TBLC News

Call for Proposals
2008 Florida Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibits

 The FLA invites proposals for pre-conference and concurrent sessions for its 2008 Annual Conference

at the Tradewinds Beach Resorts & Conference Center
St. Pete Beach, Fla.

April 22: Pre-conference Workshops Day

April 23-25: FLA Conference

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Monday, August 27 at 5 p.m.

General submission information:

• Only fully completed proposal applications will be considered.

• Specific products/services may be used or described in programs only if essential for a correct understanding of the topic being presented. Library staff members who currently use the vendor product/service must participate in the presentation.

• Proposals will be reviewed by the members of the Conference Committee and will be chosen according to:

  • Content — is it creative/interesting? Is it timely? Is it relevant to effective and practical library service?

  • Speakers — are they experienced presenters? What are their qualifications?

  • Format — is it appropriate to the content being presented? Is it creative?

  • Relationship to theme

• The person submitting the proposal application is considered by FLA to be the Program Organizer.

• Program Organizers will be notified of the status of proposals beginning in November 2007.

• FLA reserves the right to reorganize content, combine proposals, and make other changes as necessary to render the proposal appropriate for presentation at the conference. The involvement and agreement of the Program Organizer will be sought on all such changes.

Click here for proposal forms and instructions.

The Green(er) Library
August 2, 2007
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Ecological, social and economic factors are prompting many libraries to consider “going green,” but how does one go about making one’s library more environmentally responsible? What steps are practical in a real-world context, and what is the actual relation between long-term financial benefits and up-front costs?

This full-day class will discuss current standards and practices for evaluating the environmental impact of existing, expanding or newly planned library facilities, and offer ideas for approaching environmental considerations relating to both physical plant and operating processes.

Click here for more information or to register for this class. We hope to see you there!

Even with its traditional summer slowdown, Ask a Librarian had a busy June!

By the end of June 2006, Ask a Librarian had assisted 15,502 users so far that year. Users have increased by 47 percent with 32,751 questions so far this year! This June, AAL had 2,287 chat sessions, which was a 41 percent increase in chat sessions from June of last year.

Congratulations to everyone involved in Ask a Librarian, and keep up the great work!

The Tampa Tribune picked up a great article from The Washington Post last week about a new documentary called “Hollywood Librarian.” It debuted at this year’s ALA conference and pays tribute to the roles of real-life librarians.

Click here to read the article on The Tampa Tribune’s Web site.

Resource Sharing & Information Networks is now accepting manuscript submissions.  The deadline for submission of papers is Sept. 6, 2007, for publication in Fall 2008.  Submissions should follow the Instructions to Authors and can be emailed directly to the editor, Dr. Barbara J. Stites, at bstites@fgcu.edu.

Please click here for a PDF with more information: call-for-papers-v-21.pdf.