Welcome to the Michigan Library Association

Friday, May 10, 2013

Davenport University

Sneden Center
6191 Kraft Ave SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49512

Grand Rapids

 

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.                       Registration and Continental Breakfast

 

9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.                       Welcome and Introductions

 

9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.                    Good for Whom? Using Technology in the Service of People

As libraries evolve, technological solutions for many of the problems librarians face on a daily basis become more and more enticing. While many of the technological wonders do make our work lives better, they often affect our members in ways that are not well understood. How do we find solutions to our problems that are good for everyone? This is not a new question. Libraries can learn from how others have balanced the effects technologies have on people throughout times of great change.

 

10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.                 Breakout Sessions

Over the course of the 2012-2013 academic year, Serge Danielson-Francois, librarian, and Steve Dickie, Physics teacher have collaborated on an Honors Physics seminar project through which juniors and seniors have discussed peer reviewed research from Elsevier's Science Direct. These colleagues have coached each other to exemplary practice by reviewing video of their separate performances as discussion facilitators using the "Be a Smarter Cookie" online utility.

This session will be an introduction to Google OS hardware (Chromebook, Chromebox) and software (Chrome OS). Several Google cloud and mobile computing products (Alerts, Blogs, Calendar, Custom Search Engine, Drive, Google+, News, Reader, Scholar, Sites,Translator) used for sharing, collaboration, and creation of library awareness services will be introduced (all platforms and devices).

 

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.                    Breakout Sessions

WMU libraries struggle to effectively demonstrate that student learning occurs in information literacy sessions. Without feedback, it is difficult to develop a meaningful information literacy program. WMU libraries recently outfitted the library classrooms with SRS technology. By integrating SRS technology, librarians are now able to more effectively assess the actual level of learning by quizzing students throughout the session with the aid of clickers. By tracking the data, librarians can use the results as the foundation for the future of the information literacy program. Another effective impact of SRS technology is engaging students and making them active learners in the learning process. This session will present how SRS technology is integrated into the class, their effectiveness in active learning, and the programmatic implications that can be had when assessing the data.

Library staff and library patrons have an uneven distribution of technology skills. With our continued focus on technology it is increasingly important to efficiently communicate what skills we have with our staff and patrons. Learn about Tech Guide and Tech Snippet programs that have expanded the Lansing Community College Library’s technology reach from one technology supervisor to 8 student staff and dozens of Tech Snippet participants. Participants will not only learn about these programs, but will also take part in an exercise designed to identify possible topics for their own Tech Snippets and develop a brief Tech Snippet.

 

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.                      Lunch

 

1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.                      Breakout Sessions

Do you have a digital sign capable of playing HD videos? Are you looking for new, eye-catching stuff to play on it?  We want to share some techniques using inexpensive tools to find beautiful HD content from government and individuals and prepare it for screening.

 

Genealogy research is an ever expanding hobby. With more resources made available online and the subject garnering greater media exposure, interest is growing amongst members of the public wishing to research their family’s history. Many of these individuals are looking to their local library as the starting point for their research. Libraries can connect patrons to online resources and harness this content to develop library programs that introduce patrons to online genealogy research while not having to significantly invest and maintain large print-based family history collections.

 

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.                      Breakout Sessions

“Institutional repository” is not a four letter word, but sometimes it acts like one. More than a digital library, but not quite an archive, institutional repositories are becoming more ingrained, and necessary, to institutions of all sizes. Lisa Rabey will wow and dazzle you with her knowledge of selection, best practices, implementation, and failures of institutional repositories for different academic needs. In 2012, Grand Rapids Community College and its library, each independently purchased an institutional repository. While each had very specific needs and uses for an IR, it was clear that not one institutional repository will not rule them all. From this unique view point, Lisa Rabey will talk about the defining needs, budgets, support, selection process & criteria, and eventual purchasing and implementation of IR from the college’s and the library’s (and archival) varying perspectives.

 

Drupal is a powerful yet flexible tool for managing a library web site. It has an undeserved reputation for being hard for non-programmers to use. In fact, it is easy to set up a Drupal-powered website for your library without knowing any programming languages. In this workshop, the author of "Drupal in Libraries" (ALA TechSource, 2012) will provide a brief introduction to content management software and present the basic steps needed to create a simple web site using Drupal. We will explore the basic content authoring interface for a site and see how easy it is to create content for your library's needs.

 

 

Early bird pricing ends May 3rd.  Register today to take advantage of the savings!