The Corporate Librarian

Library Camp NYC ended 5 hours ago - Rachel should have the final count next week, but about 117 attendees, one all the way from New Zealand!

Content will be in a state of flux on the wiki for a while, as more pictures get added, program notes get tidied up, lessons learned get added, etc.. Nevertheless, please feel free to explore.

I have to thank Stephen Francoeur and Rachel Watstein (who needs a web presence, damn it) once again for doing all the heavy lifting, John Blyberg for starting off the whole Library Camp thing and all the attendees for making Library Camp NYC 2007 a success.

For people who are curious about what goes into planning an unconference, the latest addition to the Library Camp NYC wiki is a History page which gives an abbreviated timeline. For those wondering at the gap between October and January, from what I can reconstruct from my e-mails and blogs it was spent getting advice from John Blyberg and Alan Gray, talking with people from METRO and even more so preparing for a potential move to the West Coast.

The amazing thing is, none of us (the organizers - Stephen Francoeur, myself and Rachel Watstein) have actually met. I contacted Rachel because she’d said something about being willing to help in response to one of my mailings, and I honestly don’t remember how Stephen and I first got into contact. I think it was when he e-mailed me in April. We’ve exchanged e-mails and IMs and been on conference calls together, but August will be the first time we all meet face-to-face.

The William and Anita Newman Library is sponsoring Library Camp NYC, to be held at the William and Anita Newman Vertical Campus Conference Center, Baruch College on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M..

The address is 55 Lexington Avenue, 14th Floor.

For more details, see the wiki.

I’ve been playing with Ning, which seems to have re-envisioned itself from “letting non-coders build programs” to “letting anyone build a social network.” I question the advantage of going with Ning over something like PeopleAggregator, say, but from what I understand it’s a work in process. Some weird design decisions - Why would I want to keep the same Ning ID across all my Ning communities? Why have a blog module rather than letting people import their blog entries from elsewhere? Why can’t I subscribe to individual forum threads in RSS? Nevertheless, you can make some interesting sites through incorporation of widgets - for a while, Bill Drew, the founder of Library20.ning.com, had a chat widget front-and-center, now replaced by a Google Calendar for the group. From what Bill says, Ning plans to add chat and wiki functionality, which would make it much more useful.

In an effort to let more people participate, I’ll either be launching a Ning site for Library Camp NYC once we’ve finally confirmed dates (a venue is definitely set - this will happen) or a PeopleAggregator site. That way, people attending in person as well as virtually can post on topics as well as seeing whatever media gets published (audio, photos, video). Bill’s been interviewed by Stephanie Vance for an article on how associations can use technology to engage members, which seems especially timely.

UPDATE: Realized you can import blogs using the RSS box. OK, one complaint gone.

UPDATE THE SECOND: Bill Drew says you can subscribe to individual forum threads via RSS.

I’m expecting to hear this week on final dates and a venue for the Library Camp NYC - our preferred dates would be August 7th-9th, with a fallback of August 14th-16th.

Posting on library20.ning.com has gotten interest from several more people, so I take back anything back I ever thought or said about YASNS. So far, I have 22 people who are or might be interested, and I’m sure we can do better than that. So please feel free to proselytize among your colleagues and peers, and if anyone would like to receive updates please e-mail me at box_nine@ix.netcom.com with your full name.

Once dates and a venue are confirmed, I’ll set up a wiki, likely at wikispaces.com, which will include:

• A signup page
• A page to propose discussion sessions
• Information on hotel deals
• Multimedia stuff - e.g., photos, MP3s of sessions if people care to bring podcasting gear

I’m really looking forward to meeting you and having some fun discussions!

Between job turmoil and dealing with the upcoming move, the Corporate Librarian hasn’t been able to deal properly with planning for Library Camp NYC. So, in January he asked someone who’d been energized about the whole affair if she could help, and I’m proud to say that Rachel Watstein stepped in to fill the gap.

It does look like a March Library Camp isn’t possible, given the lead time required to promote Library Camp, let people make travel plans, book hotels, etc., so right now August is more of a possibility.

Dates Rachel suggested working around:

• Jul 14 - Jul 17, 2007 - American Association of Law Libraries - New Orleans
• Jul 14 - Jul 17, 2007 - Church and Synagogue Library Association Conference - King of Prussia
• Jul 31 - Aug 02, 2007 - Linux World - San Francisco
• August 19 - August 23 2007 - IFLA - Durban, South Africa
• August 27-September 2, 2007 - Society of American Archivists - Chicago

The Corporate Librarian envisions a one-day affair, 9-5, people getting their own lunches, scheduled near a weekend so people get a chance to explore the city. Where we could use help from faithful readers:

• Sample pitch letters to venues, if you have any
• Advice on purchasing insurance, as several venues under consideration make this mandatory
• How to make arrangements with hotels (i.e., are any likely to give discounts for a group of 30-50 people?)

The Corporate Librarian really wants to make this work, even if he has to fly out from California to do so. He’s reached out to John Blyberg and Alan Gray to see what advice they have, as well. Once things are organized, we can put some pages up on the Library 2.0 Wiki so people who want to do their own local Library Camps can have a better idea of what’s involved.

One of the people who’s been interested in Library Camp NYC for some time has graciously agreed to help find a place to hold the camp and to work on hotel space, for which I am forever in her debt. I’d gathered some information on possible locations from their websites (and in some cases, gone ahead and called), but I really haven’t been able to dedicate the time to the effort that it deserved.

Alan or John, any tips in terms of purchasing insurance (Is it a deal-breaker? How much does it run?), how much to budget for a space, etc. would be invaluable.

Unfortunately, the Brooklyn Public Library is booked March 10th and 11th, and only has a few hours free on the 12th. Jeremy has suggested Eyebeam as a possible venue, and I’m looking into that. I’m hoping to get the venue and hotel arrangements nailed this month, because honestly February and March I’m going to be worried primarily about my move to a new apartment.

Any assistance would be welcome.

Apologies for not posting in a while, the only topics that came to mind were ones the Corporate Librarian thought might be better saved for Library Camp NYC.

The Corporate Librarian still has to reach out to Brooklyn Public Library about possible meeting space - assuming that goes well the next step is to reach out to local hotels, see what sort of deal the Corporate Librarian can work out.

The other news is much more tentative at this point, but the Corporate Librarian thought it was worth mentioning. If the Corporate Librarian’s bosses agree, he’s going to transfer to the San Francisco office in February 2007. It’s entirely for personal reasons, and in fact the Corporate Librarian is a bit concerned as to whether things would work out from a business perspective.

The Corporate Librarian’s clients at least occasionally visit the New York office - aside from the head of the industry practice, it’s not likely the same would be true in San Francisco. There’s also the question of working with the Corporate Librarian’s boss remotely - he’s much more of a face-to-face guy. On top of all of this, the San Francisco office is the most expensive office in the US, and the Corporate Librarian might have to have his rates raised to cover an increase in salary - HR hasn’t gotten back.

Anyway, that’s what the Corporate Librarian has been dealing with. He hopes you and yours are having pleasant holidays.

The Corporate Librarian has a newfound respect for event planners, after poking around various library websites to see what kind of meeting space they have.

• Brooklyn Public Library: Might be a possibility, looking at their meeting space policies. Brooklyn is very much unknown territory to the Corporate Librarian, apart from a few days spent apartment-hunting and visiting various places the writer H.P. Lovecraft lived in or wrote about back in the late 90s.
• METRO: As noted previously, is already busy with workshops of their own (but are willing to help with promotion, which is very much appreciated)
• New York Public Library: Requires the purchasing of insurance, no promotion/signage etc. except within the rented space and with the expression permission of NYPL, invitations and promotional materials (including press materials) referring to the NYPL must be reviewed by the NYPL first
• Pratt School of Information: Requires either student involvement or the purchasing of insurance

Judging from past Library Camps, the Corporate Librarian is thinking he should plan on about 50 people attending, and try to get a space with Wi-Fi access (another reason to investigate BPL).

Once the Corporate Librarian has a space lined up, next comes arranging deals with a local hotel. Then, at long last, he can feel confident posting details to the Library 2.0 Wiki.