I just got home from NELA 2006, and had a great time. Here are a few of the highlights.

• One of the best parts of going to conferences like this is meeting area librarians. I met many this time, including Jessamyn West (with who, I’m sad to say, I think I made a bad first impression), and Michael Golrick (on his farewell NELA attendance on his way to the greener pastures of Wisconsin). I also got to spend time with Lichen Rancourt, which is always enjoyable
• Although the Internet Librarian 2006 conference was going on at the same time, many of the NELA sessions I attended focused on Library 2.0 gizmos. Of particular note were:
  • Linda Braun’s coverage of PageFlakes (a fancy and user-friendly make-your-own-portal kind of website) and the always popular LibraryThing was great, and she really drove home the message that RSS feeds need to be utilized everywhere (including new materials added to our catalogs) to help reach our "unseen" patrons
  • Emily Alling and Maura Deedy talked about a bunch of interesting social networking software in their presentation
  • During Jeanne Munn Bracken's session on "I’ve got Google, why do I need a library?," ensuing discussion highlighted that Google.com and libraries should not be mutually exclusive - our focus should be on informing patrons when it is appropriate to use our print and subscription databases rather than Google.com, and when patrons do use Google.com, how they can use it smartly, efficiently and effectively
  • Unfortunately, I missed Jessamyn’s Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.0, but I did pickup the handouts [doc]
• NELA’s Information Technology Section held a new technologies demo session, where I got to play with Microsoft Vista (which isn’t nearly as bad as I expected, and really might be tolerable), learn about creating podcasts with Audacity, and ask questions about PlayAway digital books
• I happily attended a guerilla marketing session, which presented both good and bad ideas:
  • Ideas that have worked:
  • A nice-looking signboard in front of the library promoting events to passing drivers (studies show white lettering on a black board is the easiest to read)
  • Advertise when possible at local businesses, such as fliers at supermarkets, on-screen advertising at a bowling alley (on their scoreboard computers), etc.
  • Create informative library placemats for use at local restaurants (give interesting factual information, list upcoming events, talk about useful resources, etc.)
  • Get listed on regional tourist maps
  • Try an adopt-a-highway project, and get staff and local teens involved to help clean up the community
  • Simple paper fans to pass out in the library in the summertime, with library information or a clever "I stay cool at the library" message imprinted on them
  • Advertise upcoming events on craigslist.com
  • Distributing bookmarks to students listing databases and other "homework help" resources
  • Ideas that did not work:
  • Imprinted lollipops: no one wanted them, and the library was stuck with them for months and months
  • Metal bookmarks: they ripped the pages of books
  • Advertising on the local cable station: it gets the message out, but it is hard to keep up on new events and you have to keep on top of the cable company to remove old ads
  • Working with schools: this often meets with resistance from the schools, but they are a great resource so keep after them
  • They also provided some tips for making flyers:
  • Print on regular paper and cardstock, and use the cardstock versions when a crowded bulletin board requires the flier to stick off the edge (common in supermarkets)
  • Keep fliers short an content-focused - too much color or graphics will detract from your message
  • Keep library information in a consistent location (such as, always in a box in the lower right corner)
  • People read fliers in a "Z" pattern, so design your flier to put your important information where their eyes will see it
  • For training on Microsoft Publisher, they recommend SkillPath
• I also had a few productive talks with many vendors in the exhibit hall:
  • I learned that Learning Express Library offers computer skills tutorials (such as learning Microsoft Office programs, Adobe Acrobat, etc.) in addition to their test preparation tutorials
  • I spent a lot of time at the Plymouth Rocket booth, and really liked all three of their software products: EventKeeper (online events calendar), TixKeeper (museum passes reservations) and EKRooms (meeting room management)

So, all in all, a very productive conference. It’s even better since it was in Burlington - such a nice city. And I got to see the exhibits at the ECHO Center, devoted to promoting the science and public awareness of Lake Champlain.

Now all I need to do is put all this new knowledge and ideas into action when I get into work tomorrow.

burlington, conferences, library, nela, vermont, vt

Posted under Uncategorized on Tuesday, October 24th, 2006 at 9:04 pm, by Brian Herzog. Post and comments available via the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.