The Collective
March 2-3, 2017
Knoxville, Tennessee
Tired of spending a fortune on conferences? Bored with keynotes and too much “sage on a stage” presentations? Yearning to meet librarians eager to innovate?
Join the movement for affordable and useful professional development for librarians at The Collective 2017! Our Call for Proposals is open for submissions, voting, and comments until August 25th.
All sessions at The Collective are interactive with tangible skills and takeaways because we think professional gatherings should be fun, affordable, and useful.
Find out more about how to learn, create, and collaborate with us here: http://www.
About the Collective
Founded in 2015, the goals of The Collective are learning, networking, and kickstarting new ideas among next-generation librarians and library stakeholders where the participants determine the content.
How is The Collective different?
—First, we aim to dissolve the divide between “presenters” and “attendees” by making everyone active participants at The Collective and by having everyone, even conference organizers, pay an equally low registration fee.
—This is an interactive gathering with emphases on skill-building, tangible takeaways, and networking. No “CV filler” or “sage on a stage” presentations here!
—While we love our Deans and administrators, there are plenty of conferences where they get to shine. This is a gathering aimed at practitioners, those working on the front line.
—Every penny we receive through registrations goes right back to attendees to cover partial costs of the opening night dinner and complimentary breakfasts and coffee/snack breaks served both days. We have worked hard to ensure that conference costs are subsidized for all attendees through our corporate sponsorships, making ours an uncharacteristically low-cost professional gathering. We've also designed the event (i.e. registration, hotel, etc.) so that those within driving distance of Knoxville should be able to cover all associated costs of attendance for under $500.
—There is no vendor “expo” area at The Collective. We aim to create an event climate where vendors are treated as colleagues who can learn and collaborate with us to better serve our users. We think developing relationships is far more effective than hard sales and we believe sessions should contain content, not sales pitches.
—Our event is put on by volunteers who give their time in service to the profession. We have no paid or dedicated staff.
What takes place at The Collective?
The gathering consists of two full days.
The program schedule and content is set by YOU, the participants. Learn more about our unique program planning here.
Morning kickoff sessions consist of interactive plenaries and panels, followed by more takeaway-driven afternoon sessions and lightning talks.
Extended lunchtimes offer an opportunity for discussion of special topics among shared interest groups or informal gatherings in our "unconference" spaces--the IdeaLibrary and Tinker Lab. Aside from a longer afternoon "wrap-up" plenary discussion on the second day, evenings are reserved for informal networking and exploration of the Knoxville arts and culture scene.
Our opening night reception is a festive, themed dinner with live music in downtown Knoxville and we also plan an optional library-themed pub crawl or other social event for the closing night!
