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Information Communities Workshop

LAMA Workshop
"The Vital Role of Librarians in Creating Information Communities:  Strategies for Success."

Sponsor
Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA)

Description
There is a quiet revolution underway—the creation of information communities—services and approaches that move beyond crossing type of library lines and that build partnerships with those who make up the information community.   Information communities can transform the way that libraries do business and influence people to change the way they think about libraries.  They are driven by the need to more effectively identify and anticipate the needs of their constituency.  There are many examples, some of which will be explored during the workshop. This interactive workshop is designed to give librarians the opportunity to gain skills they can use to bring together communities and take information service provision far beyond traditional library service. 

Target Audience
Academic, public, and school librarians, administrators, trustees, and those who seek to develop ICs and want to know why ICs are an important opportunity for the profession and for libraries.

Workshop Goal
The goal of this program is to focus on the concept of information communities.  It will show how information communities can be formed, how they thrive, and how they bring benefits both to the communities they seek to serve and to the cooperating libraries.

Workshop Objectives 

Those who attend will learn how to:

  • Identify opportunities for defining and building information communities (ICs).
  • Become familiar with best practices and models used to create ICs and deliver relevant services.
  • Examine the  roles, competencies, knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with developing ICs.
  • Factor in factors that limit and foster ICs
  • Identify approaches and strategies designed to  link community information needs and resources.
Information Communities (IC) Introduction & Overview of LAMA NATIONAL CONFERENCE IC Workshop Topics
  • Definitions.  What are information communities?
  • Needs and circumstances.  What drives an IC?
  • Attributes and components of information communities. What are they like?
  • Functions and examples.  What can an information community do?
  • Technology.  
  • Involvement in information communities. What organizations might be involved? 
  • Roles of leaders.  What strategies do leaders of ICs employ?
  • Success factors.  What contributes to the success of information communities? 
  • Indicators of impact.  What difference can an IC make?  How do we know?
An information community is partnership of institutions and individuals forming and cultivating a community of interest around the provision and exchange of information, or knowledge, aimed at increasing access to that information or increasing communication, and thereby increasing that knowledge.   Information communities (ICs) include developing resources and service approaches with an eye to specific needs that the services are designed to meet.  We will look at examples of attributes and components of ICs involving different types of libraries and other information providers.   Case study examples will show both vibrant library leadership in ICs and examples of ICs that have developed without librarians.  We will discuss strategies and activities of ICs, including understanding needs/circumstances, technology use, working with IPs, marketing, programs, getting the target community together, sharing databases, etc.  The session will close with a presentation on current concerns with impact and a discussion of indicators of impact of information communities.