Michael Edson, a strategist and thought leader at the forefront of digital transformation in the cultural sector, spent many years as the director of web and new media strategy for the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex. His quest to accelerate the speed and impact of transformational change in the GLAM sector has led him to his current big challenge: creating a new “museum for humanity,” the Museum for the United Nations—UN Live. Michael believes that digital platforms, play and having fun are a critical part of engaging communities to solve the world’s most serious challenges. Be in inspired and gather lots of ideas for digital transformation in your library, campus, community, or organization.

Our popular and knowledgeable speaker is always reinventing and transforming the world of search. Bates is a super searcher, an annual favorite whom attendees flock to hear as she continues to surprise and impress with new strategies, techniques, and tips for getting the most out of web research. The host of Searchers Academy (where even more secrets are shared) provides an up-to-the-minute and jam-packed with valuable tools-and-tips talk that’s always a hit! Bates tells us she takes 2 days to research this session, so take advantage of her knowledge and gather tips and tools to share with others!

The rise of smart speakers and smart displays, coupled with changing cellphone technologies, is moving search from text to image and audio input and output. Catch up on the latest search technologies ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to augmented reality (AR) and learn future search techniques for information professionals so that we can boldly go into the future while remaining the search experts our clients need.

Hear how one public library and one academic library dealt with discovery layers in their communities. KPL began the process of developing its own custom discovery tool for its ILS platform to integrate both the catalog and library websites seamlessly. Using APIs, and web services with Sirsi Dynix, KPL was able to create a fully functional discovery layer integrated into the WordPress CMS platform. Wilson discusses the different facets and advantages of creating a custom discovery tool, the various technologies and coding required to accomplish this type of hybrid system for your own library, and building a case for a custom tool as well as strategies for adoption. As a vast majority of California colleges are moving into the ExLibris Primo interface, the major question is about connections, consortia, and ILL to provide material discovered. Does the process of understanding the discovery layer highlight scholarly communication or confuse students, especially undergrads who have finally moved away from Google Scholar and into library resources? Carpenter discusses how to present material to the research community and how to use the resource to limit materials viewed.

Each day, Price curates thousands of news items and reports to publish online briefs that thousands of people depend upon for reliable, usable information. He shares how to build an open web resources database that suits your clients. He elaborates on the tools and techniques he uses to build a timely collection and gives you a road map to build your own!

Intelligent technologies are changing how we search. Ojala begins this session by discussing how smart searchers know that keyword matching is no longer enough and how they are adapting their search techniques to new realities. For example, search engines now understand the context and intent of our searches; textual analysis, particularly with the ability to deal with Big Data, reveals previously hidden information; searching itself has moved beyond words to visual, image, video, and audio searching. Several new searchers then discuss how they are learning to be supersearchers!

Have you redesigned your library’s website lately? If not, then it’s probably time! Our popular and very experienced speaker discusses the process— from start to finish—his library went through during its website redesign. What caused the redesign? What new features were incorporated into the redesign? What hurdles had to be overcome? How was buy-in achieved from staff and from customers? Come and learn some tips and current best practices on redesigning your website.

In an environment where web content is created by multiple authors distributed throughout library departments, how can we improve the user experience beyond the homepage and across our interactions? One way to face this challenge is through the creation of foundational user-centered documents, including personas and journey maps, for individual library departments or processes. In fall 2018, the UC Santa Cruz Library created an undergraduate Usability Student Assistant position. This session explores how this type of student position is mutually beneficial to both the student and the library, reasonable expectations around this type of student work, and lessons learned for future projects. It uses the library’s ILL department as a case study, discussing interviews with subject matter experts, development of personas and journey maps, and subsequent website and systems recommendations. Learn how personas and journey maps can be used to improve sections of library websites, as well as how and why undergraduate students can be engaged in this type of UX work.

In this open-ended conversation, our speakers discusses our role and responsibility in managing the digital health of our community of users and ourselves. They take a deep dive into the following questions: When we teach social media skills to our patrons, are we presenting the pros and cons of these services in an honest way? When we encourage our patrons to connect with us via social media, are we considering the toll that social media may take on their privacy, their ability to critically think about information, and their mental health? As social media professionals, what are we doing about our own mental health? Are we throwing ourselves under the bus of 24/7 brand and reputation management? Or is “digital detox” a self-care myth? They will also share how to separate an organizational brand from a personal one, how to “friend” the community, how to schedule social media so it’s not 24/7, and how you need a customer commenting policy or guidelines to deal with people getting out of hand. Join this interesting and interactive session!

Bowen compares two phases of usability testing on a library research guide for an upper-division undergraduate class. Specifically, he examines student reactions to the length of the left-side navigational menu, and the corresponding question of whether they prefer more information up front (thus creating a longer menu), or more information in subpages (thus limiting menu length). Statistical and qualitative analysis of student reactions is presented. AlHamad discusses improving UX through access and authentication systems. Mobile application and social network platforms have evolved from passwords to fingerprints to face detection authentication. In contrast, the main authentication systems, such as Shibboleth, EZProxy, OpenAthens, and Project Muse, are still functioning in the same way they used to work years ago, relying on creating users accounts or connecting to institutions’ LDAPs. Awareness of open access publishing is increasing, and initiatives to move from a subscription-based model to a “Read and Publish” model are taking place.

We’ve all seen good and bad websites, but these library leaders from academic and public libraries choose several of each type, critique them, and help you understand what the most important features and functions are for making your library website engaging to your audience and successful for your stakeholders.

We are taught in library school and in many advocacy training sessions that stories will lead to public support and action. The problem is that the storytelling model of advocacy relies on trusting our supporters and leaders to take action on good ideas. However, if the previous few years are an indication, this simply is no longer the case. Sweeney explores the significant amount of work that is necessary beyond storytelling to engage supporters and influence leaders in order to enact change through true organizing. He discusses the use of Big Data, messaging, and using digital tools and platforms and specifically focuses on how to identify, cultivate, and empower supporters in order to encourage real and tangible action to build support for funding libraries and information services.

Online maps, budget apps, open data portals, even your library’s website: In small towns and large cities alike, “civic technology” improves the relationship between people and their government. Civic technologist volunteers and government geeks are now bringing the innovations of Silicon Valley to bear on the challenges and day-to-day matters of Main Street. Libraries, as respected local government entities, can both represent and teach their patrons as new technology is introduced in the community. Learn how your library can help local geeks and local govs come together to make digital projects that benefit everyone, with tons of examples! No tech skills required to learn at this session.

From traffic safety to creating digital media labs from closets to bringing in greenery, our libraries are definitely changing. Carmel Valley Road runs the length of the Carmel Valley (near our conference location) and is a place of wildlife and natural beauty studded with restaurants, wineries/ tasting rooms, galleries, and other points of interest. Between the local residents and tourists, the road is heavily traveled and, unfortunately, is the scene of many serious, sometimes fatal, traffic accidents. A fatal accident taking the life of a 16-year-old girl in July 2018 became the catalyst for two traffic safety forums held at the Carmel Valley Branch Library, which led to positive changes on Carmel Valley Road. Our second presenters share how you can make positive changes inexpensively—from closet to digital media studio! They cover one library’s entire process of turning a storage closet into a fully functioning digital media studio for less than $8,000.

Inspired by last year’s initiative to demonstrate the library’s value as a partner in student success, Price and Harden continue to explore innovative ways to educate their educators. As textbook costs remain one of the roadblocks to student success, our speakers challenged not only faculty, but also the administration, to become institutional partners in a textbook affordability initiative. During the course of the last year, realizing that sometimes a successful initiative must be everyone’s initiative (and not solely the library’s), our speakers worked with senior administrators to gain momentum on the initiative. Along the way, our speakers realized the faculty needed “training” and education to dispel myths about OER, expose the truths, and create opportunities to save students money as well as redesign their courses with more flexibility in mind. Our speakers continue to demonstrate the library’s value as they lead OER outreach, support the instructional design team in modifying OER course materials, and challenge faculty to participate in the library’s newly launched campaign “Do you have the ‘Right Stuff’ to be a Textbook Hero?” Our speakers offer tips and insights on how to get librarian’s roles and expertise recognized by both administrators and faculty.

Hear how the OPPL measures impact of community engagement and outreach with its new process of gathering and sharing information. Learn how it uses its Community Engagement Directory to review staff meetings and build relationships with local influencers, committees, and organizations. Our speakers share how they define levels of engagement and quantify library value for stakeholders. Yale also describes how the Engagement Directory integrates with other tools she uses to collect outreach programming and book bike usage data.

Our speakers, entrepreneurs who has been working in the AI field for many years, provide an introduction to artificial intelligence— what it is, what it is not, and how it fits with cognitive computing, chatbots, and machine learning. They address some of the current uses in libraries and other industries, as well as how libraries and information environments might use it in the future.

What do you need to think about before bringing advanced technology into your community, library, or organization? How do you introduce it to staff? Will they worry about being replaced or losing their jobs? And how do you get machines to operate at optimal efficiency? Machines need to learn to be effective, whether it’s Siri, Alexa, or Watson. And people have to adapt to the machines. Join us and learn more!

How are libraries using robots now? As storytellers, meet/ greet customer service operators, telepresence units? Our experienced practitioners share their challenges and learnings dealing with robots and AI applications. Learn their secrets before you move ahead with your AI and robotic plans! Hear their thinking about implications for the future too.

Here’s a challenge for all libraries! The world is moving toward the next possible interface to replace computers, keyboards and mice. Libraries have already explored new ways of human-machine interactions with AR/VR goggles, smartphone applications, robots, and IoT devices. However, one of the rising issues is that the knowledge gained and the technologies developed in one platform cannot always get transferred to another easily. Let’s try to develop library-specific technologies for all platforms. Based on the development experience with the NAO humanoid robot at Palo Alto City Library, our speaker has started a platform- neutral library AI bot framework. It is used by the robot and a client-based chatbot. It has also been tested with a Raspberry Pi based smart device and a web-based chatbot. The machine learning module in this framework happens in one single place and automatically gets updated in all platforms where it is used. The framework can be easily shared with other libraries that are interested in developing a similar bot service.

Will librarians be replaced by robots? Perhaps the better question is: How can we position ourselves to become indispensable? Using Gigaom’s Robot Jobs Test (a quiz that calculates the odds that a job will be safe for at least the next 10 years), we analyze each question and discuss how we can apply our skillsets and adjust our approaches to work so that our answers are those that make us the least expendable. We also talk about how we can obtain new knowledge and training to diversify our resumes, in ways that require little money or support from our current organizations. Leave this session with an action plan to become robot-proof!

Do you want to still be reading ALL CAP TWEETS in the future? Didn’t think so. How do you teach digital-age learners to powerfully and critically create and consume information and ideas? Learn about tools and resources to craft savvy knowledge constructors and information curators in your schools.

Central Unified features three school literacy outreach programs. These programs are easily duplicated for those who want to share the love of reading and the importance of being a giving member of the community. Hear about strategies for launching a program and how to work collaboratively with teachers to ensure the success of the program.

How did a librarian with no 3D design experience start teaching a 3D design class that is now one of the most requested electives at school? You don’t have to know everything about 3D to create a successful and meaningful program. 3D design engages students in the design thinking process while creating opportunities to solve real problems by creating viable solutions. Moore shares 3D printer guidelines, tutorials, lesson plans, and websites that have helped make this course a success. You, too, can teach 3D Design!

Open education resources are freely available courses, textbooks, and more that are licensed for reuse. Incorporating them can save money, empower teachers, and provide students with relevant, high-quality content. Explore OER resources and considerations for successful implementation in your school. Learn how participants of the Reaching Out IMLS grant are utilizing OER and technology tools to provide high-quality content and impact student learning and professional development in their districts.

Our popular and knowledgeable speaker amazes once again by presenting useful and cool tools that teachers and educators have never heard of, but will definitely be able to use in their classrooms, libraries and communities.