Message From The EditorsWelcome to the spring 2009 edition of CUA Libraries Online. We are pleased to share with you recent news about the University Libraries and staff. This issue has more of a theme than our previous newsletters. In this issue we focus on CUA staff who serve as committee members or volunteer for national, local and consortium professional organizations. As always, we welcome comments, questions, and suggestions at our online comment form. After you have finished enjoying this newsletter you can follow the latest news as it is posted at University Libraries News & Events. Please comment on our stories and subscribe to the RSS feeds.
CUA Library Staff Serve On American Library Association CommitteesMiranda RodriguezMiranda Rodriguez, Instruction Librarian is a member of the Emerging Leaders Program Committee. The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders program began in 2007, as one of then president Leslie Burger's six initiatives. The Emerging Leaders program enables newer librarians from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure; and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. It puts them on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership. The selection committees seek diversity based on geography, gender, ethnicity and type of library. They pay particular attention to, and value candidates' statements as well as those of their references. In order to be eligible for participation in the program, those selected must meet the following criteria:
The Emerging Leaders Program Committee members gathered at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, commencing the first meeting of ALA's 2009 Emerging Leaders. After a few icebreakers and mixers, members received how-to tips for effective leadership then broke into 25 individual groups. Benchmarks were set, roles were assigned and goals were delineated. The Committee plans to reconvene in Chicago in six months. Kevin GunnKevin Gunn, Coordinator of Religious Studies and Humanities Services, ran for (and lost) the position of vice-chair for the College Libraries Section (CLS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Kevin serves on other American Library Association (ALA) committees, including the CLS Research for College Librarianship Committee, the University Libraries Section (ULS) Bylaws and Procedures Committee and the ACRL Committee on the Status of Academic Librarians. This last committee has kept him the busiest. The mandate of the committee is to evaluate guidelines, policies and procedures that come up for renewal every five years. The committee meets twice a year at the ALA conferences and communicates on a regular basis through email, the use of Google docs and the ALA Connect web site. Evaluating each document can range from a quick vote and approval for renewal to a time consuming affair that may take a couple of months of parsing text. This collaborative process ensures that many voices are heard and not just the views of one or two people. Once the committee has authorized the document, it is sent to the executive council for approval or revision. The committee is currently revising a document called 'A Guideline for the Screening and Appointment of Academic Librarians Using a Search Committee.'
CUA GLPs Create Poster For Symposium On January 30, 2009, CUA's School of Library and Information Sciences (SLIS) hosted a symposium entitled "Bridging the Spectrum: A Symposium on Scholarship and Practice in Library and Information Science". Sarah New, Maria Koshute, and Adam Day created a poster for the symposium. Their presentation "The Systems Development Lifecycle" focused on the reconstruction of Mullen Library's system of collecting reference statistics. The Reference Statistics Collection System project was a three-semester project where Sarah, Maria, Adam, and other classmates helped to transform the past paper form of collecting reference statistics into a web-based form with a backend database. Their poster presentation was a success, and led to another presentation at Himmelfarb Health Science Library at GW.
CUA Libraries Host The Washington Research Libraries Consortium (WRLC) 2009 Spring ForumThe WRLC was established in 1987 by some of the major universities in the Washington D.C. area to share library collections and information technology in order to enhance the resources available to their students and faculty. CUA Libraries is a founding of member of the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC). WRLC provides the following services to its members:
Each year, In the Fall and Spring, the WRLC holds a forum, hosted by one of the members, on hot topics and important issues of the day. Librarians and other Information professionals find the forums a useful tool to share ideas, brainstorm and network. CUA was the host to the 2009 WRLC Spring Forum the theme of which was: Reaching Users We Don't See: Providing Services To Our UsersThe Forum was held on April 21, 2009 in the Caldwell Hall Auditorium. The forum kicked off with coffee and refreshments followed by presentations: How CUA uses online animated tutorials for orientation and outreachMaria Koshute and Adam Day, CUA Topics covered
Teaching, Reference And Collection Development: Facilitating Outreach Through Multiple RolesDavid Ettinger and Shmuel Ben-Gad, GWU Topics covered:
Marketing Library Visual Media Departments On The WebChris Lewis and Sean Casey, AU Topics covered:
Panel Discussion On How WRLC Libraries Are Using Meebo Or Its Alternatives For Virtual Reference And OutreachPanelists: Rachel Borchadt (AU), Gail Flatness(MU), Anne Marie Hules (CUA) and Jane Rutherford (GU). Topics covered:
Special thanks for making the Forum a success go to
The Edward J. Belanger, Jr. Staff Award For Excellence
"The Edward J. Belanger, Jr. Staff Award for Excellence in Service" has been awarded to Shanyun Zhang, Head of Electronic Services. The award was created to honor the over forty years of service rendered by Edward J. Belanger, Jr., retired Head of Administrative Services for the University Libraries. Shanyun was born in Beijing, China, during the Cultural Revolution. When she was young, she went to live with her grandmother in Shanghai after her mother was sent to a military camp by the Communist government. Despite the hardships she suffered, she describes her childhood as very happy "because of the love from family and friendship of peers and teachers." She received her bachelor's degree in Engineering Management from the Beijing Institute of Light Industry in 1990. Shanyun came to the U.S. as a visiting scholar at the College of Library and Information Science (CLIS) at the University of Maryland in 1998. She was interested in information organization and retrieval. She received her Masters in Science of Library Science (MSLS) Degree from CLIS in 2001. Shanyun became a librarian because a stint as an Information Specialist piqued her interest in the field. As an information specialist her duties included searching, reading, analyzing, and translating the information related to projects. She learned many things when searching for and analyzing information, and her reports were always well-received. She likes being a librarian because she learns many new things when she helps patrons (especially for in depth reference questions), and feels appreciated by patrons and her peers. Her job as Head of Electronic Services keeps her very busy but she still finds time to assist patrons and staff at CUA Libraries. She always greets you with a smile and is very warm and welcoming when asked for help. When not serving patrons, helping staff or managing her department. Shanyun is mom to Kevin, her lively and intelligent seven year old.
Book ReviewsKroski, Ellyssa. Web 2.0 for Librarians and Information Professionals, 2008. (Ref. Z 674.75. W67 K76 2008) The digital age innovations ushered in by Web 2.0 technologies offer librarians a dazzling array of choices to promote services and attract even the most technological savvy patron. This book will help librarians and other information professionals utilize various Web 2.0 technologies. Ms. Kroski provides actual examples of libraries which are using these technologies to broaden their online presence, exhibit services and increase library use. Technologies covered include: wikis, rss feeds, widgets, social networking software, photo and video sharing, answers technology, virtual worlds, specialized search engines, and podcasting. The book is written in such a way that even technological novices will find its contents useful. Web Snapshots of how various libraries harness web based services such as blogs, Youtube, Flickr, Mapquest, Technorati, Library Thing, and Myspace are included. Each chapter concludes with a list of best practices that will educate readers on "netiquette" and help them to identify and locate technologies that will best suit budgets and needs. Web 2.0 includes a glossary, appendices, index and a "webliography". Myron, Vicki. Dewey : a small-town library cat who touched the world, 2008. (Juvenile Fiction F .M998 D49 2008) 636.8092/9 This is a true story about a kitten who was left freezing in the returned-book drop of an Iowa public library. Appropriately named Dewey after the classification system used by most public libraries and many academic libraries in the United States, he lived for 17 years in the Spencer Public Library, Iowa. Dewey became a beloved member of the community, and is credited by some with lifting the spirits and brightening the lives of many Spencer residents at a time when jobs were disappearing and towns were dying as a result of industrial agriculture moving in. This is a delightful read for anyone who loves cats, libraries, the Midwest, or all three!
New Staff
Miranda Rodriguez After graduating with an MLS in 2007 from the University Of Maryland, College Park, Miranda Rodriguez was employed as the head librarian for the satellite campus of Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, UT-serving about 1800 undergraduate students and 150 faculty and staff. Currently, she is the Instruction Librarian at The Catholic University of America. Prior to becoming a librarian, Miranda finished a Liberal Arts degree with a Gerontology Certificate at Utah State University. Miranda's hobbies include: Finding local farmers markets (where to find me Saturday morning), volunteering, gardening, travel, biking, reading, and listening to the National Public Radio program This American Life.
Staff NotesKaitlyn Amedio, Circulation Services /Interlibrary Loan Supervisor and her fiancé, David DeStefano will be married on June 27, 2009. Rachel Barham, Music Library Assistant, has had a busy spring of musical performances. Rachel was reviewed in The Washington Post both for her performance as Daughter of Zion in Handel's Brockes Passion with Cantate Chamber Singers (March 20) and her role as co-director of the CUA production of Monteverdi's opera L'Incoronazione di Poppea (April 17-19). She sang on a benefit concert for the music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon on April 25. Rachel was also chosen as a finalist in the Vocal Arts Society Art Song Discovery competition, which takes place on May 2. David Rice, CLS Coordinator, will graduate from CUA in May with a B.A. in Psychology. He and his fiancée, Anna Ramach, will be married on July 25, 2009 Maurice Saylor, Music Librarian, and his Snark Ensemble provided the music for Becoming Charley Chase, a 4 DVD box set collecting the early works of America's most influential comic genius, scheduled for release this summer. The Snark Ensemble will be performing some of the scores, with the films, live at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC, July 22-24, 2009. Maurice's Concerto for Cello and Vocal Orchestra received its premiere in June 2008 on a concert with his magnum opus, The Hunting of the Snark: an Agony in Eight Fits. The concerto had three more performances in November by the New Hampshire Master Chorale. The Hunting of the Snark has been recorded and will hopefully be available on CD and in streaming audio in the near future. Adventures on a Saturday Afternoon: Fantasy for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble will be premiered at ClarinetFest 2009 in Porto, Portugal, August 10-14, 2009. Maurice has written the competition piece for the 2009 University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium's Young Artist's Competition, June 25-27, 2009. Jonathan Smith, Electronic Services Librarian, delivered a presentation at the Computers in Libraries conference in May, 2009. He co-presented with David Bietila, Web Services Librarian at George Washington University. Their presentation was part of the Content Management track and titled, "Implementing CMS: Academic". They presented two case studies on the use of open source content management systems (CMSs) in academic libraries. View the presentation slides ContributorsThe editors would like to the thank the following contributors to the Spring 2009 Newsletter: Adam Day, Kevin Gunn, Maria Koshute, Anne Lesher and Miranda Rodriguez Content Editor: Anne Marie Hules, Reference Librarian for Library and Information Science Web Editor: Jonathan M. Smith, Electronic Services Librarian Back to top |
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