LITA Highlights at 2017 ALA Annual Conference

ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition Chicago June 22 - 27 2017

The complete LITA schedule with room assignments is coming soon.

Join us for the LITA President’s Program with Kameron Hurley: We Are the Sum of Our Stories

Sunday, June 25, 2017, 3:00 - 4:00pm
Location: McCormick Place, West - room 192
 

First Time ALA Annual Conference Attendees

We've put together an informal web page with some information and links of interest to help you navigate what can be an overwhelming first experience.

LITA Preconference: Friday, June 23, 2017, 9:00am - 4:00pm

LITA AvramCamp, an AdaCamp inspired event (LITA1)

Location: Northwestern University, Weibold Hall, Chicago, IL
Facilitators: Margaret Heller, Digital Services Librarian, Loyola University Chicago; Evviva Weinraub, Associate University Librarian for Digital Strategies, Northwestern University. 
 
margaret heller head shotevviva weinraub heat shot
 
Women in technology face numerous challenges in their day-to-day work. If you would like to join other women in the field to discuss topics related to those challenges, LITA AvramCamp, an AdaCamp inspired event, is for you. This one-day LITA preconference at ALA Annual in Chicago will allow female-identifying individuals employed in various technological industries an opportunity to network with others in the field and to collectively examine common barriers faced.
 
This day will follow the unconference model allowing attendees the power to choose topics most relevant to their work and their lives. Participants will have the opportunity to propose lightning rounds and session proposals on a variety of topics such as salary negotiation, creating inclusive job postings, and getting involved in open source software development. Please come prepared with ideas for discussion topics! The opening session, led by Margaret Heller, will address imposter syndrome, the feeling that you aren’t actually qualified for the work you are doing and will be discovered as a fraud. Evviva Weinraub will be our facilitator for the day. We look forward to having you join us for this important event!
 
 
Details and local transportation information will be sent to registrants about a week prior to the camp. The workshop space is ADA accessible. Please contact Jenny Levine (jlevine@ala.org) for additional accommodation requests or questions.
 
Registration Information
 
Rates
How-to
 
To register for this event, you can include it with your initial conference registration or add it later using the unique link in your email confirmation. If you don't have your registration confirmation handy, you can request a copy by emailing alaannual@compusystems.com. You also have the option of registering for a preconference only; you do not have to register for the full ALA Annual Conference to attend AdaCamp. To register, use the Ticketed Events link at the conference website.
Sponsors
 
We thank our sponsors for supporting travel scholarships and a networking reception to help build connections for participants who would not otherwise have access to these opportunities.
 
  

Interest Group Discussion Sessions

Find days, times, and locations of LITA Interest Group discussions in the ALA Annual Scheduler. 
Check out this page for fuller descriptions for some of the discussion sessions.

Buddy Program graphic, created by Marie Van den Broeck from Noun ProjectLITA Conference Buddy Program

Apply now for the LITA Conference Buddy Program for the 2017 ALA Annual Conference

LITA is excited to announce a new program designed to make conference attendance more approachable, foster inclusion, and build connections. Inspired by the GLBTRT Buddy Program, we hope to foster stronger relationships among LITA members who attend conferences and also make attendance more enjoyable and rewarding for everyone who participates. 

Find more information, including instructions for applying for the program, on the Conference Buddy page.
 
If you have any questions about the program, please contact the Diversity & Inclusion Committee at LITAConferenceBuddy@gmail.com

LITA Conference Kickoff, Friday June 23, 2017, 3:00 - 4:00pm

Location: McCormick Place, West - room 194b
 
 
Join Join current and prospective members for an overview of LITA and informal conversation at the Library Information Technology Association (LITA) Conference Kickoff. Everyone is welcome to meet LITA leaders, committee chairs, and interest group participants. We will share information about our recent and upcoming activities, build professional connections, and discuss issues in library and information technology. Whether you are considering LITA membership for the first time, are a long-time member looking to engage with others in your area, or are anywhere in between, take part in great conversation and learn more about volunteer and networking opportunities at this meeting.

Executive Perspectives: A Conversation on the Future of the Library Technology Industry, Saturday June 24, 2017, 10:30 - 11:30am

Location: McCormick Place, West - room 185bc
 

Marshall Breeding, author of the annual Library Systems Report published in American Libraries, will assemble and moderate this panel of CEO or other senior executives representing organizations that produce software or services for libraries. This year's panel will include a director of an ARL library to provide reactions from the library perspective.

  • Sarah Pritchard, Dean of Libraries and the Charles Deering McCormick University Librarian, Northwestern University
  • Bill Davison, President and Chief Executive Officer, SirsiDynix
  • Kurt Sanford, Chief Executive Officer, ProQuest
  • George Coe, Chief Operating Officer for Follett Corporation, Baker and Taylor Follett

More details here.

LITA Imagineering: Saturday June 24, 2017, 1:00 - 2:30pm

Generation Gap: Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Look at Youth and Technology

Location: McCormick Place, West - room 192
 
Librarians face the challenge of adapting services and technologies to new generations of users. Each new group expects that their attitudes and beliefs about technology, privacy, and a host of other issues will be served. How can these desires of tomorrow reconcile with the technology of today. Science fiction and Fantasy literature have often served as a method for examining these generational expectations, viewing them as resulting in anything from peaceful co-existence and fraught conflict. Join LITA, the Imagineering Interest Group, and Tor Books as a panel of Science Fiction and Fantasy authors discuss how their work can help explain and bridge these generational gaps, as well as what it takes for a literary work to gain crossover appeal for both youth and adults. This year's line-up is slated to include:
  • Cory Doctorow
  • Annalee Newitz
  • V.E. Schwab
  • Susan Dennard

doctorow walkaway book coverNewitz Autonomous book coverschwab conjuring book coverdennard windwitch book cover

 

LITA Guide Book Signing: Saturday June 24, 2017, 3:00 - 3:30pm

Melody Condron, author of
Managing the Digital You: Where and How to Keep and Organize Your Digital Life
Rowman and Littlefield Booth #2515

Don't miss your chance to meet and have your copy signed by Melody Condron of Managing the Digital You: Where and How to Keep and Organize Your Digital Life. This book is a much-needed guide for those struggling with how to manage and preserve their digital items. Starting with a values assessment, this book helps readers identify what items are important to them personally so that they can effectively prioritize their time and effort. Covering multimedia, correspondence, legacy planning, password protection, photos, non-digital documents, financial and legal documents, and even social media archiving, this comprehensive text addresses how to get started and how to develop a plan for managing existing and future items.

  

Sunday Afternoon with LITA, June 25, 2017

Top Technology Trends

1:00 - 2:30pm
Location: McCormick Place, West - room 192

LITA's premier program on trends and advances in technology features our ongoing roundtable discussion by a panel of LITA technology experts and thought leaders. The panelists will describe changes and advances in technology that they see having an impact on the library world and suggest what libraries might do to take advantage of these trends. Panelists and their suggested trends include:

 

  • Margaret Heller, Session Moderator, Digital Services Librarian, Loyola University Chicago
  • Emily Almond, Director of IT, Georgia Public Library Service
  • Marshall Breeding, Independent Consultant and Founder, Library Technology Guides
  • Vanessa Hannesschläger, Researcher, Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities/Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Veronda Pitchford, Director of Membership and Resource Sharing, Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS)
  • Tara Radniecki, Engineering Librarian, University of Nevada, Reno

Margaret Heller head shotEmily AlmondMarshall BreedingVanessa HannesschlägerVeronda PitchfordTara Radniecki

More information about the program is available at the Top Tech Trends site.
 

LITA President’s Program with Kameron Hurley: We Are the Sum of Our Stories

3:00 - 4:00pm
Location: McCormick Place, West - room 192

kameron hurley head shot
We are the Sum of our Stories.
 
LITA President Aimee Fifarek welcomes Kameron Hurley, author of the essay collection The Geek Feminist Revolution, as well as the award-winning God’s War Trilogy and The Worldbreaker Saga. Hurley has won the Hugo Award, Kitschy Award, and Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer. She was also a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Nebula Award, and the Gemmell Morningstar Award. Her short fiction has appeared in Popular Science Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, and many anthologies. Hurley has written for The Atlantic, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, Bitch Magazine, and Locus Magazine. She posts regularly at KameronHurley.com. 
 
In this thought-provoking talk, essayist and author Kameron Hurley will discuss how curated content is shaping not only the stories we tell about ourselves, but the realities we live in, and how librarians and other information professionals can help shape these narratives. She will discuss propaganda (“fake news”), the rise of far-right internet culture into the mainstream, and how cyber wars now rely more on hacking our narratives than our computers.
 
Hurley will sign copies of her book "The Geek Feminist Revolution" after her talk.
 
Kameron Hurley holds a Master’s Degree in historical studies, in which she analyzed the role of propaganda in the recruitment of women fighters in South Africa. She is also an award-winning advertising copywriter with over a decade of experience in digital and content marketing. In addition, Hurley has written an essay collection on geek culture, The Geek Feminist Revolution; as well as six science fiction and fantasy novels and numerous short stories. 
 
Hurley has a regular column in Locus Magazine, and has also written for venues such as The Atlantic, Entertainment Weekly, The Huffington Post, Bitch Magazine, The Village Voice, LA Weekly, and Popular Science Magazine.
 
Thank you to Tor for sponsoring Hurley's talk.
Tor Publishing logo with a rocket

LITA Happy Hour

6:00 - 8:00pm
Beer Bistro
1061 W. Madison St. Chicago Il. 60607
312.433.0013

This year the LITA Happy Hour continues the year-long celebration of LITA's 50th anniversary, so expect lots of anniversary fun and games. Join LITA members from around the country for networking, good cheer, and lively conversation. Cash bar.

 

lita 50th anniversary logo

 

50 Years of LITA History Slide Set