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NISO Professional Development Events, September & October 2020

NISO Professional Development Events, September & October 2020

September 2020

September 2020

NISO Webinar

Demonstrating the Return On Investment: The Library’s Role and Contribution
Wednesday, September 9, 2020, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Assessment practices can be used by libraries to demonstrate to administrators and key decision-makers the return on investment from the services they offer. They can help show that, rather than being a drain on institutional resources, the library is a cost-effective and impactful part of an institution’s educational offering. 

This Roundtable event will focus on how assessment exercises are critical to helping position the library in this way, and on effectively presenting the data generated by the assessment to those passing judgement. The panel will address questions such as: How can you show that library initiatives are aligned with institutional goals? How effectively is the library allocating its space in serving students and faculty? How much is being spent on licensed content, and are those resources being used? 

Librarians and library vendors, administrators, and publishers alike will benefit from a better understanding of how and why to demonstrate the ROI of a library.   

Confirmed speakers for this event, among others, include Karen Schneider, Dean of the Library, Sonoma State, Denise Stephens, Vice Provost and University Librarian, Washington University at St. Louis, Diane Bruxvoort, Dean of Libraries, University of North Texas, Courtney L. Young, University Librarian, Colgate University, and Thomas Wall, University Librarian, Boston College.

NOTE: ALL members of NISO automatically receive sign-on credentials for both parts of this event as a member benefit. There is no need to register separately. Check your institutional membership status here.

NISO Virtual Conference

Privacy in the Age of Surveillance: Everyone’s Concern
Wednesday, September 16, 2020, 12:00 pm Noon - 4:00 pm (Eastern Time)

In an age of networked information platforms, a user’s activity is traced automatically and frequently without much system transparency. Does that necessarily constitute surveillance of the user? Depending upon the geographic location, camera and satellite monitoring are ubiquitous. Why shouldn’t data sensors help administrators improve traffic flow? Why should we hesitate to gather and use data in resolving big and small issues in society?  Vendors want to improve the user experience; studying user data allows that. Even in the library, benign assessment exercises trace patron use of resources or access. Where is the line and how should stakeholders be thinking about the issue?

To what extent are these practices intrusive or threatening to the individual? How transparent are we required to be about systems and practices? This event will feature participation by a variety of community stakeholders considering these and other questions about this sensitive concern.

Confirmed speakers for this event include, Mark Seeley, Principal, SciPubLaw, Dylan Gilbert, Privacy Policy Advisor, NIST, Micah Vandergrift, Open Knowledge Librarian, North Carolina State University, Hannah Rainey, Associate Head, Research Engagement, North Carolina State University, Emily Singley, Head of Library Systems, Boston College, Qiana Johnson, Interim AUL for Collection Strategies, Northwestern University, and Todd Digby, Chair, Library Technology Services, University of Florida. 

NISO Training Series

Assessment Practices and Metrics in a 21st Century Pandemic: A NISO Training Series
Friday, September 18, 2020 - November 6, 2020, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm (Eastern Time)

To explore planning, management, and assessment practices in libraries during COVID-19. We will discuss effective practices for planning for library spaces, collections, services, and strategic innovations – a sequel to the 2018 and 2019 offerings. Participants will also have access to the 2018 webinar recordings.

Don't let a crisis get wasted is a popular saying these days. The world has been challenged this year with the COVID-19 pandemic so our familiar and well-known series will explore some new and some familiar topics on spaces, collections, services and strategic innovations through the lens of COVID-19. Our seminar series this year will focus on the transformations happening in today’s 21st century library and in the changes we are living through, the planning overkill we are experiencing, the ways we know we are succeeding, and how we can emerge resilient and sane at the end of the tunnel.  What does all the shifts we are going through mean for the 21st Century Library and the way we assess and measure our success!

Dates and confirmed guest lecturers appear below:

  • September 18:  Joyce Chapman, Assessment Analyst and Consultant, Duke University & Emily Daly, Head, Assessment and User Experience Department, Duke University
  • September 25:  Lorraine J. Haricombe, Vice Provost and Director of the University of Texas Libraries, University of Texas
  • October 2:  Bob Fox, Dean of Libraries, University of Louisville and Elaine Westbrooks, Vice Provost of University Libraries & University Librarian, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
  • October  9: Denise Stephens, Vice Provost and University Librarian, Washington University at St Louis
  • October 15: Maurini Strub, Director of Library Assessment, University of Rochester
  • October 23: Keren Stiles, Senior Library Manager, Engagement and Insight, Open University, and Caroline Barrat, Engagement and Insight Officer, Open University, (UK)
  • October 30: Colleen Cook, Trenholme Dean of Libraries, McGill University (Canada)
  • November 6: Joan Lippincott (Emeritus, CNI)

Registration for this event includes access to the archived recordings the 2018 Training Series on Assessment Practices and Metrics in the 21st Century. 

Course Moderator: Martha Kyrillidou of QualityMetrics, LLC

The series consists of eight (8) segments, one per week and each lasting approximately 60-90 minutes. Each segment is intended to cover a Thursday lunch period (11:00am - 12:30pm, US. Eastern).

NISO Virtual Conference

Humanities Roundtable 2020: Building Diversity, Building Accessibility, Building Better
Wednesday, September 23, 2020, 11:30 am - Friday, September 25, 2020, 4:30 pm (Eastern Time)

The theme of this year’s Humanities Roundtable is building better — better diversity, better accessibility, better technology — in order to develop a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable humanities community. From the complexities of controlled vocabularies and thesauri in the humanities, to dealing with historically offensive language, and from defining accessibility in a humanities context to designing for it, our speakers will touch on many of the critical changes the digital humanities need.None of this is simple but, at the same time, if we work together to find solutions, it’s not impossible. By bringing together stakeholders from across our community — librarians, publishers, technology providers — this year’s Roundtable will kickstart a discussion on the practical requirements and implications of delivering a more diverse, a more accessible, a better information environment for the digital humanities community. 

The event will include small group breakout sessions to encourage attendees from a range of stakeholder communities to engage productively with one another and to collaborate in identifying next steps.

Confirmed speakers include, among others, Marti Heyman, Executive Director, Metadata Strategy and Operations, OCLC; Bethan Tovey-Walsh, PhD researcher, CorCenCC/Swansea University; Michelle Urberg, Metadata Librarian, Proquest; Dave Tell, Ph.D., Co-Director, Institute for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Kansas; Mark Puente, Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Organizational Development, Purdue University; Susan Doerr, Associate Director, University of Minnesota Press, Rebecca Blakiston, User Experience Strategist, University of Arizona and Ian Smith, Director, Accessibility Platforms and Solutions, codemantra US LLC

October 2020

NISO Webinar Series

Change Management Webinar Series - The Information Community Adapts
Wednesday, October 14, 2020, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm (Eastern Time)

In the early months of the pandemic, institutions and organizations were forced to make rapid decisions about whether to close, whether or when to re-open, which parts of normal operations might be managed remotely and which would simply have to be dispensed with. Some organizations had emergency preparedness plans that enabled them to adapt swiftly, but others had to become agile as a day-by-day learning experience. The Roundtable Discussion format will bring together stakeholders from across the information community to discuss the decision-making processes they and their organizations used to deal with the pandemic, and the key factors that enabled them to successfully react and adapt to the uncertainty.

Change Management Webinar Series - Supporting The Workforce
Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm (Eastern Time)

During the months of full and partial lockdown, organizations have had to support their workforce in a variety of ways. Budgets have been revisited. Equipment has been provided and deployed to enable staff to work remotely. And, importantly, working practices — including meetings, staff management, deliverables, and more — have had to change, often significantly What has the impact been on information workflows and internal systems? How did institutions and organizations in our community work to mitigate some of the significant challenges experienced by their workforce? In this webinar we will hear from information industry professionals about how they and their organizations supported the people in their workforce and what they learned they could do to support them. 

Change Management Webinar Series - Delivering Services in a Pandemic
Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Whether working remotely, on-site or in some hybrid form, information organizations and institutions found that many basic services had to be managed and delivered in new and different forms. From providing remote support to customers, to delivering seamless online access to content, to meeting the needs of scattered students and faculty, everyone’s workflows had to be adapted. Standard access services that are normally taken for granted had to be rethought. This webinar will address what these changes meant for all those who provide information services of any sort. 

NOTE: ALL members of NISO automatically receive sign-on credentials for all events in this webinar series as a member benefit. There is no need to register separately. Check your institutional membership status here.