‘Creating Real Impact’ at this year’s Internet Librarian International

SLA Europe DigiComms

ILI 2014 bannerInternet Librarian International will take place at Olympia, London on 21-22 October. SLA members benefit from a 25% discount on the full conference fee, and SLA Europe will be hosting a Drinks Mixer for delegates and SLA members. Conference director Kat Allen gives us a preview of what to expect from this year’s conference.

The runaway success of Internet Librarian International (ILI) in recent years has been very exciting – but it also presents the conference organising team with renewed challenges as we get to grips with the planning and programming of the 2014 conference. How do we top last year’s event? What are the hot topics this year? Which key themes will resonate for information professionals from a variety of sectors, and from more than 30 countries? How should the conference format be varied?

This year, the challenge is even greater following the demise of Online Information and the increased interest in ILI that has followed as a consequence.

This year’s conference theme is ‘Positive Change: Creating Real Impact’, and the scene will be set by this year’s keynote speakers – Smithsonian thought leader and digital strategist Michael Edson; and Rachel Neaman, newly appointed CEO of Go ON UK, the digital inclusion charity founded by Martha Lane Fox.

Opening keynote speaker Michael Edson is at the forefront of digital transformation in the cultural sector. He has worked on numerous award-winning projects and has been involved in practically every aspect of technology and New Media for museums. I’m really looking forward to Michael’s keynote ‘The Dark Matter of the Internet’ in which he will argue that success for today’s organisations depends on how well we harness the collaborative, social, peer-to-peer and read/write opportunities presented by the internet.

I’m also excited that Rachel Neaman has agreed to give the Day 2 Keynote, as this will be one of her first public-speaking events in her new role as CEO of Go ON UK. She is joining Go ON UK from the Department for Health, where she was responsible for developing digital strategy, policy and guidance on transforming public services, and assisted digital and digital inclusion so I think her perspective on how digital skills are empowering people, businesses and countries will be both thought-provoking and inspiring.

ILI is known as ‘the technology and innovation conference for information professionals’. That said, the focus is not on massive technology implementations, or wholesale organisational change (although both of those can, and do, feature in the conference programme). ILI speakers are just as likely to share their experience of small-scale, boot-strapped projects with low (or no) budgets.

As ever, ILI’s focus is on real-life case studies, with info pros sharing their ‘warts and all’ view of ground-breaking and creative projects. Radical new roles for info pros, and radical new ways of delivering information services, feature strongly this year.

Georgina Cronin of Cambridge Judge Business School will share her experience of being a ‘UX’ librarian, explaining how, as a user experience specialist, she is able to carry out a variety of wide ranging research that informs the library’s approach to service design.

Gimena Campos Cervera from the US Embassy to Italy (and recipient of the SLA Europe Information Professional Award in 2009) will share her experience of setting up YouLab Pistoia, an innovative library space offering the latest digital technology in photography, video-making, 3D printing and the like, where people feel welcome to explore their creativity and express themselves through new digital media.

This year’s conference tracks include:
• New Blueprints for Libraries – including a look at trends in library services, and an exploration of radical new roles for librarians, including the UX librarian, and the librarian as DJ
• Technology Innovation and Impact – including 3D printers, augmented reality, library labs, and gamification
• Content Innovation – with sessions looking at the future of documents, the library as content hub, and new acquisition models
• The Marketing and Impact track includes a look at metrics and altmetrics, and generating meaningful social media
• The Search and Discovery track includes Phil Bradley’s famous roundup of the best new search apps and tools, and explores user perspectives on Discovery tools.
• The Closer to Communities and Customers track looks at co-creation, co-operation and communities, and ways to reach new audiences.
• The conference also features the new X Track – an informal, participatory space for delegates to explore, collaborate and share where delegates will be able to see new technology in action, chat informally with speakers and experts, experience and participate in an unconference session, and experiment with co-creating an app.
• Plus Social events, awards, and a delegate visit to the British Library

As ever, the social side of ILI is just as important as the formal sessions! We’re really pleased that once again SLA Europe will be hosting a Drinks Mixer for ILI’s delegates and SLA Europe members (Monday 20 October from 18.00 – 19.30 at Olympia Conference Centre). I look forward to seeing you there!

Discounts for SLA members:

SLA has negotiated a 25% discount for SLA members registering with the discount code SLA25.

Further Information:

Internet Librarian International 2014
The Innovation and Technology Conference for Information Professionals
21 & 22 October 2014, Workshops on 20 October 2014

The conference includes hands-on workshops; three parallel conference tracks, plus brand new ‘X Track’; keynotes; plenary sessions; panel discussions; 55 conference presentations including more than 40 case studies and 70 world-class speakers; networking with information professionals from over 30 countries, and the event’s Sponsor Showcase of global information products and service providers.
SLA members are entitled to claim a 25% discount on fees for the main conference. Discounts are also available for multiple delegates from the same organisation.

View the full programme and register at www.internet-librarian.com
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This is a sponsored post as part of our sponsorship agreement with ILI2014.

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