With all the social networking tools and wireless mobility available, there are more and more ways to reach our customers and communities. Our speaker, an early user of The WELL and student of virtual communities (in fact, many credit him with creating the term), an architect of HotWired and Electric Minds, and now an educator and consultant, talks about trends in the social and mobile world that information professionals need to understand and pay attention to both now and into the future. A colorful (as his painted shoes will attest) speaker, Rheingold is sure to delight, confound, and spark your ideas!

One of IL’s most popular sessions returns to turbo-charge your web research. Our confirmed super searcher and host of Searchers Academy provides an updated-to-the-minute and jam-packed-with-valuable-tips talk about searching the web more effectively. You don’t need to be an expert to use these techniques, but even long-time researchers will learn from them.

Many folks rely heavily on online social interconnections for fun, communication, and networking. Many of the social networks are partially or fully open to public view. See what information can be mined from the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Pandora, Amazon,
and any other new and popular individualized social services. Explore techniques for searching within and across these social tools, and learn what others may be able to find out about you.

As web content continues to grow and the signal-to-noise ratio increases, it has become important for libraries to find ways to get into users’ common web paths: the social networking sites such as Facebook, the web portals such as iGoogle, even learning management systems such as Blackboard. Clark looks at creating widgets or gadgets that allow users to have basic library search functions in these new user environments free from the catalog or library website. He shows live applications that provide different search functionality for library materials: a Google Gadget that allows gateway searching for library journals, books, and articles and a series of OpenSearch plug-ins that let patrons search library content from within the web browser. Donahue looks at creating user-activatedanimated research tools such as Flash-animated subject maps leading users directly to books. He also looks under the hood at the FLA files and design methodology and examines the underutilized applicability of Flash technology for library resources such as digital exhibits, online tutorials, and other types of library maps. Come learn about the simple tools and steps you can take in your library

The first presentation focuses on search engines for e-books that can provide access to the text and metadata of ebooks on multiple sites. It discusses the process of developing and testing an ebook search engine, as well as the technical, bibliographic, and legal issues. It looks at the prospects for a low-cost search engine for law-related public domain ebooks and reports on the testing of various combinations of free crawlers, indexers, and search engines, as well as free or low-cost storage options. The second presentation illustrates one library’s experience implementing the latest in catalog search technology, including visual search, relevancy ranking, spelling suggestions, RSS feeds, and enhanced content such as searchable chapter summaries. It discusses lessons learned, tips for getting buy-in from staff and customers, the next evolution of search, including creating a true
“single search” within your catalog that can pull all of your valuable content—books, movies, databases, digital content, events—into a single results list.

Join our "keeping current" fanatic for his top tips on doing web research today and the hot new tools that he uses to keep his clients up to date with anything they need.

While semantic web ideas have been around for quite a while, the number of actual, practical applications has been low. However, by combining semantic web knowledge representations with faceted navigation techniques, media companies have been leading
the way to a first generation of applications. This session starts with a review and analysis of a large number of media internet sites and extracts some common themes and approaches, looks at what works well and what doesn’t, and ends with a guide for developing the semantic web representations and facets and integrating them into a rich information display.

Information Today, Inc. invites all conference registrants and exhibitors to a special Exhibit Hall opening reception on Monday,October 20. This is a great time to gather with fellow Internet Librarians and suppliers, renew acquaintances, meet new colleagues, sample tasty goodies, and check out the latest products and services in a relaxed atmosphere.

You’re using Flickr and blogs. You’ve created social networks on MySpace and Facebook. You’re IMing, texting, and twittering all day long. You’ve even gained some notoriety on YouTube. Before your avatar drops from exhaustion, isn’t it time you asked what all this 2.0 technology is really doing for your library? Learn the tricks to turn your mad Web 2.0 skills into effective marketing and advocacy results to increase exposure and support for your library. Dowd takes you to the next level by illustrating how to incorporate Web 2.0 technologies with traditional marketing and advocacy tools to produce effective results.

A digital environment requires that library web managers think about outreach in a very different way. Our users may still frequent brick-and-mortar community establishments, but they spend more and more time online, in both solitary and social endeavors. How
do we, as their libraries, reach out to these users to help them find information? How do we reach them on their turf? Where is their turf? Learn about ways for all libraries to find potential users online. Where to spend your time to get the most bang for your buck and staff hours will be the focus, with tips for community websites, search engine placement, live assistance options, social networking sites, and much more. Take away a lengthy checklist of ideas to take back to your libraries to successfully create an ongoing online marketing plan.

Every day, new opportunities arise for information professionals to establish their presence online. Done well, one’s online identity can be a powerful tool for establishing professional credibility and marketing your skills to others. Schwartz highlights the various
tools for managing your online presence and provides tips and strategies for building a consistent, meaningful online identity. CML staff discuss their experiences integrating various Web 2.0 tools—some difficult and some very simple—into their websites. They talk about challenges and solutions and give lots of tips and tricks.

More than just concrete buildings that loan books, libraries today are a collection of valuable resources: human, written, and electronic. Getting the word out to patrons about everything today’s library has to offer can seem overwhelming. Claiborne focuses on ways to draw patrons into the library and get them involved and informed about programs, resources and opportunities. Stokes discusses reaching out to students, teaching them about the library’s databases by using games, and to staff, keeping them informed about happenings in the virtual library. She talks about using blogs, vendor products, and open source products to create innovative ways to capture the attention of patrons, making it fun to use the online library.

In the last few years, there has been much discussion and excitement over the implementation of Web 2.0 on public library websites as a means of reaching out to patrons. Many techniques have been shared, but this session focuses on the results of an bservational
study of public library websites in the U.S. searching for the presence of Web 2.0 technologies. It looks at how prevalent 2.0 technologies are and the characteristics of the libraries that are active in incorporating these technologies.

Join the day’s speakers for an interactive, round-robin, expert response session with plenty of audience Q&A! Reflect on the day’s insights and ideas and share your thoughts with colleagues.

Information Today, Inc. invites all conference registrants and exhibitors to a special Exhibit Hall opening reception on Monday,October 20. This is a great time to gather with fellow Internet Librarians and suppliers, renew acquaintances, meet new colleagues, sample tasty goodies, and check out the latest products and services in a relaxed atmosphere.

New technology tools and techniques are changing the way users think about and interact with the websites they frequent. Businesses that recognize the radical shift in customer expectations know that usability isn’t enough any more, and are increasingly obsessed with building websites and applications that deliver great user experiences. King explains the concepts behind designing experiences on the web, emphasizing current best practicesin three key areas: structure—creating better experiences by improving a website’sease-of-use; community—memorable experiences and conversations created via online participation and community, the essence of Web 2.0; customers—learn how to stage experiences online that are guaranteed to surprise and delight customers. Filled with practical tips on turning potentially negative experiences into memorable ones, this session provides lots of ideas to try on your website.

Looking for ways to speed up, clean up, and optimize your site with minimal effort? These 35 1-minute upgrades show you how to fine-tune your site’s code, design, and structure to make your site faster, more flexible, and more standards-compliant. Do one, do 10, or do them all to maximize your site’s performance in minimal time.

With the investments that libraries make in developing websites, it is critical to constantly measure use levels, discern patterns and trends, and spot hotspots and areas of strengths, as well as areas that aren’t working like you anticipated. Google Analytics, a free service offering a very sophisticated approach to website analytics, enables libraries to use methodologies well tuned in the ecommerce arena such as action-oriented web development and search engine optimization. Breeding demonstrates how he uses Google Analytics to assist in the management of sites such as Library Technology Guides, the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, and components of the Vanderbilt University Library’s web presence.

Hop on board and look at some great tools that can help make your life easier and delight or even wow your visitors. Our experts and popular speakers are back with a whole new roster of free or inexpensive tools covering the gamut of Web 2.0 gadgets and widgets, hosted applications, server side scripts, and desktop tools. They highlight tools for people who are just starting out as well as some advanced applications for webmasters who like to dig their teeth into a bit of code. Pick up some new tool ideas that can take your site to the next level.

Libraries today are presented with the challenge creating a unified user experience out of systems which are traditionally highly separate silos. Often this is done by literally copying and inserting data and information from one system to another. In the case of the library website data is often copied from the library catalog, article databases or other sources. However, this method is neither efficient nor sustainable. As a result, the University of Houston Libraries has developed a home grown content management system based on the following principles of Web 2.0: Radical decentralization, Small pieces loosely joined, and Remixable content. This tool allows librarians to create web pages that are a mix of types content from various systems including events, finding aids, blogs, library catalog, and federated search. By using this tool, subject librarians can create highly specialized "virtual libraries" for their users in a particular subject area. Additionally, content from the library website and other systems can now be incorporated into external websites such as those for colleges and departments. This innovation has allow the library to better serve its users by presenting them accurate, up to date, and relevant information.

Social networking sites such as Facebook present libraries with unique opportunities for reaching students. Many users, however, perceive Facebook as primarily “social” space, and the presence of professors, librarians, or parents can be intrusive, unwelcome, or just plain “weird” to the very students being targeted. Find out how George Washington University’s Gelman Library worked with an anthropologist to carry out a mixed methods study to identify unspoken rules and patterns of behavior to guide libraries’ Facebook efforts and discover what our users want. Learn how Gelman implemented and refined their Facebook campaign based on the study results. Explore the merits of anthropological research in evaluating these new, social technologies.

Information Today, Inc. invites all conference registrants and exhibitors to a special Exhibit Hall opening reception on Monday,October 20. This is a great time to gather with fellow Internet Librarians and suppliers, renew acquaintances, meet new colleagues, sample tasty goodies, and check out the latest products and services in a relaxed atmosphere.

It seems that no matter who you talk to, everyone claims to use best practices. While most people would consider this a good thing, the problem with best practices is that discovering and implementing them are not always an obvious or easy task. A relatively little
known but extremely influential set of best practices in information technology is the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). With the recent release of version 3 of the ITIL, this framework has taken the information technology world by storm in both thecommercial and nonprofit worlds. Our IT expert talks about what the ITIL is, where it fits into the digital library development landscape, and how you can start using it to improve the outcomes of your digital library projects.

LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) is an international nonprofit community initiative that provides tools and support so libraries can easily and cost-effectively preserve today’s web-published materials for tomorrow’s readers. Hear more about this approach to digital preservation strategies for libraries, and how it is being implemented today. Then learn about another approach relating to digital preservation of electronic journals. Both speakers discuss the challenge of protecting materials and provide examples of their solutions.

This session focuses on the new learnings and new ways of working based on the experience of an aboriginal digital project. It includes discussions of Lucene/Solr faceted browse implementation, seven institutional partner collections, aboriginal community advisors/consultations, grad students who wrote interpretive essays/exhibits, 3D video of artifacts, digital rescue of museum vintage AV recordings, and more.

This session elaborates on the various aspects of building, managing, and promoting a digital library including tools to build and evaluate a digital library, digital content licensing, and tips on how to promote the use of this content. So if you’re looking to come away with a better understanding of the essential practices, tools, and tips that are important in user-focused digital libraries, this is a session you must attend.

As librarians, understanding our (and our institutions’) rights and responsibilities under copyright law is perhaps even more important in the digital age. Although it can be confusing and kind of scary, it won’t just go away. Unfortunately, misinformation abounds. From expanded services from the Copyright Clearance Center to ALA’s Copyright Advisory Network and more, there are plenty of online resources to help you understand and manage this increasingly vital and complex concern. Learn about what’s available and how to use it.

No time to learn how to podcast or make videos? Seesmic, Utterz, ooVoo, BlogTV, Qik, and Talkshoe are just a few of the new audio and video tools letting people create their own instant web content with a small learning curve. Some are meant for short, quick thoughts by individuals on the go, others for longer conversations among a group connected to the web. Compare these exciting new tools and discuss their roles in community building and collaboration.

Information Today, Inc. invites all conference registrants and exhibitors to a special Exhibit Hall opening reception on Monday,October 20. This is a great time to gather with fellow Internet Librarians and suppliers, renew acquaintances, meet new colleagues, sample tasty goodies, and check out the latest products and services in a relaxed atmosphere.