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