UNYSLA

Member Spotlight: Ben Wagner

Ben Wagner, Sciences Librarian in the
Science and Engineering Library of the Arts & Sciences Libraries

Our own Ben Wagner has authored an article on Impact Factors.  Percentile-Based Journal Impact Factors: A Neglected Collection Development Metric is available in the Spring 2009 issue of Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship. 

In addition to being a Sciences Librarian at the Arts & Sciences Libraries, University Libraries, University at Buffalo--SUNY, Ben is the secretary of the UNYSLA Executive Board.

Spring meeting report part III: Career Paths as Information Professionals

Panel Discussion: Career Paths as Information Professionals
By Margaret K. Swanson

During the Upstate New York Chapter of the Special Library Association’s meeting held on the 24th of April 2009 in the Standish Room of the Science Library at SUNY Albany, an energizing panel consisting of Polly Farrington, Euan Morton, Jill Hurst-Wahl, and Ruth Wolfish recounted their personal adventures along the career paths they have embraced and answered career-related questions posed by the audience.

Panelists from left to right: Jill Hurst-Wahl, Polly Farrington, Euan Morton, Christian Miller (moderator), and Ruth Wolfish.

Spring Board Meeting Minutes Posted

The minutes to the spring UNYSLA Board meeting have been approved and posted. The next board meeting is scheduled for July 22 from 10:30 to 5:00pm at Bond, Schoeneck and King.

Spring meeting report part II: Career building in the present economy

Noah Simon: Career Building in the Present Economy by Bradley Shipps Noah Simon, Assistant Director of Career Services at SUNY Albany, presented the second session of UNYSLA's spring meeting focusing on taking a long-term view of building your career. Whether we are currently job hunting or not, the present state of the economy is a wake-up call that we must all become more active managers of our careers. By devoting just 2% of our workweek to ongoing career development, we can gain the skills necessary to recover from career setbacks and weather future recessions. Do you have a plan to handle an unexpected job loss? This is the question Noah posed to the audience which he then followed by offering advice on these key areas of career management: Establish networks Develop transferable skills Keep your resume current

Noah Simon has nearly 12 years experience in the career services industry working with students and alumni, entry- and executive-level job seekers, and relocating spouses of corporate employees..

Spring meeting report part I: Librarian Career and Skill Building in this Economy

Rachel Singer Gordon: Librarian Career and Skill Building in this Economy by Rachel Meier Rachel Singer Gordon, creator and webmaster of LISjobs, opened the UNYSLA spring conference with her presentation “Librarian Career and Skill Building in this Economy.” Rachel outlined strategies and ideas for information professionals to further build their careers and skill sets. While it would be impossible to pass on all of the information in her talk, I would like to highlight a few gems such as her twelve R’s, the discussion of continuing education, and being proactive in your career. Rachel began with her twelve R’s of career and skill building: Refocus, Recognize (be proactive), Reinvest, Resume, Relocate, Resources, Reconnect, Ready, Rethink, Reframe, Resilience, and Realize.

Rachel Singer Gordon is the creator of LISjobs.com and the editor of Info Career Trends, a bimonthly professional development publication.

NY State Librarian Bernard Margolis visits Tompkins County Public Library

Attendance at the Tompkins County Public Library was very good on May 6th for a talk by New York State Librarian Bernard Margolis.  Mr. Margolis, formerly from the Boston Public Library, spoke about the hope that public libraries represent: hope for a better future.  He talked about the remarkable things that can be done in New York, saying that in order to do this, we must disregard the perceived impossibilities of various things, and avoid the seven dangerous words We have always done it that way. The state librarian said that we must solicit and elicit responses to improve what is expected of us.  What we do as librarians is imperative; it is essential and important. 

Mr. Margolis also talked about the NY state library and NOVELNY, a robust information machine - the foundation of a comprehensive system.  The NY State Library is a research library, with over 20 million items.  He also talked about digitization efforts in this area.

The heart of Mr. Margolis' talk focused on the library as part of the basis of democracy - better education and better prosperity equaling better health and better safety.  In order to lend to this, we need to walk together and work together locally with a common goal.  We need to speak up to legislators; take every opportunity to show our importance; craft our programs to meet patron needs; and shift our resources.  To be successful we have to go to the people. 

The main goal:  To add value to what libraries/librarians do - if we can be essential, we will not be ignored.

Our Networks

We are growing our presence on the Web! 

Facebook and Linkedin to be added soon!

SCRLC Open House 22 May

The South Central Regional Library Council (SCRLC) will be hosting an open house/tech fair to celebrate the dedication of the John (Jack) H. Martin Learning Center in Ithaca, NY.

The Open House will include presentations on Tools of History/NY Heritage, SMARTBoard, Online Programming for all Libraries (OPAL), AskUs 24/7, InfoQuest SMS reference, Podcasting, Geotagging, Second Life, Screencasting, and more!

Date: 22 May 2009
Time: 1:30-4:30 (dedication at 2:00)
Location: SCRLC offices at 108 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca

Join the SCRLC Board, staff, and special guests, including Mrs. Phyllis Martin, as we honor a leader who dedicated so much of his time, thinking, expertise, and enthusiasm to the library community.