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March 01, 2006

Preregistration for Optional Actvities

If you haven't made up your mind about the Artists' Bookmaking Experience or Cerritos Library tour yet, here's information from Cerritos Library's Stanley Strauss who designed both activities:

Artists' Bookmaking Experience
A book doesn’t have to be that thing you pull off a library shelf. It can be in the shape of a fan, a ladder, a hat box, or even a tennis ball! The Cerritos Library has a collection of over 200 artists’ books that challenge traditional ideas of just what is a book. Join Cerritos Library Public Services Librarian Stanley Strauss for an introduction to our artists’ book collection and make two books to take home with you – one made from a single sheet of paper!

Library Tour
Take a VIP tour of the world’s first experience library. On your Journey through Time – from our 15th Century Gothic style Reading Room to the 21st Century floor – you’ll be encouraged to ask questions and learn the philosophy behind our choices. We’ll even take you “back of house” through our staff areas. Tour groups are small to enhance interaction.

February 28, 2006

Better Together Conference - Team Update #1 - February 28

Dear Better Together Conference Team Leaders,

It is my pleasure to welcome you electronically to the Better Together Conference. The conference planners have designed the conference to provide you with a variety of learning experiences. Your comfort is a high priority at the conference. Since segments of the conference will involve walking on stone floor around the library, standing and sitting on a carpeted floor, we suggest you wear casual and comfortable clothes and shoes. We look forward to meeting you on April 8.

This email is the first of a series of Team Update communications you will receive about the conference.
All of these update emails will also be archived at the Better Together Conference blog team updates category

Key topics:
1. Participant information
2. Convening a team meeting
3. Pre-registration for selected conference sessions

1. Participant information:
I will list ALL of your team members as follows unless I receive different information from you by March 10

• arriving Saturday (between 2 and 3 p.m.)
• departing Monday (checking out by noon)
• nonsmoking room with king size bed
• NO special needs (e.g. vegetarian, allergies, low hotel floor, etc.)

2. We recommend that you convene a meeting of your team for the following purposes:

a. To get to know each other better in general and share specific objectives each partner has for the conference
b. To discuss a few possible projects your team might want to work on at and after the conference
c. To decide on who will attend those sessions that require pre-registration (see list below)
d. To remind team members to look at the conference website and blog for updated information
e. To remind team members about conference logistics

3. Sessions that require pre-registration:
For a description of all of the conference sessions, see the website schedule

Saturday 4-7 p.m.
• OPTIONAL one hour artists' bookmaking session
• OPTIONAL two hour tour of the Cerritos Library

Sunday 1:15-2:45 p.m. and 3:00-4:30 p.m.
OFFICIAL SESSIONS
Choice of TWO Concurrent Small Group Sessions (repeated twice)

• Interactive navigation and wayfinding techniques in physical facilities
• Interactive displays/booths for use at community events/fairs
• Interactive elements to enhance existing websites/portals
• Production of public programs using webcasting

If you have any questions, contact me at gmcgovern@macnexus.org or 916-446-2411

Gail
Gail Judith McGovern, Coordinator
Better Together Conference

January 18, 2006

Participant Logistics

If you are traveling by air, be sure to plan your arrival and departure times to give you sufficient time for travel between the airport and the hotel.

Program Schedule: (detailed information here)
Saturday, April 8.
Registration will be available from 3:00-6:00 p.m.
The first optional activity begins at 4:00 p.m. and the official opening session is at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, April 10
The last conference official session will end at 4:00 p.m.

Hotel Information:
The conference will provide a single room for each participant at the Cerritos Sheraton Hotel, located at 12725 Center Court Drive, Cerritos.
Participants do NOT need to make a reservation.

The hotel is located .9 miles from the library; it takes less than 10 minutes to walk between the two.
The hotel is located approximately 10 miles from the Long Beach airport and 25 miles from both Los Angeles and Orange County airports.

We have asked the hotel for an early check-in (two o'clock instead of three); however, we cannot guarantee that all rooms will be available at that time. Since Saturday lunch is NOT provided by the conference, you may be more comfortable by arriving earlier and checking your luggage with the bell desk if your room is not available. You can then eat lunch at the hotel or walk .2 miles to The Cerritos Towne Center and eat at one of its restaurants or its Food Court.

Room and tax will be charged directly to the conference; participants are responsible for any incidental charges.

ALL travel costs are the responsibility of participants.

Airline Information: For the best fares we suggest:
• to Long Beach (LGB), Jet Blue Airways
• to either Orange County (SNA) or Los Angeles (LAX), Southwest Airlines

Airport Ground Transportation:
Shared van and cab service are available from all airports: Long Beach (LGB), Los Angeles (LAX) and Orange County (SNA).

The time it takes to travel the 10 miles from LGB and 25 miles from either LAX or SNA varies according to the time of day and traffic (remember that a shared van may take longer depending upon the destinations of the passengers on any given trip). Prices are subject to change, but to give you an idea of cost, during the last six months, shared van costs from the airport to the Cerritos Sheraton were $30/trip from LGB, $33/trip from LAX and $38/trip from SNA.

Parking at the Cerritos Library:
Public parking is available west of the library building.
Please do not park in the first two rows of parking.

Driving directions:
Driving Directions to the Cerritos Library:
From the East: Exit the Artesia Freeway (91) at the Shoemaker offramp and go south.

From the West: Exit the Artesia Freeway (91) at the Bloomfield offramp and go south.
Driving Directions to the Cerritos Sheraton Hotel:
From the North: Take Interstate 5 South to I-605 South, then take Highway 91 East to the Shoemaker Exit South. Make a right on Park Plaza Drive and make another right on Town Center Drive. Then take a left on Center Court Drive.

From the South: Take I-5 North to Highway 91 West and take the Bloomfield Exit. Take a left on Artesia Boulevard, then take a left on Bloomfield Avenue. Turn left on Town Center Drive and then right on Center Court Drive.

From the East: Take Highway 91 West and exit at Bloomfield. Take a left on Artesia across the freeway and then take a left on Bloomfield. Turn left on Town Center Drive, and then a right on Center Court Drive.

From the West: Take Highway 91 East and exit at Shoemaker South. Take a right on Park Plaza Drive. Then take a right on Town Center Drive, and a left on Center Court Drive.

October 17, 2005

Free Choice Learning

Since a major focus of the Better Together Conference is on providing additional opportunities for “free-choice learning,” you may wish to read more about this topic.

For specifics about libraries, partnerships and free-choice learning, see the Urban Institute and Urban Libraries Council 2003 publication, Partnerships for Free Choice Learning: Public Libraries, Museums and Public Broadcasters Working Together

For a good general overview and examples of activities for both families and older adults, see the website of the Institute for Learning Innovation.

For ideas about children and youth, see the executive summary of Optimizing Out-of-School Time: The Role of Free-Choice Learning by Lynn D. Dierking and John H. Falk, co-founders of the Institute for Learning Innovation.

If you want in-depth information, check out Dierking and Falk's book, Lessons Without Limit: How Free-Choice Learning is Transforming Education.

September 21, 2005

Welcome to the Better Together Blog!

This blog has been created to support the Better Together Conference, which will take place April 8-10, 2006 at the Cerritos Public Library in Cerritos, California.

We hope the blog takes on a larger life, serving as a communication forum both leading up to the conference and beyond — a place where libraries and their partners can continue to tap into resources for developing partnerships and providing learning opportunities for their communities.

So bookmark this page or add our feed to your news aggregator. Visit often to add your comments and help inspire libraries to inspire communities.