Preconferences

Thursday, October 16, 1–5 p.m. and Friday, October 17, 8 a.m.—noon

Marketing the Value of the Library’s IT Department
Presenters: Grace Sines and Gary McCone of National Agricultural Library

The Library IT Department is crucial to the ability of the organization to fulfill its mission. However, there is often a misperception that the IT Department plays only a “service-utility” role. This workshop will enlighten participants on dealing constructively with those misperceptions. Tools and strategies for strengthening the perceived value of the IT department’s role will be addressed. Key components include business impact analysis, blueprinting the IT infrastructure, and marketing the IT department.

Innovations in Next Generation Library Management Systems
Presenters: Andrew Nagy, Villanova University; Tim Daniels, Pines Program Manager; Diana Weaver, Northeast Kansas Library System

Libraries are making serious efforts at developing Library Management Systems for current and future collection needs. We can no longer rely on the ILSes of the past which are built on assumptions from 20 and 30 years ago. Expectations of the users are changing our interface requirements. Three interesting developments in open-source library applications will be discussed with respect to how they can improve the landscape.