GENERAL NEWS (from March 5th)

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I love the South! Here in Columbia, the trees are budding just in time for Spring Break! We are very ready for some warm days. Baseball season has started and it just doesn’t feel right sitting in the bleachers with coats and gloves and hats. If you can’t make a game, I hope you take the time to do something fun – enjoy the beach, go for a hike, plant your tomatoes or __________.

This is such a good time to be at the University! Despite the budget cuts, we have many exciting opportunities to serve the people of South Carolina and help libraries meet the challenges of being so needed and so busy! Our interviews for new faculty are going well and the search committee will make final recommendations on March 19.

Cocky’s Reading Express™ was awarded the South Carolina International Reading Association’s (SCIRA) Literacy Award in Myrtle Beach on February 20. The annual award honors individuals or groups who make significant contributions to improving literacy in their community and/or state. “The literacy committee was very impressed with this literacy program and the impact that it is having on the lives of young students in our state,” said Linda Grant, literary committee chairperson of SCIRA. Hurray!

Remember that on Friday, March 12 our National Advisory Council and our Diversity Leadership Group are meeting. If you have concerns or suggestions for either group, please let me know and I will bring it to their attention.

We are having our annual Alumni Tea at the South Carolina Association of School Librarians Conference on March 25 from 4-5 pm. The conference is being held at the Embassy Suites Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston. At the Alumni Tea this year we are honoring six of our graduates who have been wonderful mentors to our school media interns. It is going to be 10 for 10 in 2010. These mentors have each supervised at least 10 interns over the past 10 years. We are presenting them with special certificates at this event. I hope you will be able to join us!

I am going to check on my Mother for a couple days so wish me luck! I hope you have a safe and happy Spring Break and let me know if you need anything! In the meantime, here are some interesting items to read and think about while you have your toes in the sand or your hiking boots on:

1. Teaching kids to read from the back of a burro [CNN]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/02/25/cnnheroes.soriano/index.html

2. 'Future library' goes on display in Abu Dhabi [The National]

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100303/NATIONAL/703029811/1010

3. Libraries dealing with homeless try new approaches; San Francisco hires a social worker [Los Angeles Times]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-homeless-library-patrons,0,4108516.story

4. In the digital age, librarians are pioneers [The Boston Globe]

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/02/10/in_the_digital_age_librarians_are_pioneers/

5. Do School Libraries Need Books? [The New York Times]

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/do-school-libraries-need-books/

Yours,

Sam

GENERAL NEWS (from March 5th)

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I love the South! Here in Columbia, the trees are budding just in time for Spring Break! We are very ready for some warm days. Baseball season has started and it just doesn’t feel right sitting in the bleachers with coats and gloves and hats. If you can’t make a game, I hope you take the time to do something fun – enjoy the beach, go for a hike, plant your tomatoes or __________.

This is such a good time to be at the University! Despite the budget cuts, we have many exciting opportunities to serve the people of South Carolina and help libraries meet the challenges of being so needed and so busy! Our interviews for new faculty are going well and the search committee will make final recommendations on March 19.

Cocky’s Reading Express™ was awarded the South Carolina International Reading Association’s (SCIRA) Literacy Award in Myrtle Beach on February 20. The annual award honors individuals or groups who make significant contributions to improving literacy in their community and/or state. “The literacy committee was very impressed with this literacy program and the impact that it is having on the lives of young students in our state,” said Linda Grant, literary committee chairperson of SCIRA. Hurray!

Remember that on Friday, March 12 our National Advisory Council and our Diversity Leadership Group are meeting. If you have concerns or suggestions for either group, please let me know and I will bring it to their attention.

We are having our annual Alumni Tea at the South Carolina Association of School Librarians Conference on March 25 from 4-5 pm. The conference is being held at the Embassy Suites Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston. At the Alumni Tea this year we are honoring six of our graduates who have been wonderful mentors to our school media interns. It is going to be 10 for 10 in 2010. These mentors have each supervised at least 10 interns over the past 10 years. We are presenting them with special certificates at this event. I hope you will be able to join us!

I am going to check on my Mother for a couple days so wish me luck! I hope you have a safe and happy Spring Break and let me know if you need anything! In the meantime, here are some interesting items to read and think about while you have your toes in the sand or your hiking boots on:


1. Teaching kids to read from the back of a burro [CNN]
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/02/25/cnnheroes.soriano/index.html

2. 'Future library' goes on display in Abu Dhabi [The National]
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100303/NATIONAL/703029811/1010

3. Libraries dealing with homeless try new approaches; San Francisco hires a social worker [Los Angeles Times]
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-homeless-library-patrons,0,4108516.story

4. In the digital age, librarians are pioneers [The Boston Globe]
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/02/10/in_the_digital_age_librarians_are_pioneers/

5. Do School Libraries Need Books? [The New York Times]
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/do-school-libraries-need-books/

Yours,

Sam

GENERAL NEWS (From Feb 11th)

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

2010 is off and running! We went to Boston for the ALISE conference the first week of classes. Several of us gave presentations and posters that were well received. We also interviewed 40 potential candidates for our faculty positions. We have on-campus interviews scheduled with 5 candidates for our two assistant positions in 3 day schedules beginning 2/17 and ending right after Spring Break.

Several interesting topics came up at ALISE and ALA midwinter. We discussed the new core competencies in Deans & Directors Council and I recommend you review them http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecompetences/index.cfm so you can help us plan to integrate the core into our curriculum. Oh and in case you haven’t heard – We received re-accreditation for 7 years! Next visit will be 2016 and we are already planning and strategizing!

Another topic of interest in Boston was the introduction of several open source library catalog packages. Our State Library has been instrumental in developing the Evergreen consortia that uses open source software. SC Lends stands for “South Carolina Library Evergreen Network Delivery System.” This is a very innovative and exciting arrangement – for more information http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/sc-lends-information . Other topics at conference confirmed that support for the open source software is needed yet savings in licensing/contracts are being seen.

Our National Advisory Council and our Diversity Leadership Group will be meeting in Davis on Friday, March 12. If you have items for the agendas, please send them directly to me at hastings@sc.edu. We will be discussing new cohorts, strategic plans, leadership development and what SLIS will look like in 2020.

Our student association LISSA rocks! They continue to experiment and try to reach every student, no matter location! Check it out on Facebook, Twitter or the Blog! It is a real joy to work with such creative and wonderful students! Look for them at the SC Book Festival http://www.scbookfestival.org/ and be sure to join us for a great weekend (2/27-2/28) of authors and events – stop by our booth in the exhibit hall!

Don’t forget to get your print of the Davis College painting! We are selling out so please go to http://www.libsci.sc.edu/print.html for information on ordering your print!

Happy Spring to you and yours! When it gets a little warmer, lets meet in the sunshine and wait for the pollen ;-} In the meantime, check out the following three things to read and think about:

1. Sociological implications of scientific publishing: Open access, science, society, democracy, and the digital divide by Ulrich Herb

http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2599/2404

2. How Video Games Can Help [Frontline]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/learning/schools/how-video-games-can-help.html

3. Jaron Lanier on the limits of Web 2.0, intellectual property, and libraries as a place of refuge [Library Journal]

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6716277.html

Let me know if there is anything we can do for you. With much appreciation,

Dr. Sam