Library hackers want you to throw down the gauntlet

On October 13th, a very special event is happening: the Access Hackfest. A tradition since Access 2002, the Hackfest brings together library practitioners of all kinds to tackle challenges and problems from the mundane to the sublime to the ridiculous. If you can imagine a spectrum with three axes, you might be just the person to pose those challenges to the Hackfest participants!

What we're saying here, folks, is that we need suggestions for Hackfest projects. There are no limitations to these challenges: oh sure, you're bringing together complete strangers and asking them to accomplish in eight hours or less what the rest of the library ecosphere is incapable of or uninterested in solving during the rest of the year - but that's what makes the Hackfest MAGICAL. Example results of previous Access Hackfests are available from the Access 2004 web site, and Dan Chudnov's podcast that captures the spirit of the Hackfest from Access 2006 in Ottawa is available from Library Geeks.

We plan to keep the Hackfest suggestions secret until the moment of their unveiling on the morning of October 13th - can you feel the anticipation mounting? - so please submit your challenges in one clearly written paragraph or less (okay, the abstract should be one paragraph or less, but you can go into great lengths if you want to expound for those who get interested by the teaser) via the Hackfest submission form, or if you prefer, via email.