Libraries and SXSW

@CarsonBlock www.carsonblock.com

Today’s Format

• Facts and Info – The SXSW Conference

– The Movement (lib*interactive)

• Show & Tell

• Stories

• Notable Sessions

• Takeaways

• Q&A

Were You There?

@lib-interactive

#liblove

First Things First

Some vocabulary

• SXSW: South by Southwest

• Southby: slang term for SXSW

• Lib*Interactive (formerly #sxswLAM): South by Southwest Libraries, Archives and Museums

What is SXSW?

SXSWedu

• Aimed at ED

• Fosters innovation in learning

• Promotes creativity and social change

• Precedes SXSW Interactive

• Platform for collaboration

SXSWi

• A place to gather with others • A place to share ideas • “An incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital

creativity” • Five days of compelling presentations and panels from the

brightest minds in emerging technology • Scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry

leaders and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.

• From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future, SXSW Interactive has become the place to preview the technology of tomorrow today.”

And… • Startups are launched or

sparked (Twitter, Makerbot, many more)

• Ideas are pitched • Many of the people you’re

with are usually the “smartest person in the room.”

• Vendors, sponsorship and marketing is *everywhere*

• …and there’s lots of beer, barbeque and breakfast tacos

The Short Version

A key place where the creators of our digital

present and future gather to share, learn, and

collaborate.

A brief photo tour of SXSWi 2015

Many Venues Spread Out in Downtown Austin TX – all with

concurrent programming (official and unofficial)

• Austin Convention Center

• Many surrounding hotels

• The Long Center

• Theaters

• Bars, clubs, churches and other venues

• Empty lots

• Pop ups

Sessions and Panels

Sponsored Lounges/Rooms…

…with programming

Bloggers Lounge…

…includes programming

Bars/Clubs/Venu

es indoor

& outdoor

Large

Medium

Small

Gaming Pavilion (formerly called “Screen Burn”

SXSW Create (Make)

Film…

…and Music

Parties and Meetups.

Lots of Networking

and Opportunities

for Fun.

Official Library Meetup

The photo you’ve seen

Now the ones you haven’t…

And at the end of each

day…

The Light of the Charge

Brigade

…then early the

next morning

you get up and do it

again!

Why do I care? And why should you?

• My people, my place

• The exhilaration of discovery, access and community

• Discovery of a problem

• Now “my” problem

• Inspiration

• A venue to address…

Enough about me.

What about you?

SXSWi is a place to…

SEE

BE SEEN

• Show people we’re not “just about books”

• Put libraries on entrepreneurs’ radar

• Show that libraries have something for everyone

HEAR

Important conversations are everywhere… [Private screening of Edward Snowden interview at #IdeaDrop House,

Photo credits: Mary Abler and Cindy Fisher]

BE HEARD

• LAM-member panels 2014 included: – The new startup garage

for innovation? Libraries! (Janie Hermann and Venu Moola)

– We will not be shushed: Guerilla Library Advocacy (ULU; Lauren Comito and Christian Zabriskie)

SXSWi is also place to…

Make New Connections

With entrepreneurs, startups, emerging technologies, and established companies

Above: Tina Coleman talks to a visitor at the Innovative Interfaces booth (and look at all our swag!)

Make Community Connections

Christian Zabriskie representing the Volunteer Library Brigade entrances

passersby with Guerilla Storytime

Make Community Connections

Labrary (Library Test Kitchen) co-sponsored events with Austin Public Libraries

Libraries @ SXSW

What is Lib*Interactive?

Good question…

What is Lib*Interactive?

• A core, volunteer group of passionate library, museum and archive staff who attend, present and actively recruit their colleagues to join them at the annual SXSW Interactive conference in Austin TX.

• Partner Organizations (ALA, PLA, #ideadrop, EveryLibrary, Urban Libraries Unite, Digital Public Library of America, Harvard Library Test Kitchen design group, others)

• Vendors (Proquest, Innovative Interfaces Inc. [III], Mobile Beacon, others)

• Lib*interactive works to connect people to the tools that help them fuel their passions. They see SXSWi as an opportunity to talk with other creatives and evangelize libraries, archives and museums.

• We all (Lib*interactive, partner orgs, vendors) live in a cloud of vibrant interaction. At the center of our shared universe is the core lib*interactive group – which is also an entity of its own.

What is Lib*Interactive?

The Short Version

• Vision for evangelizing libraries, museums and archives to the SXSW technology community

• A mission for making new friends and bringing back stuff we can use

• Volunteer-powered

• High Passion

• Goodwill-powered

• High credibility & trust (no formal org structure)

Introducing a few key players…

• ER&L’s #IdeaDrop House • EveryLibrary • DPLA and DFL • ULU and VBL • Library Test Kitchen

• ALA and PLA-sponsored activities

• Vendors: Innovative Interfaces, Inc. and ProQuest

• Other awesome people

Photo credit: SXSWi

Key Partnership Elements

• Shared vision

• Complimentary vision

• Shared resources

• Complimentary resources

• Solid and reliable

• All partners benefit = win

ER&L: #IdeaDrop House

Sandy and Bonnie Tijerina from ER&L found the perfect location for the IdeaDrop house, a space not far from the convention center where people came together to connect, share ideas and discuss important topics in libraries and beyond. With the help of their fabulous AV tech Albert, the house not only live streamed conversations from librarians and thought-leaders, there was a "confessional" where people could record their thoughts on SXSW and librarianship. They also live streamed the Ed Snowden simulcast so we could avoid the crowds, enjoy mimosas and watch together from the comfort of the couch.

#ideadrophouse 2015 “library family breakfast”

EveryLibrary

EveryLibrary ensured we were well fed and well connected over the course of the weekend, sponsoring breakfast each morning at the IdeaDrop house and meet-ups at our favorite Austin jaunt Mugshots. John Chrastka, a 2014 Mover and Shaker, talked with start-ups and venture capitalists about how investing in libraries is investing in a healthy economic future. At breakfast each morning, we'd discuss our successes from the day before, what we were excited about, what we had planned for the next day.

ULU/VLB

The radical team of Christian Zabriskie and Lauren Comito took to the streets of Austin as the Volunteer Library Brigade, conducting story times and street reference for awe-inspired passersby. The passion of this power duo is infectious, and they brought fresh ideas to this year's efforts. Photo

Library Test Kitchen

A serendipidous and delightful addition in 2014 was the presence of the Labrary, Library Test Kitchen's prototype library space out of Harvard. Jeff Goldenson and Jessica Yurkofsky are two of the coolest people you'll ever meet and converged on the lawn of Austin's O'Henry Museum to show off their student-designed library machines. They provided inspiration and participation to SXSWi attendees, showcasing the possibilities and creativity that abound in libraries.

Vendors

• Sponsorship started in 2013 – with Proquest’s sponsorship of the #ideadrophouse

• In 2014, Innovative Interfaces Inc. sponsored a booth on the trade room floor with open access to #sxswLAM friends and partners

• Starting in 2013 partners also contributed cash and time to the efforts (EveryLibrary, Carson Block Consulting)

…and *you* next! Right!?

What does lib*interactive do at SXSW?

Interact!

And some of us even do music… :0)

Bonus Slide Show within a Slideshow (how meta)

sxswLAM SXSW Interactive + Librar* + Archiv* + Museum*

Through the eyes of Andrea Davis 2009-…

Volunteer = free badge! + contacts SXSW Panel Liaison Program: Help Us Improve the Event! 2009 marked the introduction of the Interactive Panel Liaison (IPL) program, … If you are very detail-oriented, anticipate having significant free time in the first three months of 2010, and would like to see SXSW programming continue to improve... then you might be a good candidate to be an IPL in 2010. Want more information? Then e-mail us ASAP and we'll fill you in on all the details.

now = Interactive Speaker Assistant (ISA) isa@sxsw.com

The Meetups & Drinkups

Library’ing = Interactive!

Load the Schedule w/ LAM Panels

Collaborations #MIH LibraryBoxen + DPLA

Awesome Little Library + CREATE

ERL + Ideadrop

Memories are made

Even on the plane getting there

Zotero Bibliography

Participate from Afar

A very brief history lesson (offering our propers…)

Jessamyn West at SXSWi

2000: First attendance 2008: Jessamyn West presented The Day They Tested the Manifesto: how we handled a sexism brouhaha at MetaFilter http://www.librarian.net/talks/sxsw/ In 2009, Jessamyn West made a call to action on her blog, librarian.net, for library-land panel submissions: http://www.librarian.net/stax/2981/please-help-me-get-more-library-content-into-sxsw/ 2010: Jessamyn West and Jenny Engstrom, Panel: How the Other Half Lives--Touring the Digital Divide Archived information here: http://www.librarian.net/talks/sxsw10/ 2011: Jessamyn West, Fiona Morgan, and Justin Grimes, Panel: Offline America--Why We have a Digital Divide Archived information here: http://www.librarian.net/talks/sxsw2011/ and here: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2011/events/event_IAP6287

There was some library presence as well – but mostly observational

2012—LAM arrives!

• The Great Library Swindle: Your Rights Are at Risk w/ Carson Block

• Read/Write Library: Mapping a City Through Media w/ Nell Taylor

• Making Stories: Libraries & Community Publishing w/ Amy Buckland, Char Booth, Michael Porter, Nate Hill

• Guerilla Marketing @ Your Library w/ Cathleen Ash • A Penny Press for the Digital Age e/Jessamyn West,

Fiona Morgan, Norberto Santana Jr., Ryan Thornburg, and Tome Stytes

• Radically Open Cultural Heritage Data on the Web w/ Adrian Stevenson, Jon Voss, Julie Allinson, Rachel Frick

2013—LAM is in the house!

• Libraries: The Ultimate Playground (Andrea Davis, Naval Postgraduate School, Carson Block) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx_zuljGyGA

• Poetry in Motion: Sound Culture and Data Mining (Tanya Clement, The University of Texas at Austin)

• Culture Hack: Libraries & Museums Open For Making (Rachel Frick, CLIR Digital Library Federation)

• Why Digital Maps Can Reboot Cultural History (Butch Lazorchak, Library of Congress)

• Black Twitter Activism, Bigger Than Hip Hop (Stacie Williams, Harvard University)

Notable Library Sessions 2015

http://sxswlam.drupalgardens.com/

Trends & Takeaways 2015

Inspiration often begins on the plane ride…

…and sometimes on the ride right after landing….

Opinions are like, well, you know…

Here are the trends & themes I saw at SXSW 2015 and how I think they impact libraries.

Let’s discuss…

IoT, Scalable Networks and New Networks

We’re not doing enough with data visualization

Wait – we’re not doing enough with data in *general*

Someone yell out “slippery slope!” I double-dog dare ya! :0)

Other industries are also unafraid to mine the best of the past to create the best of the future

Digital Bolex D16

The Music Industry has a metadata problem. We can fix it.

Girl Power

Power of Diversity

Gaming as Lifestyle

“Make”

Other Hot

• Google Glass (despite the big debut two years ago)

• Spying (wait – its hotter than ever but no one says they like it)

• Beacons

• Immersive experience technology (including VR Goggles)

• Wearable Technology – beyond watches

• Sensors and measures everywhere – citizen data collection, self-data collection

What’s Not

Other Perspectives

EveryLibrary http://everylibrary.org/7-challenges-librarians-sxsw/

TSLAC

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/librarydevelopments/?p=18171

PhotoOps

lib*interactive works to make a “library” mark on notable SXSW

attendees…

Author and Library Fan

Neil Gaiman

Musician Neil

Young

Character Actor Dick

Miller

Culinary Pioneer

David Chang

Author and Illustrator

Alison Bechdel

(with Mary Abler)

Actor and Interactive

Entrepreneur Felicia Day

(with Jonathan

Smith)

Digital Rights Advocate Lawrence

Lessig (with Mary

Abler)

Punk and Poet Henry Rollins (with Mary Abler)

…and with Tina Coleman

ACLU booth staff

Tech Publisher

Tim O’Reilly (O’Reilly Media)

…and all sorts of good people

…and *you* next! Right!?

Want to help? Ringmeister • Coordinate people & partners (within and outside of LAM), be accountable, inspire, lead, roll

up sleeves, ensure it happens, whatever it is...

Logistics Team • Make plans; keep us ahead and confident; head-off last-minute frenzies; provide logistics at

major milestones (i.e. physical events at ALA MW and SXSWi); keep the curves rounded and road rock steady...

Marketing & Branding Team • Keep lib*interactive informed; keep world informed about lib*interactive; promote

panelpicker submissions and voting for library-oriented panels among libraries; solicit press and blogger coverage; coordinate media opportunities with #ideadrophouse; keep our brand clear and consistent; spread the love the the four corners of the earth...

Budget and Fundraising • Someone’s gotta pay for all this stuff. Creative fundraising ideas, execution and collection.

Guide budget partnerships (with marketing team) for sponsorships or co-branding…

SXSW site impact team • Save $ where needed, spend where needed. Seek out & cement mutually beneficial

relationships to ensure sxswLAM mindshare at the conference. Create focused, impactful approach. Reissue legacy ideas (libraryboxen?) and find new avenues. Working with logistics and budget team, coordinate event presence, cheers bar, parties, and other groovy stuff.

Wait – this is expensive…

• ISA program

• Administered through SXSW

• Badge in exchange for volunteer help

Resources

• Official SXSW YouTube and Soundcloud Channels

• Denver Post Article

• Lib*interactive websites, twitter, etc

• Info Today Article

• Blog Links (John, Henry’s, Mine)

• Vlog Links (Jess)

Online Presence

Website: http://www.lib-interactive.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/libinteractive/

https://www.youtube.com/user/sxsw

https://soundcloud.com/officialsxsw

Denver Post Article

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_27724651/rethink-library-next-gen-becomes-resource-tech-entrepreneurs

Info Today Article

• http://www.infotoday.com/it/may15/Scardilli--What-Librarians-Can-Learn-From-SXSW.shtml

Blogs

• http://www.carsonblock.com/blog/

• http://everylibrary.org/author/admin/

• https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/librarydevelopments/?p=18171

Vlog: Underage at SXSW

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXXeQrniw-M

Questions?

@CarsonBlock

www.carsonblock.com