GENERAL NEWS: Cool article on the qualitative use of digital books

2-1-11

You really need to see the cover of the Science issue this article appeared in for the full impact -- fascinating look at culture through ‘culturomics’ and a good scrubbing of the digital copies of 40 million ‘googlelized’ books for evidence in the study of human culture. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6014/176.full.html

Enjoy!

Dr. Sam

GENERAL NEWS: A Report from ALISE, Spring Dates and 5 Things (Jan 25, 2010)

1-25-10

Hello dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am pleased to report that we were a big hit at the ALISE conference in San Diego. Our doctoral students, Christine Angel, Chris Cunningham, Robin Kurz, Barbara Montgomery and Patrick Roughen presented posters for the Works-in-Progress session, and Clayton Copeland presented a paper. I received several comments about their professional poise and the excellent quality of their work. We knew that, yet it sure is good to hear it from your colleagues! Several of our faculty also presented at sessions and served on committees so SLIS was well represented and in the limelight. The San Diego weather was on the cool side for southern California but no complaints since it was snowing here! Next year, ALA mid-winter and ALISE will be in Dallas so I look forward to more great work being shared.

We are busy recruiting with our federal IMLS funding for doctoral students with interests in cultural heritage informatics leadership (CHIL). The committee, chaired by Dr. Arns is currently interviewing potential candidates as we continue to search for the best and the brightest to come ‘CHIL’ with us.

Cocky’s Reading Express is rollin’ down the roads of South Carolina, reading to the children and working to eliminate illiteracy – if you want to volunteer, please contact Ellen Hinrichs ellenh@sc.edu. We are trying to find a large van for CRE to carry the student volunteers, the books, and of course, the Cocky! We need the money to buy the van and hopefully, a discounted offer from one of our friendly car dealers! Wish us luck and let me know if you have some good ideas for making this happen.

Two very uplifting events this weekend left me with great hope for the future of libraries. Friday night the first LISSA colloquium featured Todd Stephens, Director of the Spartanburg Public Library System. The video of the session is available and I highly recommend it! Todd was on a roll and shared his plans for keeping the Spartanburg Public Library as a central focus for funding. Todd has been collecting the cultural history of the community, systematically and in every format – very inspiring and great evidence that libraries are vital parts of our lives. Then, on Saturday I attended the South Carolina Library Association Leadership Meeting at the State Library. I know how dedicated the volunteers of this organization are and Saturday just proved it again! Look out as the new, improved, and even more relevant SCLA takes off! Check out the website revisions that will be coming soon thanks to Rob Lindsey and check out the legislative updates. Also note that the SCLA list has moved to Googlegroups and you will need to register to join. Both SCASL and SCLA are vital pieces of our professional landscape and I encourage you to stay active and continue your memberships. By renewing your membership, you are speaking out for South Carolina libraries in a most positive and very important way!

Spring Dates that you don’t want to miss include:

SCASL in Columbia, March 9 – 12
Dean’s Lecture TCL Hollings Room, April 7
Infocamp Conference Davis College, April 9 – 10
Baker’s Dozen, April 14 – 16 (with Leonard Marcus and a cast of thousands!)

SLIS Graduation and Hooding Ceremony, May 6
SC Book Festival, May 13 – 15

LIBRIS Conference in Orangeburg, May 20

If there are events I have missed please let me know and I’ll post them for you.

I just realized it’s raining pretty hard so I think I will try to make it home before Harden & Gervais flood. Here are five interesting links to explore and think about:

1. Adults With College Degrees in the United States, by County (this is a great map!)
http://chronicle.com/article/Adults-With-College-Degrees-in/125995/ [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

2. Humans vs. automated search: Why people power is cool again http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/01/13/people.power.cashmore/index.html [CNN]

3. Network neutrality: A tangled web http://www.economist.com/node/17800141 [The Economist]

4. Library of the future: Despite Digital Age, expanded facility still likely to be utilized http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/oct/17/library-future-despite-digital-age-expanded-facili/ [LJWorld.com]

5. Ten Stories That Shaped 2010

http://lisnews.org/ten_stories_shaped_2010 [LISNews]

Sending all best wishes for a great new year and be sure to let me know if there is anything we can do for you.

Yours,

Dr. Sam

SLIS NEWS: Graduation and a recap of 2010 at SLIS (Dec 13, 2010)

December 13, 2010

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Our weather is so cold! No snow but cold, cold, cold. Of course, we still have our beautiful, perfect blue Carolina skies so we can’t really complain! I hope you have some holiday plans that make you smile and keep you warm.

Everything is good here at Davis College. We had a wonderful graduation today with many happy graduates and proud families. And, the welcome brunch was great! LISSA president BriAnne Baxley, her officers (Jenny Goulden, Kayla Burns and Sara Mason), and our faculty and staff put together a lovely menu of special treats and we toasted with coffee and orange juice before heading to Rutledge Chapel for the hooding ceremony. Thank you each and all for helping to make this day so memorable for our graduates.

It is always emotional to see our graduating students and the scores of family and friends that helped them get to such a good part of their lives. It makes me think about truth and beauty and justice and the potential that each graduate brings to us – the potential to change the world. Because of the high caliber of our SLIS graduates, I am convinced that the world will be a much better place with them on the front lines of libraries, leading and lighting the way, taking each challenge in stride.

This has been a most exciting year at the School of Library and Information Science. Among many projects and collaborations, there are three initiatives that are near and dear to my heart. First, our undergraduate degree in Information Science continues to grow! We have the very best of students in this new program and we can see a bright and successful future. Second, our doctoral students continue to grow into scholars and shining stars. They have done posters and papers at several conferences including SCLA, SCASL, ALA, ASIS&T, and ALISE this coming January. Having these unique and talented students in Davis College has energized everyone. They bring a sense of adventure and exploration of new frontiers, engaging our masters’ students and faculty in research collaborations and hallway conversations. We are getting ready to admit our CHIL fellows with the federal IMLS funding. Third, we continue to be the nexus for major research initiatives in literacy and children’s services. We are currently searching for our endowed chair in childhood literacy named for Augusta Baker and look forward to finding the perfect scholar to lead us in new adventures.

We are ready to bring in a new year with new challenges and opportunities. We remain grateful for our friends and each of you that support our projects and desires to eliminate illiteracy. We also appreciate all of the help to increase our scholarship funds.

Let me know if you need anything and in the meantime, I hope your holidays are wonderful!

Best wishes to you and yours,

Dr. Sam

ALUM NEWS: A Call for SLIS Alumni (Dec 2, 2010)

12-2-10

Hello,

Hope you all had a lovely and restful Thanksgiving break. I need to know if any of our SLIS alumni are CEOs or company presidents. If you are or know of anyone, please send me names, company names and emails if possible.

Thanks much,

Sam

GENERAL NEWS: Thanksgiving, Mildly Attractive Men of SLIS Calendar 2011, and 5 Things (Nov 24, 2010)

11-24-10

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Of course, I am thankful for my work and my good fortune to serve with such great colleagues. I am thankful for our students and the influence they will wield on library and information services in the future. I am thankful for each and every friend and alumni of our school for helping us be the best.

This year however I am thinking on a smaller scale, a more personal scale and maybe a touch on the hedonistic side. Being thankful for blue skies seems slightly goofy but hey, I find myself staring at our beautiful Carolina skies and I just feel good! And, for the smell of pies cooking, even if not from my oven (or maybe better yet, not from my oven) and the sound of crunching leaves and. . .the right to vote! Okay, I’ll stop there. I just finished the narrative for our ALISE report and I guess it made me a little wacky. On the other hand, when you see everything we do, set in a year’s timeframe, it is pretty darn impressive!

Madonna and I have the summer and fall 2011 draft schedules almost ready. I still love the puzzle part of figuring it all out. Of course, working with Madonna is the best part of the process. Remember, if you are distance student, Madonna is here for you!

Don’t’ forget to vote for Cocky’s Reading Express! Help give books to children and improve literacy in our state! We need your votes to win a Pepsi Refresh grant for $50,000. Vote once a day, every day from November 1—November 30 at http://www.refresheverything.com/readingexpress.

Check out the Davis Center 2.0 is Davis College's presence in Second Life! Please stop by to ask for help, ask reference questions, or just say hello! If you aren’t familiar with Second Life please visit our Davis Center 2.0 Homepage http://students.libsci.sc.edu/secondlife/index.html.

Most important! Just in time for the holidays! Your favorite grad students from the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA) bring you all the hits with a calendar that celebrates your favorite album covers throughout the years. Mildly Attractive Men of SLIS Calendar 2011 : Hot Covers! Now Available To Order!

http://slislissa.blogspot.com/2010/11/rock-holidays-with-2011-mildly.html

Tomorrow, I’ll fly to my mom’s in Tucson, returning next Wednesday. I will be checking email if you need me. In the meantime, here are five things to think about while you decide if want another piece of pie:

1. The Visibility and Invisibility of Librarians [Library Journal] http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviewsreference/887361-283/the_visibility_and_invisibility_of.html.csp

2. For Baseball Archivists, a Tag Ends Every Play [The New York Times]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/sports/baseball/13video.html

3. Searching For Better Research Habits [Inside Higher Ed] http://www.insidehighereducation.com/news/focus/teaching_and_learning/recent/search

4. Digital Keys for Unlocking the Humanities’ Riches [The New York Times] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/arts/17digital.html

5. Libraries reinvent themselves as they struggle to remain relevant in the digital age [Chicago Tribune] http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-fi-libraries-20101112,0,5930158.story

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have many things to be thankful for. Enjoy your families and friends and be sure to hug a librarian and a teacher!

Yours,

Dr. Sam