[Koha] Koha Conference

[Chris Cormack]

On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 3:55 AM, gsl <gsl at rollinghills.lib.mo.us> wrote:
> Nicole or anyone:
>
> I know that LibLime seems to be feverishly working on 3.0 and then
> presumably 3.2, so this may not be high on their priority list, but is
> anyone giving any thought to having a Koha Conference (KohaCon or KoCon)
> here in the US? We would love to go to Australia, but that's not in the
> budget this year.

I think a conference is a great idea, just wondering why you mentioned
Australia, not that it isnt a lovely place, just curious :)

>
> Having an ILS conference promotes interaction among the users, who share
> information and ideas, and also serves as a stimulus for esprit de
> corps.  Just as talking points, would anyone consider some centralized
> location for an initial conference, like the following:
>
> Kansas City (MO or KS) area
> Wichita
> Tulsa
> Omaha
> Oklahoma City
>
> All the above are close to the geographical center of the US, and so
> minimize travel cost and time on average for US participants. They are
> also relatively inexpensive vis-a-vis major convention centers like NY,
> LA, SF or Las Vegas, and are served by major airlines.
>

I like that, it makes it easier  for international visitors too.

> Unless I am in the dark here and some plans are already being made, I
> don't see that anything could happen this year, but maybe something
> modest for spring/summer 2009? Perhaps something in conjunction with a
> major conference (ALA/PLA/LITA)?
>
> I'm well aware something like this would require significant planning
> and, if not hosted gratis (free gratis) by a library, costs for renting
> a meeting facility. Maybe we need to start a KUG? A KSIG? Have a bake
> sale to raise money? Sell t-shirts? (Somebody used to sell Koha
> t-shirts, right? Haven't noticed those for a while.)
>

I suggest talking to Paul Poulain, who did most of the work organising
the last Koha conference.
He might have some good tips.

Chris