Upcoming Internet Librarian 2009

In just a little over a month, I’ll be boarding a plane for Monterey CA to attend the annual Internet Librarian Conference.  I’ve been privileged to attend every year but one since its start, and each time I go, I return to Michigan with lots of enthusiasm and new projects for our Library.  I know this year’s conference will be no exception! 

I find the Preconference Sessions especially valuable since we are in small groups and focus on a topic for several hours in a row.  Last year I was disappointed to learn that the Digital Photographer Boot Camp was cancelled, but it is being offered again this year and I’m signed up to attend.  As an avid photographer who loves to “play” with my photos in Photoshop Elements, I can’t wait to learn more from presenters Michael Porter, Michael Sauers and Amanda Hollister.  The next day I’ll be in the Preconference Session called Open Source CMS Playroom.  In this class I’ll have hands-on practice creating web pages using Drupal, Joomla! and WordPress and then compare their features.  After this experience, I’ll be able to recommend which CMS we’ll be using at Plymouth for our Intranet…. and eventually our public web page.

These two classes are just the start of what I anticipate being another info-packed week of library technology.  Then I get to return to reality and see which of my new proposals will “fly” at work.  Be on the lookout for my updates from Monterey since I’ll be an official Blogger for the conference.