[Eg-oversight-board] Final conference thoughts

Thu May 25 15:05:26 EDT 2017

Also from the peanut gallery...

I actually (usually) really enjoy the keynotes.  But I also love hearing
from other folks in the community so can see merit in both and would be
happy to go either way for the 2018 conference.  Of course, that said, just
this week I had an idea for a possible awesome (STL-based) keynote speaker
for 2018... ;-)

Debbie

Debbie Luchenbill
Evergreen Coordinator
MOBIUS
111 E. Broadway, Ste. 220
Columbia, MO  65203
debbie at mobiusconsortium.org <deborah at mobiusconsortium.org>
573-234-4914
https://mobiusconsortium.org <http://mobiusconsortium.org>
Missouri Evergreen Help Desk: help at mobiusconsortium.org / 877-312-3517
http://libraries.missourievergreen.org

On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 1:59 PM, Grace Dunbar <grace at equinoxinitiative.org>
wrote:

> Kathy and I were talking about keynotes earlier.
> I suggested replacing them with invited local speakers who would/could
> give regular program sessions.  IOW, we would still retain the benefit of
> having outside ideas and perspectives but not in a keynote.
> For example, if the conference was back in Michigan I might suggest Charles
> Watkinson <https://www.lib.umich.edu/users/watkinc> from University of
> Michigan who is deeply involved in the open scholarly publishing  model.
> Just a random idea...
> :)
> /me fades into the background again
> Grace
>
> On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 2:48 PM, Andrea Buntz Neiman <
> abneiman at equinoxinitiative.org> wrote:
>
>> From the peanut gallery...
>>
>> I really enjoyed the community member speeches in Boston.  I'd be in
>> favor of doing something similar in lieu of an opening keynote, perhaps in
>> combination with a welcome/conference overview from the local conference
>> chair.
>>
>> The State of Evergreen/Board Update in addition to the Developer Update
>> makes for a good closing/last day segment, IMO.
>>
>> Andrea
>>
>> On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 2:23 PM, Holly Brennan <haderhold at ci.homer.ak.us>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> >>If we were to get rid of the keynote, what would replace it?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Icebreaker games! (Ahh! Just kidding)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> At the Boston conference in 2014 three Evergreen members did short
>>> 5-minute talks on the theme of “our experiences with Evergreen”, just prior
>>> to the Keynote. They were lumped together as State of Evergreen… I really
>>> enjoyed listening to more casual speeches by our own community, so a longer
>>> block for an individual or couple people doing something like that would be
>>> nice. That or a Blake GH magic show. J
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -Holly
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* eg-oversight-board [mailto:eg-oversight-board-bou
>>> nces at list.evergreen-ils.org] *On Behalf Of *Timothy Spindler
>>> *Sent:* Thursday, May 25, 2017 9:58 AM
>>> *To:* scott.thomas at sparkpa.org
>>> *Cc:* Grace Dunbar; Oversight Board
>>>
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Eg-oversight-board] Final conference thoughts
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I like the idea of a vendor showcase.  If we were to get rid of the
>>> keynote, what would replace it?  Do we have information on whether it has
>>> attracted attendance?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Tim
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 8:57 AM, scott.thomas at sparkpa.org <
>>> scott.thomas at sparkpa.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Regarding consortia, I have a few thoughts about this. First, money is
>>> obviously the first barrier to attendance, but we offer scholarships that
>>> have paid for all of the costs (previous years) or a fixed amount to go
>>> towards the cost (this year), and we advertised for applicants across all
>>> of our listservs which takes us down deeply into our 104 members. Every
>>> year we only get a handful of applicants, and they are always from the
>>> larger, well-staffed libraries who could actually afford to send their
>>> staff without consortium assistance. Why? In the smaller libraries, the
>>> majority of our 104, they simply can’t spare the time commitment. Bodies
>>> are needed at the desk. The other, darker issue is that some consortia may
>>> not encourage wider attendance from members because they then go to the
>>> conference, learn things, and start asking for things that you may not want
>>> to give. You do lose a bit of control. These things are hard to overcome.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I think we just need to stress, as the conference approaches, that there
>>> is something for everyone not just administrators and coders and that it is
>>> a great experience for anyone who uses Evergreen. I have a few folks who
>>> would be willing to give testimonials on You Tube.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Scott
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* Grace Dunbar [mailto:grace at equinoxinitiative.org]
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 24, 2017 12:13 PM
>>> *To:* scott.thomas at sparkpa.org
>>> *Cc:* Amy Terlaga <terlaga at biblio.org>; Kathy Lussier <
>>> klussier at masslnc.org>; Oversight Board <eg-oversight-board at list.everg
>>> reen-ils.org>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Eg-oversight-board] Final conference thoughts
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Diane, I'm glad you asked your question... and I'm glad Kathy answered.
>>>  :)  It really is a very broad conference that's trying to meet a lot of
>>> needs.  But, realistically, I think we have to look at it like any other
>>> similar conference.  For example, when I would go to NCLA when I worked at
>>> a library in North Carolina, I went with the expectation of networking,
>>> being exposed to new and innovative ideas, and collaborating with
>>> colleagues.  The Evergreen conference is organized by the community itself,
>>> with all the work and content being provided by community volunteers - and
>>> we are at the mercy of that wonderful and talented group of people who all
>>> have other responsibilities.  Even if we wanted to provide more/different
>>> programming at the conference, can we realistically deliver on that?  What
>>> *do* people expect from the conference?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> But that brings us neatly into what Scott asked...
>>>
>>> Do we know why people don't attend?  I think the obvious one is money.
>>> The "hidden" reason is that Evergreen is adopted largely by consortia.
>>> People in branch libraries often feel that the Evergreen conference is for
>>> the people "at the top" and not for them.  If we want to increase the
>>> Evergreen conference numbers then we need to figure out how to promote more
>>> outside the Evergreen community and how the community and consortia using
>>> Evergreen can better promote the conference to their members.  Evergreen
>>> Indiana and NC Cardinal did great jobs in that regard and the conference
>>> attendance numbers reflected that.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I do think it's absolutely worth surveying the broader community to find
>>> out what would encourage them to come to the conference.  As an interesting
>>> data point, there are just over 700 subscribers to the Evergreen General
>>> Mailing List.  So, all 700 of those folks ought to have been aware that
>>> there was a conference...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Grace
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 8:20 AM, scott.thomas at sparkpa.org <
>>> scott.thomas at sparkpa.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> I am sorry I’m weighing a bit late. Yesterday was our Users Group
>>> conference. Thank you, Grace, for sharing your thoughts. I also appreciated
>>> hearing everyone’s responses. As a newbie on the board, I need to ask a few
>>> questions, and I apologize in advance if this was already been discussed
>>> numerous times. Given the size of the Evergreen community, do we think 140
>>> is a reasonable number of attendees? Also, do we have any theories as to
>>> why we did not see an increase from last year given that the Evergreen
>>> community is growing and not shrinking? Prior to putting out a Call for
>>> Proposals for 2019 (and I am all in favor of Kathy’s suggestion of
>>> advancing the deadline), should we survey the community about the
>>> conference? It can start with a Did you attend? Y/N and, if N, we can try
>>> to find out why. We can also ask them to rate what is most and least
>>> important in terms of the conference experience. If you are all amenable to
>>> this, I will volunteer to take the lead with the survey.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Scott
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* eg-oversight-board [mailto:eg-oversight-board-bou
>>> nces at list.evergreen-ils.org] *On Behalf Of *Amy Terlaga
>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 23, 2017 12:49 PM
>>> *To:* Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org>
>>> *Cc:* Grace Dunbar <grace at equinoxinitiative.org>; Oversight Board <
>>> eg-oversight-board at list.evergreen-ils.org>
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Eg-oversight-board] Final conference thoughts
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> All good suggestions, Kathy!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Amy
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 12:43 PM, Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I haven't read the document closely, but some pieces (new
>>> sponsor/exhibitor rates) may be something we can implement sooner while #
>>> of rooms, food expenditures, and other contract items can be planned out
>>> for 2019. Another thought I've had is that we might want to consider
>>> putting out the call for the 2019 conference earlier this year. Although we
>>> put out the call about 16 months ahead of time, I know some locations are
>>> already fully booked by that time. Maybe we can plan for putting the next
>>> Call for Proposals out in August / September and plan on resolving these
>>> questions by then so that the 2019 planners know what the new requirements
>>> are.
>>>
>>> In addition to reducing costs, the other advantage to reducing the
>>> number of rooms is that it increases the number of conference hotels that
>>> can accommodate us.
>>>
>>> Kathy
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 05/23/2017 12:28 PM, Amy Terlaga wrote:
>>>
>>> These are some very intriguing suggestions for future conferences.  I'm
>>> all for reducing the overall cost to help the project make money.
>>> Unfortunately, contract signing with the conference venue for 2018 is
>>> wrapping up today or tomorrow.  I followed this year's plan.  I stuck with
>>> the formula.  I needed something to go on and felt the pressure of locking
>>> in the venue as the local committee has been working out a plan with them
>>> since before the 2017 conference.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I'm sorry some of this can't be executed for 2018, but the work has been
>>> laid out for 2019.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Grace, you've done so much work - it is much appreciated.  Your insights
>>> and expertise are invaluable..
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Amy
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 11:39 AM, Grace Dunbar <
>>> grace at equinoxinitiative.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> I thought it might be useful to provide my suggestions for the Evergreen
>>> conference and changes we may want to consider for the future.  Apologies
>>> in advance if this is either rambling or redundant, or both.
>>>
>>> The conference operates on thin margins.
>>>
>>> Every year the conference committee is confident (perhaps overly
>>> confident) that this year they will increase attendance numbers and
>>> increase sponsorships.  The problem is that we can't increase our
>>> sponsorships without increasing our attendance.  And our attendees who
>>> increase our numbers are generally just employees of a library in an
>>> existing consortia.  This exact complaint was brought up by multiple
>>> vendors - essentially, the Evergreen conference is really only between 8
>>> and 10 "clients" and having more circ or cataloging staff attendees at the
>>> conference doesn't increase their ROI.  And that's fair.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> And the attendees who can increase our numbers (local staff) seem to
>>> want very specifically targeted information related to them at the
>>> conference.  The conference surveys have been pretty clear that end-user
>>> staff want and expect *training* from the conference.  But that hasn't
>>> traditionally been the aim of the conference, nor can we reliably provide
>>> that since the programs are solicited from volunteers in the community.
>>> Also complicating things for "training" on Evergreen features is that
>>> Evergreen is so customizable that "training" or explanations of how to use
>>> certain features may not jive with local policy for their consortia or
>>> library system. Regardless, I believe we can, to some extent, provide that
>>> kind of training in the pre-conference sessions.  However, we will need to
>>> be very selective in the process of recruiting the pre-conference
>>> presenters (trainers) if we're going to try to actively meet that need.
>>>
>>> Also, I firmly believe that the conference should make money for the
>>> project.  With that money, the project can provide outreach, build
>>> infrastructure, and promote the community.  We want to provide a good
>>> conference with stellar programs and a welcoming environment.  But the
>>> conference is also for building relationships, allowing developers and
>>> community leaders to conduct business and brainstorm, as well as providing
>>> space for the EOB, committees, and interest groups to meet.  IOW, we're
>>> trying to meet a lot of needs and there needs to be balance - we can't make
>>> everyone happy all the time.  If you look at the breakdown of attendees,
>>> systems administrators and developers are roughly 1/3, end-users are
>>> roughly 1/3, and admin/consortia leaders are roughly 1/3.  Those are all
>>> stakeholders that are important but their needs are very different.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> To reduce overhead for the conference and to try to give *everyone* the
>>> best experience we should at least look at making some changes. Based off
>>> of my experience and the results of conference surveys, I have some
>>> suggestions for changes to the structure and the sponsorships.
>>> Note that the proposed reduction of the conference to two tracks had
>>> wide support in the survey and the track reduction and changes to
>>> pre-conferences and when/where IGs, etc. meet, should reduce the overhead
>>> for costs associated with meeting rooms, A/V, signage, labor, etc.
>>> See attached doc for details.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for sticking with the rambling...
>>>
>>> And as always, this is just a suggestion based on my experience - I
>>> leave it to y'all to decide what to take away from the information and what
>>> direction to go.
>>>
>>> Cheers!
>>>
>>> Grace
>>>
>>> p.s. Exhibitor and attendee surveys also attached.  For anyone who
>>> prefers visual representations, just let me know and I can share the Google
>>> form with you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
>>>
>>> Amy Terlaga
>>>
>>> Director of Member Services
>>>
>>> Bibliomation, Inc.
>>>
>>> 24 Wooster Avenue
>>>
>>> Waterbury, CT  06708
>>>
>>> (203)577-4070 x101 <(203)%20577-4070>
>>>
>>> terlaga at biblio.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Kathy Lussier
>>>
>>> Project Coordinator
>>>
>>> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
>>>
>>> (508) 343-0128
>>>
>>> klussier at masslnc.org
>>>
>>> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
>>>
>>> Amy Terlaga
>>>
>>> Director of Member Services
>>>
>>> Bibliomation, Inc.
>>>
>>> 24 Wooster Avenue
>>>
>>> Waterbury, CT  06708
>>>
>>> (203)577-4070 x101 <(203)%20577-4070>
>>>
>>> terlaga at biblio.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Tim Spindler | Executive Director
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Andrea Buntz Neiman
>> Project Manager for Software Development
>> Equinox Open Library Initiative
>> abneiman at equinoxinitiative.org
>> 1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457)
>> *www.equinoxinitiative.org <http://www.equinoxinitiative.org>*
>>
>
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