Conference Overview

We are very pleased to announce the 2008 BC Library Conference, "Off the Shelf and Out of the Box: Creativity and Libraries." The conference will take place at the Best Western Richmond Hotel & Convention Centre in Richmond, BC, from April 17 to April 19, 2008.

Thinking about how to re-invent an existing process, implement a new service, or initiate a new way of doing business are challenges we all face in our organizations.  It can be difficult to think outside of the box due to familiarity with - and commitment to - how things have always been done.  At the 2008 BC Library Conference, we invite you to join your colleagues in pursuit of creative approaches to providing library service, inspiring and serving our users, and tapping our own talents.  Take time out from your everyday routine to consider new concepts, explore novel ideas, and imagine new means and methods.  Come to the conference to hear and share stories of invention and innovation that will spark your interest and ingenuity!

Fred Kent will provide this year's Keynote Address.  Fred is a leading authority on revitalizing city spaces and one of the foremost thinkers in livability, smart growth and the future of the city.  He is the founder and president of Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain
public spaces that build communities.    For more information about PPS, go to http://www.pps.org/

Our Plenary Session will be given by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum, the writers and artist behind Unshelved, the world's only daily comic strip set in a public library.  In publication since February 2002, Unshelved creatively captures both true and fictional stories of the cast of characters at Mallville Public Library. And, as Bill and Gene say, the stranger the story, the more likely it is to be true.  To read the latest comic strip, go to http://www.unshelved.com/

The 2008 BC Library Conference will be held in partnership with the BC Library Trustees Association and the Health Libraries Association of BC.  The conference will take place at the Best Western Richmond Hotel & Convention Centre in Richmond, BC, from April 17 to April 19, 2008.

Be sure to mark your calendars for what promises to be an inspiring three days.