 Good morning everyone and welcome to the third annual big talk from small libraries conference This is a great day where we get to hear from lots of small libraries around the country and Have participants from around the world Join the conversation to see what's going on in small libraries and what amazing things small libraries are doing My name is Michael Sowers. I am the technology innovation librarian here at the Nebraska Library Commission And with me is Laura Johnson and Krista Burns. Would you like to say hello? And so I'm kind of acting as your host Laura here is our co-host and we'll be Passing along questions throughout the day Krista is our technical support and third co-host And she will be handling any technical support issues that may come up during the day And you have to excuse my voice. It is a little rough today We are using go-to-webinar and you should be hearing us now We are recording everything and will we we will be editing up and posting all of the recordings and session notes and presentations starting next week after the conference We are not taking questions via audio today So if you do have a microphone, we appreciate the effort But with more than 400 people registered and attending throughout the day that gets a little confusing a little fast So there is a Q&A section of your go-to-webinar interface if you have a question of our presenters as we're going along through the day Please just submit that there. We will be monitoring That also if you are a Twitter user We are using the hashtag BTSL big talk small libraries. That's BTSL if you want to try to submit comments or questions there We will also be watching the Twitter feed for those One of our co-sponsors today or our only co-sponsor today is the association of small and rural libraries and On the line with us. We have Tina Hansen and Donna Bryce from ARSL Tina and Donna. Are you there? Yes. Yes. Good morning. All right and Tina I am going to give you control for just a moment here And so if you would like to go ahead and tell us a little bit about ARSL Go ahead Great. Thank you. Well, good morning everyone and welcome to big talk from small libraries Which is produced by the Nebraska Library Commission and co-sponsored by ARSL My name is Tina Hansen and I'm the current president of the Association for rural and small libraries With me today to talk briefly about ARSL our Donna Bryce our vice president president elect and Having technical difficulties unfortunately is Carolyn Peterson chair of our 2014 conference So I'll try to cover for her slides Our introduction to ARSL this morning will be offered through a new presentation style called Pichacucha in PK presentation There are 20 slides very visual with only 20 seconds of narration per slide the term pika chuka Comes from the Chinese word for chichat We would like to thank the Nebraska Library Commission and the organizers of big talk for allowing us to talk a little bit about our organization first established in 1982 ARSL's home base was at Clarion University in Pennsylvania until 2007 when it became an independent organization with an expanded board and committee structure our first conference as an independent Organization took place in Sacramento, California in 2008 since then a concerted effort has been made to move the conference around the country each year Our board represents a wide range of locations all across the country Additionally, we include individuals who are involved in various aspects of library work from front-line small library directors to consultants Library support organizations and state library staff This allows us to tap into expertise and all sorts of subjects and to offer that expertise to our members Our members frequently tell us that it is like coming home and they find our organization Just like big talk. We are here to support small libraries We are frequently asked how small do I have to be to become a member our answer is if you think you are small or rural You probably are Our website ARL info is full of great resources for folks in small rural libraries You can learn not only about the organization and our popular annual conference But also access news about our featured members libraries right now the Dickinson County Iowa libraries are featured. You may also come here to print or order our brochure or Search our newest feature a listing of library jobs in small rural communities Our board meetings are open to our members and we encourage participation by the membership The board meets every other month and the various board committees meet in the off months Members are sent an invitation to participate in board meetings via our listserv and it's important to remember that we're a working board And our members spend the number of hours of their own time working hard to make ARSL the best it can be The ARSL board is made up of practicing librarians from small libraries or those who serve small libraries Every board member is a volunteer who puts in countless hours on behalf of the Association The board spends two days working on planning for the future when we meet face to face face every year at our annual conference Probably the thing we hear the most when we ask people what they like best about ARSL is the warm welcoming nature of our members This is a group of people who are all about doing what it takes to serve their communities no matter the obstacles Relevant ideas are shared and lasting friendships are formed not only at our annual conference, but also on our listserv One of the best ways you for you to find out what ARSL is all about is to join us and become a volunteer Volunteers can help in a number of ways including participating in committee work Representing ARSL at local and state gatherings and being a part of our conference our website has information on volunteering But to become a member, but you have to become a member to join the fun You won't find a better deal anywhere for your membership dollars We understand small budgets and have chosen our fees to fit your budget our rates started just nine dollars per year You will receive an online newsletter access to our listserv and a discount for the annual conference One of the major benefits of membership is the opportunity to get involved as an entirely Volunteered led organization. We need committed individuals both on our working board and as volunteers Our committee structure allows opportunities for folks to utilize their skills to help ARSL With PR needs program development conference planning and much more Some examples of volunteer help we have received include people to take the ARSL table display to their local and state conferences key contacts who help us pass along useful ARSL news to local listservs and Those who work on the website make promotional materials help write our newsletter And individuals who pass along the best practices they find across the country We pride ourselves in our commitment to providing a conference that's 100 percent applicable to those in small and rural libraries Our sessions are selected specifically to be hands-on practical learning opportunities that can be readily applied back home Much like big talk for small libraries. We are focused on the needs of small and rural communities In 2007 after many years of hosting the annual conference in Columbus, Ohio The board made the decision to move the conference around the country The California State Library offered to host in Sacramento in 2008 and was what great hosts they were The conference was well attended and helped confirm the decision to try locations all around the country This map shows our past locations as well as our plans for the future And this is where we're missing Carolyn right now She is the chair of this year's conference which will take place in Tacoma, Washington at the beautiful Hotel Murano Which is full of exquisite glass art. This is just a sampling of what you'll see when you join us in Tacoma this year Remember the dates for our conference are September 4th through 6th 2014. That's immediately following Labor Day weekend We hope that many of you can make the journey out We're excited to take part in that this year One way that you can get to conference if you're worried about funding is to apply for our scholarships Each year ARSL gives away three conference scholarships to those who want to come to the conference for the first time This program has allowed individuals interested in ARSL to learn about us without making a financial commitment It has resulted in some truly enthusiastic new ARSL members Librarians are creative people Those from small communities are wizards when it comes to finding the most cost-effective way to get things done Whether you're you carpool organize a bus share a room or whatever We truly hope to see you in Tacoma this September and here we are along with our contact information We're happy to take questions visit with you about membership conference or anything you might be interested in about ARSL Feel free to get ahold of us anytime All right. Thank you both for that ARSL the last conference was actually just here in Omaha and All three of us attended and many of the library Commission staff did and it was wonderful I really enjoyed it. It was a it was a great couple of days to do that. So Again, thank you very much for that letting us know all about ARSL