OLA 2016

Do your patrons complain that they can't find anything on your website? You can fix that through usability testing! Even with limited time and money resources, you can improve your library's website through card sorts, wire frame iterations, click testing, and task-based interviews. In this session, you will experience several different types of usability testing and learn which will work for you. Participants are encouraged to bring devices to try out online testing.

Offer your community what Amazon cannot – unique, local content.  Whether working with community members to create oral histories, partnering with organizations that have a treasure trove of local content, or collaborating with local artists to create a go-to place for local music, we will explore ways to connect your community with truly one-of-a-kind resources not available anywhere else.  We will discuss the various ways we have provided a forum for letting our communities tell their own story, and built invaluable relationships and connections in the process.

Come hear from Oregon libraries that are "telling their story" to search engines through the use of linked data. Bibliographic data and web page elements can be converted to linked data structure and made accessible to search engines to serve up in results pages. This program will include an update from Multnomah County Library about the conversion of their bibliographic data through the LibHub Initiative. Washington County Cooperative Library Services will share their use of linked data elements in their website, and Tigard Public Library will share discoveries on how to incorporate linked data into their website. These are exciting new developments that help libraries tell their story to web searchers.

Why do some people end up with amazing photos while yours are lackluster and out of focus? Jump-start your camera skills with this photo bootcamp for the "photographically challenged".

Having spent decades as an award-winning professional photographer and photojournalist before becoming a librarian, Bill Landau will show you how to get the most out of your camera or phone.

After attending this program, you will no longer just take "snapshots". The emphasis will be on inspiring attendees to creatively tell a story with photography while producing images of beauty. We will cover basic composition and creative photography techniques and show you how to optimize your device to get maximum results. There will be demonstrations of the most popular and useful photography apps for phones and tablets.

If you want to blow minds on your library's Facebook, Instagram, website or newsletters, find yourself a seat in this darkroom and see what develops!