[Koha] Conference stuff

Sat Dec 21 06:23:07 NZDT 2013

Just saying, I will probably never be able to make a conference in August.
Flights and hotels are more expensive, it is the only time we have reliably
decent weather here*, and my other life as a performer at summer festivals
gets in the way.  If it were mid-week, I could get to it on the city bus or
by bicycle, and I didn't have to plan it. . . I might make it.  It could
well be that the host picks the best time for their locality and then sees
how many others can make it. I thought KohaCon worked pretty well running
in tandem with the Reno library conference this year. Rather than avoiding
these things, perhaps we should embrace them?
At any rate, I look forward to being able to attend when I can, which is
more likely if it's on the same continent.

*(Here being Seattle).
Elaine

On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 12:46 PM, BWS Johnson <abesottedphoenix at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Salvete!
>
>
> > I completely appreciate your desire to host a meeting in the DC area.
>
>     Thank you. I respect your mana and apologise if I've ruffled any
> feathers, however I feel it necessary to outline my thoughts so that you
> can see them before you clearly.
>
>
> > Those of
> > us who spent time talking together discussed various times of year to
> hold a
> > meeting and came up with the later summer being the best, since
> springtime is
> > when most state library associations host their own conferences.
>
>
>     I am trying my best not to conflict with other events, but I think I
> would have to draw the line at the State level since things can get quite
> tricky with that many moving parts. I will of course bear that in mind and
> try and navigate as best as might be expected so that as much of the
> Community can come as possible, though.
>
> >
> > What I'm hoping you will do is respond to our call for proposals for a
> > meeting with your own proposed dates and location rather than publicly
> proposing
> > your own meeting.  We'll add your proposal into the mix along with others
> > and let everyone vote on when and where they would like to go.
> >
>
>     I'm a bit mystified about this new process. Our International process
> is quite simple, and while it's had it's bumps, I think that we've been
> refining things over the years to try and keep things as fair and equitable
> while retaining as few articulations as possible. I got the distinct
> impression that this process would disqualify me on several counts. Please
> do humour me while I dissect my thinking interspersed with your initial
> announcement.
>
>
> >>
> A group of Koha users is planning on hosting a meeting for Koha users
> based in the United States and Canada.
> >>
>
>     I was hoping to welcome the wider North American Community at my
> event. While the US and Canada are two of the big three (Mexican Libraries
> have been involved a number of years) in terms of land mass, I did not wish
> to forget the rich cultures of the Carribean and others in Latin America
> [1]. This is true in especial when citizens of some of those Nations made
> the long trip to our last KohaCon in Reno.
>
> >>
> We intend to hold this meeting next year, 2014, sometime during the month
> of August.
> >>
>
>     I read this, and it processed, which was why I announced my intentions
> so as not to conflict, but to add to the wealth of the Community. 2015
> wouldn't be a major election year here, which is a factor for me to keep in
> mind. When I proposed hosting the International in 2013, that was also on
> my mind. Things are easier logistically even if one were to back up to July.
>
>
> >>
> We would like to invite proposals from agencies and libraries in the
> United States to host this meeting.
> >>
>
>     As a consultant, I do not view myself as an Agency nor a Library.
> While bids from just the US would be an attractive proposition in terms of
> my chances, I do not wish to disenfranchise others. It certainly could be
> that no one outside of the US wishes to host, but I would rather the gates
> to the process stand open.
>
>
> >>
> We envision that the meeting would span 2-3 days.  Please email your
> proposals to me, nblake at masslibsystem.org.  Information in your proposal
> should include (but does not need to be limited to) the following
> information:
> >>
>
>     That span is certainly amenable to me, and we've heard from others
> that they like it as well.
>
>
> >>
> 1.  The location and what kind of conference facility would be offered.
> Confirm that the site would have internet and other technology available to
> enable presentations and general connectivity.
>
>
> 2.  Dates when the meeting could occur at the proposed location.
> >>
>
>     Since this is nascent, I have several prospects in mind. In my
> experience with this Community and in other settings a venue was not firmly
> announced until after (and sometimes well after, though that is not my
> intent at all) one won the bid and had settled upon dates or narrowed them
> down sufficiently to secure quotes or provisional agreements. It was my
> intent to give the Community a choice of precisely where Conference was
> held and provide a small outline of each venue's merits and drawbacks.
>     I was rather pleasantly surprised as I poked about town looking for a
> home for Conference since there were many facilities willing to support
> Libraries and Open Source even if we didn't have proper 501c3 status or a
> formal structure. It was nice to have confidence that my means were
> sufficient enough to secure a venue regardless of sponsorship. It was my
> intent then and continues to be my intent to keep Conference free of a
> registration fee.
>     I did this in my last bid by providing links on a conference site that
> was hooked into the Community wiki, but that's impossible to follow now,
> since I handed the site I used over to Reno for their use after tailoring
> things a little to their situation.
>
>
> >>
> 3.  Information about transportation -- the closest airports and train
> stations and how one could get from these places to the meeting site.
>
> 4.  Lodging in the area.
>
> 5.  Anything else we would need to know about the location and what makes
> it a great choice for this meeting.
> >>
>
>     These would be easy enough to provide and are part of my favourite
> Conference trappings.
>
>
>
> > Would you be willing to work with us and send us the info we requested
> in my
> > message asking for proposals?
> >
>
>
>     Of course I'm willing to work with you all, but I wanted to ensure
> that I am eligible under the new process and perhaps get an accurate
> picture of how things are meant to work. Given previous history, it is
> important to me not to sever our local discussion from the larger
> Community, much like how the New Zealand and French groups run. I respect
> that this might well be noise to folks beyond my ocean and would ask their
> pardon, but I would welcome the sight of their waka should they appear on
> my shore.
>
>     If I am deemed eligible, then I would be happy to throw together
> another WordPress site that would contain details to my bid, as well as
> start a page on the Community wiki to display everyone's bid.
>
> Cheers,
> Brooke
>
> [1]
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_in_North_America
>
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>

-- 
Elaine Bradtke
Data Wrangler
VWML
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