ALAO Newsletter

Ken Burhanna, Kent State University

The ALAO Diversity Committee is pleased to award the annual Diversity Scholarship for 2010-2011 to Jasmine Jefferson. Jasmine graduated from Kent State University with a degree in American Sign Language in December 2009 and began graduate study at the School of Library and Information Science (also at Kent State) this past spring. The ALAO Diversity Scholarship awards Jasmine $1,500 towards her tuition, complimentary registration for the ALAO annual conference in October and a year of mentoring support from an ALAO member.

Jasmine Jefferson

The ALAO Diversity Committee was impressed with the overall quality of this year’s applicant pool, but Jasmine’s demonstrated commitment to diversity and strong academic record helped her application stand out. In particular the committee appreciated her broad, inclusive approach to diversity. She stated in her scholarship application that “I believe it is important to not only advocate for multiculturalism, but also for persons who are differently-able….” Jasmine currently works as a graduate assistant in Reference and Periodical Services at Kent State University Libraries.

Congratulations to Ms. Jefferson! The Committee is confident she will be a strong leader and advocate for diversity and inclusion in academic libraries.

Kathryn L. Venditti, Ashland University

On March 12, 2010, the Instruction Interest Group (IIG) co-hosted a spring workshop with the Distance Learning Interest Group (DLIG) at Ashland University.  Titled Effective Instruction from Design to Assessment, the workshop offered two sessions and plenty of time for networking for the 44 attendees from across the state.

During the morning session, Instruction by Design: a Panel Discussion, a group of instructional designers from three institutions discussed innovative methods for designing classes. After a buffet lunch, Carolyn Radcliffe from Kent State University shared assessment techniques in a session titled Knowing What They Know: Information Literacy Assessment Techniques. Feedback from the workshop evaluations was overwhelmingly positive.

The IIG looks forward to sponsoring a session, Teaching Tomorrow’s Students Today, at the forthcoming ALAO Annual Conference.

Kathy Yoder, Bowling Green

On May 21, 2010 the Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group of ALAO held their Annual Spring Workshop at Bowling Green State University.  The Jerome Library’s Curriculum Resource Center was host to 26 participants who met for a day of meetings and presentations on topics of interest to those who are involved in library collections for pre-service teachers.  This year’s participants not only included representatives from academic libraries in Ohio, but also from the surrounding states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.

Hosted by Kathy Yoder, Acting Head of Bowling Green State University’s Curriculum Resource Center, and assisted by CRC staff members Gaynelle Predmore, Vicki Seifert, and Jennifer Nyiri as well as instructor Kellie Tilton; the event featured an afternoon visit to The University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum International Art from Picture Books.

The morning session opened with a presentation from Ohio Resource Center Ambassador and Findlay High School Librarian Debbie Reynolds.  She shared information about The Ohio Resource Center’s website, which works to improve teaching and learning among Ohio teachers by promoting standards-based best practices.  The participants explored the website and were impressed with the depth of information and organization of the resources.  As university collections embrace digital resources, The Ohio Resource Center is a valuable and comprehensive tool for curriculum materials centers to offer pre-service teachers studying at their institutions.

A New Resources Round Table drew on the expertise of the participants as all were invited to share information on popular items that they carry in their centers.  Most attendees chose to participate in this activity, and a comprehensive list of all that was mentioned was created and distributed at the end of the day in a list titled “Curriculum Center Must Haves.”  Over 50 items were shared in the categories of children’s literature, curriculum titles, audiovisual resources, realia, puppets, and periodicals.  Electronic copies of “Curriculum Center Must Haves” is available by contacting jnyiri@bgsu.edu.

Other morning activities included a welcome from Interim Dean and former CRC Head Librarian Sara Bushong, tour of Jerome Library’s Curriculum Resource Center, and a short ALAO-CMCIG Board Meeting.  The Michigan workshop attendees expressed an interest in hosting a workshop in conjunction with the Ohio CMCIG at a southeastern Michigan location.  Next year Stephanie Bange of the ERC at Wright State University offered to co-chair the CMCIG along with Linda Scott of the University of Mount Union.  Initial plans are to hold the ALAO-CMCIG Spring Workshop at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

The afternoon involved the group traveling south to Findlay, Ohio to the Mazza Museum of International Art from Children’s Picture Books.  A soup and salad luncheon was held at the Gardner Pavilion at the University of Findlay followed by a docent led tour of the museum, library, and vaults of the Mazza.

Mackenzie Betts, OLC Director of Communications

Strike It Rich at the 2010 OLC Expo

Registration is now open for the 2010 OLC Expo on Sept. 10 at the Ohio Expo Center’s Lausche Building in Columbus. The Expo is full of opportunities to meet with vendors showcasing money-saving products and services, hear top-notch speakers, network with your peers, and win fabulous prizes. Plus, attendees get all this for FREE – talk about “striking it rich”!

This year’s featured speakers include:

•    Narrator Johanna Parker, the voice of Sookie Stackhouse in the recordings of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire books that are the basis for HBO’s series “True Blood” (sponsored by Recorded Books, LLC)

•    Scott Brown, President, Foundations of Service, who has 20 years experience in customer service and leadership management (sponsored by BayScan Technologies)

•    Zach Price, Library Planner, TRIAD Architects, who will share the five critical steps to assessing your library and planning for change (sponsored by TRIAD Architects, Ltd.)
Check out the Expo section of the OLC website for more information on the OPLIN Stakeholder’s Meeting, the OLC Annual Business Meeting, vendor product demos, OLC Connects! and, of course, how to get free books. Attendance at the 2010 OLC Expo is free but registration is requested for entry in the door prize raffle. If you register by Aug. 1, you are entered for a chance to win an e-reader! Register today and make plans to connect with your colleagues from across the state.