USF SI at FAME 2010 Annual Conference

The Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) is the professional organization at the state level for librarians who work in educational settings. FAME’s President, Cecelia Solomon, is a graduate of the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science program. Last week, school media specialists from all regions of Florida congregated once more for their Annual Conference at the Hilton Bonnet Creek Hotel in Orlando.

The theme for this year’s conference was Team Work, and many of the sessions and notable speakers referred to this need of working together during the difficult times that libraries and schools are experiencing. Some of the speakers and authors who contributed to the discussion were Margaret Peterson Haddix,  Gayle Forman, Caroline Cooney, Toni Buzzeo,  M. H. Herlong, Brian Skerry, and many others.

The School of Information at the University of South Florida (USF SI) was, as always, present in different venues during the event. The School’s booth in the Exhibits area attracted not only alumni and well-known faces, but also many professionals interested in the programs provided at USF.

 

Communication and Information Officer Jessica Voss and Graduate Assistant Alicia K. Long working the exhibitor booth.

Some of the programs including USF faculty members and students were:

 

TEaM: Technology Education and Mentoring ,a session presented by Professor Diane Austin and LIS students Bill Harris, Nicole Rideout, and Kristine Smith.

USF SI Student Kristine Smith shared some of the technological skills learned in her classes.

A Professor, a School Media Supervisor, Media Specialists, and SLIS Students: A Winning Team! Presented by Dr. Cora P. Dunkley and Dr. Henrietta M. Smith.

Dr. Smith, Prof. Austin, Dr. Dunkley, and Prof. Treadwell get ready for their respective presentations.

Game Time: Teamwork and the Community. Presented by Bobbi O’Brien from WUSF.

On Thursday evening, the School hosted a reception where many alumni and friends of the school enjoyed a moment of socializing.  Several former students told us that they look forward to seeing their former professors and USF SI staff at these receptions.

Dr. Cora P. Dunkley with some of her former and current students

With many people in attendance, interesting sessions, speakers, and the USF SI presence, this year’s FAME Conference was a home run!  More pictures of FAME 2010 can be found here.

AKL

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School of Information hosts ICPE 2010

On October 20th through October 22nd, 2010,  faculty and students of the School of Information (SI) and University of South Florida administrators welcomed domestic and international presenters at the 2nd International Conference on Information Capital,  Property, and Ethics (ICPE).

Presented by USF’s  School of Information and Shih Hsin University  – Taipei’s  Department of Information and Communication, the conference was held at USF’s Gibbons Alumni Center and brought together scholars and professionals interested in intellectual property issues, information studies, and international politics.  The theme of the conference was “Globalizing Intellectual Property: The Geopolitics and Ethics of Information Rights”, and served as part two of the same theme as the 1st Conference that was held in Shih Hsin University, Taipei in 2008.  The conference’s ultimate objective was to strengthen international academic and cultural exchange in the information studies discipline, and to promote information ethics in the knowledge service profession.

At the conclusion of the conference, it was announced that the 3rd International Conference on ICPE will take place next year in mainland China.

 

Photo taken at the Opening Reception on Wendesday, October 20th.

When asked her opinion on the significance of having this conference at a location in the United States, Dr. Chihfeng P. Lin, Associate Professor in the Department of Information & Communications at Shih Hsin University –Taipei and Co-Convener of ICPE 2010, explained it was an example of sister-school relationships where faculty members of the two schools are given an opportunity to exchange and share their expertise.  She further argued that interaction between the two schools provided an opportunity for faculty members and hopefully students “to learn from each other in culture, lifestyle, and language proficiency in additional to academic development.”

Additional comments about the conference:

“We cannot over-emphasize the significance of having the ICPE 2010 here at USF. Having a conference of this stature promotes not only the university, but the whole State of Florida as well.  The Mayor of Tampa acknowledged as much, when she thanked USF for bringing the conference to Tampa.”

John N. Gathegi, Ph.D., J.D. – Conference Co-Convener
Professor, School of Information, University of South Florida
Co-Convener, ICPE 2010

“I think that the multifaceted nature of the topic and the intimate inherent structure of the venue (i.e. limited to 50 participants) attracted me to ICPE 2010. From the time that I first began communicating with Dr. Gathegi to when I was befriended and assisted by Yvette Harden – USF Alumni Center Reservations Manager — I felt as if I were sitting in the comfort of a good friend’s living room talking about important intellectual property/rights/ethics issues.  In my nearly 20-year career as a librarian, I’ve never had such a rich conference experience.”

Tom Adamich – Presenter
MA LIS Alumnus, School of Information
Head of Metadata Services at Muskingum College
President at Visiting Librarian Service

 

Photo taken at conclusion of ICPE 2010 on Friday, October 22nd.

“I got a lot out of the conference. Meeting the visitors from Taiwan and talking with them about the state of libraries over there was fascinating. Conditions there are remarkably similar in some aspects, but quite different in others. Since it was my first time attending an academic conference, I was also surprised by the communal, friendly nature of the event. I was sad when it was over. During our coffee breaks and meals, I received lots of great informal advice and suggestions from fellow students, colleagues and presenters, and was also able to get a window into the world of current information policy discussions.”

Zachary English – Presenter
MA LIS Student, School of Information
Class of 2011

“This conference was exceptionally well organized. I had the opportunity to network with upcoming and established Library and Information Science Professionals in the United States and also from other countries such as Taiwan. Presentations were captivating and enlightening because they were thought provoking especially findings of many of the empirical research papers that were presented and projects that some of the professionals were working on.”

Dr. Musa Wakhungu Olaka – Presenter
University of Missouri,
School of Information Science and Learning Technology

MA LIS Graduate Students Reema Mohini and Alive Graves welcome registrants for ICPE 2010.

– DVTZ

Marcela Estevez: a 2009-2011 ARL Diversity Scholar

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) held the Sixth Annual Leadership Symposium in Boston on January 16-17, 2010. The Leadership Symposium allowed for over 70 MLIS students the opportunity to build career networks in research libraries. Marcela Estevez, a MLIS student here at the University of South Florida, is one of 20 students who is a 2009-2011 ARL Diversity Scholar. 

Current SLIS Graduate Student Marcela Estevez

 

 The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and ARL member libraries, provides a stipend, up to $10,000 over two years, to assist with the costs of a MLIS education. The purpose of the program is to attract students from underrepresented groups to careers in academic and research libraries creating a diverse academic and research library community.

Along with the stipend, awardees receive attendance to ARL’s annual Leadership Institute, a visit to an ARL member library, mentoring from an ARL librarian or Diversity Scholar alumni, and paid membership in one of five ethnic caucuses of the ALA. Marcela Estevez will be visiting Purdue University Libraries in April 2010 to view the advanced operations of a major research library. Congratulations, Marcela Estevez!   

-EE 

After Dark Lecture Series: Ardis Hanson on January 13th

The After Dark Lecture Committee for the USF SLIS Student Organizations is proud to present speaker Ardis Hanson for our Wednesday, January 13th lecture at 7pm. The lecture will take place after the General Meeting in the Research Library at the Florida Mental Health Institute. Ardis Hanson is the head of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute Research Library. She is also the incoming Vice-President / President Elect of the Association of Caribbean University, Research, and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL), an international library association. She will address our group on research strategies and collaboration with faculty.
       Please join us for this free event at the Florida Mental Health Institute. It is located on the northwest corner of the campus. You can find directions to the FMHI building at the following link: http://home.fmhi.usf.edu/AboutFmhi/mapAndParking.cfm

-BH

SLIS Student Lands New Senior Archivist Job for UCF Library

As of Friday, December 11, the main campus library at The University of Central Florida enjoyed a new addition to its library staff, USF SLIS Student Sandra Varry. Sandra has been appointed as the library’s new Senior Archivist. Previously, she was on staff at the Rosen Library for over two and a half years. Congratulations to you, Sandra! USF SLIS wishes you the best.

-DR

SLIS Students Publish Article in BRASS

Two of our own SLIS students, Marilyn Hart and Dave Davisson, co-authored the latest edition of BRASS (Business Reference and Services Section — RUSA) Public Libraries Briefcase. Their article, “A Few Social Networking Tools Not to Miss for Business Information: Social Networking for Business Librarians,” describes several free social networking resources for business librarians, including some popular sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as other, less well-known tools, such as LibraryThing and StumbleUpon.

Marilyn and Dave collaborated on the Winter 2009 issue of BRASS with Assistant Professor, Dr. Stephanie Maatta, for their LIS6624 Business/Legal Information Sources and Services class. Way to go Marilyn & Dave on getting published!

sdg

David Davisson

Marilyn Hart

Important thoughts emerge from “After Dark” lecture gathering

Historian/author/librarian and USF SLIS alumnus Andy Huse graced the student organizations “After Dark” Lecture Series last Wednesday night (Nov. 4, 2009). Ten students were fortunate enough to meet with Andy who is busy promoting the release of his book The Columbia Restaurant: Celebrating a Century of History, Culture, and Cuisine (University Press of Florida, publication date Nov. 12, 2009).

Andy Huse is both gracious and inspiring

Mr. Huse spent a healthy part of the evening outlining his journey in research and offered notes on working in the professional world following graduate school. However, he sent a follow-up E-mail for those that attended, in which he advises throwing out his previous thoughts in light of a brainstorm he experienced after the talk. He thanks the current students who attended for inspiring him to prepare an article. If the contents of the article prove as strong as his E-mail, the result could be a “manifesto” (identification courtesy of David Davisson) for library students.

Here are some selected thoughts from Andy’s note:

“This is a life and death struggle for our profession. Everything is changing for consumers, publishers, and librarians. Unless we want libraries to go the way of newspapers and the Beta-Max, we should stay relevant as a class of academia.”

“The marginalized class: Librarians are a marginalized class of the academic world. Why? Librarians do not always have an active research agenda. Without an active agenda, librarians are mere functionaries, glorified clerks and collectors. Librarians deserve much better.”

“There are many students and faculty all over the university thinking harder than library students and faculty. You will serve them.”

“Librarians are not mere clerks. Librarians do not just collect and organize information. They should create it.”

“Librarians prove the worth of their profession through research in and outside the profession.”

Students at the After Dark Lecture

“You cannot overestimate your potential. Find a role and aim high.”

“Don’t stop at poster sessions. Write articles. Find good homes for your work.”

“Writing doesn’t have to be bland and technical. Approach your subject warmly when possible.”

“Be prepared to speak. Like writing, don’t avoid it. Practice! A willingness and skill at speaking publicly will come in handy. Trust me.”

“Use tasteful humor when appropriate.”

“Employ devices to widen your skill set and make your work more dynamic. ” (surveys, audio, video, oral history)

“If you don’t have a job, you need experience. Get your foot in the door. Volunteer if you have to. Real-world experience is vital.”

“Make the job work for you. It is already working you.”

“Research is the part of your career that you should control and enjoy the most. Don’t wait until you have a job or get a good position. Hone your vision right away. Librarians research subjects in and out of their profession. Do you have a research passion?”

“Does your employer grant research time? Have you asked? Can you get more time for research?”

Evidence that Andy has lived his words

“Your career does not stop at 5 PM, and it shouldn’t.
Life is all about relationships in and out of work. Find a good home for your work, but don’t be too picky. Publishing anything is better than nothing. Kick #%*. Don’t stop. Efforts at your career don’t end until you retire.
It should be a struggle if worth doing at all.”

Thanks very, very much, Andy, for this great encouragement.

(Please note the blogger takes full responsibility, with an apology, for changing one of Andy’s words to symbols for this posting. Posted by AB)