ALAO Newsletter

On December 22, 2015, ALAO lost a long-term friend, mentor, and leader. Kathryn Venditti was an Instruction and Reference Librarian at Ashland University. She has been a member of ALAO for over 15 years. She served various formal leadership roles over the last decade, including several conference planning committees and many years as the Interest Group (IG) Coordinator. During her tenure as the IG Coordinator, she established the processes used by the IG Chairs and Board to this day. The IG Handbook she created is the guiding light for the IGs to be successful. Kathryn’s enthusiasm and efforts to support ALAO and academic libraries was honored in 2014 when she received the Jay Ladd Award, the highest honor that ALAO can bestow on a member.

The recent conversations have demonstrated how much she has meant for so many members of ALAO. I lost count how many members have told me the first person they met in ALAO and consider their first ALAO “friend” was Kathryn. She was the smiling face that greeted so many of us at our first ALAO Conference or workshop. She was the unofficial “ambassador” in everything she did from welcoming new members to providing a positive experience for everyone.

The Board recently reflected on Kathryn years within ALAO. As we went around the room, the common theme was stories of joy from times spent with Kathryn. Almost everyone in the room described the “mentoring” she provided as each person was considering or accepted an ALAO leadership role. She had a calming approach as she prepared you to tackle your new challenges. Her enthusiasm was contagious and clearly led to many considering running for election or volunteering for roles within ALAO. I myself can say I participated in several conference planning committees and her personality set the tone for everything we did.

I am better for knowing Kathryn. ALAO is better for having Kathryn as a member, leader, and advocate for all those years. Her legacy will be remembered by all that she touched.
Brian Gray, Case Western Reserve University, President

ALAO has budgeted up to $600 for travel support for a member willing to represent ALAO and academic libraries generally at ALA National Library Legislative Days on May 2-3 2016 in Washington, D.C. Please review this information about the conference from the ALA Washington Office: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/nlld .

Please contact Joseph Straw js001@marietta.edu as soon as possible if you are interested in representing ALAO. Please provide a current resume, a brief description of your advocacy activity with ALAO or other civic organizations, and the name and phone number of a reference that is familiar with your advocacy efforts or interest. For more information about the grant please review this description from the ALAO website: http://www.alaoweb.org/govtrelations/advocatesaward.php .

Anyone interested in getting more involved in advocacy efforts is urged to apply. The ALAO representatives will be part of the Ohio delegation at the conference that will meet with members of the state congressional delegations and/or staffs.
Joseph Straw, Marietta College, Government Relations Liaison

Four Ohio librarians participated as sponsored registrants at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held February 12-15 in Washington, D.C. Evan Meszaros, Case Western Reserve University; Amanda Reinhart, The Ohio State University; Alison Ricker, Oberlin College; and Zach Sharrow, The College of Wooster, were among the librarians sponsored by the Site Licensing Department of AAAS, which has paid the meeting registration fees for 30 librarians each year for at least ten years. The process is coordinated each year by the ALA Liaison to AAAS. Ricker has served in this role since May 2011 (more about that function in the ACRL Blog, Oct. 10, 2014) and has attended the AAAS annual meeting every year beginning with February 2010 in San Diego, California.

The AAAS meetings are international in scope, dominated by scientists, science writers and journalists, science educators at all levels, plus representatives from government agencies, policy advisors, foundations, various non-profits, and a bevy of students who present posters and mingle with researchers. In addition, 2 days of the meeting are devoted to Family Days – it’s a delightful, if frenetic, forum for children and adults to engage with scientists and have memorable hands-on experience in science demonstrations. Highlights of this year’s meeting included excellent plenary lectures, many of which can be viewed online, and the hilarious session summarizing the 2015 Ig Nobel Prizes awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research (“research that makes you laugh and then think”). The live Webcast of the 2016 Ig Nobel Award Ceremony would be a fun public event in your library – or head to Cambridge to see them in person: Thursday, September 22, 2016, at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tickets will go on sale in July.

Librarians at the conference met together on Sunday morning, at a session coordinated and chaired by Ricker. Presentations by Sarah Jeong, Wake Forest University on “Flipping a Science Information Literacy Course” and Mary Frances Lembo, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on “Data Visualization” were followed by roundtable discussions on these and other topics. The discussion summaries, presentation slides and two presentations given by librarians at other sessions during the conference are now accessible online in Google drive, and will also be posted to the Science Librarian portal.

The 2017 annual meeting will be held February 16-20 in Boston and promises to be an excellent opportunity for librarians to immerse in the most exciting and compelling issues of science, with a focus on evidence-based science policies that serve society.
Alison Ricker, Oberlin College, Procedures Manual Coordinator

According Dave Tabler’s blog located at appalachianhistory.net:

“Established in 1935, the Pack Horse Library Project was aimed at providing reading materials to rural portions of Eastern Kentucky with no access to public library facilities. Librarians riding horses or mules traveled 50 to 80 miles a week up rocky creekbeds, along muddy footpaths, and among cliffs to deliver reading materials to the most remote residences and schools in the mountains. Some homes were so remote that the book women often had to go part of the way on foot, or even by row boat.”

For more from this blog, visit: appalachianhistory.net/2011/01/pack-horse-librarians-html

More photos via voicesofappalachia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BBbV0b6BplR/

Also check out this document from the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection at the University of Kentucky: http://www.kywcrh.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/WPA-Project-pack-horse-librarians-in-kentucky-1936-43.pdf
Betsey Blankenship, The Ohio State University at Marion