On Wednesday, November 18th from 10:00am – 1:00pm MHLS will hold the Removing Barriers Mini-Conference in the MHLS Auditorium. This program is part of the MHLS Increasing Circulation Incubator Project.
For the past 10 months a dedicated group of member library directors and System staff have been using 10 member libraries as a laboratory to discover the secrets behind increasing circulation in our libraries. This mini-conference is the opportunity to hear about their triumphs and discoveries! The event will also feature a keynote speech by an international expert on User Experience – all with the goal to get you thinking about how to help your library thrive during these changing times.
Panelists: The MHLS Increasing Circulation Incubator Project includes ten (10) member library directors: five “Early Adopters” who were faced with declining circulation statistics and five “Trusted Advisors” who have been generating increases in circulation activity at their libraries.
- Jeannie Bogino, New Lebanon Library
- Julie Dempsey, Highland Public Library
- Erica Freudenberger, Red Hook Public Library
- Patti Haar, Patterson Library
- Stephanie Harrison, Millbrook Library
- Kara Lustiber, West Hurley Public Library
- Jen McCreery, Desmond-Fish Library (Garrison)
- Sarah Potwin, LaGrange Library
- Sue Ray, Catskill Public Library
- Susan Totter, Dover Plains Library
Keynote Speaker: Aaron Schmidt, author and popular blogger at http://www.walkingpaper.org/ Aaron will join us via videoconference to deliver his keynote speech, “Useful, Usable, Desirable: Applying User Experience Design to Your Library.” In the past fifteen years Aaron Schmidt has been a circulation clerk, reference librarian, and library director. Currently he is the principal of Influx Library User Experience Consulting, is a lecturer at the San Jose School of Library and Information Science, and writes a column called “The User Experience” for Library Journal. Recent projects include researching the future of summer reading programs for the Public Library Association, and organizing and facilitating a “Library Innovation Exchange” with library organizations in Mexico City. Schmidt serves on the editorial board for Weave: the Journal of Library User Experience.
In his keynote speech Aaron will introduce the concept of User Experience (UX) thinking and illustrate how it can help improve your website, programs, services, and more. After this interactive workshop you will have a keener critical eye, and a framework with which you can make your library the most important place in your community.
