New Student Services Staff, ALA Awards, Summer Research, and the Lobster 3 Cohort

Dear Friends and Colleagues,


Summer officially starts in a couple days but I feel like we have already been through it! We’ve been in a very hot June and not much rain – not a good combination for the South. I do love summer sessions though! The campus is lush and quiet and everyone slows down in the summer. The heat haze does it’s magic.


Our students are doing great things and we are very proud of their scholarship and service to the profession. Our alumni, of course, rule the universe! I find it so rewarding that no matter where I go; someone sings the praises of Davis College and our MLIS program! Our faculty has much to do with that reputation and they just keep being the very best! We have two new faculty members joining us this fall and as soon as the Board of Trustees says “okay” I will send out notice.


I am delighted to welcome a new student services staff. Our new manager is Sarah Keeling and she already has the offices spiffed up, the files updated, and is making a new work plan. I think you already know Tilda Reeder but Tilda is our fairly new Graduate Advisor for the MLIS. We also have added an Undergraduate Advisor, Andy Thomas and he has produced beautiful brochures and other recruiting materials for our new BSIS which starts this fall! AND. . .a warm welcome to Larialmly Brown, the administrative assistant that holds it all together and is your first point of contact. This is an excellent team and a pleasure to work with. I know you join me in welcoming them!


I’m off to California for the American Library Association meeting in Anaheim to cheer our students as they receive the “Student Chapter of the Year” award. My buttons are bustin’ with pride and we are sending as many of the LISSA officers as we can afford to sponsor. If you want to help us defray these costs, just let me know.


I’ll also be at the luncheon for Dr. Zimmerman when she receives the AASL award so it will be a very joyful meeting.


Our alumni tea is on Sunday, June 29 at 5:30 in the Disneyland Hotel. If you are there, please come visit! We will also have a booth in the ALISE shared exhibit area. Nonie Price and Ellen Shuler-Hinrichs will be there most of the time so please stop and say hello.


We have several research projects cranking this summer:

SCCCBL is working in Orangeburg to build a community base for literacy programs with some funding from Verizon. Dr. Tu is using Second Life to simulate learning environments and a virtual reference service. Dr. Perrault is wrapping up her ‘evidence-based’ learning experiments. Dr. Arns just received an IMLS grant to study Economic Development and Public Libraries. I’m working with the Nord Family Foundation and the Nurturing Center to collect data and design analysis tools that will help tell the stories of their success. Each faculty member is involved in research and service in some capacity this summer and I will continue to keep you updated.


We’ll be in Maine on August 3 to celebrate our graduates from the Lobster 3 cohort. I am so looking forward to finally meeting these wonderful students that welcomed me so warmly two years ago.


On a sad note, please send your good thoughts to Tina Taggart, one of our students from Maine who lives in Levant, Maine. She graduated in May, 2008, and just lost her home and belongings to a fire. I don’t have details but if you want to help, Deborah Averill: Bangor High School, 885 Broadway, Bangor, ME 04401 is collecting support for the family.


In closing, here are a couple goodies to play with and read. The first one really leads to a deep discussion of attention spans and “sound-byte” mentalities. Let me know if you want to talk about it.


1. Is Google Making Us Stupid? [Atlantic Monthly]
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google


2. Key differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 [First Monday]
http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2125/1972


3. Electronic Device Stirs Unease at Book Fair [The New York Times]
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/books/02bea.html


4. New 'super-paper' is stronger than cast iron [New Scientist]
http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn14084-new-superpaper-is-stronger-than-cast-iron.html


5. New way to look at bookshelves
http://www.thisintothat.com/secondeditions-offers.html


Have a lovely summer, stay cool and let me know if there is anything you need.


Yours,

sam