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Author Archive | Jane Dysart

Surfin’ Monterey

Surfin' MontereyHold on to your seat because we’ll be “Surfin’ Monterey” at Internet Librarian this year.

Make sure you know the words to this year’s theme song and don’t even think we won’t ask you to sing it!

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Creating Innovative Libraries with Jeffrey Phillips

Creating Innovative Libraries!

The 27th annual Computers in Libraries is focusing on Creating Innovative Libraries.

Author Jeffrey Phillips opened the conference with a keynote talk about relentless innovation and the need to change from BAU (business as usual) to” innovation business as usual”.  

He illustrated how we have been focusing on quality, efficiency, core competencies and being lean for the last 30 years and although those  are all good things, they have not been balanced with innovation as they were in the 1970′s.  To accomplish innovation business as usual with more emphasis on innovation in organizations he discussed the need for: communication & commitment (demonstrating with words and actions), compensation (if you want people to be innovative you have to reward them for doing so), and culture (creating attitudes, perspectives, and ways of working that sees innovation as important).  In addition, new skill sets have to be learned (focusing on customer needs, trend watching, managing innovation).

He left the audience with his Fab Four imperatives:  create clear innovation goals (& strategies) — he used P&G as an example; begin to define & sustain a process with language, methodologies, culture (understand how it works); rebalance with tools & skills; rework culture, incentives, rewards.  If you want more, check out his book, Relentless Innovation, and his blog.

Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer caught up with Jeffrey following his talk and did this terrific interview – innovate or die!

 Jane Dysart, Program Director, Computers in Libraries 2012

JSB Rocks in Monterey

Opening tkeynote, John Seely Brown immediately started the buzz at the 15th Internet Librarian, Internet @ Schools, and the new Library Directors Digital Strategy Summit.

John Seely Brown

John Seely Brown

The ballroom was filled; the audience’s rapt attention struggling to keep up with the fantastic content and ideas of the low key but dynamic JSB. The #IL2011 Twitter streamwent crazy with sound bites and praise.

Such comments as: “very thoughtful and thought-provoking speaker”, “nothing short of brilliant” “loving the keynote — mindbending”. If you weren’t in the audience or didn’t catch the live stream, you can check out the archive. Slides from his talk along with the sketches his wife did will be available on his speaker page shortly.

JSB went on the have a stimulating discussion with library directors, deans, university librarians, chief librarians and CEOs at the Digital Strategy Summit — we’ll have more on that soon too!

Jane Dysart, Conference Chair
Internet Librarian 2011

The Power of Twitter!

A conference program planners dream!

Yesterday one of today’s CIO keynote panel had to drop out of the Internet Librarian 2010 program. Many conference programmers would run screaming to the bar, but this calm program developer went to Twitter via @jdysart and announced that she had lost a speaker and were there any public library CIOs out there who might be willing to fill in.

I got an answer from a first time attendee at Internet Librarian, Jim Peterson, who said he was a Technology Coordinator (not a CIO, and the only member of the IT staff) for a public library in Franklin, KY. He agreed to meet me at the Information Today booth during last evenings reception and we had a great conversation. He was hired as our new panelist on the spot.

Hopefully you all got to hear how articulate and on point he was this morning. Such a good fit with Mike Ridley, CIO & Chief Librarian at the University of Guelph and Donna Scheeder, Deputy CIO, Congressional Research Service.

They did a terrific job!