Message from the Interest Group Coordinator

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a great start to their new academic years. I will be staying on as IG Coordinator until 2026 and I look forward to continuing working with ALAO’s interest groups in the coming two years.

I want to thank all the new incoming IG co-chairs for volunteering their time and expertise to our interest groups. 

ALAO has a variety of special interest groups that have formed to discuss concerns, issues, and new trends related to academic librarianship in Ohio. 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 or contact Abi Morgan, Interest Group Coordinator at morgan55@miamioh.edu

–Abi Morgan, Interest Group Coordinator, Miami University

Sustainability Interest Group (SUSIG) News

The Sustainability Interest Group is excited to announce our new incoming co-chair, Lori Chapin! Lori is the Manager of Innovative Spaces at Miami University in Oxford. SUS-IG will once again be hosting a swap table at the annual ALAO conference in November. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks and if you would like to help, please reach out at susig-chairs@alaoweb.org. 

–Megan Jaskowiak, Sustainability Interest Group (SUSIG) Chair, Miami University

Technical, Electronic, and Digital Services Interest Group (TEDSIG) News

Presenter Award goes to Rachel Littleton (Library Paraprofessional, Circulation and Acquisitions at Wittenberg University ). She is presenting In the Closet as a Neurodivergent: How We can Transform our Libraries to Become a Better Place to Work for Neurodivergent Staff and a Poster: DIY Digitization: How Library Support Staff Collaborated to Build a Digitization Tool on a Shoestring Budget.

–Simon Robins, Technical, Electronic, and Digital Services Interest Group (TEDSIG), University of Dayton

Congratulations to the recipients of the ALAO Support Staff Conference Grant

In 2022 the ALAO Board decided to expand the number of support staff conference grants which we could offer. We plan to offer at least two awards at least through 2028. This year we are happy to announce that three people could be awarded funding to attend the 50th ALAO conference on November 8th. 

The grants committee is pleased to recognize Gregg Harris (University of Akron), Elizabeth Staarmann (Miami University), and Jennifer Smith (Case Western Reserve University) as the awardees for 2024. Additionally, Gregg will be co-presenting at the conference with Marilia Y. Antunez during concurrent session 3 on “The good, the bad, and the questionable: How unauthorized and pirate websites are confusing researchers and the library’s role.”

Congratulations to all our award winners. 

–Allen Reichert, Professional Development Committee Co-Chair, Otterbein University.