News & Noteworthy

2014 Forum Proposals Due February 24, 2014

The 2014 LITA Forum Committee seeks proposals for excellent pre-conferences, concurrent sessions, and poster sessions for the 17th annual Forum of the Library Information and Technology Association, to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 5-8, 2014. The 2014 theme, “Transformation: From Node to Network”, reflects the ongoing evolution of libraries from being seen as largely standalone institutions focused on their own locale to being integrated into and within their communities — whether on a local, regional, national, or global level, or on all four. The Forum Committee welcomes proposals for full-day pre-conferences, 50-minute concurrent sessions, or poster sessions related to all types of libraries: public, school, academic, government, special, and corporate. Proposals could relate to any of the following topics: Cooperation & collaboration Scalability and sustainability of library services and tools Researcher information networks Practical applications of linked data Large- and small-scale resource sharing User experience & users Library spaces (virtual or physical) “Big Data” —…

News & Noteworthy

ALA launches free e-government webinar series

The American Library Association (ALA) and the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC) at the University of Maryland at College Park are pleased to announce the re-launch of Lib2Gov, an online e-government resource for librarians. Over the past few months, both organizations have worked to transition LibEGov—a project supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through a National Leadership Grant—into Lib2Gov. The redesigned website Lib2Gov allows libraries and government agencies to come together and collaborate, share resources and build a community of practice. Lib2Gov now provides a dedicated space where librarians can share materials, lesson plans, tutorials, stories, and other e-government content. The website offers a variety of resources from government agencies and organizations, including information on immigration, taxation, social security and healthcare. In a few weeks, both organizations will host a new monthly webinar series, “E-government @ Your Library.” The webinars will explore a variety of e-government topics that will be of interest…

News & Noteworthy

Four Local Libraries Honored for Offering Cutting-edge Services

Today, the American Library Association (ALA) recognized four libraries for offering cutting-edge technologies in library services, honoring programs in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Bridgewater, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina; and University Park, Pennsylvania. The recognition, which is presented by the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy and the Library & Information Technology Association (LITA), showcases libraries that are serving their communities using novel and innovative methods. Libraries or library service areas selected will be highlighted through various ALA publications and featured in a program at the ALA Annual Conference 2014 in Las Vegas, June 26-July 1, 2014. “This was a very competitive year for cutting-edge applicants. Those recognized today stood out in the ways they creatively solved problems, engaged library patrons, and strengthened library services and visibility,” said Marc Gartler of Madison Public Library (WI), who chaired the selection subcommittee. “We are excited to recognize these four projects, several of which already…

News & Noteworthy

2014 Election Slate

The LITA Board is pleased to announce the following slate of candidates for the 2014 spring election as follows: Candidates for President-elect Adriene Lim Thomas Dowling Candidates for Directors at Large, 3 elected for 3 year terms Jenny Emanuel Taylor Evviva Weinraub Lajoie Jason J. Battles Susan Sharpless Smith Ranti Junus Bohyun Kim Candidates for Board of Directors, 1 elected for 1-year term: Dale Poulter Aimee Fifarek See candidate bios and statements more information; voting in the 2014 ALA election will begin at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (US) on March 19, 2014. Ballots will close at 11:59 p.m. on April 25, 2014. The slate was recommended by the Nominating Committee. Mark Beatty, chair is chair of the Committee and Michelle Frisque, Abigail Goben, and Breanne Kirsch are the Committee members. The Board thanks the Nominating Committee for all their work.

News & Noteworthy

“Building Community through Making” free webinar series continues with “Making Strategic Partnerships”

ALA President Barbara Stripling’s second installment of the Winter Webinar series “Building Community Through Making,” will be “Making Strategic Partnerships,” featuring nationally recognized speakers and innovative library leaders, from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. CST on Monday, Jan. 13, 2013. The January webinar, “Making Strategic Partnerships,” includes Lynne Shain and Jerry Crisci, co-directors of the Scarsdale Center for Innovation, Edward Iglesias, systems librarian at Central Connecticut State University, and Bill Derry, assistant director for Innovation and user xperience at the Westport (Conn.) Public Library. These notable speakers represent academic, public and schools who are building student and user success through making. The Winter Webinar series centers on making through innovation, community engagement and literacy, three focuses of Stripling’s Libraries Change Lives initiative. The sessions are intended to showcase best practices and successes and to transfer knowledge among ALA members. ”What Is and What’s Next: Making Assessment and Opportunities” will take…

News & Noteworthy

Free webinar to kick off ALA President Barbara Stripling’s “Community Building and Makerspaces” series

ALA President Barbara Stripling’s Winter Webinar series “Building Community Through Making,” featuring nationally recognized speakers and innovative library leaders, begins on Monday, December 16, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. CST. The December webinar, “Community Engagement through Making,” includes Steve Teeri, Technology Training Associate at the Detroit Public Library and founder of the HYPE Makerspace, which allows teens to level up in abilities such as STEM and inventive thinking; Dara Schmidt, Branch Manager of Anythink Brighton and Matthew Hamilton, Anythink IT Manager, from the Rangeview Library District; and Nate Hill, who oversees the daily operations of Digital Services and the 4th Floor Innovation Team as Assistant Director of the Chattanooga Public Library. The Winter Webinar series will center on Making through innovation, community engagement, and literacy, three focuses of Stripling’s Libraries Change Lives initiative. The sessions are intended to showcase best practices, successes, and to transfer knowledge among ALA…

Education

LITA Web Course Available: Building Web Applications with HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript

LITA is announcing the availability of Building Web Applications with HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript: An Introduction to HTML5, presented by Jason Clark of Montana State University Library, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. CST on January 6, 8, 10, and 13, 2014. Geolocation, Native video, Offline storage, Semantic markup elements, Responsive web design, Canvas elements, Voice input, Drag and Drop, Opacity, Gradients… HTML5 (a generic term that 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 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. CST, January 6, 8, 10, and 13, 2014, with additional self-paced modules in Moodle. Participants will examine the trends and enhancements…

2014

LITA Offering two full-day workshops in Philadelphia

LITA is offering two Midwinter Workshops on Friday, January 24, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm in Philadelphia. Strategic Social Media: Creating Library Community Online will be presented by Doralyn Rossmann, Scott Young, Angela Tate, and Mary Anne Hansen of Montana State University Library. Presenters will go beyond the basics by demonstrating how to create a social media guide for developing communities on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, and Foursquare. Find ways to integrate social media efforts into your organization’s strategic plan and to establish best practices and assessment methodologies. Emphasis includes creating a meaningful voice and a compelling personality. Level Up Web: Modern Web Development and Management Practices for Libraries will be presented by Nina McHale and Christine Coughlan of Aten Design Group (CO). Topics will include: how to launch and execute a user-centric discovery and design process; content strategy; web governance and staffing; information architecture; managing a web environment/CMS; iterative development; and version control. Attendees will leave with tailored plans, covering…