Library Banter: 2009

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Nevada Library Association Conference, Elko 2009

I went to present results from my sabbatical research, unfortunately I only presented to seven people and garnered a big conference planning tip: DO NOT offset workshops.

It went like this:

1:30 - 2:30 Session 1, Session 2, Session 3
1:30 - 3:00 Session 4
1:30 - 4:30 session 5 (a business meeting)

2:30 - 3:45 Session 6
2:45 - 3:45 Session 7
3:15 - 4:30 Session 8
3:15 - 4:30 Session 9

Now you figure out what you'll go to? NOT a good way to maximize attendance, particularly with that big ol business meeting happening. What's particularly funny is that the sessions on Day 1 were synchronized and well planned. I couldn't really believe what was happening. I've never presented to fewer than a couple dozen in years. I get good reviews/evaluations, and this was really surprising. Ah well, at least I tried. The eight of us actually did have a nice session together.

Two great things about this conference. The first was the keynote speaker Nick Arnette, comedian and educator. He spoke about bringing fun into the workplace.

The other fabulous thing was Lamoille Canyon. See more pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/4014767880/in/set-72157622591547636/

Monday, September 21, 2009

PNLA, Missoula 2009

Favorite Sessions:

Flickr & Digital Image Collections @ Your Library – Jason Clark & Bonnie McCallum, Montana State University: http://www.lib.montana.edu/~jason/talks.php

A terrific session, it covered why they chose Flickr, how they did it, and why it works. I learned a LOT and now need to update my own photos to include geotagging, better descriptions; internal links back to collections/sets, links out to my own pages, and improving search engine indexing. I had no idea that Flickr had statistics for my account. This was probably the most informative/useful session I attended.

Free Yourself from Copyright and Get Creative with Creative Commons – Connie Strittmatter and Rene Tanner, Montana State University

This was another solid session. It included information on what Creative Commons is, is not, and how it works. They showed the youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io3BrAQl3so and I highly recommend it. Other useful links include: http://www.creativecommons.org, and http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FFAQ

My one indulgence was dinner at Ciao Mambo, http://www.ciaomambo.com/ an AMAZING Italian Restaurant on Higgins Ave. in Missoula. I totally recommend the Quattro Formaggio Ravioli and the Zeppolis (bite sized pizza dough, deep fried like donuts, dusted with powdered sugar and served with dipping sauce…)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Bozeman Public Library - Community Room

Complete with drop down screen, white board, kitchenette, and piano

Bozeman Public Library - Baskets

An easy way to collect a pile of books for checkout:

Bozeman Public Library - Donor Wall

Signage honoring donors

Bozeman Public Library - Magazine Exchange

This is a marvelous idea! The bins are available for people to put magazines they don't want and for others to come by and pick them up, all for free.