ALAO News Blog

This week is Children’s Book Week.

Take time to celebrate by reading a book this week to a special child you know, re-read a favorite story from your childhood for your own pleasure or better yet, donate money to your local school or public library for them to buy a special children’s book for their collection. Many libraries will allow you to place a memory/honor plate in the book.
For information on Children’s Book Week, visit: http://bookweekonline.com/index1.html

This is information from Candi Clevenger, Chair of the Marketing Taskforce:

The Idea Gallery Contest is back! It’s simple to enter, just send me your promotion and publicity materials by June 6, 2008 and you could win up to $250 worth of promotional items! The more items you submit, the more times your library will be entered to win. Complete details follow below and at http://www.ohiolink.edu/ostaff/marketing/gallery/igcontest 

What items are eligible for submission? Just about anything you’ve created to promote your library, which has not been submitted previously. This includes brochures, bookmarks, posters, blogs, Web sites, pictures of promotional items, videos, marketing/communication plans and market research instruments (including surveys, usability tests, etc.). Market research submissions should include any questions asked/instructions given, a brief description of how you did the research and the results (the raw data or a summary will do). Visit the Idea Gallery to see what’s included for more ideas. Don’t be dismayed if your item does not fit in an existing category; new examples are especially welcome. 

How to enter: E-mail entries to Candi Clevenger by June 6, 2008. Most file formats are acceptable for this contest including PDF, Microsoft Office/Publisher, Adobe and graphic files (JPEG, GIF, TIFF, EPS). If you already have the item posted on your Web site, please just send the URL. Each item that is submitted will be entered in the prize drawing, however items are subject to review by the OhioLINK Marketing Task Force before being added to the Idea Gallery. Please include any helpful information about each submission, such as who created it, how it is used, and the name, title, and e-mail address of who to contact for more information. Candi is also looking for some print promotion pieces to make over and use to illustrate design principles, so if you have a project you’d like to be considered please note that in your entry e-mail. 

Drawing details: The prize drawing will be held on June 9. You’ll earn one drawing entry for each item you submit to the Gallery. First prize is $250 to spend in the OhioLINK store, second prize is $150 and third prize is $100. You can even use your store credit to purchase items customized with your library’s URL as part of this summer’s upcoming group promotional order (order information will be distributed in June; orders will be due in early July). 

Please contact me if you have any questions about the contest. 

Sincerely,
Candi

Follow this link to read the new issue of the ALAO newsletter.

ALA Ohio Councilor Pamela Hickson-Stevenson, Assistant Director at Akron-Summit County Public Library, forwarded the following regarding a call for ALA committee volunteers.  Pamela felt this informaiton may be of interest to ALAO members.

Please note this call was also posted on the ALA MemberBlog on August 11, 2007: Call for ALA Committee Volunteers.

CALL FOR COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS

ALA President-Elect Jim Rettig is seeking applications and nominations for appointments to 2008-2009 ALA and Council committees. He will fill slots on the following committees: Accreditation; American Libraries Advisory; Awards; Budget Analysis and Review; Chapter Relations; Conference; Constitution and Bylaws; Council Orientation; Diversity; Education; Election; Human Resource Development and Recruitment Advisory; Information Technology Policy Advisory; Intellectual Freedom; International Relations; Legislation; Literacy; Literacy and Outreach Services Advisory; Membership; Membership Meetings; Nominating (Deadline for Nominating Committee applications is September 1, 2007); Organization; Orientation, Training, and Leadership Development; Policy Monitoring (current Council members only); Professional Ethics; Public and Cultural Programs Advisory; Public Awareness; Publishing; Research and Statistics; Resolutions; Rural, Native and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds; Scholarships and Study Grants; Status of Women in Librarianship; Website Advisory; ALA-Children’s Book Council (Joint); ALA-Association of American Publishers (Joint);ALA-Society of American Archivists-American Association of Museums (Joint).

Committee charges can be found in the ALA Handbook of Organization, which is available to ALA members on the ALA website. All applicants must complete and submit the electronic 2008-2009 ALA Committee Volunteer Form.

The form is available at: https://cs.ala.org/rettig/volunteer.html.The ALA Committee on Committees and Committee on Appointments will assist ALA President-Elect Jim Rettig in making appointments. Committee appointees will receive appointment letters after the 2008 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Appointees will begin their committee service after the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA.

Questions concerning appointments can be directed to ALA President-Elect Jim Rettig at rettig@richmond.edu or Lois Ann Gregory-Wood, Council Secretariat, at lgregory@ala.org.

WHEN: October 25-26, 2007
WHERE: Great Columbus Convention Center, Columbus OH

Have you registered yet? If you haven’t, please consider doing so soon! We have some amazing programming for you.

The President’s Program

Our President’s Program features the return of Mr. Joseph Janes, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academics at the Information School of the University of Washington;Founding Director of the Internet Public Library; co-author of eight books on librarianship, technology, and their relationship; and author of the “Internet Librarian” column for American Libraries magazine. As many remember from the 28th Annual Conference November 1, 2002, Joe is an exciting and thought-provoking speaker. For our conference, Joe states: “Hardly a day goes by that a new opportunity or technology or idea comes whizzing past at the speed of light, and most people can be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed and a little guilty for not taking them all on. In this talk, I want to help people to think about what makes the most sense in this fast-paced World of Tomorrow we’re now in.”

Featured Speakers

Other featured speakers include: Kent State’s David Robbins, speaking on web site accessibility and usability; Chad Boeninger from Ohio University speaking on the use of web technologies and social software for outreach; Case Western’s Brian Gray explains “Second Life” and how this virtual environment can be used in libraries today; Glenda Thornton from Cleveland State discusses innovation and how to create a climate where innovation flows naturally; Linda Dobb from Bowling Green continues the innovation discussion be examining innovative collaborations between academic libraries and other partners; Glen Horton from SWON Libraries demonstrates how Web 2.0 tools can be used to enhance your library’s web site; and Diane Kovacs discusses building reference skills and knowledge for virtual reference services.

Interest Groups

ALAO’s Interest Groups have sponsored some fascinating programs to help each of us grow professionally including:

Distance Learning Interest Group

E 4 ME: A Tool for Success for Online Students (FREE!)

Support Staff Interest Group

The Library Degree: Is it For Me?

The ICDL and Libraries: Staff Development Implications for the Learning or Information Commons

Transforming Rocks into Diamonds: How to Cultivate Quality Student Workers

Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group

It Takes Two to Get the Job Done: Librarian and Teacher Collaborations

Technical, Electronic, and Digital Services Interest Group

Evaluating Electronic Resources and Usage Statistics

The Role of Institutional Repositories in Scholarly Communication

Back to the Future! Innovations in E-Resources Initiatives and Standards

A Joint Technical Services Department

Diversity Committee Programs

ALAO’s Diversity Committee has put together some exemplary sessions including: Defining Diversity Strategies for Your Library: A Conversation with Dr. Steve Michael; Open Forum on Library Diversity Issues; Across the Great Divide: Building Generational Bridges in the Technical Services Department; and Collaborating to Preserve the Past and Sustain the Future: Telling Our Story!

The Author-Vendor Social

Thursday, October 25th is the perfect opportunity to network with your colleagues, mingle with old friends, visit our vendors, and meet a number of fascinating authors. Authors from Ohio University Presses, and authors from Ohio or who write about Ohio will be on hand to discuss their writings. Some of the authors will perform poetry readings, short book readings, and story telling during the event. Titles will be available for purchase and signing. Cash, check, or credit card should be accepted by most of the authors. Library vendors will be on hand to discuss and demonstrate recent products and services.

Visit the Conference Web Site!

For more information about the conference and a complete schedule for the 1.5 day conference, visit the conference web site at http://www.alaoweb.org/conferences/conf2007/.