Countdown to March 2nd

Minds are like parachutes - they only function when they are open (Thomas Dewar)

The coffee cart and donuts will be available from 9am and we kick off at 9.30. If you want to find out who is coming, you can check out the Training Calendar

Anne Hartican is facilitating the agenda session - so it would be good if you could start thinking about what you are interested in sharing, learning or debating. We have a couple of sessions slotted in - Toby McAleer from the ATO will take a session on how he's using mashups and RSS in the OPAC.
Lynette Lewis and Denise McLarty will talk about YPRL's Learning 2.0 program.

We would love to find out more about Second Life - any tour guides out there?
There will be 14 pcs available in the training room for hands on and there's wifi if you want to bring your laptop.

Thomastown Library is close to the station and there's heaps of parking.



Please feel free to post a comment, suggestion or question.

A month to go!

Well, there's just a month to go till the Other Big Day Out - we are fully subscribed, the catering is being organised and anticipation is mounting.

I had a day up at the Information Online Conference, and the buzz there is about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0. I caught the evangelical David Lankes - I'd previously printed off his paper on Participatory Networks: Library as Conversation produced for the ALA - but its always so much better to hear people talking.

His premise is that "Knowledge is created through conversation. These conversations can take place between friends and colleagues in the "here and now". But they can also take place between an author (via a book or other resource) and a user...The implication of this rather abstract concept is that libraries are in the conversation business... By adopting concepts and technologies from Web 2.0 and tightly integrating them into their services, libraries can advance not just their communities, but their positions within them."

So let the conversations begin!!

Kathryn Greenhill has been in touch during the week too - she developed the MULTA project for Murdoch Uni in Perth. She's got a great screencast describing the project, well worth a look.

"5 weeks to a social library" at: http://blip.tv/file/134004. (You'll need to specify
"full screen")

It's aimed at providing some hints to someone who wants to
run an emerging technology project in their library.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the 2nd March...