Session idea: Data, Data Everywhere: What’s Happening on the Metadata Front

The title is silly, so free to change it.

Thank you, Jon, for suggesting I suggest this.  The basic idea is such — digital collections thrive and decline in part on the metadata, and there’s a lot going on in the area of data. Linked Data appears to promise the implementation of the Semantic Web that we’ve all been waiting for, and Open Data has becoming a rallying point in the private and public sectors. A session on what people are working on in terms of acquiring, enhancing and/or disseminating metadata for their library, archival and other collections would be very informative, I believe.  What successes have been seen/experienced, what attempts failed to yield results, what questions/doubts remain? Are institutions and vendors on-board?

Feel free to hone this, give it more focus, break it up …

Cheers, Eli

My bio:

A major reason why I went to law school is to learn more about legal issues that affect libraries, especially in the digital arena (copyright, cyberlaw and First Amendment/free speech). I’m interested in library technology, especially the use of Web 2.0 software and protocols to make information more accessible to  information seekers, students, users, etc. I see THATCamp Bay Area as a great juxtaposition of tech, formal and informal education initiatives, and open information flows (Creative Commons, Open Access, Open Content, Big Data). I hope to be able to contribute my legal and library knowledge and be part of the ongoing library/open content/tech community.

Introducing Fall 2010 Campers

I’m excited to announce that camper bios for the Fall 2010 THATCamp Bay Area have been posted on the site.  I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of sessions and bootcamps will come out of this group, but I’ve no doubt they are going to be incredible.

Applicants by Sector

With only two days remaining to apply to THATCamp Bay Area, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at a breakdown of our applicants by sector.  These are pretty broad sectors of course, and some people may fit into more than one, but I think it’s useful to break it down.  As we have close to 100 applicants at this point, and only space to accommodate 75, we’ll be looking at sectors as an important factor.

Our three bigges sectors, respectively, are academic, commercial, and library.

Curating or Crowdsourcing Unconferences?

There are a lot of great things about being involved with THATCamp, and I’m super excited about having the opportunity to help organize THATCamp Bay Area October 9-10, 2010.  Not least of those great perks is meeting all kinds of super smart and motivated people who are using their intellect, expertise, and contacts to do something for each other and for the common good.  But there are other aspects which are typical of a growing community or network that require tough decisions that can’t please everyone.

One that we’ve struggled with at THATCamp Bay Area is the question of a curated or crowdsourced gathering, a question very relevant to those in the library, archives, and museum space already!  What I mean by that in this context is whether we should open our rendition of THATCamp to anyone and everyone (crowdsource) and let the chips fall where they may, or should we use an application process to vet invitees to create purposeful cross-disciplinary dynamics (curate)?  I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in both types of unconferences, as have some of the other organizers, and we’ve certainly seen some of the pros and cons of both.  This is something that deserves more discussion amongst the THATCamp community to be sure.

While every regional THATCamp has the ability to organize things their own way, there are several key characteristics (listed on THATCamp.org/about) that we wanted to be sure to abide by. Granted, these are not set in stone, and as THATCamp seems to be a growing movement, some of us have gotten together at THATCamps and other places to talk about these kinds of organizing and network weaving questions.  But one of the key elements here that helped us make the decision of curate vs. crowdsource was that THATCamps have no more than 100 participants.  Since there has never been a THATCamp in the Bay Area, 75-100 seemed like a reasonable number to shoot for, and we began the search for a (non-academic, different story) space to accommodate about that many people, and sponsors to support it.  Once Automattic, the people behind WordPress.com, got behind us and offered to host THATCamp Bay Area at their space, we were on.  We figure we can accommodate about 75 people, and we decided that if we got more applicants than that, we’ll need to do some curating.

Now, just over a week and a half into our month long application window, we already have over 75 applicants.  Assuming there will be more, we’re going to have to make some tough decisions.  So, to the extent that we have to, we’ll be making decisions based on several factors that are intended to extend the reach of THATCamp and inspire more cross-disciplinary events like it in the Bay Area and beyond.  For the sake of transparency and in the hope that our process can help inform other organizers, these are the things we’ll be taking into consideration as we curate this gathering.

• Your applications matter.  We are not asking for a lot of information, but we’re trying to make sure that the people that attend have a passion for their work or vocation or hobby and want to share their experience with others as well as learn new things.  You don’t need technical skills or academic credentials.
• We’re aiming to create cross-disciplinary connections across a wide array of sectors, and so are looking for applicants from as many diverse fields as possible–with not too many from one organization, institution or sector.
• We’re looking for catalysts to keep this conversation going.  We hope that people will take what they learn from this and share it widely, act on it, build collaborations, pursue ongoing conversations, and include others.  Because we have more people interested than we can facilitate, we have an added responsibility to continue opening the conversation.

Clearly, in future THATCamps in the Bay Area, we’ll need to either plan for more participants, or take a FOOcamp model of having nominations.  It will be worth discussing, and in the meantime, there’s great excitement over the demand!

Applications Now Open

Applications are now open for THATCamp Bay Area. Unfortunately, we can only facilitate about 75 people for THATCamp Bay Area, so we’re asking prospective participants to fill out this short application. If you’d like to attend, please complete the application, and keep in mind that your name, website, twitter handle, affiliation, and short bio may be visible to the public on an attendees page on this website. Based on applications and availability, invitations will be emailed no later than September 9. If there is a waitlist, invitees will have a limited amount of time to accept before the spot is offered to someone else. We will do everything we can to accommodate as many attendees as possible.

Please post: Call For Participants

Please print, post, email and otherwise disseminate the Call For Participants for THATCamp Bay Area, October 9-10, 2010. Applications will be open from August 1 – September 1, 2010.

A PDF of the CFP may be downloaded here.

Important Information

We’ve added an About and Logistics page to the site, and have announced that applications will be open from August 1 – September 1, and everyone will be notified no later than September 9.

Save the Date!

THATCamp Bay Area will be held at the Automattic Lounge on Pier 38 in San Francisco, October 9-10, 2010. Stay tuned for more information here, and follow @THATCampSF on Twitter for updates.

Special thanks to Automattic, the people behind WordPress.com for sponsoring THATCamp Bay Area and hosting in their space!