Message from the Interest Group Coordinator

ALAO’s interest groups don’t stop over summer! ALAO has 12 active special interest groups that have formed to discuss concerns and issues related to academic librarianship in Ohio. Keep an eye on the ALAO events page for summer and fall events brought to you by our interest groups! Joining an interest group is a great way to participate in leadership events and network with fellow librarians and library staff. For more information visit the ALAO website https://www.alaoweb.org/igs/index.html. 

–Sara Klink, Interest Group Coordinator, Stark State College

Collection Management Interest Group (CMIG)

Partners in Success: Libraries and Vendors

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Collection Management Interest Group (CMIG) is offering a virtual meeting that will focus on library and vendor partnerships. There will be 3 presentations of about 15-minutes each followed by Q&A, open discussion, and group brainstorming on these topics. The presentations would look at various concepts embedded in close collaborations as demonstrated through real-world examples, best practices, and/or successful results. Zoom will be used for the meeting on July 14, 2021, at 2pm-3:30pm. Registration will be required, but the meeting will be free.

Registration at: https://www.alaoweb.org/event-4340267

As a group, we will explore:

• The benefit to vendors on collaboration and why they want to see partnerships.
• How librarians and staff can directly influence and direct the resources, tools, and platforms offered by vendors.
• How librarians and staff can push for change in how vendors interact with libraries and users, including communication, assessment, fiscal terms, behind-the-scenes processes, automation, etc.

Stephanie Church (Acquisitions Librarian, Kelvin Smith Library, CWRU)

Stephanie will discuss why librarian/vendor relationships should be viewed as symbiotic and how taking time to nurture these relationships is one of the most effective ways to advocate for yourself, your library, and the profession.

Stephanie Church is an Acquisitions Librarian at Case Western Reserve University’s Kelvin Smith Library. Her primary responsibilities include monograph purchases in any format, managing and implementing user-driven initiatives, collection assessment, and vendor relations.

Sharice Collins (VP of Marketing and Market Engagement, IOP Publishing, Inc.)

Title: Partners in Scholarly Communication

There are many opportunities for vendors and librarians to work together to achieve mutual benefit.  Sharice will discuss how to identify,  develop, and evolve those partnerships and will share some examples of success.

Sharice Collins is Vice President of Marketing and Market Engagement for IOP Publishing.  Based in the Philadelphia Headquarters, Sharice is a member of the company’s Senior Management Team, overseeing all marketing, promotion, and exhibit activities for the Americas.

Michelle Kraft, MLS, AHIP, FMLA (Director, Cleveland Clinic Health System Libraries)

Negotiating with library vendors is not a full-contact sport and viewing it as such will leave you and the rep mentally bruised, battered, and most likely no closer to an equitable solution. Listening, strategic sharing, and understanding, qualities found more in diplomacy, tend to be more productive, less stressful, and often lead to future positive experiences.

Michelle Kraft is the Library Director of the Cleveland Clinic Health System. As the Director, Michelle oversees library resources and services for multiple hospitals in Ohio and across the United States. As a result, she works with vendors on the best methods for providing access to online resources to a diverse group of medical professionals with very unique needs.

Any questions, please contact the CMIG Co-Chairs:

–Sean Kennedy, CMIG Co-Chair, University of Akron
–-Brian C. Gray, CMIG Co-Chair, Case Western Reserve University

STEM Interest Group News

STEMIG continues to hold open discussions for members (or anyone interested!) to drop in, connect with colleagues, and discuss whatever is on their minds. These virtual discussions take place at 11:00am on the second Friday of each month at this Zoom link. We will next be meeting on June 11th.

In association with the Scholarly Communication IG and the Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA), STEMIG is sponsoring the workshop “An Antiracist Framework for Scholarly Communications.” We will be welcoming presenters Niccole Coggins (Editorial, Design, and Production Coordinator & Assistant Project Editor at UVA Press) and Jocelyn Dawson (Journals Marketing Manager at Duke University Press). Librarians and interested faculty can register here:

https://www.alaoweb.org/event-4247056

 A recording will be available following the workshop.

We are also electing our next co-chair! Information about the candidates and a ballot are available at https://forms.gle/y8gZaXqjYDMiZrVp9. Voting will close on June 11th and the results will be announced on June 18th.

–Zach Sharrow, STEMIG Co-Chair, College of Wooster
–Daniela Solomon, STEMIG Co-Chair, Case Western Reserve University