[Eg-oversight-board] Final conference thoughts

[Terran McCanna]

Sorry for my late reply:

- Tracks: I know we've already signed the contracts for the numbers of
rooms, but what if we considered different ways of using the rooms? For
example, what if we changed to two tracks of sessions, but then used the
third room for an ongoing hackfest/digfest that shifted to game night space
in the evenings? I noticed quite a few people perched around the lobby
working furiously on things in between sessions - it might be nice to have
a dedicated workspace. Maybe even with it's own coffee / soda service?

- Wi-fi: Perhaps we can look into getting some wi-fi hotspots that don't
rely on the hotel wi-fi?

- Food: The snack breaks were awkward this year. I ended up skipping almost
all of them because I wasn't hungry that soon after meals and most of the
options didn't appeal to me. Perhaps we could consider spending more of
that budget on all day service for coffee/soda/juice/water and take-and-go
type snacks (fruit, chips, bagged nuts...) that are replenished throughout
the day rather than having catered snack breaks?

- Keynote: Maybe it's just me, but I don't think we really need an outside
keynote speaker. I get much more out of hearing people in the community
speak.

- Merch: Someone on the survey suggested having some merch that is
locally-themed or library-themed along with the Evergreen-themed merch, and
I love that idea. Big conferences like ALA always have booths that are just
selling library-themed t-shirts and mugs, book-oriented jewelry, etc. that
rake in the money. (It might also be another sponsorship opportunity to
offer.)

- Vendors: Several vendors suggested the idea of vendor showcases, and I
really like that idea. I've been to a number of conferences that have
vendor-sponsored breakfasts and lunches where they get to present while
people are eating. Or, perhaps combine vendor spotlights with snack breaks,
so they get 15 or 20 minutes with a dedicated snacking audience?

- Types of Programs: I noticed there were several requests in the survey
for more cataloging / acquisitions / technical services sessions. I think
one of the reasons we have few volunteers to do sessions on these topics is
that cataloging policies and procedures aren't tied to a specific ILS.
However, there are probably topics that we could encourage community
members to do that aren't 100% tied to Evergreen but still relevant to our
users. For example, a panel discussion on data quality and things to think
about when moving from being an independent library to part of a consortium
with a union catalog?

- New and Potential Users: I like the idea of having a dedicated session
for libraries that are new to Evergreen and libraries that are considering
Evergreen as well. Maybe have it be in the form of a moderated interest
group, perhaps with a representative from a few different types of
libraries that are well-experienced with Evergreen to answer questions.

- Promoting the Conference: Does anyone have any ideas on ways to promote
the conference outside of the Evergreen lists and our existing communities?
Would it be worth purchasing ads in library magazines or on social media
sites?


Terran McCanna
PINES Program Manager
Georgia Public Library Service
1800 Century Place, Suite 150
Atlanta, GA 30345
404-235-7138
tmccanna at georgialibraries.org
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