* Apply to be a host== General Process ==
* Consider your action plan** Identify your venues for both the conference and the hotel (if different). This While this is critical, as you'll want to get some cost estimates from each. When we hosted in Corvallis, the campus provided general chronology of running the conference space at a low cost, and this made running the conference much more affordableit never hurts to plan ahead. When we hosted Before hosting proposals for the conference in Portlandnext year are solicited, and held everything in a single hotel, we had to acquire 2x the amount you can prepare some components of sponsorship than what appears to be normalyour proposal.** Speaking of sponsorship, I believe we average around 20k per year in sponsorships to help run the conference and keep the registration low. Factor this into Before your budget.** Alsoproposal is accepted, when you get cost estimates, don't forget can recruit volunteers to include food costsserve on committees.** WIRELESS: Always an issue In particular, it seems. If you are proposing helps to host the conference on a campus, check with your IT folks about any additional costs. If you are looking have at least a hotel or other venue, make sure you talk to them about bandwidth and costs. IMHO, few initial people who will form the two things that really need to be addressed each year are connectivity and food - everything else generally manages itself in terms nucleus of facilities.** See if your institution has a conference planning services group or something similar - if it does, then I highly recommend using them. They'll handle registration, budgeting, contracts, etc, and really make life easy.** Regarding conference hotel, you'll want to make sure that there are blocks of rooms available - not usually too bad an issue in larger towns, but in some college or smaller towns, hotel rooms may be limited.** Remember, your institution is taking the risk of covering any costs not covered by registrations and sponsorships. To this point, I believe the conference has always ended up in the black, but there is always a chance it won't in a given year. Drafting a rough budget before submitting a proposal is criticalLocal Planning Committee (LPC).
* When the call for next year's host goes out, '''prepare a proposal'''
** See [[Successful Code4Lib Conference Proposals]] from prior years
** '''Identify venues''' for both the conference and the hotel (if different).
** '''Prepare cost estimates'''. The primary factors are:
*** Lodging (hotels) - see if hotels offer discounted room block quotes
*** Venues (conference, workshop, reception, other activities)
*** Catering
*** Wireless: If you are proposing to host the conference on a campus, check with your IT folks about any additional costs. If you look at a hotel or other venue, make sure you talk to them about bandwidth and costs.
*** Do you have organizational relationships which might ensure extra sponsorships? If so, factor in that this might reduce the registration cost. For instance, when we were at the Library of Congress in 2018, they were also [https://2018.code4lib.org/sponsors/ our largest sponsor].
*** You can reference data from previous years to estimate minimums and maximums.
** '''Use our conference planner (CONCENTRA)'''
*** Since 2014 in NC, Code4lib has contracted with [https://www.concentra-cms.com CONCENTRA] to help manage and plan the conference. Their expertise is invaluable. You can ask them questions while preparing your proposal. CONCENTRA knows Code4Lib and our unique structure and well as how to plan various aspects of conferences (hotel room block, catering, bus to reception, etc.). Look for Jennifer Cummings in Slack or use their site's contact link.
*** See if your institution has a conference planning services group or something similar - if so, they can also be very helpful and will know more about campus spaces and costs (e.g. if there are free rooms to use for pre-conferences).
* Get approved by the community and start planning
** Receive access to the Code4Lib Conference Drive folders with information from prior years
** Construct a planning timeline (see templates in Drive)
** Find a hotel, negotiate and sign a contract with them. CONCENTRA does this but this [[Sample RFI]] is still a useful reference; '''note the WiFi requirements'''
** Put out a call for committee volunteers (on the listserv, in Slack)
* '''Put on an amazing conference!''' If you get this far, you have survived the worst part.
* The final duties of LPC are putting out the call for next year's proposals and writing up reflections.
* Get approved by the community* Find a hotel, negotiate and sign a contract with them* Invite the community to help with * Have a timeline== Location ==
Code4Lib has been hosted on university campuses and also located purely in hotels. Campus facilities tend to be more affordable, but housing can be scattered and challenging. Hotels are more expensive but cohesive.
== Important Public Resources ==* Past calls If your campus or town has a conference center, that is a logical starting point. Large hotels are also an option. In recent years, the conference has been smaller (a little over 200 attendees). If you are unsure how many attendees to plan for host sites: , look at [http://code4lib.org/node/275 2010[Conference_Financial_History_At_A_Glance|historical attendance] - * [http://dewey.library.nd] figures or ask in the code4libcon channel in Slack.edu/mailingIn general, 200-lists/code4lib/ Code4Lib listserv]* [http://groups400 attendees is a good range.google.com/group/code4libcon Code4LibCon listserv]* Sponsorship info (public)* [http://code4lib.org/logo/ Logos]
== Important Private Resources ==* Code4LibCon-hostsite listserv* Budgets A couple of isolated rooms for the conference but away from previous years* Sponsorship info (the main space are important for both the Community Support Squad to hold private)discussions and to private a place of quiet respite for weary conference-goers.
=== Workshops ===
== Program Committtee==The program committee is a selfWorkshops have been held before and after the conference. They are referred to as "pre-selected group that manages talk proposals conferences" or "post-conferences" in planning and other aspects of publicity materials. There should be space to facilitate 10-20 workshops. It is helpful if they can be located in the programsame building but not necessary.
(Add more info These can be class or meeting rooms but should have a projector and ideally a whiteboard. Electricity for the program committee here!)attendees is also important.
===Talk Rejection Letter (sample)Reception ===<pre>I'm sorry, but your prepared talk proposal for the 2010 Code4Lib Conference in Asheville, NC did not receive enough votes to make it into the program. But here are a couple things you should know:
- The field of presentations was very large (probably A nice reception venue can be appealing to many attendees. In the largest past, we have had so far) gone to museums, libraries, and very strongmore fun venues. If Philadelphia, so you should not take it too hardwe went to The Mütter Museum. In D.C.- Please remember that there are many additional opportunities for participating, including lightning talks (open we went to anyone)the Library of Congress. In Michigan, breakout sessions (open we went to anyone to suggest and/or participate), and a special "Ask Anythingfowling" (or reply anythingfootball bowling) open session. Also, the evening socializing opportunities are considered some of the most rewarding times of the event.
Again, my condolences on A nice reception at a separate location is not having your talk proposal accepted, but I hope we still see you strictly necessary. It might be possible to do catering at the conference venue in Ashevillethe evening, NC in Februaryfor instance.Roy</pre>== Shortly before the Conference ==
=== Keynotes Transportation ===# Contact speakers in advance to ask if they need anything, arrange airport pickup, etc
=== Freenode IRC connection ===Historically, conference attendees have had trouble maintaining persistent connections Consider how folks coming into town will get to the #code4lib IRC channeltheir lodging. We'd always assumed we were overwhelming Is the conference facility's Internet connection, but we were actually running into Freenode's IP-based connection limits. Freenode is supportive of the IRC-as-backchannel model, however, and they're happy airport far? Are there free shuttles? Is it possible to work with organizers to raise the connection limit.get there via a major railway?
Contact the conference facility in advance If lodging and see if you can find out what your ''public IP address range'' the venue are separate, how will be during attendees get to the conference. (venue? Are there shuttles? If it starts with 10.*we need to purchase a bus, 192.168.*, or 172.16.*, ask again -- those are "private" IP ranges used for connection sharing.)how much will it cost?
Once you have the IP address or rangeMost years, send an email to [mailto:ilines@freenode.net ilines@freenode.net] containing we pay for a request bus to raise the connection limit. Include conference inforeception venue, IP range(s), and the expected number of connectionsas it tends to be in a different location. For example:
To: ilines@freenode.net Hello, I'm helping plan the code4lib 2010 conference, taking place in Asheville, NC next week. Since our backchannel runs through #code4lib on Freenode, we're trying to plan ahead to avoid running up against the connection limit. Would it be possible to raise the cap for us during the conference? Details follow. Conference: code4lib 2010 < http://code4lib.org/conference/2010/ > Dates: February 22-26, 2010 Attendees: 250 Location: Renaissance Asheville Hotel, Asheville, NC IP Ranges: 12.21.216.106 and the entire 12.21.217.0/24 block We encourage in-channel participation, so we expect a high percentage of attendees to be connected at once. We'll also have two or three channel bots connected from the conference for the lobby monitors. Please let me know if you need any further information, and thanks very much for your help! Michael=== Local Appeal ===
I received an automated reply with a ticket number almost instantly, but didn't hear back after that. I sent a quick followup early on Successful proposals in the morning of the 22ndpast included local spots that attendees will be interested in: cultural institutions, tourist attractions, book stores, libraries, restaurants, and received nightlife. The Social Activities committee plans around these venues. It is nice to have a response nighttime location where Game Night can be held (from which can be a humanworkshop room) letting me know that it had been taken care of.
Additional support There is available nothing wrong with doing a conference in a location we've been to before, or in a location that is close to last year's location. In the past, Code4Lib tended to bounce between the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest, but that is not a requirement and should not dissuade any location from submitting a proposal. == Committee List == Each year we copy the helpful volunteer Freenode staff prior year's list of committees (see [[:Category:Conference Committees]]) to a new wiki page. If you are looking for information on a committee or new volunteers, prior years can provide some names, but know that not all committees keep their membership on the wiki up to date. Brief descriptions of the primary committees: * Planning (LPC) - primary committee, should have delegates on most others, makes major decisions* Website - creates and updates the website using a template and data provided by other committees* Sponsorship - acquires sponsorships to reduce costs* Keynote - solicits suggestions from community and communicates with keynote candidates* Pre-conference - plans workshops* Program - plans posters and conference talks* Scholarship - solicits diversity scholarship applications and selects candidates* Community Support Squad (CSS) - enforces the [https://github.com/code4lib/code-of-conduct Code of Conduct]* T-Shirt - solicits T-Shirt designs* Social Activities - plans social events at the conference such as Game Night* Streaming - runs the livestream* Host Voting - solicits proposals for next year* Accessibility - consults on physical and digital accessibility, e.g. of venues and the conference websites You will also need on-site volunteers during the conference for tasks like MCing the conference, timing talks, and running microphones for audience questions. Code4Lib is democratic; most committees faced with multiple options (keynote, pre-conference, program, t-shirt, host voting) host community votes to determine some or all of their choices. Some committees are small, even a single person. Some years may have some unique committees not present in the #freenode channellist above. For more information on any particular committee, look in their Drive folder or on the wiki. == Planning == === Budgeting === * [[Conference_Financial_History_At_A_Glance]] === Wireless === Historically, Code4Lib has had trouble with wifi bandwidth at venues. Hotels will lie about their wifi. Try to receive assurance that every attendee will be able to simultaneously have 1-2 devices connected to the network. It's best if you are able to visit the venue to verify its network characteristics. It is good if the venue allows VPN traffic as many folks use a work VPN. It's also nice if commonly used ports, like 22 for ssh/git, are usable. Aspiration Tech (an org doing unconference facilitation) has developed a [http://facilitation.aspirationtech.org/index.php?title=Logistics:Wireless_Best_Practices great list for assessing and negotiating event wifi].
== At the Conference ==
===KeynotesCode of Conduct ===# Water at the podium# Speaker gifts# Dinner plans
LPC may be consulted by the CSS if a Code of Conduct violation occurs. These have sometimes necessitated someone being removed from the conference or an announcement being made from the stage. === Timers Keynotes === * Sit in the front of the roomSpeaker gifts* Have several peopleSmall honorarium* You may want Offer to use an extra machine* Here's what some of the software looks like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393891356/ (ask Ed Corrado for details)* Dan Chudnov says the best free timer app for OSX is http://www.apimac.com/timer/make dinner plans
=== Lightning Talks ===
* Everybody lines up ahead of time (image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393881044/ )
* Sign up ahead of time on papers in the venue
* Load slides onto the podium in the break before
* Everybody lines during the time slot (image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393881044/ )
=== Conference ===
* Power - everyone would like to plug in their laptop (and possibly their phone)
=== Photography ===
Code4Lib uses different colored lanyards to articulate personal photography preferences.
* Green = it's ok to take my picture
* Yellow = please ask before taking my picture
* Red = don't take my picture
=== Podium ===
# Water at the podium
# Provide height adjustable podium, if available. Otherwise:
# Provide a stand (apple box?) for presenters who would like to use one
=== Video ===
# Videos are streamed at https://youtube.com/code4lib
# Presenters can opt out of having their likeness recorded and streamed. They may not opt out of having their voice and presentation (i.e. slides, etc.) recorded and streamed.
# Presenters must not use unlicensed music in their presentation. Likewise, unlicensed music must not be used between presentations.
# Video must be able to work with the house A/V crew and set up the day before the main con begins.
# Lighting must be provided for the speakers.
=== Calls for Hosting ===
'''To do''': This has not been kept up to date. We should use examples from recent years and remove older ones.
See [[:Category:Conference Hosting Proposals]].
{| class="wikitable"! Year of proposal! Text of call! Call issued! Deadline for submission! Weeks to submit! Voting start! Voting end! Weeks to vote! Announcement|-|2010|[https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=CODE4LIB;tBeDRg;201002051132430800 Code4Lib 2011 Hosting Proposals Solicited]|5 Feb|5 Mar|4 weeks|||||-|2011|[https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2= Ask Anything===CODE4LIB;R8d%2FBw;20101210153936%2B0000 Code4Lib 2012 Call for Host Proposals]* Need mics |10 Dec, 2010|23 Jan (Sun)|6 weeks + 3 days|25 Jan (Tue)|9 Feb (3rd day of conf)|2 weeks + 2 days|10 Feb (last day of conf)|-|2012|[https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=CODE4LIB;9k0n8A;20111201184554%2B0000 Code4Lib 2013 Call for people to line up at Host Proposals]|1 Dec, 2011|22 Jan (image: httpSun)|7 weeks + 4 days|25 Jan (Wed)|8 Feb (3rd day of conf)|2 weeks + 1 day|9 Feb (last day of conf)|-|2013||||||||15 April?|-|2014|[https://wwwlistserv.flickrnd.comedu/photoscgi-bin/schwartzraywa?A2=CODE4LIB;f5d2e9cb.1401 Call for proposals to host Code4Lib Conference in 2015]|29 Jan|12 Mar (Wed)|6 weeks + 1 day|14 Mar (Fri)|26 Mar|1 week + 6 days|27 Mar (Thursday; last day of conf)|-|2015|[https:/4393838640/ listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=CODE4LIB;1b38757a.1501 Call for proposals to host Code4Lib Conference in 2016]|8 Jan|20 Feb (Fri)|6 weeks + 2 days|23 Feb (Mon)|6 Mar|1 week + 5 days|9 Mar (Mon)|-|2016||19 Jan (Tue)|1 Mar (Tue)|6 weeks|3 Mar (Thu)|15 Mar (Tue)|1 week + 5 days (note conf is Mar 7-10)|16 Mar (Fri)|}
==Further Readings =Book Raffle===* (image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393619144/ with people for context: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393623802/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4384550127/ ), better if there's a table
=== Flipcharts ===Flipcharts can be useful, but itThe most recent year's important Lessons Learned (in Drive) are more likely to decide what to put be relevant. Some of these links are quite old but may still contain valuable insight on problems that have happened over the wiki/website and what to put on a flipchart:images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4392998501/ http://www.flickryears.com/photos/47860563@N05/4388430079/
== Suggested Timeline ==* [[Code4Lib Conference Lessons Learned]] (from 2014)* See [[C4L2010planning2017_Lessons_Learned]] for an example * [https://medium.com/@louisrosenfeld/how-to-organize-a-conference-567fb50ccdbd How To Organize a Conference] - Some excellent thoughts on conferences in general.
[[Category: Code4Lib2010]][[Category: Code4Lib2011Code4LibCon Planning]]