Naomi's MLA Conference Notes

MLA Conference I had a good two days - attending and looking and participating in sessions. Some notes on my favorite sessions: The Library of the Future:The Indispendsable Library - we saw photos of contemporary libraries, shared innovated policies and practices that can help your library demonstrate its value to your funders and community members. DLDS State Update - This presentation includes information about the Library Services and Technology Act and new iniatives, Information on the County Capital Grant Program, and Information about the Maryland Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Legislative Update: Get Educated on Library Legislation and Issues - Be an informed advocate! Attendees left with a greater understanding of legislation and issues impacting libraries and the advocacy needs of libraries. The TIG (Teen Interest Group) Meeting was a 'look back" at the history of, and discussion about the future. There were other sights and sounds that were interesting to me.

My Adventures at MLA!

It was my first adventure to the MLA Conference in Ocean City. This year’s theme was “Heaven in 2011”. The weather was wonderful, so it was a bit heavenly! Lol! :)

3 Things I learned :

• You can make something from anything! – Session “Just the Facts” – the title had absolutely nothing that would make you think that we would be making crafts, but that’s what we did. We made a book from 2 sheets of scrapbooking paper and a rubber band! It looked pretty fancy and yet so simple. Yes, it was the highlight for me because aside from LOVING code, I’m a crafty kind of person so I love to be creative. Let’s just say that this little project may end up being an innovative addition to a gift one day!


• PowerPoint really is for everyone! – Session “PowerPoint doesn’t have to suck” – I think the best thing that I learned is that Flickr is a great resource for “Creative Commons” images. The search feature on Flickr makes it easy to find great images.


• A site called “Lifehacker” really is a good site! – Session “Keep it Simple Stupid” – this was a great session with a lot of great sites for virtually every need.

1 thing I squared away:

• Most of what we do here at libraries is because of the creative thinking and resolve that so many have that allows us to do more with less. We all have budget constraints, staffing issues, etc., but we manage to do the best that we can with what we have. There are a ton of “free” resources available and we make the best of what we can get our hands on. Coming from a corporate environment where I was used to buying everything, I realize that just as much can be done, if not more, by using “open source” products. There are really a lot of great developers out there who are more than willing to share their knowledge for a small fee. It’s amazing to see all of the library websites and catalog systems that have implemented “open source” products to build great things!

Things I need to work on:

• Finding and utilizing more “open source” resources. There are tons out there, but now with the resources that I picked up from MLA, I’ll be able to research what’s out there. Lifehacker has a wealth of information. WOW! It’s like a playground where I say “ooohhh, ahhhh” just reading through some of the neat stuff out there. Best “bookmark” that I’ve done in a while!

My first adventure at MLA was a great experience. Definitely worth the trip and the bonus weather was the icing on the cake! Can't wait for MLA 2012!

SLRC Conference April 6, 2011

I attended the welcomes, keynote speaker and good snack times and a session about Programming in the Library. But the best parts for me were: The Teen Reader's Advisory presentation by that staff and the on-screen book covers. Liz Sundermann was up-to-date and thorough with comments and discussion. There was audience participation. The other excellent session for me was the Storytelling For Non-Storytellers session. There was a focus on traditional storytelling techniques as well as techniques using flannel boards, cut and tell, draw and tell, and the use of props. I also spent time in the Children's and in the Teen areas. There's always something new to see and things to ask about. I wish that more staff would take advantage of these in-service opportunities. We do offer them rides, etc. but maybe we should do more. Almost all activities are at a distance for Western Maryland staffs so I know that it is difficult - and the weather always has to be considered.

Jeff Ridgeway and I attended one day of the three day 2011 SoMIRAC (State of Maryland International Reading Association Council) Conference on March 30. This is probably the best conference of any that I attend. Remember that the school systems have Reading Teachers as well as all of the other staffs who would be interested and participate in it - so it is a large conference. We attended sessions that include "You Mean a Real Person Wrote That?'' Itwas about bringing authors to your workplace. The Keynote Speaker, Dr. Danny Brassell, talked bout "Waking Up Your Lazy Readers." He was excellent and the info would apply to public libraries as well as to schools. We also heard the Featured Author, Jay Asher, talk about his fiction book "Thirteen Reasons Why." (good for about 12 - 18 year olds.) He has other books in process. The Featured Speaker for afternoon was Sneed Collard, 111. Every one of his books is fantastic in text and pictures. He was great and we left on a "high." Other time was spent at the many vender booths and interaction with persons we know. The Swan Meadow School in Garrett County was able to get him for a visit to their (Amish/Mennonite) school. I notified the public libraries early on about taking some of their groups to hear him.

Developing Online Patron Tutorials

I attended this webinar because I thought I could create some quick tutorials on how to use Whilbr. It is a quirky program and we've created lots of work arounds. I think it needs a how to search tutorial, how to use zoomify etc.

The program suggested a number of software solutions from relatively cheap - Snagit - to wondrous - Captivate.



I realized that since I would be creating small tutorials, the question of hosting doesn't apply, but for a e-Learning package like Captivate then that question would need to be considered. What was also discussed was sticking with software families - a screen capture software program written by the same company as your video producer. And I know I should look at San Francisco Public Library's process for creating their tutorials.

...

Unrelated, somewhat. I now understand why Julie has a small white board by her desk. Who needs Captivate when you have a white board, some artistic talent and a camera?

CIL: 23 Things and Counting

Staff Member: Julie Zamostny
Event: Computers in Libraries
Location: Washington, DC
Date: March 23, 2011

Program Description: When the Kansas library community participated in a statewide 23 Things program in 2010, it opened up a new way to look at learning virtually, especially for encouraging librarians to continue their learning after the structured program's end. through their Passport to Learning, Braum and Hickey show how to enrich the virtual learning experience. Burns looks at how 23 Things has evolved, its strenghts, its challenges and the "what's next."

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CIL: Avatars & Facebook for Learning

Staff Member: Julie Zamostny
Event: Computers in Libraries (CIL)
Date: March 23, 2011
Location: Washington, DC

Program description: Hear the experiences of a public library using Second Life and an academic library using Facebook to manage courses and engage learners. Paterek discusses how a public library uses different locations and avatars in 3D simulation to facilitate learning and provides examples of virtual classrooms using PowerPoint presentations, live simulations, chat, computer voice applications, and virtual reality. Czech went to the students at Wayne State University with a Facebook group to manage a Productive Tools course.

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