Big news in continuing education: the Iowa Small Library Association (ISLA) along with Northwest, Southwest, and Central LSAs, are organizing a totally online conference slated for January 16th. “Connection, Collaboration, Community: The Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference (ISLOC)” is in the dead of winter and you don’t even have to leave town!

Thanks to the State Library, you'll have access to virtual classrooms called Wimba Rooms. With help (producing) also from Southeast LSA, the weather will be out of the equation and will enable everyone to meet in cozy, virtual classrooms instead. From the comfort of home or office, participants will log into various Wimba rooms to join one session or several. Here’s a preview of the sessions being planned:

AM Keynote Speaker: Michael Stephens of Tame the Web
PM Keynote Speaker: Pat Wagner of Pattern Research in Colorado
Concurrent Sessions:
¨ Cool Tools, Widgets, and Gadgets
¨ Collaborating with Colleagues on the Web
¨ The Interactive Library: Promoting Service Online
¨ Trustees 2.0—An Evening Session for Boards

Also on tap: a virtual exhibit hall, a gaming session over the lunch hour, and a virtual lounge where you can network with your colleagues across the state. Oh sure, you’ll need some stuff—like high speed Internet, a microphone, speakers, and such. Most importantly, you’ll need to run a set-up wizard to make sure your computer has the right components to best experience this new format. NWILS will provide set-up instructions in separate emails, so stay tuned for that.

There’s no requirement that you sit glued to your computer all day long. Choose the topics that most interest you and log into those. If you’re only able to listen to the 2 keynote speakers, that will be great. If you’re only able to join over the lunch hour—or only available for the evening trustees session—that’s great too.