On November 2nd, members of the FLO Community gathered at Simmons University for the FLO 2023 Annual Meeting. The first annual meeting held after four years, an interruption largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the day included updates from the FLO Board of Directors, a keynote address by Elliott of UMass Boston, lightning talks about projects at member libraries, and a panel discussion about open source systems and their uses in the library setting. Many attendees also took the opportunity to tour the Simmons University Library, which was recently renovated and completed in 2022.
The day began with warm welcomes from Simmons Library Director Vivienne Piroli and Simmons Provost Russell Pinizzotto, followed by a Year in Review presented by Joe Sikowitz, FLO Executive Director, and Hee Jung Lee, MFA Library Director and President of the FLO Board. Later in the morning, Vivienne Piroli, also the Chair of the FLO Planning Committee, gave an update on FLO's Strategic Plan and the work that has been done to build out strategic initiatives into actionable tasks taken on by working groups.
In the keynote address, "From Chaos to Order: Addressing Cognitive Overload in the Learning Journey," Elliott, a Reference and Instruction Librarian at UMass Boston, introduced cognitive overload, or the amount of information an individual is able to retain in their working memory at one time, and explored how library practitioners can take cognitive overload into consideration when creating resources and designing instruction sessions. Elliott, along with co-authors Courtney McAllister and Sara C. Kern, have a book, also titled From Chaos to Order: Addressing Cognitive Overload in the Learning Journey, coming out next year.
During lightning talks, Rukmal Ryder showcased the Makerspace at the Frederick Berry Library at Salem State University and discussed efforts to integrate the Makerspace into class curriculum through hands-on projects in science, math, technology, and art. Heather Edmonds recounted her adventures implementing self-checkout software MeeScan at the New England College of Optometry, Callie Cherry presented findings from a study evaluating the usage of the library space post-COVID at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Katherine Wind of Bristol Community College shared a developing project to create a virtual library learning commons at Bristol Community College where students, tutors, and librarians can connect and work together in a casual and fun virtual environment.
In the afternoon session, Joe Sikowitz moderated a panel about open source systems in the library setting entitled, "Open Source Systems: Can Libraries Really Get What They Want and Need?" Panelists Eliana Lima (FLO), Carl Todd (Holyoke Community College), Erin Wentz (MCPHS), Gus Consing (Simmons University), Jamie Jesanis (MCPHS), and Chrissy Hartman (MassArt) spoke to their experiences with open source software, including FOLIO, Koha, and other systems, highlighting the challenges and successes in their implementations and their hopes for the future.
All sessions were recorded and can be accessed here: https://simmons.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=33435403-a2b6-405f-be27-b0af013210d2
Other materials from the event, including slides from presentations, are located here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fSipNhFYi0jUjpeMyAV061G10B2LoEBv?usp=drive_link
Elliott, Reference and Instruction Librarian at UMass Boston, presents the keynote address.
Caitlin Pereira, MassArt Library Chair, introduces the lightning talk speakers. From left to right: Caitlin Pereira, Callie Cherry (Wentworth Institute of Technology), Heather Edmonds (New England College of Optometry), Katherine Wind (Bristol Community College), and Rukmal Ryder (Salem State University).
Rukmal Ryder shares about the Makerspace project at Salem State University.
Heather Edmonds of New England College of Optometry shares their Adventures with Self-Checkout.
Vivienne Piroli gives an update on FLO's Strategic Plan.
Attendees mingle for lunch in the Paresky Conference Center.
The Open Source Panel: from left to right, Joe Sikowitz (FLO), Eliana Lima (FLO), Carl Todd (Holyoke Community College), Erin Wentz (MCPHS), Gus Consing (Simmons), Jamie Jesanis (MCPHS), and Chrissy Hartman (MassArt).
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