by As OLITA president for a second time, I was again heavily in involved in this year’s Digital Odyssey: Ebook (r)Evolution. The theme seemed perfectly timed and interest in the event was overwhelming – so much so that we increased our registration to capacity and still sold out! Even the days before the conference seemed to be working with our theme, with multiple news reports on ebook use and even the launching of the new Kobo on the conference day. Eric Hellman set the tone of the day with his talk “Why Libraries Exist: Transitioning from print to ebooks”. Talks from the day will soon be available on the Digital Odyssey website.
The great thing about this year’s event was the mix of public, academic and school librarians who attended. Ebooks are having an incredible, and still not completely understood, impact on libraries. Public libraries are dealing with Overdrive, lending limits, and an increasing number of ebook devices. Universities still seem to be concerned primarily with books in browsers, though that may change in the future. Despite the differences in delivery, the event allowed librarians from all sectors to come together and consider how the move to ebooks will affect our patrons, our libraries and out profession.
I’d like to extend huge thanks to everyone who helped make the day such a success: the OLITA council, the OLA office, the student volunteers, and especially the Digital Odyssey Committee – Sally Wilson and Michelle Arbuckle.