Presentation proposals for the Library 2.015 Worldwide Virtual Conference focus on technologies and strategies used by professionals to manage information, improve user experience, promote learning, and connect with others across the globe.

Presentation proposals for the Library 2.015 Worldwide Virtual Conference opened in early May, and accepted proposals to date suggest a focus on the latest technologies and strategies used by professionals in a variety of organizations to manage information, improve user experience, promote learning, and connect with others across the globe. The fifth annual conference about the future of libraries will take place on October 20, 2015, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (GMT-7), and is free to attend.

Two keynote speakers are already confirmed for the international conference. Dr. Sandra Hirsh, director of the San José State University (SJSU) School of Information (iSchool) and a longtime advocate of international collaboration in the field of library and information science, will give a welcome address. Toby Greenwalt, director of digital strategy and technology integration at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, will also deliver a keynote address. Keeping to the conference theme of Tools, Skills and Competencies, Greenwalt’s talk will cover “how the library makes itself visible in an always-connected world.”  

The topic of connection is present in a number of the accepted proposals for the open, online conference as well. Aryn Dagirmanjian, an alumna of the SJSU School of Information (MLIS 2015) and grants collection librarian at the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Maryland State Library Resource Center, will be presenting “Building Stronger Communities: Connecting Your Library to the Non-profit World” with co-presenter Cathey Moffat-Bush. The goal of the session is to provide resources and tips to librarians seeking to connect with non-profit organizations for fundraising purposes.

iSchool alumna Christina Kantzavelos will also be leading a session with a connection to non-profit work, as she and co-presenter and alumna Heidi Jakal (MLIS 2013) and current iSchool students Manny Navarro and Hope Hills present “The Asturias Community Library.” The presentation will discuss how Librarians Without Borders partnered with The Miguel Angel Asturias Academy of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala to help bring a community library project to life.

Leadership in a time of change is another theme present in several accepted proposals, including that of Dr. Michael Stephens, an assistant professor at the SJSU School of Information and one of the conference’s distinguished speakers. Stephens will be sharing some of the insights published in his monthly Library Journal column “Office Hours” and leading a discussion of “the challenges and promise of a changing LIS workforce” in a session titled, “Full Stacks, Introverts, & Zero-Sum Librarians: Notes from Office Hours.”

Other accepted proposals discuss new library technologies, innovative library design, user experience, and much more. Proposals are still being submitted for the October conference, and sessions devoted to work in any information organization, such as an academic library, public library, special library, government agency, or other organization, are welcome. Four topical subject strands—digital services, emerging technologies, user experience, and management in the 21^st century—are suggested for interested presenters, but proposals do not have to fit into one of the strands to be accepted.

The annual Library 2.0 conferences were co-founded in 2011 by the SJSU School of Information, and this year the iSchool helped expand the experience for information professionals worldwide with the Library 2.015 Spring Summit and the Library 2.0 Webinar Series.

More information on the 20,000 member international Library 2.0 network, and on attending the Library 2.015 Worldwide Virtual Conference, is available on the conference website.