Last month, Ed Vielmetti posted about the plans for the Ann Arbor District Library Camp 2008 on March 20th, 2008 in Ann Arbor, MI. For those unfamiliar with the “camp” conference format (also known as an “unconference”), it is modeled after the Open Space Technology style from Harrison Owen. It focuses on creating the right meeting for the people who attend. As such, there is not a pre-set agenda or predetermined list of speakers. Instead, the agenda is formed as the meeting starts based on the interests and skills of those that come. As Harrison says, the technique is effective when “real learning, innovation, and departure from the norm are required. When you aren’t quite sure where you are, and less than clear about where you are headed, and require the best thinking and support from all those who wish to be involved, Open Space Technology will provide the means.” For a more gentle introduction to the camp/unconference topic, see The Rules of Bar Camp.
I’m planning on attending the Ann Arbor District Library Camp — and Code4Lib in Portland, Oregon, this year (if I get off the waiting list) — with two big thoughts in mind. First is to soak up and contribute to the meeting. Second is to watch how the meeting is done in anticipation of replicating it in Ohio with a focus on academic library technology. For those in Ohio, do you think you would find something like this useful? We have a large number of skilled developers in the state, and based on what I heard of the experiences of Kent State and Miami from a meeting in the spring of last year, there is a strong desire to share experiences.
(This post was updated on 12-Feb-2008.)
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6 Comments
Peter, I am also considering attending the Ann Arbor event. Not
only do I think such a program will be great to have here in Ohio,
I would also be willing to help you in organizing it…
Ah, you said the magic words — “willing to help.” Thanks, Eric; I’ll likely take you up on that offer.
On a related note, I got off the waiting list for the conference registration. See everyone in Portland!
Re: BarCamp Ohio, there is interest within the library community
and outside of it. I’ll provide this link
http://barcamp.org/BarCampOhio only as a suggested point for
collaboration and generating help. I have not devoted the necessary
time to this and would be willing to help as well. Feel free to
edit or ignore the BarCampOhio link above! I’ll keep an eye on this
blog and the BarCamp site.
Thanks for the reply, Bob! I’ll keep an eye on the BarCampOhio
page. What I had in mind was geared specifically to technologies in
the academic library community. If and when we get going, I’ll let
folks about the BarCampOhio effort, too.
I’d like to know more about A2 Library Camp - I work for a major library database provider in A2 and perhaps we could team up somehow…
@AOC — My stake in the Ann Arbor Library Camp is limited to that participant. I’ll update this posting when more information about the event is published on the web. In the meantime, I’ll encourage you to get in touch with Eli at AADL for more information.
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