My favorite professional development project started a new cohort (in 10 different states) in March. Below are links to just the keynotes from that session. All are awesome and well worth your time (with the exception of that Lankes character who talks too much).
Everything You Learned in Library School is Wrong
David Lankes, Syracuse University, School of Information Studies, Syracuse, New York. Professor and Dean’s Scholar on New Librarianship
We all know that Libraries are Good and Necessary Things and Libraries Collect, Organize, and Provide Access to Information. That’s what we were taught in library school right? Except of course, they don’t. Libraries don’t do anything except exert gravity and shield you from the rain. It is librarians and the people in the library that makes the world a better place. Collections are just tools, like buildings, and books, and databases, and 3D printers. This keynote will focus on how librarians are radical positive change agents that make communities better.
Inspired Outreach Inspired
John Emerson, an activist, graphic designer, writer, and programmer based in New York City creator of http://backspace.com/notes
How do you engage the hearts and minds of your audience? Connect and empower with outreach that makes people say “Aha!” and “Let’s do it!”
FLATLAND: A Statistical Romance of Many Dimensions.
Eli Neiburger, Associate Director, IT and Production, Ann Arbor District
In which our Hero, A. Librarian, must search for scalars amidst an increasingly flat landscape, with which to earn the favor of capricious higher-dimensional beings, before her entire world collapses to a single ultradense font of information, only to find that the only dimension that truly matters is LOVE.
Perspectives and Advice on Accessibility and Universal Design
Sina Bahram, an accessibility consultant, researcher, and entrepreneur
Join Sina Bahram as he walks through the concepts of accessibility and universal design. These core principles are fundamental to understanding how to be relevant in the 21st century to all audiences regardless of physical or cognitive ability. Through exploring a narrative about technology, access to information and the physical world, and practical tips and tricks about steps any of us can take, Sina will both motivate and show us how to augment our content, interactions, and thinking to become more inclusive.
“Great People Make Great Libraries: Know Yourself. Grow Yourself. And Take Your Library With You!”
David Bendekovic, President, The B. A. David Company, Syracuse, New York
Your ability to reach your goals has as much to do with how you choose to see the world as it does with your level of education and intelligence. This keynote will give you the keys to thinking in a more powerful way about yourself, the people around you, and the work you want to get done. What You Do Makes A Difference. You Just Have To Figure Out What Kind Of Difference You Want To Make.
I am excited to announce that I’ll be a keynote at the VVBAD Bi-Annual Conference “Informatie aan Zee” September 17, 2015 in Ostende, Belgium! Watch the 
I am excited to announce that I’ll be a keynote at the 
I’ve mentioned ILEAD USA (born ILEAD U) several times in this blog, and for good reason. Put simply I think this is the best intensive continuing education for library professionals out there. I don’t say this because I am part of it. Rather I am part of it because I believe in the project so much.