The last morning of the Evolving Library Services for Digital Natives event was spent working in groups. First, 11 groups brainstormed potential services/programs that libraries could provide to service digital natives. All these ideas were shared and will soon be available on the ICFL website. Then, new groups chose one idea from the brainstormed lists and began to plan what it would take to implement it. These plans will also be made available on the ICFL website as soon as they are transcribed.

Before closing up the conference, the experts gathered one last time on the stage for some final thoughts. I can’t provide the wrap up of Stephen’s remarks, as they took place while I tried to deal with a technical glitch with my laptop. The irony was not lost on me, but I did manage to capture a couple of his ideas:

Snapshirts.com – they have library t-shirts. One says “librarian” in a Google style.

Landsend.com – you can order a shirt from them and have something embroidered on it. Stephen suggests that you add to the back of it, “just ask me to turn around and I’ll help you.” Because most of the time our backs are to the customer.

Aaron’s wrap up:

The teens we heard on Wednesday all mentioned that they listened to the radio a lot. Are we putting ads on the radio?

Gaming: We’ve talked about 2 aspects of gaming: holding a gaming event where we provide the content and using games to educate. Aaron found a few educational games just that morning and posted about them on his blog.

Sarah’s wrap up:

Most of what we’ve talked about the past couple days are either free or very low cost. But, there’s a barrier: Do you have a flex spending account in your library so you can make those small purchases. If not, create a tech slush fund. So you can experiment with low-cost options.

Upon reentering the workplace after this, go slowly. Your coworkers weren’t here to be inspired; they may need to be gently introduced to some of this

Ongoing learning – keep track of the free online learning (like those available through SirsiDynix, WebJunction’s eLearning Clearinghouse, and California’s InfoPeople webcasts. There’s also OPAL (online programming for all libraries), which provides programming for librarians, but also programs for patrons like book discussion groups and they are open to anybody.

Sarah is often asked, “How do I prove that IM isn’t going to destroy our network?” and “How do I prove that MySpace isn’t dangerous?” You are librarians; there is research available. Pretend that’s a reference question and turn it around and answer it. If you can’t find an article, contact the panel of experts or someone at ICFL. Any of them will help you find something.