Welcoming New Customers to the Library
Approx. 23 Minutes

Description: When was the last time you signed up for a library card? Most of us who work in libraries have had a card for so long that we may be out of touch with the new customer experience. When someone signs up for a library card, your library has a one-time opportunity to welcome them and make them aware of all the great services and programs. This session will provide recommendations on strategies to welcome new customers, get them engaged with your library, and encourage them to use different services and programs. It will also cover potential barriers that prevent new customers from signing up or using their card, and how to remove those barriers to increase engagement.

Speaker: Cordelia Anderson, CEO, Cordelia Anderson Consulting

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No More Blah Blogs: Tips & Tricks for Engaging User-Centered Content
Approx. 25 Minutes

Description: Discover secrets to capture your community's attention and explore ways your blogs can amplify your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to improve the visibility of your website. Attend this session to hear all about Harris County Public Library's content strategy and get tricks and tips adapted from non-library websites to help you get more reads and interaction on your library blog.

Speakers: David Cherry, Digital Content Specialist, Harris County Public Library Nancy Hu, Brand & Communications Manager, Harris County Public Library Sarah Gardner, Young Adult Program Librarian, Harris County Public Library

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Centering Historically Marginalized Communities in a Website Redesign Project
Approx. 25 Minutes

Description: Multnomah County Library is redesigning its website based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles. Its focus is specifically on racial equity, patrons who don’t speak English or have limited English proficiency, and addressing the needs of all historically marginalized patrons. These principles guide their project phases (discovery, requirements, design, development, stakeholder engagement, and testing). Hear about their experience so far, including challenges, pain points, results of the discovery process, centering translation as a key component, and lessons learned.

Speakers: Arlene Keller, Web Services Coordinator, Multnomah County Library Olga Iliuk, Translation Program Specialist, Multnomah County Library

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Worksheet


Found in a Library Book: Creating A Connection with Website Content
Approx. 25 Minutes

Description: Using the "Special Collection" content category, Oakland Public Library is archiving an ongoing collection of things found in returned library books and showing it off on a custom page. See how this collection is maintained online and how it has earned incredible and positive international attention, created unique connections with our community, and brought people into our library and onto our website.

Speaker: Sharon McKellar, Supervising Librarian for Teen Services, Oakland Public Library

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Staff Training: From Overwhelmed to Organized
Approx. 25 Minutes

Description: Staff training helps employees improve their skills and knowledge, adapt to new technologies and processes, and become more productive and effective in their roles. It can feel, however, like there are an overwhelming number of things for people to know! How do you prioritize topics? How do you address the needs of people who are starting from different places? Join this session to learn a few strategies, discover current trends, and share your own challenges and ideas.

Speaker: Brenda Hough, Staff Development Coordinator, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

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Queer(ing) Environments
Approx. 25 Minutes

Description: The current political climate has created spaces that are not welcoming to 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals. This session will discuss how to create braver and safer spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, and will focus on those with intersecting identities.

Speaker: Jess Trinier, Research Associate, Ontario Tech University

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Ethically Highlighting Diverse Voices Through Catalog Data
Approx. 26 Minutes

Description: Traditionally, libraries have physically labeled or separated works by underrepresented creators because there was no other way to identify those titles. Using a new MARC field, a Local Heading mapping, and a saved search in BiblioCommons, CML is now identifying author identities with no changes to shelving, labeling, or classification. Hear about their process and how they are completing this work within a rigorous ethical framework.

Speaker: Misty Alvaro, Materials Manager, Columbus Metropolitan Library

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The Distributed Library: A Vision for Blockchain, Libraries, and Community
Approx. 25 Minutes

Description: Blockchain technologies offer many features libraries and library software makers can leverage to re-imagine library services. Collectively known as Web3, these technologies can potentially infect the Internet with library values by creating a decentralized, autonomous sharing platform based on blockchain and the decentralized web. In this session, Palo Alto City Library will describe the core features of Web3 and what BiblioWeb3 might look like.

Speaker: M Ryan Hess, Digital Initiatives Manager, Palo Alto City Library

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Using Cute Puppies, Forms, and Social Media to Drive Website Engagement
Approx. 25 Minutes

Description: You may be using BiblioWeb forms as a way for patrons to contact your library, but have you ever thought of using this feature to create multi-faceted community engagement initiatives? Canton Public Library (CPL) shares how they utilize BiblioWeb forms, social media, and more to engage their community through a Cutest Pet Contest. By leveraging forms to collect voting responses and integrating social media to promote and drive traffic to the website, CPL created a highly successful digital campaign that engaged hundreds of patrons.

Speakers: Courtney Luketich, Web Resources Specialist, Canton Public Library Kaitlyn Minshall, Communication Specialist, Canton Public Library Laurie Golden, Department Head Engagement & Design, Canton Public Library Randy Goble, Director of Engagement, Kent District Library Remington Steed, Webmaster, Kent District Library

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Readers’ Advisory and the Evolution of Lists
Approx. 27 Minutes

Description: Join our panel of Readers’ Advisory gurus to discuss the evolution of lists and list-making. Hear ways that libraries use lists to connect with the community, welcome everyone, and promote partnerships.

Speakers: Abby Bass, Arts, Recreation & Literature Librarian, The Seattle Public Library Alisha Helms, Library Associate, The Kansas City Public Library Catherine Lamoureux, Contract Specialist, BiblioCommons Gregg Winsor, Readers Advisory Librarian, Johnson County Library Jessica Pryde, Adult Fiction Selector, Pima County Public Library

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Thursday, September 21st
Measuring Community Impact

Journey Ahead: An Inside Look into the Product Roadmap
Approx. 59 Minutes

Description: Join BiblioCommons Product Managers as they unveil what's next with the product suite. The team will cover BiblioCore, BiblioApps, BiblioEvents, BiblioWeb, BiblioEmail, the BiblioCommons Analytics Platform, and the Patron Measurement and Engagement offering. Attend to get an exclusive preview of the exciting new developments and features your library staff and patrons will benefit from.

Speakers: Francis Kim, Technical Product Manager, BiblioCommons Natasha Hesch, Senior Product Manager, BiblioCommons Nina Coutinho, Director, Product Management, BiblioCommons Tim Gordon, Product Manager, BiblioCommons

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Setting Up and Using Custom Data in the New Google Analytics
Approx. 24 Minutes

Description: Get comfortable with the new Google Analytics (GA) and get the data your library needs for making decisions. This session will cover setting up your Analytics property, using Analytics Explorations, and integrating GA with Google Looker Studio (Data Studio) to create shareable reports for your stakeholders. Key topics will include determining custom data based on BiblioCommons parameters and events, setting up custom definitions, configuring filters in Looker Studio to separate BiblioCore and BiblioEvents data, and tips for getting used to the differences between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4 (GA4).our library might collect a lot of data, but can you connect it to your long-term strategic plans and patron engagement efforts? In 2022 and beyond, we will be investing even more in our data collection, reporting, and product suite. Join us to hear about the data roadmap, including our migration to Google Analytics 4 and our new Patron Measurement and Engagement offering.

Speaker: Marie Martin, Web Administrator, Washington County Cooperative Library Services

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Maximizing Impact, Minimizing Risk: GA4, Looker Studio, and Patron Privacy
Approx. 26 Minutes

Description: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can help your library gain actionable insights about your online patron experiences. However, it's critical to balance how you use GA4 to respect patrons' privacy. In this session, attendees will learn ways to responsibly leverage web analytics to enhance online experiences, minimize privacy risks, and maximize the impact on your library’s community. Julie Oborny, chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee's Privacy Subcommittee, will share what to enable and disable with your GA4 property and the kind of data reports to make available to stakeholders.

Speaker: Julie Oborny, Web Services Manager, San Jose Public Library

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Reviewing Custom Pages in BiblioWeb
Approx. 21 Minutes

Description: Congrats, you've built a Custom Page! Now what? Hear from BiblioTeam members Denise Macalino, Product Designer, and Kati Polodna, Implementation Specialist, about how you can quickly evaluate your Custom Pages for design and accessibility "gotchas" to take your pages from good to great. During this session, attendees will review a custom page together and discuss best practices to ensure all BiblioWeb Custom Page designs are responsive, accessible, and beautiful.

Speakers: Denise Macalino, Product Designer, BiblioCommons Kati Polodna, Implementation Specialist, BiblioCommons

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Events API: 31 Flavors of Calendars
Approx. 22 Minutes

Description: Kent District Library needed event info in a nicely designed print calendar. The built-in events listing and print views weren't enough for them, so they set out to change that. Hear how they leveraged the BiblioEvents API to create JavaScript that pulls and rearranges data to match their evolving needs. You'll also see examples of their fancy time-intensive seasonal calendars and the newer, simpler options they are testing, plus hear how the API helped them get there.

Speaker: Remington Steed, Webmaster, Kent District Library

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Being a Better A11y: Improving Your Web Accessibility
Approx. 24 Minutes

Description: Accessibility is a fundamental value of libraries everywhere, and improving the accessibility of your website is a key way to ensure that your library serves as many customers as possible. With simple tweaks, you can make your site easier to access and use for all customers. In this session, attendees will learn about techniques to improve their web accessibility, tools to discover areas of opportunity, and ways to measure the impact of the changes they make.

Speaker: Matt Schneider, Web Content Administrator, Edmonton Public Library

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BiblioCommons Analytics Platform, Reporting, and Insights
Approx. 29 Minutes

Description:
BiblioCommons is on a mission to democratize patron data for Partner Libraries to help them find the insights they need to optimize their online experiences and better engage their patrons. Join us in this session to learn more about the BiblioCommons Analytics Platform, including our custom data layer and brand-new data dashboards for you to draw insights and make data-driven decisions.

Speaker:
Nina Coutinho, Director, Product Management, BiblioCommons

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Request It: Collaborative Acquisitions
Approx. 26 Minutes

Description:
The Kansas City Public Library Request It service encourages patron participation through a collaborative selection process. The service provides a more equitable distribution of access and increases diverse titles. The first aspect, Potential Purchasing, allows patrons to place holds on books before the library buys them. The second aspect is Suggest for Purchase, where patrons suggest a title directly within their BiblioCore account. If the item is available from our vendors and is within cost allowance, we order it with minimal cataloging and processing, and expedited delivery. When returned, collection development determines if the item belongs in the Library collection. We use the third aspect, Interlibrary Loan, as a last means of acquisition. Our Request It service provides a positive patron experience, reduces internal costs and staff time, and fosters a robust community-informed collection.

Speakers:
Dawn Mackey, Discovery Services Manager, Kansas City Public Library Debbie Stoppello, Director of Library Collections, Kansas City Public Library Stephanie Roberts, Collection Development Supervisor, Kansas City Public Library

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Libraries of Seeds and Things: Unique Collections in Your Catalog
Approx. 26 Minutes

Description:
Explore the pros and cons of using the ILS and the BiblioCore catalog to organize, circulate, and promote unique collections such as tools, toys, instruments, and seeds. Learn how three libraries (St. Thomas Public Library, Pima County Public Library, and Hillsboro Public Library) that are on three different ILSs use their catalog to organize and promote their unique lending collections.

Speakers:
Aaron DeVries, Manager, Digital & Support Services, St. Thomas Public Library Amy Bivins, Program Specialist, Pima County Public Library Brendan Lax, Collection Development Librarian, Hillsboro Public Library Chris Williams, Program Specialist, Pima County Public Library Maxine Levine, Operations Manager, BiblioCommons Nadine Poulos, Manager, Customer Experience & Collections, St. Thomas Public Library

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