Get Involved with ALAO Interest Groups

Looking ahead to the new year and ways you can get involved? ALAO has something for everyone! ALAO has 12 active special interest groups. These interest groups meet to discuss concerns and issues related to academic librarianship in Ohio. Interest groups hold regular events and offer a variety of leadership opportunities. Joining an interest group is a great way to get involved and network with fellow librarians and library staff. For more information visit the ALAO website. 

–Sara Klink, Interest Groups Coordinator, Stark State College

Collection Management Interest Group News

CMIG would like to have a meeting or workshop in the spring or summer of 2022. Brainstorming has started. 

One idea that developed was a session to introduce “read & publish journal deals” to those that are not familiar with this fairly new model. Generally, the cost moves from traditional journal subscriptions (read) to publishing costs (OA authoring of articles). In this session, we would include a discussion of the logistics and effects on institutions that do not publish much content but still need access to read the content. Do these deals work for all institutions? If publishers transition to this model as the only option, what does it mean for “read-only” institutions?

Send ideas for other topics or support for this proposed topic to Brian Gray and Kevin Messner.

–Brian Gray, Case Western Reserve University

Community and Two-Year College Libraries Interest Group News

Book Discussion Series

The Community and Two-Year College Interest Group (C2YCLIG) is hosting a book discussion series this year, focusing on academic library trends/hot topics. Discussions will now be held asynchronously using Padlet. Please see details for the second discussion in the series below.

Discussion #2: Programming, service, and outreach – closes on February 21, 2022 @ 2pm

Article citations:

Kasten-Mutkus, K. (2020). Programming as Pedagogy in the Academic Library. portal: Libraries and the Academy 20(3), 425-434.

Lamøy, L. & Kilvik, A. (2021). May I Borrow a Stapler? Is This All Students Ask at the Service Desk in a University Library? Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 16(3), 32–45.

Oldenburg, K. (2021). Student Work in VCC Libraries: From Mannequins in the Library to a Car on the Third Floor. Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 15(2), 1–8.

Padlet link: https://padlet.com/c2ycligchairs/discussion2

Everyone is welcome to participate in the discussion. Please email C2YCLIG co-chairs at c2yclig-chairs@alaoweb.org.

–Ragan Snead, C2YCLIG Co-Chair, Northeast Ohio Regional Library System
–Megan Mamolen, C2yCLIG Co-Chair, Lakeland Community College

Instruction Interest Group News

The Instruction Interest Group (IIG) is moving into the brainstorming phase for our spring/summer workshops and webinars for 2022. We always welcome ideas for sessions from our members. We also encourage members to join the workshop planning committee. Please feel free to contact iig-chairs@alaoweb.org with any questions. 

–Abi Morgan, Instruction Interest Group Co-Chair, Miami University
–Stefanie Hilles, Instruction Interest Group Co-Chair, Miami University

Special Collections and Archives Interest Group News

The co-chairs of the Special Collections and Archives Interest Group held a small Friday lunch hour discussion during ALAO’s 2021 conference, and would like to thank the attendees for sharing their perspectives on the conference, and what ideas they’re taking with them. Thanks also to those who completed the short poll on format and topic for SCAig’s 2022 workshop in November! More information on the workshop is forthcoming, including an official call for planning committee volunteers. We’re glad to have already heard from folks interested in contributing and welcome others, including MLIS students, who’d like to get involved in SCAig!

-Henry Handley, Special Collections and Archives IG Co-Chair, University of Dayton
-Josh Zeller, Special Collections and Archives IG Co-Chair, Mount St. Joseph University

Sustainability Interest Group News

The Sustainability Interest Group is rolling out a new form to collect information on recycling programs in Ohio. Libraries often have items–from batteries to DVD cases–that can’t be recycled through curbside programs. There are many guides online on how to recycle such items, but they may not be specific to certain localities and may not have recent information. In an attempt to solve these problems, the Sustainability Interest Group decided to create a form to solicit information from library workers in Ohio on programs and services they have used to successfully recycle these types of items. We encourage you to submit programs or services that you’ve used to the form, here. Once we start getting submissions, we will add them to a Google Doc that we’ll link to from the SusIG page on the ALAO website.

–Bethany Spieth, Sustainability Interest Group Co-Chair, Ohio Northern University
-Kimberly Hoffman, Sustainability Interest Group Co-Chair, Miami University

Technical, Electronic & Digital Services and Sustainability Interest Groups News

Join TEDSIG & SUSIG for a Collaborative Workshop on Speculative Library Responses to Climate Change

Join TEDSIG and SUSIG for the co-sponsored workshop, Creating Radical Hope: Artistic and Speculative Library Responses to Climate Change. The full description for the event and the list of presenters can be found below. The workshop will be held on Monday, January 10, from 11am – 12pm. Interested attendees can register for the workshop by using the following URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsfu-vrT0pE9C0PM6YC4KL9RPB6MEasThP. Please note that space is limited to the first 15 participants, so be sure to register early!

Workshop Description
Heat waves and wildfires, global pandemics, floods, and droughts. We are already experiencing the damaging impact of climate change, particularly communities of color. Young activists are demanding systemic change while governments and local leaders grapple with neighborhood migration and global displacement. Natural disasters will continue to put library facilities and collections at risk and will alter who uses libraries and what they are needed for. What can we do to envision library futures that respond to the hopes, fears, and needs of our patrons, both today and tomorrow?

Focused on the real-world challenge of climate change, this SUSIG & TEDSIG co-sponsored workshop offers participants the chance to imagine libraries from the perspective of future patrons’ needs as well as other responses to the crisis. Using speculative and critical design methods, the presenters will provide attendees with an exploratory framework from which to engage in small group discussions. From these engagements, we’ll brainstorm critical, activist, and artistic responses library staff might take to current and future environmental issues. While we can’t “solve climate change” in one workshop, small actions taken together are powerful antidotes to the paralysis of fear and uncertainty. 

Together, we will generate ideas, both practical and fanciful, while learning from one another and building alliances. Participants will leave the session with an understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of design thinking, seed ideas for micro-tasks, and opportunities to continue the conversation and deepen their exploration of speculative library futures.

Presenters

Shannon Robinson
Assistant Director, Fisher Fine Arts Library
University of Pennsylvania

John Jung
Senior Programmer/Analyst
The University of Chicago Library

Heidi Beke-Harrigan
Technical Support Librarian
OhioNet

–Chris Deems, Technical, Electronic & Digital Services Interest Group Co-Chair, Ohio Northern University
–Jerry Yarnetsky, Technical, Electronic & Digital Services Interest Group Co-Chair, Miami University
–Bethany Spieth, Sustainability Interest Group Co-Chair, Ohio Northern University
–Kimberly Hoffman, Sustainability Interest Group Co-Chair, Miami University