[Koha] [Koha US] Koha-US Conference CFP

[BRANNON, CHRISTOPHER]

To All Koha Users,

I would like to take the opportunity to repost the invitation to everyone to participate in this year's Koha-US Annual Conference:

Koha-US is calling for proposals for conference talks/presentations, round table discussions, poster sessions, etc. for its 2017 annual conference held on August 9-12 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA. The theme for this year's conference is "Koha: You Can Do It" and is in the enabling attitude of Rosie the Riveter.  We are seeking proposals for diverse audiences, from new Koha users, to the most advanced Koha software developers. Please check out the proposal submission form found at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoq_J7IHoTP-KhdGp3I-FYbi0L44BWMjTIgLZcCZ4XpugRuw/viewform for more details.

If you are not sure what you could share at this conference, think about the things you wish someone would have told you about when you were struggling or maybe think of a lesson you "learned the hard way." Maybe you could share your experiences integrating Koha into a library program. The Koha community loves to share and presenting at the conference is a great way to do just that.

I would like to encourage everyone to think about what has made Koha work for you and your library, school, consortium, or office and consider sharing that experience with us at this year's conference.  The thing I enjoy most about the Koha-US Users Group and our annual conference is the connections that are made.  It is the group's desire to provide everyone in the Koha community with the tools and resources needed, including mentors and connections to other users, and enable them to have great success with this incredible tool.  What makes Koha great isn't the code that houses all our "stuff", but the people behind it; programmers, libraries, and staff.  How many software products do you have in which all of these groups get together to talk about the program and how it works, and how we can make it better?

Every library has a different experience.  Every library has a different approach on how to serve their patrons.  What adjustments have you made to make Koha work in your environment?  What have you learned that other libraries and organizations might benefit from?  What workflows have you developed to streamline your Koha use?  What "extras" have you done through tweaking, paid enhancements, report writing, or 3rd party vendors to make Koha even better?  We want to know.

If you have ideas, please share them with us.  Consider sending us a proposal.  Or perhaps you might consider leading one of our round table discussions.  We have many ways for everyone to participate.  Even if you decide not to present or lead, let us know what you want from this conference, and we'll do everything we can to fill that need.  You can let us know by using the link above.

To find out more about the conference and this year's location, visit http://koha-us.net/index.php/2017_Koha-US_Conference.

I look forward to seeing everyone again at this year's conference.  It is because we have such a fantastic community that I know "You Can Do It!"

Thank you,

Christopher Brannon
Vice President, Koha-US
cbrannon at cdalibrary.org<mailto:cbrannon at cdalibrary.org>