and aggregators are scrambling to grab market share in the public library sector. Further downstream are school library markets. In their fight for dominance, vendors are discovering the unique needs of these related but significantly different users. The result: a boundless number of purchase models from myriad aggregators and publishers. Lauri Vaughan, a high school librarian and vice president of the Bay Area Independent School Librarian Association, presents a summary of months of tracking the big and little players in the field.

This session describes the impact of a 1:1 campuswide iPad rollout at Foote’s high school and how it affects the school, research, and library services in particular. What are the lessons mobile has to teach us about the future of research in schools? How do we create library services that are a vital “app” on the student’s desktop, as ed tech pundit Joyce Valenza terms it?

Three years ago, a few classrooms in three Osseo Area Schools in Minnesota piloted Project Copernicus, which allowed students to use their own technology in school. Since then, the project has expanded to 12 schools and more than 70 classrooms. It is facilitated by wireless access in every learning space, and schools have purchased sets of NOOKS, iPod touches, and iPads. When that is combined with Google Apps for Education to provide access to shared documents, opportunities for collaboration expand dramatically. This session describes some of the projects these schools have done with mobile devices and Google Apps. Nelson presents steps to implement mobile devices and/or student-provided technology and describes ways to integrate those devices as seamless parts of student learning.

As the internet continues to grow as a force in people’s lives, the public is becoming increasingly concerned about the risks associated with its ubiquitous use. Compliance issues such as CIPA bring an added level of responsibility to libraries and schools to ensure the online safety and security of the students they serve. In this session, participants discuss the current state of internet risks and the need for a comprehensive solution that combines awareness and education with technology, common sense, and critical thinking. The panelists provide a case-study review of their organizations’ collaborative initiatives to educate and increase public awareness and outline ways that others can join in this effort.

Join our evening of fun and music featuring our second “Battle Decks Spectacular!” Also known as “PowerPoint Karaoke,” our willing participants make a coherent presentation based on hand-selected, seemingly unrelated slides that they see for the first time live on stage. After a musical interlude, the participants face judgment, with the winner to be determined based on overall awesomeness. Hilarity, along with some learning, is guaranteed for all! And continue the fun at our after-Battle Decks Karaoke party in remembrance of our CIL days in Crystal City!