I know many of the subscribers to this list may not be attending ALA. However, I wanted to let everyone know about a unique event happening this year. BIGWIG (Blogs, Interactive Groupware, and Wikis Interest Group of LITA) will be hosting two virtual discussions as part of this year's Social Software Showcase (http://www.yourbigwig.com/showcase). APIs (WorldCat, GoogleBooks, LibraryThing, and Open Library - Saturday June 28 from 3:30 - 4:30 CST - via TalkShoe (http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/20563) Efforts to Bring Social Features to Library Software - Wednesday July 2 from 1:00 - 2:00 CST - via TalkShoe (http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/20563) The goal of these discussions is to facilitate participation, and conversation about these topics for librarians and library staff unable to attend ALA or who couldn't attend the Showcase in person due to scheduling conflicts. These discussions are open to all. We intend to record the discussions and post them to the Showcase website afterward so that others might benefit from the conversations. Please keep in mind this is an experiment in process and our first time hosting this type of virtual participation. We hope that you will be willing to attend, participate, and provide us feedback about the experience. -- Karen A. Coombs Co-Chair BIGWIG