Innovation and dynamic disruption at this year’s Internet Librarian International, by Katherine Allen

SLA Europe DigiComms

SLA members benefit from a 25% discount on the full fee at the Internet Librarian International conference. Here is conference organiser Kat Allen on why you should go.

 

Internet Librarian International will take place at Olympia, London on 20-21 October with workshops on 19 October. SLA members benefit from a 25% discount on the full conference fee.

Internet Librarian International (ILI) is now in its seventeenth year. Anecdotally, over the years, we have heard lots of reports of library and information projects which grew out of ideas shared at ILI sessions and case studies, or were inspired by connections forged with other delegates at the conference. This year, for the first time, we thought we would capture some of the specific projects and initiatives that grew out of last year’s ILI and we were thrilled with the response.

Here is some of the feedback from last year’s delegates:

Lucy Angier from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP was inspired to introduce ethnographic research tools in her work, and attended a very useful session on Pinterest, taking home a fresh perspective on the way her users work and how to address their needs.

Ciaran Talbot from the University of Manchester is implementing ongoing usability testing for Primo having learned about it at ILI. With a colleague, he secured the Open University’s partnership for their Librarygame/BookedIn project at ILI last year, and has also formed a data and stats special interest group at his library following ILI’s session on metrics and data analysis.

Lene Wendelboe from Denmark’s Royal Library has implemented ideas she gained from X Track sessions in their Innovation Lab, and now uses Hootsuite having been introduced to the platform in an ILI session on twitter.

After attending the altmetrics workshop, Richard Hulser from Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County was able to firm up a decision to go forward with implementing a project using altmetrics tools, and will now present an altmetrics case study at this year’s ILI.

Inspired by last year’s keynote, Annemarie Naylor of Common Futures used his thinking in a TedXBrum talk she delivered at Library of Birmingham, and is now collaborating with contacts she met to deliver a ‘Playfulness’ library workshop at this year’s ILI.

It is really exciting to hear of ongoing project development fostered by ILI’s mix of case studies and open, warts and all discussions. In this spirit, the theme of this year’s conference is ‘Dynamic disruption – transforming your library’. The keynote speakers will be author, information designer and data-journalist David McCandless, and Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship, the international organisation that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression around the world.

Opening keynote David McCandless is the author of best-selling book ‘Information is Beautiful’, which reveals how visualised information has incredible potential to help us quickly understand, navigate and find meaning in a complex world. In his keynote David will expand this approach beyond data and information to encompass the richer, deeper, denser material of ‘knowledge’.

ILI’s second keynote speaker Jodie Ginsberg is former London bureau chief for Reuters, and has worked for more than a decade as a foreign correspondent and business journalist. Jodie’s keynote ‘Fighting to speak freely: balancing privacy and free expression in the information age’, will explore the push and pull between privacy and free expression, and how one is necessary to ensure the other. She will address the issue of surveillance, as well as challenges to academic freedom, including trigger warnings, safe spaces and the fear of giving offence.

Conference tracks include:

  • New Strategies, New Roles
  • New Tech, New User Experiences
  • New Content, New Collections
  • Understanding Users and Usage: Measuring Impact and Value
  • Super Search Skills
  • Search, Discovery and Visibility
  • The New Services, New Collaborations
  • Plus ‘X Track’, social events, awards, delegate visit to the British Library or the City of London’s Guildhall Library, and the Sponsor Showcase, which provides a central networking hub for information demos and conversations with the event’s many sponsors and supporters.

We are really looking forward to hearing about the projects, ideas and inspiration that spring out of this year’s conference – hope to see you there!

SLA members are entitled to claim a 25% discount on fees for the main conference using code SLA25 when registering. Discounts are also available for multiple delegates from the same organisation.

Internet Librarian International 2015

The Innovation Conference for Information Professionals

20 & 21 October 2015, Workshops on 19 October 2015

Olympia Conference Centre, London

www.internet-librarian.com

 

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