Comments on: CIL Day1: Reaching Out to Your Community

By: Jerry Holdren

Jerry Holdren — Sun, 06 May 2007 02:10:09 +0000

Hi Bob , if you went to Rialto Jr. High. I have been looking for you for years. Get in touch if not have a great day.
Jerry Holdren jholdren@dslextreme.com

By: Rudy

Rudy — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 00:46:43 +0000

Bob,
Clearly, Meredith’s value is what matters. But as someone who was unable to attend CiL, I’m really enjoying reading the conference blogs, hearing differing (partial) accounts, and what caught the attention of the folks doing the writing. Some of it is strict narrative, but what Meredith has blogged is different that what other folks blogged from the same sessions.

I do like the “value added” additional editorial comemnts, but I get great value from hearing what happened, and what tugged on the brain.

(Thanks Meredith!)

By: Bob Hassett

Bob Hassett — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 23:16:29 +0000

You’re right, Meredith. I apologize for not just talking to you about it. I thought this would be a good forum for expressing a perspective and seeing what others thought. And I was right. People disagree with me, which is fine. I don’t think I was overly critical. It’s just not what I look to blogs for. Perhaps I’m a minority of one. I’m comfortable with that. I love your blog generally and I’m glad others do, too. Next time I promise I’ll say ‘hi.’

By: Meredith

Meredith — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 19:28:27 +0000

I guess what I’m confused about, Bob, is why you couldn’t just come and talk to me if you were at the conference with me?

By: Dorothea

Dorothea — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 14:45:06 +0000

Value-added for whom, Mr. Hassett? If liveblogging a session adds value to it *for Meredith*, that’s enough.

Don’t change a thing, Meredith.

By: lauren’s library blog » home sick…

lauren’s library blog » home sick… — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 21:21:45 +0000

[...] On another note, Computers in Libraries is ongoing, and I’m following the blog coverage. Meredith Farkas posted about a session that in part talked about training (a growing interest of mine) through OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries): [...]

By: docwolf

docwolf — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 02:12:27 +0000

Afterwards I asked Tom Peters why he thinks organizations (like ALA and whatnot) are not offering free programming online? And he was pretty much as perplexed as I am. The cost of their software is very low, certainly something a large organization could handle.

As usual, follow the money.

Meatspace conferences are HUGE money-makers for organizations that can run a show efficiently. When the cost of a booth starts at $2k and goes up from there, AND registration can easily cost several hundred bucks, AND corporate sponsors kick in, conferences can be a license to print money.

The rise of internet meetings has already taken its toll on many tech conferences (look at the gigantic crater that is COMDEX), but perhaps hasn’t hit the library field as hard yet.

By: Bob Hassett

Bob Hassett — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 01:51:09 +0000

I appreciate your effort and time in doing all this live reportage. But, speaking as only one user (and a lowly middle school librarian at that), I humbly offer that I would be more interested to see less unedited gonzo feed and more considered perspective. I would gladly sacrifice something in timeliness in exchange for some local flavor. I was at that presentation and missing from the report, for example, is the fact that the second presenter, who was to talk about “rebranding” a public library for community buy-in (which is what I actually came to the session for), was a no-show, leaving the other two to expand their part to fill the time. Obviously that’s my own observation, but I’d be interested to hear more of yours. I laughed at the bit in the previous post about the wireless connection. This being my first CIL, I’d brought my laptop, thinking I could get some work done during the breaks (“It’s computers in libraries, right?”), only to find I not only couldn’t get online, I couldn’t even get a signal for my cell phone inside the event rooms or almost anywhere on the convention level.

I’m not really griping, but, had I not been there and wanted to know what was going on, I certainly could have waited until afternoon or even the next day for a more considered report, complete with perspective, links to resources, etc. Why not cut out some of the kerfuffle and post one or two interesting or provocative things that were said, along with some comments or questions? I think it’s worth asking, is this a value-added use of blog time?