The ALCTS Exchange blog went on hiatus for a few weeks while the ALCTS Exchange Working Group was busy finalizing many of the details of the event. As we round the corner into the final stretch, Anastasia and Erin are back to bring you insight and ideas to get you excited for the event. Before we give Vicki Sipe, ALCTS President, the floor to share her thoughts on the ALCTS Exchange, we wanted to draw your attention to a couple of things.
- The preliminary ALCTS Exchange program has been posted to the website, including lightning rounds and poster sessions. Whether you’re already registered or you’re still thinking it over, take a look at the awesome programs that are being developed!
- While registration will remain open, regular registration closes on May 1st at which point the registration fees will go up. If you’re interested in registering but haven’t done so yet, now would be a great time to do it!
Check back in the next few weeks for additional content from Anastasia and Erin as the ALCTS Exchange draws closer. We can’t wait to share it with you!
And now on to Vicki’s thoughts on the ALCTS Exchange…
Hello. My name is Vicki Sipe. I serve as President of ALCTS, and I’m looking forward to the ALCTS Exchange! As an Ex Officio member of the ALCTS Exchange Working Group, I’ve had a ring side seat as this event came into being. The Exchange grew out of a desire to celebrate the 60th anniversary with a multi-day virtual forum. Planning began over a year ago. Through the combined talents of working group members and ALCTS staff, this event transformed into the interactive learning environment of the Exchange.
The theme of the ALCTS Exchange is Embracing the Past, Building the Future. There couldn’t be a more appropriate theme for the diamond anniversary celebration of ALCTS. For 60 years ALCTS has provided opportunities for education, publication and collaboration to the library community. Our engaged members have contributed to the profession, developed their skills and shared their expertise widely. This legacy, this past, continuously refreshes our organization and provides us with tools for building the future of our profession. The ALCTS Exchange will provide us with a new method for discussing and hopefully shaping that future.
The Exchange is set up to provide us with a multi-faceted, interactive environment to communicate and enter into an exchange of ideas with each other. Over 4 days, in 4 hour sessions of live streaming presentations and activities, we will be able to engage around the daily themes and specific topics provided by our speakers. Asynchronous resources will be available to stretch the space for discussion and learning around the themes and topics. There will be readings, drop-in chat spaces, virtual posters, and much more. Speakers can poll attendees prior to their presentations to get a feel for the concerns of the attendees or pose questions to jump start for the topic. Post-presentation discussion spaces will allow conversations to continue.
The staggered days of live streaming allows time for local groups to have their own discussions about what they have learned and how to apply it in their own setting. Take advantage of this at your home institution. Register a group, view the live stream together, and then turn the focus toward your own environment. I’m excited about the possibilities here for my own institution.
Don’t wait! Visit the Exchange website and check out the daily programming. https://alcts2017.learningtimesevents.org/ I hope to get into a conversation with you at the Exchange.
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