Total Library Solutions event

Citation

(2003), "Total Library Solutions event", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 37 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/prog.2003.28037dab.013

Total Library Solutions event

Total Library Solutions event

Total Library Solutions, which took place at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in March 2003, attracted 1,478 librarians from across the UK. Launched by Imark Communications, the organisers of the Online Information conference and exhibition, Total Library Solutions is set to become the UK’s national library show. Katherine Allen, event director, said:

We’re delighted with the level of support we’ve had from the industry’s key suppliers. Exhibitor feedback we’ve received since the event has been overwhelming. The decision to locate the event at the NEC has proved very successful in attracting a high quality UK-wide audience. Librarians from all sectors benefited from a variety of resources ranging from product information, expert opinion and analysis, and the chance to share experiences and knowledge with fellow attendees.

The exhibition featured over 60 exhibitors classified into eight trails to aid navigation around the show – four “product interest” trails encompassed technology, infrastructure, content or services, and four “sector trails” focused on exhibitors which specialise in meeting the needs of the school, public, academic, or special library sectors. Peter Gethin, managing director of Sirsi commented after the show:

Sirsi was very impressed by the number and quality of visitors. It was well worthwhile attending!

The educational sessions were also streamed to cater for individual needs with expert speakers focusing on the school, special, academic and public library sectors. Speakers included: Peter Griffiths, head of information services at the Home Office; Robert Gent, deputy director of library and heritage, Derbyshire County Council; Richard Massey, manager of the Virtual Learning Portal at Nottingham Trent University and Kathy Lemaire, chief executive of the School Library Association.

In addition to the Masterclass programme, vendor seminars gave visitors the opportunity to see library solutions in action, learn from in-depth case studies and ask questions in a pressure-free environment. Presentations were given by staff from the following organisations: Dialog; Ex Libris; NHS Information Authority; Sirsi; Swets Blackwell; and The Copyright Licensing Agency.

The BookTrends Centre, run in conjunction with “The Bookseller” and “Nielsen BookData”, hosted a series of informal talks presented by publishers, librarians and book trade commentators. Total Library Solutions also hosted the launch of a bespoke meeting planning service, accessible via the Web. The service, called “Networking 1-2-1”, is designed to make it easy for visitors to pre-arrange meetings with fellow librarians who share their professional interests. A dedicated meeting area was then situated on the exhibition floor at Total Library Solutions to facilitate networking amongst attendees.

The Internet Librarian International Conference was co-located with Total Library Solutions for the first time. Now in its fifth year, Internet Librarian continues to meet the professional educational needs of today’s Internet information manager and user. Katherine Allen, commented:

Imark Communications are pleased to be working closely with Internet Librarian to make the NEC the annual focal point for the library community.

Imark Communications have announced that the next Total Library Solutions event will take place from 3-4 March 2004 at the NEC, Birmingham. Imark Communications and Learned Information are companies of VNU Business Media Europe and merged their operations in January 2002. VNU also publishes the information industry’s magazine, Information World Review.

For further information please contact: Marketing Manager, Learned Information Europe Ltd, Woodside, Hinksey Hill, Oxford OX1 5BE, UK. Tel: +44(0) 1865 388000; Fax: +44(0) 1865 736354; E-mail: rebekah_hart@learned.co.uk; URL: www.online-information.co.uk