Auditorium
Most OPAL programs are held in the Auditorium.
Enter any username. Leave the password blank.
Schedule
The complete schedule of upcoming OPAL public online events.
Archive
If you missed an OPAL live online event, look for a recording of the program in the OPAL archive.
Getting Started
If you're new to OPAL, this page provides info and tips on getting started.
Podcast
If you want to listen on your computer or favorite MP3 player to an audiorecording of a previous OPAL event,
visit the OPAL Podcast blog.
Archive of Previous OPAL Events About Library and Information Science Topics and Trends
"Libraries and the Future of eReading (or, eReading and the Future of Libraries)":
An audiorecording of a talk made by Tom Peters at the WAPL Annual Conference on May 5, 2011.
"Let's Get Social: Twitter" presented by Jane Plass, Dianna Wiggins, Ann McDonald,
and Carol Waller on March 24, 2010.
Sponsored by the DuPage Library System
ALSC Student Session: "Marketing Your Library on the Web" Presented by
Jill Bickford and Marcella Whitelam from the West Brookfield Library on November 10, 2009
ALA Connections Salon: The Future, with Special Guests Joe Janes
from the University of Washington and his summer session graduate students from
the University of Toronto,
held on June 19, 2009.
ALA Connections Salon: Education and Recruitment, with Special Guests Connie Paul
from the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, and Julie Brewer from the University
of Delaware Library,
held on May 15, 2009.
"Lobby for Results: Tips and Techniques for Working with Legislators and Other Stakeholders," with Michael J. Borges,
held on March 4, 2009 and sponsored by the South Central Regional Library Council in Ithaca, New York.
"Digital Archives -- Search and Discovery: Lincoln/Net:
The Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project" presented by Drew VandeCreek from
Northern Illinois Universityon February 13, 2009.
"LIS Eductors in Virtual Worlds" Organizational Meeting
facilitated by Marianne Steadley from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, held on
December 10, 2008. Note: Most of the conversation was conducted via text chat.
A Casual Conversation with John Budd
Professor at the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the
University of Missouri - Columbia,
held on December 5, 2008.
Web 2.0: Is Facebook for Your Library, presented by
Joe Hardenbrook,
Educational Technology Coordinator, Research/Instruction Librarian, and Assistant Professor
at Staley Library at Millikin University. Sponsored by the
Rolling Prairie Library System. Recorded on September 17, 2008.
The Mark of Zotero: Two-Clicks to Citation Management,
a presentation made by Chris Strauber, Reference and Web Services Librarian at
Wofford College,
on January 23, 2008.
A Casual Conversation with Curtis Rogers,
the Director of the Division of Statewide Library Services at the
South Carolina State Library.
Curtis also blogs at
Libraries & Life.
Held on January 18, 2008.
flickr + libraries
presented on March 6, 2007 by Michael Porter and Steve Lawson as part of the
Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.
The Wonderful World of Wikis
presented on March 1, 2007 by Chad Boeninger from Ohio University and Starr Hoffman from the University
of North Texas as part of the
Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.
Make Your Library del.icio.us: Social Bookmarking in the Stacks
presented on February 22, 2007 by Jason Griffey from the University of Tennessee
at Chattanooga as part of the
Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.
Getting Up to Speed with RSS Feeds
presented on February 20, 2007 by Michele Mizejewski as part of the
Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.
A 21st Century Printing Press: Blogs as a Publishing Mechanism
presented February 13, 2007 by Rebecca Hedreen as part of the
Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.
Virtual Worlds and Alternate Realities, a conference
held Oct. 12 and 13, 2006 in Second Life, in OPAL, and at the Alliance Library System's
offices in East Peoria, Illinois.
Virtual Worlds and Higher Education, a series of brief presentations by Ed Lamoureux and Barbara Galik from
Bradley University, Tom Peters from TAP Information Services, and Lori Bell from the Alliance Library System.
Introduction to Virtual Worlds, presented on October 13, 2006 by John Lester
(Pathfinder Linden in Second Life), the Community Education Manager at Second Life.
How to Get Involved in the Alliance Second Life Library Project and the Nature of Online Communities,
presented on October 13, 2006 by Lori Bell and Mary-Carol Lindbloom from the Alliance Library System.
The Teen Second Life Library Project,
presented on October 13, 2006 by Kelly Czarnecki and Matt Gullett from the ImaginON Project of
the Public Library of charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
Cartoons and Political Opinion from Herb Block (HERBLOCK),
presented on October 11, 2006 by Sara Duke, the Curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art
at the Library of Congress.
"Ready - Set - READ! Children's Literature Resources at the Library of Congress",
presented by Judy Graves and Patricia Steelman on September 20, 2006.
Presentation Slides
about children's literature resources at the Library of Congress
"Opportunities for Worthwhile Collaboration Among Academic Libraries in Second Life",
a discussion held on September 19, 2006, facilitated by Lori Bell and Tom Peters.
Sponsored by the Alliance Library System.
"Libraries Building Community Through Citizen Dialogue"
presented on September 15, 2006 by Taylor Willingham, Donna Lauffer, and Therese Bigelow.
Sponsored by the Johnson County Library.
"Censorship: How It Affects Libraries and Library Patrons in a Democracy" presented on September 7, 2006
by Melora Norman, the Outreach/Special Services Coordinator for the
Maine State Library.
Sponsored by the Johnson County Library.
"Delivering Top-Notch Technology Training for Your Patrons" presented on August 18, 2006
by Brenda Hough, Technology Coordinator at the
Northeast Kansas Library System and Michael Porter (aka Library Man), Training and Support Coordinator at
OCLC Western.
Sponsored by the Johnson County Library.
Panel discussion held on July 28, 2006 about
The September Project, which encourages libraries to host free civic events about
freedom, democracy, and citizenship in remembrance of September 11th.
Panelists included David Silver, Sarah Washburn, Michael Baldwin, Taylor Willingham,
and Nancy Kranich.
KLAS Users Top 10 Issues Discussion held on March 7, 2006 and facilitated by Will Reed
and Diana Brawley Sussman. Version 7.0 of KLAS (Keystone Library Automation System) was the focus
of this discussion.
Text chat entries
made by the online attendees of the Wiki World presentation by Meredith Farkas.
Please note: Procedural messages, such as those announcing that someone had entered or left
the online room, have been edited out.
The Library Services for Older Adults presentation by Allan Kleiman
held on November 17, 2005
