TBLC News

I need to follow up on Beth’s “Sacred Cows?” post.  For years—make that centuries—libraries have been drawing lines around their services.  “Only catalogers can do this!”  “Only reference staff can do this!”  “We serve only this geographic area!”

Piet Hein (whom you will probably Google after you read this) created a short epigrammatic literary form called the “grook.”  Here’s one of them.

On Problems
Our choicest plans have fallen through,
Our airiest castles tumbled over,
Because of lines we neatly drew
And later neatly stumbled over.

We can and will still draw lines to help us define a service or a service population.  But we have to learn to draw them very lightly.  With dry erase markers.  And admit that they may be in the wrong place, even as we are drawing them.  As a guy whose attention span falls somewhere between ‘chipmunk’ and ‘toddler,’ I think this is just fine.  (Usually.  Unless they are my lines.)  But even librarians who are actual grownups need to get comfortable with rapid, seemingly disruptive, change. 

We know the cause (Can you spell WWW?), and we’ve seen some of victims:  the music industry, the auto industry.  Our job is to be smarter and more nimble than they have been.  Hint:  TBLC is here to help with that.

Al

In a recent blog posting about “sacred cows,” Andrew Pace of OCLC questions all of the circulation rules in place in many libraries.  He says “Take a hard look at those systems, folks…Is it time to simplify?”  Read more here.

The Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative calls for more open resource sharing in the interlibrary loan world.  The Rethinking Resource Sharing Manifesto says, “Restrictions shall only be imposed as necessary by individual institutions.”

Are we all ready to be more open to relaxing our policies and getting more into the hands of the user, in an easier way? 

Beth

Suncoast Information Specialists and Tampa Theater present “The Hollywood Librarian” on Wednesday, August 27, at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome! Tickets are $9 for adults, $8 for students with ID, and $7 for seniors. Visit www.tampatheatre.org or www.tblc.org/sis/ for details.

Nominations are now open for TBLC’s 2008 Library Champion Award.

The TBLC Library Champion Award recognizes elected or appointed officials in any level of government who have demonstrated exceptional support for and attention to libraries.

The 2007 recipient was Sen. Mike Fasano of New Port Richey.  In the past, we have also honored local officials including Rick Baker, Mayor of St. Petersburg, and Bob English, a Polk County Commissioner.

Voting representatives of any TBLC member library and the TBLC executive director may nominate someone for the Library Champion Award.  The TBLC Board of Directors will review all nominations and select the recipient. 

To nominate an elected or appointed official for this award, send an email to Charlie Parker at cparker@tblc.org by August 22, 2008, with “Library Champion Nomination” in the subject line.  Please include two to three paragraphs about why you believe your favorite official should receive this recognition.

Congratulations to Stephanie Race, assistant director of NEFLIN, for being chosen as WebJunction’s Member Spotlight!

Stephanie will be honored with a WebJunction Advocate Award this Friday evening at the ALA Conference in Anaheim.

Click here to read Stephanie’s Member Spotlight.

Through our member discount program, TBLC members may subscribe to Facts on File for a discounted rate of $874 per library location per year. Facts on File offers curriculum-related databases for high school, public, and academic libraries. For more information, visit www.factsonfile.com.

If you are interested in an annual subscription to Facts on File, contact Vickie Frost no later than July 18, 2008 at frostv@tblc.org or (813) 622-8252 (ext. 224).

After decades of cramped storage in an old facility, the art books owned by circus entrepreneur John Ringling (1866–1936) now have a glorious home inside the 13,000-square-foot art library that opened last year in the Education and Conservation Building at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla.

Click here to read the rest of this great Herald Tribune article!

The first PLA Polaris Innovation in Technology John Iliff Award will be given to North Carolina’s Durham County Library on Monday, June 30, 2008, from 5-6:30 p.m., at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The PLA Polaris Innovation in Technology John Iliff Award honors the life and accomplishments of John Iliff, early adopter and champion of technology in public libraries, and recognizes the contributions of a library worker, librarian, or library that has used technology and innovative thinking as a tool to improve services to public library users.  The purpose is to encourage innovative user-oriented thinking and practical solutions using technologies old and new.  The award provides a $1,000 honorarium, a plaque, and a bouquet of roses for the workplace. The cash award honors the recipient’s efforts, while the roses sent to the work place honor the environment that helped nurture the recipient’s innovation.  Sponsored by Polaris.

The American Library Association (ALA) 2009 Nominating Committee is soliciting nominees to run on the 2009 spring ballot for the offices of ALA President-elect and Councilor-at-large.

The Nominating Committee will select two candidates to run for President-elect and no fewer than 50 candidates for the 33 at-large Council seats to be filled in the 2009 spring election.

The President-elect will serve a three-year term: as President-elect in 2009-2010, as President in 2010-2011 and as Immediate Past President in 2011-2012.

The Councilors-at-large will serve three-year terms, beginning after the 2009 ALA Annual Conference and ending at the adjournment of the 2012 Annual Conference.

The ALA President and Councilors also serve in corresponding roles in the ALA-Allied Professional Association [ALA-APA].  Individuals considering ALA-APA office are encouraged to consult with their employer regarding any restrictions regarding lobbying activities or service on the governing body of a 501(c)6 organization.

ALA members who wish to make nominations should submit the following information: nominee name; present position; institution; address; telephone; fax; and e-mail address.  All potential nominees must complete the Potential Candidate Biographical Form available at https://cs.ala.org/potentialcandidates. The database will be available June 2, 2008.   Nominations and forms must be received no later than Sept. 1, 2008.   Self-nominations are encouraged. 

Nominations also may be sent to any member of the 2009 Nominating Committee.  Committee members are:  Susan S. DiMattia, chair, consultant, DiMattia Associates, Stamford, Conn., sdimattia@optonline.net; Rose T. Dawson, acting director, Alexandria (Va.) Library, rdawson@alexandria.lib.va.us; Timothy P. Grimes, manager, Community Relations and Marketing, Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library, grimest@aadl.org; Susan Hildreth, state librarian, California State Library, Sacramento, Calif., shhildreth@comcast.net; Corinne M. Hill, collection development manager, Denton (Texas) Public Library; cmhill@cityofdenton.com; Pamela Spencer Holley, writer, consultant, Hallwood, Va., pamsholley@aol.com; Jo Ellen Priest Misakian, interim dean/School of Education, Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, Cailf., jmisakian@fresno.edu; Daniel O. O’Connor, professor, Rutgers University School of Communication Information & Library Studies, New Brunswick, N.J.; oconnor@scils.rutgers.edu ; and Thomas C. Wilson, associate dean, Library Technology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, tcwilson@ua.edu.

To encourage diversity and leadership development, the Committee will refrain from nominating any current councilors for election to another term. 

However, the Committee encourages all current councilors who wish to continue their service to the ALA to file as petition candidates.  Petitions will be available from Lois Ann Gregory-Wood, Council Secretariat, ALA, 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611, e-mail: lgregory@ala.org, or during the 2008 Annual Conference or 2009 Midwinter Meeting.  Petitions require 25 signatures for names to be included on the 2009 ballot.

The American Library Association (ALA) is now accepting applications for the 2009 class of Emerging Leaders.  Applications can be found at http://cs.ala.org/hrdr/emergingleaders/.

The deadline to apply is July 31.

The program is designed to enable more than 100 new librarians to get on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership.  Participants are given the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, network with peers and get an inside look into ALA structure and activities.

An ALA division, round table, ethnic affiliate, state chapter or AASL Affiliate will sponsor approximately one-third of the selected applicants.  Each sponsor will contribute $1000 towards expenses ($500 for each conference).  To be sponsored, apply directly to your division, chapter or round table on the application.  A list of sponsoring units is included as part of the online application. You can also check with your state association and/or state chapter to find out how to apply for their sponsorship.

Sponsorship is not required for participation in the program.  In order to be eligible for participation in the program, those selected must meet the following criteria:

1. Be under 35 years of age or be a new librarian of any age with fewer than five years post-MLS experience, and
2. Have a recent MLS degree from an ALA or NCATE accredited program or be in an MLS program currently, and
3. Be able to attend both ALA conferences and work virtually in between each, and
4. Be prepared to commit to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee, taskforce or workgroup upon completion of program, and
5. Be an ALA member or join upon selection if not already a member.

Program information will be available and updated at: wikis.ala.org/emergingleaders.  For questions or more information regarding the program, contact Beatrice Calvin at bcalvin@ala.org.