ALA 2008 Conference Programs For Academic Librarians

From ACRLog:

As a special service to our ACRLog readers attending ALA in Anaheim, we provide this list of conference programs likely to be of special interest to ACRLog readers. Many thanks to Beth Avery, Head, Research and Instructional Services at University of North Texas Libraries. Beth prepared this list as an annual service of the ACRL College Libraries Section Committee on Professional Development.

This is quite a long list. It’s arranged chronologically by day, then alphabetically by hotel. The room, program title, and sponsoring organization are all listed. The list begins with events for Saturday at 8:00 AM and concludes on Monday at 5:30.

ALA Event-ACRL New Member Discussion Group

Going to Annual in Anaheim? Join us for the ACRL New Member Discussion Group on Saturday, June 28th from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, Hilton Anaheim, Balboa C (Right after the the ACRL 101 session and located in the same hotel)

*Building a more hireable you: Developing your resume from the inside out*

Whether you are currently on the job market or just looking to update your resume or CV, join us to discuss tips for developing unique skills that will help you stand out. We’ll also talk about tips on how to create a winning online portfolio (as well as provide some great examples!). The ACRL New Member Discussion group is for new (and aspiring) academic librarians. We meet twice a year–at both ALA conferences–to chat about whatever is on our minds. It’s an opportunity for networking and a friendly place to ask any questions you have about succeeding in ACRL.

Questions? Interested in getting involved? Contact Merinda Hensley, Convener, ACRL New Member Discussion Group, mhensle1@illinois.edu

Poster on Residency Program Assessment

The current residents at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (Thura Mack, Shantrie Collins, and Damon Campbell) are participating in this year’s ALA Annual poster session. Here is an abstract of the poster:

Academic library diversity residency programs require a significant investment of resources including funding for training and professional development. The proper evaluation of the residency program and its participants’ activities is vital to ensuring the enrichment of not only the individuals and organizations involved, but librarianship as a whole. The limited number of assessments for evaluating diversity residency programs in libraries calls for the successive evaluation of such programming from the resident point of view. Utilizing survey methodology, we will analyze diversity residency program outcomes including factors such as completion rate, scholarly publication record, career advancement, professional association memberships, and the development of transferable skills. The goal of this project is to provide auxiliary methods of assessment giving academic libraries a way to measure return on investment with regards to their diversity residency programs.

All the ALA posters will be between Halls A and B.  This particular poster is in the session titled “Infrastructure: Posters on Buildings and Equipment, Management, and Technology” and will take place on Monday, June 30, 2008, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm.

The full poster session schedule and other abstracts are available online at: http://www.lib.jmu.edu/org/ala/abstracts/2008/

Cheers.
Megan P.

David Horth to speak at LAMA President’s Program

From LEADS from LAMA: “The 2008 President’s Program from the Libraray Administration and Management Association (LAMA) will feature David Magellan Horth speaking about “Visual and Verbal Literacy – Skills for Contemporary Leadership.” The program will be presented Sunday, June 29, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the American Library Association’s annual conference in Anaheim, CA.

Mr. Horth is a Senior Enterprise Associate at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is co-author of the award winning book: The Leader’s Edge: Six Creative Competencies for Navigating Complex Challenges. His fluency with the technical and administrative aspects of business, deep knowledge and practice of creativity processes, and his own creative and artistic flair combine to make him much sought after as a unique keynote speaker, presenter, and workshop facilitator. As an innovative designer, facilitator, and coach, Horth focuses on the confluence of design, creativity and leadership development.”

Looks like a good one.

-Megan P.

Academic Freedom Quiz

Go ahead.  Test you knowledge.  (Quiz compliments of ACRLog)

1. Academic freedom is:
a) an inherent right granted to faculty
b) a protection guaranteed to those who have a faculty contract
c) a privilege granted to faculty by individual institutions
d) all of the above

2. A tenured professor directs a member of your library staff not to remove from the stacks several “library use only” books that need bibliographic maintenance work because she may need to refer to them at any time for her studies. Academic freedom gives the faculty member the right to do so. True or False?

3. Academic freedom is not a guarantee of freedom of speech. True or false?

4. Both tenured and tenure-track faculty enjoy the full benefits of academic freedom? True or false?

5. For academic librarians, having traditional intellectual freedom typically means:

a) a guaranteed right of free speech
b) a commitment to ensuring users’ access to information
c) a right to enjoy the protections of academic freedom even if not tenured
d) a form of academic freedom that applies only to collection development work

6. Which of the following organizations was the first to issue an official statement on the right of intellectual freedom:

a) american association of university professors
b) american library association
c) american civil liberties union
d) united nations

Here is a link to the solutions page.

Cheers.

-Megan P.