The Minnesota Library Association 2012 conference is fast approaching! It will be held October 3-5th at the Saint Paul RiverCentre.

Here's a quick look at some sessions that may be of interest to TSS members. For a full list of sessions with descriptions and speakers, please visit the MLA website.

Wednesday, October 3

Session A (2:00-3:00)
ELM Mobile: Databases to Go
Screencasting: the Fast & Easy Tool for Launching a Virtual Library Instruction Program
Taming the Consortia Bib Database: Authority Control, OCLC, Inventories and Weeding

Session B (4:00-5:00)
Everyone's an eBook Expert: Staff Support Strategies
Traditional of Cutting-Edge: Globe University Makes the Leap to OCLC's WorldShare Management Service
Getting Their Pinterest: Using Pinterest to Market Your Library
What is Islandora? Could it meet your digital repository needs?

Thursday, October 4

Session C (9:00-10:00)
Libraries in the Cloud
Minitex Digitization, Cataloging, and Metadata Education - Looking Ahead

Session D (11:00-12:00)
Connecting with Online Communities: Beyond the Social Media Buzz
Stop the Presses: Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Newspaper Digitization

Session E (2:30-3:30)
iPademonium: How (and why!) to start a library iPad program
Jump In! Our Experience with Floating Our Library's Collection
Minitex: What Next?

Session F (3:45-4:45)
Inside the Mind of the User: Website Usability Testing

Friday October 5

Session G (9:00-10:00)
Agile Web Design and Usability Testing: An Experiment in Redesigning an Internal Website
In Search of the Killer App: Practical Ways to Publish, Harvest and Use Linked Data
Things in a Flash: An iPad App Buffet

Session H (10:45-11:45)
E-books and the Future of Libraries: A Panel Discussion (TSS sponsered session)
Hitting a Moving Target: Cataloging in the Age of Emerging Technologies

SNEAK PEEK at the MLA Annual Collection Management/Technical Services Track

Technical Services Section members--the 2011 MLA Annual Conference has a great Collection Management/Technical Services Track planned. Here is a sneak preview of the Collection Management/Technical Services Track (NB: Some program titles are subject to change).

Cataloging and Metadata:
“Not Your Mother’s Authority Control: Locating Information in the 22nd Century” (Sarah Weeks)
“Cataloging, OCLC, and Minitex: Past, Present, Future” (Minitex BATS Staff)
“RDA vs AACR2 Throwdown” (Sarah Quimby, Bobby Bothmann, and others)

Collection Development:
“Use, Importance, and Collection Development of Award Winning Books within the MnPALS Consortium” (Tammy Bobrowsky)
“If You Encourage Them, They Will Come: Strategies for Building eBook Circulation” (Panel Discussion)
“Organize Your Ordering: Navigate the Sea of Vendors, Websites, and Catalogs to Build a Stronger Children’s Collection” (Frances Veit, Mic Golden, Aurora Jacobsen, possibly others)

Preservation:
“What’s Up with MLAC (“the Collection Down Under”)?” (Bill DeJohn and panel)
I hope to see you there! Stop by and say hello—it’s a great time to network, gather information at the sessions, and share ideas with each other.

I will post dates, times, and room assignments for these sessions once I receive them. I hope that you all are enjoying the rest of your summer!

MLA is Still Accepting Proposals!

MLA is still accepting proposals for the 2011 conference. Deadline for program proposals is April 29th!!!

Please click here for more information on submitting session proposals.

The 2011 Annual Conference will be held at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center from October 12-14th. We hope to see you there...

Technical Services Section members, I hope you're looking forward to and planning on attending the MLA annual conference. This year's conference title is: SERIOUS PLAY. It begins at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 6th, at the Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester with registration opening. Then we make our way to a continental breakfast as we prepare for the first pre-conference session. This is followed by keynote speakers, great sessions, exhibits, the silent auction, business meetings and so much more. And, we wrap up at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, October 8th.

TSS is sponsoring the following sessions:

Wednesday, October 6th, 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
"RDA: an introduction" with Mark Ehlert
Resource Description and Access (RDA) is the new cataloging code designed to succeed AACR2. This pre-conference will use AACR2 as a point of departure to introduce attendees to the structure and content of RDA. Instruction will present an inspection of the new rules, their FRBR-inspired language, and their practical application in MARC-encoded bibliographic and authority records. Opportunities for hands-on cataloging will be offered. The session will end with a period for questions and discussion.

Wednesday, October 6th, 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
"Web-scale for libraries" with Mike Morey
Join us to learn how OCLC's new web-scale service model-similar to widely used web services like eBay, Orbitz and mint.com-will impact libraries in a positive way by expanding community and sharing at the network level, reducing costs for individual libraries and streamlining operations. Also learn about OCLC's project to move to web-based services for all library management system activities-from selection and acquisition to discovery and delivery.

Wednesday, October 6th, 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
"Cataloging and OCLC previews and reviews" with Carla Urban
Come learn about important developments in cataloging and OCLC products and services. Minitex staff will whet your appetite for Resource Description and Access (RDA,) the new cataloging code that will replace AACR2, with discussion of the RDA testing process, OCLC's work with RDA (revisions and additions to OCLC-MARC, updates to Worldcat's user interface, etc.), and previews of Minitex training opportunities.
We will also review changes in OCLC's e-content services (NetLibrary and FirstSearch databases), OCLC's Rights and Responsibilities for the OCLC Cooperative, and other hot topics. Everyone's invited! Bring your questions.

Thursday, October 7th, 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM
"Test-driving Resource Description and Access: Minnesota experience"
with Bobby Bothmann, Mark Ehlert, Mary Huismann, Sara Quimby As part of the U.S. National Libraries' test of RDA, catalogers from three Minnesota libraries spent their summer using RDA to catalog items from their normal workflow. Bobby Bothmann (Minnesota State University, Mankato), Mary Huismann (University of Minnesota), and Sarah Quimby (Minnesota Historical Society) will share their experiences with preparing for, learning, and first impressions on using this new library content standard. Mark Ehlert (Minitex, BATS) will discuss training staff to use RDA and highlight upcoming training opportunities from Minitex.

Thursday, October 7th, 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
"ECRL, PALS, and Evergreen: rules of play for a successful OS ILS migration" with Andrew Nordin and Jennifer Turner
What do play and open-source ILS migrations have in common? Quite a lot, actually! To be successful, both require all participants to have adventurous spirits, enthusiasm for the task, communication skills, and a shared willingness to work as a team. At this session, Jennifer Turner (PALS) and Andy Nordin (ECRL) will describe their experiences in implementing Minnesota's first large-scale open-source ILS system
(Evergreen) for the East Central Regional Library System. Come hear first-hand accounts of how the "rules of play" translate to the ingredients for a successful open-source migration and implementation.

Thursday, October 7th, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
TSS business meeting
The MLA annual meeting is from 5:00-6:00 PM and the MLA reception is from 5:00-7:30 PM. In the spirit of Serious Play, the reception and cash bar will start simultaneously with the MLA business meeting this year! If you wish, after the MLA business meeting, grab another hors d'oeuvre, refresh your drink, and stroll off to the division, section, round table, or committee meeting of your choice. We'll keep the reception humming until 7:30 PM - just in case the meetings leave you wanting another round. (Our other choice for a business meeting time was 7:00-8:00 AM Friday; I opted for the evening time.)

Friday, October 8th, 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
"PALS and open source" with Stephen Elfstrand, Mary Ann Greenwald and Linda Richter PALS has been working with open source library technologies, including a discovery tool, an integrated library system (ILS), an openURL link resolver, and an electronic resource management (ERM) system. Learn why PALS decided to move in this direction, what our current focus is, and what our plans are for the future. Get a glimpse of some of the open source products we are currently working with--including VuFind and the reSearcher products from Simon Fraser University-- and hear about how well these products have met our expectations. You might decide that an open source product is in your future, too.

I hope to see you there. Stop by and introduce yourself. It's a wonderful time to network as well as gather some great information at the sessions.

Marcia Semerau
TSS Chair-Elect

Call for MLA 2010 Conference Proposals

This message is being posted on behalf of Marcia Semerau, Chair-Elect of the Technical Services Section and representative to the 2010 MLA Annual Conference Program Committee.

"Serious Play"

From: Minnesota Library Association / Technical Services Section
To:  All members

There's a wonderful opportunity waiting for you.  The officers of the section invite, actually we encourage you to submit a proposal to present a session at the MLA annual conference being held October 6-8 in Rochester.  To help you get the creative juices flowing, here are topics that have been suggested:

1.  Digitization
     A.  How are members involved in digitization projects?
     B.  Project(s) start to finish
     C.  Technical services roles in digitization

2.  Discovery layers - issues and preparedness (legacy data exposed, preparation and cleanup)

3.  MnPALS Plus, AquaBrowser, etc.: using the new interface and how are others using this format

4.  Open source ILS's - Evergreen

5.  FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records)

6.  MarcEdit

7.  RDA (Resource Description and Access) - training on new cataloging rules

8.  Technical Services 2.0 (internal and patrons) - using blogs, wikis, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

9.  Contextual identification

10.  The future of cataloging
       A.  Where are we going?
       B.  Can we abandon cataloging as more resources move to the web?

Please consider doing this as an individual or with a panel.  Pick a topic from this list or come up with your own idea.  Then go online to http://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/mlaconference10/sessionproposals to submit your proposal. 

If you plan to present at the conference, copy me with the session information (msemerau@duluth.lib.mn.us)  Or, maybe you've already sent in your proposal, please share that with me too.  I'd like to keep the Technical Service Section members aware of some of the choices they'll have when they attend the annual conference. 

Session proposal deadline is April 23rd.

Thanks,
Marcia Semerau, TSS Chair-Elect
218-723-4230
msemerau@duluth.lib.mn.us 

2009 TSS Business Meeting Notes

Thanks to our Secretary, Stephanie Quinn, for compiling the minutes from our 2009 TSS Business Meeting!

View the 2009 Minutes

MLA Handouts!

For those of you who just attended the preconference: Cataloging Streaming Media, I've posted the following:

Slides (with images - not included on conference cd)

Handout

And if you're planning to attend the TSS Business Meeting, here are the slides for the RDA update portion of the session:

RDA Update Slides

All of the TSS sponsored session handouts will be posted after the conference here.