Below is the VRT schedule for the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. Come join us for these exciting programs and events!
Sessions
21st Century Collection Development Strategies for Media
Saturday, June 23, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Room 278
Are you involved in media collection development in your library? Join us as a panel of librarians representing both academic and public libraries discuss the unique film-to-library user ecosystem and its import for collection development and services. Specific topics addressed will include collaborative approaches to building effective streaming video collections, such as developing relationships with multiple vendors to license streaming video content, educating library users about relevant format and licensing options, collaborating with institutional diversity initiatives, and implementing streaming video initiatives at branch or satellite locations.
NEW! Streaming Video Open Forum
Saturday, June 23, 4 PM - 5 PM
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Room 298
Large-scale streaming video platforms are making more video content directly available to our users than ever before. How do librarians plan for and navigate issues of funding and access in a seemingly ever-expanding sea of offerings? Topics include: funding models, implications for immediate and long-term access, the effect of large-scale streaming collections on independent distributors, and opportunities for collaboration. Moderated by Gisèle Tanasse, Film & Media Services Librarian, University of California, Berkeley.
Empowering Youth through Video Storytelling
Saturday, June 23, 10:30AM - 11:30AM
Hilton New Orleans Riverside Fulton
NOVAC has been teaching young people to tell their stories through video since the 1970s. Currently, NOVAC leads programs in partnership with public libraries that allow children and teens to connect and learn from professional filmmakers. Every summer their highly successful workshop culminate in a family-friendly red carpet event celebrating the success of program participants. Join us to discuss what makes this library program so successful and meet some of the people involved in making it happen as well as participants. Moderated by Erin Miller, Head, Media Library, University of North Texas.
The State of Independent Filmmaking in New Orleans
NEW! Featured speakers
Sunday, June 24, 10:30AM - 11:30AM
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Room 213
Join VRT and representatives from the New Orleans Film Society to discuss the state of independent film making in New Orleans. Hear directly from local filmmakers featured in the Now Showing @ALA film series, including: Zandashé Brown (Dir. Summer 16), Victoria Greene, (Dir. Forgotten Bayou: Life on the Sinkhole), Zibby Jahns (Artist/Costume Designer featured in The Exceptionally Extraordinary Emporium), Cam-Thanh Tran (Assistant Director, Tulane Center for Studies of Displaced Populations featured in Echoes of Vietnam), and Fallon Young (Exec. Dir., New Orleans Film Society). Moderated by Michele McKenzie, Immediate Past Chair VRT, Media Librarian, City College of San Francisco.
Sunday, June 24, 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Room 296
The Multimedia Production Discussion Group serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas on supporting media production in multi-type libraries. Topic coverage is diverse, including the equipment, computing and on demand support for audio/video creation to 3D printing, Virtual Reality and related technologies often associated with the makerspace movement. Moderated by Scott Spicer, Media Outreach and Learning Spaces Librarian, University of Minnesota.
VRT Board Meeting
VRT Membership and Executive Board Meeting
Monday, June 25, 8:30PM - 12:30PM
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Room 296
Please join the Video Round Table's (VRT) Executive Officers and Board in this open business meeting and learn how you can become involved! VRT members and nonmembers are both welcome. Moderated by Andrew Horbal, VRT Chair.
Now Showing @ ALA
The Now Showing @ ALA Film Program offers a variety of films and documentaries throughout the conference from Saturday through Monday. Several of these films are being screened in conjunction with the panel of representatives from the New Orleans Films Society and local filmmakers (Sunday, June 24 from 10:30am-11:30am).
Sunday, June 24
Forgotten Bayou -- 8:00am-9:15am, Theater C
On August 3, 2012 a sinkhole swallowed a swath of swamps in Bayou Corne, Louisiana. Residents were left with an impossible choice: start their lives over elsewhere, or stay and face the risks. This film is being screened in conjunction with the panel discussion on Sunday, June 24 from 10:30am - 11:30am featuring the director, Victoria Greene.
Echoes of Vietnam -- 9:15am-9:45am
A group of Vietnamese refugees from New Orleans find an unlikely source of strength after traumatic events like post-war relocation and Hurricane Katrina. This film is being screened in conjunction with the panel discussion on Sunday, June 24 from 10:30am - 11:30am featuring Cam-Thanh Tran, Assistant Director, Tulane Center for Studies of Displaced Populations.
The Exceptionally Extraordinary Emporium -- 9:45am-10:05am, Theater C
A celebratory look at the cherished tradition of costuming during Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the place where it all begins—Jefferson Variety, a family-owned local fabric and craft store. This film is being screened in conjunction with the panel discussion on Sunday, June 24 from 10:30am - 11:30am featuring artist and costume designer, Zibby Jahns.
Summer16 -- 10:10am-10:30am, Theater C
A look at the Baton Rouge flooding of 2016 and the incidents of police brutality in Louisiana that created an intense summer in 2016 for Louisiana residents. This film is being screened in conjunction with the panel discussion on Sunday, June 24 from 10:30am - 11:30am featuring the director, Zandashé Brown.
Jackson -- 10:30am-12pm, Theater C
Wrought with the racial and religious undertones of the Deep South, the lives of two women are deeply affected by the director of the local pro-life crisis pregnancy center and the movement she represents.
Monday, June 25
Kedi -- 2:30pm-4:00pm
Hundreds of thousands of Turkish cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. For thousands of years they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. Recipient of the "Dewey the Cat's favorite" honorable mention for Video Round Table's Notable Videos for Adults list in 2018, Kedi is noteworthy for being an purely entertaining and absolutely adorable documentary.