Author: mprentice

LITA is offering a webinar All Aboard – The Party’s Starting! Setting a Course for Social Media Success, presented by Mary Anne Hansen, Doralyn Rossmann, Angela Tate, and Scott Young of Montana State University Library, from 10 a.m. – noon CDT on August 20, 2013. Social media is more than a way to inform users; social media is a powerful way to build community online. Presenters will go beyond the basics by demonstrating how to create a social media guide for developing communities on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.  We will explore data tracking and assessment tools such as ThinkUp, HootSuite, Google Analytics, focus group data, and survey methods. We will also discuss strategies for integrating social media efforts into your organization’s strategic plan and educating peer organizations about best practices. Participants will take home a template for creating a comprehensive plan for social media usage and assessment, with an emphasis on creating a meaningful voice and a…

LITA is pleased to announce the availability Building Web Applications with HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript: An Introduction to HTML5, presented by Jason Clark of Montana State University Library, August 2, 5, 7, and 9, 2013, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm CDT. Geolocation, Native video, Offline storage, Semantic markup elements, Responsive web design, Canvas elements, Voice input, Drag and Drop, Opacity, Gradients… HTML5 (a generic term which includes new HTML tags, enhanced CSS styles/behaviors, and new Javascript APIs) has been released and is changing the way web developers work. With wide support in mobile browsers and the latest browser releases from Google and Firefox, HTML5 is poised to be the technology that will help build the next version of the Web. Building Web Applications with HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript: An Introduction to HTML5 will consist of four live lectures held August 2, 5, 7, and 9, 2013, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm CDT with additional self-paced modules in Moodle. Participants will examine the trends and enhancements that HTML5, CSS3, and the…

Getting Started with GIS provides an introduction to GIS technology and GIS in libraries. Through hands on exercises, discussions and recorded lectures, students will acquire skills in using GIS software programs, social mapping tools, map making, digitizing and researching for geospatial data. This three week course provides introductory GIS skills that will prove beneficial in any library or information resource position. The course will run July 8-28 and will consist of weekly asynchronous lectures and modules in Moodle.  No previous mapping or GIS experience is necessary. Presented by Eva Dodsworth, Geospatial Data Services Librarian at the University of Waterloo Map Library in Ontario, the course is modeled on her LITA Guide of the same name. For registration and additional information, visit: http://www.ala.org/lita/getting-started-gis  

For those working in a small library, particularly one that may have little technical support, a foundational knowledge of technology is crucial. Written for librarians, library staff and administrators at libraries serving populations of 15,000 or less, “Technology for Small and One-Person Libraries: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource, shows how to successfully develop, implement, sustain and grow technology initiatives. Editors Rene J. Erlandson, Rachel A. Erb and their contributors draw from personal experience in rural libraries and regional state university libraries to offer guidance for making sound technology decisions. Whether looking for a quick answer or starting an in-depth technology project, readers will quickly find basic information on the full range of library technology, organized into chapters with numerous headings for easy scanning. Topics include: An overview of library technology basics; Electronic resource fundamentals, including a look at licensing issues; Webpage development, Open-source (OS) applications and a six-step…

New vacancy listings are posted weekly on Wednesday at approximately 12 noon Central Time. They appear under New This Week and under the appropriate regional listing. Postings remain on the LITA Job Site for a minimum of four weeks. New This Week Digital Archivist, Princeton University Library, Princeton, NJ Emerging Technology and Systems Librarian , University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, Green Bay, WI Executive Director, Digital Scholarship Services, Rice University, Houston, TX Library Associate – AnswerLine, County Library System, Issaquah, WA Reference and Instruction Librarian, Brandywine Campus, The Pennsylvania State University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA

LITA has announced the winners of annual scholarships it sponsors jointly with three organizations: Baker & Taylor, LSSI and OCLC, Inc. These scholarships are for master’s level study, with an emphasis on library technology and/or automation, at a library school program accredited by the American Library Association. This year’s winner of the LITA/Christian Larew Memorial Scholarship ($3,000) sponsored by Baker & Taylor is Daniel Verbit, who will pursue his studies at The University of Alabama. The LITA/LSSI Minority Scholarship ($2,500) winner is Elizabeth Tham who will pursue her studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana -Champaign. Lisa Lynn Tyler, the winner of the LITA/OCLC Minority Scholarship($3,000), will pursue her studies at the University of Washington. Criteria for the scholarships include previous academic excellence, evidence of leadership potential and a commitment to a career in library automation and information technology. Two of the scholarships, the LITA/LSSI Minority Scholarship and LITA/OCLC…

Karen Doerksen, MLIS degree candidate at the University of Alberta School of Library and Information Studies, has been named the winner of the 2013 LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award, sponsored by Ex Libris Group and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Doerksen’s paper, titled “A Sight to Be Held: Adapting Comics and Graphic Novels for Visual Impairment,” describes the vital role of graphics and pictures in the development of early literacy and examines the challenge of adapting comics and graphic novels into assistive formats to support the achievement of graphicacy in visually impaired individuals. “The members of the LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award Committee are pleased to acknowledge and honor with this award Karen Doerksen’s thought-provoking manuscript, which reconsiders the position that comics and graphic novels are highly unsuitable for adaptation for the visually impaired,” said Regina Koury and Heidi Hanson,…

Brewster Kahle has been named the winner of the 2013 LITA/Library Hi Tech Award for Outstanding Communication in Library and Information Technology. Emerald Group Publishing Limited and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) sponsor the award that recognizes outstanding individuals or institutions for their long-term contributions in the area of Library and Information Science technology and its application. After graduating from MIT in 1982, Brewster Kahle developed a system for publishing, distributing and searching information on the Internet, known as the Wide Area Information Server (WAIS), which was a precursor to the World Wide Web. In 1996, he founded the Internet Archive and began archiving and indexing Web pages and other digital content, preserving it for posterity and making it freely and openly accessible. One popular feature of the Internet Archive is the Wayback Machine, which enables users to search and retrieve over 280 billion archived web pages. Michael…