Difference between revisions of "North/Hosting"

Latest revision as of 13:39, 3 June 2019

This page outlines some things to consider when hosting a Code4Lib North, and was inspired by the "How to Plan a Code4LibCon" guide. If you have or will be hosting an event, consider building on this page for future organizers.

Announcing Interest

There isn’t a formal process for announcing Code4lib North hosting. If you/your organization would like to host, try getting in touch with the host from last year to see if anyone else has expressed interest, or try posting on twitter -- otherwise, just put your name down on the wiki!

Scheduling

Past events have taken place on a Thursday/Friday around May or June. Be sure to research other possible conflicting events when deciding on dates.

Talks, Breakouts & Lightning Talks

Attendees can sign up for a talk directly on the wiki. Talks can be anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes (or more, depending on your preferences). Lightning talk signups take place at the event, so it’s a good idea to have a whiteboard or other space for signups.

If there is a small number of signups, consider shortening the event, reducing from two days to one day, or extending the breakout sessions.

Social

Traditionally there’s a social event on the first evening of Code4Lib North. Participants generally pay for their own food/drink, so you just need to make a reservation somewhere and post the location & directions.

Registration

Past registrations have been done through Eventbrite. Make sure to collect dietary restrictions if food will be provided.

Travel

If possible, working with local travel/accommodations to secure a conference rate (e.g. Via Rail, Porter, local hotels or campus accommodations).

Venues & Space

Should have wifi, a projector, space for up to ~50 attendees, outlets, ideally a microphone. You should also consider options for local accommodations and parking.

Coffee/food

Securing funds for and ordering snacks/coffee/lunch. Some past events just provided coffee/tea though, it depends on your options and funds. Participants may go out to local spots for lunch - if this is the case, it can be useful to create a shared google doc that people can sign up on to facilitate different lunch groups.

Communications

Communications and information around Code4Lib North is posted on the wiki. If you don’t have an account, contact Ryan Wick (ryanwick@gmail.com). When starting a new event on the wiki, copy the previous years event to the top of the Code4Lib North past events page. Consider making periodic content backups of your event information, as at least two past events have run into technical issues with the wiki being down during the event.

Promotion

Promote the event widely, including through:

• Twitter -- try using the #code4lib hashtag or the official hashtag for that year (e.g. #c4ln19)
• Code4lib slack -- see https://code4lib.org/slack
• Code4lib mailing list -- see https://lists.clir.org/cgi-bin/wa?A0=CODE4LIB
• Regional Code4Lib groups, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and New York City
• Within the hosting institution and other nearby institutions
• OLITA mailing list -- see https://mailman.mcmaster.ca/mailman/listinfo/olita-l
• OCUL Digital Curation and OCUL IT communities -- see https://ocul.on.ca/ocul-communities
• Lib tech women Google group -- see https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/libtechwomen
• Software/library carpentries communities Slack -- see https://carpentries.org/connect/
• ALA lita lists -- http://www.ala.org/lita/involve/email