The LITA Board is pleased to announce the following slate of candidates for the 2016 spring election: Candidates for Vice-President/President-Elect David Lee King Andromeda Yelton Candidates for Director-at-Large, 2 elected for a 3-year term Breanne Kirsch Topher Lawton Holbrook Sample Evviva Weinraub Candidates for LITA Councilor, 1 elected for a 3-year term Aaron Dobbs Debra Shapiro View bios and statements for more information about the candidates. Voting in the 2016 ALA election will begin on March 25 and close on April 22. Election results will be announced on April 29. Note that eligible members will be sent their voting credentials via email over a three-day period, March 15-18. Check the main ALA website for information about the general ALA election. The slate was recommended by the LITA Nominating Committee: Michelle Frisque (Chair), Galen Charlton, and Dale Poulter. The Board thanks the Nominating Committee for all of their work. Be sure to thank the candidates for…
Category: News & Noteworthy
LITA Spring Online Learning Opportunities
Registration is Now Open, for any of 3 webinars and 2 web courses. Check out the great line up. Webinars are one time sessions lasting 60 to 90 minutes. How Your Public Library Can Inspire the Next Tech Billionaire: an Intro to Youth Coding Programs, with Kelly Smith, Crystle Martin, and Justin Hoenke Offered: Thursday March 3, 2016, Noon Central Time Kids, tweens, teens and their parents are increasingly interested in computer programming education, and they are looking to public and school libraries as a host for the informal learning process that is most effective for learning to code. This webinar will share lessons learned through youth coding programs at libraries all over the U.S. We will discuss tools and technologies, strategies for promoting and running the program, and recommendations for additional resources. The Why and How of HTTPS for Libraries, with Jacob Hoffman-Andrews Offered: Monday March 14, 2016, 1:00 pm…
LITA at ALA Midwinter – Boston
If you’re going to ALA Midwinter in Boston, don’t miss these excellent LITA activities. Click the links for more information. And check out the entire: LITA at ALA Midwinter schedule Friday, January 8, 2016, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm LITA “Makerspaces: Inspiration and Action” tour at Midwinter! How do you feel about 40,000 square feet full of laser cutters, acetylene torches, screen presses, and sewing machines? Or community-based STEAM programming for kids? Or lightsabers? If these sound great to you Register Now Saturday, January 9, 2016, 10:30 am to 11:30 am, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center – 104 BC All Committees, and all Interest Groups, meetings This is where and when all the face to face meetings happen. If you want to become involved in working with LITA, show up, volunteer, meet your colleagues, express your interests, share your skills. Sunday, January 10, 2016, 10:30 am to 11:30 am, Boston Convention &…
Register for “Makerspaces: Inspiration and Action” at ALA Midwinter
How do you feel about 40,000 square feet full of laser cutters, acetylene torches, screen presses, and sewing machines? Or community-based STEAM programming for kids? Or lightsabers? If these sound great, you should register for the LITA “Makerspaces: Inspiration and Action” tour at Midwinter! We’ll whisk you off to Somerville for tours, nuts and bolts information on running makerspace programs for kids and adults, Q&A, and hands-on activities at two great makerspaces. Artisan’s Asylum is one of the country’s premier makerspaces. In addition to the laser cutters, sewing machines, and numerous other tools, they rent workspaces to artists, offer a diverse and extensive set of public classes, and are familiar with the growing importance of makerspaces to librarians. Parts & Crafts is a neighborhood gem: a makerspace for kids that runs camp, afterschool, weekend, and homeschooling programs. With a knowledgeable staff, a great collection of STEAM supplies, and a philosophy…
An Interview With LITA Emerging Leader Melissa Stoner
Tell us about your library job. What do you love about it? I work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Lied Library Digital Collections. I am the Workflow Manager for the Nevada Digital Newspaper Project, part of the National Historic Newspaper Project, a joint effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities. I have been a part of the Digital Collections team for a couple of years. Every year I learn something new about the work I am doing. I love my job because of the people I work with. I also love that I have the freedom to observe different aspects of the digitization process for many of our collections. At times I assist with managing the metadata of the different collections. We are currently utilizing TemaTres Controlled Vocabulary server to manage, publish, and share the ontologies and taxonomies we use in our collections….
Editorial Response to “Is Technology Bringing in More Skillful Male Librarians?”
Hi LITA members (and beyond): My name is Brianna Marshall and I am the editor of the LITA blog. Last week, the post “Is Technology Bringing in More Skillful Male Librarians?” by Jorge Perez was published on the blog. The post has understandably sparked considerable discussion on Twitter. Jorge has indicated an interest in writing a follow up post to clarify his viewpoints vs. the viewpoints expressed by the authors he cited, so I won’t speak for him beyond saying that I believe his intentions were to highlight issues around the stereotyping of male librarians. In his communications with me, he indicated that the provocative title and brevity was intended to spark a conversation with blog readers, not to be flippant about the issues. Again, I will let him provide clarification on the content of the post itself. As I looked at the conversation on Twitter, I noticed a number of comments that implied that the viewpoints, quality,…
Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know – 2, a LITA webinar
Attend this informative and fast paced new LITA webinar: Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know – 2 Monday November 2, 2015 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central Time Register Online, page arranged by session date (login required) We’re all awash in technological innovation. It can be a challenge to know what new tools are likely to have staying power and what that might mean for libraries. The 2014 LITA Guide, Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know, highlights a selected set of technologies that are just starting to emerge and describes how libraries might adapt them in the next few years. In this 60 minute webinar, join the authors of three chapters from the book as they talk about their technologies and what they mean for libraries. Those chapters covered will be: Impetus to Innovate: Convergence and Library Trends Presenter: A.J. Million This presentation does not try and predict…
Digital Privacy Toolkit for Librarians, a LITA webinar
Attend this important new LITA webinar: Digital Privacy Toolkit for Librarians Tuesday October 20, 2015 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Central Time Register Online, page arranged by session date (login required) This 90 minute webinar will include a discussion and demonstration of practical tools for online privacy that can be implemented in library PC environments or taught to patrons in classes/one-on-one tech sessions, including browsers for privacy and anonymity, tools for secure deletion of cookies, cache, and internet history, tools to prevent online tracking, and encryption for online communications. Attendees will: learn how to use privacy-protecting software learn best practices for library end user security https://libraryfreedomproject.org/resources/privacytoolkit/ learn some of the issues with web security and data collection in general learn important concepts in digital security Alison’s work for the Library Freedom Project and classes for patrons including tips on teaching patron privacy classes can be found at:https://libraryfreedomproject.org/resources/onlineprivacybasics/ Alison Macrina Is…
Creative Commons Crash Course, a LITA webinar
Attend this interesting and useful LITA webinar: Creative Commons Crash Course Wednesday, October 7, 2015 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Central Time Register Online, page arranged by session date (login required) Since the first versions were released in 2002, Creative Commons licenses have become an important part of the copyright landscape, particularly for organizations that are interested in freely sharing information and materials. Participants in this 90 minute webinar will learn about the current Creative Commons licenses and how they relate to copyright law. This webinar will follow up on Carli Spina’s highly popular Ignite Session at the 2015 ALA Mid Winter conference. Carli will explain how to find materials that are Creative Commons-licensed, how to appropriately use such items and how to apply Creative Commons licenses to newly created materials. It will also include demonstrations of some important tools that make use of Creative Commons-licensed media. This program will…
Teaching Patrons About Privacy, a LITA webinar
Attend this important new LITA webinar: Teaching Patrons about Privacy in a World of Pervasive Surveillance: Lessons from the Library Freedom Project Tuesday October 6, 2015 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Central Time Register Online, page arranged by session date (login required) In the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA and FBI dragnet surveillance, Alison Macrina started the Library Freedom Project as a way to teach other librarians about surveillance, privacy rights, and technology tools that protect privacy. In this 90 minute webinar, she’ll talk about the landscape of surveillance, the work of the LFP, and some strategies you can use to protect yourself and your patrons online. Administrators, instructors, librarians and library staff of all shapes and sizes will learn about the important work of the Library Freedom Project and how they can help their patrons. Alison’s work for the Library Freedom Project and classes for patrons including…