Monday, December 8, 2008

Online Collaboration Tools for LITA Camp

I'd like to hear people's thoughts on good ways to collaborate/share content/archive the results of LITACamp. For example, we have some Twitter tags listed on the Wiki (http://litacamp.pbwiki.com/More+Info), but I'm also wondering about setting up some chat rooms, online whiteboards, etc. that would help with collaboration and tracking output of different sessions for presentation to the group as a whole.

Infocamp Seattle, for example, used a UStream channel, people put things up on slideshare, etc. It would be great to have a bunch of relevant tools set up (such as they need setting up) before hand to help sessions run smoothly.

-David

Friday, December 5, 2008

Camp Registration is Open

The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) is pleased to offer:
LITACamp, The Everywhere Library: Creating, Communicating, Integrating
http://www.lita.org/ala/mgrps/divs/lita/litaevents/litacamp/index.cfm
LITACamp, a library technology un-conference, is scheduled for:
Thursday & Friday, May 7 & 8, 2009
OCLC Conference Center in Dublin, OH
LITACamp features a community-driven format. There is no pre-determined session topics or presenters, other than the two daily keynote sessions. Participants create and lead the sessions. Participants determine the topic and format of the sessions, sign up for time slots, and pitch session ideas to all. This format encourages collaboration, interaction, discussion, and real-time innovation.

Our keynotes will be delivered by notables known for pushing library technology to directly serve patrons, and are designed to stimulate discussions and ideas and energize the days' sessions.
Our Keynoters for this year include:
Joan Frye Williams
John Blyberg
Visit the LITACamp wiki for the most current information about the camp, including registration and housing.
http://litacamp.pbwiki.com/
Librarians, information technologists, students and trustees from the user-centered information community are all encouraged to attend this un-conference focused on timely discussions of current library issues, determined by the participants themselves.

Thinking about topics

Recently I had a short IM with David Lankes, after I had read a recent posting of his where he said:
Why can’t we replace the “Read” posters that portray libraries as places of things with “Ask” posters that show them as places of curiosity? Why do library gaming programs have to be some sort of lost leader to reading when gaming is a literacy unto itself? Who said the catalog has to be the public face of the library on the web? WHY CAN”T LIBRARIES REINVENT SEARCH?
The conversation quickly turned to David's program at the 2008 LITA Forum and we were using phrases such as "if it's not fun, why do it" and "aren't we doing what we do because we enjoy it, and hopefully our patrons enjoy it too?" I don't yet have a good name for this topic, but I think it actually goes quite deep into why we're library folk and why we knock ourselves out to provide all manner of information and services to our patrons. Maybe:

We're just here for the fun