Tag Archives: library technology conference

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Keynote and session links from Library Tech Conference 2016

Are you feeling like Cinderella because you had to stay home and did not get to go to the Library Technology Conference this year? Me too! I have been hearing how great the keynotes were, so upon further investigation, here are the links that get you a little closer to this year’s action. Brew a cup of tea and take a listen….

  • Safiya Noble is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Studies in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. She conducts research in socio-cultural informatics; including feminist, historical and political-economic perspectives on computing platforms and software in the public interest. Her research is at the intersection of culture and technology in the design and use of applications on the Internet.
    http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/84532162
  • Andromeda Yelton is a librarian and technologist (and former math major and middle school Latin teacher) who is interested in empowering librarians through code. She speaks and writes about coding and learning to code, gender in library technology, conference codes of conduct, ebooks, copyright, technology, and personal branding.
    http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/84566483
  • Feeling really ambitious? You can also find the conference breakout session archives in the conference’s digital repository. Just choose a session, and if any materials are available, then click the download button.
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

What I Learned at the Library Technology Conference

time_alone2_hiresLots of people wanted to go to this year’s conference, but registration closed crazy fast when the 450 seats were full within 30 hours! Macalester College is the conference site, and as is typical, the crowd at this conference is a mix of library types; maybe a bit more of the academics. However, this year I saw an increase in the number of K-12 school media/tech integration people too, which was great!

I could bore you with reporting on sessions I attended, but rather, I include some themes and observations.

Makerspaces

  • One common theme I saw, was that no matter what kind of librarian, maker spaces and 3D printing were far and away most prominent.  However, one thing remained clear in the breakout sessions. While it was acknowledged across library type how much library users enjoy maker spaces, presenters were admittedly a little short on data to support how maker spaces were tied to, or supportive of, curriculum. Everyone was in agreement that more work is needed on that issue. In the K-12 setting, leaps in self confidence were cited as good enough for now, with hopes of deeper integration with curriculum in the future.

Short on space? You don’t necessarily need dedicated space for makerspace activities. What you do need is space for tubs of materials to pull out when it is makerspace time! Seems obvious now!

New Maker Space resources I learned about include:

Theme Two: Social Media and Librarians

For the first time this year, there was no printed conference schedule, but rather the entire conference was on the mobile app, Sched. As attendees had their morning coffee, they created their schedule for the day and mixed it up with  Facebook and Twitter friends at the conference too.

Both in sessions, in hallway conversations, and even  at dinner, I am reminded of how social media has put a fresh new face on how librarians network and stay up to date.  A number of people I talked to said they had never used Twitter until they came to this conference and decided to give it a whirl. Now, they have no idea how they ever “kept up” professionally before Twitter. The people they follow online keep them up to date and sometimes, when they are excited about new discoveries, they share those discoveries too! This is called collaboration.

Breakout session materials are located here and are being added every day as presenters make them available. Videos of all keynote presentations will also be added to this repository site shortly. Please check back often to see what’s new on the site.

Patricia-

 Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/qzmpeb2
General, School Media Specialist

2015 Library Technology Conference offers scholarships

libtech conferenceThe 2015 Library Technology Conference just announced that they will be awarding up to 10 scholarships to staff members from libraries and school media centers.  These scholarships are for those who work in smaller or rural communities, as the conference wants to “promote library technology proficiency and awareness through attendance at the conference.”  The nuts and bolts:

  • applicants must work in a library or school media center in a city, town, or municipality with a population of 30,000 or lower
  • applicants who have not previously been to the conference, or applicants outside of the 7-county Twin Cities metro area, will receive special consideration
  • decisions will be largely based on the short statement (300 words or less) of how the applicant expects to benefit from attending the conference
  • each scholarship will cover registration (for either one or both days) and one night of lodging at a conference hotel (for those travelling from outside of the 7-county Twin Cities metro area)

The 2015 Library Technology Conference is March 18th and 19th.  All scholarship applications must be received by Monday, December 1st, 2014.  Click here to apply!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Library Tech Conference Streams Keynotes

No chance to attend the Minnesota Library Technology Conference at Macalester College on Wednesday and Thursday? You can attend virtually in one of two ways. Live streaming of the keynote speakers opens at 9am each day of the conference, and continues through the conclusion of the keynote presentations. Archived versions of the keynotes will be available at a later date. Tune in to hear these speakers:

  • Mita Williams: Wed, Mar 19, 9:00-10:15 am
  • Barbara Fister: Thu, Mar 20, 9:00-10:15 am

Strategy 2: Are you a Twitter junky? Follow attendees as they use the #LTC2014 hashtag to share exciting thoughts and resources they discover at the conference!

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

It’s a Wrap-ALA!

For those of you who weren’t able to attend the Midwinter conference in Seattle hosted by the American Library Association (ALA) here is a FREE 60 minute webinar! This Friday, February 8th, an expert panel will analyze and discuss library technology trends from the conference. Click here to register.

Panelists: Jason Griffey, Marshall Breeding and Sue Polanka

ALA