Welcome to the homepage for the Virtual Sessions of the Kansas Library Conference 2011. Share the Vision! and join the KLA Conference on your desktop! Four of the five virtual sessions being offered are bonus sessions for onsite conference attendees. Virtual attendees who can't make it to Topeka will also have the opportunity to share the vision of the conference keynote presenter, Jamie LaRue. By registering for the full conference or the virtual sessions only, you will be able to participate in the live sessions or view the archives at a time of your choosing. Or you can mix it up: watch some of the sessions live and catch the others by archive. The State Library will provide continuing education certificates for each virtual session. Five 90 minute sessions will inform you on topics ranging from Advocacy on a state level and on the frontline to pondering the future of electronic access in libraries to practical help with library displays and collection development. Click on the session titles below to see the description for that session along with the session date and time. The information you will need to join the sessions will be provided with your conference registration confirmation. All virtual sessions will be held in Elluminate Live! Think about a watch party for your library staff, trustees and friends. Watch KANLIB-L for details about our orientation webinars and a webinar to share tips for hosting a conference watch party. Questions? Contact Cindi Hickey, chickey @ kslib.info. KLA Library Conference 2011 offers you two ways to Share the Vision! onsite and/or online. Register today!

Access and login information for the recorded virtual track sessions is included in the e-mail that KLA sent out to confirm your conference or virtual track registration. All playback links have been checked and they are working. If you have questions, please contact Cindi Hickey, chickey @ kslib.info.

Virtual Sessions and Presenters

Susan Brown took her first library job to earn beer money while in college, then spent several years working in academic and government libraries, and finally found her true calling behind the reference and reader's advisory desk at a public library. Before moving to Kansas, she worked at libraries in Virginia and North Carolina and has her M.L.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently works in the Adult Services Department at the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence, KS and is passionate about readers' services, social media, and marketing and merchandising for public libraries.

Leah Krotz spent a lot of time in libraries as a child, but didn't plan on making them her career. However, when she married and moved to town, that's the job she found! She's loved being director of the Belleville Public Library for the past 20 years. A University of Nebraska and KPLACE graduate, Leah has been very active in community economic development and rural issues, and believes that libraries are essential to the well-being of small towns. Marketing the library, creating a fun and inviting atmosphere, and reaching out to the community have helped the Belleville Public Library be named a Library Journal Star Library for the past 3 years.

Diane Trinkle epitomizes the "accidental librarian." In school to become a chef, she took a part-time job at the Nortonville Public Library that soon became much more. Ten years later, she claims to have the Best Job in the World! With a background in book and newspaper editing, literature has always played a large part in her life. She graduated from KPLACE in 2004. With a small budget, she has managed to keep her collection current and interesting for her customers. Utilizing a variety of resources, she knows how to stretch a dollar.

Gail Santy is a consultant and department head of Reference and Outreach Services with the Central Kansas Library System. Like most librarians, she wears many hats: reference, collection management, marketing, outreach, advocacy, and most often calls herself a library cheerleader. At age three Gail knew she wanted to grow up to be a "library lady", but worked as a German and Russian translator in Military Intelligence for nine years and raised three sons prior to attending library school. Gail graduated from San Jose State University with her MLIS in 2007. Gail has lived on five continents and she is now very happy to call Kansas home.

Jamie LaRue has been the director of the Douglas County Libraries, headquartered in Castle Rock, CO, since 1990. He is the author of The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges, and has written a weekly newspaper column for over 23 years. He was the Colorado Librarian of the Year in 1998, the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce's 2003 Business Person of the Year, and in 2007 won the Julie J. Boucher Award for Intellectual Freedom. Jamie is a frequent keynote speaker for library associations. He has been a featured presenter for regional workshops, facilitator and presentor for staff days, a last-minute panelist, and a moderator and master of ceremonies for everything from debates to awards dinners. Lately, he has also been running hiring processes for non-profit and municipal CEOs. He particularly enjoys facilitating highly focused planning sessions for organizations that want to know what they do right, and what they need to do next.

David Lee King is the Digital Branch & Services Manager at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, where he plans, implements, and experiments with emerging technology trends. He has spoken in the U.S. and Canada about emerging trends, website usability and management, digital experience planning, and managing techie staff, and has been published in many library-related journals. David was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker for 2008, and writes the Internet Spotlight column in Public Libraries Magazine with Michael Porter. David maintains a blog at http://www.davidleeking.com

Michael Porter is a librarian, presenter, author, practical technology fan, and PEZ collector. He has 20 years of experience working in Libraryland and has presented hundreds of times to library staff around the world. His writings regularly appear in major library journals around the world. In 2009 he was selected as a Library Journal "Mover & Shaker", in 2010 was elected to the American Library Association's governing Council and in 2011 was also elected to the ALA Executive Board. He currently works at WebJunction.org in Seattle, Washington as their Communications Manager and also serves as the President or Library Renewal, an organization dedicated to research, partnerships and grassroots support for libraries as they struggle to offer electronic content to their users in competitive ways.