MS. OPL WILL BE BLOGGING THE CONFERENCE

Hello, all,

I've been invited to blog the 2006 Annual Conference. This is the first time I've done this, so it should be interesting--for all of us. Needless to say, I will concentrate on issues of interest to small or solo libraries.

Before I forget, I will have a special guest at the Conference this year. He is John Welford, proprietor of Welford Writes (an indexing and proofreading service) in Leicestershire, England) and the proofreader of my newsletter The One-Person Library. John helped me greatly with my newest book, The New OPL Sourcebook--he checked all the resources that make up the greater part of the book. My publisher, Information Today, Inc., is hosting a book signing at the conference and John and I will both be there. I don't know the time and place yet, so watch this blog for more information and "y'all come!"

Here is my list of sessions to take note of.

CE Events: Branding 101: What it Takes to Build a Library Brand, Chris Olson, Saturday 10 June, 8-12 a.m. Leadership 101, Rebecca Jones, Saturday, 10 June 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Making a Business Case for the Information Center, Lesley Robinson, Sunday 11 June, 1-5 p.m.

The Keynoters: Gwen Ifill, Senior Correspondent/Managing Editor of US Public Broadcasting’s The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Opening General Session, Sunday 11 June, 6:30-8 p.m. Walt Mossberg, Technology Columnist, The Wall Street Journal, Closing General Session, Wednesday 14 June, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – a “must see” for me, at least.

SOLO Librarians Division Events: Happy Hour: Meet and Greet, Saturday 10 June, 5-8 p.m. Open House, Sunday 11 June, 8-11 p.m. Communicating Your Value to Management (ticketed event), Monday 12 June, 7:30-9 a.m. Developing Leaders, Monday 12 June, 9:30-11 a.m. (with many other divisions) Cultivating a Champion: Partnering with Groups, Monday 12 June, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m (with CI Division) No-Host Dinner, Monday 12 June, 5-8 p.m. Open House, Monday 11 June, 8-11:30 p.m. Moving to Client-Embedded Service (ticketed event), Tuesday 13 June, 7:30-9 a.m. (with B&F) Luncheon and Annual Business Meeting (ticketed event), Tuesday 13 June, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Becoming a Value-Added Information Professional with Mary Ellen Bates, Tuesday 13 June, 1:30-3 p.m. Board Meeting (all welcome), Tuesday 13 June, 5-6 p.m. Silent Auction, Tuesday 13 June, 6-8 p.m. Open House, Tuesday 13 June, 8-11:45 p.m. Suddenly Solo: Dealing with Unexpected Downsizing, Wednesday 14 June, 9:15-10:45 a.m. (with Engineering) Success Stories of Solos, Wednesday 14 June 1-2:30 p.m. 

Programs of Other Divisions: Community Partnerships in Safety: Encouraging Police and Librarian Connections, featuring Solo’s own Tom Rink, Monday 12 June, 9:30-11 a.m. Stress Management; Laugh for the Health of It, Monday 12 June, 3:30-5:30 p.m. (I missed this in Nashville—heard it is wonderful) Grant Opportunities for Special Libraries, Tuesday 13 June, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (MAH Division) Association Awards Dinner (ticketed event), Tuesday 13 June, 8-12 p.m.—Solo Division supporter Judy Field will be honored with the John Cotton Dana Award, SLA’s highest honor Keeping Current, with Paul Hane of Information Today, Wednesday 14 June 1-2:30 p.m. (News) Value of Information, Wednesday 14 June, 1-2:30 p.m. (Chemistry, PAM, Engineering, and S&T)

Most of these sessions will be summarized in upcoming issues of OPL. If you're not a subscriber, you can request a copy of these issues by emailing me at <jsiess@ibi-opl.com>.  (Or, of course, you can subscribe. Subscriptions start at US$69/year for 12 issues.)

Well, I'll "talk" to you later. See you in Baltimore! (If you want to contact me, my cell phone is 216-375-1316--call and we can get together.)

Judith Siess
First Chair, SOLO Librarians Division
President, Information Bridges International, Inc.
Editor/Publisher, The One-Person Library
Author of various books on solo librarianship and library management and marketing