SLA Maryland Chapter Blog

Chat at UMD on March 30th

The SLA Student Chapter at Maryland is hosting a chat with recent iSchool graduates.  The chat will be held on Wednesday, March 30th, from 5-6 pm in the 4th floor lounge in Hornbake Library.

Librarians include:

• Chris Belter, Public Services Librarian, NOAA Central Library
• Rachel Sutcliffe, Archivist, National Archives and Records Administration
• Yani Yancey, Associate Fellow, National Library of Medicine

Career Opportunity in Western Maryland

A career opportunity has opened at my workplace. If you are  an information professional looking for a challenging academic work environment, and are attracted to work/life in a vibrant small town in a beautiful mountain setting with no crowded commutes or long lines at the supermarket, please read on! This is an entry-level position, so I encourage recent MLS/MLIS graduates to apply.

Sean Henry
Past-President, SLA Maryland Chapter

Reference Librarian I

Frostburg State University, Lewis J. Ort Library seeks applications for a Reference Librarian I.  This is a full-time, exempt position which includes University System of Maryland benefits package.   Annual salary $50,000.   Starting date after July 1, 2011. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:  Provide information and reference services including evening and weekend rotations; participate in a growing user education program that includes the library’s information literacy/fluency initiatives--primary responsibility for Freshmen ORIE segment of library instruction; provide support for developing online library instruction program utilizing emerging technologies; serve as liaison to assigned academic departments; perform other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:   Masters Degree from ALA accredited program.  Demonstrated above average written and oral communication skills.   Demonstrated knowledge of emerging technologies and standards of information literacy.

OTHER:  Any combination of training and experience substantially equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with a master’s degree in a related field and progressively responsible related work experience may be considered.

Frostburg State University is located in the Appalachian highlands (elevation 2,000 feet) of western Maryland. Of its diverse student body of more than 5,300, approximately 2,100 reside on campus in 11 traditional halls and one apartment-style community.  The main campus covers 260 acres within the town limits of Frostburg (population 7,500). The University also offers courses at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, on the Catonsville Campus of the Community College of Baltimore County and at Arundel Mills Regional Higher Education Center, as well as online.

FSU prides itself on being a dynamic, learning-centered organization that emphasizes teaching, but with opportunities for professional development and research. Students regularly build strong connections with faculty and staff members that often last beyond graduation.

The local region is rich in both history and outdoor activities. Students can visit nearby recreational areas—Rocky Gap, New Germany, and Deep Creek Lake State Parks—which offer camping, boating, swimming, hiking, and skiing.  For more information, visit http://www.frostburg.edu/about.cfm.

To apply, email a letter of interest; resume; and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three professional references by April 19, 2011, to: humanresources@frostburg.edu.  Include “Reference Librarian I (Position #11-010419”) in the subject line. 

Frostburg State University welcomes and encourages women and minorities to apply and seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.  FSU is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Appropriate auxiliary aids and services for qualified individuals with disability will be provided upon request.  Please notify us in advance.  WWW.FROSTBURG.EDU

 

Dress Your Portal for Success! Registration closes in 2 days

Is your once glam portal maybe looking a little dowdy these days?  Have you been updating it so often you haven’t noticed?  Listen to Chris Olson tell the stories of three information services and how branding strategies made these portals jump!
 
What:  "Effective Portal Branding Strategies" presentation by Chris Olson
When:  Tuesday, March 15, 5:30 PM - 7:45 PM
Where: Sandy Spring Museum, 17902 Bentley Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860
Meal:  A selection of yummy wraps & robust sandwiches with a variety of vegetarian and other dietary options sure to make your tummy happy!  …..and delicious desserts too!
 
Registration closes this Friday, March 11th.  Register here: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cmd/branding11.htm

See you next Tuesday, March 15th!

President's Message: March 2011

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a safe winter.  It is nearly over, and I don’t know about you, but I’d be happy not to see any more snow until December.  :)

What better way to dust off and get ready for spring then to join us at the Sandy Spring Museum on March 15th for Effective Portal Branding Strategies.  Chris Olson will provide insights into and lessons learned about portal branding.  Following Chris' presentation, we will learn about the Museum and the history of the Sandy Spring area from Sharon Holt, Executive Director of the Museum.  Should be an educational and interesting program!  For more information and to register, go to http://units.sla.org/chapter/cmd/branding11.htm.

I’d like to welcome our new Public Relations Chair, Joyce Garczynski, to the Board.  She stepped up to the plate to fill this vacant spot, and her background in communications will really come in handy.  Of course, we always welcome more volunteers!  If you’d like to volunteer for the Chapter, we still have several volunteer opportunities available.  Take a look at the committees and sign-up here or contact our Volunteers Coordinator, Sean Henry.  We always welcome additional ideas and help, and volunteering is a great opportunity to explore new skills.

The Chapter Board met in January and February, and we have a lot of great things coming up for this year.  Be on the lookout throughout the year for:

• more information about our upcoming programs, including a reception at the annual conference,
• more volunteer opportunities,
• a membership survey - we want to hear from YOU,
• and more!

Back in January, Chapter President-Elect Cindy Sheffield and I attended the SLA Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. We learned a lot, networked a lot, and had a great time!  You can read more about it here: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cmd/branding11.htm.  Now we’re looking forward to the annual conference.

Keep an eye out for more news and events, via our blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or listerv.  I’m looking forward to seeing you all at upcoming Chapter programs!

Best regards,
Ashley Conaway
Chapter President 2011

One week left to register for Effective Portal Branding Strategies!

Seats are limited, so register today!  http://units.sla.org/chapter/cmd/branding11.htm

It will be an enjoyable evening with great colleagues, great food, and a great presentation by Chris Olson.  See you there!

Member Spotlight: Edward Metz, SLA MD Chapter Treasurer

- Was librarianship/information science your first career choice? What led you to it? From which college/university did you receive your degree? 

When I finished my military service I really didn't know what direction I was going to go in. I had developed some modest German and French language skills from my time living in Germany and later in Paris, so I thought I might head in the direction of teaching but while I was in graduate school working on a masters degree in German I developed some close contacts with librarians who impressed me with their knowledge and professionalism and I decided to learn more about their career paths. I got my MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee which offered a program that I thought was well-suited to my interests with the web and integrated library systems.

-  In what types of libraries have you worked?

I was very fortunate right out of library school to be hired as a reference librarian at the Army's Command and General Staff College (CGSF). I had graduated from a course there several years earlier during my time in the military, so that gave me a leg up at the time they were hiring. I was doubly fortunate in working for some great librarians while at the CGSF Combined Arms Research Library (C.A.R.L.) who mentored me and helped me grow and take on more responsibility in reference, then as an acquisitions librarian and later as a systems librarian.

 - What is your current job? How would you describe the responsibilities of your position? What do you like best about it?

I moved into my current job as the head of the NETC library back in the summer of 2008 upon the retirement of Adele Chiesa (who had started the library from scratch). The NETC library had its beginnings with the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration in 1978.  Government reorganization in 1979 changed our name to the United States Fire Administration and placed us under the newly established Federal Emergency Management Agency. The USFA was moved that same year from its DC location to a new campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland that formerly was home to St. Joseph's College, a four-year Catholic college for women. The USFA (including the National Fire Academy) was joined at the NETC the following year by FEMA's Emergency Management Institute. The library is located in the Prevention and Information branch of USFA; I spend a good deal of effort supporting initiatives aimed at helping fire and life safety educators and fire prevention specialists on campus and around the country.

I absolutely love my job because it is a wonderful blend of many of the hats I've worn before. I monitor a library services contract that takes care of the day-to-day running of the library. I devote most of my time on our library web presence, on marketing library resources and services to our stakeholders, maintaining our ILS and on collection development and acquisitions.

 - How long have you been an SLA member?

I joined SLA … in 2004.

- What do you see as having the most impact on libraries during the next 5 years?  Will there be a need for libraries in the future?

I confess I was initially skeptical of the impact e-books might have on libraries. Overdrive, E-brary and NetLibrary clearly appealed to a comparatively small segment of our users, but it was not a model that spelled major changes for us (at least not in my mind). But it’s impossible to ignore now the vast improvements that have been made with e-reader technology in just the last year or two, changes that have freed e-books from the shackles of a computer or laptop and made them accessible and enjoyable now in devices that fit in your hand(s).

It's easy to see how this development dovetails with the general wave of demand for other portable media devices whether we're talking about ones for music, for communicating (phone, email, SMS etc), for computer apps, etc. I think e-readers or e-reader apps will certainly become more ubiquitous over time, they'll be something that an increasingly large percentage of our users will expect to be able to use at "their" library. What's less clear obviously is how the library world can adapt to a new paradigm. Not one that sees the demise of the printed book. I don't believe that will happen. But one that allows libraries ample room to support the e-reading demands of more and more of our stakeholders.

When I look to the future, it’s most often in the context obviously of special libraries in general and federal libraries in particular. The state of the economy and the need to make tough choices in how the government spends its money will likely place additional strain on the already tight budgets of many federal libraries and information centers. We have to continually be on the look-out for opportunities to show our added value to our respective organizations. An article that appeared in Information Outlook last summer entitled "Finding and Providing information Aren't Enough" has stayed with me and I reread it occasionally to make sure I'm on track and still doing all I can to carve out special information niches for the library in my organization.

 -  What are your hobbies/interests outside of work?

I have three children, ages 1 to 6, so I guess you might say they're my three hobbies. :-) When my wife and I aren't doing something to meet their needs(which isn't often) we like to work in our garden or explore one of the many nature centers or trails that abound here in the Catoctin Mountains.

                                                                      -Contributed by:  Denise Lupp