ALAO Newsletter

Brian Hickam

ALAO welcomes Kathryn Venditti (Reference and Instruction Librarian at Ashland University) as our Interest Group Coordinator. Kathryn, who has been serving as a co-chair of the Instruction Interest Group, fills the shoes of Deberah England, who we thank for her years of service to ALAO.

ALAO also welcomes a new Interest Group: the Special Collections and Archives Interest Group (SCAIG) will hold its first workshop in 2013 and will have a program at the October 2012 conference.
Please join me in welcoming the two co-chairs of SCAIG: Stefanie Hunker (Associate Professor/Digital Resources Librarian at the Browne Popular Culture Library of Bowling Green State University) and Kimberly Tully (Special Collections Librarian for the Walter Havighurst Special Collections at Miami University’s King Library). If you would like to get involved or receive more information, please contact them at sdennis@bgsu.edu and tullykk@muohio.edu.

I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Deberah England for working with the members of SCAIG as they petitioned ALAO for recognition. I’m also appreciative that Kathryn Venditti has accepted the nomination of IG Coordinator since our newest group will have many questions as they get established and spring is interest group workshop season.

There is also news related to our Support Staff Interest Group. SSIG has been on hiatus for the past several months. In order to maintain a strong connection to the needs & interests of support staff ALAO is investigating the appointment of a liaison to the Ohio Library Support Staff Institute (OLSSI), “a dedicated group of individuals from all varieties of Ohio libraries including school, special, public and academic libraries [who] volunteer their time and energy each year to organize an annual, residential, multi-day conference for library support staff” (source: www.olssi.org).

Our own Betsy Blankenship (Director of the OSU-Marion/Marion Technical College Library) is serving on the LOEX Conference Planning Committee for the May 3-5, 2012 conference in Columbus. As the sponsor coordinator Betsy has been working with the ALAO board. Our association will be sponsoring LOEX at the $500 level, which allows us to include a brochure and a one-page insert in attendees’ packets. Since LOEX will draw people from surrounding states and some from Ohio who aren’t familiar or active with ALAO, we will promote membership in our association, participation in our interest groups & committees, and attendance at our workshops and the fall conference at the Roberts Conference Centre in Wilmington.

Anne Abate of Library Discount Network continues to work on our behalf as we petition the Internal Revenue Service for recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization. I recently received about sixty pages of documents to review as there are several forms, schedules, and supplemental documents included in this multistage process.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to me at: brianhickam@yahoo.com
Thank you! Brian

Rocki Strader

We’re getting close to ALAO elections! The polls are tentatively scheduled to open on March 19. The final schedule will be announced when the candidate information is posted.
Here is this year’s slate:
Vice-President/President-Elect:
Amber Bice, Franklin University
Betsy Blankenship, The Ohio State University-Marion/Marion Technical College
Secretary:
Diane Kolosionek, Cleveland State University
Membership Chair:
Alison Ricker, Oberlin College
Board Members-at-Large:
Kathleen Baril, Ohio Northern University
Terese DeSimio, Wright State University
Mark Eddy, Case Western Reserve University
Mary Jenkins, Xavier University
Katy Kelly, University of Dayton
Kathleen Pickens-French, Miami University-Hamilton

Thanks,
Rocki

The ALAO Board is happy to announce a proposal for a new interest group focusing on Special Collections and Archives was approved at the February meeting. The new interest group is charged with “providing a vehicle with which to discuss and disseminate issues and developments pertinent to special collections and archives in Ohio academic libraries.”
Goals & Objectives of the Special Collections & Archives Interest Group:

• To provide opportunities for networking with colleagues with similar interests.
• To provide an opportunity for professional service and development within the state for special collections librarians.
• To encourage discussion of topics relevant to academic special collections and archives.
• To increase visibility of special collections and archival materials across the Ohio academic community.
• To hold an annual meeting to discuss business for the upcoming year.
• To hold an annual workshop to exchange ideas or techniques on issues or developments relevant to the archives and special collections field.
• To encourage and sponsor more conference sessions, presentations, and panel discussions about topics related to archives and special collections.

Please contact chairs Kim Tully (tullykk@muohio.edu) and Stefanie Hunker (sdennis@bgsu.edu) for more information about this new opportunity for getting involved in ALAO.

Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group
Stephanie Bange, Wright State University

The CMCIG Spring Workshop is on! The date is the same, Friday, May 18th, but the venue has changed. It will be held at the State Library of Ohio, 274 East 1st Ave., Columbus. Easy to get to, it’s a stone’s throw from I-670 and the Columbus Convention Center — where you will find many hotels. The theme for the day is “The Future of Ohio’s Libraries”. The Spring Workshop Committee is assembling an agenda to include presentations on e-reader collections, e-readers for kids, e-textbooks for grade school and a tour of both the State Library and the Ohioanna Library. We will have lunch catered in. For more details: http://alaoweb.org/igs/cmcig/index.html

Distance Learning Interest Group
Kathleen Pickens-French, Miami University Hamilton

Registration is open for the DLIG Spring Workshop, INOV8! Strategies & Models for Distance Library Services. Whether you’re an instruction librarian dabbling in online to supplement your face-to-face instruction or a seasoned distance librarian, you’ll benefit from this year’s program, which includes: an overview of Quality Matters, a feature session by our 2012 DLIG Visionary, & a panel discussion of librarians reaching online students via Blackboard, LibGuides, IM, video tutorials & more.
When: Friday, May 11th
Where: Miami University’s Voice of America Learning Center (Room 127), located in West Chester, Ohio
Cost: $40.00 & Includes Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Parking, & All Sessions
Student Discounted Price: $25.00 Must present valid student ID at registration
Registration Deadline: All registration payments must be received by Friday, April 27th
Details: Visit our blog at http://distancelibrarians.wordpress.com for detailed session descriptions, presenter bios, & travel information.

Diversity Committee
Diane Kolosionek, Cleveland State University

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) values diversity in its membership, in the profession, and in future library professionals. For this reason, we offer a $1,500 scholarship to a promising student enrolled in an ALA-accredited MLS program who exemplifies the qualities needed to ensure a diverse library workforce.
The scholarship will be applied directly to the recipient’s bursar account for tuition at his or her academic institution. As the scholarship recipient, the student will receive a complimentary registration for ALAO’s Annual Conference, and at least one year of mentorship from a selected ALAO Member.

Application: Complete information and the scholarship application are available at:
http://www.alaoweb.org/committees/diversity/scholarship-guidelines
Deadline: Friday, March 16, 2012

For additional information or questions, please contact the current ALAO Diversity Committee Chair:
Diane Kolosionek
Education, Political Science, & Urban Affairs Librarian
Michael Schwartz Library
Cleveland State University
2121 Euclid Avenue
RT 110D
Cleveland, Ohio 44115-2214
(216) 802-3358
d.kolosionek44@csuohio.edu

Technical and Digital Services Interest Group
Jennifer Bazeley & Elias Tzoc, Miami University

Mark your calendars for the TEDSIG Spring Workshop, “Cataloging Digital Materials”
When: Friday, May 11, time TBD
Where: Ohionet (Columbus)
More details will follow on the ALAO and TEDSIG listservs.

Bluffton University

The Intermuseum Conservation Association has chosen Mennonite Historical Collection at Bluffton University for a collection conservation assessment. According to the ICA, “The goal of the award is to help the recipient institution identify preservation needs, while information gained through the assessment can help raise funds for addressing those needs” (http://www.ica-artconservation.org/preservation/grants/).

Bowling Green State University
BGSU Reference librarian, Carol Singer, is a member of the editorial board for Reverence and User Services Quarterly. Her main responsibilities will be to review manuscripts and advise on the content of the journal. She will serve on the board for three years.

Bryant & Stratton College, Cleveland
The Bryant & Stratton College Cleveland Downtown Campus Library is undertaking a major collection development project this semester to refresh print materials in all academic subject areas. Title lists for this project were created by consensus of librarians across the four-state Bryant & Stratton College system in December 2011 and is in compliance with a requirement of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Five Colleges of Ohio
Three science librarians of the Five Colleges of Ohio consortium recently travelled to Vancouver, B.C., to present a poster describing digital projects for science courses at Denison Univ., Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan Univ., and The College of Wooster. The poster and accompanying slides describing each of the science digital projects can be accessed at http://www.slideshare.net/FiveCollegesofOhio/aaas-poster-presentation-slideshow. Alison Ricker, Oberlin, Aimee Jenkins, Kenyon, and Moriana Garcia, Denison, presented the poster at the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2012 Annual Meeting. They co-authored the poster with colleagues Deborah Carter-Peoples, Ohio Wesleyan, and Jessica Clemens, Wooster.

Miami University
The 2012 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture will be held at Miami University’s Hall Auditorium on April 4th, 2012 at 7:00pm. This year’s lecture will feature internationally acclaimed illustrator, author, filmmaker and MacArthur Fellow Peter Sís, whose talk is entitled, “Reading in the Dark.” This lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets may be requested by emailing boxoffice@muohio.edu with “Peter Sis lecture” in the subject line. For more information, please visit http://www.units.muohio.edu/eap/about/Current_Events/Archives/PeterSis.htm

The Ohio State Marion/Marion Technical College Library
Deanna Bachtell has joined the staff as Evening/Weekend Supervisor. Deanna handles circulation, library displays, and various other duties. She has a Bachelor’s degree in both English and Psychology.

Betsy Blankenship, Director/Head Librarian is serving as an editorial judge for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) 24th Annual Benjamin Franklin Awards.

Ohio University Libraries
Miriam Nelson has joined Ohio University Libraries as Head of Preservation. In addition to the Preservation department, Miriam will also be overseeing the Southeast Ohio Regional Depository. Miriam comes to Athens from Bloomington, Indiana where she worked at the Indiana University E. Lingle Craig Preservation Lab. Miriam received her MLS from IU and an MA in Cultural Memory from the University of London. By overseeing the two departments within the Hwa-Wei Lee Library Annex her work will integrate preservation as a long term goal into Ohio University Libraries’ current practice.

Southern State Community College
Almost 900 people like the Facebook site of the Learning Resources Center at Southern State Community College: http://www.facebook.com/sscclrc. This active site provides news and events, photos and videos from the LRC at Southern State. We want our colleagues at ALAO to also ‘like’ us on Facebook. Click on Events and check on the latest happens on campus and online.
The library staff is busy preparing for National Library Week April 8-14th. Activities are planned on all four campus libraries.

Wright State University
Maureen Barry recently published an article titled “Librarians as Partners in Service-Learning Courses (Part I). in the Spring issue of LOEX Quarterly. She also recently co-presented “InfoPOWer: Super Librarian to the Rescue During the Transition to College,” with Catherine Queenr, and Lindsay Midkiff-Miller (of Miami University Libraries) at the National First Year Experience Conference in San Antonio Texas.