Dean's Award for Outstanding Performance and Service Awards

Last week also saw our annual celebration of the staff appreciation week and our staff awards ceremony. The three recipients of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Performance are Scott Howard, Mary Spencer and Theresa Yocum. The nominators of these recipients were very articulate about the contributions each has and is making to the success of our libraries. The criteria for the award include:

· Exceptional dedication to the job
· Positive attitude about the job, the department and the UK Libraries as a whole
· Exceptional overall job performance
· Exceptional interpersonal relations with the colleagues and members of the University community
· Demonstrated initiative and creativity in the performance of duties and responsibilities

You can find the PowerPoint presentation from our celebration on the Staff Advisory Council’s SharePoint site. The list of service award recipients is included there as well. The list of those with 5 to 35 years of service to the UK Libraries is impressive. My thanks to each individual for their dedication and hard work.

Congratulations also to Scott, Mary and Theresa! Thank you for all that you do for the UK Libraries.

Graduating Library Student Assistants Celebration April 21, 2009

Without the assistance of our student workers, we would be unable to fulfill the Libraries’ mission. Each year we celebrate our graduating student assistants by asking them to choose a book from our collection that has a special significance. We place a book plate in the book and add a note to the bibliographic record honoring the student and listing their dates of employment. In addition, we ask supervisors to nominate outstanding students and select four who receive a certificate of recognition printed by our King Library Press and their names are added to a plaque in the Young Library Gallery. Congratulations to this year’s nominees:

· Michael Brewster (Fine Arts)
· Lauren Conley (Med Center)
· Aaron DeWitt (Storage)
· Brittany Eberle (Law)
· Sarah Hill (Science)
· Amy Laub (Young - Special Projects/Conservation)
· Shannon Younger (Young - Circulation)

And special congratulations to those selected as outstanding 2009 Library Student Assistants
· Martha (Mattie) Kountz (Med Ctr)
· Jeanette Vindell (Young Dean's Office)
· Lauren Conley, MCL
· Sarah Hill, Science

My sincere appreciation to Toni Greider for standing in for me and thanks to all of you who helped put this celebration together: Terry Brown, Jen Bartlett, Diana Feinberg, Kazuko Hioki, the Hospitality Committee (Kathy Farmer, Dawn Gaye, Mary Geyer, Toni Greider, Patty Hornback, Kathryn LeFevre, Sharon Ross, Mary Vaughn), Janet Layman, Jennifer Mattern, Lalana Powell, Lindsay Shuford, Kitty Taylor, Josh Monroe, and the student supervisors and the branches who sent the books.

Kudos

As the academic year winds down, we have experienced a strong showing of recognition for a variety of accomplishments of individual librarians or projects. This is further evidence of our success in making the good work of the UK Libraries more visible to our local and state communities as well as within our professional community. Please join me in congratulating those who have made these endeavors happen.

UK Libraries Business Liaisons Receive Thanaks in UK Perspectives

During last week’s UK Perspectives featuring President Todd and Becky Naugle, state director of the Kentucky Small Business Development Center, Dr. Naugle gave a nice complement to UK Libraries and the work of our business liaisons, Eeva Hoch and Peter Hesseldenz. They have worked very hard establishing outreach connections with the 17 centers around the commonwealth. It’s wonderful to see that work recognized in such a public forum. Listen to the brief interview at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wuky/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1496231 Congratulations Peter and Eeva!

Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century Wins 2009 Best Archives on the Web Award

Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century, created by Jason Flahardy, won the Most Whimsical Archives-Related Website as part of the 2009 Best Archives on the Web Awards. Check it out at http://www.archivesnext.com/?p=270 Future posts to this blog are expected to give more detail on why the site was selected. Congratulations Jason!

New Web Site - Kyleidoscope -- Highlights the Kentuckiana Digital Library

UK Public Relations has issued a press release highlighting a new web site called Kyleidoscope which is a collaboration of the Kentucky Virtual Library, Kentucky Department of Education and our Special Collections and Digital Programs. The site is intended “to provide the state's K-12 educators and students convenient access to some of Kentucky's most unique resources that span history from 1750 to today.”“Kyleidoscope offers historical information organized by theme, instructional worksheets and historical details. Students will also have the opportunity to use digitized photographs and documents from Kentucky archives on the Web site. The site, which can be used in the classroom, provides a timeline of Kentucky's history divided into themes or eras. Each theme provides links to events that occurred during that period of time in Kentucky's history.” Read more about it in the full press release at http://news.uky.edu/news/display_article.php?artid=4634 Congratulations to Eric Weig and others in Special Collections and Digital Programs.

Nunn Center and WUKY Win Kentucky AP Broadcasters Award

The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History in a special collaboration with WUKY won first place in the Best Sports Feature/Special category of the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Awards. The collaboration entitled “Mr. Wildcat” Bill Keightley featured a collection of interviews with the beloved UK basketball manager. Read the full press release here http://news.uky.edu/news/display_article.php?artid=4587 Congratulations Doug!

Stacey Greenwell Wins NextGen Librarian Award from Lyrasis

Lyrasis has announced the winners of its first annual 2009 NextGen Librarian award “created to identify and celebrate rising leaders in the library community.” Stacey Greenwell received the award in the Leadership category. Here is the full citation:

Nominated as “a true blended librarian” and “technology innovator.” As part of a training program on social networking, she made “house calls” to library staff to expose them to new tools and is part of the Second Life campus-wide group. A leader in the Special Libraries Association, she has been accepted to the Frye Leadership Institute.”

Congratulations Stacey!

Speaking Volumes Spring 2009

The spring 2009 edition of Speaking Volumes has been distributed to the branch libraries and is in the mail to community friends. The PDF is available at http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/page.php?lweb_id=527 This edition’s theme focuses on our efforts to achieve our Strategic Plan, Goal 2. Advance the role of librarians as valued partners in teaching and learning. Thank you to all of you who responded to our call for drafts and ideas for this edition:

• Gail Kennedy for UK Libraries Collaborate: General Education Reform
• Dana Lehman, MLIS graduate student and Bob Kraus for appearing in our uncaptioned front page photo with an undergraduate class
• Amy Osborne for Alvin E. Evans Law Library: Life-long Learning and Skills for Legal Professionals
• Eeva Hoch and Peter Hesseldenz for UK Business Librarians: Research and Resources for Kentucky’s Entrepreneurs
• Deirdre Scaggs and MLIS graduate student James Midkiff for Librarians Play Key Roles in Graduate Education: Earle C. Clements Graduate Assistantship

Please contact Jessica Hughes at 7-0500 ext. 2059 or JESSICA.HUGHES@uky.edu if you need additional copies of the newsletter or you can get copies in the Office of the Dean. If you know of people that would like to receive the newsletter please let Jessica know so that we can add them to the mailing list.

Quarterly Reports Posted

The division quarterly reports for the Third Quarter (January through March 2009) are now available in SharePoint under Office of the Dean, Quarterly Reports.

Lyrasis and NELINET

Lyrasis, the library network created out of the merger of PALINET and SOLINET, will expand further into the eastern United States by absorbing NELINET, which serves 500 member libraries and cultural heritage organizations throughout the six New England states and internationally. The Boards of Directors of NELINET and Lyrasis have approved a resolution to recommend NELINET join Lyrasis. The expanded Lyrasis would serve more than 4500 libraries and cultural heritage institutions in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeastern United States. More information can be found at http://www3.nelinet.net/Lyrasis%20

Summer Schedule for the Dean's Update

Now that the academic year is drawing to a close, the Dean’s Update will be on an every other week schedule rather than every Friday.

Report of the WorldCat Local Special Collections and Archives Task Force

Since we are testing WorldCat Local, I would bring to your attention a recent report by the WorldCat Local Special Collections Task Force which was convened by OCLC “to make recommendations to improve discovery of special collections and archival materials in local implementations of WCL.” This report codifies a statement that I believe and that is becoming truer every day – “The rare books, manuscripts, archives, and other special collections materials in research libraries have become widely recognized as the hallmarks of distinction of individual academic libraries, as their general collections become increasingly homogenized through the acquisition of licenses content and digitized books.” The report goes on then to recommend ways that the discovery of special collections materials can be enhanced in WCL. There is also a response from OCLC to the recommendations of its task force. The report can be found here http://www.rbms.info/committees/bibliographic_standards/committee-docs/FinalReportWCLSpecCollTaskForce.pdf and OCLC’s response here http://www.rbms.info/committees/bibliographic_standards/committee-docs/OCLCResponseWCLTaskForce.pdf

Special Collections in ARL Libraries

The ARL has also just released a discussion report from its Working Group on Special Collections that “identifies key issues in the management and exposure of special collections material in the 21st century.” The report focuses on three areas:

1. “Collecting Carefully, with Regard to Costs, and Ethical and Legal Concerns
2. Ensuring Discovery and Access
3. The Challenge of Born-Digital Collections”

The report is available at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/scwg-report.pdf

Promotion to Librarian II with Tenure

We have received word from the Provost that he has approved the promotion and tenure of our candidates this year effective July 1, 2009 subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees at their June meeting. Congratulations to our colleagues!

• Jan Carver, promotion to Librarian II with tenure
• Kazuko Hioki, promotion to Librarian II with tenure

Promotion to Librarian III

I’m pleased to report that two of our librarians – Sarah Glassmeyer and Deirdre Scaggs – have been promoted to Librarian III effective July 1, 2009, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. Promotion from Librarian IV to Librarian III is the first step in our promotion and tenure process. Congratulations Sarah and Deirdre!

Contract Renewal

Earlier this academic year, we concluded the annual contract renewal process for our untenured librarians. The contracts of the following librarians were renewed.

Jennifer Bartlett
Doug Boyd
Michelle Cosby
Ryan Valentin
Susan Foster-Harper
Karen Nuckolls
Susan Smith

Libraries' Annual Diversity Report

With the help of Reinette Jones and the Diversity Committee, I have submitted the Libraries’ annual Diversity Report to the University. That reports (and those for the past few years) are on the Libraries’ SharePoint site for the Office of the Dean in the Diversity folder. Highlights include:

• Sponsorship of the National Diversity in Libraries Conference in October 2008
• Presentation and campus visit of Judge Denise Clayton, Kentucky’s first African-American woman appellant judge
• Participation in the ASERL-HBCU librarian exchange program hosting Eddie Hughes, Southern University in Louisiana
• Libraries’ participation in the Come See for Yourself program, Minority College Awareness Program on library careers and other outreach and presentations

Sound Assessment

At the most recent ALA Midwinter meeting, Mary McLaren heard several speakers who do free acoustical reviews. She invited them to visit the Young Library and we asked them to look at three areas – the atrium, the work space in Reference and Information Services, and the work space in the Office of the Dean. They have provided us with a brief assessment (and actually provided more detail on site). We’ve added that to the SharePoint site for the Office of the Dean under Misc Documents.

Student Budget and Wages

At a meeting earlier this month, the Executive Committee reviewed the student budget requests for next fiscal year. Because of the need to reduce the operating budget, we made the decision to reduce all allocations by 5%. In addition, units will have to absorb an increase in the mandatory minimum wage from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. We estimate that this increase costs the Libraries more than $60,000 which, unfortunately, will have to be absorbed by the division budgets as well as the 5% reduction. As a result, we have determined that we cannot sustain the usual longevity increases for students who have worked for the Libraries for more than two semesters. Those students will see an increase in their base paid up to $7.25, but no longevity increases.

New Web Page for ARL/IMLS Career Enhancement Fellows

Our three library fellows will begin to arrive in May. The Working Group has created a web page to introduce the fellows to you – check it out at http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/page.php?lweb_id=937. The fellows will be with us for 8 weeks each working in the areas note below:

Anissa Ali – R&E
Mentor = Mary Molinaro
Supervisor = Toni Greider
Dates – June 15 through August 7

Bethany McGowan – MCL
Mentor = Mary McLaren
Supervisor = Tag Heister
Dates – June 15 through August 7

Katie Henningsen – SCDP
Mentor = Gail Kennedy
Supervisor = Deirdre Scaggs
Dates = May 26 through July 16

I’m also pleased to announce that Katie Hennigsen has been selected to receive the CLIR 2009 Rovelstad Scholarship which will fund her attendance at the annual meeting of the World Library and Information Congress in Milan, Italy, in August. See more details at http://www.clir.org/pubs/issues/issues68.html#rovel

Lyrasis and FoKAL Sign Agreement

FoKAL’s new agreement with Lyrasis has been reported in Library Journal. “Lyrasis (the successor organization to SOLINET and PALINET as of April 1) has announced a Consortial Licensing Program (CLP) agreement with Federation of Kentucky Academic Libraries (FoKAL) to manage the consortial purchasing activities for its 50 academic library members. FoKAL’s first official CLP undertaking with Lyrasis is an inventory project covering subscription databases. The purchases of each FoKAL member will be reviewed so that commonalities across the membership can be established and group buying power can be improved.”

World Digital Library to launch April 21

From American Libraries Direct

World Digital Library to launch April 21

On April 21, the Library of Congress, UNESCO, and 32 partner institutions will launch the World Digital Library, a website that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world. The brainchild of Librarian of Congress James Billington, the site will include manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, and prints and photographs—available unrestricted to the public and free of charge. The browseable, searchable site will function in seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish)and offer content in dozens of others....Library of Congress, Apr. 7

Print no longer the default MLA citation style

From American Libraries Direct

Print no longer the default MLA citation style

Even in citations, print is the default no more. The seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, released March 9, states that the Modern Language Association no longer recognizes print as the default medium and suggests that the medium of publication should be included in each work’s cited entry. Moreover, MLA has ceased to recommend inclusion of URLs in citing web-based works—unless the instructor requires it or a reader would likely be unable to locate the source otherwise....Inside Higher Ed, Mar. 11

Digital Library Federation Merges with CLIR

From American Libraries Direct

Digital Library Federation merges with CLIR

The board of the Council on Library and Information Resources voted April 14 to merge the Digital Library Federation into CLIR as a program of the council, starting July 1. The vote follows recommendations by a DLF review committee in March to merge the two organizations, and a unanimous vote of consent by the DLF board on April 8. With the merger, DLF’s current members will become “charter sponsors” of the DLF program at CLIR....Council on Library and Information Resources, Apr. 14

White Papers

As promised, the Executive Committee has completed 7 draft white papers with a focus on long term issues and strategies that need to be discussed and considered. The seven papers are:

• Computers and Printers
• CTS-MCL Centralization
• Kentucky Newspaper Project
• King Library Press
• Service to Colleges
• WTYL Hours and Security
• WTYL Service Points
  

They are posted in SharePoint on the Executive Committee site under the White Papers folder. Our next steps are to have a series of discussions and conversations of the papers and determine next steps.

Students Select Margaret I. King Library for Next Historical Marker

The University of Kentucky class of 2009 has chosen the Margaret I. King Library to be the topic for its class gift. The Student Development Council (SDC) distributed ballots last week to determine which significant building or historical figure related to UK would be the topic for the Class of 2009 Historical Marker. Past marker topics have included longtime professor and noted historian Thomas Clark, the Main Building, Maxwell Place and the desegregation of UK. See the UK Press Release for more details – http://news.uky.edu/news/display_article.php?artid=4437

First US Public Access Policy Made Permanent

In mid-March, ARL announces that the NIH Access Policy had been made permanent. Here is information from the press release. “President Obama yesterday signed into law the 2009 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes a provision making the National Institutes’ of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy permanent. The NIH Revised Policy on Enhancing Public Access requires eligible NIH-funded researchers to deposit electronic copies of their peer-reviewed manuscripts into the National Library of Medicine’s online archive, PubMed Central (PMC). Full texts of the articles are made publicly available and searchable online in PMC no later than 12 months after publication in a journal.

The NIH policy was previously implemented with a provision that was subject to annual renewal. Since the implementation of the revised policy the percentage of eligible manuscripts deposited into PMC has increased significantly, with over 3,000 new manuscripts being deposited each month. The PubMed Central database is a part of a valuable set of public database resources at the NIH, which are accessed by more than 2 million users each day.”

Next Dean's Update

The next Dean’s Update will be provided on April 24, 2009.

New Reports from the ARL

Special Collections in ARL Libraries: Working Group Releases Discussion Report – “a discussion report that identifies key issues in the management and exposure of special collections material in the 21st century…. The report includes overviews of and recommendations in three areas:
1. Collecting Carefully, with Regard to Costs, and Ethical and Legal Concerns
2. Ensuring Discovery and Access
3. The Challenge of Born-Digital Collections
It highlights the need for research library leadership to support actions that will increase the visibility and use of special collections and promote both existing and developing best practices in the stewardship of special collections.” The report is freely available on the ARL Web site at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/scwg-report.pdf.


Research Library Issues, First ARL E-Only Bimonthly Report – ARL “has published its first e-only bimonthly report, Research Library Issues (RLI), which now sports a new look and title. The e-only format enables broad distribution of the articles and the introduction of new features, such as audio excerpts from speaker presentations. The focus of the publication continues to be on the major issues that affect the ability of research libraries to meet the academic and research needs of the diverse communities they serve.” See http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/rli/

Talking to Faculty about Questionable Assignments

From American Libraries Direct

Talking to faculty about questionable assignments

Ellie Collier writes: “Every semester there is at least one student assignment that comes across my reference desk that makes me throw my hands up in exasperation. What do you do after that student walks in with an assignment in hand that you know just isn’t fair to them? Until a few months ago, I never even considered the possibility of talking to faculty about their assignments. I remember both the assignment that opened my eyes to that possibility and the one that was my personal tipping point.”...In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Mar. 18

Legal Research Teach-in Kit

From American Libraries Direct

Legal Research Teach-In Kit

The American Association of Law Libraries has released the 2009 version of its Legal Research Teach-In Kit. The kit includes games, handouts, research guides, exercises, and PowerPoint presentations on a variety of legal research topics. The teach-in is an annual campaign launched in 1993 to encourage U.S. law librarians to share materials and ideas for legal research instruction....American Association of Law Libraries, Mar. 23

Attract Students to Your Academic Library

From American Libraries Direct

Attract students to your academic library

ALA Editions has released Marketing Today’s Academic Library: A Bold New Approach to Communicating with Students by Brian Mathews. Most library marketing intended for undergraduates promotes the collection, reference and instructional services, and occasional events such as guest speakers or exhibits. Mathews’ guiding principle is that marketing should focus on the lifestyle of the user, showcasing how the library fits within the daily life of the student....

Arrived OK?

From American Libraries Direct

Arrived OK?

If you’re tired of picking up the phone and calling half a dozen people every time you land at the ALA Annual Conference city to let them know you arrived OK, you might want to check out a new service called ArrivedOK. What ArrivedOK does is track your information and send out alerts to let people know when you’re safe and sound. You just visit the website, enter your flight information, and add a list of people you want to send email or SMS notifications to....Download Squad, Mar. 25

The New Britannica

From American Libraries Direct

The new Britannica

The venerable Encyclopaedia Britannica is preparing for the most radical overhaul in its 241-year history, and it’s recruiting its readers to do much of the work. It’s a bid by Britannica to remain relevant at a time when the world’s most popular encyclopedia, the eight-year-old Wikipedia, is written entirely by amateur experts. The new version of Britannica Online, set to debut this summer, will emulate the Wikipedia concept by letting subscribers make changes to any article, ranging from minor edits to near-total rewrites....Boston Globe, Mar. 31

Become an RDA Tester

From American Libraries Direct

Become an RDA tester

The three U.S. national libraries—Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, and National Agricultural Library—agreed during the 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver to make a joint decision on whether or not to implement Resource Description and Access, based on the results of a test of both RDA and the web product. The goal is to assure the operational, technical, and economic feasibility of RDA. Individuals and institutions interested in participating in the test should contact Susan Morris using the fill-in PDF form by April 13....Library of Congress

Dean, College of Communications and Information Studies Candidates

The Provost has invited three candidates for the position of Dean of the Communications and Information Studies to campus for interviews in the next few weeks. An open forum has been scheduled with each candidate for faculty, staff and students. You are invited to meet with each candidate at the time and place indicated below. Curriculum vitae for each candidate can be accessed at http://www.uky.edu/Provost/CIS_dean_search.htm

An evaluation form for these candidates is also available at the same web site. Please remember to complete an evaluation form for each candidate about whom you have an opinion and return it as soon as possible to Kris Hobson (hobson@email.uky.edu ).

Beth E. Barnes, University of Kentucky Tuesday, April 7, 2009
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. in 308 Little Library Building

Dan O’Hair, University of Oklahoma Thursday, April 9, 2009
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. in 308 Little Library Building

John G. Oetzel, University of New Mexico Thursday, April 16, 2009
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. in 308 Little Library Building

Origami Exhibit

The University has released a press release on the Origami Exhibit. If you haven’t seen the exhibit – in three libraries, Young, Science, and Fine Arts – check it out on one of these lovely spring days. http://news.uky.edu/news/display_article.php?category=1&artid=4500

YouTube Video on the Architectural Elements of Young Library

Sharon Ross has shared with me this video posted on YouTube which highlights the architectural features of the Young Library. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrY5dEsD3o

University of Minnesota Assignment Calendar

From a recent announcement from the University of Minnesota Libraries:

Some of you may have seen the Assignment Calculator that the University of Minnesota Libraries has implemented for its undergraduates. They recently announced some changes to that calculator (see below) and also have a blog for those who have adapted it for their own use.

"The University of Minnesota Libraries’ Assignment Calculator has been adapted by dozens of college and university libraries and writing centers around the world. Now the University of Minnesota Libraries are proud to announce a new, enhanced version of the Assignment Calculator that gives instructors and students greater control over their assignments and allows for seamless integration into courses.
For Instructors
Instructors can now build assignments from templates such as video projects, speeches, research papers, and (coming soon!) lab reports. These assignments are scaffolded to provide students with realistic deadlines that lead to the final project. Instructors can use the suggested steps and deadlines built into the tool or customize the steps and deadlines for a particular assignment. A link to the assignment can be included in a syllabus, course management system (such as WebVista, Moodle, etc.) or via email, and students can get email reminders for each step.
For students
Students can use the Assignment Calculator to stay on top of their assignments by breaking down a complex project into steps or by adding personal progress notes or deadlines. They can also sign up for email reminders to keep them on track.
Take a look
Because this version of the Assignment Calculator allows for a high level of personalization, it is tied to University of Minnesota Internet IDs.
For University of Minnesota affiliates with Internet IDs you can access the beta directly: https://tools.lib.umn.edu/ac/
For non-University of Minnesota affiliates, here are some ways to get a look at the Calculator:
· Check out this video to get a look inside the Calculator.
· Check out the tips for students and instructors to learn more about the tool.
· Request a guest email login to get full access.
Background on the Beta Version
The Libraries have put the Assignment Calculator through two days of vigorous usability testing with both faculty and students from various disciplines and educational levels (from first year through graduate studies). Major bugs were addressed and enhancements made.
This semester the University’s Writing Studies Department are using the Assignment Calculator in selected curriculum as part of the beta and will provide the development team with feedback for improvements.
Is your library interested in implementing your own Assignment Calculator?
The source code for this beta version is not yet available. After the pilot is completed we will update the final version of the code and post it to the Assignment Calculator blog. Please check there or contact us directly."

Wyoming Launches Old-News Database

From American Libraries Direct

Wyoming launches old-news database

The Wyoming State Library is making the state’s old newspapers available online. The Wyoming Newspaper Project launched its online archive March 16. It has a searchable database of about 340 different newspapers dating from 1849 to 1922. The website contains 407,000 full newspaper pages, and the state library is working to expand the database to incorporate about 960,000 pages total.... Editor and Publisher, Mar. 16

WWW Turns 20

From American Libraries Direct

The World Wide Web turns 20

The modern day internet, better known as the “World Wide Web,” turned 20 years old March 13, as many marked the anniversary. Its inception dates back to March 13, 1989, when computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee (right) at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, popularly known as CERN Laboratory, presented a paper containing means and methods by which particle physics scientists could easily share and find out essential electronics documents....IT Pro Portal, Mar. 13

Budget Cuts at ALA

From American Libraries Direct

$1.6-million shortfall forces staff cuts, furloughs

Unit managers heard it the morning of March 25 for the first time as a group, when ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels announced that the Association would attempt to close a projected $1.6-million shortfall in the FY2009 budget by, among other things, eliminating 10 staff positions and imposing a three-day unpaid furlough and other vacation rules on remaining staff to save a targeted $500,000 by the end of the fiscal year, August 31. Fiels hopes the Association can fill the remaining gap by tapping into ALA reserves.... AL Inside Scoop, Mar. 25

LJ Movers and Shakers

From American Libraries Direct

LJ Movers and Shakers

Movers and Shakers, which Library Journal launched in 2002 to identify librarians, vendors, and others who are “shaping the future of libraries,” is now over 400 innovators strong, with the addition of the 51 members of the Class of 2009. Together, these individuals comprise the coming generation of library leadership. They’ve embraced library technology, particularly library 2.0, “to provide exceptional service and kick-ass collections that respond to the real interest of patrons,” as one of this year’s Movers phrased it. Oh yes, and the Library Society of the World has launched its own Shovers and Makers awards for the rest of us. Declare yourself one....Library Journal, Mar. 15; Library Society of the World, Mar. 23+