Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Summit 2013 Meeting #1

Dec. 17th @ 1PM-3PM
Frostburg State University, Lane University Center Rm. 108

In attendance: Chris McGee, Connie Savage, Regina Spiker, Susie Poper, Aliceana Onley, Georgie Dawson, and JZ.


Pt. 1: Getting to know each other and our goals for being on the team
Exercise: using post-it note flip-chart paper, each team member wrote down what they hoped to get out of the experience of being on a team to create a one-day staff development conference; they also shared their concerns and what they hope to contribute.

Chris: wants to get to know colleagues from other counties; wants to contribute his attention to detail, his ability to get it done!, and his cooperative nature. He's concerned about time constraints but works well if given finite tasks and due dates.

Connie: is concerned about tailoring the summit to meet other staff needs (who aren't front-line) and also to meet unique branch needs.

Regina: wants to provide a great summit for our librarians where they can take home concrete ideas and new plans. She is worried about the amoutn of time that will need to be invested to work on this project.

Georgie: wants to contribute to a group of staff who are more administratively active (similar to Connie's concern); she wants to participate to help represent Ruth Enlow.

Aliceana: wants to meet, brainstorm and create a great 2013 Summit; she wants to hear new ideas; she wants to get out of her cubicle to be more engaged with new friends in new spaces; and she wants to learn.

Susie: is concerned about coming up with ideas; realized that she needs to provide more informative feedback when asked to complete evaluations because now she knows how evaluations are actually used to provide feedback!; getting to be involved in a "major project."

Julie: having an opportunity to create an alternative Summit experience; one goal is to work on making the process more engaging for the #makeithappen team; wants to improve on 2011; wants to get to know the team members better.


Pt. 2: The 5 W's and 1 H of The Summit
Exercise: Briefly called attention to the who, what, when, where, why and how of The Summit

Who is our target audience? 
  1. Full and part-time staff from all four library systems (ACLS, RELIB, WCFL, and WMRL).
  2. Volunteers
  3. Substitutes?
  4. Board members
  5. Friends of the Library? 
To Do: By Feb. 11, 2013, Georgie, Aliceana, Chris, and Regina have been asked to get #s of Friends of Library members so we can know how many there are when considering total possible number of participants. 
What do we want participants to walk away with?
  • Excitement
  • Cheerleaders
  • Giveaways
  • Energized
  • Practical take-aways
  • "I like my job!"
  • Kudos - staff appreciation
  • Recharging of batteries
  • Getting to know people / connecting with colleagues / making new friends
  • Having a good time 
When will this happen? 
November 11, 2013

Where will this happen?
To do: By Feb. 11, 2013 the following team members will contact these possible summit locations to gather information on availability, accommodations, pricing, food, etc.
Why will this happen?
JZ will get the official wording from Joe Thompson but until then here's the answer I gave the team: A couple of years ago the WMRL advisory board was asked if they'd support the Regional hosting and facilitating a one-day staff day every other year and the board said yes. So, every other year, the Regional's staff development coordinator is responsible for putting a team together to #makeithappen.
How will we keep Summit notes and progress accessible?
We're going to use this blog with the tag Summit 2013 for every post. Should this format prove ineffective we can always change it. 
Pt. 3: Ideas for Improving Upon Summit 2011
Exercise: The team reviewed the feedback received after the 2011 event and based upon that feedback, we generated ideas for how to overcome some of the weaknesses.
  •  If we require registration, announce the registration date and options a couple weeks in advance in order to give part-time staff a head's up.
  • If we require registration, have folks sign up for the programs they want w/o limiting class size and then just find rooms to accommodate the amount of people. That way if there's a program no one is interested in, we just won't offer it. 
  • Need to improve upon the food - process in which it is served and enjoyed as well as the taste.
  • Make wifi access easier
  • Have sweet (especially Nutella) and savory breakfast items
  • If we have a keynote, keep the presentation shorter and have it at the end of the day
  • Have a shorter yet more concentrated day (maybe 10am-3pm)
Pt. 4: Share Ideas for Themes
 Exercise: team came prepared with ideas for themes that would set the stage for the Summit and then we voted to identify our top 4 themes. To do: JZ is going to create a brief SurveyMonkey and ask staff across all four systems to vote on their favorite theme. Behind the scenes of these themes we're hoping to keep a taste of an unconference. 
The top four themes that emerged are:
  1. Explore, Learn, and Play
  2. Destination Inspiration
  3. Innovation Meets Imagination
  4. We're Trending
Pt. 5: Guests from FSU
Dave Treber from Conference and Event Services brought along two colleagues who work at the Lane University Center to share a little bit of information about FSU's facilities so we might consider them as a location for the Summit. Chris McGee is going to be having conversations with FSU in the future to gather more information and details so we can make a better decision on location by Feb. 11th. First impressions were that it's a very attractive location - all the space we'd need is under one roof, on one floor - besides dining which is on the 2nd floor; wifi and parking sounds hassle free, dining options are large and customizable - they recommended we look at CaterTrax - I'll share the URL when I have it. 
Pt. 6: Wrap Up and Loose Ends
  • Possible speakers and programs: was tabled until after a theme has been chosen.
  • Maker Sapces: was not talked about too much. Chris did say that he and John Taube had talked about this and came to the conclusion that if this is something that ends up fitting the theme of the day that we should focus on a program that teaches how to use your meeting room as a maker space.
  • Transportation: In 2011 and also 2009, the Summit team was not responsible for organizing transportation for the counties' staff however, depending on how the finances play out, we are considering at least getting pricing for charter buses. Our thinking is that if we provide a comfortable mode of transportation folks won't mind traveling as much should we want to hold the event in either Garrett or Washington counties.
 Next Meeting is February 25th @ 1PM-3PM
JZ will find a location for the meeting and let you know ASAP.

No comments: