You’re invited! ASCLA/COSLA Reception at 2013 ALA Annual Conference

Come celebrate and network with the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) at the ASCLA/COSLA Reception on Saturday, June 29, 5:45-7:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Get the event details and specific room location in the ALA Conference Scheduler.

Why is this event so awesome, and why should you attend?

This is *the social event for ASCLA* at the ALA Annual Conference! Whether you’re a current member or you’re interested in our work with library services to people with disabilities, accessibility, state library agencies, library consultants and independent librarians, and networks, cooperatives and consortia, you are welcome to come to this event! Bring your business cards and come ready to see old friends and make new ones. ASCLA is known for being a friendly and welcoming division–come see what we mean! Add the event to your schedule now.

We’ll also be honoring our ASCLA award winners at this event:

  • Ruth J. Nussbaum, retired reference librarian, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress,will receive the 2013 Cathleen Bourdon Service Award for exceptional service to, and sustained leadership for ASCLA.
  • Jill Lewis, former director of the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, will receive the 2013 recipient of the Francis Joseph Campbell Award—an annual honor presented to a person or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of library service for the blind and physically handicapped.
  • Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen, executive director of Mother Goose on the Loose, LLC, and early childhood specialist at the Port Discovery Children’s Museum, Baltimore, will receive the 2013 ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award for her leadership and achievement in statewide services and programs and state library development.

This event includes hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

We look forward to seeing you there!

NEWS: Innovation at your library: ASCLA workshops, programming and events at the ALA Annual Conference

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a small and mighty division of ALA, will offer innovative and insightful preconferences, programs and events at the 2013 ALA Annual Conference; this year’s topics include disaster response, leadership development, effective decision-making, accessibility, services to older adults, arts programs for incarcerated youth and service evaluation.

Participants in ASCLA’s preconferences will find themselves at the forefront of library trends, advocacy and self-empowerment. “Ports in a Storm: Your Library as Disaster Recovery Center” will revitalize the role libraries play in their community following a disaster and show you how to build partnerships and access resources to achieve this goal. Librarians can cultivate loyalty from employees and library users as they develop their servant leadership persona with the help of professional library trainer Linda Bruno at the “Servant Leadership in Your Library” preconference. “Discovery to Delivery: Rethinking Resource Sharing” will bring together resource sharing librarians from public and academic libraries to discuss innovations in discovery, trends in physical and virtual delivery, e-books and ILL finances. Review pricing and event details and register for these preconferences at the ASCLA website.

At the ASCLA’s President’s Program, ”Storytelling Mojo: Creating the 21st Century Library Narrative,” speaker Michael Margolis, CEO of Get Storied, will revolutionize your approach to promoting, communicating about and advocating for your library. The program will focus on how we can think strategically about how we communicate within and outside of our libraries more effectively. Through this engaging and interactive session, Margolis will provide simple ways to help design and deliver powerful messages. The ASCLA President’s Program will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Sunday, June 30, 2013 at McCormick Place Convention Center. Get program details and add the program to your schedule.

ASCLA’s conference programs will also offer a multitude of valuable, cutting edge ideas to transform libraries, librarian careers and the way we think about library services:

  • School and youth services librarians won’t want to miss “Arts + School Libraries Inside,” where we’ll discuss how school libraries serving incarcerated youth can create partnerships with arts organizations and non-profits and collaboration with art teachers. We’ll also cover collection development, programming and professional development.
  • Hear from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation how to improve the quality of program evaluation at “Do Those Evaluation Statistics Mean Anything?” Topics for discussion include strategies for improving the capacity of libraries to use evaluation by creating a network linking those producing evaluation with those who use the information to make better decisions.

  • Learn how to make decisions more nimbly and confidently with speaker Joan Frye Williams at “Beyond Brainstorming: Making More Effective Decisions.” Williams will present new strategies for decision-making that address modern pressures of time, finances and transparency, as well as the increased pace of change in our professional environments.

  • Help your library serve all people, regardless of abilities, with the tools and tips presented at “Easy and Affordable Accessibility.” Libraries of all sizes will benefit from hearing the lists of go-to resources, easy-to-use adaptive equipment and ways to make your library environment more user-friendly to everyone that will be shared at this session.

  • Interested in new programming ideas for serving older adults? Add “Boomers to Seniors: Library Models for Serving and Engaging Older Adults” to your schedule.The program will highlight two complementary IMLS-funded model programs targeting Baby Boomers–adults born between 1946 and 1964–in a variety of settings inside and outside the library.

Conference participants are also invited to celebrate ASCLA’s 2013 award winners and network with the vibrant membership community at the ASCLA/COSLA Reception, 5:45 – 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29. Register for the ALA Annual Conference now to participate in conference programming and events. Conference registration is not required in order to register for preconferences–select “Ticketed Events and Preconferences Only” as your registration type.

ASCLA, a small, mighty and growing 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 cooperatives, as well as those who are self-employed. Our division’s work centers on member-driven interest groups that represent the diversity and important work of our engaged and active members. Learn more about ASCLA and how to join this innovative division.