ASCLA 2014 Midwinter workshops: leadership success, online course design and how to become a library consultant

2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting in PhiladelphiaDesigning online courses, the secrets to successful leadership and how to become a library consultant are some of the exciting topics to be addressed at institutes offered by the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) at the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia.

ASCLA, a small, mighty and innovative division of the American Library Association, is known for high quality educational events that offer skills and information to transform your library or your career. These 2014 Midwinter institutes continue this outstanding tradition with three institutes and one networking luncheon scheduled between Thursday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 25.

All of these events require advance ticket purchase, however registration for the 2014 Midwinter Meeting is not required in order to purchase a ticket. Bundle registration for 2014 Midwinter institutes, the 2014 Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference will open on Sept. 9. Regular Midwinter meeting registration will open on Oct. 1. ASCLA members receive the best registration rates on all of these events; learn more about ASCLA and join today.

Visit www.alamidwinter.org/bundle beginning Sept. 9 for more information about Bundle registration. Additional meeting information can be found at www.alamidwinter.org.

This year’s Midwinter institutes and events hosted by ASCLA are:

Designing Online Courses for Significant Learning Experiences
8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24 
Are you a teaching librarian currently offering an online course but looking for ways to enhance the course structure and content? Are you a seasoned professional with special skills and expertise that you see a market for via an e-course? Developing and teaching online courses that create the best possible learning experiences for student participants is both an art and a science. Using a collaborative, hands-on approach, presenters Dr. Stewart Ross and Linda Jacoby of internationally known consulting firm Dee Fink and Associates will guide institute participants through the (re)design of an online course using an integrated course design template. At the end of the workshop, participants will have the skills and confidence to assist others in the development of online courses, or to develop their own online training modules or courses. The techniques applied in this session can also be applied to face-to-face course development. All participants will receive certificates of participation. REGISTRATION RATES: ASCLA members, $279; ALA members, $299; non-ALA members, $349; Student/Retired members of ALA, $229.

Knowing You, Knowing Them: The Secret to Successful Leadership
9 a.m. – 4 p.m, Friday, Jan. 24
One of the biggest challenges of leading others is understanding what makes them tick. This full-day workshop will help you understand both yourself in light of your leadership responsibilities and those who work for you. Instead of offering a checklist or template of how-tos, presenter Linda Bruno, MBA, will focus on the human element of leadership. You will leave this session with insights into personalities, emotional intelligence, dealing with change and creating a motivating environment – secrets that can help you be a more successful leader! Linda has presented several workshops for ASCLA and receives rave reviews for her content and presentations. REGISTRATION RATES: ASCLA members, $279; ALA members, $299; non-ALA members, $339; Student/Retired members of ALA, $229.

Assembling a Consulting Toolkit: What You Need to Know to be a Successful Library Consultant
1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23 and 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24

ASCLA – the home to library consultants and independent librarians within ALA – is bringing back its wildly successful, sell-out workshop! Seasoned consultants Nancy Bolt and Liz Bishoff will present an overview of the consultant’s role and guide you through an active and engaging self-assessment to uncover your unique consulting potential and strengths. Takeaways include marketing tips, pricing your services, responding to RFPs, finding clients, business management strategies and so much more. Note that this event is held over two days–Thursday afternoon and Friday morning–with an opportunity for networking on Thursday evening. This institute will not be offered in Las Vegas, so don’t miss out on this opportunity! REGISTRATION RATES: ASCLA members, $279; ALA members, $299; non-ALA members, $339; Student/Retired members of ALA, $229.

Consultants Networking Luncheon hosted by ASCLA Library Consultants Interest Group
12 – 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 25, 
Lunch and learn with colleagues! This event provides an opportunity for consultants and independent librarians to make connections with other professionals. We’ll also have an hour of education focused on valuable skills for consultants; last year’s event covered icebreaker activities, refining your elevator speech and Twitter. The event is hosted by ASCLA’s Library Consultants Interest Group (http://connect.ala.org/node/151445). Whether you’re new to consulting or have decades of experience, please join this fun group for some peer-to-peer networking and education. REGISTRATION RATES: ASCLA members, $79; ALA members, $95; non-ALA members, $99; Student/Retired members of ALA, $79.

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.

Call for Proposals: ASCLA programs, preconferences and institutes for 2014

ASCLA is now accepting proposals for:

  • Institutes for the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia
  • Preconferences for the 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas
  • Programs for the 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas

Institutes and preconferences are ticketed events held on the Friday of the conference. Programs are held throughout the Annual Conference and are included as a part of conference registration.

You can access the online program proposal form here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ascla2014progpreconproposal

You can also download a PDF of the form in preparation for submitting the online form. Only online submissions will be accepted!

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 15 Saturday, June 1!

We have a limited number of slots available for each type of event, so put your best foot forward when submitting a proposal.

Who can propose a program, institute or preconference? Any current ASCLA member can propose one of these events, however we strongly encourage support and sponsorship from one of our interest groups! If you’re not an interest group member, consider joining one and using the group as a springboard for your conference event ideas. Check out the list of our interest groups, contact information for interest group leaders and instructions on how to join.

What sorts of topics are of interest? The best topics represent ASCLA’s core member areas–state library agencies, special populations librarians, independent librarians and library consultants, and resource-sharing librarians at networks and cooperatives–but are also of interest to librarians throughout the profession from all types of libraries. Keep in mind that topics should still be relevant in January and June 2014 when they are finally presented! You can browse our interest group list here for inspiration.

If my event is accepted and approved by ASCLA, what will I be responsible for? You will be responsible for recruiting and serving as a liaison to the event speakers, as well as being on-site the day of the event to help coordinate event details. You will work with the ASCLA office to set up the event details with ALA Conference Services. The ASCLA office will promote your event, and will give you the tools to help spread the word.

I’m not an ASCLA member, but I’d like to get involved with program planning. The best way to do this is to join ASCLA, and then join one of our many interest groups.

Anything else I should know? If you’re going to go through the trouble of planning an in-person event, we want to maximize the reach of that information! Consider offering a webinar or other online learning opportunity in conjunction with the in-person event that will enhance the learning experience! So for example, you might offer a webinar in early May as a teaser for the content that will be covered at your conference program in June. In late July, you might host a follow-up discussion using a tool like ALA Connect, Google Hangout or Blackboard Collaborate that brings program attendees together to continue the conversation about what you’ve discussed at the previous two events.

Questions about the program planning process? Please contact Liz Markel, ASCLA marketing & programs manager at lmarkel@ala.org.

We look forward to receiving your proposals!