These PreConference sessions are not included in the registration fee for the WLA2000 Conference. You must register (and pay) for any of these programs. Registration information will be sent to WLA members and the Puget Sound members of WLMA in late January. Please contact us here if you would like to receive Conference (and PreConference) registration information and ARE NOT a member of the Washington Library Association, or the Washington Library Media Association.

8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Words, pictures, voice, body: presentation techniques for public speaking

As a follow up of last year's Public Speaking 101, this session will take the audience members to the next stage in public presentations. It will include gaining the audience's attention, and present new ways to use words, pictures, voice, and body language to give a presentation that delivers our key message.

PreConference Registration Fee - $50 WLA members / $60 non-members
Presenter: Dr. Michael Buschmohle, Applause Associates
Sponsored by PRForum

Adding Life to your Web Site.

Okay, your library's Internet site has terrific content, but you and everyone else is tired of the way it looks. Your Library Director keeps showing you these terrific commercial sites and then sighs loudly. Trustees ask if the Library actually has a web site. Magazine articles lavishly praise the marvels of animated GIFs, FLASH, RealAudio, GoLive, Fireworks and DreamWeaver. They may as well be speaking Greek.

During this day-long workshop you will be introduced to the tools and techniques that will enable you to transform your ho-hum web site into one that sizzles and sparks. Along the way you'll learn:

• All about javascripting, rollovers, image swapping, meta tags and more.
• How to make search engines positively flock to your site
• Techniques to keep patrons engaged and involved
• Easy ways to add interactivity to your site
• Hot web tools that make your life easier
• How to control web work flow

PreConference Registration Fee - $50 WLA members / $60 non-members
Presenter: the staff of Ivey Seright, Seattle
Sponsored by the WLA2000 Conference Committee

8:30 a.m - Noon

Everything you need to know about the 2000 Census

Data from Census 2000 will be disseminated far differently than in the past. Innovations in the definition, presentation and delivery of products may substantially change the environment for librarians. Learn what's new and what's different about Census 2000. Then, when the actual data becomes available, you'll be able to take advantage of the new data very quickly. This session will include: ·

• An update on Census 2000 activities
• Questionnaire content
• Race and ethnicity: revised standards and tabulation issues
• Data products and dissemination plans
• Demonstration of the American FactFinder Internet access
• Geography and map products

PreConference Registration Fee - $10
Presenter: Cam McIntosh, Information Specialist, U. S. Census Bureau
Sponsored by the WLA2000 Conference Committee

How nimble are your sacred cows?

In his latest book, Peter Drucker opines that 90% of managerial work is the same in every job, and that only 10% is specific to any field. On the roller coaster ride from the depth of a property tax limitation measure to the heights of our new operating levy, Multnomah County Library managers asked themselves: "What skills do we and our staff need to make this organization truly nimble?" We took a controversial step and wrote a recruitment ad for a new group of managers that required the skills we were looking for but didn't require the MLS. The result was six new "Team Developers," two with previous library experience, one with an MLS.

This pre-conference will showcase Multnomah County Library's "team developer initiative", set in the context of the broader change initiative that is underway at MCL and in the county. We'll speak to the underlying goals as well as the results to date-- successes, struggles, and mistakes. Expect an honest, humorous, down-to-earth, practical, provocative and interactive presentation from senior leaders, team developers and librarians.

PreConference Registration Fee - $30 WLA members / $40 non-members
Presenters: Cindy Gibbon, and staff from Multnomah County Library, Oregon
Sponsored by SRRT, LAG

Noon - 1:15 p.m.

No-host Lunch

Persons attending the PreConference programs are welcome to join their colleagues at a no-host lunch (Fajita Bar) at the Sheraton Hotel.

1:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Exploring Census data on the Internet

Explore the wealth of small area data available on the Census Bureau's web page. This web site has everything from data highlights for instant gratification to large files for in-depth research. You will learn about specific retrieval tools, such as the new American FactFinder, as well as the general organization of the Census web page. This one-stop information shopping mall allows you to: ·

• Obtain facts about your community - fast!
• Retrieve quick reports and summary table of statistics on population, housing, and industry and business
• Search Census Bureau data and then select the results you want in tabulations
• Create reference maps to show boundaries and features for geographic entities
• Produce quick thematic maps to reveal geographical patterns in statistical data

PreConference Registration Fee - $10
Presenter: Cam McIntosh, Information Specialist, U. S. Census Bureau
Sponsored by the WLA2000 Conference Committee

How to stay employable into the 21st Century

As the demands of customers and employers change, credentials, age, tenure, and experience are no longer guarantees for career success. First, learn about ten sets of skills that can help keep you employable into the next century, and how to apply them to create your own curriculum for workplace education. Then, learn how to write a resume or professional brochure based on accomplishment, not just job function and chronology, and how to create a marketing plan for your career, both inside and outside of libraries. Finally, learn how to reposition your career so that you run it like a business and treat potential employers like customers. This program has been popular with library audiences at ALA and with library and academic audiences around the country and is particularly useful for individuals thinking about career advancement or a job change.

PreConference Registration Fee - $40 WLA members / $50 non-members
Presenter: Pat Wagner, Pattern Research
Sponsored by WALE

5:30 pm - 7 p.m.

No-host Dinner

Persons attending the PreConference programs are welcome to join their colleagues at a no-host dinner at the Sheraton Hotel.

The Washington Library Association
in partnership with the
Tacoma Public Library's Hug Family Lecture Series
welcomes

Ray Bradbury

The man who invented tomorrow.
8:00 p.m., Wednesday evening, May 17
First Baptist Church
downtown Tacoma
Admission is by ticket only.
All WLA conference goers who register for the WLA2000 Conference on or by April 1, 2000 are guaranteed admission to this very special evening. Please be sure to indicate your interest in attending when you complete your conference registration form.

Read more about this program....