Consortium Management Discussion Group at Annual

Here is some information about the upcoming ASCLA – ICAN  Consortium Management Discussion Group at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. Discussion group participation is open to all, so if you’re coming to conference, please make sure to join us!

When: Sunday, June 26, 2011
Time:
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm

Where: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Room 242

Facilitator: Sheryl Knab, Executive Director, Western New York Library Resources Council, Buffalo, NY

Topic for discussion:
Library Systems Are Vital:  Selling Our Story to Funders and Users

Join us to discuss how systems are doing on the advocacy front.  Are we honestly assessing our performance in getting our message across to funding agents?  Do we have the support of our members who benefit the most from our services?  Are we using the same message and delivering it in the same manner we always have?  Or, are we revitalizing our efforts to be more effective lobbyists for our profession as well as our systems? Be prepared to share what has worked or is working at your consortia or system, what has failed, and what your organization has thought about trying but haven’t yet.

Final days of lowest prices for ASCLA leadership, consulting, digital collections preconference

We are just days away from the end of advance registration for 2011 ALA Annual Conference preconferences, which means prices are about to increase!

Advance registration officially ends Friday, May 13. This year’s ASCLA workshop topics are leadership skills they never taught you at library school, how to become an independent consultant and preservation planning for digital collections.

The preconference topics highlight areas of expertise of ASCLA’s members, and are open to all interested participants. All three events provide an excellent opportunity for participants to acquire new information and skills they’ll be able to apply immediately in their day-to-day work. Each session also offers the opportunity to network with colleagues from across the country engaged in similar professional challenges and successes.

This year’s ASCLA preconferences are:

  • Assembling a Consulting Toolkit: What You Need to Know to Become a Successful Library Consultant
    Friday, June 24, 2011, 9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
    The wildly successful, sell-out workshop is back for a final time, and with very few seats remaining! Seasoned consultants Nancy Bolt and Sara Laughlin will present an overview of the consultant’s role and guide you through a self-assessment to uncover your consulting potential. Participants will work together to identify consulting opportunities and how to align them with their experience and skills. Takeaways include marketing tips, pricing your services and business management strategies. Event Code: ASC3.
    Advance Registration (through May 13, 2011): ASCLA member, $240; ALA member, $275; non-member, $295; student and retired members, $175.

    Leadership Skills: Leading Your Library to Excellence
    Friday, June 24, 2011, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
    This workshop will teach you all the things about leadership they never covered in library school. Attendees will identify leadership roles and strengths and then learn to apply them; explore what it takes to be a good supervisor and how to cultivate those qualities; review communication styles, the power of words and the importance of listening; learn how to deal with change and create a motivating environment; and how to build the credibility and respect needed to succeed as a leader. The session will be led by experienced presenter and facilitator Linda Bruno. Event Code: ASC1.
    Advance Registration (through May 13, 2011): ASCLA member, $195; ALA member, $225; non-member, $295; student and retired members, $165.

    Forever is a Long Time: Preservation Planning for Digital Collections
    Friday, June 24, 2011, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
    After more than a decade of acquiring and creating digital collections, libraries are now exploring options for assuring long term access to these digital resources. This preconference will introduce participants to digital preservation standards and best practices, digital preservation planning, how risk assessment can be used in planning, and case studies of implementable solutions. Faculty will include three leaders in digital preservation planning: Tom Clareson of LYRASIS, Katherine Skinner of Educopia Institute and Liz Bishoff of The Bishoff Group. Event Code: ASC2.
    Advance Registration (through May 13, 2011): ASCLA member, $175; ALA member, $220; non-member, $295; student and retired members, $165.

Interested participants have the option to register for just an ASCLA preconference, or for both a preconference and the Annual Conference. For preconference-only registration using the online form (login required), select “SO-Preconference and Ticketed Events Only” as the registration type and proceed to select this event from the list of ticketed events. Conference registrants can add this event to their registration, and will find it under the list of ticketed events and preconferences in the online form. Event codes are listed above in the event descriptions for those using the printed registration form for fax or mail. Advance registration rates are available through May 13, and prices will increase after that date. Registration for all ASCLA preconferences will close Sunday, Jun. 19.

ASCLA, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is a diverse organization of librarians and support staff who work in academic and public libraries, state agencies, specialized libraries and multi-type cooperatives, as well as those who are self-employed. Not an ASCLA member, but interested in discounted registration rates on conference, ASCLA preconferences and other ASCLA events? Join, renew or add ASCLA to your ALA membership by calling 1-(800)-545-2433, option 5 or visiting www.ala.org/membership.

Consulting Workshop: Price Clarification

We’ve had some inquiries about the pricing on the ASCLA Consulting Toolkit workshop in New Orleans. Turns out the online registration form had the wrong prices listed!

This has been fixed now, and prices have been *reduced* to where they should be. Anyone who has registered to date at the higher, incorrect rate will receive a refund for the price difference.

And while we’re on the subject of price, the advance registration rates are only valid through May 13 (see below), and then prices go up!

AND, most importantly, this will be the LAST TIME this workshop is offered in person.

At our three previous workshops, we’ve helped your colleagues launch their consulting businesses, helped others refine and focus their current consulting activities, and provided valuable information for those who are unsure about consulting as a career option, but want to gather as much information as possible.

Trust me—you don’t want to miss this event.

Pricing and speaker info is below.

Register online now (login required).

More info about ASCLA events at Annual is online here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/ascla/asclaevents/annual/index.cfm

Assembling a Consulting Toolkit: What You Need to Know to Become a Successful Library Consultant
Friday, June 24, 2011, 9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
This session presents an overview of the consultant’s role and guides you through a self-assessment to uncover your consulting potential. Participants will work together to identify consulting opportunities and how to align them with their experience and skills. Takeaways include marketing tips, pricing your services and business management strategies
Speakers: Nancy Bolt, president, Nancy Bolt & Associates
Sara Laughlin, director, Monroe County (Ind.) Public Library Reference Department

Advance Registration (through May 13, 2011): ASCLA member, $185;
ALA member, $195; non-member, $225; student and retired members, $145.
Onsite Registration (May 14 – June 17, 2011): ASCLA member, $215;
ALA member, $225; non-member, $260; student and retired members, $170.

Register online now (login required).

Stacey A. Aldrich elected vice-president of ASCLA

Stacey A. Aldrich, state librarian of California, has been elected vice-president/president elect of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies.

Prior to becoming the state librarian of California, Aldrich was the deputy state librarian. She has also worked as the assistant director of the Omaha Public Library, and both a public library consultant and branch chief for Public Libraries and State Networking Branch of the Maryland State Department of Education. She holds a M.L.S. from the University of Pittsburgh as well as a B.A. in Russian Language and Literature from the same institution. In her professional capacities, she has many notable accomplishments that have had a significant impact on libraries and library users. For example, she worked with a county and consultants to ensure that 6,000 square miles of California was not without public library service during financial crisis, and she helped to facilitate the  vision and creation of AskUsNow!, Maryland’s online live reference service.

Aldrich has also made significant contributions to the library profession. A member of ALA since 1992 and a longtime member of ASCLA, she has been an active member of the Maryland Library Association and the California Library Association, serving on committees with both associations. In 1995, she received special recognition from the Maryland Library Association for her work on the SAILOR project, a statewide network. In 2003, she was selected as one of Library Journal’s Annual Movers and Shakers. In addition to librarianship, she has done work for a futuring think tank in Washington, D.C.  and has also served as a Board Member of the Association of Professional Futurists.

“I am honored to have been elected,” said Aldrich.  “I am really looking forward to working with my colleagues to continue to provide great opportunities for special and cooperative library agencies to learn and grow together.”

In the news: School partners with library to record audio books

Check out this story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about a partnership between The Ellis School (Shadyside) and the Carnegie Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

From the story:

Students are recording digital audio books for young readers who can’t see print.

“It was a very rewarding experience,” said Malik, 17, a junior at the school. “The cause is so great.”

Melissa Dodge, a French and English teacher at the school, volunteers at the library narrating and editing audio books. She coordinated with the library to get equipment at the school so students could participate. Audio files are recorded in the classroom, then sent to the library digitally.

“There is a shortage of young readers in audio recording,” Dodge said.

For the project’s first year, the school’s faculty chose one student to participate. Malik used her background in theater to bring life to the characters. She’s performed with Pittsburgh Musical Theater in shows including “Les Miserables” and “Grease.”

“I’ve always listened to audio books,” she said. “It’s a really nice thing to share with others.”

Are there similar programs in your community? Let us know about them by leaving a a comment on this post.

ELECTION RESULTS: ASCLA Members Approve Revised Bylaws

ASCLA members have voted overwhelmingly to approve the revised bylaws on the
Spring election ballot. The bylaw changes provide a new structure for ASCLA
that allows for more member participation and collaboration. Groups of
individuals with mutual issues and interests can generate spontaneously,
evolving or devolving as the future changes. The new structure streamlines
ASCLA’s governance, reducing formally elected positions by 50%.

Impetus for the restructuring came from members’ input over the last two
years. Members indicated they want to spend more time on products and
results and less time on the process of governance.  They want a high return
for the investment of their personal time and want their involvement to be
project-based, not position-based.

Under the new bylaws, the proposed composition of the ASCLA Board will look
like this:

* Five member Executive Committee
** President, President-Elect, Past-President (one-year terms)
** Secretary (two-year term)
** ALA Councilor (three-year term)
* Four “constituent” members from current membership groups (two-year
terms) in the bylaws. Each slot will be designated for an ASCLA leader
representing:
** State library agencies
** Cooperative library services agencies
** Libraries with services for one or more special populations
** Independent librarians/consultants
* Three at-large members (three-year terms)

ASCLA Standing Committees will include:
* Awards Committee
* ASCLA Scholarships Committee
* Conference Programming
* Finance and Planning Committee
* Interest Group Coordination Committee
* Legislative Advocacy
* Membership
* Nominating Committee
* Online Learning Committee
* Publications
* Web Presence Committee

For a complete look at the proposed changes, please refer to the ASCLA
Restructuring Proposal here:
http://connect.ala.org/files/73498/b1006_proposed_ascla_organizational_structure_06_1_40389.doc.

ASCLA’s new structure will expand current members’ opportunities for
engagement and attract new members with timely, issue-focused interest
groups. ASCLA is re-energized and moving forward to a very successful
future. Thank you to all the members who voted!