I’m headed to Anaheim, CA next week for the ALA 2012 annual conference. Busy time, that conference! My time will be full of meetings, sessions, and the exhibit floor, touching base with a bunch of techie vendors.
I’ll be giving a few presentations while I’m there, too. Please stop by and say “hi!” Here’s where I’ll be:
- Sunday, June 24, 10:30 a.m.–noon. RUSA President’s Program: Library in Your Hand: Mobile Technologies for Exchanging Information with Patrons. The MARS Conference Program Planning Committee has produced a program on the use of mobile devices in libraries as communication tools between librarians and library patrons. Mobile devices are increasingly being used to provide libraries with the opportunity to disperse information at the exact point of need. This program will explore the importance of libraries supporting mobile technologies for the dissemination and acquisition of information. Other speakers include Joan Lippincott, Associate Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, will speak about why libraries should embrace communicating with patrons through mobile devices, and Kristin Antelman, Associate Director for the Digital Library at NCSU Libraries, will speak about mobile initiatives at NCSU including WolfWalk, a photographic guide to the history of NCSU optimized for mobile devices.
- Monday, June 25, 2012, 8:00am to 10:00am. Let’s Work Together: Integrating Social Media, Online Marketing, and Outreach (RUSA). Speakers will discuss how their organizations have reinvented their online presence using social media as a way to interact with their communities. They’ll also address their personal and organizational investments in the implementation of an ongoing online, socially-interactive presence; give hints and advice regarding the implementation of new media and how these roles and responsibilities are assigned to staff; identify the criteria they used to develop their social media plan; and explain goals and measurement tools for keeping on track.  Other speakers include Jen Robinson, Marin County Free Library and Marshall Breeding.
- Monday, June 25, 5:30pm – 7:00 pm. Battledecks! Battledecks is not for the faint of heart. It is a nerve-wracking event where those competing must create a coherent presentation from a deck of slides that they have never seen before. This is truly the perfect way to end your conference experience as these courageous individuals compete for the glory of being crowned the next champ.
Say hi if you see me, and cheer me on for Battledecks – I’ll need all the help I can get!