October Program Review

On October 15th, CASLIS Toronto kicked off their programming year by celebrating the past and looking into the future which, as CASLIS TO President Lily Mac noted, is of particular relevance, given that librarianship and the information field are forward looking disciplines, with a vital role in the future of our organizations. Looking forward also helped us to celebrate how far we’ve come as a profession, and was a fitting way to celebrate October, which was Canadian Library Month.

Hosted at Ryerson University, guest speaker Ezra Silverton, from 9th Sphere, spoke about to the group about the evolution of the web as a tool, and the future of the internet as it relates to business, networking and more. He touched on the history of the web from his perspective as someone who has been working “online” since the early 90’s, offering a good overview of what has come before and, perhaps more importantly, emphasizing that we are still in the very early days of the internet’s evolution, with much of its full potential still laying ahead of us, which was a key takeaway from the evening.

Ezra’s presentation served as fodder for a lively and impassioned discussion amongst those in attendance. The conversation ran the gamut from trepidation and curiosity to excitement and detailed discussion of the concepts of the future of the web. Topics discussed included cloud computing, server needs and the aggregation of increasingly more data as well all move towards a web 3.0 world. Shrugging off the notion of the staid and quiet librarian, event attendees dug into the subject matter and were happy to pipe up and share experiences and opinions.

As much as the content of the presentation, the debate made for a great event. What’s more, the debate and discussions around the room were a fantastic reminder of the value of Professional Development programming, like CASLIS’, which serve our professional community and bring us together to discuss our work and share ideas and passions alike. To me, this is the real value of associations, and underlines why I continue not only to attend events, but also to serve as an association volunteer, so that I can give back to my community as well as take away the valuable lessons and food for thought that provides.

To download a copy of Ezra Silverton’s presentation “What does the future of the web hold?” please see the CASLIS Toronto Website.

Eileen Lewis,
Vice President, CASLIS Toronto Chapter