Posted by stephen at 11:13 PM | Comments (1)

July 15, 2008

Stanford Professional Publishing Course

Last week, I had the honour of opening the Stanford Professional Publishing Course international preconference with a talk on technology trendhs in the market of readers an libraries. This was a very interesting group of people from all over the world involved in electronic and prnt publishing in news, media, magazines, and books.

Here's my PPT's:

The Digital Transformation of Publishing:
Information 3.0

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 6:38 PM | Comments (1)

June 23, 2008

Serials Solutions

SirsiDynix has a very good partnership with Serials Solutions. I was lucky to have the time while I was in Seattle to visit their newly expanded offices and talk to staff.

Here's the PPT.

They're doing an amazing job there.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2008

CCLI in Santa Cruz

Also, last week, I got to do a session for the California Clearinghouse on Library Instruction in Santa Cruz. The theme of the day was "It's the Millennium: Do You Know Where Your Users Are?". Here's my contribution:

Reality 2.0: Engaging the Scholarly User

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2008

OPAL Podcast

Last Friday I had the pleasure of doing an online radio show for OPAL with Tom Peters. Here's a link:

A Casual Conversation with Stephen Abram, conducted on May 16, 2008.

Streaming audio of the casual conversation with Stephen Abram (runtime 52:08)

Downloadable MP3 audiorecording of the casual conversation with Stephen Abram (16.3 MB; runtime 52:08)

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:14 PM | Comments (1)

May 12, 2008

Mid-York Library System

I had a lovely Saturday with the good folks at the Mid-York Library System in Utica NY. We had many library staff and trustees to review trends in the library world. Here are the slides:

Top 25 Technologies to Watch And How Libraries are Changing

Afterwards I had a nice visit to the local art gallery.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)

May 8, 2008

SEFLIN Presentation

I spent some nice time with the SEFLIN board in West Palm Beach.

My presentation was called The Future of Libraries.

They also had the CEO of the World Future Society there. Cool.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:12 PM | Comments (2)

May 1, 2008

Norweld in Ohio

Last week I had a very pleasant visit to Bowling Green Ohio.
Here are the slides for the full day workshop.

Top 10 Strategies for Library Success
April 25, 2008
Norweld – Bowling Green Ohio

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:38 AM | Comments (0)

Ontario Public Service Presentation

I had the opportunity to present some technology forecasts to the imformation sector of the Ontario government at their annual conference. Here are the slides:

Managing Information in the Public Sector:
The Future is Now
A Tech Forecast: New Realities

Saw a lot of old friends there too!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:17 AM | Comments (0)

April 3, 2008

Virginia Beach Public Library Staff Day

One of the best organized public library staff days I've ever attended. They only do it every three years but it's a great event. The Hollywood theme was great fun too.

Here's my opening speech slides:

A Tech Forecast: Library 2.0 in the Real World
Virginia Beach Public Library, March 12, 2008

And the mayor was a real hoot. She loves the library. What a gem!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:20 PM | Comments (0)

March 8, 2008

North Suburban Library System

I visited the North Suburban Library System for a workshop and it was great fun.

Next Generation Libraries: The Social Web 2.0
North Suburban Library System, March 4, 2008

I even got to do a podcast with Sarah, the director, and got into her regular column in the local paper!

Cool.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:34 AM | Comments (0)

March 6, 2008

Mid Wisconsin Library System

I had a lovely visit to the Mid Wisconsin Library System.

Here are the slides:

Next Generation Libraries: The Social Web 2.0

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:01 PM | Comments (0)

February 1, 2008

Arizona Library Leadership Training

In January I got to spend some time at an Arizona libraries leadership camp. Suppported by the state library and cooperatively produced by a few library systems a group of future leaders are developed and coached over many months.

Here's my presentation:

The Future is Already Here
2008 Leadership Academy
Jan. 28-29, 2008

Afterwards I met with the small teams of leadership candidates and had good small group discussions.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:19 AM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2008

Arizona Leadership Academy

I spent the past two days in Arizona with Chandler, Phoenix and Scottsdale Public Libraries as well as librarians from across the state. We were launching their leadership training for this year and I got to do a speech as well as meet with a group of their emerging leaders and staff leaders.

Here's my speech:

The Future is Already Here: 2008 Leadership Academy

Very cool group trying to be more innovative.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 1:15 PM | Comments (0)

December 27, 2007

Illinois Unicorn Users Group

Here's the PPT from my presentation to the Illinois Unicorn Users Group.

Arrghhh: A Tech Forecast

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:37 PM | Comments (0)

Global eInformation Symposium

I had the wonderful opportunity to chair the Global eInformation Symposium 2007 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. A great roster of speakers made for a great two days.

Here's my PPT contribution;

Library 2.0: Fact or Fiction

Streaming video of all of the presentations given should be available in early January of 2008.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:31 PM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2007

Milwaukee and Waukesha County Federated Library Systems

I visited Wisconsin and saw the fall colours. Here are the slides for the workshop I did for the Milwaukee and Waukesha County Federated Library Systems.

Reality 2.0: Attracting and Engaging the
Millennial Library User

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)

October 27, 2007

Richland Public Library, SC

I had the great opportunity to do two talks for Richland PL. Their main branch is just amazing. Here's the slides:

Social Libraries:
The 2.0 Phenomenon

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

State Library of Victoria, Australia

Another part of the Australia trip was in Melbourne where I visited the State Library of Victoria. What an amazing place. Anyway, they were leading a statewide 23 Things / Learning 2.0 movement. Also, an amazing effort.

Here are the slides I spoke to:

2010 Tech Forecast:
Library 2.0 Learning in the Real World

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:44 AM | Comments (2)

October 13, 2007

Ottawa Public Library

I had a lovely visit in September to Ottawa Pubic Library. I did two meetings and Presentations.

One was an all staff event with special invitations to the whole community and the other was a discussion with new librarians and information pros as well as city IT staff. All in all it was a great day!

Here are the PPT's:

Social Libraries and Librarians:The 2.0 Challenge

Top 10 Strategies for Library Success

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:28 AM | Comments (0)

Allen County Public Library

I had a lovely trip to Allen County Pu bliic Library in Fort Wayne Indiana to help launch their 24 Things/Learning 2.0 program. Their innovation is that the library staff are doing it WITH their users and cardholders. Cool. They have really neat buttons for various steps and a great t-shirt (as soon as I get my camera working I'll post a picture) that says "Library Genius". Totally cool. They promoted the day and my visit with a YouTube video and we filmed another video with me in their studo (!) about reading for later use. It's going too be just like the cool three part series they produced with their director. Anyway, here's my PPT's which isn't as cool as their innovations:

A Tech Forecast:Library 2.0 in the Real World

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:22 AM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2007

Deakin University

I had a nice visit with the staff team at Deakin University launching their 27 Things Learning 2.0 program. They even webcast it to the other sites.

Here's the PowerPoints:

Social Libraries and Librarians:Collaboration Cooperation Sharing Storytelling NetworkingAugust 27, 2007

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2007

SMUG - SirsiDynix User Group

Here's a link to the presentation to the SMUG user group presentation in July.

The Social Web 2.0:A Library Technology Forecast

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 6:16 PM | Comments (0)

Mississippi State University Workshop

Mississippi State Univiersty had their annual workshop and I got to be there. Here's a link to my slides. They were the definition of southern hospitality. I loved being there.

Our User Experience: Puzzle Pieces Falling in Place

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 6:10 PM | Comments (1)

August 7, 2007

Air Force Navy Symposium

The military librarians are one of my favorite groups. I've spoken to most branches of the service and I'm always impressed with the breadth and depth of their commitment and innovation. There is EVERY type of library in the military and they're truly global. I loved watching all of the military librarians being honored at SLA this year with a special award for all their efforts.

Anyway, I lucked out and to to do a session at the Air Force Navy Librarian's Symposium at an ALA pre-conference in June.

Here's a link to my PowerPoints.

Social Libraries: The Librarian 2.0 Phenomenon

Thiis month I also got a back room tour at the libraries in Omaha for the military. I'm not sworn to secrecy, but I'll be discrete. These folks are awesome. I was amazed.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:19 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2007

Ohio State 2.0

I did the endnote for the Ohio State University Libraries Library 2.0 Conference.

Here's a link to my slides:

Our User Experience: Puzzle Pieces Falling Into Place

Libraries from across the state and all sectors attended.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:22 PM | Comments (1)

Loudon County Libraries

Helene Blowers and I did an all day workshop for the staff at Loudon County libraries in Virginia. We had fun and hope the staff did too.

Here's a link to my slides on the Social We and Libraries.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:20 PM | Comments (0)

June 2, 2007

Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County

I had an amazing visit to Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County. They are just amazing and Imaginon is so far out there! Here's my presentation:

The Social Web 2.0:A Library Technology Forecast
T
hey continued their innovation by launching Learning 2.1 and a Technology Scholars program and a major gaming initiative!

Wow!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:42 AM | Comments (0)

Cleveland Heights Public Library

I spent my birthday giving a presentation to Cleveland Heights Public Library staff and trustees. It's a great library. I love what some libraries are accomplishing with their buildings and programs.

Here's the presentation:

The Social Web 2.0

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:36 AM | Comments (0)

Emory University

I visited Emory University in Atlanta for a staff event. Atlanta is beautiful in the spring!

Here's the presentation:

The Social Web 2.0

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:34 AM | Comments (0)

Spokane Public Library

I had the fun time of being the first speaker at the Spokane Public Library Staff Day. Here's the presentation.

Social Libraries: The 2.0 End User Phenonemon

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:27 AM | Comments (0)

Southern California Horizon Users’ Group

A quick trip to California on May 17th for the Southern California Horizon Users’ Group.

Here's the slides:

The Social Web 2.0: A Library Technology Forecast

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:22 AM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2007

Ferguson Library

I had a very nice visit to Stamford CT and saw a bunch of old friends. I also did a Social Libraries 2.0 presenation for the local public libraries and consortia. Here's the link to the slides.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:46 AM

Alabama Academic Libraries

Another lovely visit to Orange Beach Alabama - sunny and beautiful views at lunch. I had the great opportunity to visit and speak at the NAAL Retreat of the leaders of Alabama academic libraries. The topic I chose was, of course, Inventing the Future: Library 2.0.

Here's the link.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:35 AM | Comments (0)

Spokane Public Library

I had a lovely trip on a beautiful sunny day tro Spokane Public Library. I got to keynote their staff day and help celebrate their achievements in being one of the best run enterprises in the city.

I did a session on the Social Web and the 2.0 End User Phenomenon and public libraries. Here's the link.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:33 AM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2007

California San Francisco Area Libraries

This session was repeated three times arounf northern California. Great fun.

The Social Web 2.0

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)

Executive Conference Endnote

Here's my endnote from the SirsiDynix SuperConference endnote:

The User Experience: Pieces of the Puzzle Fall into Place

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:31 PM | Comments (0)

Danish Library School

I had a great time presenting to the library and information school professors and students in Copenhagen and Jutland in Denmark. I was even webcast.

I learned as much about Denmark as I presented about:

The Social Library 2.0

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:16 PM | Comments (0)

Did You Know?

For those of you who didn't see the streaming video I showed at the SirsiDynix SuperConference Execurttive Track, here's the link.

Did You Know...?

It's like the YouTube version of Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

December 4, 2006

Huntsville Madison Public Library

I had a great visit to Huntsville Madison Public library last week.

I talked about "21st Century Libraries are Different" and here's a link to the presentation.

You probably have no idea how stressful it is to speak in Huntsville, Alabama. You see this is the local libray for the SirsiDynix headquarters and a lot of my colleagues and their friends and families. They're also a great partner in taking in quite a few of our staff in to work there to see or remember what it's like in the real world of public libraries. (University of Alabama in Huntsville does this too.) For days afterwards I was hearing from folks who weren't there about how I did. I got a first hand look about how this city works. They heard about my presentation over dinner, at the BBQ, in the shopping mall, etc. Amazing! It's quite different from my hometown Toronto experience!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:46 PM | Comments (0)

December 1, 2006

Western Council of State Librarians

The 26 state librarians in the western U.S. met for a few days during the earthquake (a 6.7!) in Hawaii. I did an after dinner speech on "Becomiong Library 2.0: 5 Big Ideas."

The PPT is here.

Despite the bouncing land it was a nice trip.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 6:55 PM | Comments (0)

eGlobal Symposium

I did a presentation at the eGlobal Symposium at the Univeristy of Huntsville in Alabama. It was new spin on my presentations and I focused on the Social Web 2.0. We followed the session with a nice dinner and cocktail hour.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 6:51 PM | Comments (0)

Yarra Plenty Library in Australia

Here's the presentation I did to launch Yarra Plenty's Learning 2.0 project. They will do a SirsiDynix Insitute presentation on this effort in the New Year. I am hearing that this is going very well and the transformational aspects of learning new technologies as a team is a lot of fun.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 6:48 PM | Comments (0)

Seattle Public Library Staff Day

I had the privilege to speak to every staff person at Seattle Public Library. What an amazing crew and what an amazing staff day event (They even had loads of PC games and more!).

I did the keynote on "Web 2.0 and Library 2.0: Libraries Reconnecting with Our Communities". The link is here.

I also spoke on "The Future User: Millennials and their Impact on Public Libraries" You can link to it here.

Thanks for inviting me.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:42 PM | Comments (0)

A big visit to Seattle

I had the opportunity to have dinner and speak to the searnior staff and Seattle Public Library and King County Library System Trustees and Foundations folks. Here's a link to this Executive Briefing.

This is a dynamic and committed crew of mostly volunteers. They are doing great work.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:39 PM | Comments (0)

Pioneer Library System

A great trip to New York for the annual meeting of the trustees and directors of the Pioneer Library System. I talked about the Future of Libraries. The PPT is here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:28 PM | Comments (0)

Cinncinati and Hamilton County Public Library

I had a lovely time in Cinncinati at their staff day. You can see the PPT here. The topic was Questions, Questions E Getting Our Share.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:02 PM | Comments (0)

Buffalo and Erie County Public Library

The Staff Day at Buffalo & Erie County Public Library was a delight. I did a presentation on Extreme Library Makeover. I arrived just after the horrible snowstorm that destroyed so many of their urban forest. It was quite sad to see, especially since I arriveed direct from the earthquake in Hawaaii.

You can see the PPT's here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:56 PM | Comments (0)

Academic Library Issues

Here's a PPT of the list of top issues in academic libraries. We didn't cover everything but it's an interesting list to spark discussion.

You can link to it here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:53 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2006

Winnipeg: Manitoba Library Consortium

I had a wonderful day in Winnpeg talking to the Manitoba Library Consortium. Here's the PPT about "Extreme Library Makeover: Becoming Library 2.0".

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:33 PM | Comments (0)

Independent Schools

I had a great day with the Virginia Association of Independent Schools. Here's the PPT about "Millennials: The Kids are Alright! Millennials Information Behaviors."

It's always great fun to talk to teacher-librarians as they 'get' the next generation from deep experience.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:29 PM | Comments (0)

Imperial College in London UK

Here's a copy of the PPT I did for the annual staff retreat of Imperial College in London (The UK's MIT). The topic was "Becoming Academic Library 2.0: The Librarian 2.0 in Your Future."

Great team and a great Thames boat ride too!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2006

Suburban Library Cooperative

I presented at a two day staff day (half the staff on Thursday and half on Friday) for the staff of the Suburban Library Coop near Detroit. I did the whole morning and they also did sessions on understanding personal preferences (Colors) in the afternoon.

Here's a link to my PPT.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:40 AM | Comments (0)

South Carolina State Library Technology Day

What an event! Jenny Levine, Michael Stephens and I presented for a whole day on the future of libtaries. These folks define Southern hospitality!

Here's the link to my PPT.

The local PBS affiliate (ETV) even filmed the whole day for a future webcast.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)

Miami-Dade Public Library

I had a wonderful time on Sept. 11th with the Miami-Dade PL management team. A great tour of some of their branches too.

The PPT of my presentation is here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)

August 4, 2006

Markham Public Library

In July, I got to spend a whole day (Thanks Moe) with the staff at Markham Public Library north of Toronto. It was great fun. Here's link to the PPT entitled "The Future for Libraries".

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2006

U of Toronto Staff Day

I spent my birthday (and it was fun) speaking the second annual U of T (my alma mater) staff conference. My topic was "Technology: The Coming Hyper-Collaboration Environment."

Here's a link to the PPT.

Other sessions at this conference highlighted some pretty amazing and innovative initiatives being undertaken by these librarians and information pros.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)

New Hampshire Visit

Michael York, state librarian of New Hampshire, graciously invited me to Hartford to speak to the NHAIS group about trends in libraries and what some of the drivers of the future will be. Here's a link to the PPT.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

OLS North Conference

Here's a link to the session on New and Emerging Technologies PPT I did for the Ontario Library Services North annual conference in Thunder Bay.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:21 PM | Comments (0)

Preparing for the Future of Ontario Township Libraries

I spent a wonderful Saturday in early June with the library board trustees for the Ontario townships of Caledon and King Libraries. Here's a link to the challenges we discussed as we prepare strategic plans for addressing the future we will encounter. It was a lovely, thoughtful meeting (and a great lunch too!).

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

Delaware Libraries

Annie Norman, state librarian of Delaware, invited me to one of Delaware's semi-annual Library Town Meetings. Here's a link to the PPT for my talk. Again, the challenge was to stretch the innovation envelope for libraries in a state that does that well already.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2006

Mississauga Library System

Here's the link to the Mississauga Library System's Staff Day Presentation. It was on Web & Library 2.0... and they invited a bunch of city IT folks too. Good idea.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:40 PM | Comments (1)

June 9, 2006

Buffalo Erie County Public Library

As a kid in Toronto one of our most fun trips was to go shopping in Buffalo and visit Niagara Falls. Fond memories.

I got the fun opportunity to visit with the management team and board of trustess and some staff last month and talk about the future of libraries.

We talked about personas (BECPL is a personas partner with SirsiDynix) as well as Normative Data (BECPL is a pertner there too). Here's PPT about that. We also talked about the bigger tech trends and innovation. Here are PPT's for that and that too.

Despite a challenging fiscal environment, BECPL is trying hard to be great for their community.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:14 AM | Comments (1)

Toronto Public Library

Toronto Public Library (my hometown!) asked me to reprise my "Are Libraries Innovative Enough?" speech for their information Services Staff Day.

It's great to do speeches for your hometown library!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:11 AM | Comments (1)

Council of Governments

Here's a link to the PPT for the presentation to the many public Libraries that for the Council of Governments library division in the DC area and the states that surround DC. Again we talked about "Provocations". The world of libraries is certainly a challenge right now!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:08 AM | Comments (0)

NEOS Presentation

Here's my PPT presentation to the NEOS Consortium in Alberta. Twas fun to be in Edmonton on June 2nd. They're pretty innovative there but we tried to push the envelope.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:03 AM | Comments (0)

George Brown College Presentation

Here's a link to the presentation I did for George Brown College in Toronto. It is called "Provocations: Channelling the Information Surge"

They had a very innovative and engaging staff day where each table had a wireless PC loaded with working versions IM, Skype, virtual reference, etc. and they had to comunuicate between the work teams at each table and with eachother by using the technology as team. Loads of fun ensued!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:59 AM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2006

Tri-State College Library Cooperative

I had a nice trip to visit the folks running college libraries outside Philadelphia.

Here's the presentation on "Just Hitting the Surf: Millennials in the Information Age" here and another on "The New WAve in Libraries: Channelling the Information Surge" here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:14 AM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2006

Columbus Metropolitan Library Visit

I got the opportunity to spend some time with the Board of Trustees of Columbus Metropolitan Library and spend the morning talking about macro trends in the library world.

The presentation is here. We focused on 'Good Questions Generate Great Strategies: Strategic Questions for Library Leaders' to spark discussion about innovation in public libraries. It was great fun (and a good lunch to).

In the afternoon I got to facilitate a panel of CML users (who love their library!) for the whole staff. It was very interesting and this is a great library striving to be even greater. Here's the PPT for that session about personas.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)

Bucknell University Presentation

I got to visit one of my favourite universities, Bucknell, just before Easter - last stop on the world tour. This place innovates everywhere. I think they have a real culture about trying new thngs and making them work. They're doing particularly great things around trying new modes of organization and management as well as e-learning support. They're very cool and fun too. The Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.0 Overview for this academic centre is here.

The campus is really beautiful in the spring too.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

PALS Presentation

Here's the PPT I did for PALS day. PALS (Prairie Area Library System), outside of Chicago, is one of our most adventurous clients and does a lot of very good work. And they're growing! They're working on hitting the ball out of the park for innovation.

It's here to look at. It's on "Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.0", of course.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)

March 27, 2006

Norristown Public Library - Montgomery County

Great trip to the Philly airport again. This time to the fine people in Montgomery County. Again, we chatted about "Who's Afraid of the Google Wolf?" on March 15th.

The PPT is here.

Lovely people. Thanks.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)

Topeka Shawnee Library

I had a wonderful trip on Feb. 20th to Topeka Shawnee County Public Library. Here's the PPT here.

This one is called "Good Questions Generate Great Strategies: Strategic Questions for Libraries."

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)