Emeryville, CA—Innovative Interfaces announced that the Innovative Users Group (IUG) has concluded its 21st-Annual Conference. Held in San Francisco, CA, 1,100 library professionals from seventeen countries participated in over 120 presentations conducted by the attendees or jointly with Innovative staff. Their activities also included poster sessions, which are exhibits that share unique practices that IUG members have integrated with their Innovative products.
Company Presence
Innovative was a sponsor of the event and had over 90 of its staff members on-hand including members of the Executive Team, Product and Market Management, Services & Support, and the new Library Relations Management group. Innovative staff demonstrated products and presented on the latest developments in products such as the Sierra Services Platform, Decision Center, Encore Synergy, and more. Several of these presentations took the form of co-presentations with Innovative customers. Innovative also posted a new "We're Listening" Wall to solicit written ideas and comments from the attendees.
Said CEO Kim Massana: "This was my first IUG Conference and I was amazed by the intensity, interest, and energy displayed by participants who'd traveled from all over the world to be part of it. The commitment to Innovative products that I observed very clearly reminded me of the responsibility that all of us at Innovative have taken on to deliver the best products in library technology today to our customers." Also during the Conference, Massana discussed on his blog the new and continuing partnerships with OverDrive and EBSCO for eBook integration and EBSCO Discovery Services content integration respectively.
Opening Session
The Opening Session began with a warm welcome by IUG Chair Christine Rigda, Systems Librarian at the University of Toledo (OH), followed by the keynote address by Futurist Garry Golden. Innovative CEO Kim Massana's presentation highlighted the successes of Sierra in locations such as New York, San Francisco, and Sydney (Australia). He also emphasized the company's presence internationally and presented the Innovative Employee Welcome Video "starring" Innovative staff speaking a variety of languages. Massana also expanded on the new era at Innovative of openness, collaboration, and customer engagement.
Also at the Opening Session, the 2013 Crystal Awards were announced, which honors those who have attended their 15th overall IUG conference. This year's honorees are:
| Elsa Atson | Chemical Heritage Foundation (PA) |
|---|---|
| Donna Bacon | MOBIUS (MO) |
| Stephen Bobowicz | Western New England College (MA) |
| Virginia Bryant | The George Washington University Law School (DC) |
| Anita Cook | OhioLINK (OH) |
| Karl Maria Fattig | Bowdoin College (ME) |
| Nancy Fleck | Michigan State University (MI) |
| Tom Gensichen | University of Nebraska Medical (NE) |
| Cynthia Harper | Colgate University (NY) |
| Ruth Helwig | Central Michigan University (MI) |
| Deborah Holl | Widener University (PA) |
| Sue Hostetler | St. Joseph County Public Library (IN) |
| David Jones | Santa Clara University (CA) |
| Julie Kowalewski Ward | San Jose State University (CA) |
| Patricia Logsdon | Washington University, St. Louis (MO) |
| Fred McIlvain | Arizona State University (AZ) |
| Karen Peters | UC San Diego (CA) |
| Anne-Elizabeth Powell | Point Loma Nazarene University (CA) |
| Keven Riggle | Marquette University (WI) |
| Steve Sowder | Andrews University (MI) |
| Huguette Yaghmour | American University in Cairo (Egypt) |
| Doris Young | Jefferson County Library Cooperative (AL) |
| Anna Zaidman | Saint Louis University (MO) |
About the IUG
Now having celebrated its 21st Annual Conference, the Innovative Users Group (IUG) was formally organized in 1991 as an international organization of member libraries that use Innovative Interfaces' integrated library software products. It is an organization independent from Innovative Interfaces, Inc. The IUG is led by the Steering Committee whose members are elected by the general membership. All members of the Steering Committee volunteer their services to the organization. In addition to archiving all conference presentation materials, the IUG maintains a website (www.innovativeusers.org) that includes an Online Clearinghouse of member-developed resources including tutorials, scripts, training documents, and promotional materials. These resources represent a level of customer involvement and support unmatched in the library technology arena.
About Innovative Interfaces
Innovative Interfaces creates cutting-edge products that allow libraries to succeed in a modern technology environment and the freedom to implement solutions that best meet their specific needs. The company's versatile and market-leading solutions include: the Sierra Services Platform, the Millennium ILS, the Encore Synergy discovery application, Electronic Resource Management, and INN-Reach resource sharing. An established company with a vision for the future, Innovative connects with thousands of libraries of all types in over 50 countries. Innovative's commitment to service is reflected by its 24/7/365 Help Desk, Innovative University, and the CSDirect Web support center. The company is located in Emeryville, California with offices around the world.