SuperConference 2008 Evaluation Comments

This page contains the comments from the SirsiDynix SuperConference Evaluation. It only contains the comments for Questions 4 - 11. Questions 12 - 28 refer to individual session. Each session presenter will receive his/her comments shortly.

Table of Contents:

1. Overall Conference Evaluation
2. Exhibits/Vendors
3. SuperConference Web Site
4. UUGI/CODI Joint Conference
5. What Topics Would You Like to See Next Year
6. Other General Comments
7. SirsiDynix Corporate and Product Overview
8. UUGI Business Meeting
9. SirsiDynix Reception

Question 4 Comments (Overall Conference Evaluation)

• Need a site with more easy access to breakfast options.
• Most meeting rooms were good. Some had awful chairs.
• Thank you for providing snacks and lunch. It was difficult to find someplace to get a quick breakfast. I was surprised how little was open in the Ren Cen during the weekend and in the evenings.
• What happened to the breakfasts?  That was missed.  Also, coffee for the first session would have been greatly appreciated.
  I did not care for the venue of this conference.  I wouldn't select Detroit again.  Why not try Indianapolis?
• Not as much repeating of sessions this year.  I attended the Executive Conference, so missed a couple of Sunday sessions I would have liked to attend.
• Didn't much care for Monday's lunch - had email and internet on my iphone - overall and enjoyable and educational conference.
• I have no complaints on any of these items.
• The chairs in the smaller meeting rooms (like the Brule room) were extremely uncomfortable.
• No wireless access in the meeting areas shows that the hotel hasn't kept up with today's computing environment. With 1000+ people attending of which at least 1/4 are computer IT folks this doesn't seem to be very acceptable. IMHO.
• I know people have complained about the 'cost' of the conference, but more meals included would be easier to deal with---maybe offer the choice of organized meals or not. Lunches were excellent
• If the morning session can start around 8:30 instead of 8:00, it will help some.
• I was amazed at the amount of food at breaks and meals - certainly didn't expect it.  Very friendly and helpful hotel/center staff.
• I didn't see any juices available during breaks but perhaps I just missed them.  I would like to see audience microphones set up for questions or make sure that each presenter repeats questions asked as often times it was difficult to hear the questions/comments.  It would be nice to have a couple of short (one/two hours) city tours/event trips planned in the evening(s) for whatever city we are in as there were many single conference attendees who were perhaps hesitant to explore the city alone.
• Internet access at the hotel was good. Would have been nice to have had free/low cost access at the conference facility itself.
• Breaks was always running out of something. Sometimes even Coffee.
  1st lunch was good. 2nd lunch was bad. 3rd was good but cheep.
• Heating/AC varied widely, depending on meeting room.  Total number of rooms located in same general area made inter-workshop movement easy.
  Riverfront cafe' was excellent, moderately priced on-site venue for meals.
• Coffee available earlier would have been really nice.
• Breakfast should be included - like a cold buffet. Or first morning break should have fruit, yogurt, etc. Was surprised that hotel did not have pool, though this was not priority. I would like to see sirsi presentations done three times and user's done twice, for more flexibility. I would also recommend that there be an MC at the party to get things going. Otherwise it is boring.
• Meals were pretty good overall, but the gnocchi wasn't. Great idea but bad execution. I didn't visit the e-mail/print area this year, since there was Internet access in the room. Breaks were good, loved the Vernor's, loved the Pepsi. On the criteria listed above, this 3rd year of attendance for me was BY FAR the best!
  
  I liked that the conference started right up on Sunday AM. It worked very well for me that the weekend was utilized for the conference, with only 2 days extending into the week. I see that the schedule for next year puts this back to 3 days during the work week. I may be in the minority, and I understand it may be a function of what dates Adam's Mark has available, but I don't like that type of scheduling.
  
  Finally, I'm sure I wasn't alone in saying "Ugh, Detroit" when the site was released to UUGI, but I thought it worked out very well. For me, it was by far better than Colorado Springs, and better than Nashville as well. First of all, within the RenCen, everything was close to get to compared to the other two places. I drove to the conference, so I didn't have an issue with $45 rides to the airport, which I can understand people being upset about. I only paid $26 for parking for the whole conference! But, I thought CS was expensive for the ride to the Broadmoor @ $25 as well. It looks like Dallas was selected a year too soon, since the DART to Love Field won't be done until 2010.
• I liked the overall layout of the hotel/conference site. It was easy to navigate and go from venue to venue.
• Plastic chairs in a few meeting rooms were a bit uncomfortable.
• The conference meals and refreshments were the worst part, everything else was enjoyable.
• Folding chairs in the 5th floor  meeting rooms were horrible to sit on during the programs. None of the meeting rooms had chairs that were comfortable for handicapped people to get out of. I had to stack two chairs (when possible) to make it so I could stand up.
• In terms of the program, it seemed lacking this year but hopefully with more participants next year, it will be better. Really did not enjoy the food at this particular conference center and, aside from the meeting areas, the hotel was a bit confusing to get around in. Loved the blue sweaters! ;)
• 1.) The conference lunches were great, but way too heavy for a midday meal followed by lectures. I found it hard to keep my eyes open during the afternoon sessions. How about some lighter fare for lunch?
  2.) Meeting rooms - The meeting rooms did not have accomodations for attendees with laptops. No power to connect to, no tables for laptop users (they may be called 'laptops' but I am not comfortable using mine on my lap).
  3.) In-room Internet access was fine. I could not get a signal for the guest wireless.
• Internet access needs to be available in the meeting rooms.  That should be a requirement.
  
  Save money - more buffets and less extravagant lunches.  Then maybe you can bring breakfast back.  Surely we could have a small breakfast buffet for less than the cost of the breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
• I would have liked to see more meat-based meals (I felt like a vegetarian during lunch).  The desserts were wonderful but really rich!
• Exhibit area was too crowded.
• I'd like to see a salty option for afternoon snacks...
• No clocks anywhere!!  No place for breakfast on Sunday.   Not enough water - too hard to find.  Snacks at breaks disappeared before everyone could get there.  Last lunch was the best (soup, salad, sandwich) - enough variety to please everyone.  Those gourmet meals were not appreciated by many - a lot of waste.
• Some of the meeting rooms had really bad chairs. Since breakfast wasn't included and the food court was open half the time, it would have been better to serve us food on the morning break. We just finished a big lunch with salad and dessert only to be fed in again in an hour and half in the afternoon, but no food at the morning break. The day should not start before 8:30.
• The lunches, while delicious, were too heavy.
  Was disappointed that CIL and DTIC were at the same time - missed seeing Cindy Stinnett who was in DC.
• Hotel and Conference staff did an excellent job during meals and breaks.  Meeting rooms were not overheated and there was plenty of uncrowded seating at every session, which was a much appreciated improvement over previous conferences.  Wonderful to not have to leave one session early to find seating at the next.  Once I knew the layout, the RenCen was an excellent conference site, easy to get between sessions and hotel room.  Although I understand the reasons for eliminating the breakfast meals, I did miss the chance to network during that time.  Perhaps some sort of organized coffee, or other,  gathering could be planned before the sessions start.
• Hotel location terrible--I arrived on Friday evening for Saturday training and the Ren Cen was closed all weekend.  In many cases,only recourse very expensive hotel restaurants.  Went to Sirsi room after lunch one day and the door was locked, finally after several folks were gathered, Sirsi reps arrived.  Missed past practice of having special interest tables at lunch.
• The meeting rooms were okay with the padded chairs but the breakout sessions with the other chairs were very hard on the back. In addition, I wish UGGI/SIRSIDYNIX would post the PPT a week before so that we could print or download what sessions we are going to, relieving email/print area for email.  The hotel was very expensive and I can't believe they charged for internet.  It was hard to get ice each day and the whole area was unsafe in my opinion.
• Most programs were scheduled in rooms that very adequately fit everyone who attended.  Only a session or two became crowded.  I missed most of the conference meals because I was sick, so I can't really comment on them.
• No internet (wireless) in the meeting rooms.
• The price for presenters is great! As for meeting rooms, there was always enough room for everyone to sit on a chair. (Some other meetings I attend are really jammed.) The screens were large, and the amplification for speakers was good.
• Loved the Vernor's soda during the breaks!  I think the meals were better than at previous conferences.
• Wireless access didn't extend much beyond the core of the hotel tower.
• I attended only the Executive Conference but thought the price was pretty high.
• I really appreciate the fact that Pia contacted me prior to conference regarding my dietary needs. That was so awesome! The plastic chairs were horrible. Several of the other cushion chairs were broken--hotel should have not placed them.
• I thought you did a great job with the set up and location.
• The hotel rooms seemed to have some maintenence issues.  The meeting rooms were quite cold.  Downloading and printing any conference sessions was very slow.  I spent hours trying to get connected to the internet.  I got a run around and finally was moved to a different room.
• would have liked juice option for break refreshment.
• The Renaissance Center building was complicated and confusing.  While there were maps and signage for the conference area, wandering around the rest of the Center became frustrating and detracted from the overall conference experience.  Not enough breakfast opportunities -- or did not know about them. 
  
  Email area crowded.
• Hotel service could only have been improved by having free Internet access and better chairs in some of the breakout rooms. Good service, good meals, plenty of room.
• Free internet access would be nice since most of these hotel are already charging for so much more.
• I especially liked the presence of your "blue shirt/vest" team in the sessions and in the halls, I didn't really avail myself of the opportunity to ask questions of them at this conference but probably will next time now that i know they will be available. I heard many people comment that they appreciated the direct answers to comments or criticisms.
• The only thing I was not too happy about was the commute to the hotel.  I believe the next time a location is selected, their should be prior arrangement made with the hotel to provide this service.  Not only would it prevent the inconvenience and safety, but also lower the out-of pocket expense for us the users.
• Meeting rooms were frequently cold. I cannot believe the hotel charged for Internet access -- Motel 6 doesn't do that! Break at lunch is too long.
• Very few breakfast options at this hotel, long lines.
• I had trouble with internet connection, but didn't bother trying to fix cuz had a roommate with access.  We couldn't connect from the conference area, and I had understood that we should have been able to.
  
  Not as many api sessions on the program this year, which are the ones I really look forward to.
• Could we try some non-chocolate alternatives for desert?
• The hotel was great, every staff person very friendly and helpful. The events staff coordinating were also very professional and responsive. The hotel internet connection was slow; it is aggravating to pay for internet access, so the Sirsi discount was appreciated.
• Thanks for already posting the presentations!
• -meeting rooms will never be perfect, especially without knowing how many will be attending any given session
  -larger rooms were really cold, especially if you were sitting under a blower/fan
• Hotel provided wireless access was confusing and didn't work the one time I tried it.
• The hotel restaurant had extraordinarily bad service.
• I can see that a lot of thought went into the planning of this superconference.  The topics were right on target, and it was good to see that some sessions were repeated, at different times, to give the attendees a chance to attend sessions that would have otherwise been missed.
• At the Sirsi/Dynix reception the last night can we have a dance floor with DJ please?
• I'm a CODI member here for the first time. I was dissapointed in the conference by comparisson to CODI in any given year. I'd make that comparisson on any given issue: program, venue, user's group envolvment, etc.
• I prefer buffet lunches so I can select what I would like to eat. For example, I prefer salads for lunch. With a buffet I could choose more salad and none of the hot entrees.
• print, email, internet access area congested.
• The conference area was great and the catering services were excellent. However the hotel facilities and services were very poor.  The hotel staff would benefit of training on customer services!!!  That applies at the front desk as well as at the River Cafe Bar and Restaurant.  We would expect that such a large convention center, receiving close to a thousand people, would make sure to accommodate the guests by ensuring that the restaurants (starbucks and others) in the area would be aware of the event.
• I didn't realize access to client care staff was available.
• Hotel was ok but the abscence of food options on the weekend was unacceptable.  Someone should have made sure the food court was open on the weekends!
• I had a lot of difficulty with Internet access in my room. Never got wireless access in the lobby even with the passcode.
• The internet access worked fine, but I thought that paying $6 per day for the service on top of our hotel price was wrong.  It's been years since I have had to pay for internet access in a hotel.
• Overall - well-planned conference, much better logistics than last year's. Good seasonal timing, easy access to restaurants etc. Good work.
  
  Access to all staff and officers was very easy - thank you.
  
  Hotel arrangements - immediate access to one's room during the conference - was wisely planned and invaluable. Please continue the practice. The hotel itself, however was a disaster - the room was the filthiest I have seen in a long time (will not go into gruesome details), the internet connection I paid for never worked, vending machines failed, and the water supply broke down for several hours (not hotel's fault, but unfortunate choice of a run-down area). Surely, UUGI could not have anticipated this any more than conference attendees, but please double-check these issues next time.
  
  In addition, most library folks would be perfectly happy in hotels that cost far less. How about prospecting a facility in a less central area ? (But not Broadmoor-style).
  
  By now you have probably heard enough about airport transportation issues... Please arrange shuttles in advance.
  
  Refreshment breaks: food ran out within the first 2-3 minutes each time... Please arrange for a little more. Lunches were good but far too fat-laden; would have been nice to have a low-fat option and slightly larger portions.
  
  Breakfasts should be restored because the savings are illusory. One *does* eat breakfast, so most of the money saved off the conference price here is spent in any case.
  
  Meeting rooms - frequent mismatches between room and audience sizes. In addition, the small, rickety chairs repeatedly gave me a bad back. That hotel was not equipped properly for conference hosting.
  
  The E-mail and print area was well-managed. 5 extra laptops would have eased the lines at peak times.
• E-mail/Print Area only rates a "Good" because of the decision to turn presentation handouts into pdfs (for dummies, I guess) instead of allowing those of us who knew what we were doing to print them from PowerPoint.  This resulted in huge files that took a long time to print with smaller-than-comfortable printing on them.
• The Conference program content was excellent! I was surprised that I learned so much!! Cookies/danish at break first day were great.  Too bad they did follow after that. Ice Cream break was wonderful, too!
• Regarding the meals, I think that in many ways, they were almost too good! Personally, I felt so full from the meals, I didn't need to eat until 8-9 at night. Granted, I didn't have to eat the complete meals, but I could have done with much simpler fare... the last day (soup/salad/sandwhiches) was by far my favorite.
• Concerning the breaks - some of us don't do coffee or soft drinks. A little more variety would be nice.
• Overall, a good conference. Closing reception appeared to be done "on the cheap." Drinks beyond the first free one were expensive. Food was OK. Music was lame! No live band, no live dj, and I'm pretty sure the play list we were hearing repeated several times. Someone could have at least planned two hours worth of music on an iPod. Also, reception lacked a theme and basically lacked personality. A weak ending to the conference.
• Hotel shouldn't charge for internet.  Should at least have free wireless in public areas.
  Should include breakfast.  Makes for more social time.  Lunch time was very noisy.  Hard to talk with others at the table.
• Wireless access was difficult.
• cold and cold and COLDER . . .  Rooms were way too cold for comfort! ! !
• Every time I went to use the computers in the email/print area they were all full.  And the morning breaks went dramatically downhill after the executive conference finished.
• wifi access paid for in  hotel was very confusing as to where it was available or not. never did succeed in making a wireless connection in the lobby.
• The room service of the Hotel was VERY POOR.
• The meals were excellent - the only comment I would make would be that lunch on Monday (gnocchi) was an odd choice as, although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I noticed that because it was so unusual it was not readily accepted. The rooms were fine, though after hearing about previous conferences and the fantastic accommodations they were a little bit of a disappointment at first sight.
• Here's a suggestion for program planning--give the Sirsi people one day--maybe Sunday, since they have much of the morning that day already--and let them do all of the module presentations. Then let the customer presenters have the rest of the conference. This way all of the customers can see the "what's new" programs from Sirsi and the Sirsi staff can all see how customers are using the system.
• Not used to pay extra for Internet access at the room, but SirsiDynix's special rate was OK.
• I appreciate that the hotel was in an accessible area of town so that we could walk or take public transit to other places.
• It would have been nice to be at a hotel that offered free wireless access in the room.  Hotel location was defintely not great -- not much to do --- questionable area --- no shuttle service to shopping or eating at night.
• I gave a "good" to the e-mail/print Internet access area because they were not up and running smoothly on Saturday afternoon/evening because of the trouble Envisionware has with the presenters sending Color Powerpoint Files to them causing a slowdown of printing. E-mail access and printing the handouts is such a wonderful thing they do for us and it is so needed, you would think the presenters could cooperate. Envisionware got their act together by Sunday morning and they couldn't have been more helpful or patient. Good job!
• I would like to see distinct difference between directors level(non IT people) and IT people.
• Filet on Sat. was great, but maybe less so we didn't get that icky potato dumpling thing later. Only ONE drink ticket. Some "cheapness" compared to previous years.
• 1st time attendee so I don't have much past years to compare
• It was hectic with out breakfast served by the conference, I usually went with out food until 12:30 (lunch), because I did not have time to buy and eat before 8 AM and I don't like to eat Mcdonald breakfast. The meal on Monday was bad and I actually got stomack sickness after this lunch...The other lunches on Sunday and Tusday were good. Thank You
• Meals - more veggie and healthy options please. Glad you had fruit at one or two of the breaks.
  Some meeting rooms were loud (toilets flushing).
  Email print area crowded.
  Internet access was limited (cords in rooms were about 6 inches long, could not get wireless in conference area).
• Please, please have recycling facilities available!  Also, I found the conference worked better for those traveling from far away when it ended mid-day on Tuesday with the reception being the night before.
• I was disappointed that there was no shuttle service offered by the hotel. I know that it was arranged later by the SuperConference, but I've never stayed at a hotel that did not have a shuttle service of their own.
• It would have been nice if juice would be available. I am not a hot drink person (Coffee & Tea). Something to munch on would be nice.
  
  Despite what you may hear from other attendees, I thought the hotel was an excellent value.
• I was unaware of whom the UUGI Executive members were. I did not think they were very visible. I only heard of their meeting afterwards. Not sure how I missed that but I did not receive a call for a meeting, agenda or anything. Not sure if the meeting was only for the executive or if members were invited.
• The meeting rooms were generally good, but those white folding chairs in the 5th floor rooms (Brule, etc.) were very uncomfortable.  I opted out of some sessions because of the seating.
• I really expect free internet access at a conference like this.  That was disappointing to not have that available.
• Get the city to offer tours of the town in the evenings.
• The overall layout of the convention center was a bit weird with all the different levels and it was difficult to get to some of the levels.  Poor conference planning in regards to availability of -OPEN- restaurants for attendees during early morning/evening hours at this site.
• The meeting rooms were real close and you could easily leave your room and be in the meeting room in 3 minutes.
• Loved the hotel.
• I REALLY missed having coffee available after the first session. It was very hard to wait for the second morning break for coffee. Also what was offered in the breaks was very variable, sometimes excellent, other times virtually nothing. Also the screens in the meeting rooms were often too low and 1/4 to 1/3 of the screen content was lost to the audience not in the first couple of rows. They need to be set much higher to the ceiling.
• WELL DONE.
• The lunch for non-vegetarians looked awful and the folks who ate did not like it.  Over all, I think the conference was fairly welled planned and carried out.
• The biggest problem I had was with the conference program.  During the majority of time slots, I had one of two problems:  either there were several sessions I wanted to attend, or there were NO sessions I wanted to attend.  Even though some sessions were repeated, I still was not able to attend all that I wanted.  Making tracks of programming would help; for example, the Serials Sharing Session and the Cataloging Sharing Session were held at the same time.  I doubt that many mid- to small-sized libraries send more than one tech services person to the conference, so this was especially annoying.
  
  Meals and breaks were unremarkable, considering there was only one full meal provided each day.  Once again, the conference was held in a venue where finding reasonable-cost meals was difficult.
• Would suggest more venues to find morning coffee.
• The meals (lunches) were just okay.  Breakfast was always a scramble and I don't mean eggs.  Was impossible to get anything Sunday morning before 8 a.m.  Cafe was full and that was the only real option.   I'd rather pay a few more $$ and have breakfast included in the conf.
• hotel was great, once I stopped going in circles!
• Future consideration: I realize that many current conference facilities across the United States were built without the proliferation of technology in mind.  However, relying on limited access of available outlets to power a laptop limits the amount of live online interaction in programs, i.e. blogs and the possibility to take notes, etc. on my laptop.  I would have liked to have access to a power outlet without having to sit at the end of the rows of tables and making sure no one trips on the power cord.  I chose to use my battery-powered backup, but then I could only use my laptop for two hours before it could no longer be used.
• I didn't like the city of Detroit.  I would like to suggest Indianapolis as rather central location in the United States with excellent hotels, convention center, access to shopping and great dining.
• There were problems with food options between Saturday and Sunday when everything in the surrounding area was closed.  I really liked having the option of fresh fruit during the breaks.  I thought that the conference meals were not great for people who like plain food - except for the last lunch.  The desserts were GREAT!!!
• Sunday morning breakfast was a bit of an issue since the Starbucks and the hotel restaurant seemed to be the only convenient options.  Have you ever considered offering a non-dairy special meal option - or at least offering a registration option that does not include meals?
• There are people who drink orange juice and not coffee.
• Was hungry by lunchtime. Acquiring breakfast was a problem.
  Lunches were ok. Not great.
• Plastic folding chairs in smaller meeting rooms were very uncomfortable.
• The inclusion of meals might be an option for a lower registration rate in the future. The conference is such a valuable one, but the costs are much higher than other expected ones such as ALA, PLA
• The meeting rooms should have been better thought out as to amount of people. Some of the meetings were overcrowed with small rooms, while some were almost empty in large rooms.
• Most of the meeting rooms were too chilly for me.  Otherwise the facility was excellent.
• Waiters for lunch breaks were the worst I've ever experienced.
• Due to travel snafus I only had one late afternoon (Monday) and one full day (Tuesday) at the conference
• SIRSI programs were poorly delivered; user programs quite good
  Waiter service overwhelmed, food quality varied, was generally o.k.
  Asparagus at every meal???
  Good facility, far less walking than some venues
• Meals: Sunday morning breakfast should have been done differently. Starbucks was overwhelmed and the line was very long. The other mornings there were alternatives, but Sunday morning was very limited. The lunch on Tuesday was cramped and with having a backpack and conference materials to carry, while having to go through a line to get my lunch was frustrating and then trying to navigate tables that were very tightly spaced added to the frustration.
  Meeting rooms: The plastic chairs were very uncomfortable. The rooms with padded chairs were comfortable.
  Morning/Afternoon Breaks: more fresh fruit and healthy snacks. Didn't find any recycle bins for pop cans.
  Internet Access: The sessions I attended that wanted to use the internet could not, it was not working. This limited the presentation.
• Venue much better than Nashville (not as spread out, easy to find conf rooms, restrooms, etc.)
• Meeting rooms had adequate seating; I've been to previous conferences where there was standing room only. In only two cases were not enough chairs available but hotel staff quickly brought more in. Also, of all the SuperConferences I've attended, five in all, this past one had all the meeting rooms the closest together; a very big plus!
• Some billing problems noted by our staff with Hotel room internet access.
• Meeting rooms were to cold
• Breakfast should be included in the conference registration price, as it used to be.  If not, then a reasonably priced, easily accessible alternative needs to be provided -- similar to the a la cart breakfast bar provided in Colorado Springs.
• wi/fi????
• Personally, I would rather that a continental breakfast was sponsored by a different vendor every day than morning or afternoon "refreshments."
• The meal quality was generally very good although too filling for lunch. I would rather see breakfast and a more modest lunch included in the conference price.
• on Saturday and Sunday there was no place to eat and room service had bad food and expensive.
• The breaks seemed inconsistent this year.  Were they held each morning and afternoon?  I couldn't find the refreshments sometimes.
  
  Sitting was poor in the conference area.  It would have been nice to have places to sit at times to review the schedule between sessions.
• I only attended the Executive Session.
• The hotel was a little confusing, and its internet arrangements left a lot to be desired. Wireless in the rooms I would have thought is pretty much standard. The Executive Conference and general sessions were all very good. The general conference's sessions tended to be a bit uneven. Some, slated for an hour,lasted all of 15 minutes. In a couple of instances, the speaker rushed through the material. Overall, the conference is definitely worth it and I would not hesitate to go again, but there were a sufficient number of uneven sessions that Good is perhaps too strong an assessment although fair is by far too critical. I would split the Executive Conference a little differently as well. Although a lot of very good material was presented and a great number of good ideas were covered, it would also have been really useful to have elements that addressed the needs of specific constituencies such as the academic sector. A number of my colleagues from the academic sector noted that they did not feel there was enough at the Executive session that directly referenced their environments and concerns. Breakout groups along such areas of interest in the afternoons or on one of the two days would likely provide the context and relevancy to address this concern.
• Availability of breakfast, especially on Sunday, was a problem.  I preferred it when the conference included breakfast as it provided an additional opportunity to talk with people and getting something to eat was not a problem.
• Great hotel, great city.
• please only consider conference facilities that have wireless access in the meeting rooms! my learning experience is greatly enhanced when i can do research using the web during a session
• Very well done. Thanks for all of the hard work.
• It's interesting that in my Holiday Inn Express I had instant wireless for free but in a conference that is all about using technology to meet customers needs, it was extra?
• I felt it was very easy to get around the conference center to the various workshops. Perhaps the round design helped. I still feel the conf. price compared to earlier years and compared to PLA and ALA for instance, is quite steep. If the meals are adding on $30+ dollars a day, they are not worth that much. If we had restaurants available to pick up a <$10 lunch or so, that might be just as well. I still find it inexplicable why the conference started at 8 a.m. on a Sunday, the first day. Did no one realize that for the Westerners that is 5 a.m. in the morning!!!! After traveling some distance!!!! Incomprehensible really, for one of the most important parts of the conference. I mean, what would have been wrong with 3 p.m??? As has been noted, others object to starting on Sunday morning, and I certainly do!!!! But even if the first day had been a Monday, with the big time difference, it would have been kinder and gentler to choose a later hour to schedule a critical program.
• Lap tops were more difficult to use and I usually had to queue and still did not get access before attending another session.
• UUGI may be trying to keep the cost of the conference down but by not including breakfast in the price of the conference, the price isn't going down. Breakfast at these expensive hotels is priced very high, even when it is possible to find a place open for a breakfast of more than tea/coffee and pastries.
• Expensive registration. No coffee in the afternoon.
• Transportation cost from the airport to the hotel was very expensive.  Also, on the weekend pre-conference, it was hard to find an inexpensive meal alternative, as the food court was mostly shut down.  Breakfast consisted of a muffin from Starbucks--and I was lucky to find that!
• The lunches were terrible and the folding chair seating in the level 5 breakout rooms were very uncomfortable.  On the other hand, I thought the mix of programs was excellent.
• a small, continental breakfast would be nice.
• Thanks for getting the discount on internet access at the hotel.  That was very helpful.
• very disappointed in lack of breakfast options; I pretty much had to wait until 10:30am before I had an opportunity to eat and have a cup of tea; at other conferences I've attended continental breakfast was sponsored by exhibitors in the exhibit hall
• Meal with little/no protein was bad. Flimsy chairs on one floor were painful to sit in for any length of time.
• Meeting rooms holding more than 30 people need to have microphones in the audience.  In many cases it was impossible to hear questions from the floor, which decreased the value of the information and hampered audience participation.
• Although the food at lunch was excellent, the meals were more like something I would eat for supper.  I would like to see simpler meals at lunch so that maybe there would be some money to provide breakfast.  I found it difficult to find a healthy breakfast and resorted to snagging yogurt/granola/berry cups in the middle of the afternoon (as they were all gone in the morning) and putting them in the ice bucket in my room for the following day.  The breakfast could be done simply.  Perhaps cereal and toast options, with fruit, pastries and coffee.
• N/A means that I didn't avail myself of these services.
• It's easy to talk to SirsiDynix product managers at the conference (not sure if they are management or client care? -- so I checked both boxes.
  But they NEVER EVER reply to any followup emails I send them after the conference.
  This has happened before. 
  It is so frustrating.
  I end up feeling like I have just been tricked, once again, into believing the Vesta  S/D cares.
• Morning/Afternoon breaks were hard to find where they were located and there wasn't a much of a selection unless you drink coffee or soda.
• I believe the SirsiDynix management and client care staff were much easier to find and chat with at this conference than in the past. Was it because of the blue sweaters? Not sure.
  
  Two of the three meals were good, the one with the gnocchi was yucky!
• Since it was held in my home town, I'm partial, but really, I think it went off with-out a hitch.
• Some of the meeting rooms were better than others -- seating, lighting.
• Meals: Prefer buffet style for more options and lesser quantity, even though that presentation is more costly to stage. Less wasteful as attendees can select portions they are more likely to finish.
• Only wireless connection in the main lobby. And slow conection.
• The hotel was very nice. The only thing I might do is make the meeting rooms next year more accessible for those with laptops.
• Regarding meals, I would like more options to those wanting to observe dietary restrictions of no dairy products with meats, etc.  (Why is there always cheese on everything :) )  Not serious problem but the more options, the more people can decide for themselves what/how to eat.  (buffets vs. 'sit down take what we serve.')
• Really should have another day to repeat some of the sessions.  Lots of time conflicts with other good sessions.
• Cutting breakfast with no options aside from one Starbucks location in the hotel was poor planning. Lunch service to the tables was a nice touch. Access to meeting rooms was much better than Nashville which was spread out too much.
• Chairs in some of the smaller break out sessions were very uncomfortable (small white plastic chairs)
• Internet access -- only poor because one had to pay to have access from the hotel room.
• There were not enough sitting areas for attendees to get together and
  network. In the past conferences, there have always been plenty of seating areas outside the conference rooms.
• This is the 2nd year I went to Ask SirsiDynix with the same issues I've had for over 14 months and was promised they would get back to me.  To date, I still haven't heard a word from Jesse who I talked to but wouldn't give me his last name or a contact card or any contact information.  Ask SirsiDynix is useless if they aren't going to respond.
• Couldn't count on teh hotel's internet connection. It was bad at one of my presentations and so useless in my room that I asked them to give me a refund (which they did.)

Question 5 Comments (Exhibits/Vendors)

• Not enough variety of vendors.
• I think too much time was given to visit exhibitors.  I would have preferred a later session start time in the morning with less time reserved for visiting the exhibitors.
• Most of the exhibitors don't deal in products that we use, so I don't spend a lot of time talking with them.
• Every other vendor was self service stations... There really could have been a lot more variety in the vendors exhibiting at the conference...
• Too much time alloted for the vendors.
• Too much time alloted for exhibts - considering not a lot.  would rather one chunk of time instead of repeated small amounts.  (Too little time to go anywhere or do anything) too much time to kill between sessions.  Wouldn't mind if some sessions were longer instead of so much break time.  Felt like 2 days of conference spread over 3.
• I didn't visit any of the vendors this year because I either already had or wasn't interested in their products.
• Wished Ingram had been there.
  
  Appreciate opportunity to see new, potential vendors.
  
  Helped having coffee to lure people inside.
• Seemed sparse this year.
• Not much variety of vendors, felt sparse. Exhibit room was awkward, no logical flow from vendor to vendor.
• I did not find the exhibits relevant to my work in Acquisitions.
• Really noticed there were not many vendors this year. Hope that's only because it was conflicting with some other conferences.
• Not many vendors.
• The number of vendors seemed smaller this year.  Glad to have time built into the schedule for vendor time.
• There were not as many vendors as I expected.
• My impression was that there were fewer of the partners/vendors that most libraries work with in attendance.  As a techie I don't attend PLA or ALA, so I appreciate the chance to talk with both vendors we use and those we currently do not.
• More vendors that are partnering with Sirsi, or would like to do so, should be included.; The Saturday Catalog Add-On session was EXCELLENT.
• In the past there have been many more vendors.
• I heard from several vendors that the hours were not good -
  
  hours started too early in the morning with very little traffic.
• The vendors area needs some work.  There is too much time given to the vendors.
• I don't know what the standard is for conferences, but it seems as though the vendors may have been manning their booths for a very long time each day.
• Only attended Executive Conference
• Most seemed to be pushing self-check units, and didn't want to talk about anything else they might offer.
• Just seems like there should have been more vendors interested in the SuperConference opportunity.
• Wish there would have been more book vendors.
• This is my third time attending the Conference.  It seems to me that the number of vendors have decreased tremendously.
• More vendors = less cost to attend conference. Less cost to attend conference = more attendees. More attendees = more vendor interest.
• Though I'm sure the sponsorship helps with cost, I have never really seen the point of exhibit/vendors.  Most of the vendors I want to meet with, I find at ALA or AALL meetings.
• I tend to not go to these.
• For the amount of vendors there, there was too much designated time.
• I suppose it would be nice to have more vendors, but I'm not sure there would be much value for the vendors.
• The vendor exhibits were weak this year.
• There almost seemed to be too much time for the number of vendors attending.
• I didn't visit any booths.
• Because this conference came on the heels of PLA, I had already spoken with vendors within the last week.  Therefore, I did not spend much time in the exhibit hall.
• Lacking compared to what I'm used to.
• Would like to see more variety.
• It is not really big enough or diverse enough.  SuperConference attendees as a group are sophisticated technology users.   However, PLA and LITA national conventions are better exhibits even if we limit to only "add on to Unicorn" or "works with" software and products.   Even Michigan Library Association's state convention has almost as many technology vednors some years.
• Seems like there should have been more vendors.  Were there fewer because this conference conflicted with the Computers in Libraries conference?
• During conferences, invaluable interactions take place during vendor no-conflict times. This detracts from one's ability to visit the booths. Please extend these periods, conference prorgams can end at 6 p.m. daily with no ill effect - as long as room access is relatively easy.
• Way too much "no conflict" time for vendors given the small number that were there.
• It was a little tight in the exhibit venue but doable.  I did not need web access but it looked like people were lined up quite a bit.
• Not very interesting exhibits.  Maybe the free give away if you visit all exhibits?
• Would have liked to seem more exhibitors.
• We're not in the market for other new products but it was helpful to have access to companies we already do business with.
• There needed to be more vendors and also ones that fit better to a K-12 Library
• Not many exhibitors and too much vendor-only time
• It was small this year, so I managed to make it to all of them. Kept thinking we were missing something, though and couldn't tell you what.
• I would like to more vendors for Virtual library solution. not limited to the library but also good solution for the library. Especially Web2.0 related vendor.
• very few vendors and more time than needed for the few that were there.
• vendors were to removed from conference area and much to cramped
• 1st time attendee so I don't have much past years to compare
• Perhaps this isn't Sirsi's fault, but it seemed like a small amount of vendors were there.
  
  Also, I think Envisionware needs more people available to talk/sit down with potential customers. It is wonderful what they offer at the conference, but are so popular it is hard to really talk to them about their product.
• I was only there for the executive conference and the exhibits started on Monday after I left. I would have liked to talk with Serials Solutions.
• Most of the exhibits aren't relevant to me or our libraries.
• Need to have more technical vendors covering more server hardware and networking.  Like Cisco, Dell, Sun for example.  I'd like to see presentations from these companies as well showcasing current and upcoming technologies that can help libraries and system administrators.
• I felt sorry for the vendors.  Didn't look like they were getting much interest.  It was better when there was an incentive to visit their booths - possibility of winning something.
• CROWDED
• I did not spend too much time with the vendors, but those that I visited were very helpful.
• I found the exhibits and vendors time just as beneficial as the sessions this year.
• Seemed like there were less vendors than before.  Maybe I'm mistaken.
• I expected alot more vendors!  Then again, I realize they, too, had conflicts with CIL being scheduled at the same time.  This was a big issue for our lib - our 2 main annual conferences are CIL and SuperConference. Please don't make us choose between them again!  Back to vendors - I thought that too much time was allotted for the small number of vendors there.
• it seemed that there were less vendors at this conference
• Only attended the Executive Program.  Did not view exhibits/vendors.
• It would be great if the conference wasn't at the same time as Computers in Libraries so that more vendors could come.
• Not interested in exhibits.
• I rely on exhibits/vendors at ALA. I only check out the exhibits/vendors at SuperConference when I need to kill time.
• didn't go/care
• I like having the exhibits/vendors present at the conference.  Thanks for arranging.
• Same group every year, not much of interest to Academic libraries
• Not really too many vendors present. Could be more
• I had ample time to make the contacts that I wanted to make. SirsiDynix and other reps were very generous with their time.
• I only attended the Executive Session.
• Exhibit area felt very cramped this year and it seemed like very few vendors were present.
• It was useful to see the linkages and to have a chance to talk to vendors that could potentially be optimized for a SirsiDynix environment.
• Unlike other conferences (AALL or ILTA) vendors were not obnoxious. I didn't feel like an antelope on the Seregeti.
• I really didn't interact much with the exhibits this year, as I wasn't in the market for anything, but it is good to see what is available.
• The vendor space was too cramped
• Too much time set aside for vendors for my needs.  None of the vendors had anything of interest for my special library.
• The exhibits were of little value, other than saying hello to vendor reps that I hadn't seen since the last library conference.
• Not a huge selection, but I do appreciate that every vendor there is known to be compatible with the software we are using.
• not much variety, alot of different RFID vendors.
• I did not go to the exhibits
• too few vendors
• Got some specific questions answered from vendors I approached. Always too many people around the SirsiDynix demos though. Good for them but hard to view demos and discuss specific features.
• I did not attend any exhibits or vendor booths.
• There seemed to be less vendors this year.

Question 6 Comments (SuperConference Web Site)

• Would be nice to be able to print a schedule for a day with the session annotations.
• Several breakout sessions in the program were not what the sessions were really about.
• It would have been good to have more repeats of the SirsiDynix sessions because of conflicts with good user sessions. Also the Canadian User Sharig session could have been scheduled so as not to conflict with otehr sessions
• Thank you for providing that information ahead of time!
• Information I had gotten online about scheduled classes was different from the booklet I receive when I got there so had to juggle some classes
• Yes, this is necessary especially if more than 1 delegates is attending to divide up the sessions to attend.
• Should have more presentations by users.
• Event staff should have been ready to add a few more chairs to rooms where some participants had to stand and there was room for additional seating in the back of the smaller rooms or have a few stacks of chairs at the back of the room.
• The more time we have to plan before we get there, the better.  Everyone on staff makes suggestions for what would be useful.
• Getting the program in advance helped me make best use of my time, as I am now the only representative from my library system, so I have to be efficient about it.
  
  The fold-out schedule is the best feature of the printed program.
• I preselected some, mostly for first day and to see what time things were scheduled for.
• There were a few changes from the online program to the print program we received. Also, the online program didn't go into as much detail as the print program, and I felt that having the full descriptions available online as well would have been helpful.
• It would have been helpful to have the program lists available earlier.
• I select as I go but highlight the 'must see' sessions.
• Thank you - very helpful!
• Not enough details.
• But short annotations would have been helpful; luckily the print program explained that "Demand mgt" was about "holds"-- my first thought was more general customer service
• I thought there was a lot of good programs and hard to choose which ones to attend.
• Would like to see the program available online earlier.
• It was good to have the program online so that I could select the programs that I wanted to attend--It's a good thing that we weren't locked in because I changed my mind on several.
• Would have liked to have a way to down-load my selected sessions to my PDA.
• Very helpful
• Didn't have time to do this due to vacation scheduled shortly before the conference.
• Need to get the program up on the website earlier
• It is helpful to plan in advance, what to attend, but I had just been too busy.
• Having the programs available prior to the conference was a big help and assisted in planning time at the conference.
• A more descriptive program earlier in the registration process would have aided in our decision-making about who and how many to send to the SuperConference.
• The website was a big help.
• I lost the email that linked to the selections, and could not easily find that selection form on the conference site (or was it there at all?)
• The web site was not very useful early in the registration/decision making period.
• very helpful to have the program ahead of time even though you make last minute changes to your plan
• No time before the conference to plan!
• Great idea to put the program online.  Since not everyone in the library could attend the conference, it gave the workers, not in attendance, a chance to select which programs that they wanted their co-workers to attend.
• Would like to see the program info firmed up sooner.
• For the most part. However, I made adjustments during the conference.
• Superb!
• Registration opened rather late, please start sooner. The program became available a little late too, but still at good timing. The sooner the program is up, the better.
• I can't say enough about what a great program was presented.  The broad spectrum of topics were extremely helpful!  Website was very manageable and accessable.  Thanks to the team who was involved with putting it together.
• I like being able to plan in advance. If you're thinking of doing away with it, don't!
• I reviewed prior to my attendance, and i didnt go to that many of the ones i checked off, but opted for others, when i got there, due to the fact that we are so isolated from the community.
• Excellent programs!
• The mouse over descriptions made the program difficult to print.  If possible it would be nice to have the pdf up online so that conference go-ers could select programs ahead of time
• It was my first time and I had some trouble with the sessions with the very short description - Just not enough info to decide if I should attend.
  
  
  
  I liked the "this session is also at another date/time" on the description - that really helped layout out my day.
• Although I generally chose which programs I would attend prior to the conference I made adjustments throughout depending on what I had attended and learned.
• My selections always change however as soon as I hear the first talk because it is then that I learn what some of the names, acronyms, lingo really mean. After learning what Symphony really was (or Enterprise, etc.)and the paths to upgrades, I changed some of my selections realizing that those sessions were important.
• Some. Maybe more specified sessions for intermediate/advanced and separate for general /beginner or techies and non techies. You didn't have as many choices that were for the non technical person.
• I did not realize that the program that was given on site was different from the online program as far as the location of some of the sessions, and I found myself in the wrong session a couple of times because I had made my schedule prior to the start of the conference.
• I wish the program would come out earlier. We have to make our reservations way in advance (flying from Alaska) to get a reasonable price and we were trying to figure out who we should send based on the program.
• I found that the program was posted late. I had to keep checking back to see when it would be posted.
• I  am not able to access confernece presentation handout yet.
• VERY NEAT
• Viewing the program online prior to the conference is extremely helpful.
• Would be great if possible to put the lineup in its condensed form earlier on the website.  I printed mine a week ahead and then saw just a day or so before I left that I could get the schedule "at a glance" view.  Regardless, I appreciated having the descriptions available early, so I could target what I wanted to attend. Thanks.
• Would have like to attend more sessions, however because of the way they were arranged this was not possible. This is undertandable though due to the wide cross section of topics covered.
• it was very helpful for me to plan ahead
• Would like to have had the daily grids in advance to mark.
• Having the programs listed as early as possible allows us to decide who will attend the conference.
• program documents (powerpoints) needed to be available at least a week before the conference
• Having the program available ahead of time helps in the decision of who should attend the conference.
• Procrastinator
• I found it difficult that it took so long to have any kind of description of the program. I needed that info to make a case to my boss for attending the conference.
• Registering as a presenter, I wasn't given the opportunity to select programs.
• Seemed a bit less organized than other years, but finally found the program listing.  It is essential to have this in advance.
• This was very useful and handy.
• Found this facility very useful in determining attendance at the conference- you could choose ahead of time what was relevant for you.
• I attended some of the programs I selected but others were not what I expected.
• I skimmed the program and made tentative selections of programs to attend.  A printable grid of the programs offered each day (separate from the 50-page program) would have been helpful.
• I selected some of the programs prior to the conference.
• Again, a yes would be incorrect but a no is not accurate either. I did review the entire package before attending and took the opportunity to pre-select areas of interest. However, staff who could not attend prioritized areas of interest as well in the general conference which I then attended. I went to all of the sessions in the Executive Conference except one because it conflicted with a high priority session from the general conference.
• Very nice website.
• Could you incorporate a planner onto the conference site that lets you select programs and print out your individualized schedule? I have seen something like this for other conferences.
• No time.
• The earlier it can be posted the better.  It helped me decide whether to attend and which sessions to attend.
• Some didn't have enough information -- I am glad the powerpoints were available at the conference, though, and I used these A LOT to help me decide which session to attend.
• I would have liked the information about sessions that was printable - like the book we received - to be available on the site a little sooner.  I know some who were on the site making plans for sessions and started their travels before the printable book was available.  Not everyone carries a laptop or has internet access on their trip.
• Appreciate the opportunity to make preliminary selections prior to arrival as it enabled 6 of us from this site to coordinate who would attend which sessions so all interests and areas of obligation were covered.
• Next year, can the conference program be posted a month earlier?

Question 7 Comments (UUGI/CODI Joint Conference)

• You need a maybe here.
• Actual staff attendance will be planned next fiscal year so really don't know if I will be attending the next conference or not.
• Someone from our Library will probably go to Dallas-- I am not sure if it will be me though.
• Not enough funding to attend yearly.
• Possibly.
• Probably someone from my workplace will attend - may not be me
• Someone will go, if not me, someone else.
• I am retiscent about presenting because a) we are behind in implementation, and I am unsure of the value of our own experience and b) I am unsure of our library's funding, due to property tax issues in Fla.
• Probably not.
• I can do the System Admin (Windows) Sharing Session again next year.
• Would like to go but probably not in budget to send more than one staff member from our library system.
• I am interested in presenting, but not sure if there would be a topic I could speak about.
• We will be further along in our SchoolRooms implementation so I plan to present on that again, possibly with other customers. We're also doing some great e-learning stuff here at the State Library.
• Presenting? I'm still learning.
• Presenting is the only way I can come.  Otherwise, it is too expensive.  Depending on the costs of the hotel, it might be too expensive even with the discount since it appears that hotel cost is more expensive than this year.
• Currently, I am planning to attend next year's conference but with a public library budget environment, things could change.
  
  A co-worker and I have spoken about presenting a joint program next year if we can get the add-on module loaded and operating.
• Too early to know, this is not a valid answer.
• You need another option here!  Maybe!  Being from INFOhio, we were quite surprised to see how far ahead we were of many others.  I think we might have some good things to offer.
• I would think about it. I presented last year.
• Maybe, I have not decided for sure.
• At the present time, I am not planning on attending due to a variety of reasons but not because I don't enjoy the conference and talking to other sites and SIRSIDYNIX staff.  If I was going, I would offer to present but at the present time, I don't think I will be able to attend.  I wish the conference was back in St. Louis or Huntsville or some other safe place that isn't as expensive as Detriot.
• Someone on my staff would be willing to do a session on our successful Java Training. Would there be interest in this?
• I came with a list of questions and they were all answered.  Excellent job by SIRSI staff and exhibitors. 
  
  
  
  Just a wish that the Public Library SIG meeting wasn't always such a bitch session.  I appreciate the need to vent but its unproductive if the complaining mostly involves inaccuracies or rumors or are based on "well, what I heard..."
• Might be willing to present if I can come up with an interesting topic.
• Interest in presenting is contingent on having something worthwhile to present/discuss
• Answers based on availability of funds to attend, and at this time don't feel that I have anything to present, but will keep this open as an option over the next year.
• Not at this time.
• Don't know if I will be able to attend. I doubt that our budget will allow as much participation from INFOhio.
• The library directors in our consortium alternate attendance at the Superconference. I would love to attend, but it will be another director's turn.
• It will probably be someone else's turn to go to SuperConference next year.
• I've only worked with the SirsiDynix system for 6 months, and doubt I'd be ready to present by next year.
• I would be willing to present, but I can't think of anything that we do that would be of interest to others.
• I have no idea what I would present but would be glad to if I can find a topic.
• Unfortunately, I would not attend the conference next year.  At that time, next year, we will be ending our Symphony's migration from MultiLIS.
• I'm saying YES that I would like to attend the conference in Dallas but it all depends on the budget and if money is allocated next fiscal year.
• Please keep the relevant mailing lists & websites updated on next year's conference - there are many questions.
  
  One also worries about the larger scale of the conference: will the program be relevant to both user's groups, or will it be more or less two conferences taking place side-by-side ?  Will the larger size interfere with personal interactions ? Will the logistics become difficult ?  Will the hotel run out of rooms ? (As happened at Opryland). Will there be too many concurrent sessions, enough to make attendance choices tough ? Etc. etc.  Please do your utmost to preserve the nature of the SirsiDynix conference, which is excellent, and prevent it from degenerating into a living nightmare resembling ALA.
  
  While I would like to present, I cannot commit to it responsibly at the present. Hopefully things will work out.
• since we are early adopters of the Staff Web Client [and we love it] perhaps we could do a presentation on our implementation process [rather than having SIRSI present the product]
• After attending some of the Director's Station presentations, a few of my coworkers mentioned that they thought I could present something similar. I could do a presentation about my library's experience implementing Director's Station, if a topic like it were needed. It would be a cross between two of the presentations done this year on Director's Station -- Tiina Payson's "Statistics for the Non-Statistically Minded" and "Director's Station in the real world". Again, I'm not sure if another similar topic would be disired. Also, not sure if our library will be on the updated version by then or not!
• This question needs a "Maybe" option. Which is what I would've selected.
• This is an expensive conference. I generally attend every other year.
• I don't know about plans for next year.
• All depends on how the auto industry trends . . .  NEXT year could be very difficult for Ford in particular! ! !
• I would be interested in presenting, but I have no idea what I could present on, since we are a small public system and don't do any customization and such.
• I may or may not be able to attend the next year conference in Dallas largely depends on the budget....
• maybe
• It really depends on other priorities that may affect traveling budget.
• Presenting was a frightening but wonderful experience for me.  I learned a lot by preparing for it and made some excellent contacts afterward.
• Too far; budget cuts; I hear the location is similar to Detroit; hotel surrounded by nothing and very limited public transporation.
• If the projects we've planned go well, perhaps there will be something worth presenting - but I don't know yet.
• At this time I don't know if I will be able to attend next year. I would like to though.
• I'm not 100% on the yes side. It depends how much I can afford to be gone if it runs longer.
• Only because we are behind.  We are just beginning to use the JAVA Client.
• I did not decide whether I will attent the conference next year.
• I would be interested in presenting again if I have something relevant to present.
• From a technical standpoint, I didn't feel that there was much substance at this conference and so am not planning on attending next year.
• I have already had several requests to present Director's Station again. I've been requested by some to give two presentations. One for those who have never seen DS and just need to know how it works from scratch, and another one for administrators in customizing the interface. I hope by then it will be the new Symphony version so I'll have a new training manual written for that.
• I do not know how to answer the first question in this area since we may not be using SIRSI products by next year.  My director wants to migrate to Evergreen.  If we are still on SIRSI, I will more than likely be at the joint conference in Dallas.
• Possibly interested in presenting.
• Would like to attend the Conference in Dallas.  It all depends on cost (hotel, flight, etc.)
• We alternate who attends each year, so unfortunately I cannot attend next year although I would like to.
• Should be interesting having the two groups.  Everyone seems to be worried about that? but from the CODI people I met with, it seems they have the same concerns, praises, experiences as we do.
• I am probably going to skip next year and send a staff member instead - I hope to attend again in 2010.
• presenting - maybe
• Will possibly attend.
• With a 'maybe' attached.
• Funding will be a determining factor for us here at York as to how many and who may attend. Would like to attend as I find the conference very useful.
• I am not interested in presenting at this time.
• Pending approval by supervisors and administration.
• I would like to join the conference in Dallas although I don't think we'll be going as our migration from Horizon is at least two to three years away.
• You will need to include a Convention DART day pass($3 ea) for the train in the registration packet. There is very little to do in the Adams Mark hotel area.DART Info http://www.dart.org/fares/grouppasses.asp .
• My position in the library won't require me to attend next year.
• The Super Conference was informative enough that I am seriously considering going to Dallas, particularly given developments and interests in my region. However, it is unlikely that I would go every year given the cost and distances involved.
• Really - unknown on both accounts.   Don't know if employer will send me in midst of budget cuts.   If I worked on something that I thought might be helpful to someone else - I would be willing to present - but won't know until closer to conference.
• Glad that you chose Dallas. A merged conf. will be interesting.
  
  My yes to presented should be taken as in favor of it, but not commiting ;-)
• I checked 'yes' but I'm not sure if I'll be attending. The hotels are getting to be too expensive and the conference too big.
• MAYBE.  I might be interested in presenting something on using NCIP for ILL.
• I would present if i can find a suitable topic but with EPS going away I don't know.
• I would like to join the converence in Dallas, but it depends on the money available in my district.
• not sure if I'll be attending next year at this point
• Not me personally, but I believe that staff from Toronto Public Library could present on a number of topics related to our implementation of Symphony.
• If we can ever get Collection Exchange working -- see my comments about the Product Managers not getting back to us, in question 4 -- then I would love to present a session about it.  We are very very close...
• I won't be going next year because I was able to make the journey to Detroit this year and doubt I will be able to attend again without others possibly getting a chance to attend, too.
• not decided
• I am interested in presenting but don't take responding to this survey as a commitment.
• Not sure about attending - no option for indecision - so said no
• Good god, no!
• Not sure about presenting next year, too soon to tell
• It would be nice if more of the presentations were by users and not SirsiDynix staff. Nothing against the staff, but I find I get more out of it when seeing what actual users have done.
• Not absolutely sure.
• I attended the directors track and the regular conference.  I enjoyed the directors conference.  I would attend both tracks again next year (if it's affordable).
• Yes, if I am still a forum moderator

Question 8 Comments (What Topics Would You Like to See Next Year?)

• I would like more classes that mix overviews with practical, specific tips for intermediate and advanced Unicorn administrators.
• More user-presented topics.  This year was better than prior years--keep up the trend.  It's supposed to be a "USER" conference!
• Elibrary - tagging, reviews, etc.
• Sessions on Rooms and SchoolRooms implementation.  More on enterprise and e-library as they develop.
• It is a good mix of presentations by customers and SirsiDynix.
• e-library installation and customisation. Enterprise installation and configuration.
• I'd like to see the API as open source and then have some how-to class available
• I don't really know what I'm looking for next year.  Surprise me!
• EDI ordering and invoicing, eLibrary (including RSS Feeds, Federated Search) and Enterprise.
• More advanced system administration for Unicorn, network security sessions, and perhaps an "Oh my God, the system crashed, what do I do" session would be helpful for some.
• RFID.  Report writing (SQL ?) with a few concrete examples that are developed from start to finish in a presentation.  Mr Hurley did this well in Salt Lake City several years ago.
• sharings on Symphony, e-library, and Enterprise
• More RFID implementation and issues.
• As always, I'd like to see several topics related to systems admin.
• How are people using Symphony, director's station, etc. to help with collection development...
• More along the same lines, and hopefully by then, more of what sites up and running on Symphony are doing.
• More use of reports in S-D.
• More ibistro configuration classes, more on reports.
• API (buiding custom reports from start to finish)
• More information about the Reports Module
• There were many of us still at Unicorn Gl 3.1. Most of the topics were about Symphony or other releases not in such general use. Perhaps a session on training staff to convert 3.1 to Symphony? Of course, many of us will be done by then with our conversions.
• More about Acquisitions, especially in presentations about reports and report management.
• Very interested in how people are training staff, particularly with e-learning options. In addition, would love to see how folks are integrating all the open source/web 2.0 stuff into their libraries.
• More general topics about software implementations, services, open source applications for the library -- non-specific to the ILS
• I know the conference will be a joint conference. Will you have cross-over topics?
• An extended length, no-conflict presentation on the effects of the UUGI/CODI merger.
• Open-source OPAC add-ons
• Another session on Web Reporter.  Seemed to always be up against a "training" type session that I needed to go to.
• Much more demand management and circulation.
• More admin/technical services and more time alloted or break them up into A-program and B-program (continuation of A)
• More practical tips and tricks type of things.
• Acq, Serials, Info on Training, System Admin
• continuation of training ideas
• Reports, "how-to" sessions
• More admin/maintenance and average level reports sessions are always informative.
• Anything to do with the Symphony product and E-Library and Director's station.
• FRBR and how Sirsi is preparing for it.
• Circulation Issues;
  
  Customizing iBistro;
• funds and all the reports that can use funds
• Need to be in a closer timeframe to determine what program/migration (eg. Symphony, e-Library, etc.) needs are.
• More Web2 and API oriented topics.  I got a lot out of the ones this year.
• How-to sessions; info on upcoming upgrades/changes; more "hands-on" sessions where folks volunteer problems for discussion/remedy
• I would like to see more session given by users.  They were very helpful and with SIRSI staff there to help address questions, they were very informative.
• As the two units of SirsiDynix combine, would like to know more about the this combination and how it affects the systems they provide and the affect on the libraries.
  
  With the move toward Symphony, would like to have more information about what works, doesn't work, and plans for the future. This would not only be from the company point of view but from the libraries that are running the system(s).
  
  SirsiDynix should have staff available to answer general questions in the vendor area. I had several questions on circulation functions, holds problems, the pocket circ, and web reporter, but the reps didn't know the answer or referred me to their on-line training.
• Overview of programs and services offered by SirsiDynix customers especially in larger libraries or consortias
• e-Library update and customer care follow-up.
• Emerging technologies.
• Search & retrieval issues, + recommended configurations for improving or enhancing ; employee training, esp transition from C to JWF, and relevant changes to system that impact this
• A program (probably on reports) geared to the types of statistical reports that academic libraries need to produce.
• Enterprise, UNIX based system admin topics, anything by Joel Hahn (although he may be a bit burnt after this year), iBistro customizations.
• Keep us up to date with Symphony,
• An Acamdemic Library track; a suggested topic: Sirsi - BlackBoard integration
• More on Web/Library 2.0 services; uses of usage data; faceted search
• I really liked all of the Acquisitions topics.  So very helpful.
• A number of libraries purchase only the circulation and cataloging modules of the ILS, it would be nice if you have "Beginner" programs introducing such libraries to the other modules.
• More sessions w/o SD personel i.e. less sales pitches!
• More on OPACs.
• More "how I did it good" presentations on extending and enhancing the catalog through techniques such as associated RSS feeds, blogs, faceted or other enhanced searching, etc.
• New products, services.
• trends issues/ consortia issues and best practices/ REW...it is so valuable!!
• Not sure right now.
• I think that the Client Care team should do more presentations on how they resolve the most frequently reported problems.  I also felt that the most interesting presentations were demonstrations on how to do something specific, rather than broad overviews of a service.
• How different libraries coordinate Acquisitions and Cataloging.  How to convince your library to spring for API training (with examples I can show to a bean-counter).  How to run a help desk.
• I wasn't able to attend every workshop so I believe content is covered quite well. Maybe more duplicate workshops when possible.  There were a couple and that enabled me to attend very important ones.
• anything to do with using the java client
• I would like to see more presentations focused on academic libraries.
• Customizing the *new* eLibrary.  Integrating content from other sources (Amazon, LibraryThing, NoveList, etc.) into the PAC.
• more of what interesting things are being done in libraries.  More review of the current version instead of always talking about what will happen next version.
• More hands-on presentation.
• I want a small room with about ten computers with VPN access, some top notch system administrators (like Joel and Lissa), and a handful of client care team leaders.  You can call that session "Miracles in Minutes", and have them help you actually resolve your open software issues right then and there.
• I would like to see presentations from Sirsi, on how their software has gotten easier to code to. what kind of steps they are taking to implement new technology already in the framework of windows for instantly.
• SaaS experience, staff training topics
• presentations by those implementing e-library and or Enterprise UI's, particularly basics of what works well and what is a challenge. Less interested in cool enhancements than it what the functionality is with minimal enhancement
• Same as this year
• You guys did a real good job in this area...
• More WebReporter programs.  Migration path from Horizon to Symphony.
• More on e-library, blogs, forums, etc.
• I found the topics this year well suited to my particular job duties, and there was a good balance between Sirsi and UUGI programs. For next year, a continuation of what is coming up in the future for the products, and workshops on the particular modules (i.e. circulation, reports, etc.)
• How to maximize system performance; Self-checkout experiences; Floating collections vs. collection exchange; Bibliographic instruction tools for patrons; Federated vs. faceted search ideas
• More K-12 related sessions
• Users using the versions so they can give troubleshooting tips.
  
  I liked all the cataloging sessions this time.
  
  Of course, I liked the Schoolrooms sessions as well.
  
  The ones most valuable to me are the "how to do it" sessions. (labeling, circ map, etc.)
• System Config and how it affects authority control, indexing, browse, Keyword, etc.
  
  Have attendees bring printouts of own system config to compare with what presenters are saying.
• Virtual library and Web2.0
  
  There was a session for Web2.0. But That session was not something that I expected.
• I really enjoy everything Stephen Abram presents and also the fellow from the Pew Institue, Lee Rainy. I really enjoy the leadership sessions of the administrative days.
• More on Director's Station... it seemed that whenever there was a DS session there was another conflicting circulation session that was more important for me to attend.
  
  Sessions on the new client care website and navigating and finding informations in the forums etc.
  
  I would like to see more "introduction to..." type sessions for people that are new to SirsiDynix.
• Have topics where people can learn more by hands on instead of straight lecture. I have to admit, there were a few boring presentations. But it make it difficult to make it exciting when it involves work.
• Something more for Academic libraries that may not be a part of a consortia
• I would like to see you follow up on things from the previous year. In colorado there were several programs on resource sharing and Sirsi was looking for people to pilot some new modules for resource sharing and there was nothing said about it at this conference.
• I'd like to see series of presentations. For example, if it is to add an RSS feed to a website coming from the website, then, perhaps that should be two sessions: one aimed at beginners to cover basics and the second one that builds upon that to actually show you how to do it. I learn somewhat at some of the sessions, but sometimes I wish I knew more about a topic to really be able to follow the presenter.
  
  I also would like to see more sessions (available times) about the Configuration and Map fundamentals.
• User Experience
  
  Improving usability in iBistro and Workflows
• discuss more technical issues, such as the most common questions asked in client care center from 2008-2009 or discuss list in SirsiDynix forum.
• Easy IBistro changes
• more technical topics: server hardware, network hardware
• For non-technical services people, what the various selections in Unicorn Workflows mean in reports and in the staff interface. How best to find answers to questions posted on the user group listserves, like the one today: "I was wondering if anyone has been able to create or run a report that would show items that one Library has sent out on holds/checked out to patrons at other libraries?" Maybe a listserv FAQ presentation and demonstration?
• ROUND TABLE TIMES FOR SPECIFIC INTERESTS TO GRAB A COFFEE AND MEET AND CHAT...
• More topics like Joel Hahn's Lifehack presentation, better tracking of sessions.
• Reports - overview of each and examples of how they can be used.
• Similar to this year.  Practical & nitty-gritty how to sessions.
• more on symphony!
• As technical as possible!
• hroizon to symphony
• I would like more on cataloging or Technical Services
• Terrific reports without director's station
• I enjoy the very practical user led sessions - ones that give practical advice on how to use the system.  There were a couple great examples in this year's conference: Joel Hahn's Lifehack presentation and the Terri Shutt's Why won't it work? (Java) session.
• Topic on inventory reports.
• More discussing on academic libraries in the Executive portion of the conference.  Most topics related to public libraries.
• XML/RSS feeds
• RDA. FRBR.
• More API, more customer developments, more technical sessions.
• I find the information on the new stuff coming in Symphony and other SirsiDynix products (Director's Station) the most helpful sessions.  Especially the technical stuff (presented by John Dickson).
• I would like to see more sessions give examples of what they're doing successfully in their libraries.
• Integration with Banner and Blackboard (why isn't SIRSI doing this?)
• Would like to see repeats of some of the specialized programs - like the  "Hold Slips At A Glance".  Too often we need to find out what the product changes will be and are unable to attend sessions like this which would also be helpful.
• Continue with product update sessions
• This year's conference seemed to contain a good variety for multiple skill/responsibility levels.  This helped two attendees from the same institution make complementary selections for each session slot.  We really got a lot out of the conference.  I'd like to see this continue for future conferences.
• State of the Unicode migrations.  An explanation of the differences between the C-ISAM and Oracle database environments.  The pre-conference indexing session should be repeated, along with "Understanding iBlink" and system configuration for Java Workflows  sessions.
• More coverage re new software, Symphony
• Client Care website stuff, Circulation related issues: Maybe a reports session dealing with circulation.
• I would like to see some information on RDA and how it will relate to Symphony.
• LDAP
• Using PocketCirc for Outreach; more iBistro/E-library-to-Web 2.0 enhancements, work-arounds and tricks. I hope some of the issues I currently face will be resolved before next year!
• More on indexing
• it should be more cataloging sessions about tricks and tips to lesen too much cliking.
• Focus on new Symphony products and features; other libraries experiences and uses Symphony products; programs on how others use modules especially reports and iBistro and its next incarnations.
• Using Excel & Access for importing and exporting data.
• More custom stuff and typical stuff that isn't taught by Sirsi.  More experiences,etc.
• More discussion on doing/working with reports in Workflows; problems, work arounds and fixes.  And maybe how to's.  More topics dealing with Serial Control module.
• more about web catalog customizations
• More Oracle, Advanced APi/Oracle from Sirsi
  
  More Sirsi offered training sessions before/after the conf. so that I have a reason to bring along some newbies.
• user presentations are always valuable.
• New features of the products. Directions the company is going. Reports - we can always use help with this. What the enhancements will/can do for us. Some of the topics will evolve during the year that should be a focus during the conference. I appreciate hearing from SirsiDynix staff about the product.
• Cataloging related topics.
• More "we figured out how to use the system to do this".  It could be from tweaking wand readers and receipt printers to efficient procedures for serial control, little known tips and tricks for WorkFlows--almost any of the topics and questions that come up on the listservs.
• Obviously much more about Enterprise.
• Using reports for schools.
• more sessions on improving reports and which reports are best used for what kind of information need
• more discussion about the user experience and relating that to the implementation of the catalog and search products
• I had a hard time getting to some of the product sessions presented by S-D. Although they were offered twice, one time was in conflict with the Executive Track, and the other conflicted with another Product session.  (Us folks from smaller libraries wear both hats, please try to remember that when scheduling.)
• I'd like to see a site present on SD Enterprise
• More of the same... mix it up a bit more so cataloging and serials topics don't conflict so much with other tech services presentations. I know...difficult to do! Example: Mon, 9:30 Loader presentation at ssame time as 2nd presentation for Cataloging/Serials Update.
• I-link administration. EDI for beginners more sesions. Adquisitions and cataloging administrators.
• How libraries are handling genre headings in authority work
• e-Library config & tweaking.
• Topics relating to circulation.  Every year there are new things, and the topics at the conference are always excellent.
• Pocket Circ but addressing Inventory Scanner not circulation

Question 9 Comments (Other General Comments)

• MORE vendors.  The vendor area and amount of vendors in that area was VERY LIMITED!
• Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday was a problem.  Clearly, the conference committee visited the hotel during the week, and flat didn't think to check if the food court would be open those mornings before dismissing breakfast.  "Go to the food court" is a fine idea...unless it's closed.  The devil is in the details, and the things you do *wrong* will be the most memorable.  I know Dallas better than you do, it is certain--this will be a *huge* problem next year, unless the hotel restaurant opens at early-thirty.
• Organize an evening trip to shopping mall and/or local attractions
• There should be a reception for the Canadian users so we can meet and network. This was great in previous years and I wish there had been one this year.
• It must be very difficult to put something like this together for so many people.  Kudos to those who have worked so hard to make these conferences happen.  They are very much appreciated!
• Good conference, I learned a lot. Joel Hahn should receive another award for all the work he is doing to help the Unicorn/Symphony users.
• Overall a good conference for me as a first time attendee and a new Sys Admin.. made some new contacts and some new friends.
• This was the best Sirsi Superconference I've attended so far.  Keep up the good work!
• n/a
• I was very impressed to see the CEO attending regular sessions.  He was very visible.
• Please have registration booth open the night before the conference starts so people who arrive after 6pm can get the conference packet before the first session, or at least start the first session a little later so people can register, plan their session attendance AND eat breakfast.
  
  Please provide at least a continental breakfast.  The social networking is important and finding reasonable meals isn't possible at every venue.  We were lucky this year to have the food court but many people seemed not to know that it was even there.
• A lot of sessions not very relevant as don't have symphony - & not liable to get it anytime soon.  (need collection exchange).  I attended 2 years ago and felt that I learned a lot.  I really didn't get a lot out of this one.  The executive conference was fine. Hard to get too worked up about new products when ones promised in the past haven't been delivered.
• Would have been nice to have the presentations online BEFORE leaving for the conference so that they could have been printed at home. Sometimes that also helps in selecting which session to attend. Session titles are not always indicative of the topic at hand, regardless of the description.
• I think all the session and the hotel, meeting rooms was good. But the brakes, lunch, party was very bad compare to my past 9 UUGI conferences. I think the event management company UGGI hired made all lot of money or they don't know how to negotiate. It should have been much better. And we didn't even have breakfast. UGGI has set high standards in the past. This was way below par.
• I noticed that the table topics were eliminated during lunch.  Can these be reinstated, but arranged by level of implementation?  (i.e., all 3.0, all 3.1, etc.)  Sometimes it helps to discuss things with people who have figured things out on the same level of implementation, instead of just assuming it will be taken care of with the next upgrade.
• DRA parties were more fun.
• Really enjoyed the Wyoming digitization project presentation.
• There was a question asked if presentations could not be held Sunday morning so some people could attend church services.  This is all and well, but if it means paying the price of a hotel room for an extra night because events are scheduled later, or the conference offers less presentations, then I cannot support nothing taking place Sunday morning.
• The best overall atmosphere in a long time. Less smoke-blowing, more straight-forward, credible sharing.
• A great conference - thanks.
• Overall, a good conference.
• I hear that the venue in Dallas is much more spread out than the Detroit conference. Will there be assistance for handicapped attendees (carts, etc)?
• Keep up the good work, conference planners!  I know how dedicated you all are!
• I was a 1st time attendee and I found the Superconference very worthwhile and informative. I plan to attend next year.
• Move the party away from the last night of the conference.  Start the conference in the evening of the first day and end it with something worthwhile in the morning of the last day.  Then you will have more people staying through.  When you have the price of the hotel (plus tax) vs. Stephen Abrams / Party - a lot of libraries aren't going to give their attendees a choice;  they will make them come home to save on $$$.
  
  Also - if you aren't going to provide breakfast again next year (and I hope that you reconsider that), be sure that there will actually be breakfast vendors on site that are open!  That was very poor planning to be unprepared have the conference start on a day that only one "fast-food" vendor was open (Starbucks).  I gave myself plenty of time to sit and eat a breakfast at the food court, but I was late to the opening session because of the line to get some food at Starbucks.
  
  Give more time at the business meeting for longer discussion.
  
  I know that the program planning is a very difficult process, but I saw a few conflicts between sharing sessions and a presentation or 2 presentation in the same area.  Examples:
  
  Sunday 2:45pm - "E-Reserves through Reserve Book Room" and "IRes, URes, We all Scream for ERes!"
  
  Monday 9:30am - "iBistro/iLink Sharing Session" and "Check Out the VUFind: an Open-Source Application of Faceted Searching"
  
  Monday 3:30pm - "Talk to the UUGI Execs" and 3 different sharing sessions (!!!)
  
  Again, I know that it is hard to plan for no-conflicts, but these seemed to be conflicts that would have the same audience.
• The various versions of the products were much harder to deal with this year.  Seemed that every question needed introduced as "I am on GL3.1 or Unicorn 2003" before asking the question.  I believe that conference sessions and sharing will get better once more people are on the same or closer versions.
• It was a good conference with a good variety of programs.
• The hotel and location was excellent.
• It's obvious a lot of thought and time went into planning this - thanks!
• Especially happy with the explanation of Symphony - thought it was a new product but found out it was an update of Unicorn!  Previous announcements hadn't clarified this - now I'm ready to upgrade!
  
  I was quite energized and excited about new updates and innovations!
• It would be nice if breakfast was served.  It was a hassle to worry about finding my own breakfast.
• The conference was well run!
• Please stagger SIG sessions-- I was interested in both "Public" and "Large Site," but had to choose.
• Again, the conference was great and I learnt a lot.  I was happy to see all the cool enhancements coming to the Symphony and E-library product.  I just hope in the future, that safety is looked at in picking a site like Detriot and I have seen some awful sections of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.   I also hope that cost will be looked at in picking a location---there was not a lot to chose from for breakfast or dinner and everything was expensive.   Also, I am hoping that SIRSI will consider offering part of the conference online like the MLA Conference is doing this year so that people that can't go in person can attend online.  It would be great to be able to hear the opening and closing sessions and new product updates.
• Initially I was excited about the number of eating places available in the hotel.  However, very few were available during dinner time and on the weekend.  I was sick during the conference and I had a very difficult time finding food that I could eat when I needed it.  Also, navigating around the hotel was difficult and confusing in general.
• Don't schedule academic and large site SIG at the same time.
• I really enjoyed and learned a lot from this year's conference. 
  
  Thanks to all!!!
• I was not staying in the hotel, so the break times seemed too long.
• Thanks for all the hard work.
  
  A resolution was presented to UUGI that suggested that SirsiDynix take over the conference. I am very much against that. Putting more distance between the user conference and the executive conference could make some sense. The name of the conference is odd, though. With Innovative Interfaces, it is the IUG (Innovative Users Group) conference. With so many name changes and mergers, we may not be able to do something about this in the next year or so. But it might be worth considering naming the conference for the user group rather than the company in the future. Thanks for looking at all the options!
• I loved the blue sweaters-- it certainly made SIRSI staff easy to spot.
• Good conference this year; I like the positive attitude so far.
• Please consider Vegas as a potential site.  Prices are great and facilities too.
• Need to have posted on website transportation information.  There was very limited availability of breakfast on Sunday morning.
• Nice conference. Selected complex was a good selection, since it contained the hotel, conference areas, other stores (even a theatre), and a nice walk along the rive and beautiful views.
• The future direction of SirsiDynix is somewhat confusing.  At the end of one presentation, there were several comments made about how all the various "e-" products fit together.  A Sirsi employee admitted that it was confusing to them as well.  That comment was honest but not very reassuring.
  
  The Indiana State Library is now pushing an open-source ILS for public libraries, and we have more third-party options like AquaBrowser.  It is important that we know where SirsiDynix is heading, so we can make the best decisions for cost-effective products and services for our library and its patrons.  If Evergreen Indiana is successful, it may be more difficult to justify staying with SirsiDynix.
• I missed the regional receptions that were planned the last couple of years. I also wish the party weren't scheduled at the end. Cannot justify another night in the hotel just to stay for the party.
• Maybe questions should be held until the end of each individual worshop session because NOT ONE session I went to was completed.
• I really liked the city you picked for the site, Detroit was not just another resort town, and I enjoyed the easy access to a variety of sports events.
• I went to the conference not feeling very well about SirsiDynix as a company.  I went away feeling much better - excited even.
• Perhaps the each day could start a bit later, maybe 9:00 a.m.  That said the conference is always informative.
• This was my first Superconference and I got a lot of good information out of it.
• The most useful sessions were those presented by "users". The opening & closing keynote speeches were interesting but in general, I thought the by Sirsi personnel were not as informative as I had hoped. The exception was Ken Bonney who was very dynamic & managed to get some substance into his presentation.
• I'd be happy to hear about more strategic topics at the Executive pre-Conference days. Who are your partners? How will the new products be priced? How has the massive staff turnover affected the company's vision and ability to deliver? A little reassurance backed up by some facts would have been nice here.
• A lot of the sessions I was in especially in the large rooms, when attendees had questions it was very hard to hear.  A lot of the presentors repeated the questions but alot did not.  Maybe we need microphones (especially in the large rooms) so that everyone can hear the questions and comments by others.
• I'm certain that my disapointment with the conference was probably due to what happens when the user's group is company controlled as is the conference.
• I thoroughly enjoyed this conference.   I came away with more ideas  than I have either staff or funding to accomplish in one year.
• Overall, the conference was really good.  I liked the layout of the hotel which provided for easy access to the sessions without walking 10 miles.  Also, the rooms had plenty of seating which is a plus.  I liked having water available in each room.  On the downside, I missed having a list of participants with the materials.  One thing I noticed was that the keynote speaker was only for the directors and not for the general registrant.  I've always enjoyed hearing them.
• The Marriott was an excellent location. There was inexpensive choices for breakfast (McDonald's on the first floor) and having access to the People Mover allowed attendees to venture out in the evening.
• I thought the conference was very well organized.  I enjoyed the conference very much and look forward to next year.  I wish the social at the end of the conference had lasted more than two hours.
• Perhaps the biggest flaw this year was the lack of program CDs (or even better - USB flash sticks) with the registration package. It made choice of sessions much more difficult. It also prevented attendees from reading presentations that they could not attend, then approaching the presenters with questions etc. It was also impossible to prepare for the following day by reading the presentations, then formulating questions about them. The early availability of presentations does not prevent one from attending sessions of interest. Please place all presentations on the SuperConference website as soon as possible, AND include a USB stick with registration materials - small ones are very cheap with bulk orders.
• The TCM people did an outstanding job.  I felt like they were always there, practically invisible but getting the job done.  Breaks were ready when sessions finished and always well-stocked. 
  
  The next time I pay for a pre-conference, I expect to get the same type of seating as everyone else, not a hastily-dug-out chair wedged up against the wall.  In other words, please count attendance at these more carefully next time.  I would have rather been told there was no space available before I sent money.
• It was truly a wonderful experience!  I appreciate SIRSIDYNIX willing to place themselves on the line to have their product critized albeit in a constructive manner by it's clients.
• Regarding the meal set up -- I found it really helpful in 2006 that someone made some "topic" tables. Since it's hit & miss for who is at your table, I had found it very helpful to select a table that had a topic of "Director's Station" becuase that's really what I wanted to talk to others about. Maybe having several topic tables as options for people with similar interests to find each other would be helpful.
• SirsiDynix employees should wear mauve sweaters next year.
• Don't return to Detroit. There were very limited options for dining or entertainment within walking distance of the hotel.
• Thanks for the no-caffeine options at meals and breaks this year.
• We were very pleased that the new SirsiDynix CEO was so visible at this conference. That's something new that was really a boost.
• Better transportaion services from airport to the hotel....
• An excellent conference. As a first time attendee I found it well organized, the people very friendly and helpful, and I learned a great deal.
• Excellent working conference!  This is the only professional event I attend all year because I know it will be worth the time and money.  If you're only going to schmooze, stay home.
• Good job, I really enjoyed the conference.
• Consider Indianapolis at a possible conference site.  Great convention center; numerous adjoining hotels; great dining, shopping, and site seeing; great location.
• Interesting but, no authors, no gifts/few door prizes, no Overdrive as vendor. Crummy that there was no transportation between airport and hotel. Taxi was cheaper than what Sirsi/Dynix provided. No shopping and little open around the hotel. We were on a deserted island over the weekend!
  
  However, the srvice was great, the snacks were fine and overall the food was good. Though again the potato dumpling with chipped beef was awful.
• I enjoyed Detroit more than I expected but I was disappointed in the Center. I hope we don't spend a weekend in a corportate center again - too much was closed and guest services seemed a lesser concern.
• Overall I thought the conference was good. It was well organized and sessions were scheduled really well. I didn't have many conflicts.
  
  The airport transporation was really inconvenient and expensive. I missed having the regional UUGI meetings/coctail parties. More informal opportunities for talking to people would be great.
• I was very impressed with the conference overall. We plan to send 2 people every year from our library. I especially liked meeting Sirsi senior management team and being able to talk to them about our specific issues. Stephen is always inspiring and generous with his time. Thank You!
• In my opinion, the superconference has gotten too big, and with the CODI addition next year will be even worse.  It's too hard to find the people you need to talk to, and sessions of interest are scheduled against each other.
• Let attendees more chance to interact each other for some special issues
• Agree with other comments on the lists regarding registration hours (with an 8:00 am session it's difficult to try and get breakfast, get registered and get to first session) ... so would like evening registration hours the day before. Would also like a better breakfast buffet option...even if it's like in Colorado where attendees paid themselves, we at least had a better option to get a decent and fast breakfast than what we did in Detroit.
• I do not like the "party" being on Tuesday night. I can not justify staying and paying for another night's lodging in order to attend the party. 
  
  I liked that in the past we had an option of signing up for a trip/dinner. It gave us something to do together on Monday night.
• The dates of this conference were changed and when this happened in conflicted with Computers in Libraries.
• VERY USEFUL
• It is also extremely helpful that some of the presentations are presented twice.
• Great variety of sessions this year.
• It would be nice to have sessions from people using the software beyond just the routine.  I feel like the many of the sessions are going over basics.  It would be great to see things beyond the basic.
• there were a few presentations that were really outstanding for me.  Overall, the sessions were very good and informative.
• This is my third conference and the areas covered were very timely and practical.
• The "Ask SirsiDynix" Room was extremely helpful. This was an excellent conference for me!! I have enough information and ideas to last at least a year! Thank-you to UUGI + SirsiDynix!
• For subsystems, would like to have less sales pitch and more time to cover updates and future plans.
• Not all school have the same modules, so have a session where one can go and discuss what he/she has. New module are good, but we need to learn more about what we already have and are using.
• Would like to have the links to print the presentations like we did at the conference.
• Best Superconference in the last 5 years
• It would have been helpful to have a list of nearby resturants and their general price ranges.  Perhaps there was one at the conference and I missed it.
• Please instruct guest presenters to repeat questions from the audience. SIRSI presenters were not part of this problem.
• TOO EARLY!  No reason to start at 8 am and be done so early, what is there to do at night but go to dinner?  8:30 is plenty early to start.  Also, prefer food in the morning, even if light food.
• Much more enjoyable conference than other years.  A fairly complete presentation of forthcoming releases.
• Overall, I found the conference to be very helpful and worth the cost of attending.
• This was my first ever conference. Overall it was informative and engaging-- sometimes even fun! Some more sessions offered multiple times would allow me to attend some that I couldn't.
• Smaller (and shorter) regional conferences would be better for small libraries like ours. I was pleased overall with this conference experience.
• Thought it was a good mix of products/features coming by SirsiDynix staff and programs for users of current software.
• Need options to visit area libraries using Sirsi. UT Southwestern Medical Center Library is on the DART rail and on the major bus routes. Other libraries might open their doors for these librarians.
• I thought the Executive Session was good, but two of the programs the afternoon of the second day didn't apply to academic libraries so I used that as an opportunity to attend the other conference programs.
• Always a great conference.
• The iBistro pre-conference was excellent.  But since I attended it and was
  
  the consortia SIG chair I had to register for the conference rather than the executive conference.  I think it would be better if the conferences were combined -- an executive track and a general track.  That would make it easier to participate in both and remove the conflict with the pre-conferences.
• Titles of the sessions were somewhat confusing.  Often title didn't reflect what was really going on in the session.  Need clear titles and details of what session is really about.
• Thank you for all of your hard work. The conference was very well done. Sirsi's cheapness with the drink tickets/ lack of raffle prizes was LOL funny.
• I felt this was one of the best SuperConferences for me because a lot of my unease about the company was laid to rest, as well as having good programs.
• 1.  Access to SD personnel was limited. There was no regional meet-and-greet with our Sirsi reps as there has been in the past. (That and they all tended to sit together at lunch)
  
  2. Pricing for modules/upgrades was not available at the conference. My main reason for attending was to go face to face with my rep, to get a cost for our next upgrade.
• I was at the Q&A when someone asked about scheduling Sunday morning so that people could go to church if they wanted to. I'm in agreement with that person.
• Really liked being able to talk about enhancement requests prior to the voting deadline.  I also liked seeing the Sirsi-Dynix folks making themselves available.
• As a former program chair I know it's hard but in scheduling the programs, please be very careful to spread out the ones likely to appeal to a particular interest group.  I know you tried but I found either nothing or three I wanted to attend.
• just better breakfast opportunities
• It is my understanding that next year's conference will be on April 5-8 in Dallas.  So we're having the conference starting on Palm Sunday and continuing through Holy Week.  I'm mandated to go to these conferences, and I'm HIGHLY CONCERNED that the schedule be free on Sunday morning for Christians.  In Detroit, the schedule started at 8:00 AM and had meetings all day.  This is UNACCEPTABLE for some of us.
• I was disappointed in the Sirsi party this year.  The lack of dance floor space (not to mention the elevator music) was not up to scratch compared to previous years.  I also thought that perhaps rather than having the party on the last night, it might be nice to have it on the first night.  This would be beneficial for finding people with similar interests and, for those who attend the conference by themselves, they might be able to meet some people with whom they can spend time with later in the week (i.e. at lunch, going on outings).
• I loved the mix of very basic and advanced sessions.  I learned a lot from Reports 101 and BibLoader 101.  It's good you note which sessions will require knowledge of API.  SOme day, maybe I'll go to those.
• Could we suggest the possibility of recycling?  Those complementary morning newspapers, aluminum cans from breaks, etc.
• This my first time and i think the SuperConference was great, because is a great opportunity to answer some many questions. Thank you
• Despite the motion that failed at the business meeting, I think the conference is a perfect mix of member provided sessions and company provided updates. Kudos to the conference planners.
• Excellent conference overall!!
• UUGI does an awesome job and put a lot of hard work into these conferences.  I do appreciate their efforts and all the efforts of users who are able to participate.  I learn more from users than I do the SirsiDynix team and that is what truly makes this conference worth while.
• I found it was extremely difficult to find somewhere to eat breakfast on Sunday morning. I believe there was only one place open which meant it was very busy. I think many people were slightly surprised by this, especially if they had not realized that breakfast would not be included as was done in previous years. If breakfast is not included, there needs to be more than one location open to accomodate everyone.

Question 10 Comments (SirsiDynix Corporate and Product Overview)

• Not as dynamic as previous years.
• Too long.
• Excellent comments and information from the management staff.
• I was most impressed with the knowledge and confidence shown by staff as they explained new products and changes to existing ones.  Very articulate.
• the presentation will make more sense to me if the session starts around 8:30am or later.
• Can you make this presentation available?  I would need some statistics and deadlines.
• A great relief after last year's marketing blitz.  It only made SirsiDynix look clueless.  This year was business like, solution oriented, felt HONEST, and was much appreciated.
• I attended the Executive Conference all day Saturday and Sunday. I found it excellent.
• Too many buzzwords about new products and their properties. They needed to relate the new products to the existing ones.
• That's a long time to sit. Take a break or make this a shorter session. Some of what was said was said in other SirsiDynix sessions.
• I missed this session. I was helping out with conference registration.
• Skipped it. Too early and long! Should have been an hour and half at the longest.
• I really enjoyed hearing all the stuff going on with SIRSIDYNIX and hearing what is coming to all the SIRSI Products.
• Didn't attend.
• It's pretty long
• Would be helpful if the presentation was available in PDF.
• Recommend this be a part of the executive session separate from the users group. This would allow directors and executives to ask questions from an administrative level.
• All of this information could have been put into an email
• The annual dog and pony show is just a bunch of words.  But I wouldn't want it to not happen, we've got to hear from SD execs sometime.
• Wish there was more info about the financial health of the company - but the ship has probably already sailed on that with the current equity partners.
• Too early - especially on a Sunday.
• It was a little long.  This was not a problem in terms of holding my interest; it was only a problem in that it became uncomfortable to sit in such close quarters for so long.
• Not all the presenters displayed the same sense of enthusiam.  Just the same it was extremely informative.
• Instead of the corporate spin, they needed to explicitly say they're doing a 180, and that EPS is their New Coke.
• Thanks - I would love to have a copy of the presentation to show to our library staff. Also, 8am EST is 5am PST - ouch, can you start at 9am the first day next time for those of us who are jetlagged?
• I found the User Strategy Experience discussion confusing.
• Too early Sunday start
• I've seen better in the past.
• In the past, this has seemed to go longer than needed and not of a lot of value, so I skipped it.
• Very informative without being too boring. Especially like Berits talk.
• Lots of interesting information. Lots of things to check on, like the "Salesforce" product that SirsiDynix is using.
• This had to be the MOST boring presentations I've ever attended.  It was awful!
• I appreciate the product overview, but Sunday morning at 8:00 is not the best time to have it.
• Flight cancelled - missed Sunday
• I found this session to be really helpful in getting the products straight (with all the name changes) and to think about what is coming down the road that may requires additional $$.  This kind of information is needed well ahead of time to fit into the budget process.
• Getting good vibes from the higher-ups at this conference, but eight a.m. on a Sunday? Could we have scheduled a less forgiving hour?
• I'm impressed with the direction SirsiDynix seems to be going now with more emphasis on Client Care and customer product needs.
• Very upbeat!
• corporate kool aid, but served well by John and Berit.
• I was unable to attend this session, and then had to piece together the big developments that were discussed.  Somehow, it would have been nice to make sure the changes (end of EPS, beginning of Enterprise) were made clear to all attending in some additional manner.
• The path and time line for updating of the OPAC and its fit with Enterprise was a little sketchy--but clarified during smaller group presentations.  I liked seeing all the execs on stage.
• Good, but overwhelming, due to the nature of the information, and the confusing [old] names chosen by S-D for the new products.
• Did not attend.

Question 11 Comments (UUGI Business Meeting)

• There was too little time to discuss the motion that was on the floor. I don't know if it failed because of that. I was ambivalent, but would have liked to have heard more comments and discussion.
• What was up with that motion about shifting Superconference to S-D away from UUGI, and providing venue for RUGs?  If this was introduced at the last minute, it constitutes railroading, and I am glad we voted to table this, so members who have not even had time to read the motion can vote intelligently. 
  
  However, if this motion was submitted in a timely manner to the committee, this should have been dealt with much earlier in the meeting; this makes the committee look as if they were trying to bury it at the end, which is an old and dis-honorable trick of state legislatures.
• The whole breaking off UUGI from the Superconference needed to be in the form