SLA Academic Division

We've moved!

Jim DelRosso — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:53:38 -0700

As of this week, the SLA Academic Division blog and website have moved. You can now find us at:

http://academic.sla.org/

We're in the process of migrating all our existing content to the new digs, but this will be the last post here at the original blog. Please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds accordingly!

Smooth as Philly Cream Cheese: Academic Division Programs at SLA

Jim DelRosso — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:11:47 -0700

by Alice Wasielewski

The Special Libraries Association Annual Conference and Trade Show begins in less than a week! We look forward to seeing you June 12th through 15th in Philadelphia. We’re sure you are already registered, but if not, click this link: http://sla2011.tornado1.com/registration/ .

As a final reminder of all the exciting Academic Division events, here is a summary of our “spread”, in order of appearance:

Sunday 7:00pm-10:00pm
Karaoke Night

Monday 2:00pm-3:30pm
So They Say You Have to Publish? Some Editors of Journals for Special Librarians Tell You How It's Done

Monday 2:00pm-3:30pm
SPOTLIGHT SESSION: Collaborations Across Disciplines

Monday 4:00pm-5:30pm
Academic Division Business Meeting

Monday 4:00pm-5:30pm
SPOTLIGHT SESSION: Teaching Generation M

Tuesday 10:00am-11:30am
Academic Roundtable

Tuesday 2:00pm-3:30pm
Designing a Physical Space in a Digital Age

Tuesday 6:00pm-10:00pm
Poster Session

Wednesday 8:00am-9:30am
Science 2.1: New Forms of Scholarly Communications in the Sciences

Wednesday 12:00pm-1:30pm
SPOTLIGHT SESSION: All Your Copyrights are Ours: Scholarly Communication and Open Access in the21st Century

See you in Philly!

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Sessions for Academic Librarians at SLA 2011

Jim DelRosso — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:13:47 -0700

by Alice Wasielewski

The Special Libraries Association Annual Conference and Trade Show is almost upon us! Join us June 12th through 15th in sunny Philadelphia. Here is a sneak peek of some essential events sponsored by the Academic Division:

Karaoke Night:
So you think you can sing? The Academic Division is sponsoring an evening of karaoke with host Academic Division Secretary Kendra Levine as the sun sets. Too bad the theme from Rocky doesn’t have any lyrics because we know you’d be all over it. Don’t be shy; join us Sunday 7:00pm-10:00pm for some fun.

Academic Division Business Meeting:
Every bit as important as Karaoke Night, the Academic Division Business Meeting is a chance for you to meet new people and get involved with an enthusiastic gang of Academic professionals. Monday 4:00pm-5:30pm.

Poster Session:
The Academic; Education; Social Sciences; and Museums, Arts & Humanities Divisions have joined forces to present the very best posters their divisions have to offer. Peruse these thought-provoking posters and take advantage of the unique opportunity to chat with their creators, Tuesday 6:00pm-10:00pm.

Let the Academic Division ring your Liberty Bell when you join us for our fabulous lineup of programs and events! If you have not registered for conference yet, please wait no longer and do so here:http://sla2011.tornado1.com/registration/

See you in Philly!

Philadelphia Freedom: Sessions for Academic Librarians at SLA 2011

Jim DelRosso — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:07:37 -0700

by Elaine M. Lasda Bergman, M.L.S.

The Academic Division of the Special Libraries Association has a wide range of programming at SLA 2011 that is relevant to the unique needs of academic librarians. Take a look at some of the offerings:

Elton John sang about “Philadelphia Freedom,” and The Academic Division is involved with two sessions relating to academic freedom as it relates to scholarly communication. The first one: All Your Copyrights are Ours: Scholarly Communication and Open Access in the 21st Century will examine new models in publishing that can facilitate the open exchange of ideas and knowledge, but can also pose new challenges. This session will explore the changes in scholarly publishing, the open access movement, and how to ensure that your research reaches the widest possible audience. The session features speaker Dorothea Salo of University of Wisconsin-Madison Library, who is one of Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers of 2009. This session will be held on Wednesday from 12:00pm-1:30pm.

The second scholarly communication session is titled: Science 2.1: New Forms of Scholarly Communications in the Sciences. The presenters will explore new forms of scholarly communication and social networking for scientists. This program features Donald Hagen, Associate Director, Office of Program Management and Acquisitions, NTIS; Dorothea Salo, Research Services Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries; and Jean-Claude Bradley, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Drexel University. The Academic Division co-sponsors this event with the Science and Technology Division. The session is generously sponsored by DIALOG and will take place on Wednesday from 8:00am-9:30am.

Other sessions include:

Academic Roundtable:
This “unconference” session will allow for discussion on a number of “hot topics” in academic librarianship, with full interaction and participation from all who attend. Not only is this a good opportunity to benefit from the experiences of colleagues with regard to the pressing issues facing academic libraries, it is also a good opportunity to network and make new connections. Judging by the “buzz” about last year’s roundtable, this a not-to-be-missed event! It will be held Tuesday from 10:00am-11:30am.

Designing a Physical Space in a Digital Age:
Learn how two new libraries are aligning themselves using new technology, space design, and student input to accommodate shrinking physical collections, embrace the trend of group work/study, and better prepare students for increasingly sophisticated workplace software. The speakers are Susan K. Nutter, Vice Provost & Director of Libraries, North Carolina State University and Helen Josephine, Head Librarian, Engineering Library, Stanford University. This event is co-sponsored with the Engineering Division, and is generously sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery, ICE Publishing, and Thomson Reuters. It will be held on Tuesday from 2:00pm -3:30pm.

We hope you’re getting excited about this great lineup of programs, and next week we’ll tell you about some of the more social and informal events that we have planned for the Academics. We hope to share some of that “Philadelphia Freedom” with you! If you have not registered for conference yet, please do so here:http://sla2011.tornado1.com/registration/

SLA Academic is FUTURE READY!

Jim DelRosso — Fri, 20 May 2011 06:39:51 -0700

by Elaine M. Lasda Bergman, M.L.S.

The Special Libraries Association Annual Conference and Trade Show is only weeks away! Join us June 12^ththrough 15^th in Philadelphia, PA. Here is a preview of some of the terrific programs by the Academic Division:

Teaching Generation M:
Join this “café discussion” which features editors and contributors to the book Teaching Generation M: A Handbook for Librarians and Educators. The “speed dating” format of the session will provide lots of interaction and liveliness. The Academic Division co-sponsors this event with the Education Division, and it is generously sponsored by Lexis Nexis. Join us Monday 4:00pm-5:30pm for this engaging session.

So They Say You Have to Publish? Some Editors of Journals for Special Librarians Tell You How It's Done:
“Publish or Perish” is the motto by which academics including academic librarians must abide for a promising future at a college or university. Join notable editors Anita Ezzo, Leslie Reynolds, Lisa O’Connor, and Tony Stankus for their perspectives on the process and perils of publishing successfully. The Academic Division co-sponsors this session with the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division and it is sponsored by Taylor and Francis. It all happens on Monday from 2:00pm-3:30pm.

SPOTLIGHT SESSION: Collaborations Across Disciplines:
Learn about a diverse array of efforts being undertaken to help researchers collaborate across disciplines. A six member panel of speakers will include representatives from FriendFeed, Mendeley, Collexis, VIVO, and BibApp. The relevance and usefulness of this program has caused SLA to deem it one of the Spotlight Sessions of the 2011 Annual Conference. The Academic Division co-sponsors this session with the Division of Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition and is scheduled for Monday from 2:00pm to 3:30pm.

This is only a taste of the events the Academic Division has in store for the Annual Conference. If you haven’t registered for the conference yet, there's still time! And remember to show the Academic Division some “brotherly love” by attending our great lineup of programs and events!

See you in Philly!

Cloudy "Visions": Re-reading "The Academic Library in 2012"

Chris Miller — Mon, 16 May 2011 08:14:43 -0700

I recently came across this article from 2003 called "Visions: The Academic Library in 2012". Since we are fast approaching 2012, and SLA has made it's theme for the year and for the Annual Conference "Future Ready", I thought it might be interesting to see where at least one person thought we would be right now.

To me it seems that for the most part our evolution has been slower than expected. Much like the flying car that should have been in every garage by now, reality seems to progress slower than predicted. Interestingly, though, many of the themes remain the same.

By far the greatest number of predictions had to do with technology. In some areas, like nearly ubiquitous wireless and the growth of personal devices, the forecast is quite close to reality. In others, such as automatic translators that allow a person to truly do a global search independent of language, are still farther off.

It is an interesting read as we try to plan for the future. I encourage you to read it and let me know what you think.

Amazon to allow libraries to lend Kindle books

Jim DelRosso — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:55:47 -0700

In case you haven't heard, on Wednesday Amazon announced the creation of Kindle Library Lending, a service which would "allow Kindle customers to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 libraries in the United States." Amazon is partnering with OverDrive to deliver the KLL, making it likely that academic libraries will be among the first to receive invitations to participate. (In fact, some of you may have heard from OverDrive already.)

Jennifer Howard, at The Chronicle for Higher Education's "Wired Campus" blog, breaks down the issue in more depth, noting the potential persistent (but private) annotations could have for patrons of academic libraries, as well as linking to a post from last year discussing the problems academic libraries have had lending the Kindle devices themselves. While the new service involves lending digital objects rather than the physical e-readers, some of the concerns with electronic documents in general will remain.

Sarah Houghton-Jan raises a number of other questions that all libraries -- public, special, or academic -- should be asking about the Kindle Lending Library.

As academic libraries increase the representation of e-books in their collections and endeavor to provide robust electronic reserves support to faculty and students, there's definite potential to be found in services like the Kindle Lending Library. But we must also make sure that such services will be just as robust in years to come as they are initially, and that our patrons will actually find them useful.

Call for nominations - NEW Outstanding Division Member Award

clw — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:47:03 -0700

This annual award recognizes a member for a notable or important contribution to the Academic Division.

The award is presented during the Academic Library Division Business Meeting at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference. The winner is also recognized through the Academic Division’s various public relations outlets.

Criteria

Persons nominated for this award have contributed to the Division in an important or notable way, such as continued participation in special projects, committee work or leadership roles, or that have achieved activities which brought recognition and acclaim to the Division.

Eligibility

Full paid division member for at least one year. There is no requirement that an award be given every year.

Past winners: the same person shall not receive the award in three consecutive years.

Submissions

Letters of nominations must include a narrative explaining the nominee’s contribution to the Division. Additional documentation like a CV or resume is strongly encouraged. Self-nominations are accepted.

Send nominations to the Academic Division Awards Committee Chair, Catherine Lavallée-Welch, Director, University of South Florida Polytechnic Library, clw@poly.usf.edu.

Note: Electronic submissions are required.

Submission Deadline: May 13^th, 2011

Springshare Innovation in Academic Libraries Award - 1 week left for nominations!

clw — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:50:16 -0700

There is one week left to apply to the Academic Division’s new Award, the Springshare Innovation in Academic Libraries Award. We’re looking for that one special, innovative, new service, program, space or tool that offers extra value to your users. Don’t hesitate to apply!

The Academic Division of SLA is very proud to announce a new award for academic libraries, sponsored by Springshare, Inc., creator of LibGuides!

This annual award recognizes a new program or service that demonstrates an innovative approach to academic librarianship.

Award

A certificate and a $500 US award, donated by Springshare, are presented during the Academic Library Division Business Meeting at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference. The winning library is also recognized through the Academic Division’s various public relations outlets.

Criteria

Projects nominated for the award should demonstrate recognized innovation, creativity and quality. Nominated programs or services can have been developed in any facet of the library’s activities, including but not limited to:

reference and research assistance;
information literacy and library instruction;
collection development;
cataloging and/or technical services;
space planning; or
marketing and public relations

Eligibility

Academic or research libraries in a higher education institution are eligible to receive the award. Recipients must have implemented their program or service in an academic or research library no more than two years prior to the nomination submission deadline. Nominated libraries do not have to have a SLA or an SLA-Academic Division member on staff.

Submissions

Nominations must include a 500-1000 words description of the innovative program or service and must demonstrate usage and/or success of implementation using accepted assessment methods. Include any other supporting print or electronic documentation that would assist the committee in evaluating the purpose, content, impact, and innovative aspects of the program or service.

Send nominations to the Academic Division Awards Committee Chair, Catherine Lavallée-Welch, Director, University of South Florida Polytechnic Library, clw@poly.usf.edu.

Note: Electronic submissions are required.

Submission Deadline: April 1^st, 2011

Map of SLA Academic Members

Chris Miller — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 03:29:00 -0700

I thought this might interest a few people. I put together this map to share a general idea of where our 477 members call home. You might notice that there are not 477 different locations, as the map only puts one marker for each city and there are a lot of cities that have more than one member of the division. Just a fun visual aid that really took very little time to make. If you want to learn how to do this, I am more than happy to share. Just ask!

Map created by GPS Visualizer

This map was created using GPS Visualizer's do-it-yourself geographic utilities.

Please wait while the map data loads...