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Give your patrons exciting new content, including recommendations, tag clouds, series and awards data, a virtual shelf browser, and the ability to write reviews, rankings, and much more.
Click here to learn more about how to evaluate LibraryThing for Libraries, ChiliFresh, and Jaunter.
This 'dashboard' has been developed as a resource to quickly access the VLC's progress on its stated goals as part of the 2011 strategic planning process (2011-2015). Monitoring and reporting progress on long-range strategic goals included in the strategic plan is an essential component of the accountability process.
Click here to find out how we're doing.
Samantha Grabus has been selected as the winner of the 2020 Student Writing Award sponsored by Ex Libris Group and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) for her paper titled “Evaluating the Impact of the Long S upon 18th-Century Encyclopedia Britannica Automatic Subject Metadata Generation Results.” Grabus is a Research Assistant and PhD student at Drexel University Metadata Research Center.
“This valuable work of original research helps to quantify the scope of a problem that is of interest not only in the field of library and information science, but that also, as Grabus notes in her conclusion, could affect research in fields from the digital humanities to the sciences,” said Julia Bauder, the Chair of this year’s selection committee.
When notified she had won, Grabus remarked, “I am thrilled and honored to receive the 2020 LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award. I would like to extend my gratitude to the award committee and Ex Libris for this honor. I would also like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jane Greenberg (Drexel/Metadata Research Center), for supporting me and encouraging me to apply, and Dr. Peter Logan (Temple), whose 19th-Century Knowledge Project has been an absolute joy for me to be a part of. They say that metadata is a love note to the future, but sometimes it is also a key to unlocking the past.”
The LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award recognizes outstanding writing on a topic in the area of libraries and information technology by a student or students enrolled in an ALA-accredited library and information studies graduate program. The winning manuscript will be published in Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL), LITA’s open access, peer reviewed journal, and Grabus will receive $1,000 and a certificate of merit.
The members of the 2020 LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award Committee are: Julia Bauder (Chair), Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe (Past Chair), Li Chen, Rebecca Rose and Ken Varnum (ITAL Editor).
About LITA
The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) is the leading organization reaching out across types of libraries to provide education and services for a broad membership of systems librarians, library technologists, library administrators, library schools, vendors, and others interested in leading edge technology and applications for librarians and information providers. LITA is a division of the American Library Association. Follow us on our Blog, Facebook, or Twitter.
About Ex Libris
Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global
provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS products
for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly
materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and
success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more
information about Ex Libris, see our website, and
join us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
New This Week
Visit the LITA Jobs Site for additional job openings and information on submitting your own job posting.
In January 2020, the latest cohort of Emerging Leaders met at ALA Midwinter to begin their projects. LITA sponsored two Emerging Leaders this year: Kelsey Flynn, Adult Services Specialist at White Oak Library, and Paige Walker, Digital Collections & Preservation Librarian at Boston College.
Kelsey and Paige are part of Emerging Leaders Group G, “Inventing a Sustainable Division,” in which they’ve been charged with identifying measures that LITA can take to improve its fiscal and environmental sustainability. As a first step in their assessment, the group distributed a survey to LITA members that will quantify interest in sustainable measures such as virtual conferences and webinars. Want to help? Complete the survey to give feedback that may shape the direction of our chapter.
Group G is fortunate to have several other talented library workers on its team:
So much has changed since COVID-19. Online learning is in greater demand and we are working hard to provide you with resources and more professional development opportunities that strengthens the library community. We hope you are well and staying safe.
There’s a seat waiting for you. Register today!
Digital Inception: Building a digital scholarship/humanities curriculum as a subject librarian
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Central Time
Presenter: Marcela Isuster, Education and Humanities Librarian, McGill University
This presentation will guide attendees in building a digital scholarship curriculum from a subject librarian position. It will explore how to identify opportunities, reach out to faculty, and advertise your services. It will also showcase activities, lesson plans, and free tools for digital publication, data mining, text analysis, mapping, a section on finding training opportunities and strategies to support colleagues and create capacity in your institutions.
In this 90-minute webinar, you’ll learn:
• Discover their own potential as digital scholarship instructors
• Amass a set of activities and tools to be used in the teaching of digital scholarship
• Identify opportunities for professional development and growth in digital scholarship
View details and Register here.
Can’t attend the live event? No problem! Register and you’ll receive a link to the recording.
Buying Strategies 101 for Information Technology
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Central Time
Presenter: Micheal Rodriguez, Collections Strategist, University of Connecticut
This webinar introduces a framework and best practices for effectively negotiating contracts for the purchase of information technology (IT) products and services. It will address common concerns such as learning the legalese, developing negotiation skills, reducing legal risk, and insuring bang for your buck. It will address the impact of cloud computing, the role of open source software, current industry changes, and privacy risks. Finally, this webinar will illustrate ways in which buying strategies can guide the library IT ecosystem toward more values-based, user-centered, and sustainable futures.
In this 90-minute webinar, you’ll learn:
• A deeper understanding of buying strategies (terminology, best practices, and concepts), along with pointers on how to apply this knowledge strategically in their dealings with vendors and colleagues
• Analyzing and revising IT contracts to maximize value and manage risk
• Building IT contracts in a larger industry context of trends and needs
View details and Register here.
Can’t attend the live event? No problem! Register and you’ll receive a link to the recording.
Questions or Comments?
Contact us at lita@ala.org.
Call for Proposals have now been extended to Friday, May 22, 2020.
Share your ideas and experiences about library technology, leadership, collections, preservation, assessment, and metadata at the inaugural meeting of Core, a joining of LITA/ALCTS/LLAMA. We welcome your session proposal.
For more information about the call for proposals and our theme of exploring ideas and making them reality, visit the 2020 Forum website: https://forum.lita.org
Event Details
November 19-21, 2020
Baltimore, MD
Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel
COVID-19 Planning
The 2020 LITA/ALCTS/LLAMA Forum Planning Committee is currently evaluating a contingency plan, should the COVID-19 public health crisis impact Forum in November.
We’re thrilled to announce that Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is moving forward, thanks to our members.
The three existing divisions’ members all voted to approve the bylaws change that will unite ALCTS, LITA, and LLAMA to form Core:
The presidents of the three divisions, Jennifer Bowen, ALCTS, Emily Morton-Owens, LITA, and Anne Cooper Moore, LLAMA, shared the following statement: “We first want to thank our members for supporting Core. Their belief in this vision, that we can accomplish more together than we can separately, has inspired us, and we look forward to working with all members to build this new and sustainable ALA division. We also want to thank the Core Steering Committee, and all the members who were part of project teams, town halls and focus groups. We would not have reached this moment without their incredible work.”
ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall said, “Congratulations to the leaders and members of ALCTS, LITA and LLAMA for making the bold move to merge their strengths. This new division offers opportunities to expand our impact and will help cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions. I heartily welcome Core to the ALA division family and look forward to supporting its future success.”
This vote does not end the process. Our divisions will now work with the ALA Committee on Organization and the ALA Council to officially establish Core as a new division on September 1, and to discontinue ALCTS, LITA, and LLAMA. Because the 2020 ALA Annual Conference has been cancelled, we’ll be working with ALA leadership to ensure this process moves forward virtually.
On behalf of the Boards of Directors, thank you for voting, for asking important questions, and for galvanizing your colleagues toward defining our future together.
Emily Morton-Owens, President, Library Information Technology Association (LITA)
Jennifer Bowen, President, Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS)
Anne Cooper Moore, President, Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA)
A Crash Course in Protecting Library Data While Working From Home
Presenter: Becky Yoose, Founder / Library Data Privacy Consultant, LDH Consulting Services
Thursday, April 9, 2020
1:00 – 2:00 pm Central Time
There’s a seat waiting for you… Register for this free LITA webinar today!
Libraries across the U.S. rapidly closed their doors to both public and staff in the last two weeks, leaving many staff to work from home. Several library workers might be working from home for the first time in their current positions, while many others were not fully prepared to switch over to remote work in a matter of days, or even hours, before the library closed. In the rush to migrate library workers to remote work and to migrate physical library programs and services to online, data privacy and security sometimes gets lost in the mix. Unfamiliar settings, new routines, and increased reliance on vendor technology all puts library data privacy at risk.
This 60-minute interactive webinar will guide library workers in protecting patron data as they adjust to the new normal of working from home. Participants will also have the chance to ask questions of their fellow attendees or share how they are addressing library data privacy at their library in the webinar.
Learning objectives for this program include:
Who Should Attend:
Register online: bit.ly/39uEzik
Special thanks to LDH Consulting Services for sponsoring this free webinar.
The site is currently under renovation as we transfer themes. Please bear with us, as things may move or look different during this transition.
New This Week
Visit the LITA Jobs Site for additional job openings and information on submitting your own job posting.
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BookMyne 3.0 App for iPhone and iPad now availableBookMyne, a free application from SirsiDynix for iPhone and iPad (expanding to other smart devices soon), lets library patrons and users:
For more information about BookMyne, please click here.
