Changes to the programme – Tuesday

Due to unforeseen circumstances, there has been an alteration to the timing of three sessions on Tuesday 13th October.

For those of you who were planning to attend these sessions, 4C and 5A, there will be a change presentation time.

Here’s are the new session times :

Ursula Cheer & Nat Torkington (Balanced Copyright would be nice) will now be presenting between 11am – 12noon.

Patti Manolis (Libraries building communities in Timor-Leste) will now be presenting at 2.30pm.

Susanne Newton (Samoan library, Australian librarian) will now be presenting at 3.00pm.

Also, some of you may want to catch Nat Torkington’s latest appearance on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon programme this morning. 

The easiest way to find it is to check out this page : http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/ and then do a search for Nat Torkington.

 

Conference from a Heritage Library Perspective

Past Conference-goers

Heritage libraries are great places to work, but they certainly have their challenges.  There are plenty of sessions at the LIANZA Conference to engage and inspire those working in the heritage sector.

Otago University lecturer Chris Brickell will be sharing his experiences using libraries and archives to research his award winning book Mates & Lovers : a history of gay New Zealand. I heard Chris speaking earlier this year, and he’s a great speaker. I’m always interested to hear the challenges researchers face using our collections, and how we can work together as institutions to make access easier.

Unfortunately, Chris is on the same time as Terehia Biddell from Archives New Zealand. Terehia is going to talk about working with iwi to care for and make discoverable taonga in their collections. I have heard such great things about Terehia, and I am sure this is going to be wonderful. Thank goodness the sessions are recorded!

I’m also keen to hear Sam Minchin discuss Auckland City Libraries and the New Zealand Chinese Association collaborating to create the Chinese Digital Community. The content that is being added to this kete is really exciting.

Copyright is something we all have to be up to speed with, so it will be cool to hear Nat Torkington and Ursula Cheer on Tuesday afternoon.

This is just a taste, and other sessions you might want to attend  include a workshop on the Maori subject headings, DigitalNZ and of course the Preservation SIG meeting on Tuesday.

If you are spending a few extra days in Christchurch, you might want to look at some of the events that are part of Beca Heritage Week. Christchurch City Libraries, University of Canterbury Library and many other local heritage institutions are all involved.

 

Conference from an Academic Librarian’s Perspective

There’s heaps of good stuff for tertiary librarians at this year’s conference.  On Monday, we have Simon Hart and Charlotte Brown talking about the Cephalonia method of library instruction.  Usually the  phrase “library instruction” makes me cringe, but Cephalonia sounds very student-centred and I am keen to learn more.

Monday afternoon also sees Terri Elder discussing the process of developing a sculpture trail in the University of Canterbury Library.  It seems like there is a growing trend for University art collections to come under the care of the library. It will be interesting to hear Terri’s ideas on how these collections can be used in teaching and learning.

Tuesday’s B stream is a triple-treat-star-set, featuring sessions on library services for distance learners and faculty-library publishing partnerships.  The icing in the middle is Deborah Fitchett’s unconference style workshop on making allies to support your innovation.  While Deborah works in an academic library, this workshop is bound to relevant to lots of you out there.  I heard there may even be whistles. If you still can’t get enough of unconferency stuff , take part in What would you do? brought to you by CPIT Library’s lovely Elizabeth Whyte and  this guy.  It’s going to be cool.

Succession planning is an issue for all library sectors, and on Wednesday there are two very promising sounding papers on developing potential library leaders.

This is just a small sample of the sessions  that tertiary librarians may want to attend. There’s much more content in the programme like  RFID, the very early TelSIG meeting, Maori subject headings, the keynotes,  the unconference in SOL Square.  Oh I could go on and on.

 

Got something on your mind? Share it at conference

Volunteers?

Facilitator of a freeform interactive session on the rough topic of “Doing more with less”, Elizabeth Whyte is looking for volunteers…

Hello!

We hope you have had a chance to thoroughly familiarise yourself with the LIANZA 2009 Conference programme and that you’ve lined up an interesting few days for yourself.  If you haven’t looked at it already, we’d like to draw your attention to the ‘What Would You Do? – Doing More with Less’ session on Tuesday afternoon.  This has the potential to be a highly interactive and thought-provoking hour and a half where ideas are thrown up, spun around, and looked at from fresh new angles.

However, to ensure success we need to have presenters!

Have you already decided what you’d like to talk about? Would you be prepared to jump up and present on something dear to your heart?  Or, have you got a question or issue you’d like to pose to your audience of participants? Maybe they will have some solutions or even just a new and different way to approach it.

If any of the above sounds like you, please get in touch with either Paul Sutherland (paul.sutherland@ccc.govt.nz) or Elizabeth Whyte (whytee@cpit.ac.nz) by Wednesday, 7 October. Don’t worry if your idea is not fully-formed or even if you don’t have all of the answers. Remember, these presentations are short and snappy conversation starters.

The only ‘rules’ we have are that each presentation must be no more than 5 minutes. If you’d like to use PowerPoint slides, maybe follow the Pecha Kucha formula and use only five:  1 minute per slide = 5 slides. These are not restrictions to make it difficult for you. They are a way to help you distil an idea or issue quickly and succinctly. You’ll have a chance to discuss more once the session breaks out.  Think of it as a doing more with less kind of approach!

We want this time to be your chance to let loose with your creativity and imagination. We can’t do it alone though so don’t delay, get in touch!

 

Presenting at Conference (or how to be the best darn presenter that you can be)

Presenting at Conference can be this easy!

So you submitted an abstract

Then your abstract was accepted – HUZZAHH!!!

Your session is listed in the Conference Programme

And you’ve booked your flights and accommodation in Christchurch.

But the last few nights have been horrible.  You’ve tossed and turned, driven away your partner, counted all of the rivots in the ceiling, and sweated through your favourite pyjamas.

You tried to attend a Conference Presentation Session but they were always the same night as your Star Trek marathons, or the local “stitch and bitch”, and it was just too dark or too hot to get off the couch… 

Now EEEEKKK!!! Conference is only a few days away.

What will you say?  How will you say it?

What if the delegates all get bored to sleep by your powerpoint?

Before you find yourself rocking under the table, here’s something that may help.

Moira Fraser and Paddy Plunket ran a series of workshops during May that focused on how to deliver great presentations.  Their top tips are:

• Always focus on telling your audience something that will be important or interesting to them. 

• Start by telling your audience WHY you think what you have to say will be  important or interesting to them.  This is a useful statement to work out in advance because it helps you stay focussed on your “value proposition”.  Audience members that know why a presentation is useful will pay attention to it differently and remember it better. An example of this kind of statement is “I hope that by the end of my presentation you will have a good understanding of some of the things to do, and some of the things to avoid, when starting up a new service for elderly users”, or “this will give you a framework for designing an information literacy programme in any kind of library or information service”.

• Audiences remember better the more involved they are in the presentation.  In the hierarchy of involvement listening is near the bottom!  Quizzes, practical exercises and discussions require the kind of involvement that helps people to remember.

• Your voice and your body are the most important and sophisticated delivery technology available to you.  Work on delivering your presentation in a confident and engaging tone and with strong body language.

Aoraki held a session in April during which Sally Thompson and Aurelia Arona (amongst others) spoke generally about doing a presentation and what to put on your powerpoint.  Their powerpoints are available online on the Conference Slideshare and contain many good ideas. 

But if you’re still chewing on your computer keyboard, there may still be time to register for the LIANZA Ikaroa presentation skills session.  It’s being held next Tuesday (29 September) at Massey University.  See their page on the LIANZA website for more information and to register online.

If all else fails, don’t forget, the delegates are interested in hearing what you have to say, and they are not there to give you a hard time.  They will forgive you your stumbles, and the odd powerpoint slide.  And there’s always light at the end of the gin bottle…

Do you have any other good ideas?  Post them here and we can share them.

 

One day at a time

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).

 

Special Interest Groups at Conference

You might meet some interesting people

LIANZA sponsors several Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and most of them are taking the opportunity to meet with members during the course of Conference.

These events are scattered throughout Conference, and include formal workshops, AGMs and informal meetings.  I hear that the SLIS one even involves food (Strawberry Fare on Tuesday morning  for breakfast- yummo!), if there was ever a good time to become a special librarian…

More information can be found in the Conference Programme, and on the SIG list-servs.

And if you are organising a SIG event – let us know and we’ll spread the word!

 

The obligations that go with Conference sponsorship…

We all know that attending Conference comes with a price.

And I know that I am the resident “‘tail-alcoholic” on these pages (socialising in SOL Square), but for once I’m not talking about the cost of panadol, water and vitamin C.

No I refer to the customary “feedback session” that you agree to speak at when you receive Conference sponsorship.  Of course this is a negligible cost if you like giving presentations…

But if like me you avoid them like the plague, you may find it useful to find out how other people report back from conferences.  Who knows what tips you could steal from them?

And guess what  – though I expect you might have suspected this all along – there just happens to be one such session being held in the near future. 

On Tuesday 15 September,  Kevin Adams, Gail Pattie and Lynsey Ainsworth, will be talking at CPIT about the conferences that they have attended recently.  Everybody is welcome to attend and the event begins at 6.15pm.  Please RSVP to erin.kimber@canterbury.ac.nz

Though I still suspect that like me, come the end of Conference, you will still be desperately thinking of ways to get out of it.  Maybe a bad headache would work??

 

 

 

Guest Blogger – Elizabeth Whyte, ‘doing more with less’

Today’s post comes from Elizabeth Whyte of CPIT library who is involved with “a session with a difference” at this year’s conference.  Here she lets folks know a little more about what’s in store…

Still a little unsure about what to make of the ‘What Would You Do? – Doing More with Less’ unconference/Pecha Kucha session? Here are a few tidbits of info that might give you the confidence to jump up and present your own creative solutions, ideas, or even pose questions to your audience of participants.

Dan Pink from Wired magazine wrote a short and snappy description about Pecha Kucha and, to illustrate, has had a go at creating and presenting on a topic close to his heart: signs.

You might want to check out the official Pecha Kucha Night site to find a bit about the origins of Pecha Kucha and to get a flavour of what happens at these worldwide events. Those of you lucky enough to be in or near Christchurch or Dunedin will have the chance to experience Pecha Kucha firsthand on September 16th when both cities are hosting a Night.  As you’ll see from the site, they are popping up all over New Zealand!

New Zealand Open Government recently held a Barcamp which they described as an “alternative, participant-driven event “.  Some of you might have attended or heard about others that did.

How do these sessions relate to libraries in particular? Check out Walt Crawford’s wiki of a variety of library-associated unconferences and barcamps held over the past year or two. They should give you a good idea of how these types of sessions have been adapted and used in a library environment.

Our session is ‘in the spirit’ of these sorts of events and will therefore borrow elements from right across all of them. The key thing to remember is that the topics and how they are presented is up to you. Start the conversation here; post your questions and ideas in the comments to get the ball rolling.
Most importantly: Have Fun!

Also, don’t forget Deborah Fitchett’s  ‘Getting People On-side: making allies to support your innovation’ . It promises to be another interactive participant-based session in a similar vein. It’s on in the morning so you could almost have an entire day of un-conferenc-ing !

Paul Sutherland: paul.sutherland@ccc.govt.nz ; Elizabeth Whyte: whytee@cpit.ac.nz

 

A Beginner’s Guide to LIANZA Conference

Highlighters at the ready

For many of you LIANZA Conference 2009 will be one of several that you’ve attended over the years. For others it will be the first time. With exactly one of these full-on library-fests under my belt I thought that I would make some suggestions of what newbie conference attendees can expect. How best to tackle the conference beast if you will.

First up is the programme. You’ll need to print this out and grab yourself some highlighter pens.  In a colour of your choosing highlight all conference events to do with free food or drink (morning teas, especially the newcomers morning tea so you can suss out the rest of the newbies, also lunches and afternoon teas)  Include any other socialising possibilities such as SIG meetings and of course the SOL Square evening.  These are the backbone around which the rest of the conference programme (and your exhausted body) will hang.

In a different colour highlight all the keynote speaker sessions.  While these might not be tailored specifically to your role or job, the keynote speakers are always interesting.  They round out the themes and set the tone for the conference and have a tendency to be pretty inspirational.  Plus, these are likely to be the topic of “water cooler” chat and you don’t want to miss out there.

In another colour highlighter (okay, you could use all the same colour but then it would be a lot less like a fun craft project then wouldn’t it?) try and pick out the sessions that you think will be of use in your role, and maybe a couple in areas you might be interested in in the future, after all it’s all about professional development.

Try to leave yourself an empty slot or two to go shopping/get your nails done/feed some ducks by the river or whatever it is you do to chill out because though it’s all very well and good to highlight away on paper, when it comes to the actual conference it’s an intellectually and physically exhausting few days.  If you don’t take a least a little time out you’ll go spare.

If there’s something that you really want to go to on Wednesday morning, you’d best bear that in mind on Tuesday night.

In years past the Exhibitors hall has gained a reputation as a veritable El Dorado of corporate freebies.  There will be free things but in the current climate it might not be the avalanche of goodies you’ve been led to expect.  And who needs a bunch of plastic rubbish anyway?  Take things that you think you may actually use rather than grabbing anything and everything like a kid in a candy shop.  My advice is that some kind of tote is good, and you can never have too many pens.

So that’s my “conference wisdom”.  Any other tips from conference veterans for first timers? Please comment below.