ALAO Newsletter

Brian Hickam, ALAO President

Toledo Conference a Success:
Thank you, everyone, for a rewarding year for ALAO and a successful two-day annual conference in Toledo. Thursday’s pre-conference had attendees from all five regions of Ohio and two nearby states.  Sixty-nine of the seventy-seven who returned evaluations listed pre-conference keynote speaker Lauren Pressley as being either “good” or “outstanding.”  Seventy-two considered the panel discussion on the ACRL report on the value of academic libraries to be “good” or “outstanding.”  Three quarters of those who attended the pre-conference also attended Friday’s conference.
Of the 205 evaluations received on Friday, 189 are from those working at academic libraries, 2 from public libraries, 4 from special, and 10 “other” (which includes consortia staff, students, and retirees). Forty-four of these attendees indicated that 2011 was their first ALAO conference.  Thirty-five had been to 6 to 9 ALAO conferences and thirty-one had been to 10 or more.  173 considered keynote speaker Steven J. Bell’s talk to be “good” or “outstanding.”  Both speakers’ keynote presentations will be linked to the conference website.  Overall, the twenty-four presentations and eighteen poster sessions received good reviews
Your comments and ratings on the evaluation forms will have influence on future gatherings.  Conference planning committees typically review the evaluations from the three most recent conferences.  A common complement for 2011’s gathering was that the conference theme “Constant Change, Constant Opportunity” was “very timely.”  It is very helpful to have your suggestions for future conference themes and locations.  Due to the audio glitches on both days this year the ALAO conference planning group has put new procedures into place that should help prevent future problems.  Thanks to all for proving that we can indeed expect a good turnout for events in Northwest Ohio. (A special thanks to Diane and Jenny for compiling our conference evaluations data.)
I encourage you to review ALAO’s offering of spring workshops as the dates, locations, & themes come out over the next several weeks.  They provide excellent opportunities for presenters and attendees.

Rocki Strader, Ohio State University

It was my great pleasure to give the Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award to Diane Schrecker at the annual conference this year. Congratulations to Diane!
I made two announcements to the general membership at the annual conference on November 4, which I would like repeat:

1. Our progress on becoming incorporated as a non-profit organization: We are incorporated in the State of Ohio, but things are still in process with the IRS for our non-profit status. Many thanks to the membership for voting this past spring to approve moving forward with this process.
2. It’s time to start thinking about next year’s leadership! If you are interested in serving on the Board or would like to nominate someone (with their permission, of course), please contact me! If you want to serve on the Nominating Committee, please contact me!
   Positions up for election in 2012:
   • Vice-President/President-Elect (must be a member of ACRL)
   • Secretary
   • Membership chair
   • 3 Board members-at-large

The dates for the election will be announced in February 2012. Please consider serving. Without all of you, our members, ALAO would not be the outstanding organization that it is. I look forward to hearing from you.

Alison Ricker, Oberlin College

Congratulations to Diane Schrecker, Curriculum Librarian, Ashland University, who received the Jay Ladd Distinguised Service Award during the 2011 Annual Conference. Past President Rocki Strader presented the award, citing Diane’s long service to ALAO as Secretary, Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group Chair, Program Planning Committee member (for many conferences), member of the Research and Publications Committee, and as a frequent presenter at annual conference, workshops, and in poster sessions.
Diane was described in the nomination letter as a “top-notch professional” who never fails to promote ALAO activities, especially on the Library Cloud blog. As an author, committee and board member, conference presenter and workshop host, she “serves to help other library professionals grow and learn.” See Peggy Rector’s photo of Rocki Strader presenting the award to Diane Schrecker on Flickr, along with dozens of other photographs from the annual conference.

Jasmine L. Jefferson, Kent State University
Recipient of the 2010-2011 ALAO Diversity Scholarship

Receiving the ALAO Diversity Scholarship has greatly enhanced my professional career. Before the scholarship, I had not been aware of many of the areas library and information science incorporated. With this scholarship came the opportunity to attend the ALAO conference and this is where I became even more excited about the profession. At the conference I was able to sit in on lectures/presentations, meet vendors, and make connections with library professionals.
Receiving this scholarship not only helped provide financial security towards my future but emotional support as well. My mentor, Jamie Seeholzer, has been there for me every step of the way with encouraging words and advice that have proven to be priceless to my success in this field. It was great to have someone to talk to who has been through similar experiences. To me, this was the most important part of this experience because although we are taught in our classes how to essentially become librarians, a lot of what librarians do is learned in the field. Having someone to share my experiences with made me more comfortable and allowed me to learn more than I ever could in the classroom.
Currently, since I have one semester left, I am finishing up my coursework with a practicum in reference instruction. This is an area that I am not yet familiar with and look forward to its challenges and rewards. In the future, I would love to work at an academic library in the reference department and plan on starting the application process very soon. Looking back on my own experience, my advice to future students would be to expose yourself to as much as you can about library and information science to give yourself all the opportunities you can to learn and experience the wonderful world of libraries. I am so grateful for all I have experienced and greatly appreciate the support I have received from ALAO.

Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group
Stephanie Bange, Wright State University

The CMCIG-sponsored program at the recent ALAO Conference in Toledo, “Wizards and Vampires and Nerdfighters, O My! Popular Literature in the Academic Library”, was a hit. Approximately 20 people attended. Nancy Down talked about the mission of the Browne Popular Culture Library, highlighting several collections in the library. Kathy Yoder talked about the “Crossover Fiction” available in the BGSU CRC, i.e. fiction that is popular with both teens and adults, that is common to both departments of BGSU Library.
The CMCIG co-chairs are working on getting the CMCIG Listserv back up and running. An initial list of people wanting to be on the listserv is in Karen Plummer’s hands; she will begin to build it for us. Stephanie plans to email others and post on the CMCIG Blog to encourage others to join. If you would like to be included in the listserv, please send your email address to Stephanie: stephanie.bange@wright.edu
Co-chairs Amy and Stephanie plan to meet in the next month to plan the spring workshop — date and theme to be announced soon. Stay tuned for a Save the Date announcement!

Distance Learning Interest Group
Kathleen Pickens-French, Miami University, Hamilton

Do you know a “Distance Learning Visionary”?
The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) recognizes the need to encourage and spotlight pioneering individuals, particularly those who offer their colleagues new and innovative practices that can be adapted and implemented in their home institutions. As such, ALAO’s Distance Learning Interest Group (DLIG) is excited to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 “Distance Learning Visionary”. Benefits of winning include:

• Honor of being named the 2012 Distance Learning Visionary.
• Recognition at the 2012 ALAO Annual Conference Luncheon, as well as on the ALAO Website, ALAO Newsletter, & the DLIG Blog.
• Reward of $150 presentation grant for sharing distance learning strategies, applications, or research with attendees of the 2012 DLIG Spring Workshop. Please note that the funds are contingent upon the grantee presenting in person, remotely, or via pre-recorded session.

Nomination applications should include a 250-500 word essay that demonstrates the nominee’s contributions to e-learning, as well as a short presentation proposal that suggests what the nominee would share with colleagues striving to succeed in the technology-driven environment of online learning. Links to relevant supporting materials are encouraged; self and group nominations are permissible.
For complete details and submission guidelines, please see the DLIG blog at http://distancelibrarians.wordpress.com, or email the DLIG Co-Chairs at ohiodlig@gmail.com.
Applications are due by December 20th, 2011.

Diversity Committee
Diane Kolosionek, Cleveland State University

Bridgette Billingslea, recipient of the 2011-2012 ALAO Diversity Scholarship, was recognized during the awards ceremony at the ALAO Annual Conference on November 4, 2011. She was presented with a certificate by Diane Kolosionek, Diversity Committee Chair. As part of the scholarship award, Bridgette receives a year of mentoring by an ALAO member. Bridgette’s mentor is Sharon Purtee, Health Sciences Librarian at the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, University of Cincinnati. Sharon is a current member of the Diversity Committee.

Instruction Interest Group (IIG)
Kathryn Venditti,Ashland University and Lauren Wahman, University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash College

IIG Information Table created by Kathryn Venditti (Ashland University), Lauren Wahman (UC Blue Ash) and Julie Chance Gustafson (Wooster)

Rares Piloiu at IIG sponsored session, Taking Tutorials to the Classroom: The Use of Tutorials in ‘Differentiated Instruction’

IIG sponsored a well-attended session (32 people) for instruction librarians at the ALAO Annual Conference on November 4, 2011. Otterbein University librarians Rares Piloiu, Judy Carey Nevin, and Lois Szudy presented Taking Tutorials to the Classroom: The Use of Tutorials in ‘Differentiated Instruction’. This was a timely presentation that included useful information on available softwares, challenges that arise when using tutorials, and benefits of video tutorials in library instruction.
IIG also sponsored an information table at the Annual Conference. The table included a tri-board display, instruction-related books, teaching resources handout for participants, informational handout about IIG, and sign-up sheet for notification about the upcoming blog.
We are thinking about our spring 2012 workshop and are eager to hear your ideas for a theme. Email Kathryn Venditti kvenditt@ashland.edu or Lauren Wahman lauren.wahman@uc.edu to let us know what workshop topics interest you or to suggest a presenter.

Research and Publications Committee
Mark Eddy, Case Western Reserve University

The ALAO Research and Publications Committee wants to remind everyone about our Research Grant Program for 2012. ALAO members can apply for up to $1000 in research funding to help cover costs for current or upcoming research projects. Applications are due on December 15th. For more information and to apply for the 2012 ALAO Research Grant please visit our ALAO web page:http://alaoweb.org/committees/researchpub/2012-research-grant