2012 SCLA Conference Highlights

- Sharing and brainstorming at the Unconference sessions
- 12 people enjoying great Italian and conversations at Wednesday's NMRT luncheon at The Villa
- Hysterical laughter mixed with networking and fabulous hors d'oeuvres at Happy Learning Hour at RCPL
- The band Cancellieri rocking it out at the All-Conference Reception at EdVenture
- RenGen author Patricia Martin firing us all up at Friday's luncheon.  "People often can't tell you what they want.  When Henry Ford asked people what they wanted, they said 'a faster horse'."
- A roomful of crazy librarians hollering "We want pre-nup!!" at the "Out of the Stacks, Onto the Stage" Scholarship for Diversity fundraiser
- 39 attending for Kari Weaver's excellent presentation on mentoring at the NMRT session Friday morning
- Your 2012-2013 NMRT officers: 
Chair:  Amber Conger, Richland County Public Library
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect:  Megan Johnson Palmer, Coker College
Secretary:  Hunter Deas, Florence County Public Library

Couldn't make it?  Conference handouts are available for you on SCLA's website.

We hope to meet more of you in Greenville in 2013!

April 28 Florence Brunch; Conference Program Proposals

It's time for our 2nd NMRT brunch!   We're meeting in Florence at Bazen's Restaurant at 9:30 am on Saturday April 28.  Join us for a great meal (dutch-treat!) and enjoy building connections with other librarians in the Pee Dee region.  Please RSVP by Thursday April 26 to Hunter Deas at huntermdeas at gmail dot com.

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Thinking about presenting at the SCLA Annual Conference in October? Click here for submission details.  NMRT seeks a presenter for our sponsored program; please e-mail aconger at myrcpl dot com if interested in this opportunity.

Scholarship to Attend ALA Annual Conference - Apply by April 6

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) has opened applications for the 2012 Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship, which will enable a library school student or new professional to attend ALA’s 2012 Annual Conference, held June 21-26 in Anaheim, Calif.

The goal of the Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship is to advance two principles that Conable held dear: intellectual freedom and mentorship.  The scholarship provides for conference registration, transportation, housing for six nights and six days per diem. In return, the recipient will be expected to attend various FTRF and other intellectual freedom meetings and events at the conference, consult with a mentor/board member and present a report about their experiences.  The recipient also will be invited, although not required, to provide daily updates about his or her experience on the Freedom to Read Foundation blog.

The deadline for submitting an application for the 2012 Conable Scholarship is Friday, April 6; the award will be announced in May.

Who is eligible: Students currently enrolled in an ALA-accredited library and information studies degree programor an AASL-recognized master’s programs in school librarianship and new professionals (those who are three or fewer years removed from receiving a library school degree) are eligible to receive the Conable Scholarship. Those interested must submit an application that includes two references and an essay detailing their interest in intellectual freedom issues. Applicants also are required to attach a résumé. If the recipient is already registered for ALA’s Annual Conference, he or she will have the conference fee refunded.

To apply for the Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship, visit www.ftrf.org. For more information, please contact Jonathan Kelley at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4226 or jokelley@ala.org.

Conference Session: Lose the Desk: Mobile Services and Digital Checkouts

Program:  Lose the Desk:  Mobile Services and Digital Checkouts

Presenters:  Rogan Hamby, S.C. State Library, and James Stubbs, Florence County Public Library

Date:  Thursday, October 20, 2011, 10:30-11:30 am, SCLA Annual Conference

Program Description:  Over the last two years, Florence County Library System began a major push toward using mobile devices such as the iPad to mobilize staff around the library, and began supporting portable reading and listening devices for downloadable content.  These were our experiences and lessons learned.

Please view the link for the presentation slides:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6577852/Lose%20the%20Desk%20version%202.pdf

(Thanks to Rogan for sharing!)

Conference Session: Library Research Consultations: Who Benefits Most?

Program:  Library Research Consultations:  Who Benefits Most?

Presenters:  Allison Faix & Brooke Taxakis (Kimble Library), & Amanda MacDonald (English Department); Coastal Carolina University

Date:  Thursday, October 20, 2011, 2:30-3:30pm, SCLA Annual Conference

Program Description:  Library research consultation appointments can be an effective way to help students develop information literacy skills, but the personalized, individual attention that contributes to the success of these sessions also makes sessions time consuming and difficult for librarians to schedule when demand is high.  This study looks at research consultations from the student’s perspective, comparing underclassman student perception of the usefulness of library research appointments.

-      Inspiration:  Reference and User Services Quarterly article about required reference desk consultation for student papers (Ref and User Svcs Quarterly 49.4 (2010) 333-40)
-          CCU study compared usefulness of freshman and senior individualized library consultations
-          Needed to look at processes because CCU enrollment doubled, library staff and space did not, creating problems with enough space for classes and with staff time for research consultations
-          Compared ENG 102 and PSY 497 (student research) classes.  Very low numbers of students in study. 
-          Had students fill out research consultation request forms
-          Results:
       o   Most freshman consults were 5-15 minutes long
       o   10 of 17 freshmen would do consult again
       o   90% of seniors would do the consult again
       o   36% of senior consults lasted 10-20 minutes; 43% lasted 20-30 minutes
       o   The freshman English class that was required to set up library research consultations had lower grades compared to classes that only had 1-hr group instruction sessions in the library.  The class who was required to set up individual appointments used too many references in their papers and also used those references indiscriminately.
-          Implications:
       o   Research consultations should be modified for every student
       o   Seniors benefit more from consults than freshmen
       o   Faculty/librarian communication is essential
       o   Knowing where to say no is what staff learned
       o   Send freshmen to the reference desk; more helpful than research consultations
       o   Good to have statistics to back up prioritizing senior appointments over freshmen

Conference Session: Wrap It Up: Quick Strategies to Engage Students and Assess Learning

Program:  Wrap It Up:  Quick Strategies to Engage Students and Assess Learning

Presenters:  Amy Edwards and Brent Appling, Thomas Cooper Library (USC)

Date:  Thursday, October 20, 2011, 10:30-11:30am, SCLA Annual Conference

Program Description:  Looking for new tools to engage your students in the classroom but have limited prep time and few resources?  Come join us for this session and learn about some inexpensive, easy-to-prepare tools that can be used in a variety of instructional settings.  These tools take just a few minutes of class time but can provide insight into your student’s learning and into the effectiveness of the instructional approach.

Session notes:

-          Began session with “in a word” game to engage students.  Like $10,000 Pyramid, only harder!
-          Electronic Review Games – create in Prezi and PowerPoint
       o   Why use?  Relatable to younger generation, reinforce covered material, generate good library image
-          Prezi games in practice: 
       o   Easy to design questions to follow along different levels of cognitive process
       o   Inserting visuals is very simple
       o   Can make as easy or involved as you like
       o   Is embeddable in LibGuides
-          What’s Wrong With This Picture?
       o   Self-assessment activity
       o   Try it with a capture of your homepage and alter the screenshot with errors, then have students scrutinize it to locate the errors
       o   To create the error-filled page, use ctrl-alt-printscreen, paste in Paint, try to use pages with a lot of white space, edit using Eraser and Text Box tools
-          Create a Jeopardy Review Game using Powerpoint
       o   Strengths
           §  Info broken into categories
           §  Ask more advanced questions
           §  Adaptable
           §  Motivates students to participate
           §  Keeps students engaged, lives up session
-          Top Five
       o   An activity to add context to the lesson
       o   Slide:  “What do you need to conduct library research?”
           §  Fill in the blanks:  pass around index cards to generate ideas

Conference session: SCSL Digital Collections

Program: South Carolina State Library Digital Collections

Presenter: Amanda Stone, Innovation & Digital Librarian, South Carolina State Library

Date:  Wednesday, October 19, 2011  3:00-4:00 pm

Program Description:  In this session, the State Library presents its new Digital collections, an eclectic set of South Carolina-related online resources.  We will discuss the project history and workflow, as well as explore the historical special collections, online state documents, and tombstone project.

Session notes:

View the State Library’s digital collections at dc.statelibrary.sc.gov

-          Utilizes DSpace repository open source software

-          Amanda discussed 2 collections:  The SC State Documents Depository and the Union County Tombstone Project

The SC State Documents Depository:  online docs created by state agencies & state-supported academic institutions. 

-          Give citizens info about state government, statistics, annual reports, & a variety of topics. 

-          17 state agencies provide content, includes over 3300 documents from 1853-2011. 

-          Documents are searchable by keyword, and can browse by agency, collection, date, title, author, & subject

-          Organization is based on usability for citizens, state employees, and libraries

-          Documents in State Document Depository will be linked to records in SC Lends (this process has just started)

-          Featured collections in depository:

o   School Directories

o   Office of the Governor

§  Executive Orders

§  Governor Messages, Vetoes, Proclamations

§  Inaugural Addresses & State of the State Addresses

o   Legislative Audit Council Audit Reports (reports are done at the request of the General Assembly to ensure agencies are fulfilling their missions)

o   Great Towns (4-page documents touting particular towns, provides snapshot of area)

o   Public Library Annual Statistical Summary

o   Tobacco Reports

-          Quality Control:

o   Each document scanned has two sets of eyes to check errors, readability, and correct OCR (optical character recognition)

o   Save as PDF/A standard – specialized for digital preservation

o   Use IrfanView for multipage TIFs(freeware) – multiple pages in one file

-          Cataloging:  Use Dublin Core metadata for easy integration with SC Digital Library

Union County Tombstone Project:  documents tombstone transcriptions & photos from three Union Co. cemeteries

-          LST/IMLS-funded project, joint effort with Union Co. Library

-          Includes rubbings of gravestones, as well as transcriptions and photos

-          Title field is dead person’s name.  Can search by cemetery

-          Use volunteers!  Easy process:  volunteers take the photos, write the notes on cards, and type them in.  No need for specialized equipment beyond computer and digital camera.  Digital storage space is main concern.

Future plans for digital collections:

-          Handbook of SC, 1907

-          State School Building Survey, 1937

-          Comprehensive harvesting of state agencies’ born-digital documents

-          Add select collections to the digital library

Elections

Many thanks to all who attended the NMRT meetup and session at the annual conference.  It seems as though everyone enjoyed themselves... what delightful people SC librarians are!

18 people attended our Friday morning NMRT-sponsored session.  Elections were held at the conclusion of the program and the following are your roundtable officers for 2011-2012:
Chair:  Amber Conger, Richland County Public Library
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect:  Megan Johnson, Coker College
Secretary:  Hunter Deas, Florence County Public Library

On a personal note, this was my first SCLA conference and I must say, it was fruitful, productive, and fun!  The sessions were interesting and well-presented, the venue lovely, and the people warm and welcoming.  I do hope that more NMRT members can make plans to attend next year's event in Columbia.

Session notes will be posted soon.

It's showtime!

Can't make it to the conference?  Join in on Twitter via the hashtag #scla2011!

FYI, I'm soliciting session notes to post here after the conference so that we can share session info with those of you who couldn't make it.  I understand that it's not always possible to attend conferences, especially when you're new and not yet high enough on the totem pole for your employer to sponsor your travel.  I'll do what I can to bring the conference to you!

If you're reading this from Charleston, don't forget the NMRT session on Friday at 9 am in Meeting Room 11.  Elections will be held at the conclusion of the meeting.

SCLA NMRT Conference Meetup and Session Info

Join us for a very informal NMRT meetup on Wednesday evening from 5:30-6:30 during the manager’s reception at the Embassy Suites.  Free drinks and snacks will be provided by the hotel as part of their daily reception.  There will be an announcement at the first general session and also postings on Twitter.   Stop in and say hello!

The NMRT-sponsored program will be held on Friday, October 21 from 9-10 am.  “Conducting Yourself With Class:  The Unwritten Rules of Professionalism” is the session topic and the business meeting will be held immediately afterward.

NMRT elections will be held at the conclusion of the meeting.  Nominations are currently being accepted and will be also be taken from the floor at the meeting.  Current nominations include:

o   Chair:  Amber Conger, Richland County Public Library (Clarification: I’ve not yet been officially elected since reviving NMRT this year!)

o   Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect:  Megan Johnson, Coker College

o   Secretary:  Vacant

SCLA Poster Deadline Extended to September 23

SCLA will be accepting submissions until 9/23/11 for the annual conference poster session in October.  See http://scla.org/content/scla-annual-conference-2011 for the guidelines and application.

Nominate an outstanding librarian now!

SCLA seeks nominations for three awards to be presented at the annual conference in October:

2011 Outstanding Librarian
2011 Outstanding Library Paraprofessional
2011 Friend of Libraries

The nomination deadline is September 15, so send your entries in ASAP!  Why not make the day of a deserving colleague?  The entry process is rather simple.

Find more information here:  http://www.scla.org/content/awards-committee

Public Library Section Needs Conference Volunteers

Hey public librarians, would you like a fun and easy way to meet people at the annual conference? The SCLA Public Library section needs helping hands to help run their booth between sessions. Volunteers would assist with selling raffle tickets and demonstrating e-readers, which would be a great networking opportunity for new SCLA members. Contact Georgia Coleman at gcoleman at myrcpl dot com for more information.

Poster Session Opportunity

Interested in presenting at the SCLA Annual Conference in October?  Submit a poster!


Applications are due on August 26!  From the SCLA website:

Poster sessions may present any of the following:

·               a description of an innovative library program or service

·               an analysis of a practical problem-solving effort

·               a report of a research study

 

Poster sessions consist of materials such as pictures, data, graphs, diagrams and narrative text placed on display boards.  During the conference time allotted for poster sessions, presenters informally discuss their projects with conference attendees.

Twenty-five (25) simultaneous poster sessions will be selected for presentation at SCLA 2011 in Charleston , S.C. Poster sessions will be presented on Friday, October 21, 2010 from 8am-9am.   

See http://scla.org/content/scla-annual-conference-2011 for more info.

Conference Session Lineup

The schedule of sessions (for the annual conference) was released last week.  The current lineup of topics:

• South Carolina State Library Digital Collections
• Latino Materials and Programming Ideas for Families
• Libraries: Institutions for the Future
• “Building Relationships between Library & Information Technology Unity”
• “The Role of Libraries in Promoting Our Shared History”
• EBooks 101
• Brainstorming for the Future (tentative title)
• Tag You’re It:  Using the OPAC to Create a Virtual “Barnes and Noble” Fiction Collection at an Academic Library
• Running in Place & Coming Out Ahead, or “How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Renovation”
• Workforce Development Programming Workshop
• Loose the Desk:  Mobile Services and Digital Checkouts
• Beyond Use:  What Collection Managers (might) Want to Know About ROI
• DISCUS News:  Update on Current Database Evaluation Project
• Green is the New Black:  Creating Eco-Friendly Have Couture
• Wrap It Up:  Quick Strategies to Engage Students and Assess Learning
• Library Research Consultations:  Who Benefits Most?
• Panel Discussion on Assessment of Information Literacy Programs
• Five Plus Reasons You Should Be Using Google As More Than Just A Search Engine
• Nationwide and Statewide Workforce Development Resources
• “Managing Impacts of Organizational Change”
• “The Library Building from a Facilities Perspective:  Spaces Are Changing”
• Conducting Yourself With Class:  The Unwritten Rules of Professionalism
• Critical Inquiry:  Leveraging Library Instruction for Student Learning Outcomes
• Steampunk 101:  A Primer for Librarians