New England Library Association – Information Technology Section
2010 ITS Spring Event
Portland Public Library
Invisible Book: Libraries, People and eBooks!
Friday, June 11, 2010
10:00 am – 3:30 pm
Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Sq., Portland, Maine
Directions: http://www.portlandlibrary.com/locations/driving.htm
I am now half way through my final Council meeting. Thus far we have voted on five resolutions. I was pleased to vote for a very good resolution on libraries in Haiti. It encourages ALA to do everything possible to aid libraries in Haiti. I also voted in the affirmative for resolutions encouraging transparency and openness in the federal government and a resolution supporting digital information initiatives at the government printing office. I also supported a resolution on universal access to broadband. Final copies of these resolutions will be available on the ALA website soon.
Council has concluded and I am headed home on Cape Air. Nine seat prop plane–super cool.
Nancy Wilson
readmorenow@gmail.com
This morning I attended my second council meeting where we heard a report from Kent Oliver, Freedom to Read Foundation President. He introduced us to Barbara Jones, new FTR Executive Director. We also heard reports from the ALA Treasurer.
It may be interesting to people that there is an Office of Research and Statistics at ALA. Their website has many reports and statistics that may be valuable to Vermont Libraries.
I will write more tomorrow when actual business will be coming before council.
Nancy Wilson
Registration for PLA 2010, the 13th National Conference of the Public Library Association (PLA), is now open. To register and request housing for PLA 2010, or to download registration and housing forms, visit www.placonference.org. A special early bird rate is available for PLA members and members of the Oregon Library Association who register by Dec. 16, 2009. All other advance registrations must be received by Feb. 19, 2010.
The annual American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting will be held January 15-19, 2010 in Boston.
On Friday, January 15, ALA’s Reference and Users Services Association (RUSA) will host an all-day genealogy workshop at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. In addition to presenting basic genealogy research techniques, New England-specific resources will also be presented. The event includes lunch, sponsored by ProQuest, and a tour of the beautiful NEHGS facility.
All of the event details are located here: http://rusa.ala.org/blog/2009/10/09/mw10-genealogyinst1/
Important note: you do not have to register for the Midwinter Meeting in order to attend this genealogy event, and you do not have to be an ALA member. Even library patrons are welcome to attend. Registration instructions are at www.ala.org/midwinter.
NERCOMP Shifting Models of Information Discovery and Access SIG
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA February 1, 2010
Deadline for proposals: October 20, 2009
SESSION DESCRIPTION
Libraries continue to migrate from out-of-the-box interfaces that search single collections to new products that promise, in various ways, to do a better job connecting people with the information they desire. OPACs are applying layers of lipstick, going open source, or fading away altogether, supplanted by new types of discovery tools. Federated search is mounting a comeback. Next-gen discovery tools promise to deliver the fabled single search box. Massive digitization projects are opening up the contents of books for discovery and–sometimes–retrieval. At the same time, proprietary, centralized projects like Google Books and OCLC’s WorldCat Local are developing alongside less centralized, more open initiatives like the Open Content Alliance, eXtensible Catalog project, VuFind, and LibraryFind.
“Staff Development on a Shoestring”
Libraries are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn and fewer of us have resources to attend national meetings. We’re also grappling with the changing roles of libraries and library staff as technologies develop and our users’ needs evolve. This year’s October Conference will explore innovative, affordable staff development initiatives.
Date: Friday, October 9, 2009
Location: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Registration fee: $80 (includes Continental Breakfast and Lunch)
Please register early to avoid disappointment; attendance is capped at 120.
To register or for more information, please visit the Conference web site at <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/services.htmld/OctCon2009/>.
If you have a question about registration, please call Erin Branch at (603) 650-1661 or email her at erin.branch@dartmouth.edu.