Colleagues--

I suppose that makes me a Luddite.  An expensive Luddite.

All best,

Jenni

On Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 10:20 AM, Jennifer Yao Weinraub <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

The College Art Association used DoubleDutch to create an excellent App for their last conference.  I believe anyone can download it and see the neat scheduling and social media features.

 

Jen

 

On Tue, Mar 22, 2016 at 3:47 PM, Joan Benedetti <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Dear Colleagues

 

I have a strong suggestion for the New Orleans committee--which I’m including in the conference evaluation form: put most of the online Sched information (except maybe the participants' photos, as interesting as they are) into a designed PDF—a facsimile of the type of conference program ARLIS/NA attendees are accustomed to being given at the conference, which we could then print out before leaving home—or not! 

 

In discussing with colleagues the missing program in our "program book," I have been told (1) that the VRA has done without a printed program for several years.  And (2) that in last year’s conference evaluation survey "there was an overwhelming want to either be paperless or to cut way down on the paper" and (3) "the goal for this conference was to offer minimal content via the paper program, but have the option if people wanted something with more description on paper, they could print it out via Sched."  This last suggestion makes sense, though the Sched print product is not comparable to a fully designed complete program.  I wonder--if the evaluation form question had been more specific: "In order to save paper, are you willing to do without a printed conference program that includes the full schedule as provided in the past?"  I was aware of the option to print out the "simple" view, but not the "detailed" view.  The detailed view (which I have since printed out) would have given me most of the practical information I wished for during the conference, but it is, after all, only a list--certainly not the beautifully designed program book one has come to expect from ARLIS/NA—and, of course, does not include the ads or introductory information--which were considered important enough to print and bind—along with 16 ½ pages of very long descriptions of 40 poster sessions!

 

As I have done every year, I went eagerly to the conference registration desk to pick up my bag of materials.  As usual, there was a lot of paper: lists, descriptions of events, flyers and brochures from publishers whose booths we would visit in the exhibit hall, Seattle museums, galleries, and other attractions we would visit, tickets to the tours I had signed up for, my conference badge—and most anticipated of all—the Seattle ARLIS/VRA Jt. Conference Program.  Oh, sure, we always have some quibbles about the schedule—we can never completely avoid conflicts between equally attractive sessions—and those 7 am meetings!!  (I had three of them this year.)  Still, I enjoyed this conference—the sessions, the events, and the tours.

 

But the conference program book itself—arguably each year the most important conference document—was always something special to look forward to—as well as something to study more closely and enjoy after the conference.  And there it was—an attractive cover featuring the Seattle conference logo and colors, spiral bound with the welcome messages, the credits to the "implementation team," lists of VRA and ARLIS Executive Boards, acknowledgments, sponsors, exhibitors, the general information and policies about the conference, the hotel, and about the city.  There were two "Conference at a Glance" lists, both in chronological order and both including identical information--somewhat strange, but still, valuable to have.  There were ads—also valuable for information as well as fundraising!  And then—Poster Sessions—13 ½ pages of very long descriptions of 40 (!) poster sessions—followed by hotel ground plans (yes, essential) and more ads—OK.  All of that is great—now WHERE IS THE PROGRAM??  Where is the full listing by date and time of EVERYTHING scheduled for the entire five days with short descriptions of each session and a listing of all moderators and speakers and their affiliations, titles of their presentations, tour and other event descriptions, and information about the venues, all in one convenient, portable, and easily retainable place??

 

Of course it is online—and I've brought my laptop—so anytime I want to look at it, all I have to do is go up to the 23^rd floor (!!) and open it up!  The online Sched is beautiful and very versatile—I've used it a lot in preparation for registration and for coming to Seattle.  (I especially like seeing the photos of many of the speakers and moderators.)  I don't have a smart phone or an iPad—that would be most convenient, though not so handy for making notes or filing away after the conference with the many others I have kept over the years.  (Do we really mean to require that all attendees have a smart phone or iPad?) 

 

Luckily, before I left home, I took advantage of the online Sched's ability to give me a personalized schedule, which I did print out and brought with me.  But it didn't include the speakers' names or the meeting room names.  Undaunted, I copied—in pencil--the room names next to each session I was going to attend.  Later, after returning home, I discovered there is a printable "detailed view" of the Sched I could have printed out that includes names of people, their affiliations, and meeting rooms.  I've been told that instructions for printing the program were posted on ARLIS-L a few years ago when the Sched online software was first used, but that information was not repeated in 2016.  Even if I had known about this feature, I wouldn't have printed it out beforehand, as I never dreamed—and we were not told--that the online program would take the place of our beautifully printed and bound conference program book!

 

So--I have a suggestion: put all of the online Sched information into a PDF of the kind of conference program we are accustomed to, which attendees could then print out before leaving home—or not!  It would require actually designing the program (which we have done every year until this one since 1973), probably shortening some of the descriptions, deleting the participants' photos, and adding pagination.  But then we could choose to have a printed program—or not.  We could even print out only the pages we are most interested in.  A copy of the entire program could easily be sent to the ARLIS/NA archives at the U. of Illinois.  (Archivists have been telling us for years that the only truly permanent back-up is printed on acid-free paper.)  It would not be the same as a bound program, but ARLIS/NA would save some trees—as well as the printing cost--and those who chose not to print it out beforehand could congratulate themselves for "cutting back on paper." 

 

And by the way—I really, really missed getting a Convocation Program too!  And even though they probably didn't say so, I bet many of the awardees missed it too!

 

Respectfully—and with great appreciation for the hard work of all the Seattle conference workers,

 

Joan

 

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--

JENNIFER YAO WEINRAUB
LIBRARIAN
THE NEW SCHOOL
LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES

63 FIFTH AVENUE, 6TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10003
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Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/membership/join-arlisna Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask]
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