The 24th annual GaCOMO (Council of Media Organizations) Conference will be held jointly this year with SELA, the Southeastern Library Association. COMO has not met with SELA in 10 years, so we welcome our regional friends to Georgia!

Macon It Happen @ Your Library: GaCOMO & SELA is scheduled for Wednesday, October 3 – Friday, October 5, 2012 at the Macon Centreplex and connected hotel, the Macon Marriott City Center, in Macon, Georgia. Macon is centrally located, about 90 minutes south of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The COMO conference is a cooperative venture of members from:

GAIT – Georgia Association for Instructional Technology
GLA – Georgia Library Association
GLMA – Georgia Library Media Association
+ SELA – Southeastern Library Association

Conference highlights include:

• Keynotes from bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson and from Siva Vaidhyanathan (University of Virginia Department of Media Studies and School of Law).
• “Movie Night” with popcorn and door prizes on Wednesday evening – “Desk Set” – a classic Hepburn and Tracy rom-com set in a research department!
• Both Wed. and Thursday nights, especially for those flying in from outside Georgia or minus cars, two trolleys will be looping from the conference site to historic downtown Macon’s restaurants.
• Great opportunities to learn from and network with colleagues from across the region
• Authors’ Reception (with wine, cheese, and live music)
• Generous vendor support and exhibit breaks
• And the fun will wrap up on Friday with the entertaining scholarship raffle (to benefit future librarians)!

Proposals received by May 31, 2012 will receive full consideration:

• Poster Session Proposal Form – Poster sessions are an option this year for the first time – a great opportunity for library school students or for those with brief research findings to share as conference attendees walk past or gather in small groups to discuss your poster with you. Guidelines are on the web form.
• Presentation Proposal Form – Use this form for proposing a pre-conference session, event, panel, presentation, or round table (not a poster session). Please give some thought to your intended audience and the subject track tags, and be clear in your description. Important guidelines are on the web form.

Share your experiences, practical solutions, expertise, and innovative practices with colleagues from all types of libraries (academic, archives, public, school/K-12 and special). How do you “Make It Happen @ Your Library?” Possible topics include:

• Documenting value through assessment
• Magnifying the library’s role in student learning and retention
• Redistributing resources to boost return on investment
• Promoting the library through marketing, programming, and public relations
• Showcasing the contributions of library staff
• Meeting the needs of diverse users
• Technology innovations to share

On behalf of the steering committee, thank you for dreaming up excellent content for the conference. We look forward to reading your proposals and seeing you in Macon in October!

-Liz Bagley, GLA President 2012 and GaCOMO Steering Committee Chair