Empowering libraries through technology
New This Week Information Technology Librarian, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD Associate University Librarian for Research and Learning, Columbia University Libraries, New York, NY Library Technology/Programmer Analyst III, Virginia Beach Public Library, Virginia Beach, VA Visit the LITA Jobs Site for additional job openings and information on submitting your own job posting.
Our Joint Happy Hour social at Midwinter was such a success that next week we’re bringing Happy Hour to you online—and registration is free! We invite members of ALCTS, LITA, and LLAMA to join us on Friday, June 26, 5:00-7:00 pm Central Time for Virtual Happy Hour networking and/or play with your peers in a game of Scattergories. Wear your favorite pop culture T-shirt, bring your best Zoom background, grab a beverage, and meet us online for a great time! Attendees will automatically be entered to win free registration to attend the Core Virtual Forum. Winner must be present to redeem prize. Registration is required. Register now at: bit.ly/2NeNprH
Please join us for a joint ALCTS/LITA/LLAMA e-forum discussion. It’s free and open to everyone! Registration information is at the end of the message, along with subscription management options for existing listserv members. Continuing to Manage the Impact of COVID-19 on Libraries June 9-10, 2020 Moderated by Alyse Jordan, Steven Pryor, Nicole Lewis and Rebecca Uhl Please join us for an e-forum discussion. It’s free and open to everyone! Registration information is at the end of the message. Each day, discussion begins and ends at: Pacific: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Mountain: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Central: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Over the past several months, COVID-19 has significantly impacted libraries and library technical service units and departments, including requiring staff to work remotely and determining what services they can provide. As states begin to reopen, libraries face challenges as they determine…
ALA and Core are committed to dismantling racism and white supremacy. Along with the ALA Executive Board, we endorse the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA)’s May 28 statement condemning the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police Department officers. In their statement, BCALA cites Floyd’s death as “the latest in a long line of recent and historical violence against Black people in the United States.” Not only does Core support the sentiments of BCALA, we vow to align our values regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion with those of BCALA and other organizations that represent marginalized communities within ALA. We also stand strong with the Asian/Pacific American community, which has been the target of xenophobia and racism in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19, and support the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and their statement that, “There is no excuse for discriminatory sentiments and actions towards Asians…
Reserve your spot and learn new skills to enhance your career with LITA online continuing education offerings. Buying Strategies 101 for Information TechnologyWednesday, May 27, 2020, 1:00-2:30 pm Central TimePresenter: Michael Rodriguez, Collections Strategist at the University of Connecticut In this 90-minute webinar, you’ll learn best practices, terminology, and concepts for effectively negotiating contracts for the purchase of information technology (IT) products and services. View details and Register here. Using Images from the Internet in a Webpage: How to Find and CiteWednesday, June 3, 2020, 2:00-3:30 pm Central TimePresenter: Lauren Bryant, Priority Associate Librarian of Ray W. Howard Library In this 90-minute webinar, you’ll learn practical ways to quickly find and filter creative commons licensed images online, learn how to hyperlink a citation for a website, and how to use creative commons images for thumbnails in videos and how to cite the image in unconventional situations like this. View details and Register here. Troublesome Technology Trends: Bridging the Learning DivideWednesday, June 17, 2020, 1:00-2:30 pm…
Last week, Anne Pepitone kicked off the discussion with Zoom Virtual Backgrounds, shared her favorites, and provided tips on how to use them. The next Twitter #LITAchat will be on Friday, May 1, from 12-1pm Central Time when we’ll talk about apps that help you work from home. What do you use to help with project management, time management, deadlines, or to just stay focused? We invite you to join us tomorrow to share, learn, and chat about it with your colleagues. Follow LITA on Twitter. We’re looking forward to hearing from you! -The LITA Membership Development Committee
In January 2020, the latest cohort of Emerging Leaders met at ALA Midwinter to begin their projects. LITA sponsored two Emerging Leaders this year: Kelsey Flynn, Adult Services Specialist at White Oak Library, and Paige Walker, Digital Collections & Preservation Librarian at Boston College. Kelsey and Paige are part of Emerging Leaders Group G, “Inventing a Sustainable Division,” in which they’ve been charged with identifying measures that LITA can take to improve its fiscal and environmental sustainability. As a first step in their assessment, the group distributed a survey to LITA members that will quantify interest in sustainable measures such as virtual conferences and webinars. Want to help? Complete the survey to give feedback that may shape the direction of our chapter. Group G is fortunate to have several other talented library workers on its team: Kristen Cooper, Plant Sciences Librarian at University of Minnesota Tonya Ferrell, OER Coordinator at…
Call for Proposals have now been extended to Friday, May 22, 2020. Share your ideas and experiences about library technology, leadership, collections, preservation, assessment, and metadata at the inaugural meeting of Core, a joining of LITA/ALCTS/LLAMA. We welcome your session proposal. For more information about the call for proposals and our theme of exploring ideas and making them reality, visit the 2020 Forum website: https://forum.lita.org Event Details November 19-21, 2020 Baltimore, MD Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel COVID-19 Planning The 2020 LITA/ALCTS/LLAMA Forum Planning Committee is currently evaluating a contingency plan, should the COVID-19 public health crisis impact Forum in November.
The March 2020 issue of Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL) is available now. In this issue, ITAL Editor Ken Varnum shares his support of LITA, ALCTS, and LLAMA merging to form a new ALA division, Core. Our content includes a message from LITA President, Emily Morton-Owens. “A Framework for Member Success,“ Morton-Owens discusses the current challenges of LITA as a membership organization and reinvention being the key to survival. Also in this edition, Laurie Willis discusses the pros and cons of handling major projects in-house versus hiring a vendor in “Tackling Big Projects.” Sheryl Cormicle Knox and Trenton Smiley discuss using digital tactics as a cost-effective way to increase marketing reach in “Google Us!” Featured Articles: “User Experience Methods and Maturity in Academic Libraries,” Scott W. H. Young, Zoe Chao, and Adam Chandler This article presents a mixed-methods study of the methods and maturity of user experience (UX) practice in…
Are you a subject librarian interested in building digital scholarships? Join us for the upcoming webinar “Digital Inception: Building a digital scholarship/humanities curriculum as a subject librarian,” on Wednesday, April 22, from 1:00 – 2:30 pm CST. Digital scholarship is gaining momentum in academia. What started as a humanities movement is now present in most disciplines. Introducing digital scholarship to students can benefit them in multiple ways: it helps them interact with new trends in scholarship, appeals to different kinds of learners, helps them develop new and emerging literacies, and gives them the opportunity to be creative. This 90-minute presentation will guide attendees in building a digital scholarship curriculum from a subject librarian position. It will explore how to identify opportunities, reach out to faculty, and advertise your services. It will also showcase activities, lesson plans, and free tools for digital publication, data mining, text analysis, mapping, etc. Finally, the presentation will…