This article is more than 5 years old.

Earlier today, Erik, Sarah, and I took a quick jaunt to the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to participate in the NC LITe Group Meeting/mini-conference, a gathering of Library Instruction and Technology professionals from other schools in the state. We joined representatives from UNCG, UNC-CH, NCSU, Guilford College, and Appalachian State in discussing current and future trends in Library technology, instruction, and the vast gray area in-between, as well as a little networking between the libraries at each of these institutions.

The first part of the meeting was dedicated to a quick, round-the-room discussion of new happenings among the participating libraries, ranging from our talk of E-books and the opening of ZSR space to The Bridge and The Writing Center, emerging technology initiatives at UNC-CH and NCSU, and even the “Library Adventure Game” developed in house at App. State. We then voted on topics to discuss in smaller, “breakout” sessions drawn from topics each group had submitted earlier.

I personally attended the sections on Ebooks, E-pub, and in-house production as well as Training methods for Librarians. The Ebook section was submitted by ZSR. Erik led the discussion where we shared our experiences in working with the Epub format on the Cuala Irish Greeting Cards Catalog a few months back. The highlight of this talk was showing the Ebook on Erik’s borrowed iPad, and the discussion of the device and other E-Book readers and their future. It was interesting to see that peer institutions were also making moves to obtain new technologies, like the iPad, for patron circulation.

The Training methods discussion focused mainly around the idea of quick, easily digestible video content made available to the public 24/7, taking inspiration from Lauren P.’s Toolkit videos. We discussed how online content related to in-person training, the materials that training was requested for, and its changes over time. For instance, UNCG still has a high demand for basic computer skill training and competencies, such as Microsoft Office applications, while at Wake we have found that students are more interested in software for specific goals in research and collaboration.

After this second breakout, the group as a whole reconvened and discussed all of the breakout topics broadly, relaying to those who did not attend the basic gist of the conversation. It seemed like each session would have been interesting to attend.