by Carol Nelson
Quick Summary
Conferences can be a great opportunity to network, to expand your job knowledge, and to give you new perspectives on your daily work. Plan ahead for some conferences of interest to resource sharing staff.
Conferences can be a great opportunity to network, to expand your job knowledge, and to give you a new perspective on your daily work. Here are some events that will be of interest to those working in resource sharing:
October 5-6, 2017 MLA (Minnesota Library Association) 2017 Annual Conference, Rochester, Minnesota
There will be sessions on a variety of topics, however, this year, Minitex Resource Sharing staff will be presenting two sessions at this conference:
MNLINK 2.0, one year into the implementation of the new search program, by Nick Banitt.
MNLINK was introduced for Minnesota library users in 2004 as a radical idea; allow end users the ability to search for and initiate their own interlibrary loan requests. The program has become very successful in expanding the resources available to all Minnesotans. In 2016 MNLINK introduced a replacement search program using OCLC’s WorldCat Discovery. The new program has significant differences from the predecessor, as well as better integration with e-resources available to Minnesotans via Minitex.
Minitex, where the libraries are strong, the ILL staff are good looking, and the patrons are above average, by Carol Nelson.
You may not know that one of the busiest interlibrary loan operations in the country is headquartered right in Minnesota. Minitex, based at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus began 46 years ago based on the radical idea that everyone should have equal access to information. It continues to stay on the cutting edge of new trends in interlibrary loan. This session will include some history of the service, stories of successful collaboration in our region, comments from happy patrons, and a vision of ILL in the future.
March 13-15, 2018 OCLC Resource Sharing Conference, Jacksonville, Florida
This conference is open to resource sharing staff from everywhere and is a wonderful opportunity to learn about interlibrary loan in other parts of the country and the world. Becky Ringwelski from Minitex will be working on the planning committee, so it is sure to be a great event! Learn more by following OCLC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram when it releases more details about #OCLCRSC18.
