Blended Librarians podcast

I just attended a Blended Librarian webcast hosted by LearningTimes. Ellysa Stern Cahoy and Anu Vedantham, presented, “Digital Literacy, Digital Storytelling and the Role of the Academic Librarian” and it was a great overview about the use of multimedia on campuses. Ellysa stated that approximately 42% of class assignments at Penn State now require a multimedia presentation. Ellysa shared her research on student acquisitions of digital literacies while Anu, discussed her experiences in the Information Commons at the University of Pennsylvania Library.

Much of what they said reinforced my own perceptions of Web 2.0 technologies. In fact, Anu’s belief that it is essential for librarians to be able to comfortably use Web 2.0 technologies in order to meet the evolving needs of their communities mirrors my own. Both have created resources online (link to Ellysa’s and Anu’s) for their presentations and the session was recorded and should be on the Blended Librarian website shortly.

Google Wave

There’s been a lot of discussion on the LITA listserv about Google Wave lately. (To access LITA-L archive, go to http://lists.ala.org/wws/arc/lita-l.) Since it is in "limited preview" mode, I have yet to see Google Wave in action, but like many, I am intrigued by it. I’ve added Google Wave as a QUICK STOP in our technologytrainingwheels.pbworks.com wiki and linked to a brief (2:14) video and the Complete Guide to Google Wave. I would be interested to know if any of our ALS libraries have requested and received an invitation to join Google Wave and how they are using it.

Upcoming MLA webcast at ALS

The Alliance Library System is a site for the next MLA Webcast: “Cut the Cord: Connecting to our Mobile Users.” The goal of this webcast is to familiarize information professionals with current and emerging mobile technologies, innovative initiatives using mobile devices, useful mobile software applications, and funding options for projects using mobile devices. For more information and registration, please visit L2 at http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=8607

The sponsorship of this webcast site has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. NLM-N01-LM-6-3503 with the University of Illinois at Chicago. There is no charge to attend the webcast at the ALS site.

October 22 - Special Librarians Luncheon

The Special Librarians Luncheon is coming up October 22 at State Farm in Bloomington. The theme for the meeting is "The Changing Corporate Library=New Tools, New Space". Sign up information is available on L2 at http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=6450. Maps are available on the registration page. The library is in the Corporate Headquarters building and parking is permissible in any of the lots except the 2 hour lot.


The results of the ALS special librarians survey on social networking is available at: http://technologytrainingwheels.pbworks.com/f/Specials+survey+Oct09.pdf

A rose by any other name…

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is considering changing its name to the Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals (ASKPro). This process began in January 2006 when the Board of Directors voted to approve funding for alignment research and the association embarked on an attempt to understand the changing environment of the profession. In June 2009, “the board concluded that the alignment research conducted over the past three years revealed a clear challenge posed by SLA's name: executives who make hiring decisions and allocate budget dollars do not understand what it means. Furthermore, they do not recognize or appreciate the contributions that special librarians and information professionals are making now or the potential they hold for building more successful organizations in the future. This disconnect endangers the jobs of our members, and we are determined to act.” http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/governance/namechange/notice.cfm

You can read some of the early comments at http://slablogger.typepad.com/sla_blog/2009/10/align-in-09-step-1-action-you-can-take-now-to-increase-your-value-in-the-workplace-.html or by following #slaname on Twitter. The SLA membership will vote on this proposal in a special electronic referendum that will begin on 16 November and end 9 December. The result will be announced in early December.

Greater Midwest Region's Hospital Administrators Campaign

October is National Medical Librarians Month, and the Greater Midwest Region is supporting hospital librarians by re-instituting the Hospital Administrators Campaign. The Advocacy Working Group of the Regional Advisory Council has produced an advocacy letter to hospital administrators informing them of the invaluable services medical librarians provide.

Information about participating in this effort is available at http://nnlm.gov/gmr/member/advocacy/index.html

ILA Conference 2009

The ILA Conference was in Peoria this week, and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend. The awards presentation was last night, and it was inspiring to see the wonderful award winners graciously accepting their accolades with humility and awe. I love being a librarian, but some days even I wonder, “Am I making a difference?” It’s great to see librarians being recognized for their achievements.

I can’t say enough about the importance of professional organizations. ILA gives our Illinois library community (librarians, support staff, trustees, and library supporters) a voice. It provides an opportunity for professional development, interaction with our peers, and opportunities to grow, teach, and lead. Not only do our professional organizations need our support, they need our talents and leadership. If you aren’t a member, consider joining. Once you join, contribute by attending conferences, participating in committees, and advocating for libraries. The effort you expend will be returned seven fold.