I know! I’m stealing format from Buzzfeed, but I don’t think you’ll mind. As Membership Coordinator at LYRASIS, one of my favorite parts of my job is putting together eGathering, our Annual Membership Meeting. I am genuinely excited about this year’s, and you should be too, for these five reasons and so many others.
1. Prepare to quote our formidable Keynote.
Jason Griffey is a champion of libraries- and his work in open source hardware is laudable. When you asked us for a speaker from the community, we listened. Former Head of IT for the University of TN at Chattanooga Library (LYRASIS members) and currently the founder and principal consultant at Evenly Distributed, a technology consulting firm for libraries and education, Jason Griffey will be speaking from his experiences as librarian, curator, and creator.
Griffey may be best known in the library community as designer and director of The LibraryBox Project, which gives users the ability to share digital files with anyone in a given location, without Internet or even electricity. However, we are even more excited about his new initiative, Measure the Future, focuses on applying inexpensive sensors to track use of library spaces.
Libraries, archives, and museums are on the edge of community-building, technology, and innovation in thinking and doing. Jason Griffey is the keynote for you.
2.You love poetry, and so do we.
Our theme and title, “Meditations in a Resurgency,” takes inspiration from Frank O’Hara’s poetry collection, Meditations in an Emergency. This eGathering is dedicated to taking inspiration from the unique and myriad experiences, careers, and collections of LYRASIS Members. Like O’Hara, we are “moved by the multitudes of your intelligences,” and in this eGathering we will celebrate them.
3. Our breakout sessions are hands-on workshops.
While all our eGathering content will be online, our six 101-style breakout sessions will focus on practical takeaways that you can apply at your workplace. Topics covered will include blog/social media content, Excel, UX design, and political advocacy. Attendees will receive collateral materials to help them implement what they have learned.
4. Content for all our myriad members.
Within our breakout sessions we’re offering tracks for academic librarians, archivists, curators, and public librarians. You’ll find intersections, and I hope you’ll be as thrilled as I am at those areas of commonality. As you requested, the eGathering has been tailored whenever possible to meet the requests of our diverse membership.
5. It’s an unconference.
The eGathering is free for members, completely online for your ease of access, and inspired by your requests and input. If you have ideas for content you’d like to see, let us know. This eGathering is inspired by and produced for our members, and we are thrilled to have your insights. Throughout the sessions you’ll find opportunities to collaborate and learn with the LYRASIS community.
You can follow the developments for the LYRASIS 2015 eGathering here on the blog and over on twitter. Stay tuned, and don’t forget to save the date!
Meditations in a Resurgency
LYRASIS eGathering
May 20th, 2015