A statement regarding the 2021 KLAS Users' Conference & COVID-19:

With the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to assure you the Logistics Committee is taking the utmost precautions in preparation for the 2021 KLAS Users' Conference.

While you have seen information for an in-person conference, the Committee has not ruled out the need to go virtual depending on the pandemic and possible travel restrictions and concerns many of the users may have. Moving forward, the Logistics Committee will continue to monitor the situation and will make a final determination on an in-person, hybrid, or virtual conference by May 1, 2021.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Buzolich, President, KLAS Users' Group & Chandra Thornton, Chair, Logistics Committee

First, we want to thank everyone who responded to our 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Planning Survey. We heard you, and we're moving forward based on your input.

The Program and Logistics Committees, the KLAS Users' Group Officers', and Keystone staff have been working diligently to figure out how to shift the conference to an online event. We're really embracing our conference theme of "Challenges, Changes & Creativity"! In the past few weeks, we've shifted our planning timeline and had discussions about dates, schedule, event management software and services, registration costs, session proposals, and more.

Today, we're excited to share that the 2021 KLAS Users' Conference will be June 7-10, 2021 with the below proposed schedule for each day:

To give all our attendees the best experience possible, we're planning to use an online event platform. We've evaluated a number of different ones and currently plan to use PheedLoop. Last week, the Planning Committees and Users' Group Officers had an opportunity to see the event participant side of the platform and were impressed with their available features for networking, session scheduling and access, and extensive accessibility options.

Using this platform, conference attendees will be able to attend sessions live or review the recordings later on, message each other privately or in subject groups, and even share files with their fellow users. While it can't fully replicate the feeling of all sitting around the same table, we hope that this format will allow us to bring as much of the full conference experience as possible.

Individual and group registration rates are still being finalized and will be announced soon.

We're hoping more KLAS Users will be able to participate in this year's conference than ever before, since there is no travel required! See you there!

Below you will find the latest udpated about the 2021 ONLINE KLAS Users' Conference. Please let us know if you have any questions or need additional information.

2021 KLAS Users' Conference Website & Attendee Portal:

• 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Website
• 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Virtual Attendee Portal

Theme: Challenges, Changes & Creativity

Overview Schedule:

• KLAS UC 2021 Overview Schedule with Sessions - PDF
• Overview schedule in spreadsheet format on Keystone's Google Drive.

Format:

To give our attendees the best experience possible, we will be using the PheedLoop online event platform. The Planning Committees and Users' Group Officers had an opportunity to see the event participant side of the platform and were impressed with the features for networking, session scheduling and access, and extensive accessibility options.  

Using this platform, conference attendees will be able to attend sessions live or review the recordings later on, message each other privately or in subject groups, and even share files with their fellow users. While it can't fully replicate the feeling of all sitting around the same table, we hope that this format will allow us to bring as much of the full conference experience as possible.

Registration:

Go here to begin your 2021 KLAS Users' Conference attendee registration. 

The deadline to register is 8:00 PM Eastern / 5:00 PM Pacific Friday, June 4. If you have any questions about the group registration process, check out this step-by-step for a detailed explanation with screenshots.

Conference Registration is now open!To make this year's process easier than ever, we chose to use the PheedLoop platform to handle registration and even credit card payments. Yes, you can pay via a credit card this year! If you prefer or need to still pay by check, you can also download an invoice directly from the registration page.

• $25 for individual attendee tickets
• $50 for small group tickets (2-5 persons)
• $100 for large group tickets (6-10 persons)

Group Ticket Purchases: Example: To purchase one Large Group Ticket for 10 people, select 1 "Large Group Ticket" with your name listed as the "Attendee". Then proceed through the payment and checkout options and then add the other 9 persons as "complimentary ticket" holders when prompted to do so. Each listed attendee will be emailed their ticket info separately. An organization can purchase whatever combination of individual, small, and large group tickets makes sense for the number of staff they want to attend. For example, a library can purchase one small group and one large group ticket for a total of $150 to cover up to 15 attendees.

Registration fees go towards the conference platform and video streaming services. This is not intended to be a profit-generating event! That said, the math on this kind of thing is difficult. The per-attendee cost of the event will vary significantly based on how many attendees we have, and while we have a lot of experience budgeting for and operating an in-person conference, an online conference is new to us. If we find that we undershot on the registration fees, Keystone will cover the additional costs. If we end up generating a little extra, it will be used towards the next conference.

Just over a week or so ago we published an updated overview schedule and full agenda for the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference. Now that you've had a chance to read it, we'd like to talk about some of the new session offerings for this year that you might have noticed including:

• Cards & Connections
• Keystone Answers Your Parking Lot Questions
• Choose Your Own Adventure

Confused? Well, today I'm going to take a minute to share some info about each.

Cards & Connections

Do you want an informal way to meet other conference attendees?

Do you like card or board games?

Well, on Monday night we plan to meet up in the lobby of the hotel for just this purpose. Some Keystone staff are planning to bring versions of their favorite games and invite you to as well. I've already committed to making sure there's at least one Quiddler deck there. We're also planning to have some traditional playing cards available in accessible formats. So, after you grab some dinner Monday night, come meet us in the lobby of the hotel for some fun.

And if you have fun, be sure to let us know! We can always add another session on Wednesday evening.

Here's the official description from the conference agenda:

Join us for an informal gathering where we encourage you to try a new game (or teach others an old favorite) & meet a new colleague. Braille, high contrast, and large print options will be available.

Keystone Answers Your Parking Lot Questions

This is a new idea from the Conference Program Committee. There are always times throughout the conference when a question comes up during a session or informal conversation, but either Keystone staff aren't available to answer it right away or the session presenter is pressed for time. In situations like this, we encourage you to write your question down on one of the provided sticky notes and add it to the "parking lot" to wait for an answer. We will review all submitted questions and try to identify and prioritize those we can answer during Thursday morning's session.

If we don't get to your answer during the session, or it's very detailed and specific to your organization, we will provide you an answer once we're back in the office--so be sure to put your name and email address on the back of your question.

Choose Your Own Adventure

You can blame me for this session, which will be held on Thursday afternoon. For a couple of years, we offered an Unconference session where we allowed attendees to identify 4-5 topics that then became the basis for conversation at a designated table. Attendees were able to move between tables and learn more about any topic they might be interested in. This format had its benefits, but we were also concerned that we were spreading things too thin trying to cover all of them. Some tables would sit empty, and some attendees would worry that by sitting in on one conversation, they'd be missing out on another. So this year, I suggested we try a new approach.

Instead of presenting 4-5 "Unconference" topics, this year we're narrowing the number of topics: we will be seeding some options, then inviting attendees to suggest others, and vote on which will ultimately be discussed during this session. So, like in a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, the topic(s) to be addressed during this session will be up to you. Be on the lookout for a link to vote, submit your own topic suggestions, and help choose the kind of adventure we will all go on together!

Today's KeyNotes blog post is all about upcoming IRC / IMC KLAS user-relevant events, including:

• IRC KLAS Administrator Online Training
• KLAS IRC / IMC Users' Group Session at the virtual APH 2020 Annual Meeting
• 10/22/2020 KLAS IRC Users' Roundtable

2021 KLAS Users' Conference

Read on for more details about each of these...

IRC KLAS Administrator Online Training 

In September, we conducted our first online KLAS Administrator's Training session. Next week's blog post will share details and feedback about how it went. Before that, however, I want to share the news that we are planning to offer it again and want our next session to be IRC focused. The thing is... we need your help to figure out when to schedule it so it works best for those attending.

The training is held over the course of a week, Monday through Thursday, with two sessions each afternoon (to allow participants to join from any time zone), and includes pre-class worksheets that we recommend filling out to prepare for each session and a printed Administrator's Reference manual which will be mailed to you. This training is limited to attendees who have a KLAS Administrator role, including the authority to change records and policies for their KLAS system. If you fit this description and wish to participate, please complete this short survey to help us determine the best time to offer it.

Administrator training costs $600 per attendee, but the online format means that there is no longer any need for additional travel costs.

KLAS IRC / IMC Users' Group at APH 2020 Annual Meeting

We hope all IRC / IMC staff who registered for the virtual APH 2020 Annual Meeting plan to join us for the KLAS IRC / IMC Users' Meeting at 10 AM ET / 7 AM PT on Thursday, October 8. This year's session is limited to one hour because of the compressed conference schedule, so our plan is to:

• present some highlights of what we've added to KLAS for IRCs, and what's coming next
• share some news about upcoming IRC focused training
• have a bit of time for Q&A

10/22/2020 KLAS IRC Users' Roundtable

Additionally, knowing the limited time we will have during the APH Conference, the KLAS Program Committee decided our next KLAS IRC Users' Roundtable will be held Thursday, October 22 at 3 PM ET / Noon PT. We're excited to announce that Jared Leslie, AZ IRC, will be moderating the session. We hope it will be an opportunity to continue the discussion on any topics we don't have time to fully address during the APH meeting, provide more time for users to share feedback and tips and tricks, and an additional opportunity to demo new features and functionality.

• Log-in information will be posted to the KLASUsers e-list and in the "Upcoming Webinars & Roundtables" article approximately one week prior to the roundtable.

2021 KLAS Users' Conference

Finally, we want to remind you that we're are in the process of planning an in-person 2021 KLAS Users' Conference (with the knowledge that we need to be willing to adapt and change depending on the state of COVID-19). At this time, the plan is for it to be held at Tennessee School for the Blind in Nashville from June 29-July 1, 2021. This will be our first biennial conference AND the first hosted by an Instructional Resource Center. Accommodations information will be available in the near future.

We sincerely thank Dr. Kathy Segers, Director of Accessible Instructional Materials and Outreach Services, Tennessee School for the Blind for being willing to host for 2021 KLAS Users' Conference. We look forward to working with you to plan an informative, inspirational, and rewarding experience for all our attendees. The Program and Logistics Committees are already actively meeting with the goal of bringing you a well-planned conference offering opportunities for sharing great ideas and learning new ways to use KLAS to help improve the services your organization provides.

Keystone is offering a two-day in-depth training, round-table, and user feedback opportunity for KLAS Instructional Resource Center / Instructional Materials Center Users. An agenda with full details of each day's activities will be available soon.

Note: Keystone reserves the right to cancel or reschedule.

Prerequisites for attendance:

• Attendee must have a KLAS Administrator role in their local system
• Attendee has authority to change records and policies for their KLAS system

KLAS IRC Symposium Dates & Times:

• Tuesday, October 29 - Wednesday, October 30, 2019
• Each day's sessions will run from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

KLAS IRC Symposium Agenda

IRC Symposium agenda updated as of October 14, 2019. Also, you must be logged-in to klasusers.com to access these documents.

• KLAS v7 IRC Symposium UPDATED Agenda - MS Word
• KLAS v7 IRC Symposium UPDATED Agenda - PDF

Cost:

• $300 for the two-day symposium
• Please make checks payable to Keystone Systems, Inc

Hotels & Airport Transportation Information:

• Travel Information - MS Word
• Travel Information - PDF

Transportation:

Please contact your hotel to arrange shuttle service to and from the airport.
Local transportation to and from the hotel to Keystone's offices will be provided.

Please contact Tracey Fye if you have any difficulty making reservations, or have any questions about accommodations.

Tracey Fye
Keystone Systems, Inc.
Email:
Phone: 1-919-782-1143 or 1-800-222-9711

Registration:

Please use the below Training Registration Form to indicate that you would like to attend.

To reserve your space please register before September 30, 2019.

In addition to the move to an online meeting, the APH staff have also made some changes to the usual schedule. Things are starting a bit later each day to accommodate persons in western time zones and the schedule is a bit more compressed, but many of the typical sessions are still being offered, such as the tours of APH. We're already making plans for the KLAS Users' Group Meeting which will be on Thursday morning of the meeting as usual, but our start time will be a bit later than normal at 10 AM Eastern / 7 AM Pacific.

Unfortunately, being virtual means we won't be able to provide breakfast for our attendees, but we do encourage you to grab a cup of coffee or tea at home and join us for the KLAS IRC / IMC Users' Group meeting. We will share recent updates to KLAS and Keystone services, plans for upcoming development, and provide opportunities for feedback and Q&A. If you have any topics or questions you'd like us to be sure we address, please post them to the klasusers.com IRC / IMC discussion forum and / or email Drea () or Katy () with your suggestions.

So remember, if you want to attend the KLAS Users' Group session at the Virtual APH 2020 Annual Meeting, register for the conference and be sure to select the KLAS concurrent meeting on Thursday, October 8 at 10 AM Eastern.

We look forward to "seeing" you there!

I pulled out my new 2019 calendar and all of a sudden the next KLAS Users' Conference is THIS YEAR and not NEXT. But, there's no reason to panic because the Program and Logistics Committees have been actively meeting on a monthly basis since last fall and have made some great progress in planning for your attendance. Do you know who those people are and what kind of work they do? First, let's introduce you to the people who are bringing you this year's "Waves of Change."

Who are they?

Below are the persons serving on the Planning Committees for the 2019 KLAS User's Conference.

2019 KLAS Users' Conference Program Committee:

• Chandra Thornton, KLAS Users' Group Vice President, Program Committee Chair, 2019 KLAS User's Conference Host, Palm Beach County Library System Talking Books Library
• Erin Pawlus, KLAS Users' Group Secretary, Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library
• Sue Walker, KLAS UC 2018 Host, Idaho Commission for Libraries Talking Book Service
• Vanessa Meadows, KLAS UC 2017 Host, Georgia Library for Accessible Statewide Services
• Cyndi Hammonds, California Department of Education
• Amy Ravenholt, Washington Talking Book and Braille Library
• Katy Patrick, Keystone Systems
• Andrea Callicutt, Keystone Systems

2019 KLAS Users' Conference Logistics Committee:

• Craig Hayward, KLAS Users' Group President, Logistics Committee Chair, North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• Sarah Smedley, 2019 KLAS User's Conference Host, Palm Beach County Library System Talking Books Library
• Nancy Reese, KLAS UC 2018 Host, Idaho Commission for Libraries Talking Book Service
• Andrew Shockley, KLAS UC 2015 Host, Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• Debbie Martin, Brevard County Talking Books Library
• John Mugford, New Mexico Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• Andrea Callicutt, Keystone Systems

What do they do?

The Planning Committees usually meet on a monthly or bi-monthly basis depending on what work is currently needing to be done. The Logistics Committee focuses on planning the conference's transportation, catering, registration, welcome reception, and networking excursion. The Program Committee plans the conference content by identifying topics of interest, seeking out presenters, and creating a schedule all while trying to appeal to the varied job functions, skill sets, and learning styles of our attendees. Both pay close attention to the commentary and ideas that arise from previous year's feedback forms and follow-up surveys as they plan. They also look for new ideas that could benefit our attendees and bounce them off one another.

When an organization offers to host a conference we do ask if a member / members of their staff can serve on each committee the year before, the of, and the year after they host. We also encourage other persons to serve on the committees who have an interest in contributing to the planning of the conference's content or the details of attendees' experiences while there.

At this time, much of the preliminary logistics planning has been completed and that committee is now focusing on more detailed decisions, such as our reception entertainment and which menus to choose for provided meals. At the same time, our Program Committee has now done a thorough review and discussion of session feedback, sent out a call for proposals, created an initial overview schedule, and will soon be contacting additional possible presenters and finalizing session topics with the goal of publishing the next draft of the conference schedule before January 31.

If you have any questions about how these committees operate or they work they do, please feel free to contact anyone serving on them. Or, if you are interested in serving on a committee in the future, contact one of your KLAS Users' Group Officers or the current committee chair.

You've likely already seen a link to the 2021 KLAS Users' Conference Attendee Feedback Form created by the KLAS Users' Group Officers and Program and Logistics Committees. With this being such a different year, it's more important than ever for us to hear from you!

In addition to getting feedback from attendees, though, both Keystone staff and the committees have each gotten together to discuss their own observations about the conference. By digging into the conference's schedule and content, as well as the PheedLoop platform, we can make sure we learn from what went wrong and take note of where we got it right.

Today I want to share some of our notes from these conversations so you know what's been our minds. (Agree? Disagree? Have thoughts on something else entirely? Please let us know--starting with the Feedback Form!)

Schedule

No schedule will be perfect for everyone, but our discussions looking back on this trended positive. We managed to offer a lot of sessions, and time them reasonably for everyone, regardless of time zone. Other ideas were discussed, but on the whole, this schedule seemed to work well for an online conference, with one exception: the month of June can be a difficult time for IRC / IMC KLAS Users to attend. 

We also had split opinions on the strict enforcement of session times. On the one hand, it kept everyone on track and moving. On the other hand, it also resulted in some pretty abrupt cut-offs... as did ending sessions manually without accounting for the 10-second broadcast delay--sorry about that! 

Content

We were thrilled with the amount and variety of user-proposed and user-led sessions! The Keystone staff especially appreciate the effort made by the committees to recruit and involve more users throughout the conference. 

One complication we identified was that some sessions applied to more "tracks" or topics than we'd initially thought, and ended up scheduled against too-similar content. It's probably impossible to avoid schedule conflicts entirely, but one idea from our discussion was to provide a better way for the presenters themselves to identify the topics their session will cover and / or intersect with. 

Platform

While we were satisfied with the PheedLoop virtual event hosting, there was definitely plenty to discuss on this front. It was a little surprising which features generated a lot of interest, and which fell flat. We made sure to consider whether that was the platform itself, people taking time to learn it, or just a matter of leaving time for it. For example, the Networking rooms were barely touched. If we want to try them again, we need to make sure there's a designated session block instead of expecting people to give up their valuable breaks to try it (especially since many people need to use those breaks to keep up on their day-to-day work). 

We really liked a lot of their back-end and event management tools, but we have a long list of suggestions, feedback, and feature requests to pass on to the PheedLoop team. One strong positive: since signing on with PheedLoop, we've seen a lot of activity in terms of useful updates, so we're very hopeful that it will get better and better over time.

Final Thoughts

Virtual conferences have their pros and cons. Going online meant a lot of expanded access to new user presenters (plus other attendees) who may not have been able to attend otherwise. On the other hand, we saw mostly very familiar names, in the chat boxes and especially unmuting and speaking up in the Zoom sessions. It's impossible to replicate a lot of in-person conference experiences, but we wondered if we were doing enough to help new attendees get to know the Users' Group and feel comfortable participating.

Remember: this is your conference--so don't be afraid to let us and / or the committees know what we're doing right, what can get better, and what we haven't even thought of. We hope to hear from you!

Staff of Network Libraries for the Blind and Print Disabled using KLAS met for a virtual session on Wednesday, December 2 during the Online National Library Library for the Blind & Print Disabled's 2020 online national conference. Below is the PowerPoint presentation Keystone shared in both .PPTX and .PDF formats and the notes from the meeting as taken by Erin Pawlus, Secretary, KLAS Users' Group:

• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 - PowerPoint
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 - PDF
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 Notes - MS Word
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 Notes - PDF

Since this is an off-year between KLAS Users' Group Conferences (and what good timing that was!), we've been working with the Programming Committee and your fellow users to bring you periodic online content to help keep you connected and tide us all over to the next conference.

We hope this is a good opportunity for folks who can't usually attend the conferences to get a taste of them, and that they've helped you keep up-to-date and involved. But to make sure we're succeeding--and to get even better--we need to hear from you!

If you haven't yet taken the KLAS Users' Online Programming Survey, please take a few minutes to provide your feedback. It's incredibly valuable, and will help bring you even better online content in the future. We've done our best to keep the survey short and sweet, and it'll inform not only our Fall programming, but maybe even online offerings at future in-person conferences!

Of course, if you have more opinions on the matter than you can fit into the survey, we're always happy to add more voices to the Programming Committee. As Erin says in her invitation for new members, "Being a part of a conference planning committee is a terrific way of getting to know other colleagues and putting a voice to the names!" If you're interested, or just want more info, shoot an email to .

Finally, you know what one of the best things is about online content? That you can always catch up after the fact!

So if you've finished the survey and still find yourself with a little down-time, make sure you're logged in and then follow these links to catch up on what you've missed:

• 5/19/2020 Online KLAS Users' Meetings (Includes links to the Overview of Keystone Systems Updates, KLAS Updates & New Featuresfor Talking Book Libraries, and KLAS Updates & New Features for Instructional Resource Centers sessions)
• 04-23-20 KLAS IRC Users' Roundtable
• 03-19-2020 KLAS Users Roundtable: Duplication on Demand
• 02-20-20 KLAS Q&A with Katy Recording
  
  

We have an important update about KLAS UC 2021: finalized registration costs are now available! Our first online KLAS Users' Conference will occur June 7-10, 2021. Check out the "2021 KLAS Users' Conference Take 2 blog post for the proposed conference schedule.

Conference registration costs are:

• $25 for Individual attendees
• $50 for small groups (2-5 persons)
• $100 for large groups (6-10)

An organization can purchase whatever combination of individual, small, and large group registrations makes sense for the number of staff they want to attend. For example, a library could purchase one small group and one large group registration for a total of $150 to cover up to 15 attendees.

Conference registration fees will go towards the conference platform and video streaming services. This is not intended to be a profit-generating event! That said, the math on this kind of thing is difficult. The per-attendee cost of the event will vary significantly based on how many attendees we have, and while we have a lot of experience budgeting for and operating an in-person conference, an online conference is new to us. If we find that we undershot on the registration fees, Keystone will cover the additional costs. If we end up generating a little extra, it will be used towards the next conference.

We have been working hard to plan an online conference just as worthwhile as an in-person one, with convenience and a lower cost to make up for a lack of local cuisine and charming wildlife (I’m not the only who misses those lizards that were all over Palm Beach...right?). These registration costs will cover the technology needed to make attending sessions, presenting, and networking with your fellow attendees easy. And the group rates will hopefully allow libraries to take full advantage of the absence of travel costs and allow more staff members than ever to attend. 

Call for Session Proposals

If the low registration costs and/or group rates do open the door for you... please consider not just attending, but presenting as well!

Now that the registration costs are finalized, we have reopened the Call for Session Proposals until Friday, March 26.

Anyone is welcome to present, so don’t feel like first-time attendees or KLAS rookies need to sit it out. Everyone has something they can share with their fellow users!

Presenting online has its own challenges, but it has its benefits as well. You can use own equipment that you are already comfortable with. You don't have to project across a loud room or struggle with jet lag, and you can even have your dog, cat, or spouse handy for moral support.

We will provide all presenters with an optional template for PowerPoint, information and training on the conference platform, and practice sessions if you want to test your connection. You also have the option of pre-recording your session if you prefer! If you’d rather not be on-the-spot, you can record your presentation in any video editing software, and send us the recording to “broadcast” during the scheduled time. Attendees will be able to view the pre-recorded session together, with you answering questions or joining the discussion in the text chat.

You are welcome to ask a friend to present with you, gather a few coworkers for a group discussion, or request Keystone provide a “KLAS Expert” to back you up. You could also facilitate a discussion during a Birds of a Feather session on anything from Reader Advisory Services to the APH Census. It’s okay if you don’t know all the details of your presentation yet: proposals can be as vague or specific as you’d like. Our excellent Programming Committee can always work with you to fine-tune things as needed.

This year’s Programming Committee chair Erin Pawlus says: “Presenting has been a positive experience for me – I enjoy sharing tips and tricks on my favorite KLAS functions like the Reader Services Queue, and I often learn a thing or two from the other attendees. It’s very collaborative. Since we are going virtual this year, those who typically are unable to attend the in-person conferences will also be able to share their stories and successes, and make valuable connections with others in the KLAS community at the same time!”

If you have any questions or concerns about presenting, please feel free to contact Erin Pawlus () or me ().

No need to be shy! If there’s something you’d like to share with your fellow users, please fill out the Session Proposal form.

Last week the Palm Beach County Talking Books Service and the Friends of the Palm Beach County Library hosted the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference in West Palm Beach, FL. Attendees were offered hands-on training during the one-day pre-conference and then participated in three days of general and breakout sessions including workshops, seminars, and informal birds-of-a-feather discussions. Opportunities for networking with Keystone staff and other KLAS library staff beyond the official conference sessions occurred during breaks, lunches, the Welcome Reception, and our Thursday afternoon excursion to the Morkiami Japanese Gardens and Museum. Here are some of our favorite photos from the conference. To see more, you can check out our 2019 KLAS Users' Conference Photo Album on Keystone's Facebook page. If you want to share your own conference photos, feel free to upload them to this album on Keystone's Google Drive.

Below is the welcome slide we used throughout the conference. Drea took this photo from the second-floor balcony of the hotel on Sunday before the conference started--the rainbow seemed like a very lucky way to start the conference!

Keynote Speaker Carmencita Mitchell talks about the Waves of Change in inclusive library service.

Katy shares Tips & Tricks for Readers Advisors during a workshop on Tuesday.

Attendees loved the view from the balcony of the Lake Worth Casino during Tuesday evening's Welcome Reception.

We offered a choice of a seafood or a vegetarian paella option for attendees of Tuesday evening's Welcome Reception.

The cooks add shrimp to the paella just before it is served.

Drea and Chandra enjoying the Welcome Reception.

Nancy and Mitake answer the accumulated "Parking Lot Questions" attendees posted throughout the conference.

James and Chandra got the same wardrobe memo on Thursday. Like minds and such...

Excited attendees waiting on the Molley Trolley to head to the Morikami Japanese Gardens & Museum for an afternoon of networking with Keystone staff and other KLAS Users.

To see more, you can check out our 2019 KLAS Users' Conference Photo Album on Keystone's Facebook page. If you want to share your own conference photos, feel free to upload them to this album on Keystone's Google Drive.

Thank you for to all our attendees, speakers, and local hosts, and we look forward to seeing more photos and sharing more info from last week's conference in the near future.

...until the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference! It's been a while since I shared a conference planning update, so I thought I'd use today's post to let you know about some of the work your planning committees, local hosts, and Keystone staff have been doing to help make this a great conference for all our attendees.

First...

Q: What's the easiest way to see all the information on klasusers.com about the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference?

A: Direct your browser to klasusers.com/UC2019

This url will automatically take you the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference page with ALL the latest articles about this year's conference. You can sort the list by "Title" or "Modified Date. Also, be sure to filter for ALL articles (from the default 10) to make sure you don't miss something from the second page.

So, what have our Program and Logistics Committees and the Keystone Staff been working to bring you?

Pre-Conference

• Updated the Conference Overview Schedule to list our scheduled pre-conference sessions
• Published the pre-conference sessions titles and descriptions followed by the link to register

Conference Sessions

• Finalized all planned sessions and updated the Overview Schedule
• Selected our Keynote Speaker

Ongoing:

• Communicating with presenters and moderators about expectations and timelines
• Creating the PowerPoint template for presentations
• Finishing the last few session descriptions
• Discussing technical setup for various sessions
• Working to open Breakout Session registration in the near future
• Pushing to complete our full Conference Agenda, listing all session titles, descriptions, locations, speakers, and moderators

Transportation, Reception, Meals & More:

• Published an article about Getting Around West Palm Beach during the conference
• Selected a caterer and entertainer for the Welcome Reception

Ongoing:

• Choosing menus for other provided meals
• Making travel plans for the Keystone staff attending the conference
• Creating a list of restaurant recommendations
• Putting together a Google Map listing local businesses, points of interest, and restaurants, etc.

But wait, there's more...

The conference app has been completely redesigned to present more info on an easier-to-navigate platform. Plus, it can be updated during the conference to include all the latest! Be on the lookout for an announcement when it is available, but some things we'd like to highlight from the redesign include:

• Speakers List & Information Pages
• Announcements
• Sessions Listing filtered by Day
• Information about Getting Around while at the conference

And here is a sneak preview:

Hello, KLAS Users! This week, I am very pleased to introduce: the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference app!

A lot of work was put into the app this year to make it easier, better, and more useful. We hope it'll be a valuable tool for you as you attend UC2019. And even if you can't join us, the app will allow you to browse through the sessions, download presentations, or find out how to contact the user who presented that session you really wished you could go to!

You can download the app now (or any time) from either the Google Play store or the Apple App store - just search for "KLAS Users Conference". It should be among the first results, with a green "K" icon.

The app was designed to be magnification-friendly and screen-reader accessible. If you encounter any accessibility problems, please let us know as soon as possible so we can work on a fix! It should be compatible with all Apple and Android devices, including both phones and tablets.

Hopefully, everything will be intuitive and easy-to-find while exploring the app on your own. Just in case, and for those who don't have their phones handy to check it out right away, let's take a tour...

The Home screen of the app allows you to navigate quickly to whatever you need. Open the Menu for useful links, or select one of the options from the bottom navigation tray to open one of the app's "tabs." You can also swipe your screen left and right to move between tabs that way!

Updates, available from either the menu or the navigation tray, contains the latest information from us and will continue to be updated through the conference with any last-minute changes or useful information. The Updates page itself will include brief headlines, which you can tap to view more information (this format is repeated through the app).

The latest updates are pulled in every time you open the app, so make sure to close the app when you are done with it.

Other menu items include Resources, where you'll shortcut links to some of the most useful KLASusers.com articles and a downloadable PDF version of the agenda, Keystone Contact info, and a link to the feedback Survey (so you can let us know about your experience after the conference).

The Sessions tab lists the full conference agenda by day. Tap any session to view details, including a download link to the slides or handout!

NOTE: For now, all download links point to a placeholder, to show where the download links are located and allow you to test downloading and opening slides on your device. Once we start receiving presentations from our speaker, the placeholder links will be removed until they can be replaced with the presentation.

The Speakers tab has information on all of our presenters, including both Keystone staff and user presenters. Again, tap any entry to view more information. We hope this will be a great way for (especially newer) attendees to get to know our speakers and enable you to reach out to a presenter if you have questions about their session after the fact.

Finally, the Map has an embedded Google map with pins on various points of interest, to help you navigate the area.

ConfI hope you enjoyed this look at everything the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference app has to offer!

Be sure to download it to your device(s) so it's on hand and ready to go when you arrive in Palm Beach. We look forward to seeing you there!

Why do you attend the annual KLAS Users' Conference? Here is what some our of conference attendees had to say:

• "I attend because it's my one opportunity to share face-to-face my issues and triumphs with others in a way that email and online just can't." - Craig, NC
• "I attend the KLAS Users' Conference to network with other Talking Books Libraries, which provides me with new ideas to serve the visually impaired." - Sarah, FL
• "Through collaboration with colleagues and Keystone staff, I learn new, better, and more efficient ways to utilize KLAS that I can bring back to my co-workers." - Teresa, CO
• "Learn about new features in KLAS. Network with other users and discover functions you have not tried before." - Edith, CA
• "I go to talk to the other attendees and see what's going on at their libraries." - Erin, OK
• "I like to attend the conference because I like to hear about the different ways other libraries handle their workflow. Always come back with some good ideas to shake things up." - Sharon, IL
• "As the only staff librarian in Oregon, I often feel like I work in isolation. The work LBPH libraries do doesn’t translate very well to other library work and relating to my in-state colleagues leaves me unfulfilled. The KLAS Users’ Conference is a great way for me to recharge my batteries and other professionals who can relate to the joys and challenges of LBPH work." - Elke, OR
• "Attending the KLAS Users' Conferences provides me the opportunity to encounter awesome ideas and tips...tangible ideas I can take home to improve my library's services...from Keystone staff and personnel from other libraries for the blind." - Andrew, OK
• "The KUC is a chance to get together. We gather to discuss issues technical, and mundane. We laugh, we confer, and we hear from the staff at Keystone. Moreover we are exposed to new places (new to some), new ideas, and new ways to do things." - James, MA
• "The KLAS Users group gives us an opportunity to learn more about our ILS. We can do a better job for our library patrons if we can make the best use of the catalog." - Pat, GA

We hope you join us for June 3-6 for the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference hosted by the Palm Beach County Library Talking Book Service in West Palm Beach, FL!

The KLAS Program Committee has been hard at work and has a new, freshly updated Overview Schedule for the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference ready for you. This is still a draft schedule but has several changes from the version published two weeks ago.

So, how did the committee get here and what do they still have to do?

Here's a brief look at our 2019 KLAS Users' Conference Program Committee Planning Timeframe...

October

• Establish Committee
• Set meeting schedule & expectations
• Begin reviewing feedback from the previous conference

November

• Publish initial Overview Schedule with conference framework with no specific session topics or speakers based on info from the site visit, logistics committee, etc.
• Send out a call for proposals
• Continue reviewing feedback from the previous conference

December

• Continue reviewing feedback from the previous conference
• Review session proposals as they are received
• Identify / discuss other possible session topics

January

• Finalize list of session topics based on conference feedback, proposals received & ideas presented by committee members
• Slate session topics based on the type of session
• Publish updated Overview Schedule with slated session topics

February

• Review & Update Overview Schedule document
• Assign committee member liaison for sessions
• Refine session titles & descriptions
• Recruit additional moderators / presenters

March

• Continue refining session titles & descriptions
• Publish the first draft of the conference agenda
• Communicate deadlines to moderators / presenters

April

• Continue communicating with moderators / presenters
• Review / update Agenda as needed

May

• Publish finalized Agenda document
• Send out presentation template
• Collect presentations for publication

June

• Conference!