RLUK

Innovation in our libraries
(to be delivered in pecha kucha style)

Pecha kucha: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecha_Kucha

Conference participants are invited to showcase some of the exciting new ideas which they have implemented recently or are planning in their libraries, and in the spirit of innovation, we thought that we would experiment with a relatively new presentation style. The session will consist of short, focussed and punchy powerpoint presentations.

Pecha kucha has been used in several ‘library’ conferences now, most recently at the LILAC (Librarians’ Information Literacy Annual Conference) in Limerick this year and at the Repository Fringe event in Edinburgh in August 2009. It lends itself to talks about practical innovations, particularly where the content can be largely visual. It is less effective for content/text-heavy presentations. It tends to produce lively, thought-provoking, highly focussed sessions, and so we thought it would be ideal for the after-lunch slot!

The following information was provided to LILAC delegates:

“Pecha kucha (pronounced pe-chak-cha) takes its name from the Japanese term for “chit-chat”. Pecha kucha presentations consist of exactly 20 slides, each of which is displayed for 20 seconds. Total presentation time is precisely 6 minutes 40 seconds and so it is important to use the [automatic] transition feature in PowerPoint to time your presentation exactly. Text is generally kept to a minimum as the impact of the format relies heavily on images. This technique was used successfully at last year's LOEX-of the-West conference in the US and you can see examples of pecha kucha on the LOEX website. The pecha kucha presentation format enables the speaker to deliver a short, focused presentation on their topic which really grabs the audience’s attention.”

It is important to avoid bullet-pointed slides or more than a few words per slide, because 20 seconds is not long enough for the audience to read as well as listening to the speaker.

Slides should be very visual to complement the spoken word and hold attention. There are plenty of examples at: http://www.pecha-kucha.org/

Presenters will need to practice, practice, practice to get the timings right. Most people write down their script and stick to it. If done alongside the slides, this forms a ready-made record of the session which can be made available as a conference paper afterwards.

A prize will be awarded to the best presentation, as voted for (discreetly) by the conference participants.

Proposals for participation in the Pecha Kucha session should be submitted to the Programme Committee by Wednesday 1st September using the submission form

The proposal should include a brief description of the proposed presentation. A cross-section will be selected and the authors notified so that they have time to prepare the presentation.

Speakers need not be from RLUK universities, but will need to register as delegates for one or more days of the conference.