Inaugural Technology Boot Camp earns participants' rave reviews
GPLS News, June 2010
"Our primary goal with this event was to bring technology support personnel together to share experiences and ideas, and we believe it was a success on every level" said Tim Daniels, assistant state librarian for technology and infrastructure for GPLS.
Georgia Public Library Service held its first Technology Boot Camp April 27-29 at Amicalola Falls State Park and Lodge.
"Our primary goal with this event was to bring technology support personnel together to share experiences and ideas, and we believe it was a success on every level" said Tim Daniels, assistant state librarian for technology and infrastructure for GPLS. "Each of the state's public library systems was invited to send their lead technology person to the conference so they could discuss and gain new ideas regarding current library technology issues." Forty-five of the 61 library systems did so.
"From large systems to small, from urban systems to rural, from single-county systems to regional, every library group was represented," said Nicol Lewis, information technology and infrastructure manager for GPLS.
"We also had representatives from a variety of support organizations, including Kevin Moore from the Information Security Office of the Board of Regents, Katie Gohn from GALILEO, Ed Maioriello from the University System of Georgia's Office of Information and Instructional Technology and Michael Mills from Apple Computers."
Conference demonstrations and topics included "Setting up Firewalls," "Getting to Know Information Security" and a number of roundtable talks about specific library technology issues. For three full days, Lewis said, attendees networked and helped each other learn to solve common library technology issues. "Because so many of the technical personnel in our library systems are lone soldiers, this was a great opportunity for individuals to meet and exchange ideas," she said.
"Attendees I talked with agreed that networking opportunities and their conversations with colleagues were a highlight of the event," said Deputy State Librarian Julie Walker. "The new relationships formed at boot camp will allow IT staff from libraries across Georgia to call on each other with questions and receive practical solutions for many of the problems they experience."
GPLS funded the Technology Boot Camp through a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.
