Now that our smartphones can not only search the web for us but also predict the fastest route to work, how do info pros set themselves apart from anyone with access to Google? This full-day workshop looks at what is innovative, creative, and digitally transforming in advanced web search, research, and analysis. Searchers Academy allows you to interact with a series of industry experts who share their ideas and expertise in the field of research on the web and in social media. There’s always something new to be learned from these leading-edge info pros. Participants should have basic experience with web searching, but even searchers with an extensive searching background will come away with a new attitude and new resources and tools for more effective and strategic searching. Expect to have your assumptions challenged about effective search techniques, strategies, and approaches.

Academy topics include:

Libraries require appropriate technology in order to best fulfill their strategic missions. They invest in many types of tools for managing their collections, enabling discovery for patrons, and fulfilling access in the most efficient way. As the proportions of electronic and digital content continue to increase, libraries need to align their technology infrastructure. In this half-day workshop, Breeding outlines some of the types of technology products and services available to help libraries face these challenges. The workshop focuses on the issues raised by the attendees to help guide their development of technology strategies which best serve their organizations.

Immerse yourself in the tech of the future. Understand what artificial intelligence is, what it means for our communities, and how we can use it to engage our members and customers. Hear about the challenges and opportunities as well as the resources you can check out to learn more and share with your colleagues. Get ready to face the future with this in-depth intro and interactive, thought-provoking discussion. Also get a sneak peek at complimentary learning experiences and sessions happening at the conference.

In spite of the positive and progressive proliferation of digital tools and means to find and consume information and to connect socially, Libraries remain the physical space in every community where people will find access, beyond physical and digital divides, to tools, content, spaces, programs, services and to each other as they seek, create and share new knowledge. Transforming service models and physical spaces by first harnessing the interests and aspirations of the community through meaningful engagement and intentional innovation builds the capacity and strength of individuals and the larger community. Join Sue Considine for an interactive session to build your road map to meaningful community engagement through community led making.

How do we design for changing technologies and flexible smart spaces? How do we incorporate new gadgets, apps, and technologies to engage our communities? Get some insights and ideas for planning for the future for successful user library experiences.

Technology has changed the face of libraries and is continuing to change how we work and how we deliver services to customers. This workshop introduces emerging technology trends and shows how those trends are reshaping library services. Examples are provided of how to incorporate these evolving trends into libraries. Attendees learn what trends to look for, find out the difference between a technology trend and a fad, and get ideas on how their library can respond to technology as it emerges.

This half-day workshop, presented by early adopters and library practitioners, shares what it takes to start a community program based around augmented and virtual reality (AR/ VR). During the workshop, participants gain an appreciation of the history of this bleeding-edge technology and learn how all the basic hardware/ software components work to create engaging experiences in your library and far beyond it. An HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, Google Cardboard, a DIY hologram viewer, and other technologies are present, so participants have an opportunity to play with all the latest and greatest AR/VR technologies as well as identify opportunities to use these technologies in their communities.

Need a stretch after a day of workshops or traveling on airplanes? Want to hear some of the lore of Cannery Row and see some of the sights? Join our native librarian as she leads a walking tour from the Marriott to Cannery Row before our Games & Gadgets evening networking event!

Join our gamers and gadget lovers for an evening of fun, playing, learning, and networking. See how you can transform your thinking, your programs, and your spaces with the latest games, gadgets, and ideas! Share with a poster about what your library is doing with creative making and makerspaces. Play, make, and fill your bingo card for a chance to win a free registration to next year’s Internet Librarian! Led by Brian Pichman and Tod Colegrove this event starts your conference experience with lots of learning and laughing! Refreshments included.

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.

What are the practical implications of an AI-enabled world? As we think about the possibilities for digital campuses, corporations, and communities in the future, it is important to keep in mind the limits of technology in solving social problems. Our speaker, author, and professor looks at the inner workings and outer limits of technology, and explains why we should never assume that computers always get things right. Making a case against “techno-chauvinism”—the belief that technology is always the solution—Broussard looks at why self-driving cars don’t really work and why social problems persist in every digital Utopia. If we understand the limits of what we can do with technology, Broussard tells us, we can make better choices about what we should do with it to make the world better for everyone.

Protecting privacy while leveraging technology to accomplish positive change is becoming a serious challenge for individuals, communities, and businesses. This facilitated, hands-on workshop enables you to learn more about what a privacy expert is, the role they can play, and the impact and influence they can have in the world today. With the help of experienced practitioners, discuss strategies for positioning and promoting librarians as privacy experts in their communities. Join us for an unusual opportunity to not only learn about a critical issue, but walk away with a plan to position yourself and your library with unique value as a privacy “center of competency” in your community!

Protecting privacy while leveraging technology to accomplish positive change is becoming a serious challenge for individuals, communities, and businesses. This facilitated, hands-on workshop enables you to learn more about what a privacy expert is, the role they can play, and the impact and influence they can have in the world today. With the help of experienced practitioners, discuss strategies for positioning and promoting librarians as privacy experts in their communities. Join us for an unusual opportunity to not only learn about a critical issue, but walk away with a plan to position yourself and your library with unique value as a privacy “center of competency” in your community!

Get a taste of possibilities from the toolkit and website available for libraries to use design thinking in their own communities—a proven way of working that will help you understand the needs of your patrons and engage your communities like never before. Led by two passionate European library promoters and consultants, this short introduction with supporting materials will change your perspective and provide you with lots of ideas and insights! Seehttp://designthinkingforlibraries.com.

This hands-on lab requires you to use your favorite device along with easy tools provided to manipulate data and create new and exciting representations of information. Visualize useful info for your community by using the techniques you practice in this first-ever data lab!

This hands-on lab requires you to use your favorite device along with easy tools provided to manipulate data and create new and exciting representations of information. Visualize useful info for your community by using the techniques you practice in this first-ever data lab!

Spatial computing is a new form of computing that combines computer vision and artificial intelligence to seamlessly integrate visual content into the real world around us. Hear more about the tools, devices, platforms, and implications for these technologies that can be used in learning, teaching, and more.

No building? No problem! Our speakers describe how they reach their communities virtually. Building on their public library’s The Great Give Back, a community service initiative created to raise awareness and provide opportunities for patrons to participate in meaningful, service-oriented experiences for one day, Alcalde describes more virtual possibilities. He discusses how those hardwired with the need to continuously help their communities, can use modern technology, both as institutions and individuals, to lend helping hands in a multitude of ways, from large-scale efforts to simple apps. Our second presenters illustrate how to make an open house engaging when it takes place entirely online. They use their library as an example and describe their first virtual open house for students, faculty, and staff. They discuss how the use of both live and asynchronous events, complete with lively competition and prizes, led to a successful first open house. They share their triumphs and setbacks.

This talk highlights two interactive learning experiences using new technologies as well as some opportunities for librarians in academic classrooms. Masters shares the unique considerations of integrating a virtual dissection table, an Anatomage Table, into a university library’s public space. It enables active learning through the virtual exploration of life-size human anatomy. Hear about faculty perspectives, key integrations, best practices, and resources developed over 4-plus years of implementation. At Palo Alto City Library, Lou is integrating fun Raspberry Pi technologies into library programs like Sensory Storytimes. She coded a Python script for a sensory game that combines sight, hearing, touch, and feel. The game is designed to automatically start when the Raspberry Pi is plugged in. The kids can connect up to 12 colorful vegetables and/or fruits to the Raspberry Pi. When a kid touches any vegetable or fruit, he/she hears a sound it “makes”, such as the clucking of chicken, the mooing of cows, the sound of raindrops, a piano note, a drum sound, and so on. Corrigan discusses opportunities for librarians who make their way into a wide variety of classes, both physically and virtually, whether serving as the instructor for a session or two, embedded into a semester-long course, observing teaching faculty or other librarians to improve our own craft, or conducting any number of other outreach possibilities. He shares how librarians are in a unique position to not only see a variety of ways technology can be used in the classroom, but to proactively take new technology to classes and/or introduce it to faculty and students.

Established by an Act of Congress in 1931, the Library of Congress’s National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped provides Braille and “talking books” to eligible U.S. residents as embossed paper (Braille), digital files on cartridges played on digital talking book machines (DTBMs), and downloadable files for a mobile app. Schwartz will briefly share the history of NLS and its various technological innovations, who is eligible, and how to apply via the NLS network. He also describes the various services and collections of NLS, including the website, catalog, and “BARD” (Braille and Audio and Reading Download) as an online application for a computer and as a mobile app for a smartphone or device. Strege discusses how the number of Americans experiencing blindness and visual impairment is expected to double by 2050 and how readers who live with vision loss can use new technology to continue their lifelong love of books and learning. Forrest discusses what accessibility “looks like” for your patrons. As governments pass legislation enforcing accessible standards, the web is playing catch-up to the physical spaces we use every day. User interfaces are becoming more sophisticated, and it’s easy for developers and designers without disabilities to overlook the simple things that many rely on to make sense of your library’s site. Topics discussed include common accessibility problems (with examples), and tools we use to validate accessibility issues. Get a practical understanding of accessibility essentials with no technical background necessary.

Established by an Act of Congress in 1931, the Library of Congress’s National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped provides Braille and “talking books” to eligible U.S. residents as embossed paper (Braille), digital files on cartridges played on digital talking book machines (DTBMs), and downloadable files for a mobile app. Schwartz will briefly share the history of NLS and its various technological innovations, who is eligible, and how to apply via the NLS network. He also describes the various services and collections of NLS, including the website, catalog, and “BARD” (Braille and Audio and Reading Download) as an online application for a computer and as a mobile app for a smartphone or device. Strege discusses how the number of Americans experiencing blindness and visual impairment is expected to double by 2050 and how readers who live with vision loss can use new technology to continue their lifelong love of books and learning. Forrest discusses what accessibility “looks like” for your patrons. As governments pass legislation enforcing accessible standards, the web is playing catch-up to the physical spaces we use every day. User interfaces are becoming more sophisticated, and it’s easy for developers and designers without disabilities to overlook the simple things that many rely on to make sense of your library’s site. Topics discussed include common accessibility problems (with examples), and tools we use to validate accessibility issues. Get a practical understanding of accessibility essentials with no technical background necessary.

Almost every organization has tales of scattered regional information, lack of standardization, limited access, and beyond. These issues are made even more complex considering paying twice for access is never cost-effect while paying for information that is unknown or inaccessible simple doesn’t make sense! TechnipFMC, a global leader in subsea, onshore/offshore, and surface technologies, is a relatively newly merged company, with similar tales as other organizations. A group of employees from different locations across the globe, and operating under different names, found they were librarians at heart and in practice. This grass-roots effort, growing coalition of knowledge management, records management, technical documentation, and library services is developing a solution for employees at global and local levels in the creation of a Virtual Resource Center (VRC). By no means is the creation of the VRC, known as a virtual library in other circles, a new invention. Running 20-plus years, the Internet Librarian Conference is fantastic proof of the value virtual libraries bring to public, corporate, academic, and specialized spaces. Recognizing the gap between the need for, and the access to, information, TechnipFMC is bucking the trend of cutting access to reference, information, and collaboration resources.

Many libraries employ personnel who deliver technical support to patrons, while also being responsible for providing technical leadership and assistance to their librarians and library staff members. In February 2018, the Kaiser Permanente Libraries’ technology team began using a shared customer service platform to provide internal technical support to their fellow librarians. Using the platform resulted in a librarian-facing support page, which enables the team to seamlessly route troubleshooting inquiries, error reports, and requests to the appropriate person. The platform includes searchable FAQs to empower the librarians to immediately find answers to their questions, access step-by-step instructions and tutorials, and view alerts about ongoing issues. In addition to FAQ views, the team is now able to capture metrics on the tech-related problems they solve and the training they provide to their peers.

Want to know what to focus on for 2020? (Yes that’s next year!) Hear from our experienced and future-focused librarian as Bates discusses strategic approaches to a transformative technology, Artificial Intelligence! Just as early online services didn’t just improve on the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature but revolutionized how information is accessed, so librarians and info pros need to look at AI from a different point of view and watch for opportunities to lead the AI discussion within their organizations. Our next two practitioners discuss the changing roles of corporate librarians or information chameleons becoming go-to pros by translating info pro skills across silos! Ford provides tips on bridging the gap between technologists and practitioners and how knowledge workers excel in projects across companies/ firms that cross boundaries of many different departments. She says adaption, innovation, and a keen interest in learning earns us a seat at the table for many large initiatives. Dayrit says it takes experience, knowledge, and knowing people in the organization to create one’s self to be the “goto” person. Through word-of-mouth in a large organization, she has been considered that person. If you are looking for a great way to engage with members in your organization, especially those at the top, Dayrit shares her story and gives you some tips in reaching this level in your profession.

BJC Healthcare, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare organizations in the U.S., is comprised of over a dozen healthcare entities, as well as an academic institution, Goldfarb School of Nursing. Many of those entities subscribed to Ebsco’s CINAHL database, individually, which wasn’t at all cost-efficient, (as Supply Chain pointed out!). BJC Healthcare worked with Ebsco, for one single enterprise-wide subscription. Implementation began in early 2019, with a team representing BJC librarians, nurse educators, supply chain, and BJC IT personnel—all with varying levels of knowledge and expertise. Ebsco’s biomedical database executives and trainers were there, either in person, or on the phone. There have been laugh-out-loud sessions, as well as the occasional “Huh?” moment, but everyone involved is excited about this collaboration.

The MITRE InfoDesk, a corporate research library, is transforming its physical space into a Learning Center environment through the introduction of consumer technologies. MITRE is a private, not-for-profit corporation that operates federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), long-term strategic partners to the U.S. government. MITRE works in the fields of aerospace, defense, healthcare, homeland security, cybersecurity and more. The InfoDesk showcases relatively easy-to-learn virtual/ augmented reality, robotics, and game design products, to name a few. The initiative includes a Library of Things lending collection and a self-service 3D printer. InfoDesk librarians conduct demos, workshops, and one-on-one training to introduce staff to these new technologies. Last year, they organized a company-wide maker fair that attracted 44 makers and over 250 attendees as well as a Star Wars Day workshop for 100 staff. Leverage their journey to inform the development of your own library-based learning community.

Not only is technology changing the face of libraries, but it continues to change how we work and how we deliver services to customers. King focuses on emerging technology trends and how those trends are reshaping library services. He illustrates by showing stats from his library about how ebook usage is going up, how mobile needs are changing, and more. King incorporates a mix of emerging tech trends and emerging public library trends into one short and speedy talk! Schramm shares the latest on smart communities and the opportunities for libraries to participate in these programs. Get lots of ideas and inspiration from our fun and experienced speakers.

Want to create a cookbook of treasured family recipes? Looking to get an article or book published but not sure where to go? Very few libraries offer software enabling local authors, creators, and community members to contribute their works to the library’s collection. Minitex, the Minnesota Library Consortium, has created tools for Minnesota residents to use, at no cost, to help them create, self-publish, and share content. This includes the Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project, where users can create, edit, format and generate ebooks and print-ready books, and Ebooks Minnesota, a statewide ebook platform containing content from independent local publishers. Minitex has put new meaning into the phrase “read local.” Learn more about these unique services offered to all Minnesota residents and all types of libraries in the state.

Due to rapid advancements in technology and a more competitive workforce, employers have begun seeking creative problem-solvers and lifelong learners more than ever before, Businesses across the country need innovators: people who have both an innate desire and an ability to develop new ideas, take action, and improve the world around them. Widely recognized as credible institutions of knowledge, libraries have proven to be a natural location to inspire and shape tomorrow’s innovators for the workforce and beyond. After interviewing library patrons and staff, as well as local parents, students, and community members, the importance of libraries within our social infrastructure was reinforced to FUSE Fellow Parker Thomas. People trust libraries to help them learn new skills. Parker became inspired to leverage library space to facilitate hands-on learning programs for kids, teens, and adults. By visiting the makerspace on the second floor of the Fremont Main Library, members learn and grow the critical problem-solving and lifelong learning skills that employers are searching for all while making some cool stuff along the way, of course.

Makerspaces often find themselves the victim of their own popularity, trying to serve a growing and diverse patron base with the same staffing and resource models as when they started, perhaps years prior. After some time, the makerspace will ultimately face questions that traditional library services have been trying to answer for decades: What services do we keep and which do we let go of? Where do we choose to strategically expand and what do we want and need to be experts in? What do we want users to learn in our spaces and is it even assessable? What is truly our mission and for whom? This session discusses these and other questions an academic makerspace seven years in has been asking and covers where it thinks the answers might lie.

Learn about the steps one public library took to utilize its Silhouette Cameo cutting machine and the Silhouette Design Studio software in adult crafting programs, resulting in a surge in adult program registrations and participation. As a result of the popularity of the adult crafting programs, we upgraded our machine, offered a Master Class at a local high school, expanded our use to include Silhouette Saturday programs for teens, and have developed regular Introduction to Silhouette Studio and Advanced Silhouette Studio trainings for the library department. During the 2-hour programs, customers are taught to use varying aspects of the Silhouette Studio software, and to use what they have learned to complete a project. Participants not only leave with a finished project, they have hands-on experience with new technology. We are now gearing up to offer our old Silhouette Cameo machine as a tech-in cart for customer use by appointment in our Teen and Technology Area, which has two iMac computers. Though it is not new technology, the use of cutting machines in library programs introduces customers to digital design concepts in small, palatable steps which result in amazing end products they can see and hold, sparking innovation and intrigue.

With the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report: “Global Warming of 1.5 Centigrade,” interest in and concerns over Climate Change has never been higher for students and the general population alike.

Throughout the presentation, suggestions will be made for how sustainability may be integrated into information literacy instruction across the curriculum.  In a similar college level course, students research and analyze a whistleblower case study, relating to a sustainability issue, with the goal of creating change. Students analyzed their case studies using the three “E”s: environment, economy, social equity and the perspectives of the stakeholders involved. Learn how these principles can translate into use in a high school library.

Librarians are fighting an uphill battle against bad and incomplete information on digital platforms. We can teach students mnemonic devices for source assessment and encourage them to use high-quality scholarly material when working on a research paper, but do these efforts translate into students’ day-to-day information lives? How can we help students navigate filter bubbles, conspiracy theories, profit-driven algorithms, and deteriorating trust in traditional metrics for authority? Join Roquet to discuss strategies for helping students make informed, reflective information choices both in and out of the classroom.

Imagine collaborating with teachers to engage students in a digital world using augmented reality and project-based learning to empower a class of ESOL and inclusion students to design their own video games! Parents, students, administrators, and others engage with the interactive gallery walk where student ideas come to life in a burst of audio, video, and images as students express themselves in a variety of digital modalities. Using free mobile apps and software, students explore a variety of literacy standards and skills in this augmented reality project-based learning experience while collaborating with librarians from Catawba College, connecting students with real-world and college connections. Be inspired and get the playbook to try this in your environment!

STEM, makerspace, robotics—the words conjure pictures of fun, activity, and excitement. And all of that can be found, but sometimes the challenge is to link the activity to learning and critical thinking. Students love to play with robots such as Dash and Dot, Ozobots, and Spheros, but moving the activity from play to learning is where the magic happens. There are resources and curriculum to support learning, and our speaker explores ways to integrate the skills needed for the robots to reinforce the concepts students are developing in the classroom. A list of resources is included, and attendees are encouraged to share their own ideas and resources.

Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) produced a flood of privacy notices on social media, but does it really protect your or your students’ rights to personal information? What about Pinterest pins or images on YouTube or Instagram? Or career info on LinkedIn or ResearchGate? Remarks posted to Twitter or Facebook? Learn what U.S. law can and can’t do to protect your intellectual property rights on top social media sites.

Based on the book by Charles C. Mann,The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World (psmag.com/environment/saving-the-world-with-wizards-and-prophets), our speakers share their ideas on how to use smart tech, AI, and IOT to save libraries and the world. Whether it stands for artificial intelligence, intelligent assistants, or the art of information, AI and other new evolving technologies such as spatial/ immersive computing (AR/VR+), robotics, etc., will definitely have strong impacts on our future. Hear how our Wizards and Prophets imagine the way libraries may evolve in smart solutions for a smart and caring world. In the end, the audience decides for themselves whether to follow the Wizards, the Prophets, or their own paths. Full of fun, ideas, imagination, stimulation and learning, come grow your thoughts about the future and your community.

Hear how the city of Arhaus worked with SMART CITY to empower its community. Our speaker shares how Arhaus organized an annual circle of innovation and development projects to foster a culture of perpetual change, formed strong partnerships with various faculties of Aarhus University to embed research components in their development projects, how the Aarhus community worked concretely with design thinking methods and user engagement, and how the city worked to build a digital framework for citizen engagement. Learn more about how the libraries in Denmark have built and now own a digital infrastructure in open source and how that has changed the game between libraries and vendors to the advantage of the libraries. This presentation is full of insights, ideas and information you can take to your community, no matter what type of library or information service you provide!

Whether providing services to those who can’t come to the library or reaching out to those who are underserved, library outreach and community engagement ensure equitable delivery of library services to all people. But how do you make sure that branch staff are involved in allocation of resources and that your outreach is aligned with the library’s strategic priorities? Join Staley as he discusses his library’s use of Savannah in developing its data-driven strategy for community outreach and Swanson as she shares insights on how listening to client feedback leads to innovation.

Circulation numbers, our key library metric, started to drop, yet all public service staff continued to share feeling overwhelmed with work. If we get what we measure and what we measure is important, focus on circulation alone was providing an incomplete story. This presentation explains Boone County Public Library’s process of using all available data to create a mapping document. The map shows how the public wants to interact with the library and how staff works to meet these community requests. The mapping document is merging information gathered from staff through experience and from software (gate count, circulation, reference questions, copier usage, Wi-Fi, public computer usage, length of public computer usage, census data). A new and evolving evaluation showed us how we can prioritize to better serve our staff and the public. Our speaker, a former officer in the U.S. Air Force, shares his library’s experience so other libraries can learn how to count the work they do.

Does your library use data visualization to support decision making? This presentation showcases how Seattle Public Library uses data visualization to build consensus with stakeholders, secure funding, and support decision-making. Gain insights covering: visualization tools used, key decisions, and strategies for getting started (and taking your visualizations to the next level).

Specialized organizations are moving beyond traditional bibliometrics to demonstrate value and further the organizational mission in creative and innovative ways. Use of scholarly metrics is no longer a value element just for promotion and tenure dossiers in academia. Many organizations are beginning to utilize research impact metrics to further their goals and objectives, providing accountability to funders, who are often the tax paying public. Our first speakers provide an overview of metrics used for analyzing the visibility and utilization research created in specialized organizations, based on content from the forthcoming book The New Metrics: Practical Applications of Research Impact, edited and compiled by Lasda. Case studies from two divergent specializations from the book are presented: a museum environment and the activities at a transportation research institute. Our second presentation provides practical steps that researchers can take to improve their impact using freely available tools: Google Scholar, ORCiD, ResearchGate, and others. Get some creative ideas for applying scholarly metrics usage in your organizational environment, whether for making decisions, aligning with strategic goals, or educating stakeholders.

Come and get best practice examples from libraries around the world, tips, and techniques for designing spaces, tools, services, and vision. Learn about the National Library of the Netherlands’ new Library Lab of the future; the fabulous StoryHouse in Chester U.K.; the latest Dutch Icon LocHal in Tilburg, Netherlands; the underground library in Sydney Australia; and more! The future of libraries is here and now! This session is filled with ideas and inspiration and is not to be missed!

As you build your strategies and services from the perspective of meeting needs, are you introducing customer needs at the best place in your innovation process or thinking? Our presenters have been struggling with this question for years and are bringing you a hands-on working session to take your objective through the Jobs-To-Be-Done Canvas worksheet. It’s not rocket science, they say, it is work, decisions, and openness.

Our creative librarian shares some tips and ideas on promoting programs in your library. Pulliam describes how he uses music, creating to promote programs and to integrate them into programs as well. For example, making a rap song about the library system to promote it but also use it to teach a GarageBand course – only using an iPhone. He also talks about using a 3-D Printer to make giveaways that promote library programs as well: Batman Day, Pi Day and a regular Retro Game Day program. e. Be inspired and get lots of ideas to promote your library and its programs!

Connecting to our community has always been at the heart of libraries, but in the digital realm, these communities have expanded to a world of diverse users and interests. Through innovative programming, smart digital technologies have enabled libraries to meet the growing demand to engage this new community of users at their point of need. Learn how librarians at the largest library in the world, the Library of Congress, became a catalyst for change by combining librarian expertise with collection development to provide access to the libraries digitized resources. See how these librarians became an energy engine engaging a community of over 50,000 lifelong learners through a digital visualization application, the Story Map. Share in their stories on a variety of topics from 15th-century books to cartographic marvels and veteran’s history as they show you how they support increased and equitable online access to library collections for communities at large.

Our popular and experienced speaker, Marshall Breeding, relates the latest events and trends in the library technology industry. Breeding authors the annual “Library Systems Report” published in American Libraries which covers strategic technology products used by libraries and the vendors that develop and support them. Recent years have seen profound changes in the library tech arena, including ongoing business transitions and consolidation as well as major shifts in the types of systems deployed in academic and public libraries. This session looks forward to what will be happening in 2020!

Technology is changing our lives faster than ever before. As intuitive experiences become more common in our digital lives, we begin to expect them in every arena—digital as well as physical. As our expectations evolve, service providers must evolve too. They must deliver by creating inventive approaches for meeting these expectations, and libraries have a unique opportunity to join this revolution. By unlocking the valuable data and resources they have diligently curated, libraries can create experiences that truly matter to modern library users in ways that were never before possible.

Marshall Breeding has conducted the “International Survey of Library Automation” since 2007. The report, based on the survey results, reflects trends reflecting satisfaction with the integrated library systems and associated vendors. Breeding presents an overview of the results of the latest edition of the survey published in February 2019, points out some of the most significant trends seen in 2018 and shares his impressions of what these results suggest for the next phase of the industry. He also shares his thoughts on open source resource management and discovery. He observes that Koha and Evergreen have seen steady growth in the U.S. and that in some international regions, Koha is considered almost the default system. Breeding shares trends and recent events such as the FOLIO project, has been in development for the last e years, with broad community and commercial support and implementations expected in 2019.

Islandora has been a leading open-source digital asset management system for libraries for more than 10 years, and it’s adopters have been primarily academic and large public libraries. Thanks to a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the support of 17 academic institutions and in-kind contributions from Born-Digital, Islandora for All—ISLE—is going into production. Based on a system called containerization, ISLE shortcuts the installation process and simplifies maintenance. See how this is done and discuss the alternatives for hosting and support.

A longtime successful academic librarian, pioneer of makerspace in academia, and now state librarian, Colegrove shares how to view the bigger landscape within which libraries operate and the opportunities for partnerships, support and more! A born nurturer, he provides lots of tips for growth and moving forward in the future.

The world is on a trajectory of ever-increasing technological change that holds much promise. Yet such change is already unleashing social, economic, and political forces that threaten that progress. In addressing change anxiety, libraries have an opportunity to reimagine their mission by going beyond digital literacy to a program of change literacy. Hess examines four disruptive technologies, AI, cyborgization, spatial computing, and Blockchain, and looks at how libraries can save the world from the perils of change anxiety. The stars await! And libraries can be key to taking us there.

When one university unified information technology on campus into one department, the library lost its internal IT staff, including a web developer, database administrator and the associate director of library technology. A total of nine positions were lost, and the library was forced to do a massive restructure. Iglesias shares the story of how they survived and managed to continue services one year later. Our next presenters discuss creating faculty partnerships in an online environment without the benefits of daily faceto- face interaction. They show how to build strong, fruitful relationships with faculty; discuss how to make the first steps to reach out to faculty; illustrate how to foster those relationships into partnerships through developing drop-in library instruction; and provide ways to market library resources directly to students using faculty as a conduit. From tenacious outreach to long-term goals and collaboration, faculty soon realize that building library instruction into their courses benefits everyone. Get lots of tips and ideas from our speakers!

Library staff are extraordinary! They hold innovative events, give effective trainings, and work tirelessly to bring library services into their communities. To help support all the incredible work that library staff do every day, Contra Costa County Library developed a centralized “sharing economy” process to provide staff with the program and equipment kits they need, where and when they need them. By implementing an online reservation system and utilizing the library’s pre-existing shipping system, this sharing economy model is able to provide equal access for all library staff to the shared supplies and equipment they need. You can adapt this kit’s model for your library system! Our next presenters discuss how to maintain an energetic staff with original ideas with limited budget and while under pressure to remain relevant, keep up-to-date on new technologies, and deliver innovative ideas to keep programming fresh. Through project management, mentorship, and time management, they explore the ingredients to maintain a happy, productive technology staff and breathe new life into your tech programming.

Libraries have long promoted themselves as the people’s university or the place in a community where anyone with the time and drive to do so can learn and gain skills, both personal and professional. Hear how participating public and tribal libraries in Washington state offer free technology certification, validating skills for Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), QuickBooks, Adobe, and the IC3 digital literacy certification. Recognizing the need to expand and diversify their economy beyond gaming and tourism, Nevada libraries partner with community colleges to bring instruction and free certification testing to communities through local libraries. Maryland public libraries have introduced the Cisco Networking Academy, striving to harness the power of technology and launch a generation of global problem solvers. Learn how you can expand your program!

This fast-paced session shares three perspectives around storytelling. To improve visibility, Dayrit, a special librarian, recognized that creative communication is the key and shares her experiences on how she has heightened engagement by creating stories with an objective of informing a larger population in the organization. A solid relationship with the website editors has been working well, and visibility through stories has also built new partnerships. King discusses visual storytelling with Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook pics and the power of connecting to customers using nothing but a photograph. He shares best practices for photos on social media and how to get people to your website and your library services using your camera. Hear how Bond has been taking a series of recorded talks, the JPL Stories series, and creating a collection of them available digitally to JPL employees. Traditionally over the last 15 years, these talks have been more personal and candid in nature than more formalized mission talks in larger auditoriums. The JPL Library now offers storytellers a more informal and intimate platform for their talks as they grow the collection. Hear where our speaker hopes this program will go in the future.

Data management plans are becoming an important part of grant and publication proposals, yet many researchers are still in the dark about best practices in data management. Benzing shares his efforts to educate faculty about the importance of data hygiene. He uses this talk as an introduction to data curation for librarians who have not worked with data management plans before and want to learn about future opportunities.

Academic libraries offer a variety of tools for students to find information, including discovery systems and traditional databases. But what do we know about how students use these different tools to find information? By collecting and analyzing data on student search behaviors, we have identified several statistically significant patterns that have practical implications for instruction and search tool configuration. Trends observed include differential use of facets in discovery systems versus traditional databases, and, in some tools, increased facet use, leading to selection of higher-quality sources. An exploratory factor analysis identified patterns in student use of search refinements, including a pattern of high selectors who tend to use multiple search refinements. To add qualitative context to our quantitative analyses, student interview data shed light on the strategies students employ when search results do not meet their expectations. Get insights as well as tips and ideas for reaching your audience in a better way.

Connecting with our communities, looking ahead, taking advantage of partnerships, understanding demographics. As Internet librarians and information professionals, what are our biggest challenges and opportunities for the future? Our panel members from different communities share their thoughts and ideas and hopefully spark some insights for experimenting and trying something new in your community.