LITA is offering three full-day preconferences, to be held from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Friday, June 22 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. Web Content Strategy for Libraries Speakers: Nina McHale, Arapahoe Library District, Colo.; Chris Evjy, Jefferson County Public Library, Colo. Your library’s new website is powered by a high-octane content management system (Drupal, WordPress, etc.) that gives you more power than ever to communicate with your patrons. But what are you saying? How are you saying it? What kind of service are you providing online? How can you ensure that it’s just as good as in your buildings? Content strategy to the rescue! Topics will include strategy development, training & adoption, production control and governance. Creating Library Linked Data: What Catalogers and Coders Can Build Facilitator: Debra Shapiro, University of WI-Madison School of Library & Information Studies This preconference is positioned to take advantage of the growing interest…
Jobs In Library Technology: March 28
New vacancy listings are posted weekly on Wednesday at approximately 11:00 a.m. 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 Coordinator of Library Technology, McConnell Library, Radford University, VA Metadata and Emerging Technologies Librarian, Yale University, New Haven, CT System Administrator, Naperville Public Library, Naperville, IL Visit the LITA Job Site for more available jobs and for information on submitting a job posting.
John F. Helmer wins 2012 Hugh C. Atkinson award
John F. Helmer, executive director of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, has been named the 2012 winner of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award. Helmer will receive a cash award and citation at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at the LITA Award Ceremony, during the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. Named in honor of one of the pioneers of library automation, the Atkinson Award recognizes an academic librarian who has made significant contributions in the area of library automation or management, and has made notable improvements in library services or research. “John Helmer is recognized as an effective leader and champion of new ideas and initiatives in academic libraries,” said Mary Carmen Chimato, Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award committee chair and assistant dean of the University of the Pacific Library. “The committee was impressed with John’s breadth of experience, professional contributions, and his ability to facilitate collaboration across 36…
Kilgour Award recipient named
LITA is pleased to announce G Sayeed Choudhury as the 2012 winner of the Frederick G. Kilgour Award for Research in Library and Information Technology. The award, which is jointly sponsored by OCLC, is given for research relevant to the development of information technologies, especially work which shows promise of having a positive and substantive impact on any aspect(s) of the publication, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information, or the processes by which information and data is manipulated and managed. The awardee receives $2,000, a citation, and, travel expenses to the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, where the award will be presented on June 24th. Mr. Choudhury was especially recognized by the award jury for his leadership in the field of data curation through the National Science Foundation supported Data Conservancy project, which expands the capabilities of research libraries in serving researchers and the institutions of which they are…
Clifford Lynch named 2012 LITA/Library Hi Tech Award winner
Clifford Lynch has been named the winner of the 2012 LITA/Library Hi Tech award for Outstanding Communication in Library and Information Technology, cosponsored by Emerald Group Publishing Limited. The award recognizes outstanding persons or institutions for their long-term contributions in the area of Library and Information Science technology and its application. It consists of $1,000 and a certificate of merit. Art Hendricks, LITA/Hi Tech Award Committee chair, said, “Arguably few people have done more to disseminate ideas and deepen our knowledge about the digital future than Clifford Lynch.” Dr. Lynch has been the Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) since 1997. CNI, jointly sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries and EDUCAUSE, includes about 200 member organizations concerned with the intelligent uses of information technology to enhance scholarship and intellectual life. Dr. Lynch holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley, where…
Jobs in Library Technology: March 21
New vacancy listings are posted weekly on Wednesday at approximately 11:00 a.m. 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 CARL ILS Software Sales Executive, CARL Corporation, Denver, CO Director of Library Information Technology (JOB ID 2435), California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA Product Manager, Data Services #2082 Organization, OCLC, Dublin, OH Research Instruction and Data Librarian for Social Sciences – Tisch Library (Tufts University- Medford), Medford, MA Visit the LITA Job Site for more available jobs and for information on submitting a job posting.
LITA Election: Polls Now Open
The online polls opened on Monday, March 19; the polls will close on Friday, April 27. For a preview of the LITA slate, all LITA candidates’ ballot information is available on the 2012 LITA Election page. Please thank the Nominating Committee for going the extra mile to provide LITA members with a full slate when one candidate had to withdraw within days of our being able to make any change. This year the LITA ballot also includes a proposed Bylaws change addressing the Nominating Committee development of the slate. LITA members who are ALA councilor candidates include: George J. Fowler, Susan Castleberry, Karen G. Schneider, Jennifer Cabanzan (Canezal), Joan S. Weeks, Jim Kuhn, Aaron Dobbs, Kevin Bruce Gunn, Steven K. Bowers, Peggy Cadigan, Courtney Louise Young, Elisabeth Leonard, ShuYong Jiang, Cynthia D. Clark, Mario M. Gonzalez, and Eric D. Suess.
LITA needs you!
LITA has a variety of volunteer opportunities available for its members through LITA Committees and liaisons. Committee members have the opportunity to: Gain valuable leadership experience while helping to shape the future of LITA, Honor outstanding colleagues for their contributions as part of an achievement award committee, Encourage the development of future library leaders by serving on a student scholarship award committee, Participate in planning professional educational opportunities, including program planning and managed discussions, regional institutes and online learning webinars, Participate in planning publications including the LITA Guides, ITAL (the division journal), and multiple LITA web sites, Develop in-person and virtual networking opportunities through membership development activities, …and much more! Please consider volunteering for a committee to help us meet our objectives and move LITA forward in new and exciting ways. For most committees, service does not require travel. I encourage you to explore the possibilities for yourself. In addition…
LITA Executive Committee Meeting: Update
The LITA Executive Committee spring meeting, held Monday, March 19, 2012 from 1:00 to 5:00 and Tuesday, March 20 from 1:00 to 4:00 CDT, was intended to be an online meeting, open to the public. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties with web conferencing software, the meeting is instead being conducted as a conference call. We appreciate the LITA membership’s patience as we work to find a solution for future LITA governance meetings that will allow for member participation. The meeting agenda and documents are posted in the LITA Executive Committee Connect Group in the 2012 LITA-Executive-Committee-Spring-Meeting folder; look for Minutes from the meeting to posted publicly in the LITA Executive Committee Connect Group within the coming weeks. Please leave a comment or contact the LITA office, lita (at) ala.org, with any questions you may have.
LITA Board of Directors candidates: Brett Bonfield
With the help of some great LITA member input, I’ve put together a list of interview questions for the LITA President candidates in the upcoming ALA Election, March 19-April 27. I’ve asked the Director candidates to respond to these same questions. I hope this helps you make an informed decision among these outstanding candidates. What is LITA? LITA is the technology division of “the oldest, largest, and most influential library association in the world.” Structurally, this is what sets LITA apart from all of the other organizations, communities, and conferences that serve those of us who are committed to libraries and to efficient and innovative uses of technology. LITA’s status within ALA means we are in a unique position, and have a unique responsibility, to encourage libraries and ALA to make wise decisions about technology and to use technology wisely when making non-technical decisions. LITA is also an impressive assembly…