unconferences

Unconference and barcamp in Perth

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I’m again helping to organise (unorganise? disorganise ?) the Western Australian Library Unconference. This year the theme is Library 2.0 and beyond: getting our hands dirty . More information at the unconference wiki and the post I just made at librariesinteract.info, but the basic details are:

DATE: Friday 22 August 2008
TIME: 9:30am – 5pm
VENUE: State Library of Western Australia

REGISTRATION: Opens 1 July 2008

BarCamp Perth 2.0 Badges Uploaded to Flickr on April 23, 2008 by CannedTuna

I find the idea behind unconferences so empowering – if you turn up, then YOU are the right person. In a twitterish conversation a couple of weeks ago, a librarian was asking what techniques others used to fit in at non-library unconferences like barcamps. My suggestion was to jump right in with both feet and offer to present. The whole point is that it is about passion and what interests you – if not enough people are interested, then your session won’t go ahead – nothing lost. If enough people are interested, then you get to share and learn – lots gained.

I’m very sad that I won’t be able to make it to Perth Barcamp 2.0 the weekend after next. I had a ball at the last one and learned so much. I loved the different perspectives, and the fact that there were really quite a lot of librarians and educators there. They even have badges this year. Already people are offering sessions on presentation skills, twitter and Tiddlywiki…as well as some more techie sessions that I would happily sit in on to learn something new.

Hope to see lots of great blogging so I know just what I missed.

Details:

DATE: Saturday 10 May 2008
TIME: 9am – 5pm

PLACE: Central TAFE, 140 Royal St, East Perth

REGISTRATION: Add your name to the wiki

Three Library Unconference wikis

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Library unconferences and formal conferences work on different models and each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Library unconferences are superior to traditional conferences in at least two ways:

1. Currency of issues. If something important to libraryland happened that day, that hour, it would be discussed immediately.

2. Real contact and sharing by librarians across sectors. In many unconference sessions, participants just talk about the topic and everyone is encouraged to have their say. It’s different to formal conferences where during the breaks in formal sessions, librarians generally talk to those from very similar sectors or people they already know.

Here’s three recent library unconference wikis…

1. Library camp @ Syracuse. 4-5 March 2008. This was held for librarians in Upstate New York. Other materials from the day can be found by searching tag: unyunc .

The second day of the camp was a Collection Development Conference. The final unconference programme was:

 
  9:45 – 10:45 a.m Metadata and cataloging
  11:00 a.m. – 12 noon Public 2.0
  1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Connecting users to resources
  2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Next generation catalogs
Technology:
Room: Pioneer II		    
  9:45 – 10:45 a.m 2.0 show and tell
  11:00 a.m. – 12 noon Open source
  1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Social networking
  2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Implementing and using technology
Policy:
Room: Pioneer III		    
  9:45 – 10:45 a.m Security and privacy
  11:00 a.m. – 12 noon Funding
  1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Assessment
  2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Customer service
Leadership:
Room: Gemini		    
  9:45 – 10:45 a.m Keeping up/training
  11:00 a.m. – 12 noon Effecting change
  1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Balancing the new and the old
  2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Untapped opportunities

2. Library Camp Kansas finished about two hours ago. Other materials from the day can be found by searching tag: libcampks08 .

The final conference schedule includes very interesting notes of the topics raised that were then condensed into the final sessions:

11 am to Noon – Session One

  • Staff training – lead by Lisa
  • Outreach/Marketing – lead by Sarah
  • Cheap & Free Tech – lead by Michael
  • 2.0 Topics – lead by Dale
  • Customer Service – lead by Rhonda
  • Library as Place – lead by Jeff
  • Library instruction for Patrons – lead by Jill

Noon to 1:30 – Lunch Session Two

  • Green Libraries – lead by Jennifer
  • 2.0 Topics – lead by Royce
  • Staff training – lead by Danielle
  • Creative Commons – lead by Michael
  • Programming – lead by Rhonna


1:30 to 2:30 – Session Three

    • Library Catalogs – lead by Josh
    • Library as Place – lead by Kim
    • Outreach & Programming – lead by Rhondalyn
    • Mentoring – lead by Nikhat
    • Future of Reference – lead by Danielle
    • Gaming – lead by Royce
    • 2.0 – lead by David

3. Library Unconference How To wiki

During a twitter conversation, Jill Hurst Wall, who was involved in the Syracuse camp, suggested that we put our heads together to share what we’ve learned from organising previous unconferences.

I quickly whacked up a wiki for it, which is yet to be populated. It includes topics like:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We had a lot of fun with the Western Australian Library 2.0 on the Loose Unconference last August. Maybe it’s time to start planning another one….the last one was done in six weeks without any face to face meetings.

Interested? Leave a comment or email me: sirexkat at the gmail dot com place .