2005 Conference – Day 3: pt.2
I try to get back from lunch a little early so I can help if Ruth Swan needs any help getting her PowerPoint presentation up and running. Fortunately, it all looks good. We’re beginning to figure out the technology here in this room, and the Ortner Center staff are very helpful. So she’s good to go.
It’s an interesting presentation on the concept of the Information Commons. At Southern, we’re working on branding the McKee Library as “The Knowledge Commons,” but I think this is slightly different. The Information Commons seems to be more about putting out computers for students to use. We’re trying to promote more of a learning thing than a doing thing. Still, we could use some more new computers.
After Ruth’s presentation, we go into our traditional Breakout Sessions. I’ve been asked to lead the Technical Services session, and to come up with an agenda. I haven’t put one down on paper, but I have a few ideas I’d like to talk to the other catalogers and acquisitions people about, and I’m sure they have questions, too. It turns out to be a rather productive session in that regard. I think we all have questions about how we can do our jobs better. We talk about maybe setting up a list-serv just for the tech services people, and maybe that will help. We’ll just have to use it.
At the very end, I ask Sallie Alger to present our report, which sort of comes as a surprise to her. I should’ve given someone more warning, or take notes myself. Gotta start planning ahead. But she managed to jot down the basic points of our discussion and presents a nice report when the time comes.
We do end up meeting through most of the break, and could’ve gone much longer, I’m sure. Unfortunately, we’re in part of the room that’s used for the meetings, so we kind of have to break it up eventually so they can get back to the sessions. The library directors, on the other hand, are in a separate room, and don’t break up until it’s nearly time to give their report. So not much of a break for them. Ah well, I’m sure they have very important things to discuss. And most of the actions that come out of breakout sessions come from the directors’ session.
When we’re done with the reports, it’s back into Business Session. There are still a few other committees and sections that need to report. Doesn’t look like we’ll get a report from the School Libraries section, though, since they’re meeting today at the same time we are. So none of the people that come for the regular session will get to the School sessions, and the school librarians miss out on all of our presentations. We’re going to try and avoid that situation if we can next year at Southern. Hopefully we can work things out.
At the end of the Business Session, while the new business is being taken care of, one of the people from the School Librarians section comes into the back of the room, and it looks like he wants to talk to either Genevieve or me. Gen had to get up front in a minute or two and invite everyone to Southern next year for the 2006 Annual Conference, so I go to find out who he is and what he wants. He turns out to be Tom Fowler, from Broadview Academy outside of Chicago, Illinois. This is, of course, my alma mater, so I’m happy to talk to him. Turns out he is retired, but he and his wife are working in the library there at the academy on a volunteer basis. He thinks it’s been awhile since any sort of serious collection development and weeding was done there, and remembers that while he was at another school, the folks from ANGEL came and helped them weed and buy books. He’s hoping the same thing can happen again at BVA. So we’ll have to put him together with Katye Hunt and hope for the best. Hey, if alumni can’t help out their school, in at least a small way, then what’s the point, right?
And now it’s time to go and get changed and ready for the annual banquet. More on that in the next posting!
It’s an interesting presentation on the concept of the Information Commons. At Southern, we’re working on branding the McKee Library as “The Knowledge Commons,” but I think this is slightly different. The Information Commons seems to be more about putting out computers for students to use. We’re trying to promote more of a learning thing than a doing thing. Still, we could use some more new computers.
After Ruth’s presentation, we go into our traditional Breakout Sessions. I’ve been asked to lead the Technical Services session, and to come up with an agenda. I haven’t put one down on paper, but I have a few ideas I’d like to talk to the other catalogers and acquisitions people about, and I’m sure they have questions, too. It turns out to be a rather productive session in that regard. I think we all have questions about how we can do our jobs better. We talk about maybe setting up a list-serv just for the tech services people, and maybe that will help. We’ll just have to use it.
At the very end, I ask Sallie Alger to present our report, which sort of comes as a surprise to her. I should’ve given someone more warning, or take notes myself. Gotta start planning ahead. But she managed to jot down the basic points of our discussion and presents a nice report when the time comes.
We do end up meeting through most of the break, and could’ve gone much longer, I’m sure. Unfortunately, we’re in part of the room that’s used for the meetings, so we kind of have to break it up eventually so they can get back to the sessions. The library directors, on the other hand, are in a separate room, and don’t break up until it’s nearly time to give their report. So not much of a break for them. Ah well, I’m sure they have very important things to discuss. And most of the actions that come out of breakout sessions come from the directors’ session.
When we’re done with the reports, it’s back into Business Session. There are still a few other committees and sections that need to report. Doesn’t look like we’ll get a report from the School Libraries section, though, since they’re meeting today at the same time we are. So none of the people that come for the regular session will get to the School sessions, and the school librarians miss out on all of our presentations. We’re going to try and avoid that situation if we can next year at Southern. Hopefully we can work things out.
At the end of the Business Session, while the new business is being taken care of, one of the people from the School Librarians section comes into the back of the room, and it looks like he wants to talk to either Genevieve or me. Gen had to get up front in a minute or two and invite everyone to Southern next year for the 2006 Annual Conference, so I go to find out who he is and what he wants. He turns out to be Tom Fowler, from Broadview Academy outside of Chicago, Illinois. This is, of course, my alma mater, so I’m happy to talk to him. Turns out he is retired, but he and his wife are working in the library there at the academy on a volunteer basis. He thinks it’s been awhile since any sort of serious collection development and weeding was done there, and remembers that while he was at another school, the folks from ANGEL came and helped them weed and buy books. He’s hoping the same thing can happen again at BVA. So we’ll have to put him together with Katye Hunt and hope for the best. Hey, if alumni can’t help out their school, in at least a small way, then what’s the point, right?
And now it’s time to go and get changed and ready for the annual banquet. More on that in the next posting!
posted by Stan | 2:07 PM
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