First, we want to thank everyone who responded to our 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Planning Survey. We heard you, and we're moving forward based on your input.

The Program and Logistics Committees, the KLAS Users' Group Officers', and Keystone staff have been working diligently to figure out how to shift the conference to an online event. We're really embracing our conference theme of "Challenges, Changes & Creativity"! In the past few weeks, we've shifted our planning timeline and had discussions about dates, schedule, event management software and services, registration costs, session proposals, and more.

Today, we're excited to share that the 2021 KLAS Users' Conference will be June 7-10, 2021 with the below proposed schedule for each day:

To give all our attendees the best experience possible, we're planning to use an online event platform. We've evaluated a number of different ones and currently plan to use PheedLoop. Last week, the Planning Committees and Users' Group Officers had an opportunity to see the event participant side of the platform and were impressed with their available features for networking, session scheduling and access, and extensive accessibility options.

Using this platform, conference attendees will be able to attend sessions live or review the recordings later on, message each other privately or in subject groups, and even share files with their fellow users. While it can't fully replicate the feeling of all sitting around the same table, we hope that this format will allow us to bring as much of the full conference experience as possible.

Individual and group registration rates are still being finalized and will be announced soon.

We're hoping more KLAS Users will be able to participate in this year's conference than ever before, since there is no travel required! See you there!

Below you will find the latest udpated about the 2021 ONLINE KLAS Users' Conference. Please let us know if you have any questions or need additional information.

2021 KLAS Users' Conference Website & Attendee Portal:

• 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Website
• 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Virtual Attendee Portal

Theme: Challenges, Changes & Creativity

Overview Schedule:

• KLAS UC 2021 Overview Schedule with Sessions - PDF
• Overview schedule in spreadsheet format on Keystone's Google Drive.

Format:

To give our attendees the best experience possible, we will be using the PheedLoop online event platform. The Planning Committees and Users' Group Officers had an opportunity to see the event participant side of the platform and were impressed with the features for networking, session scheduling and access, and extensive accessibility options.  

Using this platform, conference attendees will be able to attend sessions live or review the recordings later on, message each other privately or in subject groups, and even share files with their fellow users. While it can't fully replicate the feeling of all sitting around the same table, we hope that this format will allow us to bring as much of the full conference experience as possible.

Registration:

Go here to begin your 2021 KLAS Users' Conference attendee registration. 

The deadline to register is 8:00 PM Eastern / 5:00 PM Pacific Friday, June 4. If you have any questions about the group registration process, check out this step-by-step for a detailed explanation with screenshots.

Conference Registration is now open!To make this year's process easier than ever, we chose to use the PheedLoop platform to handle registration and even credit card payments. Yes, you can pay via a credit card this year! If you prefer or need to still pay by check, you can also download an invoice directly from the registration page.

• $25 for individual attendee tickets
• $50 for small group tickets (2-5 persons)
• $100 for large group tickets (6-10 persons)

Group Ticket Purchases: Example: To purchase one Large Group Ticket for 10 people, select 1 "Large Group Ticket" with your name listed as the "Attendee". Then proceed through the payment and checkout options and then add the other 9 persons as "complimentary ticket" holders when prompted to do so. Each listed attendee will be emailed their ticket info separately. An organization can purchase whatever combination of individual, small, and large group tickets makes sense for the number of staff they want to attend. For example, a library can purchase one small group and one large group ticket for a total of $150 to cover up to 15 attendees.

Registration fees go towards the conference platform and video streaming services. This is not intended to be a profit-generating event! That said, the math on this kind of thing is difficult. The per-attendee cost of the event will vary significantly based on how many attendees we have, and while we have a lot of experience budgeting for and operating an in-person conference, an online conference is new to us. If we find that we undershot on the registration fees, Keystone will cover the additional costs. If we end up generating a little extra, it will be used towards the next conference.

Keystone is offering a two-day in-depth training, round-table, and user feedback opportunity for KLAS Instructional Resource Center / Instructional Materials Center Users. An agenda with full details of each day's activities will be available soon.

Note: Keystone reserves the right to cancel or reschedule.

Prerequisites for attendance:

• Attendee must have a KLAS Administrator role in their local system
• Attendee has authority to change records and policies for their KLAS system

KLAS IRC Symposium Dates & Times:

• Tuesday, October 29 - Wednesday, October 30, 2019
• Each day's sessions will run from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

KLAS IRC Symposium Agenda

IRC Symposium agenda updated as of October 14, 2019. Also, you must be logged-in to klasusers.com to access these documents.

• KLAS v7 IRC Symposium UPDATED Agenda - MS Word
• KLAS v7 IRC Symposium UPDATED Agenda - PDF

Cost:

• $300 for the two-day symposium
• Please make checks payable to Keystone Systems, Inc

Hotels & Airport Transportation Information:

• Travel Information - MS Word
• Travel Information - PDF

Transportation:

Please contact your hotel to arrange shuttle service to and from the airport.
Local transportation to and from the hotel to Keystone's offices will be provided.

Please contact Tracey Fye if you have any difficulty making reservations, or have any questions about accommodations.

Tracey Fye
Keystone Systems, Inc.
Email:
Phone: 1-919-782-1143 or 1-800-222-9711

Registration:

Please use the below Training Registration Form to indicate that you would like to attend.

To reserve your space please register before September 30, 2019.

I pulled out my new 2019 calendar and all of a sudden the next KLAS Users' Conference is THIS YEAR and not NEXT. But, there's no reason to panic because the Program and Logistics Committees have been actively meeting on a monthly basis since last fall and have made some great progress in planning for your attendance. Do you know who those people are and what kind of work they do? First, let's introduce you to the people who are bringing you this year's "Waves of Change."

Who are they?

Below are the persons serving on the Planning Committees for the 2019 KLAS User's Conference.

2019 KLAS Users' Conference Program Committee:

• Chandra Thornton, KLAS Users' Group Vice President, Program Committee Chair, 2019 KLAS User's Conference Host, Palm Beach County Library System Talking Books Library
• Erin Pawlus, KLAS Users' Group Secretary, Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library
• Sue Walker, KLAS UC 2018 Host, Idaho Commission for Libraries Talking Book Service
• Vanessa Meadows, KLAS UC 2017 Host, Georgia Library for Accessible Statewide Services
• Cyndi Hammonds, California Department of Education
• Amy Ravenholt, Washington Talking Book and Braille Library
• Katy Patrick, Keystone Systems
• Andrea Callicutt, Keystone Systems

2019 KLAS Users' Conference Logistics Committee:

• Craig Hayward, KLAS Users' Group President, Logistics Committee Chair, North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• Sarah Smedley, 2019 KLAS User's Conference Host, Palm Beach County Library System Talking Books Library
• Nancy Reese, KLAS UC 2018 Host, Idaho Commission for Libraries Talking Book Service
• Andrew Shockley, KLAS UC 2015 Host, Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• Debbie Martin, Brevard County Talking Books Library
• John Mugford, New Mexico Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• Andrea Callicutt, Keystone Systems

What do they do?

The Planning Committees usually meet on a monthly or bi-monthly basis depending on what work is currently needing to be done. The Logistics Committee focuses on planning the conference's transportation, catering, registration, welcome reception, and networking excursion. The Program Committee plans the conference content by identifying topics of interest, seeking out presenters, and creating a schedule all while trying to appeal to the varied job functions, skill sets, and learning styles of our attendees. Both pay close attention to the commentary and ideas that arise from previous year's feedback forms and follow-up surveys as they plan. They also look for new ideas that could benefit our attendees and bounce them off one another.

When an organization offers to host a conference we do ask if a member / members of their staff can serve on each committee the year before, the of, and the year after they host. We also encourage other persons to serve on the committees who have an interest in contributing to the planning of the conference's content or the details of attendees' experiences while there.

At this time, much of the preliminary logistics planning has been completed and that committee is now focusing on more detailed decisions, such as our reception entertainment and which menus to choose for provided meals. At the same time, our Program Committee has now done a thorough review and discussion of session feedback, sent out a call for proposals, created an initial overview schedule, and will soon be contacting additional possible presenters and finalizing session topics with the goal of publishing the next draft of the conference schedule before January 31.

If you have any questions about how these committees operate or they work they do, please feel free to contact anyone serving on them. Or, if you are interested in serving on a committee in the future, contact one of your KLAS Users' Group Officers or the current committee chair.

You've likely already seen a link to the 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Attendee Feedback Form created by the KLAS Users' Group Officers and Program and Logistics Committees. With this being such a different year, it's more important than ever for us to hear from you!

In addition to getting feedback from attendees, though, both Keystone staff and the committees have each gotten together to discuss their own observations about the conference. By digging into the conference's schedule and content, as well as the PheedLoop platform, we can make sure we learn from what went wrong and take note of where we got it right.

Today I want to share some of our notes from these conversations so you know what's been our minds. (Agree? Disagree? Have thoughts on something else entirely? Please let us know--starting with the Feedback Form!)

Schedule

No schedule will be perfect for everyone, but our discussions looking back on this trended positive. We managed to offer a lot of sessions, and time them reasonably for everyone, regardless of time zone. Other ideas were discussed, but on the whole, this schedule seemed to work well for an online conference, with one exception: the month of June can be a difficult time for IRC / IMC KLAS Users to attend. 

We also had split opinions on the strict enforcement of session times. On the one hand, it kept everyone on track and moving. On the other hand, it also resulted in some pretty abrupt cut-offs... as did ending sessions manually without accounting for the 10-second broadcast delay--sorry about that! 

Content

We were thrilled with the amount and variety of user-proposed and user-led sessions! The Keystone staff especially appreciate the effort made by the committees to recruit and involve more users throughout the conference. 

One complication we identified was that some sessions applied to more "tracks" or topics than we'd initially thought, and ended up scheduled against too-similar content. It's probably impossible to avoid schedule conflicts entirely, but one idea from our discussion was to provide a better way for the presenters themselves to identify the topics their session will cover and / or intersect with. 

Platform

While we were satisfied with the PheedLoop virtual event hosting, there was definitely plenty to discuss on this front. It was a little surprising which features generated a lot of interest, and which fell flat. We made sure to consider whether that was the platform itself, people taking time to learn it, or just a matter of leaving time for it. For example, the Networking rooms were barely touched. If we want to try them again, we need to make sure there's a designated session block instead of expecting people to give up their valuable breaks to try it (especially since many people need to use those breaks to keep up on their day-to-day work). 

We really liked a lot of their back-end and event management tools, but we have a long list of suggestions, feedback, and feature requests to pass on to the PheedLoop team. One strong positive: since signing on with PheedLoop, we've seen a lot of activity in terms of useful updates, so we're very hopeful that it will get better and better over time.

Final Thoughts

Virtual conferences have their pros and cons. Going online meant a lot of expanded access to new user presenters (plus other attendees) who may not have been able to attend otherwise. On the other hand, we saw mostly very familiar names, in the chat boxes and especially unmuting and speaking up in the Zoom sessions. It's impossible to replicate a lot of in-person conference experiences, but we wondered if we were doing enough to help new attendees get to know the Users' Group and feel comfortable participating.

Remember: this is your conference--so don't be afraid to let us and / or the committees know what we're doing right, what can get better, and what we haven't even thought of. We hope to hear from you!

Staff of Network Libraries for the Blind and Print Disabled using KLAS met for a virtual session on Wednesday, December 2 during the Online National Library Library for the Blind & Print Disabled's 2020 online national conference. Below is the PowerPoint presentation Keystone shared in both .PPTX and .PDF formats and the notes from the meeting as taken by Erin Pawlus, Secretary, KLAS Users' Group:

• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 - PowerPoint
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 - PDF
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 Notes - MS Word
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 Notes - PDF

Since this is an off-year between KLAS Users' Group Conferences (and what good timing that was!), we've been working with the Programming Committee and your fellow users to bring you periodic online content to help keep you connected and tide us all over to the next conference.

We hope this is a good opportunity for folks who can't usually attend the conferences to get a taste of them, and that they've helped you keep up-to-date and involved. But to make sure we're succeeding--and to get even better--we need to hear from you!

If you haven't yet taken the KLAS Users' Online Programming Survey, please take a few minutes to provide your feedback. It's incredibly valuable, and will help bring you even better online content in the future. We've done our best to keep the survey short and sweet, and it'll inform not only our Fall programming, but maybe even online offerings at future in-person conferences!

Of course, if you have more opinions on the matter than you can fit into the survey, we're always happy to add more voices to the Programming Committee. As Erin says in her invitation for new members, "Being a part of a conference planning committee is a terrific way of getting to know other colleagues and putting a voice to the names!" If you're interested, or just want more info, shoot an email to .

Finally, you know what one of the best things is about online content? That you can always catch up after the fact!

So if you've finished the survey and still find yourself with a little down-time, make sure you're logged in and then follow these links to catch up on what you've missed:

• 5/19/2020 Online KLAS Users' Meetings (Includes links to the Overview of Keystone Systems Updates, KLAS Updates & New Featuresfor Talking Book Libraries, and KLAS Updates & New Features for Instructional Resource Centers sessions)
• 04-23-20 KLAS IRC Users' Roundtable
• 03-19-2020 KLAS Users Roundtable: Duplication on Demand
• 02-20-20 KLAS Q&A with Katy Recording
  
  

We have an important update about KLAS UC 2021: finalized registration costs are now available! Our first online KLAS Users' Conference will occur June 7-10, 2021. Check out the "2021 KLAS Users' Conference Take 2 blog post for the proposed conference schedule.

Conference registration costs are:

• $25 for Individual attendees
• $50 for small groups (2-5 persons)
• $100 for large groups (6-10)

An organization can purchase whatever combination of individual, small, and large group registrations makes sense for the number of staff they want to attend. For example, a library could purchase one small group and one large group registration for a total of $150 to cover up to 15 attendees.

Conference registration fees will go towards the conference platform and video streaming services. This is not intended to be a profit-generating event! That said, the math on this kind of thing is difficult. The per-attendee cost of the event will vary significantly based on how many attendees we have, and while we have a lot of experience budgeting for and operating an in-person conference, an online conference is new to us. If we find that we undershot on the registration fees, Keystone will cover the additional costs. If we end up generating a little extra, it will be used towards the next conference.

We have been working hard to plan an online conference just as worthwhile as an in-person one, with convenience and a lower cost to make up for a lack of local cuisine and charming wildlife (I’m not the only who misses those lizards that were all over Palm Beach...right?). These registration costs will cover the technology needed to make attending sessions, presenting, and networking with your fellow attendees easy. And the group rates will hopefully allow libraries to take full advantage of the absence of travel costs and allow more staff members than ever to attend. 

Call for Session Proposals

If the low registration costs and/or group rates do open the door for you... please consider not just attending, but presenting as well!

Now that the registration costs are finalized, we have reopened the Call for Session Proposals until Friday, March 26.

Anyone is welcome to present, so don’t feel like first-time attendees or KLAS rookies need to sit it out. Everyone has something they can share with their fellow users!

Presenting online has its own challenges, but it has its benefits as well. You can use own equipment that you are already comfortable with. You don't have to project across a loud room or struggle with jet lag, and you can even have your dog, cat, or spouse handy for moral support.

We will provide all presenters with an optional template for PowerPoint, information and training on the conference platform, and practice sessions if you want to test your connection. You also have the option of pre-recording your session if you prefer! If you’d rather not be on-the-spot, you can record your presentation in any video editing software, and send us the recording to “broadcast” during the scheduled time. Attendees will be able to view the pre-recorded session together, with you answering questions or joining the discussion in the text chat.

You are welcome to ask a friend to present with you, gather a few coworkers for a group discussion, or request Keystone provide a “KLAS Expert” to back you up. You could also facilitate a discussion during a Birds of a Feather session on anything from Reader Advisory Services to the APH Census. It’s okay if you don’t know all the details of your presentation yet: proposals can be as vague or specific as you’d like. Our excellent Programming Committee can always work with you to fine-tune things as needed.

This year’s Programming Committee chair Erin Pawlus says: “Presenting has been a positive experience for me – I enjoy sharing tips and tricks on my favorite KLAS functions like the Reader Services Queue, and I often learn a thing or two from the other attendees. It’s very collaborative. Since we are going virtual this year, those who typically are unable to attend the in-person conferences will also be able to share their stories and successes, and make valuable connections with others in the KLAS community at the same time!”

If you have any questions or concerns about presenting, please feel free to contact Erin Pawlus () or me ().

No need to be shy! If there’s something you’d like to share with your fellow users, please fill out the Session Proposal form.

Last week the Palm Beach County Talking Books Service and the Friends of the Palm Beach County Library hosted the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference in West Palm Beach, FL. Attendees were offered hands-on training during the one-day pre-conference and then participated in three days of general and breakout sessions including workshops, seminars, and informal birds-of-a-feather discussions. Opportunities for networking with Keystone staff and other KLAS library staff beyond the official conference sessions occurred during breaks, lunches, the Welcome Reception, and our Thursday afternoon excursion to the Morkiami Japanese Gardens and Museum. Here are some of our favorite photos from the conference. To see more, you can check out our 2019 KLAS Users' Conference Photo Album on Keystone's Facebook page. If you want to share your own conference photos, feel free to upload them to this album on Keystone's Google Drive.

Below is the welcome slide we used throughout the conference. Drea took this photo from the second-floor balcony of the hotel on Sunday before the conference started--the rainbow seemed like a very lucky way to start the conference!

Keynote Speaker Carmencita Mitchell talks about the Waves of Change in inclusive library service.

Katy shares Tips & Tricks for Readers Advisors during a workshop on Tuesday.

Attendees loved the view from the balcony of the Lake Worth Casino during Tuesday evening's Welcome Reception.

We offered a choice of a seafood or a vegetarian paella option for attendees of Tuesday evening's Welcome Reception.

The cooks add shrimp to the paella just before it is served.

Drea and Chandra enjoying the Welcome Reception.

Nancy and Mitake answer the accumulated "Parking Lot Questions" attendees posted throughout the conference.

James and Chandra got the same wardrobe memo on Thursday. Like minds and such...

Excited attendees waiting on the Molley Trolley to head to the Morikami Japanese Gardens & Museum for an afternoon of networking with Keystone staff and other KLAS Users.

To see more, you can check out our 2019 KLAS Users' Conference Photo Album on Keystone's Facebook page. If you want to share your own conference photos, feel free to upload them to this album on Keystone's Google Drive.

Thank you for to all our attendees, speakers, and local hosts, and we look forward to seeing more photos and sharing more info from last week's conference in the near future.

Why do you attend the annual KLAS Users' Conference? Here is what some our of conference attendees had to say:

• "I attend because it's my one opportunity to share face-to-face my issues and triumphs with others in a way that email and online just can't." - Craig, NC
• "I attend the KLAS Users' Conference to network with other Talking Books Libraries, which provides me with new ideas to serve the visually impaired." - Sarah, FL
• "Through collaboration with colleagues and Keystone staff, I learn new, better, and more efficient ways to utilize KLAS that I can bring back to my co-workers." - Teresa, CO
• "Learn about new features in KLAS. Network with other users and discover functions you have not tried before." - Edith, CA
• "I go to talk to the other attendees and see what's going on at their libraries." - Erin, OK
• "I like to attend the conference because I like to hear about the different ways other libraries handle their workflow. Always come back with some good ideas to shake things up." - Sharon, IL
• "As the only staff librarian in Oregon, I often feel like I work in isolation. The work LBPH libraries do doesn’t translate very well to other library work and relating to my in-state colleagues leaves me unfulfilled. The KLAS Users’ Conference is a great way for me to recharge my batteries and other professionals who can relate to the joys and challenges of LBPH work." - Elke, OR
• "Attending the KLAS Users' Conferences provides me the opportunity to encounter awesome ideas and tips...tangible ideas I can take home to improve my library's services...from Keystone staff and personnel from other libraries for the blind." - Andrew, OK
• "The KUC is a chance to get together. We gather to discuss issues technical, and mundane. We laugh, we confer, and we hear from the staff at Keystone. Moreover we are exposed to new places (new to some), new ideas, and new ways to do things." - James, MA
• "The KLAS Users group gives us an opportunity to learn more about our ILS. We can do a better job for our library patrons if we can make the best use of the catalog." - Pat, GA

We hope you join us for June 3-6 for the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference hosted by the Palm Beach County Library Talking Book Service in West Palm Beach, FL!

The KLAS Program Committee has been hard at work and has a new, freshly updated Overview Schedule for the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference ready for you. This is still a draft schedule but has several changes from the version published two weeks ago.

So, how did the committee get here and what do they still have to do?

Here's a brief look at our 2019 KLAS Users' Conference Program Committee Planning Timeframe...

October

• Establish Committee
• Set meeting schedule & expectations
• Begin reviewing feedback from the previous conference

November

• Publish initial Overview Schedule with conference framework with no specific session topics or speakers based on info from the site visit, logistics committee, etc.
• Send out a call for proposals
• Continue reviewing feedback from the previous conference

December

• Continue reviewing feedback from the previous conference
• Review session proposals as they are received
• Identify / discuss other possible session topics

January

• Finalize list of session topics based on conference feedback, proposals received & ideas presented by committee members
• Slate session topics based on the type of session
• Publish updated Overview Schedule with slated session topics

February

• Review & Update Overview Schedule document
• Assign committee member liaison for sessions
• Refine session titles & descriptions
• Recruit additional moderators / presenters

March

• Continue refining session titles & descriptions
• Publish the first draft of the conference agenda
• Communicate deadlines to moderators / presenters

April

• Continue communicating with moderators / presenters
• Review / update Agenda as needed

May

• Publish finalized Agenda document
• Send out presentation template
• Collect presentations for publication

June

• Conference!