My conference writeups will be at Free Government Info.

[dcornwall]

Hi All,

I will be posting a "good parts" version of things I learned, sessions I went to over at Free Government Information (http://freegovinfo.info). You can see just the BPE 2007 posts at http://freegovinfo.info/taxonomy/term/339.

By "good parts" version, I mean I'm not mentioning any specifically tagged "not for public consumption", like the URL for ASU Knowledge Net or Glen McAnnich's file format risk criteria, Brewster's announcement (which I can't remember now anyway), etc. Additionally, the public version is silent about any of the mistakes we were willing to admit to one another.

I think it's really important to publicly write about the positive experiences we had at BPE 2007 as a way of publicizing for next year and in case IMLS staff decide to see if the blogosphere has rendered a judgment on the conference!

If you are a fellow blogger, would you consider tagging any posts you make "bpe2007"? It will make it easier for us to find one another.

[ChristyAllen]

I think it's really important to publicly write about the positive experiences we had at BPE 2007 as a way of publicizing for next year and in case IMLS staff decide to see if the blogosphere has rendered a judgment on the conference!

If you are a fellow blogger, would you consider tagging any posts you make "bpe2007"? It will make it easier for us to find one another.

I couldn't agree more!! I posted a description of the Web 2.0 discussion that I facilitated at the BPE 2007 on my blog Digitization Diva at: http://digitizationdiva.blogspot.com/search/label/bpe2007

I plan to write at least 3 more posts about the BPE on my blog. Now I just need to find the time. :D

[dcornwall]

Hey Christy! Thanks a bundle for posting about the session you facilitated. I REALLy wanted to go to that but I think it might have played opposite my LOCKSS session.

Looking forward to anything you post. Have dropped "digitization diva" into my Bloglines subs and I'll try to get it mentioned on FGI.

Could you elaborate a little on the Library 2.0 lunches you have for staff? I looked at the blog, but that doesn't help me to see what the meetings are like. How long are the presentations? Do you have to bribe staff with food? Is it purely voluntary?

[ChristyAllen]

Could you elaborate a little on the Library 2.0 lunches you have for staff? I looked at the blog, but that doesn't help me to see what the meetings are like. How long are the presentations? Do you have to bribe staff with food? Is it purely voluntary?

Thanks for the questions, Daniel!!

The Web 2.0 lunches are facilitated by Michelle Czaikowski, the Electronic Resources Librarian and Beth Crist, the e-Learning Consultant at the State Library of North Carolina. The participants include staff from the State Library and from State Agency Libraries.

There was so much interest in the Web 2.0 lunches that we didn't have the available space to all meet at once. Thus, the group was split in half (Group 1 and Group 2). Each group met every other Thursday for lunch. So, basically, every Thursday there was a Web 2.0 meeting but it alternated between Group 1 and Group 2.

We (the participants) were given assignments to complete from the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Learning 2.0 blog.

We would then get together during our lunch meeting and discuss the assignments including our impressions, likes, dislikes, and how we thought a particular Web 2.0 tool could be implemented locally in our library. As part of the assignment, every participant was supposed to maintain a blog and post about their Web 2.0 experiences.

The getting-together and discussing part of the Brown Bag Lunches has been exceptionally successful. Folks have enjoyed testing the various tools and discussing them in a group setting. Honestly, though, maintaining the blog hasn't been successful at all. Few staff can find the time to post and many of the blogs have fallen by the wayside. :(

In terms of motivation, there really isn't any at all. Although eating is encouraged, few people actually bring their lunches. Most eat either before or after the meeting.

It really does impress me that so many folks regularly attend the meetings without any motivation beyond their own interest and desire to learn Web 2.0. :D