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 a community of library and information professionals of all stripes working together to explore the ways technology can enhance the services we provide. LITA has the best members anywhere, but it’s struggled with retention. How will you make the members feel supported by, and connected to, LITA? This is a tough question. LITA is an organization both for and by its members. You get out of LITA what you put into it, and each member ought to be as responsible as the next for communication, and for embodying the supportive, welcoming,…
LITA Board of Directors candidates: Rachel Vacek
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? To me, LITA is a community of innovators, leaders, technologists and liaisons to one another and those outside of the community. LITA is also an association, which means that people voluntarily come together with similar purposes to share an interest or activity. I believe that people join LITA because they want to learn something, help their colleagues and improve the library profession as a whole. They know that together they can make a difference and have greater impact than if they worked alone. LITA has the best members anywhere, but it’s struggled with…
LITA Presidential Candidate Interviews: Aaron Dobbs
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. Here are Aaron Dobbs’ answers; please see also Cindi Trainor’s. I hope this helps you make an informed decision between these outstanding candidates. 1) What is LITA? LITA is my Tribe. We are Librarians Innovating Technology Awesomesauce. Well, so much for glib answers 🙂 More seriously, LITA is LITA members. We are all doing nifty things with technology. As an Association, our IGs put on a boatload of conference programming, including: “here’s cool stuff to try” “attend this pre-conference and walk out with something implemented for your library” “here’s the direction we see technology in libraries is heading” Our committees manage the programs and focus efforts to produce worthwhile educational events and content. We coordinate or co-present a bunch of…
LITA Presidential Candidate Interviews: Cindi Trainor
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. Here are Cindi Trainor’s answers; please see also Aaron Dobbs’. I hope this helps you make an informed decision between these outstanding candidates. 1) What is LITA? This question seems like it should have an obvious answer, but it can be elusive. LITA is a professional organization. LITA is a home for anyone who considers herself an advocate of technology in libraries. LITA is … what? At its heart, LITA is its members–all its members: people who are linked by an interest in or passion for technology in libraries, however they define it. This array of definitions is exactly what makes LITA hard to define. The bottom line is: as reflected in our long and shifting list of Interest Groupss,…
Jobs in Libary Technology: March 14
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 Reference/Emerging Technologies Librarian, Nevada State College, Henderson, NV Visit the LITA Job Site for more available jobs and for information on submitting a job posting.
LITA Web Course: Getting Started with GIS
LITA Web Course: Getting Started with GIS, is presented by Eva Dodsworth, geospatial data services librarian at the University of Waterloo Map Library; the three-week course will be held April 9-30, 2012 and will consist of a combination of asynchronous lectures, demonstrations and hands-on tutorials. Modeled on Eva Dodsworth’s LITA Guide of the same name, Getting Started with GIS will provide participants with an introduction to both the online and desktop GIS currently being used by library administrators, librarians, library support staff and library users. Participants will learn firsthand how to create online maps; how to properly use maps in library Web pages; how to embed GIS technology into library projects; and how to enjoy GIS and mapping technologies in personal endeavors. Students will be exposed to many online resources that are currently being used by public, academic and special libraries across North America. No previous mapping or GIS experience…
Jobs in Library Technology: March 7
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 Library Digital Services Manager, Edward’s University, Austin, TX Voyager Support Analyst, Ex Libris, Des Plaines, IL Visit the LITA Job Site for more available jobs and for information on submitting a job posting.
March issue of ITAL Available
The first issue of Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL) as an open-access, e-only publication is now available, click here. All LITA members are encouraged to “subscribe” to ITAL via the “Subscribe” link on the right side of the page; just register your e-mail address and you will then automatically get an e-mail notification when a new issue comes out. As announced to LITA members in early January, ITAL is adopting an open-access, e-only publishing model. This will help ensure the long-term viability of ITAL by making it more accessible, more current, more relevant, and more environmentally friendly. ITAL will continue to feature high-quality articles that have undergone a rigorous peer-review process, but it will also begin expanding content to include more case studies, commentary, and information about topics and trends of interest to the LITA community and beyond. Look for a new scope statement for ITAL shortly on the ITAL…
LITA Executive Committee spring meeting: March 19 and 20, 2012
The LITA Executive Committee spring meeting is on Monday, March 19, 2012 from 1:00 to 5:00 and on Tuesday, March 20 from 1:00 to 4:00 Central. Anyone may sit in on the meeting. Simply click on the following link 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting: https://ala.ilinc.com/join/jmjkpfx. This session will use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), you will need either computer speakers or headphones to hear and a microphone if you want to speak during the session or you can submit questions via chat. A USB multi-media headset is recommended. An Audio Settings window will appear once you join the session, select your speaker hardware and microphone hardware from the indicated Device drop-down lists and follow the instructions. If this window does not appear or you have any issues during the session, you can access the Audio Settings by going to Controls > Audio Settings. The meeting agenda…
IMPORTANT: LITA Election Change
I wanted to let you know about a last-minute change to our upcoming LITA Divisional election. It is with regret that I tell you that one of our Vice President/President-elect candidates, Nina McHale, has withdrawn from the race unexpectedly for personal reasons. The 2012 LITA Nominating Committee—myself as chair, Clara Ruttenberg, and Ron Peterson—went into action very quickly to find a second candidate for the election. This was not an easy task, especially given the very short timeframe in which it had to be done in order to ensure that the proper names appear on the ballot in time for the election. I’m pleased to announce that Cindi Trainor has agreed to enter her name into the race. Cindi does happen to be a sitting board member with a term that expires in 2013. Aaron Dobbs, the other candidate, is also a sitting Board member with a term that expires…