This first day of Internet Librarian everyone concentrated totally on the sessions. Why? Unless you planned to just forget the conference and go sightseeing, there wasn’t much else to do. The exhibit hall didn’t open until 5 p.m. — after the sessions had finished — and there were no Cybertours — duh, they happen in the exhibit hall that didn’t open until 5 p.m. which means they start tomorrow. Not a bad idea really, because during the reception in the just-opened exhibit hall, there was lots of buzz about what was said in sessions. And that’s what it’s really all about, isn’t it? Live interaction, real people? OK, a little bit of wine or beer, some veggies, and possibly a roast beef or turkey sandwich. But I was so impressed with people’s reactions to the sessions, such thoughtful commentary. That’s the value of conferences. You learn from your peers in conversation, not just from speakers in sessions.

On the other hand, lots of griping from the bloggers in the group (and some non-bloggers, too) about crummy internet access. Typical comment being something along the lines of “if this is an internet librarian conference, where’s the internet?” OK, they have a point. Free WiFi is sadly lacking here. Any WiFi is sadly lacking here. But whining is never pretty and I like to think that Internet Librarians are ahead of the curve and should expect not to have an adequate infrastructure. My prediction: In 10 years, there will be some new

Continue reading First Day Reflections

It was a love fest at this morning’s keynote speech by Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Starting off by listing any number of statistics detailing the demographics of Internet usage in the U.S., he then paused to state his belief that Internet Librarians would rule the future. Here’s the central truth, according to Rainie, “Internet is the norm.” Demographics: Internet users are getting older and they’re not as utopian as the early adopters. They’re practical. People take their offline experiences online; they don’t transform themselves just because they’re online. And expectations are changing. The Internet is an information utility and that’s all. Here’s a surprise. Rainie’s statistics show that people aren’t worried about information overload. It’s “the dog not barking.” Maybe, but I think most information professionals do worry about information overload and I’ll bet it’s because we care more about the quality of the information we’re retrieving, analyzing, evaluating, and disseminating. In Rainie’s opinion, librarians will rule the future because we can hunt, sort, and connect facts. It was an inspiring way to start the conference.

Marydee Ojala Editor, ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals