LIANZA Conference 2009 Blog

Did you know that Richard Stallman was interviewed by Kim Hill on Saturday?  I missed it but ended up listening to the podcast yesterday.  It’s pretty interesting listening.  He covers a lot of topics including 911 “conspiracy” theories, airport security in the US and why he considers some kinds of electronic surveillance to be deeply disconcerting in terms of the way they put a lot of power into the hands of law enforcement (which the public then has to take on trust will not be exploited).  Pretty thought-provoking stuff.

His views are perhaps on the more extreme end of the range to my own but I think the basic principle of his arguments are sound.  Kim Hill however seemed quite annoyed with him, repeatedly accusing him of saying things he hadn’t and extrapolating wildly though I suppose it gave him the opportunity to clearly define what his specific view was on several things, but why so grumpy, Kim?  Another surprise is that he sounds a bit like Woody Allen (which is something that a fellow librarian pointed out, and I have to agree).

If you’re looking for a little background radio to listen to this afternoon, why not check out the podcast for yourself? It runs to just over 39 minutes and LIANZA Conference gets a mention (yay!).  I can’t wait to hear what he says in his keynote address.  I wager it’ll generate quite a lot of debate so make sure you get along to that one.  You don’t want to miss out on the “watercooler conversation” that’ll go on afterwards.

Earlybird registration has now closed so those of you who were hoping to get a bit of a discounted Conference registration are now out of luck…or are you?

Were you aware that single day passes to Conference are available?  This option is definitely most beneficial to those of you who are studying as the student rate is only $150.  Yes, you could probably buy a hot pair of shoes for that but will a pair of wedges help you decide where you want to go in your career?  Will they look good on your CV?  Even the most gorgeous footwear can’t do those things.

Still, it’s a fair whack of change, so here’s our breakdown of the key subject areas that pop out on different days so if have to make a choice about which single day you’d like to attend.  Then you can get the most bang for your buck (depending on your area of interest).

Monday

• IT/Web – A real mixed bag of issues from a diverse range of speakers/presenters for Conference’s first day including Richard Stallman’s keynote, the work of the Aotearoa People’s Network Kaharoa, and a discussion of online identities, not to mention coming up with ad hoc IT solutions for a poetry competition.  Web and IT projects also feature in the 3M Awards.
• Health – “Conference Monday” starts with the New Zealand Health Database Consortium AGM in the morning and finishes off with the HealthLIB AGM in the evening.
• Public libraries – Some of the above web and IT sessions are relevant to the public library sector, particularly the 3Ms, People’s Network and Poetry, also of interest to public librarians may be the meetings of the EPIC User group and Cat SIG.

Don’t forget that Monday also features the pōwhiri as well as the Welcome Reception amongst the Exhibitors (so free drinks and nibbles). (more…)

Last week we announced the winner of our Early Bird Registration competition – Andrew Robinson.

He was one of 94 first-time LIANZA members who joined up between 1 June & 31 July 2009, and was therefore entered into the draw to win a full Early Bird Registration.

We thought you might be interested to know a bit more about our lucky winner of this competition, so I threw some curly questions his way last week and now you get to find out a little more about the mysterious Andrew Robinson, Libraries & Customer Services Manager, South Waikato District Council.

Andrew Robinson, South Waikato District Council

So, how long have you worked in the library sector?

“On and off for about 12 years, just started my second year as manager. I have been out of the library scene for a while but definitely enjoying being back.”

What’s the coolest job title you have had?

“Apart from my current one? Systems Administrator Linux/Unix”

What did you want to be when you grew up?

“A professional Basketball player, no wait an Astronaut, nah definitely Batman”

What’s your favourite blog?

“Too busy for blogging but ramonesblog.com – great blog for the world’s greatest band. Of course if someone starts a blog about being a basketball playing superhero who flies a space shuttle – I’m in!”

Favourite NZ holiday destination?

“Anywhere there’s sun, surf and sand.”

Last movie you saw (and did you love it or hate it?)

“Harry Potter and the Half blood prince, it was decidedly average. As usual in Book vs Movie, Book wins!”

Last book you read (and who would you recommend it to?)

“The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb, pub. 2008. Awesome story, fans of Jodi Picoult will enjoy but it has a lot more substance.”

What was the last book you didn’t finish?

“Dune…twice. 3rd time lucky maybe” (mj interjects – my response for this is Lord of the Rings, I can’t finish even the first book)

Have you ever been to Christchurch? If yes, what do you remember most about it? If no, what do you know about Christchurch?

“No I haven’t been to Christchurch so really looking forward to it and to be honest my knowledge is sketchy. I know they have a river and some hills, a cathedral, a retired Wizard, and an average rugby team.”

What are you looking forward to at this year’s Conference?

“I always enjoy the keynote speakers and I’m looking forward to hearing Richard Stallman. What’s particularly beneficial to me is the exposure to what’s happening in libraries and the trends that are emerging, it should be a great conference!”

Thanks to Andrew for answering our questions. We’re hoping that he’ll take away more than a few sketchy ideas about a southern city with a retired wizard and a cathedral.

If you have any other questions that you’d like to throw Andrew’s way, post them here and we’ll see if we can’t get an answer out of him before conference.

If you are all about Web 2 0r 3.0, the semantic web and all the fizz and buzz of new technology, applications and things Webby which Conference sessions will suit you?

Here’s a sampler to whet your appetite:

Richard Stallman: Copyright vs community in the age of computer networks

Talking to the world: using online identities for professional (and personal) communication

Brenda Chawner and Timothy Greig’s session takes on a real issue, identities and blurring the lines between the personal and the professional when it comes to identifying yourself (are colleagues your friends on Facebook? Do you use your real name?):

As … online social networks become more pervasive, people in professional positions increasingly find that their networks include family and friends, as well as colleagues.This blend of personal and professional communication in multiple channels presents them with both challenges and opportunities. Most importantly, it provides a way for them to engage with people outside their immediate circles, but it can also make it difficult for people to know the identity of individuals they communicate with.

Concurrent session 6A: Fully Web 2.0

Library2.0 in rural outposts: developing a digital presence – Michael Parry. This session explores how a small town library has entered the blogosphere http://tararualibrary.wordpress.com/

Implementing Web 2.0 – Paul Hayton. Dunedin Public Library engages with its community via Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, WordPress, Wikipedia and other web 2.0 stalwarts. They’ll talk about how they do it, and how you might like to do it in your library.

Web 2.OhMyGod to Web 2.OhNo – Douglas Campbell, Chelsea Hughes, Courtney Johnston, CJ Wells. This sounds like a ripper from the National Library:

Libraries have fully embraced Web 2.0. We’re blogging, MySpacing, Facebooking, Twittering, Flickring, Beboing and SecondLifing. We’re self-congratulatory. We finally did it! Or did we…? … It’s time to take a look back over the first wave to see how libraries have used and abused Web 2.0. We’ll expose the good, the bad and the ugly, with a view to self-improvement.

LibraryThing

One of the coolest Twopointopy Things is LibraryThing, and Conference brings you the inimitable Tim Spalding on Social cataloguing – What it is, and what it means for libraries.

Sally Tweets

It may be presumptuous of me but I’m guessing of the seven illustrious keynote speakers attending this year’s conference that only one of them has written a pop song.  I could be wrong though.  See the video below for Richard Stallman’s effort praising the benefits of free software (for a somewhat less polished version you can also see the man himself singing acapella)

All together now… “You’ll be free, hackers.  You’ll be free”.  Well, it’s kind of catchy but I can’t see it making the top 40 can you?

I have to admit that when I first saw the photo of the following keynote speaker my immediate thought was “Now, that looks like an interesting guy…”

Richard Stallman is an interesting guy.  Twenty-five years ago he launched the GNU operating system. GNU is free software: everyone has the freedom to copy it and redistribute it, as well as to make changes either large or small.  The GNU/Linux system, basically the GNU operating system with Linux added, is used on tens of millions of computers today.

Since the mid-1990s, Stallman has spent most of his time in political advocacy for free software, and spreading the ethical ideas of the movement, as well as campaigning against both software patents and the extension of copyright laws. Before that, Stallman developed a number of widely used software components of the GNU system, including the original Emacs, the GNU Compiler Collection, the GNU symbolic debugger (gdb), GNU Emacs, and various other programs for the GNU operating system.

Stallman pioneered the concept of copyleft, and is the main author of the GNU General Public License, the most widely used free software license.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of, and philosophy behind, free software, Mr Stephen Fry provides a lovely summary in the video below, which was posted as a happy birthday to GNU.  It’s a rather good watch and I think that Mr Stallman’s ideas about freedom of knowledge and information will find a very receptive audience amongst library professionals.

“The tastiest operating system in the world…and it’s all free”.  Big ideas.  Exciting possibilities.