Call for Speakers Deadline Extended

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Christa Porter

Did you forget to submit your proposal for Big Talk From Small Libraries 2024? No worries!

The Call for Speakers has been extended to January 5, 2024!

This free one-day online conference is aimed at librarians from small libraries; the smaller the better! We are looking for speakers from small libraries or speakers who directly work with small libraries. Small libraries of all types – public, academic, school, museum, special, etc. – are encouraged to submit a proposal. We’re looking for seven 50-minute presentations and four 10-minute “lightning round” presentations.

Big Talk From Small Libraries 2024 will be held on Friday, February 23, 2024 between 8:45 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (CT) via the GoTo Webinar online meeting service.

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment

2024 Call For Speakers Now Open!

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Christa Porter

The Call for Speakers for Big Talk From Small Libraries 2024 is now open!

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

This free one-day online conference is tailored for staff from small libraries; the smaller the better!

Small libraries of all types – public, academic, school, museum, special, etc. – are encouraged to submit a proposal. We’re looking for seven 50-minute presentations and four 10-minute “lightning round” presentations.

Submit your proposal by Friday, December 15, 2023.

Big Talk From Small Libraries 2024 will be held on Friday, February 23, 2024 between 8:45 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (CT) via the GoTo Webinar online meeting service.

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment

ARSL 2023 Early Bird Conference Registration is NOW OPEN! NLC CE Grants are reopening for a limited time!

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Christa Porter

Registration for both in-person and virtual attendance at the 2023 ARSL Conference is open!

And we are reopening the Nebraska Library Commission CE Grants to attend the 2023 ARSL Conference for a very limited time!

Staff and board members at accredited Nebraska public libraries or state-run institutional libraries are eligible. Apply for the NLC CE Grant by July 7 at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/Grants/CE/arslconferencegrant.aspx

The in-person 2023 ARSL Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency, Wichita, Kansas, from September 20-23, 2023.

This year’s conference theme is “Unite & Ignite”! Our conference provides an opportunity to unite as a professional community and foster a sense of togetherness across a nation of small but mighty libraries. When we come together to share and learn we’ll light fires of innovation and change that can burn bright all year long.

Early Bird pricing for in-person attendance will be available through July 18.

For more information about the conference and to register, visit the 2023 Conference Homepage.

ARSL Member Rates

  • Base Conference Attendance
    Early Bird – $290
    Regular – $375
  • Preconference Workshops**
    3-Hour Workshops – $55
    4-Hour Workshops – $70
  • Virtual Attendance
    $55

Student, Advocate & Retiree Rates*

  • Base Conference Attendance
    Early Bird – $245
    Regular – $285
  • Preconference Workshops**
    3-Hour Workshops – $55
    4-Hour Workshops – $70
  • Virtual Attendance
    $30

Nonmember Rates

  • Base Conference Attendance
    Early Bird – $380
    Regular – $450
  • Preconference Workshops**
    3-Hour Workshops – $80
    4-Hour Workshops – $95
  • Virtual Attendance
    $80

*Must be an ARSL Advocate, Student, or Retiree member. **Preconference Workshop fees are charged in addition to Base Conference Registration and are available for in-person conference attendees only.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

2023 Recordings Now Available

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Christa Porter

Recordings of all Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023 sessions are now available!

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

You will find the recordings and presentations at http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/bigtalk/previous-conferences/2023-recordings-presentations/

Don’t forget to complete the conference Evaluation! We’re looking for input from people who attended the live conference and watched the archived recordings.

And mark your calendars now – Big Talk From Small Libraries will be back in 2024! Next year’s conference will be on Friday, February 23, 2024!

Posted in Post-event | Tagged | Leave a comment

What is a small library?

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Christa Porter

Check out the size of the libraries that attended Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023!

This poll was taken in between morning sessions of the conference.

This year, there were 482 pre-registrations. Throughout the day, there were 305 individual logins from across the United States, Canada, and Indonesia.

Posted in Post-event | Tagged | Leave a comment

2023 Conference Wrap-up

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Christa Porter

Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023 is a wrap! Thanks to all the presenters and attendees. It was a great day!

Evaluation

What did you think of Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023? Please share your impressions of this year’s event on our Feedback Form.

Continuing Education Credit

A “Thank you for attending” email has been automatically sent from the GoToWebinar system to all attendees who logged in to the live session. That message serves as your proof of attending. In addition, a link to a PDF certificate is included with the e-mail.

Nebraska library staff and board members: You can earn 1 C.E. credit for each 50-minute session attended. Due to the nature of this event, we cannot track which sessions you attended, so please fill out and submit this special Big Talk From Small Libraries CE Report form, so your C.E. credits can be recorded correctly.

Non-Nebraska attendees: Any CE credit you wish to earn for this event will need to be arranged with your CE-granting agency, since we are not authorized to issue CE credits for other states or programs, only for Nebraska.

Recordings and Presentations

At the moment we have a single eight-hour-long video file. As with previous years, we’ll be editing this down into the individual presentation recordings, and adding them to the site under Previous Conferences. We’ll also post any presentation materials provided by the speakers. This process will take some time and everything will be posted as it becomes available, but experience tells us that it will take a week or two to complete.

Watch Parties

If you watched our event with others, please let us know the size of your group for our statistics via our Contact form.

Thanks!

And mark your calendars for Big Talk From Small Libraries 2024 – Friday, February 23, 2024!

Posted in Post-event | Tagged | Leave a comment

Login Instructions for Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Christa Porter

Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023 is broadcast online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements and firewall configuration. GoTo Webinar works on Windows, Mac, Google Chrome OS, Linux, iOS, and Android devices.

TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE – Pre-Registration is no longer required!

You can join the conference at any time on February 24 by following these instructions. There is one login for the entire day of presentations – you can use these instructions to log in and out of the conference as you like throughout the day, based on your interest and availability.

1. On your computer workstation, go to

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7647495218934415886

and register in the GoTo Webinar system.

2. Use the link on the confirmation webpage to connect to the session.

3. You will be connected to audio using your computer’s speakers (VoIP).

If the link above does not work, go to https://www.goto.com/webinar/join Type or paste in the Webinar ID: 485-494-123 and enter your e-mail address. Click ‘Yes’ or ‘Always’ (or ‘Trust’ on a Mac) if prompted to accept the download.

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment

Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023 is tomorrow!

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Christa Porter

Join us tomorrow for the 2023 Big Talk From Small Libraries online conference. Registration is still open, so head over to the Registration page and sign up!

We have a full agenda for the day, with speakers from academic and public libraries presenting on a wide variety of topics: Zombie Prom, staff evaluations, adapting big outreach for small libraries, book challenges in small libraries, library playgrounds, programming for adults with disabilities, and much more.

This event is a great opportunity to learn about the innovative things your colleagues are doing in their small libraries.

So, come join us for a day of big ideas from small libraries!

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment

Only One Week Until Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023!

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Christa Porter

Small libraries! Awesome ideas! FREE Online Conference!

There’s only one week until Big Talk From Small Libraries 2023!

Check out the full schedule and register to join us next Friday, February 24.

Sponsored by the Nebraska Library Commission and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL), this free one-day online conference is tailored for staff from small libraries – the smaller the better! Each of our speakers is from a small library serving fewer than 10,000 people, and they are from academic, K-12, and public libraries. This event is a great opportunity to learn about the innovative things your colleagues are doing in their small libraries.

Everyone is welcome to register and attend, regardless of how big or small your library. But, if your library serves a few hundred to a few thousand people, this is the day for you!

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment

2023 Schedule Now Available

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Christa Porter

The full schedule for the 2023 Big Talk From Small Libraries online conference is now available!

You will find all the details on the Schedule page.

Information about our presenters is available on the Speakers page.

If you haven’t registered yet, now is the time to jump over to the Registration page and sign up!

You are welcome to watch as an individual or to host a group viewing of the conference. If several staff members from the same library want to attend, you can just register for one seat and have staff members view/listen together via one workstation.

You can also host a viewing party this same way and invite staff from other libraries. For any group viewings, if you know who will be there, you can list your Additional Attendees on your one registration or you can send us a list after the event. Be sure to take all necessary health and safety precautions into account when planning group viewings.

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment