Ebooks: The New Normal

Library Journal and School Library Journal present our second virtual summit on ebooks and their role in the future of libraries. Ebooks: The New Normal will bring together librarians, vendors and publishers, and industry experts and offers keynote presentations as well as three tracks designed for public, academic, and K-12 libraries to discuss how libraries are leveraging the ebook opportunity to improve service and reach more users than ever before.

Public librarians will share successful ebook initiatives and discuss how ebooks will transform public libraries. Academic librarians will present how they are mastering the transition, from patron driven acquisition to discovery to faculty adoption, while school librarians will be presented with working ebook models on the building, district, regional and state levels. There will be time for discussion and networking, and open time for attendees to visit the exhibits and attend vendor webcasts.

This year’s keynote will be delivered by author M.T. Anderson, author of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party, winner of the National Book Award as well as the dystopian novel, Feed, which was a National Book Award Finalist, a Boston Globe–Horn Book winner, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The day will close with a Pecha Kucha event, where eight participants will each give a seven minute presentation, featuring authors and thought leaders including Lawrence Block, Dr. Sai Gaddam, and Dr. Ogi Ogas.

WHAT WILL YOU EXPERIENCE?

- Forward-thinking keynote, talks and panel discussions
- Presentations focusing on current best practices for library ebook collections
- Evolving ‘models’ for digital book and media content discovery and delivery
- Discussion on how the digital shift will require new service models
- Relevant research on ebook penetration and adoption by libraries and millions of library users
- Vendor booths, live chats, vendor presentations, informative take aways, and prizes
- An after-summit Pecha Kucha* event featuring noted authors and publishers
- Unlimited access to the archived content for 3 months

*Eight participants will each give a seven minute Power Point presentation consisting of 20 images with 21 seconds per image.

Ebooks: The New Normal offers participants a chance to ask questions and discuss practical topics as well like:
- building an ebook collection
- budgeting for ebooks
- negotiating with vendors
- marketing to library users
- training staff and faculty
- how to facilitate ebook discovery …and much more

Our Virtual Summit forum provides a cost effective way to attend an industry leading conference on ebooks in libraries without the expensive and time consuming travel. The Virtual Conference Center, much like a physical convention hall, features an Auditorium with continuous programming and an Exhibit Hall where vendors and publishers showcase their latest products and offerings. Our Networking Center provides participants a place to “live chat” with peers, panelists and vendors, and in the Resource Center, attendees can easily collect and save materials for future reference, which means no lines at the shipping center!