WiLSWorld 2016 header

Thank you for a great WiLSWorld 2016!  Check out the slides and materials from the conference, and be sure to look for information and updates about WiLSWorld 2017 on July 27th and 28th in Madison.


WiLSWorld is an annual library innovation and technologies forum hosted by WiLS. The conference brings together library professionals to share developments in library technology, discuss new and innovative projects and possibilities, and explore ways to leverage partnerships and collaborate within the community and beyond.  WiLSWorld 2016 will be held in Madison at the Pyle Center on Tuesday, August 2nd, followed by targeted workshops to grow your skills on the 3rd!

WiLS is excited to welcome the 2016 WiLSWorld keynote, David Bendekovic.

Dave Bendekovic headshotDavid Bendekovic is the founder of The B. A. David Company, an organizational and leadership development company specializing in helping libraries create environments where extraordinary things happen every day and has partnered with Library Journal as a developer and lead facilitator of Lead the Change: Professional Development for Today’s Librarians. Bendekovic has dedicated his career to working with librarians and other professionals to cultivate innovation and leadership throughout organizations even, or perhaps especially, in times of great change and uncertainty.

David’s research and work in the area of library leadership began in 2002 as Program Director at the Leadership Institute at Syracuse University.  Since then, he has worked with many of today’s top library leaders, facilitating programs at over 175 libraries throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia.  Over 10,000 librarians have attended his leadership and professional development programs.

Additionally, David co-founded, developed, and continues to serve as the lead instructor for the Pennsylvania Library Association’s Academy for Leadership Studies.  In 2012, he teamed up with Library Journal and created and developed what has become the Library Journal Professional Development program. He also speaks at numerous state, national, and international conferences throughout the year.

David will be speaking at WiLSWorld at 9:00am on Tuesday, August 2nd at the Pyle Center in Madison.

Check out the full line-up of fantastic programs and valuable workshops!


Schedule and Programs

WiLSWorld 2016 – Tuesday, August 2nd

9:00-9:15 Welcome and Introductions

9:15-10:30 Keynote Address:  The Evolution Revolution: Leading Libraries In A Disruptive World

David Bendekovic, Founder, The B. A. David Company

As many of Wisconsin’s best-of-the-best people converge on WiLSWorld2016 to discuss new technology and innovation projects, it’s important to remember that it’s great people who make great libraries.

The sheer speed and volume of technological advances and the changing way individuals gain access to information has deeply impacted the ongoing evolution of libraries.  Yet, despite the constant need to modernize and adapt to the digital age, people at many libraries are doing well in changing with the needs of their communities, universities, and schools, transforming their libraries into technological spaces designed for information sharing, learning, and community engagement – even amidst tight fiscal times.

Based on ten years of field research, this keynote will provide insights for leading your “evolution revolution”: Thinking in a more powerful way about your library, yourself, the people around you, and the work you want to get done. What You Do Makes A Difference. You Just Have To Figure Out What Kind Of Difference You Want To Make.

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-11:45 Concurrent Sessions I

10:45-11:45 The Accidental Trainer: Instructional Librarianship in the Modern-Day Public Library

Melissa Bernasek, Director of Information Services, Gail Borden Public Library District
Monica Dombrowski, Technology Education Manager, Gail Borden Public Library District
Phil Schneider, Digital Services Librarian, Gail Borden Public Library

With the increasing demand for digital literacy classes in public libraries, librarians are finding themselves having to create and deliver content with little training on how to do it. Come and learn how Gail Borden Public Library staff have implemented best practices from the training industry to design high-quality technology classes that you can use to provide digital literacy instruction at your library in this session.

10:45-11:45 New Library Spaces

Terri Muraski, Information Systems Librarian, UW-Stevens Point
Dana Franco, Library Media Specialist, Ripon Area School District
Michael Spellman, Supervisor, Central Library Public Services, Madison Public Library

A panel of presenters, one each from a K-12, academic, and public library, who have recently built or renovated their library spaces will share their experiences and lessons learned from their projects. What were the challenges? What innovative things did they do with their space? How did they learn how the space should be designed for use?

10:45-11:45 Learning Analytics and Libraries: A Natural Partnership

Kimberly Arnold, Evaluation Consultant, UW-Madison

Learning analytics has recently burst onto the educational scene.  A process that helps optimize the teaching and learning environment for students, educators, and administrators, learning analytics has proven it is more than a passing trend.  This session will offer a primer on learning analytics and share examples of how libraries are getting involved.

12:00-1:00 Lunch

1:15-2:30 Afternoon Plenary: New Technology from the Library Community

Half lightning presentations and half hands-on demonstrations, this afternoon plenary will provide you with the opportunity to learn more about new technologies and tools library staff are using in their work. Hear from members of the library community as they show how they are applying these new technologies and get up close and personal with a demonstration of those that you’re interested in learning more about.

  • Amazon Web Services with David Kwasny, Emerging Technologies Librarian, Marquette University
  • Archive-It with Samantha Abrams, Project Assistant, Library-Archives – Collection Management, Wisconsin Historical Society
  • PokemonGo for Libraries with Vicki Teal Lovely, Technology Services Coordinator, South Central Library System
  • Pop-Up Archive with Paul Hedges, Emerging Technologies Archivist, Wisconsin Historical Society
  • PumpAlarm with Dan Jacobson, Systems Administrator/Innovator, South Central Library System
  • Zoobean with Jen Peterson, District Library Media Supervisor, Menasha Joint School District

2:30-2:45 Break

2:45-3:30 Concurrent Sessions II

2:45-3:30 Encoding Culture: Making Library Technology Matter

Omar Poler, Outreach Specialist, School of Library and Information Studies, Continuing Education Services, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Erin FH Hughes, Graduate Student

Our communities have always been culturally diverse places. And that’s truer every year. But does our library technology adequately respect, reflect, and encode those differences? Does it serve all our users equally? Join Omar Poler and Erin FH Hughes for a discussion of the UW-Madison SLIS Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums Project and recent international efforts to reconceptualize, to “indigenize,” digital collections software for American Indian communities. Learn how technology made for the spectacular diversity of Indigenous peoples around the world can give us insights for serving our patrons closer to home.

2:45-3:30 Feedback Session: The Library.Link Network – Growing Library Web Visibility Together using Linked Data

Jeff Penka, Vice President of Product Management, Zepheira

This is your chance to provide a vendor with feedback about new products or project they’re working on.  In this session, give Zepheira feedback about The Library.Link Network.

Libraries, museums and archives all have stories to tell, which reflect and connect with their communities. The Web needs structured data to understand and connect with these stories. The Library.Link Network provides a participating library with locally-branded, scaled infrastructure for Linked Data transformation, publishing, and linking of the library’s data including the catalog, special collections, events, and locations. The Network uses consistent and shared Linked Data vocabularies and linking across Network libraries to amplify localized, comprehensive, connection-rich stories in a networked context. Libraries interested in becoming more visible on the Web and connecting with the Library.Link Network can do so through solutions like SirsiDynix’s BLUEcloud Visibility, Innovative Linked Data, NoveList’s Linked Library Service and Atlas Systems’ Linked Data for Archives and Special Collections.

2:45-3:30 Mobile Hotspot Technology

Joshua Klingbeil, IT Director, Wisconsin Valley Library Service
Dan Jacobson, System Administrator/Innovator, South Central Library System

Wisconsin libraries are embarking on mobile hotspot lending to their communities. A need has been identified to provide these tools that use cellular signals to connect to the internet for those that do not have internet access. Libraries will discuss the research, creation and implementation of their local projects.

3:30-3:45 Break

3:45-4:30 Concurrent Sessions III

3:45-4:30 Now Featuring the Latest Version!: Basic Patch Management for Basic Software

Francis Beaumier, IT Specialist, Brown County Library

Our public computer setup is fairly typical: Windows computers kept off of the private network and thus disconnected from any central management.  We runfreezing software to keep the machines at a known state and keep software updates off because they wouldn’t stick anyway.  Fast forward a few months and Firefox, Flash, and Java are all several versions out of date.  And the customers are starting to notice: Facebook requires a newer version of Flash for the new selfie cam feature, Java refuses to run code on an assessment site because it knows it’s outdated, and Gmail kindly points out that the version of Firefox in use is now no longer supported.  Learn how we put an end to this madness by creating a simple patch management system built on PowerShell, PHP, MAKEMSI, Orca, and a little bit of AutoIt, VB, and Batch file scripting.  You will see how we progressed from sharing four updates to seven machines to serving half a GB of updates (including Acrobat Reader, Adobe Air, Firefox, Flash, Java, Paint.NET, Shockwave, Skype and more) in six different update “channels” county-wide, all on a $0 budget.  All of our source code will be made available to you and discussed in enough detail during the presentation that you’ll be able to get up and running quickly at your own library.  We’ll discuss our approach to dealing with small hard drives and fickle Internet connections.  You’ll learn some of our missteps along the way.  You’ll get to know our current system’s quirks and limitations.  Finally, I’ll discuss some techniques and workarounds for getting even the most stubborn patches installed.

3:45-4:30 Basic Computer Skills Course – Bringing Computer Skills to Everyone!

Kris Wilson, Digital Learning Content Editor, Fox Valley Technical College Learning Innovations

Have you ever helped someone log onto a computer? How about attached a document to an email? Or uploaded a resume and cover letter to a job application? As an increasing number of libraries offer free Wi-Fi, Librarians often find themselves helping job seekers use computers, access the Internet, and fill out online job applications. Instead of spending time one-on-one with each user, you could direct them to the Basic Computer Skills course instead. This free resource provides basic information technology literacy and skills training for people with limited computer experience. It was created by FVTC in conjunction with the Wisconsin Technical College System. After completing the full course, learners will be better prepared to operate computer devices, create documents, use email, manage files, use the Internet and social media, and safely manage personal data. Each module consists of digital learning objects including videos and games specifically designed to promote learning through hands-on interaction. This session will introduce you to the modules, provide you with flexible options, and discuss the possibilities for your visitors.

3:45-4:30 Feedback Session: FOLIO

Scott Bernier, Senior Vice President, Marketing, EBSCO
Neil Block, Vice President of Discovery Innovation, Academic Libraries, EBSCO

This is your chance to provide a vendor with feedback about new products or projects they’re working on. In this session, give EBSCO feedback about FOLIO.

FOLIO is a collaborative effort between libraries, vendors, developers and consortia to develop an open source library services platform (LSP). The open source LSP, which will include traditional ILS functionality, leverages library expertise as well as vendor capacity and velocity, to move libraries forward, build on the services they provide and redefine the role libraries play within their institution. FOLIO also levels the playing field and makes open source technology available to all institutions regardless of size or staffing. By bringing vendors together to innovate and host services for customers, FOLIO introduces open source as a service to libraries and extends the library into new areas such as research administration, campus ERP, and more. “

5:00-6:00 Tour of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

Join us for a tour of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, including the Field Day Lab!  The Field Day Lab is an interdisciplinary team of educational researchers, software engineers, artists, and storytellers, exploring the intersection of contemporary learning science and media design, specializing in mobile media, video games, and simulation. The Field Day lab philosophy of learning through making, while keeping their tools free and open source inspires collaborative grassroots user communities and a robust network of educators and students iterating on one another’s designs. At the lab there is constant innovation, play, and risk taking.


WiLSWorld 2016 Workshops

The WiLSWorld 2016 Workshops will be held on Wednesday, August 3rd, and are a mix of half- and full-day workshops.  Please contact Andrea Coffin at acoffin@wils.org with any questions.

8:30-9:00 Registration and Coffee

9:00-12:00 Morning Workshops

9:00-12:00 Data 101

Cost: $40

Joshua Morrill, Senior Information Processing Consultant, UW-Madison

Libraries gather and interpret data for a variety of purposes: to evaluate the content and accessibility of products bought for users, to understand community dynamics and demographics, to identify new services or improvements to existing ones, and much more. In the haystack of numbers available to library professionals, how do we identify the needles, and how do we polish them? This workshop will help you evaluate data quality and communicate it effectively to a variety of stakeholders.

This morning workshop is available as a standalone program, or can be taken in conjunction with the afternoon workshop, Infographics: Turning Data into Narrative, to expand your data skills.

9:00-12:00 Design Thinking for Library Innovation

Cost: $90

Roshelle Ritzenthaler, Design Strategist, Design Concepts
Stefanie Norvaisas, Director of Research & Design Strategy & Principal, Design Concepts
Victoria Weaver, Design Researcher, Design Concepts

Design Concepts, a product design and innovation consulting firm based in Madison, is pleased to partner with WiLS to present a Design Thinking for Library Innovation workshop at WiLS World 2016. Design Thinking is a creative approach to solving problems in a holistic and human-centered way. In this hands-on workshop, we will apply Design Thinking methods to address the challenges facing libraries. Participants will gain an understanding of a framework and process for innovation, and practice techniques including research, analysis, brainstorming, and storytelling to generate inspired solutions.

This is a full-day workshop.

Workshop Worksheets

9:00-12:00 Bringing Coding to Your Library

Cost: $40

Ryan Claringbole, Public Library Technology Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Melody Clark, Community Liaison/Service Specialist, WiLS

WisCode Literati wants to increase code literacy by enabling librarians to bring coding into their libraries. Come learn about why code literacy is important and the resources offered to make it easy for you. This session will be a presentation with hands-on time to try out coding kits. Some devices will be available, but feel free to bring your own device.

12:00-1:00 Lunch (on your own)

1:00-4:00 Afternoon Workshops

1:00-4:00 Infographics: Turning Data into Narrative

Cost: $40

Mark Neufeld, DoIT Academic Technology, UW-Madison

The purpose of gathering data is to tell the story of your library.  Those who make library budget decisions and end users of the library don’t have the time or necessarily the inclination to read your annual reports or statistical analyses. Infographics allow you to let these important stakeholders know what you are doing and what impact you are having on your community by turning key pieces of your data into easily-digestible human stories with emotional weight and a potential call to action. This workshop will help you understand the processes and tools for creating effective infographics so you can make your library more visible to your community by telling its story.

1:00-4:00 Design Thinking for Library Innovation (continued)


WiLSWorld 2016 Planning Team

This year’s conference is being planned by WiLS and this fantastic team from the WiLS community:

  • Gus Falkenberg, Technology and Design Director, Indianhead Federated Library System
  • Dana Franco, K12 Library Media Specialist, Ripon Area School District
  • Joshua Klingbeil, IT Director, Wisconsin Valley Library Service
  • Peter Lawrence-Wehrle, Access Services Assistant, UW-Law School
  • Meredith Lowe, Outreach Coordinator, UW-SLIS Continuing Ed. Services
  • Terri Muraski, Information Systems Librarian, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
  • Carol Sabbar, Director of Library and Instructional Technology Services, Carthage College
  • Kylee Stoor, Community Engagement Librarian, Madison Public Library

We are very grateful for their time and their talents!


WiLSWorld 2016 Sponsors

WiLS is grateful to these generous sponsors for their support of WiLSWorld 2016!  Thank you!


Cancellation Policy

Online events: Online event registration will be closed 2 business days before the event. Refunds will not be given for online events. Archives will be made available to registrants shortly after the event. These archives should be available for a full year. For questions on online registration, please contact Coop Info.

In person events: Cancellations must be made at least two business days prior to the event in order to receive a refund. If a registrant cancels less than two working days prior to the date of the event, the registrant remains responsible for payment; no fees will be refunded.

A substitute may take the place of the original registrant, but either the registrant or their institution is responsible for coordinating and communicating changes to WiLS. Cancellations and/or substitutions may be reported to Coop Info.

If an event is cancelled by WiLS, due to low registration or inclement weather, registrants will be notified and fees will be refunded.