Collaboration UnConference

The 2009 Conference page has been updated with some of Ron Russ’ photographic records of our meeting.

He took more photos, but these were some of the best.  Enjoy!

I felt we had a great conference and a great start on sharing.

As promised, the blog pages have been expanded (see the right-side column for the new pages).

Priority ONE!

First: please provide some feedback on the first CUC held July 31.  We have grants and other support to justify (and thanks to all for that!) , and we’d all like to get some ideas on what worked, what didn’t, what can be done in the future — provided you want future CUCs, or some other format.

Future Conference Topics

As per suggestion: A page has been added for you to submit ideas for future conference topics, or perhaps entire CUC conference themes, if enough people are interested.

If you see something you like, comment and refer to it for support.

Topics pages

As promised, I’ve tried to come up with an arrangement for these that attempts to logically combine some general topic areas, based on the topics suggested in the first session (not just the ones we got to!).  Anything that doesn’t fit can go under “Others“.  (Please look at the pages first; some cover a lot more than fits in the title.)

(If you’d really like to split something out after trying this arrangement, that can be done.  It’s flexible!)

Please make your comments, offer links, ask questions for others to respond to, etc. using the form on the most-nearly-appropriate page.  Note that RSS should be available for any comment or post, so you can get a feed for a specific thread that you’re following.

I’ve added some links to sites, blogs, info, just as examples to give an idea of how we might use links on these topics.  I tried to stick to those that I knew (hoped) would not object (okay, that means mainly my own, at this point), but I hope you’ll have suggestions for more in the future.

I will restrict things like blogs/wikis/Facebook and such to the original owners giving permission, rather than anyone else suggesting them, unless already offered publicly; my example being the ASL Ref Dogs blog which was promoted publicly already.  That’s why I only used my own professional blog in the group for individuals, but please offer your own if it has useful professional info for others.

A note on the comments: you can use an RSS feed to keep track of this blog in general, and for specific posts and comments.  That way you can tell if somebody replied to your question, supported your suggestion, etc.

One of the most valuable things we’re likely to retain from the first CUC is the contact we made with others, in other institutions, and the beginning of sharing what we have.   This blog is only one way to facilitate that, and it doesn’t have to be the only method.

– Dennis Van Arsdale, Boreham Library, UA Fort Smith

Well, we are just a wake-up away from the CuC and we have around 90 people registered to attend from throughout the state and profession (with a couple outsiders gladly welcomed).

To assist with arrival and parking, please see the post http://cuc.uark.edu/2009-site-and-parking/.

If you are unable to attend, you can still participate (passively or actively) by watching it live @ http://www.ustream.tv/discovery/channel/all?q=collaboration+unconference and choosing a channel/event and by using the hashtag #cuc09 on Twitter.

I don’t know who will be doing what or how tomorrow, but we will all be learning together, which is what this is all about.

Don’t forget to post any topics you would like to discuss under the “3 weeks to go” post.

See you tomorrow.

George

Believe it, or not, we are only three weeks away from the 1st Arkansas Libraries Collaboration UnConference! Things are coming together rather nicely.

We have the location ready – Bailey Library at Hendrix College, with the break-out rooms mapped and prepped. We have the equipment (laptops, webcams, and microphones for streaming to ustream). We just got confirmation on wireless availability for all in the libraries so that we can tweet, blog, or otherwise contribute to the CuC with other kewl Web 2.0 tools.

I think it is an appropriate time to begin preparing some intial topics to discuss. This will provide a rough idea of what people are thinking about to begin the planning session at 9am on the 31st. To that end, please comment to this posting any/all topics you would like to discuss at the CuC.

Thanks and see you all soon!

George

Well, I took a nap too late this afternoon and now I am up and cannot sleep. So, I thought I’d muse a bit about technology collaboration.

There are so many opportunities for collaboration that we do have to be particular about the ones we pursue. Right? I don’t think so. I think we need to pursue all bonafide opportunities to see where they’ll lead. This is particularly true in today’s environment.

Why do I say that? I have been pushing hard at work since my return from Iraq to get us collaborating and innovating more. And, every opportunity I’ve pursued has led to further opportunities…many bridging back to any number of other objectives I have. Yes, it takes time. Yes, I still have my other duties to perform. Yes, it leads to restless nights and blog posting at odd hours. No, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Granted, reality does set in on a lot of the opportunities. I cannot obligate the library to anything without consulting my boss. Also, many of the opportunities involve spending money, which, again, involves consulting my boss. But, the opportunities are for the library, not just me or the IT department, so the administration needs to be on board with everything anyways.

One other nugget of knowledge that I’ve gained recently is – if you have what you think is a good -to-great idea…share it! And, share it immediately! I have truly been amazed at how receptive others have been to my crazy ideas. And, even more stunned that they’ve been thinking similar thoughts and are eager to work together towards a joint goal.

Finally, for the UnConference, bring your crazy ideas. Bring your crazy friends. Even bring your crazy boss (though I won’t tell him or her you said they were crazy ) Most importantly, however, bring your willingness to voice your ideas and listen to others’ ideas with an open mind.

George

Apparently our site was hacked in the last few days.  We think we’ve got it fixed now, but I’ve deleted a few unrecognizable “subscribers”.  Please bear with us if we’ve lost any posts you made to register, and check to see if you got through.

If you were sent to another site by a redirect, our apologies, but this is entirely outside our actions and something we try to avoid.

– Dennis Van Arsdale

Instead of my normal procrastination method of worrying about the perfect way to start, I thought I’d start my blogging career looking for comments. We already have 25 people registered for the CuC in July and that has us all very excited. So, let the games begin!

And, since everything has a beginning, let us begin with our current status. I would like to know what we have as resources within the State before we determine what we need.

At the UofA, Fayetteville, we have:
III Millennium (ILS)
ContentDM 5 with 2 collections and over 1,000 items
ILLiad

And are  just days away from a Fedora-Commons test server for a digital repository ‘n such.

These are the primary programs I can think of that will enable us to collaborate with others, though I think the most important item that we have is our human capital.

Now, for particular areas I am interested in collaborating on:
Federated Identity management (Shibboleth, etc.)
State-wide digital library/collection/archives
State-wide union catalog (with better delivery options)

Okay, now it’s your turn…what do you have and what do you want? Please remember that the primary focus is technology, but we can always find ways to involve technology in any collaboration, so share all areas you are interested in.

v/r,

George