ALAO Newsletter

Betsy Blankenship, The Ohio State University Marion

Conference & Pre-Conference Wrap-up
Sixty people attended the pre-conference, held at Stark State College on October 24, 2013. They enjoyed a delicious lunch, an entertaining keynote by Laura Solomon and some hands on-learning opportunities with different tech tools and apps such as Flipboard, Evernote, Hoostsuite, Snapguide and Wunderlist. I learned about Quizlet and look forward to implementing it somehow into my instruction. My thanks to Kathryn Vendetti, Sara Klink, Melissa Bauer, and Judith Cerqua for coordinating registration and the program and to all the presenters who so generously gave their time to discuss and demonstrate the various tech tools and apps: Rob Snyder, Katherine Marshall, Eboni Johnson, Jessica Hageman, Katie Foran-Mulcahy, Katy Kelly, Kathleen Pickens, Diane Schrecker, Vera Lux, Melissa Butler and Brian Gray.

My thanks also to Rob Kairis and his library staff, for hosting a Thursday evening reception and tour at the Kent State Stark Library. I always enjoy visiting other libraries and usually end up taking away some great ideas for new services, programs and displays.

ALAO members enjoyed another successful annual conference, held at The University Center at Kent State University Stark on October 25, 2013. Over 250 people attended and 19 vendors were available to talk with attendees before and during the conference. Dr. Nancy Fried Foster provided insight to the participatory design process and how we can use that to transform libraries during her keynote address. Presentations were well-attended (some overflowed, I understand!). Various awards were given during lunch and I wish to congratulate 2013 Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award recipient Don Appleby as well as all others who were recognized – all very deserving! After lunch, attendees visited poster sessions and had ample opportunities to network and catch up with colleagues around the state. Conference evaluation comments indicated a positive experience for most attendees. I thank all who attended and I especially thank the Conference Planning Committee, who worked long and hard to provide to our attendees and vendors a great experience: Don Appleby, Melissa Bauer, Judith Cerqua, Sara Klink, Alisa Mizikar, Jerry Natal, Peggy Rector, Diane Schrecker, Katheryn Vendetti and Rob Withers. We will be adding what presentations we received to the conference website as soon as we can. We will announce it when they are there. In the meantime, I am looking forward to our 2014 conference, which will be our 40th!

Board Activities
The board has been busy this year to ensure a smooth running operation and providing as many professional and developmental opportunities to members as possible.

A new member email listserv was announced at the conference; it should be implemented by the end of the year. In addition, the new ALAO website is up and running. We have added some new features, updated our volunteer form and are finishing up final page edits and revisions. Look for more prominent legislative advocacy information coming soon!

Calls for various awards and grants are currently out; be sure to apply or nominate someone worthy!

The board is also working to host an ACRL Scholarly Communications Roadshow sometime in 2014; we will let you know the details if our application is successful.

The Ohio Library Leadership program is coming in 2014 and applications are currently being accepted (see information about it elsewhere in this newsletter). ALAO provides financial support for this program and I especially encourage our members (and new librarians!) to apply – it is a great way to get involved with school and public librarians across the state. I can just imagine the networking and collaborative opportunities that could be developed!

We continue to review policies and update our Procedures Manual to reflect actual practice and additions.

We have been seeking new ALAO webmasters to replace those who will be leaving us this year and next. They are important positions and we are grateful to those who volunteer to lend us their talents and expertise to keep ALAO operations running smoothly. I wish to acknowledge and thank Brian Gray, who is stepping down at the end of December. Brian has been a strong presence behind the scenes of our web site. His insight and expertise have been invaluable in creating registration forms, setting up conference websites as well as our ALAO website; training many new board members and Interest Group Chairs on working in the system we use and providing information and recommendations. His knowledge will be missed.

Looking ahead to 2014, I know that our Interest Groups and Committees are busy planning for Spring/Summer workshops. I hope you plan to attend at least one of them; I find them great ways to get updated on new practices and trends, as well as an opportunity to learn something new!

As we near the end of 2013, I want to wish everyone a holiday season filled with joy and peace and I hope you find time for some personal rejuvenation and enjoyment. It is a joy to be part of this organization and to know and work with so many talented people. I often stand in awe of what you all know and do on a daily basis!

May your New Year resolutions be as special as each of you!

Eboni Johnson, Oberlin College

Hi everyone,
It’s an exciting time of year, but not only due to the winter holidays. We are in the early stages of planning the 2014 Annual Conference! The planning committee will convene for the first time in just a couple of weeks to begin planning our annual meeting which is sure to be full of engaging speakers, plenty of networking opportunities, very likely a pre-conference workshop or two, and much more. I’m happy to introduce this year’s committee:
Don Appleby, University of Akron
Kaylin Boehme, Brown Mackie College North Canton
Judith Cerqua, The Ohio State University
Jessica DeCaro, Case Western Reserve University
Sheryl Gannon, Brown Mackie College Findlay
Beate Gersch, University of Akron
Deidra Herring, The Ohio State University
Eboni A. Johnson, Oberlin College
Elys Kettling Law, College of Wooster
Marsha Miles, Cleveland State University
Shelly Miller, OhioNet
Alisa Mizikar, Wittenberg University
Judy Carey Nevin, Ohio University Lancaster
Lois Rekowski, Eastern Gateway Community College
Diane Schrecker, Ashland University
Kathryn Venditti, Ashland University

Volunteering for the planning committee is a wonderful way to get involved with ALAO. The committee is full at this point, but please do let me know if you’d like to be added to the list of people who are willing to help out on an “as needed” basis as the date draws closer. We also welcome your ideas and suggestions for things that you’d like to see next year.

The theme for the 2014 conference is Engagement, Advocacy and Outreach: Empowering Our Communities and will be held at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio on November 14, 2014. We are still several months away from soliciting presentation and poster proposals, but I hope that you will consider submitting a proposal. I know that our ALAO colleagues are doing great work in these areas all around the state. We look forward to learning from you.

Until next time … best wishes for a holiday season that is merry and bright!

Sue Polanka, Wright State University

One of the most important jobs for the ALAO Past-President is chairing the Nominating Committee. This
committee has the honor of presenting a slate of candidates to the membership for election in March. Positions that will be open for election include: Vice President/President Elect, Secretary, Membership
Chair, and 3 Board Members-at-Large.

Being on the ALAO Board is a very rewarding experience both professionally and personally. Board members have the opportunity to establish relationships with academic librarians across the state, vote on important initiatives within the organization, and see firsthand how ALAO supports members through workshops and the annual conference, scholarships, awards, and special events.

2014 is a big year for ALAO, our 40th anniversary. What a great time to get involved in shaping the future of the organization. I hope you will consider accepting a nomination for one of our open positions or perhaps nominating yourself or one of your colleagues.

For more information on the nomination process please contact myself or one of the committee members: Diane Kolosionek (Cleveland State), Alison Ricker (Oberlin) and Liz Richardson (Kent State).

Alison Ricker, Oberlin College

ALAO’s member roster looks healthy, at first glance, with 1004 names total in all categories. But – and it gives me a bit of a lurch – 617 of those folks are in the Expired Membership column. Gracious, where have they all gone? Of the 371 Active Members, nearly 130 have membership renewal dates in the next several weeks. Are you one of those folks? Please be aware that you get no reminder for renewal in the U.S. Mail. Our membership system is completely reliant on automated messages from the ALAO website (which we’ve tried to edit in a compelling and personal manner – but they are unavoidably recognizable as automated messages). If you have turned off email notifications from the ALAO system, you will get no renewal reminders or even a thank you message when you do renew. I am very sympathetic to the urge to turn off email, but suggest that you to keep your email notifications on and forebear any annoyance, so we can keep in touch!

Renewing ALAO dues takes just a few minutes online. If you want to pay by check, it’s best to begin the process online and follow the directions for sending a check, once you have reviewed your membership profile. You are welcome to ignore the online process completely, if that is your preference – the important thing is to continue support of your professional organization, so that we can provide professional development opportunities that enhance academic library service in Ohio. Your membership also supports ALAO grants, scholarships, and research and advocacy travel awards for members, and helps to honor outstanding colleagues. Thank you for being an ALAO member.

Dues: $30 Regular membership; $10 Student or Retiree membership.

Payable to ALAO, online or mailed to:
Alison Ricker
Science Librarian
Oberlin College Science Center
119 Woodland St.
Oberlin OH 44074

Don Appleby was the 30th recipient of the Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award. He received his recognition and a plaque at the annual conference last month.

The Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award honors the memory of Jay Ladd, a founding member of ALAO in the early 1970s. This award recognizes an individual who has been an ALAO member for at least 5 years, and who has promoted academic libraries and librarianship not only on his or her own campus, but also within the state. The award also recognizes someone who has provided leadership in the promotion of ALAO through service such as committee membership, executive board office, or interest group office.

Don was recognized as a key member of both the ALAO Board and the Conference Planning Committee. On the ALAO Board, Don has served as a Board Member at Large and is currently the ALAO Treasurer. As Treasurer he keeps the CPC and Board fiscally in line. His role on the conference planning committee is to coordinate all of the audio/visual equipment for the entire conference – speakers, vendors, posters, and the keynote. This also means that he works with the venue staff to coordinate their resources with ours. He accomplishes all this with just the help of 1 or 2 student volunteers. At the University of Akron, Don is a Library Specialist at the circulation desk and the building manager for the Bierce Library. He is the advisor to the University’s chapter of Circle K and also reads to children from the University’s Center for Child Development and he never misses commencement exercises.

This year we had 5 nominations, each of whom was very deserving of the award. Congratulations to each of them for being nominated and thank you to all who the time to nominate their colleagues.

• Don Appleby, University of Akron
• Ione Damasco, University of Dayton
• Brian Gray, Case Western
• Diane Kolosionek, Cleveland State
• Lauren Wahman, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash

Sue Polanka, Past President and Chair, Awards Committee

Cheryl Ghosh, University of Cincinnati
Sharon Kerestes, Cedarville University

The CMCIG’s sponsored session at October’s ALAO Annual Conference, Crash Course on the Future of College and Career Readiness: Ohio’s P20 Initiative and the New Common Core, was well-attended. Presenters Paula Nespeca Deal, eLearning Specialist at INFOhio, and Anne Marie Smeraldi, First Year Experience Librarian at Cleveland State University, did an excellent job providing an overview of Ohio’s College and Career Readiness initiative and the Common Core standards. They also shared practical ideas for utilizing INFOhio and other resources to enhance information literacy skills instruction. Ms. Smeraldi shared her method for assessing freshmen information literacy skills and the strategies she has employed to connect with these students and improve research skill levels.
Save the date, the CMCIG Spring Workshop will be on Friday, April 4, 2014, at the OSU Newark Campus! A theme and sessions titles are beginning to take shape, one presentation will be about the new Ohio Educator Assessment (OEA) process and how it affects the work of CMC librarians. Another session will be about how Curriculum Materials Centers are connecting to students via social media. Come, meet, and learn from other Curriculum Materials Center librarians from around the state.