Support Staff Interest Group (SSIG)
Program Planning Committee Meeting Minutes
November 22, 2002
Ohio Wesleyan University

Present: Brian Hickam, Becca Griffith, Mary Ayres, Kelly Shook, John Burke, Joy Ramos, Martha Kluth, Amanda Bowers, Doug Morrison, Amy Pickenpaugh

Announcements:

Kelly mentioned that the SSIG programs at the ALAO Annual Conference received very positive reactions in the evaluations.

Kelly congratulated Doug on winning the 2002 Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award.

Kelly announced that she has been invited to be a delegate to the Congress on Professional Education III: Focus on Library Support Staff. This is an honor for Kelly and SSIG. The ALAO Board approved up to $500 in costs for Kelly to attend.

Kelly also reported that the ALAO Board agreed that there was no limitation on ALAO members being paid as workshop speakers.

Spring Workshop Planning:

It was agreed that the workshops would be aimed at all types of libraries. After input from Amanda, it was decided that we would cover areas of the state that did not have a regional library support staff program planned for the same time period (Central, SE, and NW). We hope to coordinate with the regionals next year and cosponsor workshops throughout the state. The regionals are very interested in working with us.

After a focused discussion (due to the onset of snow in the Buckeye state), the following progress was made:

1. Locations and Dates:
   • Ohio Wesleyan University – May 9th (Judy has OWU reserved for that date – our only cost is $13.50 per hour for the lunchroom)
   • Shawnee State University or Ohio University-Athens – May 1st, 2nd, or 8th (Mary will check with Shawnee, and Amanda will check with OU as a next step)
   • Bowling Green State University or the University of Toledo – May 1st, 2nd, or 8th (Kelly will check with Gaynelle on BGSU)
2. Speaker and Panel:
   Doug Morrison agreed to be our keynote speaker. He will speak on motivation, and will then moderate a panel of four individuals on the same topic. Each workshop will have a different panel comprised of local support staff members and supervisors from all (or several) library types. Judy will coordinate the OWU panel, Amanda will coordinate the SE panel, and Brian will coordinate the NW panel (Amanda will send him some contacts at NORWELD who might be able to help him find panelists).
3. Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
   • What to Check Before You Call a Tech? – Tony Golson and Barb Anderson did a great job with this at ALAO Annual (both are willing to present). Kelly will check with them.
   • How will emerging trends and technologies affect the library? – John will present, offering resources for more information and educational opportunities. He will demonstrate and pass around equipment.
   • Communicating Effectively with Coworkers and Patrons – Amanda and others will check around for a speaker.
   • Creativity/Humor/Laughter in the Workplace – a more fun-oriented topic; boosting morale for each other – we will all look for speakers – may need to get three different individuals or groups – Amanda will check with the Portsmouth Public Library, John will check with two speakers at Michigan State.
4. Price:
   Between $30 and $40, including lunch.
5. Judy had us choose the food for OWU. We will go with the "Ohio BBQ Buffet" for $10.50 per person plus their continental breakfast (muffins, coffee, tea, and juice, etc.) for $3.99 per person. We thanked Judy for providing morning refreshments for our meeting.
6. Schedule:
   9:00 Registration and coffee/continental breakfast
   9:30 Welcome and keynote
   10:30 Panel
   11:30 Networking session
   12:00-1:15 Lunch and business meeting
   1:30-2:20 Breakout 1 – 2 session choices
   2:30-3:20 Breakout 2 – 2 session choices
   3:30 Exchange evaluations and name tags for a gift
7. Additional Notes:
   • If we end up with a large number of registrants, we will offer some of the breakout sessions twice (during each breakout period). We will stagger the two technology sessions and the two communication/creative sessions.
   • We will offer to pick up the travel costs of presenters or panelists whose organizations will not cover their travel.
   • We should put on the program that people are free to get up and go to the bathroom at any time (but not have a break)
   • We'll throw out workshop title possibilities on email.
   • We should have the SE and NW dates finalized by the end of this month.

Next Meeting

We will meet on January 10 at OSU Mansfield (the 17th will be our backup date). Brian will contact us with lunch choices.