This is one of our periodic messages sent to all LITA members. This update includes information about the following:
- Election Results
- Learning Opportunities at Annual Conference
- Annual Conference Highlights
- LITA Executive Director Plans to Retire
Election Results
Please join in congratulating the newly elected LITA Board Members:
Aimee Fifarek, Vice-President/President-Elect,
Ken Varnum and Susan Sharpless Smith, Directors-at-Large for three-year terms.
Thanks go to the Nominating Committee which included Karen G. Schneider, chair, Pat Ensor, Adriene Lim, and, Chris Evjy, members.
LITA members elected to the ALA Council include: Eric Suess and Joan Weeks, Councilors-at-Large.
Congratulations to all, and, thank you to every candidate who was willing to stand for office.
Learning Opportunities at Annual Conference
Three full day workshops are being offered in San Francisco on Friday, June 26th. Two of the sessions are in the Moscone Convention Center; the third preconference is off site in a maker/hacker space. These are your choices:
- Creating Better Tutorials Through User-Centered Instructional Design. Hands-on workshop with experts from the University of Arizona. Moscone Convention Center 2008 (W)
- Learn to Teach Coding and Mentor Technology Newbies – in Your Library or Anywhere! Work with experts from the Black Girls CODE to become master technology teachers. Moscone Convention Center 2010 (W)
- Build a Circuit & Learn to Program an Arduino in a Silicon Valley Hackerspace. This workshop will convene at Noisebridge, 2169 Mission Street, a hacker space in San Francisco. Clearly, it will be hands on.
To register for one of these three LITA workshops simply go to the ALA Annual Conference registration and sign up. If you are already registered for conference, the workshop will be added to your registration. If you can’t attend the Annual Conference but a full day workshop on Friday, June 26th from 8:30 – 4:00 pm would be perfect for you, please go to the ALA Annual Conference registration site and sign up. Although you register for these full day workshops through the Annual Conference registration site, please note: you do not have to register for the entire conference in order to register for a workshop. Registration will be accepted on site outside the classrooms for the two workshops in the Moscone Center.
- Register online through June 19
- Call ALA Registration at 1-800-974-3084
- Onsite registration will also be accepted in San Francisco.
Be sure to watch the LITA web sites for announcements about online learning opportunities that are being developed for July and August.
The Open House on Friday, June 26, from 3:00 to 4:00pm, MCC-2005 (W), provides members and non-members alike an opportunity to explore with the LITA leadership the many opportunities within LITA. If there is a Committee or an Interest Group that might provide you with the leadership experience you are seeking, this is the perfect time to get some f2f advice. If you have ideas about how LITA might serve you better, this is the perfect time to share those ideas. If you are interested in programming or publications, if you are looking for people who share your interests in various aspects of technology, and/or if you are seeking a good conversation with engaged members, then you will want to attend the Open House.
“Sunday Afternoon with LITA” is scheduled for the Moscone Convention Center, 3014-3016 (W). The Afternoon starts with the popular Top Technology Trends program on June 28th from 1:00 to 2:00pm. This program features our ongoing roundtable discussion about trends and advances in library technology. The panel of experts includes: Carson Block, Andrea Davis, Grace Dunbar, Bonnie Tijerina, and Sarah Houghton, moderator.
A brief awards program at 3:00 will be followed by the LITA President’s Program. The award winners include:
- Ed Summers, Frederick G. Kilgour Award for Research in Library and Information Technology,
- David Walker, LITA/Library Hi Tech Award for Outstanding Communication in Library and Information Technology,
- Heather Terrell, LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award for her paper “Reference is dead, long live reference: electronic collections in the digital age.”
Following the awards ceremony, you will want to stay for Rachel Vacek’s President’s Program with Lou Rosenfeld, Rosenfeld Media, which publishes some of the best-loved books in user experience, produces UX events, and equips UX teams with coaching and training.
The Top Technology Trends program, LITA awards ceremony, and LITA President’s Program are all in the same room.
At 5:30, we transition from afternoon to evening at the LITA Happy Hour at DaDa Bar, 86 2nd Street.
LITA provides 20 programs at Annual Conference. Be sure to review the LITA Highlights page for detailed information on all LITA programs and activities planned for Annual Conference.
LITA Executive Director plans to retire
I have good news to share. After 24 years with ALA (14 of those with LITA), over 10 years with OCLC, and various other employment, I plan to retire. My last day will be July 31, 2015. I’m very excited. I’ve had a number of recommendations on what to do including: “spend the first day in your PJs”, and, “really enjoy not working”. I do plan to enjoy not working. I have a number of projects and plans I’ll be exploring, plus, people and places I hope to visit.
If you are in the San Francisco area on Sunday, June 28th, please come to the LITA Happy Hour to celebrate with me and the Membership Development Committee and other LITA leaders and members. The Happy Hour/Party is at the DaDa Bar, 86 2nd Street.
Hope to see you in San Francisco.
I encourage you to connect with LITA by:
- Exploring our web site.
- Subscribing to LITA-L email discussion list.
- Visiting the LITA blog and LITA Division page on ALA Connect.
- Connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter.
- Reaching out to the LITA leadership at any time.
Please note: the Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL) journal is available to you and to the entire profession. ITAL features high-quality articles that undergo rigorous peer-review as well as case studies, commentary, and information about topics and trends of interest to the LITA community and beyond. Be sure to sign up for notifications when new issues are posted (March, June, September, and December).
If you have any questions or wish to discuss any of these items, please do let me know.
All the best,
Mary
Mary Taylor, Executive Director
Library and Information Technology Association (LITA)
50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611
800-545-2433 x4267
312-280-4267 (direct line)
312-280-3257 (fax)
mtaylor (at) ala.org
www.lita.org
Join us in Minneapolis, November 12-15, 2015 for the LITA Forum.