This is one of our periodic messages sent to all LITA members. This update includes items as follows:
- Call for Volunteers
- LITA at Midwinter in Chicago
Call for Volunteers, LITA needs you!
The division 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, and online learning,
- 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 to committees, I will be appointing LITA representatives to ALA and other organizations. Here is a complete list of representatives. The list of open positions is included in the committee volunteer form.
Volunteering can be easily done by visiting the ALA online volunteer form (login with your ALA membership ID is required). You must be a LITA member in order to volunteer for committee and representative positions.
To find out more about what committees LITA has to offer, please visit the Committee page on the LITA website. Don’t forget to indicate what committee(s) you are interested in when you complete the volunteer form!
Please feel free to contact either myself or the LITA Office. if you have questions about volunteering. There are still openings available on most committees and appointments will take effect in July 2015.
Thomas Dowling
LITA Vice President/President-Elect
LITA at Midwinter in Chicago
Start with a full day workshop on Friday, January 30, 2015. There are two of them and one is sure to serve your purpose:
- Introduction to practical programming with Elizabeth Wickes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This workshop will prepare participants to write their own programs and provide essential experience and background for the evaluation of computing reference materials and workshop development.
- From Lost to Found: How user testing can improve the user experience of your library website with Kate Lawrence and Deirdre Costello, EBSCO. This workshop will prepare participants to write their own programs and provide essential experience and background for the evaluation of computing reference materials and workshop development.
Registration is handled through the ALA Midwinter registration process. Please note: you do not have to register for the Midwinter Conference in order to register for one of these workshops. If you are registered for Midwinter, you can simply add a workshop to your registration. Registrations will be accepted on site as well.
If you are attending Midwinter, be sure to review the LITA schedule. On Saturday, in addition to the all committees meeting in the morning, a number of IGs are holding discussions both in the morning and during the afternoon. The IG sessions continue through Sunday. Sunday morning the Top Technology Trends discussion is scheduled, and, the LITA Open House happens Sunday afternoon. The Open House is followed by the Happy Hour at Lizzie McNeill’s Irish Pub. Monday morning the LITA Town Meeting is scheduled. Check here for details on all things LITA at Midwinter.
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.