PRECONFERENCE: Managing Vendor Relationships (April 6th):

Panels and speakers will address multiple dimensions of managing relationships with library vendors. Topics for the day will include building an understanding of how a software company works and why library vendors behave as they do; thoughts on how to “fix” a “bad” relationship with a vendor; the pros and cons of participating as a development partner or early adopter of software; and the evolving vendor marketplace as libraries face vendor mergers, open-source projects, and actual or perceived monopolies.

HAPPY HOUR (April 6th):

ACRL Oregon’s Happy Hour is a great time to meet up with old (and new!) friends while enjoying beverages (+/- alcohol) and nibbling tasty hors d’oevres! By tradition, Happy Hour begins shortly after our Preconference Session ends – stay tuned for more details re: time and location.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMS (April 7-8):

Accessing the Third Sector: the information of civil society organizations

* “Civil Society” organizations have grown in number and influence, and are important providers of “third sector” information on public policy issues. Most Oregonians have heard of Associated Oregon Industries, OSPIRG, and 1000 Friends of Oregon, but there are hundreds more that are actively involved in the debates over economic, environmental, educational, health and social policy questions. Their
information is topical, timely, persuasive, and can be an important primary source for public policy research. However, libraries have traditionally paid less attention to the third sector than they have to information sources in academia and the other two economic sectors: government and business. This session will explore the characteristics and value of third sector information, and report how it is being used by undergraduates and researchers at the University of Oregon. UO Librarians will describe their experience managing live, web-based information, as well as organizational archives.

All Textbooks on Reserve in the Library!

* Using grant money, in the fall of 2010, Portland Community College Library tried an experiment at its Cascade Campus Library. It established the goal of the library having at least one copy of every required text for every course taught at the campus that fall. The concept was that putting the texts on reserve might reduce the environmental impact of students buying books, and it would provide immediate access to the texts for students waiting for financial aid.

This program will be in two parts- a ‘how we did it’ and a ‘what happened.’ The ‘how we did it’ will give details on how to manage such a project and lessons learned, and ‘what happened’ will present data on changes in circulation, gate count, and anecdotal evidence from the students.

Mash-it Up: Cool Tools for Collection Management

* Data mash-ups (data sources pulled together to create new useful information) can be developed on either the local library level or by professional library groups to suit the needs of collection development librarians. Mash-ups are increasingly easy to produce and can be useful in working with faculty, informing collection analyses, and providing additional information during journal cancellation projects. Laurel Kristick (Oregon State University Libraries) will discuss an OSU project using Journal Citation Report and SHERPA RoMEO data to facilitate discussions with faculty to help them make informed decisions on depositing peer-reviewed journal articles in their ScholarsArchive@OSU. Robin Paynter will discuss the ACRL EBSS Psychology Committee Task Force project she lead which developed a new data-rich methodology to create the latest edition of the Committee’s longstanding publication, Core Psychology Journals.

Repackage! Repurpose! Aggregate! Leveraging Free Content

* Attendees will learn how the free online Web Services ResearchRaven and ScanGrants were constructed using a modest amount of outsourced Web design help and free Web 2.0 tools (e.g., Twitter, FeedBurner, various social bookmarking services) and what it takes to keep such services running vis-à-vis staff time for data entry, quality control and marketing. Attendees will learn about how to leverage the massive amounts of free content put out by such entities as foundations, professional societies, disease advocacy groups, conference organizers, academia (and in coming years more and more data disgorgement by the federal government) in order to create free library services that can be shared with patrons, other libraries and with the broader world.

Ready to make the most of the coming data deluge as the federal government prepares to release data from across the scientific and public policy spectrum? Make your library a trendsetter in the development of free online services and see them adopted by libraries worldwide. Learn from the developer of ScanGrants and ResearchRaven how you can become your own startup and take back for libraries some of the space that Silicon Valley has captured in recent years. Let’s geek together and learn how easy it is to make cool services that serve the public and advance learning, scholarship and science.

They Blinded me with Science: Qualitative Research

* Go beyond the standard patron survey and implement qualitative research methods, like focus groups, as collaborative research tools that can result in rich and nuanced patron data. But don’t stop there. Discover and practice strategies to quickly move projects from qualitative data gathering through preliminary data analysis to prioritized project recommendations. Learn to evaluate project data in terms of the funding and internal or external collaborations needed to move projects forward.

Watzek Rocks: Marketing the College Library

* Interested in better promotion of the Lewis & Clark College library, the Watzek Library Marketing Team was formed in 2004 to coordinate outreach to our primary clientele of undergraduates and faculty. Building on the team’s successes and with the subsequent creation of a librarian position with focus on library advancement activities, the library’s marketing approach continues to evolve. Additional constituencies, including staff, alumni and donors, are included and there is a developing partnership with the college’s division of institutional advancement. This session will discuss Watzek Library’s marketing successes and learning experiences and showcase our promotional materials.