GENERAL NEWS: Update from Davis College as the term draws to a close

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I just looked at the calendar and there are only six weeks left in 2008. What happened? How did time compress itself? Geez! As you know, this has been a wonderful year for the School of Library and Information Science. We might be small in numbers but we sure are mighty in what we produce! Our graduates continue to shine and be the leaders in South Carolina and throughout the country. Our faculty continue to win awards and garner external funding. Our staff works hard and smart and seem to really like what they do (doesn’t get much better!) Of course, if we could count a cost of living raise, it would be perfect. However, we are taking budget cuts just like everyone else in South Carolina. We’ll be okay and we’ll come out of this stronger and better than ever!

Again, we thank Ms. Nonie Price and her team for making our alumni teas a most popular conference event! We have been using the teas for an opportunity to gather survey data for our accreditation plan for the ALA Committee on Accreditation. We submitted our plan for how we are going to build our presentation to the committee and have received initial feedback. We have a lot of numbers to crunch and a lot of strategic thinking to do. We really appreciate your help and trust that when we do ask you to take a survey or tell us what you think, you’ll be there!

We have tried to cover all of the major conferences this fall. So far, we have done SC Library Association, the Maine and New England Library Associations, Virginia Library Association and VEMA, COMO and Georgia Library Association, the Charleston and Ed Tech Conferences, International Association of School Libraries, American Society of Information Science and Technology (where I got the Watson-Davis Award! Wow!) and Museum Computer Network. I’ve probably missed some but I wanted you to see that we are out there, making contacts and letting people know that Carolina is a great place to be.

As we wind up another semester and get ready to celebrate the accomplishments of our current graduates, I can’t help but think about the many children in our state that will not get to attend a graduation of any kind because they can’t read. Cocky’s Reading Express™ is one program that we have in our larger initiative to eliminate illiteracy in South Carolina. The CRE bus will be rolling again in January. We can always use your help to bring this wonderful program to our children. They love Cocky! They promise Cocky that they will read! They treasure the books we give them! Anything you can do will be appreciated. You can contact Ellen Shuler Hinrichs directly with your gifts of time or books or funds: shulere@mailbox.sc.edu

If I don’t see you before, have a lovely Thanksgiving and remember that if you need anything, just let us know!

Until next time, here are some items to read or cogitate on:

1. From SCLA in Greenville: Librarians have redefined jobs
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200810280200/COLUMNISTS02/810280324

2. Regarding our literacy initiative, this appeared in last Thursday’s edition of The Columbia Star from Temple Ligon. http://www.thecolumbiastar.com/news/2008/1114/government/011.html


3. Video games and libraries [The Ottawa Citizen]
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=dcb8c723-d154-493d-8d6d-1baad564294e

4. Reference librarians in the age of Google [Duke Magazine]
http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/091008/brave1.html


5. The Google library [Los Angeles Times]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-google10-2008nov10,0,1285565.story

Take care and hug a teacher!


sam

GENERAL NEWS: Gamecocks, Fairs, Fall, Meetings, 5 Things to Do

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

So many wonderful things have happened since last time I posted an update! The follow-up from the Annual Literacy Leaders Awards ceremony was absolutely wonderful and we are just delighted that Lynn Teague is chairing the ALL Nominations Committee for next year. We had a lively and exciting homecoming celebration. Dr. Pat Feehan had us all involved in her interactive history of Cocky (the USC mascot!) We laughed, we sang and I even got to dance with Cocky. We had a large part of a 30 second Cocky commercial featuring Cocky’s Reading Express and the Center for Children’s Books and Literacy. AND DA DUM. . . . . The Gamecocks are ranked number seven in the SEC!

Now let’s talk seriously about fall and fairs and Dean Fred Roper’s cream cakes and fried dough and cotton candy and the South Carolina State Fair! Last year SLIS went to the fair so now it is a tradition! Meet us outside the main gate of the fair on Friday, October 12 at 6:00 p.m. and I’ll buy entry tickets for the first ten SLIS students to show up by 6:15. This is co-sponsored by our LISSA organization so fun is guaranteed. For those of you in other states, the first five posts of a great State Fair story to my blog and I’ll send you the cost of your admittance. Has to be this year’s fair!

All is going well at SLIS. We have our National Advisory Council meeting this Friday morning and the members will be helping us get ready for our next accreditation visit. The African American Leadership Group is meeting November 30 and they will be helping us finish our Student Diversity Recruitment Plan. Our doctoral students are working on a chapter for the _Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science_, writing a paper a day and generally becoming a welcome part of our research and scholarly endeavors. Our masters students are shining stars and every where they work they leave a legacy of expertise AND good will. I even get compliments about our students when I’m in the grocery line!

Check out the new DISCUS website http://www.scdiscus.org/ and new _Access Science_resource. Hope to see many of you when SCLA comes to Columbia October 31 to November 2 http://www.scla.org/AnnualConference2007/HomePage .

There is always more to tell but time keeps on ticking. . .. In the meantime, here are your five things to read or do and be sure to check out the blog and hold discussions by commenting on the postings at http://fridaymatters.blogspot.com.

1. The University of Connecticut Libraries, along with 18 other institutions in the Boston Library Consortium, recently agreed to scan more than 10 million pages from books no longer in copyright into the Open Content Alliance holdings during the next two years. http://www.advance.uconn.edu/2007/071001/07100109.htm

2. Library Policy Hurts Privacy, Patron Says [The Washington Post] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091900610.html

3. Libraries attract record crowds: Public libraries evolving to meet demand for digital services http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_6913453

4. Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us. Social bookmarking and tagging boost participation http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6476403.html

5. And from our own Dr. Walling: “I know some of you like "professional" tee shirts. I just got my Wireless catalog and found a good one that is new to me. It says: "Librarians: the thin blue line between you and the FBI." In case you don't get their catalog, the Web address is http://www.thewirelesscatalog.com/wireless/T-Shirts-amp-Sweatshirts_1HA/Item_Librarians-The-Thin-Blue-Line-Shirts_VF2871G_ps_cti-1HA.html and phone is 800.669.999”

Let me know if there is anything we can do for you and keep making a difference!

Yours,
Dr. sam

GENERAL NEWS: SC Book Festival, SCASL, 5 Things to Do

Hello,

How wonderful it was to see so many of you at the SC Book Festival. As you know it was my very first and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved meeting some of you that I haven't met before and seeing all of you that I do know. My gratitude to all of you that made this possible and put SLIS in the spotlight for all to see, is boundless.

Now I am looking forward to SCASL and seeing more colleagues and friends. I know that Ms. Ida Thompson has worked tirelessly and creatively to bring together the best and the brightest for this great event.

The end of this week I will be in DC for the IMLS Webwise conference http://www.getty.edu/webwise2007/conference/ and hosting a discussion on Preserving AV Materials and Variable Media Art. I always look forward to the Webwise conferences and the opportunity to see what is new from my colleagues as well as talk with the program officers about possible funding initiatives.

Here are your 5 things to do, read or think about for this week:

1. Grow Your Own @ Your Library Institutional Scholarship --PLA will provide nine public libraries with a lump sum of $8,000 each to be distributed to as many of their employees as they choose for the purpose of working toward obtaining an MLS-- $6,500 is to be used directly for payment of tuition at an ALA-accredited library school; $1,500 is to be used to support attendance for one or more of the selected scholarship recipients to attend a PLA-sponsored CE conference such as the 2008 PLA National Conference.
http://www.pla.org/ala/pla/plaawards/growyourown.htm

2. Communicating Your Library’s Value: No community can afford to lose its public library and the technology services it provides. To help,the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is making available two new tools, entitled Keeping Your Community Connected, that can help advocate for libraries. There is an eight-minute DVD to launch conversations with local government and community partners and a related brochure that includes persuasive statistics, library patron stories, and a call to action for community members and leaders. You can obtain a free set of these materials at:
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/UnitedStates/USLibraryProgram/RelatedInfo/CommunicatingValue.htm

3. Millions of Videos, and Now a Way to Search Inside Them [The New York Times]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/business/yourmoney/25slip.html

4. The New (academic) Library Professional [The Chronicle of Higher Education]
http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2007/02/2007022001c/careers.html

5. Don't miss our Panning for Gold offerings for March:
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/ce/march.htm

Be safe out there and let me know if there is anything I can do for you!

dr. sam