Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group

Cheryl Ghosh, University of Cincinnati

The Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group (CMCIG) will be co-chaired by Cheryl Ghosh and the newly appointed co-chair, Sharon Kerestes (Cedarville University). A huge thank you goes to Stephanie Bange (Wright State) for serving on this committee for many years (definitely more than two) as chair and co-chair. Her strong leadership skills and enthusiasm will be missed, although she has granted us permission to consult with her as needed. Sharon and I are tossing around several ideas for the spring CMCIG workshop and leaning toward a technology based theme. We look forward to planning the 2014 spring workshop and pulling together as many Ohio CMC librarians together as possible.

Diversity Committee

Diane Kolosionek, Cleveland State University
Diversity Scholarship Awards
The ALAO Diversity Committee is pleased to award two Diversity Scholarships for 2013-2014! The Diversity Scholarship winners are Conrad Pegues and Robert Millspaugh. The Committee was very impressed by their demonstrated commitment to diversity, academic achievement, strong leadership abilities, and excellent customer service skills. The Diversity Scholarship includes $1,500.00 for tuition, free registration to the ALAO Annual Conference, and a year of mentoring by an ALAO member.

Conrad Pegues is a student in the Master of Library and Information Science program at Kent State University. He earned a Master of Arts in English Literature and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Memphis. Conrad currently works as an Overnight Circulation Supervisor at Miami University’s King Library.
In his scholarship application, Conrad addressed the lack of diversity in librarianship, specifically the low number of African American male librarians. Conrad has noticed that his presence at the circulation desk has attracted more African American students. “It’s not just about checking out books or laptops or cameras. It’s about presence and understanding their plight. I’ve become acutely aware of the necessity for presence in a field traditionally seen as one for white females.”
Conrad would focus his efforts on recruitment and outreach to make prospective students aware of the possibilities of a career in librarianship. He believes that “ideas and topics have to be made culturally relevant to grasp the minds and imagination of the field’s potential.” Librarians must be culturally relevant, not just technologically savvy, to serve the world’s diversity.

Robert Millspaugh is a student in the Master of Library and Information Science program at Kent State University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from The Ohio State University. Robert currently works as a Library Circulation Specialist at the Columbus State Community College Library.
In his scholarship application, Robert stated that diversity in the workforce is a major issue. As a male of mixed racial backgrounds, Robert has been sensitive to the issue from the moment he began working in a library. “This only encourages and motivates me to be the best library professional I can be.”
Robert offered ways to increase diversity in the profession. He believes that being an inspiration to diverse students on a daily basis will make a difference. “I feel that efforts for increased diversity in the library workforce can begin by recruiting undergraduate students. In urban community colleges such as CSCC the diversity is so multifaceted with the student body being varied by age, race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, nationality and sexual orientation. By engaging these students, both as patrons and workers, I believe interest in librarianship as a career can be raised.”
Congratulations to Conrad and Robert! The Committee is confident that they will be strong leaders and advocates for diversity and inclusion in libraries.

Diversity Spring Workshop
The Diversity Committee’s Spring Workshop was held on Friday, June 14, 2013, at OHIONET in Columbus, Ohio. The workshop was attended by twenty individuals, including eight speakers. Four of the sessions were presented by members of the University of Michigan Library Diversity Council: (1) Library Diversity Committees: The Basics by Deirdre Spencer and Darlene Nichols; (2) Making the Case for a Diversity Committee by Bob Campe and Darlene Nichols; (3) Engaging Staff through Innovative Programs by Steve Griffes, Scott Martin, and Mike McLean; and (4) Getting out the Word by Mike McLean and Kate Saylor. Eileen Theodore-Shusta from Ohio University presented a session about Diversity Internships for Undergraduates and LAMP. Attendees rated the overall workshop as either Excellent or Very Good, and they offered many positive comments about the presenters and the content of the sessions. They also appreciated the delicious lunch from Panera. Thanks to all presenters and attendees for a successful, engaging workshop!

Instruction Interest Group

Katie Foran-Mulcahy, University of Cincinnati, Clermont College

The Instruction Interest Group is excitedly looking forward to the annual ALAO conference this year in North Canton, Ohio. Our sponsored session this year, “Reimagining Info. Lit. Assessment: An Inexpensive and Easy Method for Measuring IL Skill Progression” (Eric Resnis, Kate Lucey, Lindsay Miller – Miami University) promises to offer practical tips on implementing in-house/open-source information literacy assessment tools. As always, the IIG will also host an information table at ALAO; we invite all conference-goers to stop by and say hello!

In other IIG news, we’re elated to announce three new planning committee members joining us this year, including Melissa Bauer (Kent State, Stark), Dana Knott (Columbus Community College), and Kristen Peters (Wittenberg University). Julia Gustafson (College of Wooster) will also continue to assist us as a planning committee member this year. We’re already discussing the spring Instruction Interest Group workshop 2014 – if you’ve got ideas or suggestions, feel free to drop us a line.

Support Staff Interest Group

Ginna Witte, Cincinnati State

The SSIG co-chairs worked with interest group members to develop a list of desired professional development topics for the annual conference. This list was then shared out with SSIG members to encourage the submission of proposals that would be relevant to the needs of support staff and related to the conference theme. The conference planning committee received many strong proposals that covered topics on this list. The co-chairs are thrilled to be sponsoring Jessica Hagman and Janet Carleton’s session, “Better Together: Reimagining Library Social Media Content through Student Collaboration” at the annual conference; please stop by and join us if you have time. We look forward to meeting and reconnecting with all SSIG members in October.