Internet Librarian 2014

It's been a busy week to say the least. On Sunday I flew with my Mom and daughter to attend and present at the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey, CA. This was my first time to present at a conference (I'm not counting standing by a tri-fold or reading a paper), my daughter's first time to fly, and my Mom's first time to see sea lions. We now have a checkmark by all three!

I presented Getting the Word Out About Ebooks. Everything from using LibGuides as our website to creating our library app was discussed. After running through the presentation several times for family members and countless times in my head I was worried about filling the 45 minutes with useful information. Thankfully, I ended with a couple minutes for questions (phew!). My presentation was the second of the first day, so I felt that I could relax and learn. 

As the sessions continued, I began to see some trends: social media, memes, infographics, big data and eBooks were all hot topics. However, one that I didn't expect, but trended throughout the sessions and keynotes was the power that tactile (print) materials and face-to-face contact had and have on all ages. 

Brendan Howley, a content designer, discussed the power of stories. As libraries we must tell our own story in such a way that people make a connection and spread that story within their networks. We must aim to "Share the why of the how of what we do."

Evelyn Schwartz, a librarian at Georgetown Day School, discussed ways in which big data can be personalized, noting we must make information multipurpose, accessible, and participatory. I was blown away by Ngram Viewer, Wolfram Alpha Facebook Report, and how to Twitterize Yourself. 

Nina Simon, Director of Santa Cruz Museum for Art and History, brought her organization back from the brink in a couple of years by making use social capital by way of bridging relationships between people who's paths wouldn't usually cross at "deliberately unhip" events held throughout the city.

Carolyn Foote, a librarian at Westlake High School, who did a big ebook promotion in her library, reported the dishearteningly low ebook usage statistics from her campus alongside the 2013 PEW reading study. Mirroring our own observations that many students prefer print over electronic.

Josh Hanagarne, a librarian at Salt Lake City Public Library and the final keynote speaker, discussed the social media addiction sweeping the world and the ramifications of people no longer reading and writing for extended periods of time, but consuming and producing minute bits of information; information that is often useless, leading to the question, "Is something useful if it's not being used?"

As we made our way back to Texas, my head was filled with more questions than answers, but one thing I know for sure is that just because something is new, doesn't necessarily mean it's better. Also, if you have to pick one location to have a conference year after year, Monterey, CA is a good one.