Monday, May 27, 2013

Back in Chicago - I Couldn't Resist

 

Taking the Blue line home from O'Hare I couldn't resist getting off at Western Ave. which put me within a couple of blocks of Honey 1 BBQ. It was a Sunday and they weren't going to be open for long but I had just enough time to order (and partially devour) an extra-large order of rib tips. Mama mia, Chicago has its advantages!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Report on the Drupal4Lib BoF at DrupalCon Portland

Rain, Nina and Cary participating in the discussion

Packed house in Rm B112 at the Convention Center in Portland

Okay, they say this happens every time but maybe 19 people signed up for the event -- and 67 showed up. I'd say it was 'standing room only' except that maybe a dozen people were sitting on the carpet in the central aisle. People were standing alongside all the walls and needless to say there wasn't a free chair in the place.

Even with that number of people, we went from person to person, each telling us his or her name and institution. We had a good mix of academic, public and special libraries. This variety showed up repeatedly in the quality of the discussion.

Nina started things off with a presentation of the new Arapahoe Library District website. We next moved to an open discussion on everything from Drupal's compatibility with repository software such as Islandora to the possibilities of Drupal replacing the ILS entirely. One theme that manifested itself through the course of the discussion was the strong desire to collaborate more on projects. Possible vehicles for this include the Drupal Library Group, the Drupal4Lib ListServ and of course, the Drupal4Lib LITA IG.

Clearly we could have gone another hour but 60 minutes was all we had. People were encouraged to continue the discussions throughout the day and also, at our Drupal4Lib IG Meeting at ALA Chicago on June 30 (10:30a-11:30a).

Monday, May 06, 2013

Library BoF at DrupalCon Portland?

I know a couple of library people are going to DrupalCon in Portland in a week or two.

Looks to me like a great opportunity to get together and talk shop. So how about if we organize a Drupal4Lib BoF -- maybe on the Wednesday (5/22) sometime mid-day or in the early afternoon?

Topics could be open or suggested ahead of time. People could present projects they're working on, ask whatever questions they want. It'd be a great time!

If you've got a suggestion, either email me back or leave a comment here.

Is this a good general time to meet? Do you have a topic you'd want to suggest?

Any feedback would be appreciated! And hope to see you in Portland!

(UPDATE1): I set up a poll at the Drupal Library Group asking people what timeslot they prefer:

Poll: Drupal4Lib BoF - 10:45a-12p or 3:15p-4:30p? http://groups.drupal.org/node/297483

(UPDATE2): Okay, '10:45a-12p' wins. Here's a link to the event on the Drupal Library Group:

Library BoF at DrupalCon Portland (5/22, 10:45a-12p) http://groups.drupal.org/node/297878