9:30 AM-4 PM

Do you have responsibility for the use and delivery of videos and DVDs in public, school, college or university settings? Are you supporting classroom and distance learning, self development, recreational enjoyment? Get up-to-speed on just what Knowledge Ontario is doing with video streaming here in Ontario and around the globe.

Hear about pilot projects already in progress, about the technical issues being faced, vendor proposals and Canadian content. The afternoon will be focused on what we need to do in Ontario to move the agenda forward. A spark group will be formed to create a proposal.

$75. Lunch will be provided.
P001 Preconference
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

9:00 AM-4:30 PM

The BiblioCommons “next generation catalogue” has been in “beta” with several libraries and will be ready for general release – and your use – in early 2008.  Knowledge Ontario’s agreement with BiblioCommons opens these services to public libraries in the province free of charge at that time. Come hear about this opportunity not only to present your Patrons with vastly improved catalogue access to your collections, but to build community around the library’s collections – putting the public library at the centre of Knowledge Ontario’s plan to “Connect Ontario” on-line. Explore the possibilities, and understand what’s involved at a practical implementation level.  Even if you do not think BiblioCommons services are right for your library today, there is lots to learn about next generation catalogs generally, and the trend to separate the “discovery layer”  from the traditional ILS.

Morning sessions 

• The vision for “Connect Ontario”
• BiblioCommons -- features and functionality overview
• Feedback from the field:
  - Beta Library reaction (panel presentation)
  - The user experience:  Learning from our beta users
• Road map for the future:  What’s next for future releases?

Afternoon  sessions
A series of roundtables to allow you to delve deeper into issues that move the discussion from ideas to implementation!

Technical  Roundtable:
“Freeing the Data”
What’s involved in separating the discovery layer from the ILS?  

• Designing the ILS to play well with others:  New opportunities  for Libraries  
• BiblioCommons architecture:  Enabling machines to talk to each other
• Integration requirements: hardware, software, staff time

Stephen Abram, Vice President Innovation, SirsiDynix

Legal Roundtable: 
Legal Concerns that Emerge with Next Generation Catalogue Services

• Third-party datasharing: privacy and security considerations
• Opening the catalogue up to patron contributions, communication and sharing: privacy requirements; liability concerns; safeguards for the participation of minors; intellectual property rights  

David Fraser, one of Canada’s leading experts in privacy law will provide an overview of the legal framework which has been established between Knowledge Ontario and BiblioCommons to address these concerns.

Technical Services Roundtable: 
Next Generation Catalogue Implications for Technical Services

• Data clean-up issues exposed by next generation discovery environments, including FRBR
• Tagging: Does it really work?   How do we leverage the combined power of taxonomies and folksonomies.
• Web 3.0 – It’s Coming! Libraries and the Semantic Web

Karen Coyle is a California-based librarian with nearly 30 years experience in digital libraries, and on-line access to library collections.  She is a recognized expert in technical issues, such as metadata and information retrieval, and a leading contributor to the Next Generation Catalog listserv!

$129. Lunch will be provided.
Register additional staff members at $40. each (lunch not included).
P002 Preconference
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

9:00 AM-4:30 PM

Have you recently become a manager, team leader or supervisor, or will you be assuming this role soon? This move brings a host of new responsibilities, hopes, challenges and opportunities, for which we're often not prepared. Whether you are in a small library or a huge organization, the skills, strategies and demands are the same. This practical course focuses on key areas that will determine your success as a new manager positioning, planning, communicating, balancing and learning.

OLA Member $129.
Non-member $169.
Lunch is included.
P003 Preconference
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

9:00 AM-Noon

Teacher-librarians work with an extremely diverse student population at both the elementary and secondary level. To meet the needs of all students, TLs must be familiar with the assistive technologies (software and hardware) students are using to access the curriculum successfully. Receive an overview on the five essential assistive technologies available in many school boards and explore how to incorporate these assistive technologies into your partnering units. Great ideas for both techno-peasants and tech experts in elementary and secondary schools.

OLA Member $50.
Non-member $75.
P011 Preconference
Location: Ontario Institute For Studies In Education

9:00 AM-Noon

The Ontario Educational Resource Bank (OERB) is one component of the province’s e-learning strategy. It is a tool which allows teachers to share resources that they have created with other teachers and students across Ontario.

Resources match the K–12 provincial curriculum, and take the form of lesson plans, activities, glossaries, units, interactive games/resources and much more. Fully searchable by keywords, as well as browsable by curriculum expectations, it is a valuable support to the province’s teachers and students, as its content can be used to support many classroom activities and planning needs. Teachers are the creative force behind the Resource Bank, and the key to its growth. If you are an Ontario teacher, you can use the Resource Bank to share your own original materials with colleagues across the province – in almost any digital format.

Come and learn about the OERB and how you can make use of the OERB to support your educational endeavours and how you can contribute to its growth.

OLA Member $50.
Non-member $75.
P012 Preconference
Location: Ontario Institute For Studies In Education

1:00 PM-4:00 PM

Working and learning together in a Web2 environment is empowering for all learners. In this session we will build an understanding together of how the wiki can be used to engage students in collaborative knowledge building. No previous knowledge of a wiki is necessary for this workshop. We will cover the basics of wiki design and move into application of Think Models that make the best use of this unique learning environment.

Resources:
Contribute to the wiki

OLA Member $50.
Non-member $75.
P021 Preconference
Location: Ontario Institute For Studies In Education

(Note: This session replaces 'Click That Mouse' which has become regular Session # 429.)

1:00 PM-4:00 PM

Have you been trying to figure out a way to help your teachers with their new Media expectations? Well how about Podcasting? With a free cross-platform sound editor, your students will be able to create their own newscasts, commercials, interviews, and oral presentations. They can even be uploaded to the Internet for all to hear!

Resources:
Session Presentation (.ppt)
Podcasting (.pdf)
Audacity download (.pdf)
Control Toolbar (.pdf)
Podcast Resources and Bibliography (.pdf)
Audacity effects and audio (.pdf)
Export Audacity MPS (.pdf)

OLA Member $50.
Non-member $75.
P022 Preconference
Location: Ontario Institute For Studies In Education

1:00 PM-5:00 PM

Vancouver, Regina, Toronto and Halifax public libraries have partnered in the 4-year Working Together Project, funded by HRDSC, to evolve and demonstrate techniques from the community development field to connect, consult and collaborate with their communities. Toolkits will help librarians identify and build new skills and proficiencies to work in community-led libraries and help library leaders identify policies and strategies that can shape and sustain inclusive library services in collaboration with community members. Share the experiences planning and implementing library services that reflect the interests and needs of socially excluded communities. Learn how librarians can build relationships in communities in order to understand community needs. See libraries can change to ensure that community needs are met.

OLA Member $50.
Non-member $75.
P023 Preconference
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

1:00 PM-4:00 PM

Purpose of the Session:

1. To draw serious attention to the growing crisis faced by many library systems due to the lack of provincial and local funding.
2. To create a forum for dialogue among members of the Federation of Public Libraries and the key decision makers related to library policy and library funding at both the local and provincial levels.

Using a round table format, the session will focus on information sharing, identifying implications of the lack of funding and establishing a framework for a policy paper to be used to advance the case for improved funding.

No cost to Federation members.
Registration required.
P024 Preconference
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

12:30 PM-5:00 PM

Branch libraries play vital roles in the lives of city residents. They are places of research, inspiration, safety, quiet study, community interaction, cultural and creative support. Excellence in architectural design and attention to community visibility and accessibility are essential elements of revitalized libraries.

Toronto Public Library’s on-going work on the revitalization and renewal of its city-wide branch network saw the reopening of four well-loved and well-used community branches: Pape/Danforth, Cliffcrest, Woodside Square and Jane/Dundas, These branches, located in very different communities, reflect a range of architectural styles and service approaches.

Pape/Danforth, located in Greek Town, maintained the architectural integrity of the original structure built in 1928 and reconnected the library to the street with a single accessible entrance.

Cliffcrest’s relocation in a strip mall provided the opportunity to create a beautiful small branch with the comfortable feel of a book store.

Woodside Square, an indoor mall relocation, is one of the busiest neighbourhood branches in Toronto. RFID self service and returns into the workroom streamlined operations in a larger facility and allowed us to enhance the public spaces in the branch.

A large new curtain wall allows natural light to flood into the previously dark Jane/Dundas Branch. This complete renovation introduced bright colours with sophisticated walnut veneer throughout.

Take the tour bus from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Registration Lobby.

No cost.
Registration required.
P031 Preconference

4:30 PM

Presiding: Jane Horrocks, President.

P041 Preconference
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre