Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Part 1-LLRC attends SEFLIN Regional Conference July 11th in Miami

 "Evolving Library Technologies" 


Image credit: Courtesy The SEFLIN Conference Planning Committee
Chairman Doug Cornwell-Librarian at Palm Beach State
Keynote Speaker Jamie LaRue
SEFLIN's Executive Director Jeannette Smithee




Image Credit: Nora Homan
Doug opened the General Session

Image Credit: Nora Homan
Nita, Nora, Janet and Connie at lunch


Nora liked the Seflin Conference because it was very intellectual. It inspired her to use the T3: Teach, Tools and Transformation at work. Nora says, "It is a tool that opens the door to a deeper grasp of our mission."
 
Nita enjoyed Keynote speaker, Jamie LaRue, who addressed technology and change in 'T3: Tech, Tools, and Transformation'. She noted, 'Many of these useful technologies are already active at Palm Beach State College'.
 
 Janet DeVries submitted this article below:
 
On Thursday, July 11, 2013, three Palm Beach State College librarians and three library paraprofessionals from the Lake Worth campus traveled to North Miami for the Annual SEFLIN Regional Conference. Evolving Library Technologies was the theme of the daylong conference held at the Kovens Conference Center on the campus of Florida International University.

Librarian/Associate Professor I Douglas Cornwell who served as the chairperson for the 2013 Technology Conference, opened the General Session with a zealous welcome and introduced Keynote Speaker Jamie LaRue. LaRue, former President of the Colorado Library Association and director of the Douglas County Libraries since 1990, spoke to the enthusiastic group of over 300 library professionals about current trends and the future of technology in libraries with his presentation T3: Tech, Tools and Transformation. LaRue encouraged librarians and staff to embrace new technologies and library automation. The use of technology allows future staff to work better and smarter, leaving more time for personalized assistance and enhancements to library service. LaRue spoke about cultivating local authors and facilitating libraries as e-publishers. In addition to bringing books and information to the community, a progressive library embracing new technology brings ‘local stories’ to the world.

Conference participants had time to network with attendees from other libraries, meet with sponsors, and select individualized workshops from a wide array of breakout sessions. I attended three wonderful 60 minute sessions. While all sessions were interesting and informative, two sessions had takeaway skills I could use immediately in my position as Library Technician II.  Is There an App for That? Assessing the Next Generation of Information Literacy, spoke of the many ways customer service is delivered to our patrons. After a brief history of libraries and information literacy, the speaker dazzled the crowd with a myriad of new apps to manage libraries. Some of the more memorable Apps were the library environment apps including Decibel Meter Pro and Sound Meter. Jonathan Roach’s session on Assessing Information Literacy, introduced the topics of Trans-literacy & Digital-literacy. He explained the way librarians and technicians keep up with information literacy and the changing way it is delivered is to “learn, unlearn & relearn!”
 
The SEFLIN Technology Conference energized, inspired and encouraged me to embrace new technologies and keep my eyes open for opportunities to deliver exceptional customer service in new and changing ways. [ Thank you Janet! ]


Image Credit: Nora Homan