July 2015 SEFLIN Regional Conference

 

  

Conference Review by
Guest Blogger

Reference Librarian Alyse McKeal
PBSC Library-Lake Worth Campus

 




Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/SEFLINRegionalConference

This year’s Southeast Florida Library Information (SEFLIN) Regional Conference took place on July 23rd at the FIU Kovens’ Conference Center in Miami. The theme of the conference was forming connections and was appropriately titled, 2015 SEFLIN Regional Conference: Connections: Libraries, Users, and Technology.  The conference seemed better attended than ever as was evidenced by the noise level and crowds observed bustling about the conference center. Furthermore, there appeared to be a full house during the Keynote Address, luncheon and presentations, overall.

 

 



Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/SEFLINRegionalConference

The day began with breakfast and a networking session for conference attendees from all over Florida.  Next was Stephen Grubb’s poignant and eloquent keynote address entitled, “The Fall of RadioShack and the Renaissance of the Public Library.”  Mr. Grubb comes from the Broward County Library system, where he has been extremely effective at developing, planning, and managing technologies to keep the Library System relevant and on point in meeting patrons’ needs.  His keynote focused on the need for libraries to grow and evolve to meet patrons’ needs, similar to what Apple has done, since its inception.  He inspired attendees to reflect on the status of their individual libraries to determine whether there was a need for a “renaissance” or if they were continuing to grow, evolve, and stay pertinent for library patrons, so as to keep patrons coming back.  Mr. Grubb’s analogy of RadioShack versus Apple was a meaningful example of what it takes to be successful in the field of business, and may be an applicable paradigm for libraries. Attendees left the keynote pondering the question of, “Is my library a ‘RadioShack’ or is it an “Apple?” Stephen Grubb continues to challenge and inspire libraries throughout Florida and the nation, due to his presentation being freely available online.
 

Image Credit: Alyse McKeal

Immediately following the keynote were the Poster sessions, which were located in two alcoves within the conference center. The subject matter for the posters ranged from archiving, robotics, information literacy, collaboration between libraries and other support areas such as, digitization, streaming audio and web applications, and technology for maximizing online reference, presentations and meetings.  Unlike regular presentations, the poster sessions were only allotted 30 minutes which may have impacted attendance for these sessions, although some of the posters went longer than the 30 minutes. 



Image Credit: Alyse McKeal

 

Some of the highlights from the day include a variety of formal and informal presentation sessions. The formal sessions focused on such topics as: engaging students; how to do library instruction with iPad Scavenger hunts: creation stations; digital literacy trends; techniques for keeping up with trends in librarianship; and apps for collection development.  Many of these sessions provided attendees with options to work in small groups and collaborate on hands-on assignments. In addition to the formal presentations, less formal, five minute presentations called, “TechSpace Lightning Talks,” were heavily attended. These are a rather new feature of the SEFLIN Regional Conference, having originated at the 2014 SEFLIN Regional Conference, and appear to be trending at library conferences, in general. Statistics and user experience; enhancing student engagement; and cloud archives were some of the topics presented in these brief presentations.

 

Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/SEFLINRegionalConference

This provided attendees with more time to visit the Conference Sponsors and to further network.  During the luncheon, SEFLIN’s Executive Director, Jeannette Smithee, was recognized for over 47 years of service to libraries, and also for her upcoming retirement this year. She was given a standing ovation for all of her efforts and hard work, but especially for her ten years with SEFLIN. Jeannette was then honored with gifts of appreciation.
 

Another popular feature of the conference that attendees look forward to is the possibility of their number being drawn for a free door prize.  Several conference attendees received door prizes during the lunch hour. A sampling of the prizes included professional development and training opportunities, books, golf outings, gift cards, and much more.
 



Image Credit: Alyse McKeal

Throughout the day and during lunch, conference sponsors provided information and SWAG (pens, resources, grocery bags, bookmarks, and more) to conference attendees who visited their tables.  Without sponsorship from associations, businesses and educational entities, the SEFLIN Regional Conference would not be as successful or large. The sponsors I had the chance to visit were: the Palm Beach County Library Association (PBCLA), DLSG @ Image Access, the University of South Florida (USF), Broward County Library Association (BCLA), Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC), Garrett Book Company, Recorded Books, and WT Cox Info Service.

Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/SEFLINRegionalConference

 

This was a tremendous conference and an incredible learning experience! Like virtually all attendees, I left feeling I had learned a great amount.  I am now reenergized and prepared to apply the knowledge and skills gained from attending the SEFLIN Regional Conference 2015 to my work and service opportunities.