What makes a good vendor stand? When you get back to the day job what stands out in your mind about the displays, the way the vendors communicated, the information available, etc. Building on a vendor suggestion, we are proposing a "best stand" award at this year's conference and we need you to tell us what the assessment criteria will be.

All suggestions to the blog, please.

We'll be asking the you to do the judging too. After all, you are the customers so your perceptions are paramount.

And perhaps any vendors reading this blog would like to tell us what the prize for the best stand should be.


Now for some news a number of you have been waiting for: conference registrations will be opening in mid-June; the LIANZA Council has just signed off on the registration charges and you'll be pleased to see they are not significantly different from last year. We're certainly pleased with the calibre and range of abstracts that have been submitted (and with the draft social programme).

Organising the LIANZA 2008 Conference is at a really exciting stage. The buzz about the keynotes, particularly the latest one annouced, has been very encouraging. From the beginning we knew that getting Professor Lessig to come to New Zealand would be a coup and I am pleased to see the conversations that have been generated by the announcement of his visit.

You'll also know that we have been inviting abstracts of proposed presentations - the programme team and helpers will be starting on the first stage of the selection process in a few days. It's therefore far too early to say if any proposals received address the Creative Commons issue - but it's not too late for more abstracts!

So, we have keynote speakers confirmed and fleshing out the programme is underway. Don't worry - we haven't forgotten the social programme. Kim and her team have some great ideas and I am sure this conference will be beyond your expectations on that front too.

The organising committee has been exercising its collective brain for some time over the challenges of needing to generate income from the conference for the contined operation of LIANZA (of course, you will have read the President's column in the latest Library life that referes to this) and innovative ways of making conference content available. I've no answers to share with you today - but we haven't stopped thinking about this one!

Sixth keynote announced: Lawrence Lessig

Lawrence Lessig is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the school's Center for Internet and Society. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, he was the Berkman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and a Professor at the University of Chicago.

Much of his work has focused on law and technology, especially as it affects copyright. He represented web site operator Eric Eldred in the ground-breaking case Eldred v. Ashcroft, a challenge to the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. His current academic work is in the area of influence and "corruption." Other areas of teaching and writing include constitutional law, contracts, and the law of cyberspace.

Lawrence Lessig has won numerous awards, including the Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award, and was named one of Scientific American's Top 50 Visionaries, for arguing "against interpretations of copyright that could stifle innovation and discourse online."

He is the author of Code v2 (2007), Free Culture (2004), The Future of Ideas (2001) and Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999). He is CEO of the Creative Commons project, and is on the board of MAPLight and the Sunlight Foundation. He has served on the board of the Free Software Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Public Library of Science, and Public Knowledge. He was also a columnist for Wired, Red Herring, and the Industry Standard.

For more, see Lawrence Lessig’s blog: http://lessig.org

2008 LIANZA conference and the Faculty of Law at The University of Auckland are co-hosting Lawrence Lessig’s New Zealand visit. He will make a keynote presentation at the LIANZA conference and will also present an address to a law audience at the university.

Talking of great presentations...

Not to make anyone shy of presenting, but here's a fantastic use of visuals, sound and analysis - Professor Lawrence Lessig the creative commons man ... worth a look if you haven't seen it. Topic is how creativity is being strangled by the law.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/187


{Ok, this post was made just at the point we were finalising Lawrence Lessig's attendance as a conference keynote. Yep, admitted.}

Powhiri to Poroporoaki

Kia ora anō tātou katoa

If you remember past LIANZA conferences we as a group are expected to follow certain protocols and procedures from beginning (the powhiri) to the end (the poroporoaki). This year the LIANZA conference will be held at the Sky City Convention Centre.

If you are unaware of the protocols, the attached link will provide some basic guidelines to help you through these tikanga.
http://www.lianza.org.nz/events/conference2008/protocols.html

Personally I can't remember the exact korero but I think the concept is if you are informed then processes will run smoothly? Although there may be ups and downs in our lives, together we will persevere and arrive at our destination.

The waiata have a soundfile for you to listen and practise to.

No reira, ka kite koutou a te hui nei.

Powhiri to Poroporoaki

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ka haere tātou ki te Whare teitei i Tāmaki, kia hui tahi pai ai? Āta titiro. No reira, e maumahara ana tātou wētahi atu hui o LIANZA? Ae, kāo rānei!

He aha te tikanga o te wāhi rā? Ehara koutou i te mōhio te tikanga o te powhiri me te poroporoaki? Ka haere ki te hononga nei, kia panuitia ngā kōrero pai mo tēnā. Kia whakarite tātou te mahi tika, te mahi pono hoki. Kaua koutou e whakaroaroa, ka tuhi i tō rae.

No reira, he moana pukepuke kia ekengia te waka, ka kite anō.

Tips on good presentations

I know there are many of you out there who would love to present at conference. You have the ideas! You have the passion! You're just not sure about the actual presentation. I'm much like that myself. Give me a coffee and a comfy seat and I'll go on and on for hours. Unfortunately that skill is no use in a presentation situation. "Stand up? In front of people and talk to them? You have got to be kidding!" is my usual reaction.

With that in mind I started trawling round the internet looking for tips on giving good presentations.

5 ways great speakers connect with their audience from Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist
"The art of public speaking is actually the art of connecting." Five tips to help presenters connect with the audience.

Death by PowerPoint (and how to fight it) from Alexei Kapterev via SlideShare
"How to make a presentation and not to bore your audience to death." It's not just about using PowerPoint. There are some great tips on structuring a presentation. (Warning, could be a slow watch on dial-up.)

Presentation Tips from Garr Reynolds
"Organization & Preparation Tips", "Delivery Tips" and "Slide Tips".

Really Bad PowerPoint from Seth's Blog
"Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you’re excited (or sad, or optimistic or whatever else you are.)" Includes "Four Components To A Great Presentation".

Talk Good: Giving Effective Presentations from Peter Bromberg via Library Garden
A list of resources that "...speak for themselves."

Are you inspired to give it a go? Abstract submissions close Friday May 2.

(And of course there will be some great books at your local library!)