Member Spotlight

Posted on September 14, 2022 by anitaslack

Let’s shine the Member Spotlight on Hydy Cates from Columbus State Community College!

What is/are your role(s) in academic libraries?

I like being able to show students how to find the truth through all the noise. I also like working with my team to ensure that everyone has access to these resources no matter where they are in life or in our community.

What do you like most about academic library work?

I like being able to show students how to find the truth through all the noise. I also like working with my team to ensure that everyone has access to these resources no matter where they are in life or in our community.

What are some interesting projects you’ve been involved with lately?

I helped create CSCC’s award-winning Composition Reading Bank, an OER for composition and English courses. I subsequently worked on a whitepaper team to continue CSCC’s OER work into the future. I am currently working to bring CSCC’s first Digital Repository to fruition. As part of that effort, I was selected as one of the members of a pilot cohort for the Digital Curation Certification through Library Juice, supported by the State Library through LSTA funds.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I love to play, run, and watch Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games. Collaborative storytelling is amazingly fun!

What do you love about being an ALAO member?

I love ALAO because I enjoy all the educational resources and networking opportunities provided by our local organization.

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 3 (Sept 2022) | Tagged | Leave a comment

Membership Report

Posted on September 14, 2022 by anitaslack

The current membership of ALAO includes a total of 290 members consisting of 259 regular members, 4 retiree members, and 27 student members. We are excited to welcome new members who joined between June 1, 2022 and September 2, 2022.

Arpi Anderson, Xavier University

Jennifer Casteen, Columbus State Community College

Hydy Cates, Columbus State Community College

Jacy Cina, Student

Sarah Dennis , Ohio University

Sarah Fouts, Columbus State Community College

Aaron Greene, Lakeland Community College

Brittney Harmon, Student 

Clayton Hayes, Kenyon College

Emily  Henderson, Student

Wendy Knapp, State Library of Ohio

Nick Kneer, Miami University

Amy McCoy Glover, Columbus State Community College

Sevim McCutcheon, Kent State University Libraries

Brea McQueen, Miami University Regionals

Sonjia Muladore, Southern State Community College

Holly Pegan, Southern State Community College

Sharon Richter, Columbus State Community College Library

Morgan Rupp, Cedarville University Library

Sarah Sanchez, Student

Joseph Saultz, Student       

Mira Scarnecchia, Columbus State Community College

Hannah Smith, Cedarville University Library

Emily Wages , University of Cincinnati Clermont College Library

Lynn Warner, University of Cincinnati

Emily Warren          

Paul Weaver, Owens Community College

Michael Wells, Wilmington College

Tiffany Whitman, Student

–Laura Birkenhauer, Membership Chair, Miami University

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 3 (Sept 2022) | Tagged | Leave a comment

Funding Opportunities

Posted on September 14, 2022 by anitaslack

Continuing Education Grant Program-Apply Now! 

Are you presenting a conference paper, attending a workshop, or looking to participate in other professional development opportunities in 2023? The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Continuing Education Grant can help you get there!

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Continuing Education Grant is awarded each year to support the cost of participating in professional development opportunities such as conferences, workshops, seminars, etc. which are related to the member’s current position, in pursuit of a professional library degree, or growth of DEI knowledge and leadership. Current ALAO members are eligible to apply for funds to defray the costs of attending any library-related educational opportunity occurring during the calendar year.

Eligibility:

  • Applicant must be a current member of ALAO.
  • Applicant may not have received this grant in the previous three award cycles (2022, 2021, 2020).
  • Funded event must occur between January 1 and December 31, 2023.

Application Deadline: February 3, 2023 11:59 p.m.

For more information and to apply online go the ALAO website: https://www.alaoweb.org/continuingeducationgrant

If you have any questions about the Continuing Education Grant, please contact the Professional Development Committee chair, Kristen Peters.

–Kristen Peters, Professional Development Committee Chair, Wittenberg University.

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 3 (Sept 2022) | Tagged | Leave a comment

Interest Group News

Posted on September 13, 2022 by anitaslack

Message from the Interest Group Coordinator

ALAO has 12 active 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. Many of ALAO’s interest groups are participating in the annual conference this November. Keep an eye on the ALAO events page for specific events or join us at the annual conference to learn how you can get involved with an interest group!

For more information visit the ALAO website https://www.alaoweb.org/igs/index.html or contact Sara Klink, Interest Group Coordinator at sklink@starkstate.edu

–Sara Klink, Interest Group Coordinator, Stark State College

Community & Two Year College Libraries Interest Group (C2YCLIG) News

In order to better serve our members, the Community & Two Year College Libraries Interest Group (C2YCLIG) would like all C2YCLIG members to fill out a membership survey.  This survey will help us to determine the best times to meet, how often to meet, and where your interests lie.  Please reach out to c2yclig-chairs@alaoweb.org if you have any questions.

C2YCLIG membership survey

–Meagan Fowler, Community & Two Year College Libraries IG Co-Chair, Cuyahoga Community College
–Zoe Orcutt, Community & Two Year College Libraries IG Co-Chair, OverDrive

Distance Learning Interest Group (DLIG)

DLIG: Looking for a leadership opportunity? Interested in how academic librarians support distance learners? ALAO’s Distance Learning Interest Group seeks a new co-chair and committee members to plan a spring workshop, explore additional programming opportunities, and contribute to the DLIG blog. Contact Co-Chair Dana Knott (dknott@cscc.edu) for more information.

–Dana Knott, Distance Learning IG Co-Chair, Columbus State Community College

Instruction Interest Group (IIG) News

The Instruction Interest Group (IIG) is pleased to welcome Jaclyn Spraetz, Information Literacy Librarian at Miami University as the new Co-Chair for the 2022-2024 term. She will serve with Stefanie Hilles, Arts and Humanities Librarian, also at Miami University, whose term will end in July 2023. 

In July, we hosted a webinar, “Best Practices to Refresh Your Research Guides,” led by Mandi Goodset, Performing Arts & Humanities Librarian, Cleveland State University, Marsha Miles, Assistant Director for Collections and Resource Management, Cleveland State University, and Theresa M. Nawalaniec, Sciences & Engineering Librarian, Cleveland State University. We always welcome ideas for sessions from our members! Please reach out if you have ideas about webinars you would like to see or lead. 


We always welcome new members to our group. If you have questions about IIG, webinar topic proposals, or you are interested in joining our workshop planning committee, please contact iig-chairs@alaoweb.org.

–Stefanie Hilles, Instruction IG Co-Chair, Miami University
–Jaclyn Spraetz, Instruction IG Co-Chair, Miami University

Special Collections and Archives Interest Group (SCAig) News

The Special Collections and Archives Interest Group (SCAig) is pleased to welcome Miriam Intrator as incoming co-chair for the 2022-2024 term. She currently works as Special Collections Librarian for Rare Books at Ohio University’s Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections, and is also Liaison Librarian to Honors Programs for Ohio University Libraries. Miriam will serve as co-chair of SCAig alongside Josh Zeller, Head of Access Services at Mount St. Joseph University’s Archbishop Alter Library, whose term will conclude at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

The SCAig co-chairs plan to attend this year’s ALAO annual conference on initiating change in academic libraries (November 3-4). We hope SCAig members can join us there in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. It would be wonderful to touch base with you, and also to hear any ideas/suggestions you may have for future SCAig workshops and meetings!

For more information on SCAig, contact the co-chairs at scaig-chairs@alaoweb.org.

–-Josh Zeller, SCAig Co-Chair, Mount St. Joseph University
-–Miriam Intrator, SCAig Co-Chair, Ohio University

Sustainability Interest Group (SUSIG)

The Sustainability Interest Group is excited to announce our new incoming co-chair, Megan Jaskowiak! Megan is the current Health and Social Sciences Librarian at Miami University in Oxford. We’d like to thank our outgoing co-chair, Bethany Spieth, for her hard work over the last two years, and we look forward to an exciting fall semester.

If you have any great ideas you’d like to share with our group, such as for successful initiatives on your campus, please reach out to susig-chairs@alaoweb.org. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming programs.

–Kimberly Hill, Sustainability IG Co-Chair, Miami University
–Megan Jaskowiak, Sustainability IG Co-Chair, Miami University

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 3 (Sept 2022) | Tagged | Leave a comment

ACRL Chapters Council Report

Posted on September 13, 2022 by anitaslack

ACRL Plan for Excellence:

The ALAO’s 2021-2022 Plan for Excellence Report was submitted to ACRL in July by the ACRL representative. The report highlighted the 2021 ALAO Conference and the work done by the chapter in support of DEI, including the development of a DEIA/Anti-Racist statement and a DEIA toolkit.

Chapters Council Update:

The most recent ACRL Chapters Council meeting was held June 24, 2022. Updates from this meeting included: Eric Edwards from the Illinois State Library has been elected Chapters Council Chair Elect. The ACRL Board of Directors has approved the 2022 Legislative Agenda, which can be accessed at https://www.ala.org/acrl/issues/washingtonwatch. The next Chapters Council will take place at LibLearnX in New Orleans.

–Jane Hammons, ACRL Liaison, The Ohio State University

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 3 (Sept 2022) | Leave a comment

Learning Opportunities

Posted on September 13, 2022 by anitaslack

Free Virtual Information Literacy Workshops

Are you looking for ideas for integrating information literacy concepts into a course or instruction session? The Ohio State University Libraries is hosting a series of free virtual workshops on information literacy topics this fall. Workshops are open to librarians, faculty, staff and graduate teaching assistants from any institution. Participants should leave the workshops with ideas and resources for teaching a range of information literacy concepts and skills.

Key topics include:

  • Evaluating Information: Teaching the Lateral Reading Strategy: In this workshop, participants will learn about alternatives to the CRAAP test that we can use to help students more effectively evaluate sources.
  • Teaching Scholarship as Conversation: Participants will learn about activities and resources to help students understand and engage with scholarly conversations.
  • Information Literacy and Digital Wellness: Participants will explore the idea of “digital wellness” and consider the intersections with information literacy.
  • Information Literacy and Data Literacy: In this workshop, participants will learn more about the intersections of information literacy and data literacy.
  • Wicked Information Literacy: This workshop will be based on ideas and strategies from Paul Hanstedt’s book, Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World.

Workshops take place on Thursdays from noon-1:00 via Zoom. For a full list of upcoming workshops and registration links, go to: https://u.osu.edu/teachinginfolit/teaching-information-literacy-workshops/virtual-workshop-series/. For questions, contact Jane Hammons, Teaching & Learning Engagement Librarian (hammons.73@osu.edu). 

–Jane Hammons, ACRL Representative, The Ohio State University

Google Docs Hacks

Learn about 11 Google Docs features, shortcuts, and tips from Wonder Tools’ blog post “Try These Google Docs Tricks.”

–Dana Knott, Distance Learning Interest Group Chair, Columbus State Community College

Register for the Ohio Collection Analysis Initiative – a new, free professional development opportunity from the State Library of Ohio.

The Ohio Collection Analysis Initiative gives you the dedicated space, time, and resources to truly consider how diversity and representation are reflected in your collections of children’s and young adult titles. What kind of impact could this have on your community?

This initiative has been fully funded for statewide use by the State Library of Ohio. All Ohio educators and library staff have exclusive access! These tools are simple, easy to learn and use, and built for seamless implementation into your existing practices.

Register here for access to the Ohio Collection Analysis Initiative.

Through participating, you’ll also receive full use of TeachingBooks—a comprehensive collection of digital resources that personalize and enrich connections to children’s and young adult books. This means unlimited access for everyone in your community, at no cost to your library or school district! Register today.

Audience: Any educators and library staff working in Ohio who maintain collections of children’s & young adult books. These collections could be part of a school or classroom library, a featured display, a summer reading list—any set of books that are visible to young readers.

Notable highlights from this impactful initiative: 

  • Free for staff working in all types of Ohio schools and libraries!
  • There are no time constraints for completing this program. Set your own goals and progress at your own pace.  
  • Personalized support. You have access to a dedicated, full-time specialist for assistance at any time.
  • Unlimited access to a Collection Analysis Toolkit. This toolkit complements any collection development work you already have in place. 
  • Unlimited access to a vetted collection of materials about children’s & young adult books and authors.  
  • Identifiable action steps. You will receive a custom Implementation Plan that outlines your collection development decisions and next steps.

Register here for access to the Ohio Collection Analysis Initiative.

The Ohio Collection Analysis Initiative is a collaborative project of the State Library of Ohio and TeachingBooks.net. The project is funded in whole or in part with Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funds granted to the State Library of Ohio.  The opinions and content expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of IMLS or the State Library of Ohio, and no official endorsement by either agency should be inferred.  This initiative is available for exclusive use by any Ohio library staff. Distributing the Handbook and/or links to any of its components outside of Ohio is prohibited. This material may be shared with colleagues within Ohio.

–Jake Stone, TeachingBooks and Book Connections

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 3 (Sept 2022) | Leave a comment

People & Library News

Posted on September 13, 2022 by anitaslack

Cleveland State University News

Cleveland State University’s Michael Schwartz Library recently hired Kathy Fisher as our Health Professions Librarian. Since 2008, she has served as the liaison librarian to Ursuline’s Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions and as Personal Librarian for the majority of undergraduate and graduate students at Ursuline College. We are excited to have her at CSU!

–Mandi Goodsett, Past President, Cleveland State University

University of Toledo News

  • The University of Toledo is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year. The University Libraries and the Canaday Center for Special Collections will be presenting numerous historic exhibitions throughout the year to commemorate the sesquicentennial. Current and planned exhibitions include Carlson Then & Now (a poster exhibit about the history of the Carlson Library), The Art and Design of The Blockhouse (the evolving styles of the university yearbook), and Vision, Faith and Hard Work (exploring the main events that shaped The University of Toledo since its founding in 1872). For more information, see the Carlson Library social media (@utcarlsonlib)
  • Recent promotions: Margaret Hoogland and Jolene Miller were promoted to Associate Professor of Library Administration with Tenure;  Arjun Sabharwal was promoted to Professor of Library Administration.
  • Renovations at the Mulford Health Science Library have been completed: new additions include nearly 40 height-adjustable study carrels, new seminar and small group study rooms, and additional booths and study carrels.

–Jolene Miller, University of Toledo

Wittenberg University News

Thomas Library at Wittenberg University welcomed new director Dr. Amanda McLellan on August 1, 2022. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Illinois School of Information Science where she recently taught “Race, Gender, and Information Technology.” Dr. McLellan earned her BA from DePauw University, holds an MLIS from University of Illinois, and earned her EdD from East Carolina University. She most recently worked as Assistant Director for Discovery and Technology at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina.

–Kristen Peters, Professional Development Committee Chair, Wittenberg University

Wright State University News

The University Libraries are pleased to introduce the newest member of our staff, Christina Heady. As head of instruction and research services, Christina will manage the delivery of library reference and instructional services for the campus and community including classes, workshops, the Information Desk and virtual reference services, the Patent and Trademark Resource Center, the Student Technology Assistance Center, and the Charles and Renate Frydman Educational Resource Center.

Christina holds a Master of Science in Information with specializations in Library Science and Archives and Records Management from University of Michigan School of Information and a Bachelor of Science with majors in Secondary Education and English Literacy from Florida State University.

–Mandy Shannon, Wright State University

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 3 (Sept 2022) | Tagged | Leave a comment

President’s and Vice President/President Elect Report

Posted on June 10, 2022 by anitaslack
Gerald Natal, Interim President and President Elect

Another academic year has come and gone—did I just hear a collective sigh of relief from the academic library community? For ALAO, this signals the time to prepare for the Executive Board/Leadership Retreat, where new officers will be installed, a few new appointments made, and strategic planning done for the coming year. This year’s retreat will take place on July 15th in person, with an option to attend virtually. It also means the conference planning committee will go into high gear, as we are approximately at mid-point to the big event.

As we look forward to the future, here is what occurred in the past since the last meeting of the board on April 19th.

Elections and Appointments:

I would like to once again thank everyone for taking the time to run for board positions and volunteer your services and talents. Making time in your busy schedules demonstrates a real commitment to our organization, and I look forward to working with you all (see past president report for election details).

Future of Conferences Task Force:

The ALAO board discussed how to proceed with events post-pandemic. After opinions were offered, a task force was assembled to gather information to better inform decisions concerning events and how to best serve our membership. I have been attending a series of informative ALA Webinars on hybrid programming that should prove beneficial toward this end.

Scholarly Communication Off-Roadshow Rescheduled

The second of ACRL’s free web presentations scheduled for May 5, 2022, “Scholarly Communication Off-Roadshow Webcast Series: Part One – Framing the Issues Impacting Scholarly Communication,” was cancelled. All apologies to those who signed up for the session—a substitute will be offered in the future.

Recording of ALAO Events

A question was raised at the April 19th board meeting about protocol for recording events—in this case interest group workshops. The consensus was that recordings are fine if they are appropriate to the event and that it is made very clear during promotion, registration, and logging in to the event that recording will take place, and if/how that recording is to be shared.

July Board Meeting

The next meeting will be the board retreat, scheduled for July 15, 2022.

Conference Update:

The conference planning committee is hard at work preparing for our event on November 3-4, 2022 at the familiar Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Lewis Center, Ohio, and featuring a preconference program and keynote from Alexia Hudson-Ward. Current focus is on reviewing presentation proposals and preparing for registration. I would like to offer a big “THANK YOU” to everyone who took the time to submit a proposal under the theme “Tipping Point: Initiating Change in Academic Libraries.” If you submitted a proposal, look to be contacted sometime in the latter half of June. Stay tuned for information on early bird registration coming sometime in August. In consideration of the current state of the economy and library budgets, fees will remain as they were for our last in-person conference in 2019.

The conference planning committee was considering selecting as a service project an organization that supports Ukraine. However, at the April 19th meeting ALAO board members pointed out that discrimination was being directed toward African students studying in Ukraine and other people of color and ethnicities as they attempted to flee the country from oncoming Russian troops. As a result, alternative service projects will be considered. Thank you to the board members who spoke up about this issue—you exemplify our organization’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

The first week of May I attended in-person at LOEX in Ypsilanti, which observed COVID safety measures. I felt safe and was encouraged by the good turnout for our own event. Ironically, I am typing these words after spending my Memorial Day weekend in the throes of COVID. This is a personal reminder that we all need to remain cognizant of the fact that the coronavirus is still in our midst. While our event is far in the future, rest assured that ALAO will have the safety of attendees at the forefront of our planning. We hope you are as excited as we are to see our colleagues face-to-face this fall!

As we move into the summer season, I know many thoughts are directed toward some downtime to revitalize ourselves by languishing on a beach, doing some traveling, or simply enjoying a backyard barbeque. Perhaps some folks will spend their time getting caught up on all those projects they did not have time for during the academic year. However you choose to spend it, I hope you have a great summer.

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 2 (June 2022) | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ALAO Election Results

Posted on June 10, 2022 by anitaslack
Mandi Goodsett, Past President

I am happy to announce the candidates who will be joining the Executive Board for the 2022-2023 year. Please join me in congratulating:

  • Vice President/President Elect:  Mark Eddy
  • Secretary: Jill J. Crane
  • Membership Chair: Laura Birkenhauer
  • Board Members-at-Large: Melissa Hill, Cara Calabrese, Kristine Kinzer
  • Change to Bylaws Articles IV and V: Approved

Many thanks to all candidates who stepped up to run during such a challenging time.

Also kudos to the following members for their support during this election cycle:

  • Kathleen Baril, Nominating Committee
  • Maureen Barry, Nominating Committee
  • Heidi Gauder, Nominating Committee
  • Edith Scarletto, Nominating Committee
  • Gwen Short, Nominating Committee
  • Jason Wardell, Web Manager

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 2 (June 2022) | Tagged | Leave a comment

Member Spotlight

Posted on June 10, 2022 by anitaslack

Let’s shine the Member Spotlight on Megan Jaskowiak from Miami University!

What is/are your role(s) in academic libraries?

I am the Health and Social Sciences Librarian. I liaise with Criminology, Gerontology, Psychology, Sociology, Speech Pathology and Audiology, and the new Physician Associate Studies program.

What do you like most about academic library work?

Being a part of the academic community is tremendously fulfilling, however my favorite part of my job is working with the students. I learn a lot from them while I help them with their research. I feel like I have accomplished my goals when they feel confident in their information seeking abilities.

What are some interesting projects you’ve been involved with lately?

In the coming months, I will be creating microlearning modules that can be used either asynchronously or as part of a flipped classroom approach. They will break down library instruction sessions into short focused segments that students can access at their convenience.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I love to travel. I have been to 46 states and four continents. I would like to make it all 50 states.

Why did you join ALAO?

The reason I joined ALAO is that I love being active in state level professional organizations, and I always learn so much from fellow librarians. I am very excited to attend my first ALAO conference.

Posted in Vol. 40 no. 2 (June 2022) | Tagged | Leave a comment