Seems like I’ve been here before …
I think in 2007 for the same library technology conference I’m at now, and in 2009 for the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting.
The Blue Bear is still here, but the sculptor who made it died last month.
Blue Bear at the Denver Convention Center, “I see what you mean”, by Lawrence Argent
I started writing this on Friday, in a session where an IS prof and lawyer was talking about copyright. Since then, I’ve gone to sessions on project management (where the speakers described project managers as the guardians of the galaxy, and came in costume; a super tall Groot, Star Lord, Gamora, and the racoon) and usability testing, interviews and personas, and one 20-minute session that purported to be about UX, but covered about six projects loosely related to UX, at breakneck speed. The speakers were from Cornell, and actually began the presentation by saying they started the projects because they had endowment to spend down. Yea. The last session of the day was about how U of Michigan is getting rid of their old search interface, and going to a new one. I think on Sunday I’m going to a session on implementing the old one, at U of Illinois. Everything old is new again.
My favorite appetizers at the conference reception were the bacon shots, nice thick hunks of bacon that had been marinated in I think beer & brown sugar, and the served in shot glasses; and the jalapeño poppers – jalapeño peppers stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon. The poppers seemed more cookie-party-able than the bacon, but I’d have to get a crapload of jalapeños.