WiLSWorld 2018 Conference Program

Dr. Sarah T. Roberts, Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Studies, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA

Sarah T. Roberts is internationally recognized as a leading scholar on the emerging topic of commercial content moderation or CCM, a term she coined to define the field of study around the large-scale, industrial and for-pay practice of social media user-generated content adjudication. Her research engages with topics of information access, economics and ethics in social media in order to elucidate an important part of the digital information production chain that is almost always unseen and rarely acknowledged. Her work places commercial content moderation in the greater context of the ecology of social media to the end of recognizing, acknowledging and improving the conditions under which the workers toil.

Josh Cowles, Library Technology Coordinator at Fond du Lac Public Library

Angela Vanden Elzen, Reference & Web Services Librarian and Assistant Professor at Lawrence University

In this presentation, Josh and Angela will discuss their experiences with setting up, maintaining, and managing makerspaces in both public and academic libraries. They’ll share the specific challenges that arise from these spaces along with solutions, as well as tips for how to keep them successfully running creative programs and hosting hands-on classes.

Laura Damon-Moore, Community Engagement Librarian, Madison Public Library

Ann Hanlon, Head, Digital Collections and Initiatives and DH Lab, UW-Milwaukee

Erin F. H. Hughes, Mukurtu Hub Manager, WiLS

Greg Kocken, Special Collections Librarian and University Archivist, UW-Eau Claire

Emily Pfotenhauer, Community Liaison and Service Specialist, WiLS

Randi Ramsden, Program Coordinator, National Digital Newspaper Program, Wisconsin Historical Society

Tamara Ramski, Digitization Assistant, South Central Library System

Vicki Tobias, Program Coordinator, Curating Community Digital Collections, WiLS

This fast-paced session highlights new tools and innovative approaches Wisconsin libraries are using to create, share and preserve digital collections. Projects include efforts to collect oral histories and music memorabilia from community members, partnerships with local artists to reimagine digitized special collections, text mining of historical newspapers, managing Indigenous digital collections in culturally responsive ways, centralized digitization training and support for public libraries, and building LIS students’ skills in digital stewardship through hands-on fieldwork at small libraries, archives and museums around the state.

Jennifer Chamberlain, Executive Director of Libraries, UW Colleges

Rachel Metzler, Information Literacy Coordinator and Online Librarian, UW Colleges

Cheryl Nessman, Director of Library Support Services, UW Colleges

Staff from the UW Colleges two-year campuses share their experience of taking a mandated, administrative, change and turning it into a transformative, value-based, reorganization of their libraries.

Mitchell Davis, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, BiblioLabs; Eric Mansfield, CIO, 5NINES; Shana Ponelis, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee School of Information Studies; Todd Streicher, President & CEO, 5NINES

Join experts from industry and from the library world to discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain, two technologies poised to change libraries and user expectations of them. Come for a primer to learn what these these technologies are, where they are in the world around you, and hear a discussion of how they might change your library collection, space, services, and user needs. Bring your questions for our experts and be ready to better face the near future.

Interested in learning more about what others are doing with open educational resources? Come to the OER Roundtable to learn from your peers and to hear about some tools and initiatives happening in Wisconsin and beyond. You’ll have a chance to ask questions, learn from others, and share your expertise on the topic, too.

Mitchell Davis, Chief Business Officer, BiblioLabs

Veronda J. Pitchford, Director of Membership and Resource Sharing, Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS)

The future is continuously speeding up and consumer media players like Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Spotify take more and more mindshare and attention of the Gen X, Gen Y and Millennial markets.

Over the past decade large media and technology companies such as these have radically changed end user expectations on the ease of having affordable, simple access to high quality digital content of all types. Meanwhile, brick and mortar institutions such as Borders, Barnes & Noble and a host of others have seen their fortunes decline as indie bookstores have seen a rise in popularity and sustainability.

How are libraries positioned to compete and flourish in this new media landscape? What are libraries uniquely positioned to do well in the digital landscape for readers, researchers and consumers of content? What are the underlying dynamics that drive the business of libraries and keep vendors and libraries from working as true partners?

Engaging in radical collaboration between libraries, vendors and publishers can produce better access, content and experiences sprinkled with delight for readers that could become the rallying cry for all the work we all do.

Emily Barney, Technology Training & Marketing Librarian, Chicago-Kent College of Law

Finding and evaluating images requires a different skill set than traditional research. Effective illustrations make messages more persuasive and memorable, but they can also be used to distort facts or manipulate an audience. Emily will discuss media literacy issues with evaluating visual elements for ethical communication, accuracy, image rights, and more. Emily will also discuss her favorite resources and search strategies to find better results and how to include copyright and licensing information in your research process.

Kristin R. Eschenfelder, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Director of the Information School, UW-Madison

Many of us have, until recently, viewed the internet (and often technology) as agnostic. We type in our search and receive our answers. But the design of information technology systems requires many individual design decisions, each of which is shaped by assumptions and biases. Further, we may find some of the end results of the systems design disturbing or morally problematic. For example, recent cultural concerns about overuse of or addiction to smart phones also raises question about whether we should limit how attractive and fun a design should be to protect users. News about privacy issues at Facebook raise questions about how Facebook could or should change its design to protect user data. Professor Kristin Eschenfelder from UW-Madison’s iSchool and Digital User Experience Design program will provide an overview of the principles of “Value Sensitive Design” and a review of exciting cutting edge work in the area. Using a value sensitive design approach, Eschenfelder will prepare audience members to consider the design decisions they make as professionals (in designing websites, library catalogs, digital collections, online forms etc.), how those decisions reflects their (or their institution’s) values, and who those design decisions privilege and disadvantage.

Brian Morello, Director, Center for Entrepreneurship in Liberal Education at Beloit College (CELEB)

Adam Dinnes, Coordinator of Innovation and Digital Projects, Beloit College

The Center for Entrepreneurship in Liberal Education at Beloit (CELEB) is a place for students to originate, plan, and execute their own entrepreneurial projects. Learn how Beloit College has created a dedicated space and tools to serve entrepreneurs so you can, too.

Laura Damon-Moore, Community Engagement Librarian, Madison Public Library / Co-Founder, Library as Incubator Project (2010-2017)

Laura will speak to the decision-making process and logistics of decommissioning the Library as Incubator Project (2010-2017), including the reasons for decommissioning the project, timing the decommission, communications around the change, and considerations for the project’s legacy.