The NETSL Conference Evaluation Survey received 116 total respondents, or 41% of attendees. Thank you if you are the 41%! The conference overall received an average of 4.1 out of 5.
We were interested in whether attendees would like an eForum or blog and a call for papers for the conference. The eForum idea was supported by 2/3 of respondents but the call for papers was a closer vote, with only 7 more people voting against than for. We will consider both as we plan next year’s conference.
For those who were interested in more RDA programming, please join us for a hands-on RDA workshop over 2 session times at the NELA Annual Conference in October: https://netsl.wordpress.com/nela-conference/
While 44% of our respondents reported cataloging as the main piece of their work, the next largest group was “Other” at 20%, followed by 13% Electronic Resources librarians. The write in area shows mostly folks who have work that straddles many areas and administrators. Perhaps in the coming year, we can rework this area to allow multiple choice and add new categories.
Some Comments About the Day:
“I loved how relevant this year’s topics were! I enjoyed hearing about ebooks, and how different libraries were using them, as well as some of the cloud based services. I think if next year can be as forward thinking and optimistic as this year’s, that would be a really great.”
“Some focus on acquisitions would be nice for a change; this year’s program, like some others, seemed to have a cataloging focus.”
“This conference motivated me to start incorporating more professional development time into my work day so that I do not let the pile of books waiting for me to catalog prevent me from getting ahead of the curve and preparing to take a leadership position in project management opportunities in meta data and cataloging in the months to come.”
“I would like to see more inclusion of the public libraries with no funds. The conference was definitely slanted towards academic libraries. Maybe they are paving the way for us public librarians, but so much of what is presented has little relevance for us”
“I would love to see NETSL really push the envelope on topics. Nothing about “this is how similar our jobs will be in five years.”
“I think this conference could almost be repeated. The technologies are changing so fast that what we learn this month needs updating next!”
Logistical Comments:
“During the Q&A after the presentations, the folks carrying the microphones should be aggressive and ask people to use the mike. There was one instance where the questioner didn’t use the mike. People behind him couldn’t hear the question.”
“It was great to have less paper handed out at the conference, and it would be helpful if the list of attendees and the speaker presentations could be posted on the conference website earlier.”
“I don’t think a “panel” in which one person gives a presentation and then the other one does really works, though the content was good. “
“The afternoon speakers were all interesting, articulate and had some great ideas to contribute. I liked the panel presentations rather than a single afternoon speaker–I think this kept people’s attention. I would have liked more time for discussion.”
Suggested Topics For Next Year’s Conference
- hybrid technical services environments (print & digital workflows/environs)
- best practices that are system/vendor independent
- digital repository implementation/standards/outlook
- open bibliographic data & linked data
- open metadata copyright/licensing
- digital preservation
- faculty services
- vendor negotiations from both vendor and librarian perspectives
- how electronic publishing differs from print and affects us
- copyright and ePublishing
- Creative Commons & the library as publisher
- staffing to manage & structure digital services
- Perlscript
- step-by-step digitization
- metadata hands-on learning environment
- changing role of technical services
- revisit technical services librarians as systems librarians
- shelf ready acquisitions
- patron driven acquisitions
- registering e-journals
- keeping links current
- report from libraries who have transitioned to the cloud
- hands on systems work training (technologies to learn & advice on programming classes or networking classes)
- where web programming going (XHTML or HTML5 and why)
- presentation by staff from libraries who have migrated to Evergreen
- how has serials work/tools/workflows evolved in recent years
- libraries’ projects and experiences
- what standards and software are being used
If you have any further comments, want to volunteer, anything at all, please let us know: netslinfo@gmail.com
All conference materials are now up on the website: https://netsl.wordpress.com/netslconference/2012con/
Save The Date: 2013 NETSL Annual Spring Conference – April 12, 2013
New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) 