This year at SLA I’ll be teaching librarians how to use WordPress (an open source content management system). If you’re in the Philadelphia area and/or attending SLA this year, consider joining me for “Designing Library Websites with WordPress.”

Date: Saturday, 11 June 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Level: Introductory
Instructor: Nicole Engard

Description: Content management systems are making it easy for libraries to create their own websites with little or no web programming skills. Of the three popular open source content management systems, WordPress has become extremely popular in libraries. This workshop will walk librarians through the basics of using WordPress as a content management system. Attendees will learn how to use WordPress to design their complete website, from the pages to the events calendar to the optional blog. Each student will have their own WordPress install set up on the instructor’s servers before the workshop and will continue to have access to it for at least a month after the conference.  Attendees will need to bring a laptop to use during the session.

Note: This workshop is appropriate for any SLA webmaster who will be participating in Operation Vitality and is unfamiliar with WordPress.

This CE is cosponsored by the IT Division of SLA.

Ticket Information:

• SLA Member: $199.00
• SLA Student Member: $99.00
• Non-Member: $299.00

Register at http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2011/registration/index.cfm

If you are already registered for the conference, you can modify your registration to add CEs. You may register for a continuing education workshop without registering for the entire conference.

The program is out and I’ll be giving two pre-conference sessions at Computers in Libraries 2011 in Washington, D.C. The second of which will cover practical open source applications for you to use in your library, office and homes. Make sure you register early!!

• W7 – Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data
  Sunday, March 20, 2011 :: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  Nicole C. Engard, Director of Open Source Education, ByWater Solutions
  Brian Herzog, Head of Reference, Chelmsford Public Library

  This workshop explains what mashups are, how they can be used, and shares examples from libraries around the world. In the first half of this workshop, attendees will learn about some of the tools they can use to mash up library data with content from the web to reach more patrons. Examples include using maps to enhance library data, using Flickr for digital collections, and creating library websites with data from several information sources. After learning the basics and seeing examples from other libraries around the world, attendees will have a chance to create a website pulling data from several sources on the web. After attending this talk, librarians will be able to define what a mashup is and identify mashups on library sites and the web; find tools and APIs to gather data for their own library sites; and pull data from other sites into a website

• W15 – Practical Open Source Software for Libraries
  Sunday, March 20, 2011 :: 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
  Nicole C. Engard, Director of Open Source Education, ByWater Solutions

  The commonly accepted definition of open source software is software that is distributed with human readable source code in order to allow the user freedom to run, review, alter, enhance, and modify the code for any purpose. But open source is about so much more than just the code behind the software, it’s about community, collaboration, and innovation. The library community is abuzz about open source software, but many librarians have no idea what open source software actually is or what it means to use the software and participate in the community around open source. This workshop provides the 101 for using open sources in libraries: What will open source mean to our libraries? Why would I choose source? How do I get started? Do I need more staff? Will the transition be hard? Are there open source applications for my library? Engard provides facts, dispels myths, emphasizes what open source means for libraries, and shares a toolbox of at least 50 freely available open source products to use in your library. Includes demos, discussions, and more.

Registration is available online at InfoToday.com.

Technorati Tags: cil2011

Last month I had the pleasure of opening and closing the Tech Connections 2010 conference. In my closing presentation I covered open source tools that will help us provide better services to our remote users.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of talking to librarians about Ubuntu as an alternative to traditional operating systems in libraries. This is just one of the many tools I talk about in the upcoming book, so I thought that readers here might be interested.

Technorati Tags: ala10, ala2010

At SLA 2010 last week I gave a talk to a packed room. For those interested in the book, you might want to check out this preview of what can be found inside.

Technorati Tags: sla2010