As we Upstate New Yorkers persevere this lion of a winter that we are having, it is best to think ahead to springtime. Make your plans now to attend the Chapter's spring conference on Monday, May 16 at the College of Saint Rose in Albany. Vice president and program chair, Mary Anne Waltz and her committee have planned an interesting day of exploring "Who Are Our Students?" This will be an excellent opportunity to reflect on the needs, expectations, work habits of the "millennial" generation, or as Judy Luther (one of the speakers on May 16th) would say, those "born with the chip."
As part of the spring luncheon, the Chapter will hold its annual business meeting. I'll stick to the new tradition of having committee reports printed in advance at all the tables to keep the meeting brief. I would like, however, to take a bit of time at the business meeting to discuss and consider a matter that affects both recruitment of chapter leaders and finances.
The Board has twice discussed financial support for the members of our Chapter's committees traveling to committee meetings. In this era of budget squeezes, financial support from our institutions for travel is dwindling. Secondly, the price of gasoline is climbing. To support members who participate on committees and to encourage future participation on the Chapter's committees, the Board suggests consideration of the following assistance for Chapter committee members traveling within the Chapter for committee meetings.
1. travel reimbursement at the rate of $0.20 per mile (the NYS rate is $0.37)
2. this would hold for any standing committee of the Chapter
3. committee members would be encouraged to car pool
4. members will meet electronically whenever possible (the board has one conference call meeting each year and two in-person meetings)
The board members did not feel comfortable, as one put it, "voting ourselves a raise," by simply making this decision at a board meeting without first getting feedback from members. For the same reason, the board did not think it right to limit this benefit just to the board meetings.
Make your plans very soon to travel to Albany for the Spring conference and consider coming earlier on Sunday if you are traveling far and attend the pre-conference dinner. More details will appear on http://www.enyacrl.org . Hope to see you there!
Inga H Barnello
Once again the Board voted to lower the registration fee for members from $35.00 to $30.00 for the spring conference to be held on May 16 at the College of Saint Rose. In keeping with the Chapter's main objective of offering affordable conferences, the officers believe that support for the professional development of its members should benefit from the Chapter's excellent financial condition.
The call for posters for the upcoming conference is at http://enyacrl.org/poster_call_Spring05.htm.
For the latest available information about the conference, go to http://enyacrl.org/conf_Spring05.htm.
CANDIDATE FOR VICE-PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT/PROGRAM PLANNING COMMITTEE CHAIR: DEBORAH BERNNARD USER EDUCATION LIBRARIAN SUNY ALBANY
I am the User Education Librarian and Information Science Bibliographer at the Dewey Graduate Library at the University at Albany, SUNY. I teach a one credit undergraduate course, UNL 205, Information Literacy as well as a variety of information literacy workshops for graduate students. My research interests include information literacy and the non- traditional student and information organization and retrieval. My most recent publication is Empowering students II : teaching information literacy concepts with hands-on and minds-on activities. (Library Instruction Publications, 2004), which she co-edited with Carol Anne Germain.
I have been a member of ENY/ACRL since 1997 and have been planning conferences for many years as a member of ENY/ACRL's Program Planning Committee. I have also planned conferences and programs for SUNYLA and ALA's Library Instruction Round Table. I enjoy working with the members of the Program Planning Committee all of whom are dedicated, energetic and full of great ideas. I look forward to leading this committee as we continue to produce memorable conferences twice a year.
ENY/ACRL meets its professional development mission well by providing interesting, timely and varied conferences at a low cost. The concept of a one day conference is one that fits with all of our busy schedules. It allows more of us to take advantage of learning and networking opportunities. Students in Information Science programs also benefit from conferences that are inexpensive and easy to attend. The welcoming atmosphere during these conferences helps to encourage and inspire students at the beginning of their careers in the field.
CANDIDATE FOR SECRETARY: LORRAINE MELITA ACCESS SERVICES LIBRARIAN SUNY CORTLAND
I received my MLS degree from Syracuse University in 1998, and am currently Access Services Librarian at SUNY Cortland. As Access Services Librarian, I am responsible for Circulation and the Teaching Materials Center. While working at SUNY Cortland, I have had secretarial experience with the Educational Policy Committee from 2002-2004, participated in several search committees, assisted with the organization of the Children's Reading Area in the Teaching Materials Center, participated in local and regional conferences and receives several campus grants. In May of 2004, I was the Local Arrangements Chair for the SUNYLA Conference that was held at SUNY Cortland. My experience with campus and library committees has provided me with time management and collaboration skills. As Secretary for ENY/ACRL, I would continue to enhance these skills and provide the best possible information for the organization.
CANDIDATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR: PATRICIA HULTS DIGITAL RESOURCES LIBRARIAN RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
For the last two years, I have held the position of Digital Resources Librarian at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prior to that, I was the Database Manager at the Schenectady Museum for two years, and the head of Public Services and Serials Librarian at SUNY Cobleskill for fifteen years. While within the SUNY system, I was elected Secretary of SUNYLA for two terms and served on the SUNY Library Contract Team for two years; I also performed other SUNY committee work. I have experience designing and maintaining web pages and possess strong organizational skills - a prerequisite for the job of Communications Chair. ENY/ACRL as an organization consistently promotes professional growth, regional cooperation , and the enhancement of the profession in general. I feel my experience and skills would allow me to further this strong tradition.
ACRL Dues Increase On the spring 2005 ALA/ACRL ballot there will be a vote on a dues increase from $35 to $45 to $55 to be implemented over 2006 and 2007. To ensure the future sustainability of the association, at its Midwinter meeting, the ACRL Board approved a resolution to change the dues amount for personal members. Essentially, ACRL's revenues from position advertisements in its print publications continue to fall drastically. Cost cutting to run the organization has been fully examined. To begin to recoup its financial health, a dues increase is in order. See https://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/aboutacrl/acrlmembership/dueslinks.htm for a full explanation from the President and some FAQs.
NOMINATION DEADLINE, April 15, 2005
Help us honor a deserving colleague. Do you know someone who is an outstanding member of the chapter and whose contributions have benefited the chapter and our profession? We are currently seeking nominations for the annual ENY/ACRL Librarian of the Year Award. The Librarian of the Year Award is in recognition of an ENY/ACRL member who has exhibited a dedication to fulfilling the ACRL mission and furthering the goals and objectives of ACRL and ENY/ACRL in particular. The award includes a plaque and a $250 honorarium, which will be presented to this year's winner at ENY/ACRL's spring conference in May of 2005.
Previous ENY/ACRL Librarian of the Year Award recipients are:
ENY/ACRL covers a wide geographic region and the Nominations Committee relies on suggestions from members for this important award. Please take a few moments to consider nominating a colleague. The nomination form is available on the ENY/ACRL website at http://www.enyacrl.org/LOYform.html.
Completed Nomination forms should be sent to:
Michael McLane, (Central New York Library
Resources Council)
mclane@clrc.org
(315) 446-5446
ENY/ACRL's Membership Committee seeks a few more volunteers! If you would like to help recruit new members and assist our organization, please contact John Thomas, Membership Committee chair at jthomas@sunyjefferson.edu or 315-786-2314. Thank you!
Barbara A. Burd and Lori E. Buchanan published "Teaching the teachers: teaching and learning online," Reference Services Review, 32 (4) 2004.
David Hughes, recently retired, has assumed the position of Interim Director of the Libraries while a search in underway for a new University Librarian.
Brenda Hasegawa, Paraprofessional Cataloger at Case Library since 1999, passed away on Feb 2nd after a short battle with cancer. She is dearly missed.
Jean L. Root Green, Assistant Library Director/ College Archivist at The College of Saint Rose, has received a grant in the amount of $820 from the Capital District Library Council [CDLC] Regional Bibliographic Databases Program [RBDB]. The funds will be used to create catalog records for 82 alumni and athletics banners in the College Archives. For more information on the program see: http://www.cdlc.org/Programs_And_Services/RegionalAutomation/rbdb.shtml
Peter Osterhoudt received tenure.
Steve Black published "Impact of Full Text on Print Journal Use", Library Resources & Technical Services, v. 49, no. 1, January 2005, p. 19-26.
Larry Rogers, a graduate student from UAlbany, has been an Intern with us for the Spring 2005 semester.
Assistant Librarian Connie Holberg has received tenure.
Karen Zhe-Heimerman is the new Science Librarian at Le Moyne College. Kari returns to the campus after having graduated from Le Moyne with a B.S. in Biology and obtaining two master degrees. She earned a M.S. degree in environmental studies from Oregon State and an M.L.S. degree will be conferred on her in May from Syracuse University. Kari serves as the bibliographer for all the sciences and will participate in library instruction as well as teach Le Moyne's one-credit Scientific Literature course.
The State Library welcomed four new librarians to their staff. Jane Pinder joined CORE Reference as a Sr. Librarian in July. She comes to us from SUNY Cobleskill where she worked in Circulation and Interlibrary Loan. Sheldon Wein also joined the CORE Reference team this summer as a Sr. Librarian. Previously, Sheldon worked in reference and was Coordinator of Sage's Instructional Program. Susan Whaley accepted a position as Sr. Librarian in the cataloging unit. Susan has worked in the unit for the past 10 years as a library technical assistant. Gloria Bartowski was welcomed as a Sr. Librarian in Manuscripts and Special Collections. Gloria was quite familiar with the building, as she came from another member of the Cultural Education family-the State Archives.
The library has experienced a long anticipated interior renovation. The research library's public floor has been completely repainted, carpeted, and populated with attractive new carrels, chairs and reference and circulation desks. Construction of a hands-on training room was included. The renovated and refurbished 11th floor space shared by the Library and State Archives celebrated a grand opening in November, spotlighting wall panels with representations of both institutions' documentary treasures, and behind the scenes tours featuring new movable shelving, climate controlled collection spaces, and a state-of-the art preservation lab.
The Library's New Netherland project, dedicated to translating the 17th century documents of the New Netherland colony received a three-year extension from the National Endowment for the Humanities of outright funds and matching funds (totaling $150,000) beginning December 31, 2004. NEH has designated the New Netherland Project as a "We the People" Project.
All New York State Residents, 18 and over, are now eligible for a New York State Library direct borrowers card under a pilot program established this June. Over 1000 New Yorkers from around the state have applied and received cards since the programs inception.
Sean Conley and Catherine Crohan will present "Information Literacy Faculty Development Grants: the Siena College Experience", as a poster session at ACRL National Conference, Minneapolis, April 2005.
Gary B. Thompson represents independent higher education on the Nylink Council and on the New York State Higher Education Initiative (NYSHEI) Governing Board. He welcomes input from any private college and university library in NYS as to issues, which should come before their governing boards.
John Vallely presented "Why Johnny Reb and Billy Yank still live and breath in 2004?" at Hudson Mohawk Library Association's Fall dinner, November 2004.
Union, Siena and Bard all have joined RPI, RIT, Colgate, St. Lawrence, and Vassar in ConnectNY. The union catalog now has 4 million volumes and over 2.3 million unique titles. ConnectNY enables borrowers to initiate direct patron borrowing via the union catalog and delivery via LAND within 2-3 days. ConnectNY looks forward to more new members in the coming year, adding to the value of the collections through increased resource-sharing. Th e ultimate goal for New York State would be to have statewide borrowing available from all colleges and universities.
In Fall 2004, Scribner Library unveiled the Reserves Hub, a fully-functional homemade E-reserves system. The Reserves Hub allows students to access reserves materials for courses in which they are currently enrolled, using only their campus user ID and password. Faculty may add and view reserves for their current or forthcoming courses. During the first semester, the Reserves Hub was used in 172 courses by 92 faculty. It was accessed by students over 5,000 times.
Elin O'Hara was hired as Visiting Assistant Librarian for instruction/reference in October 2004. Elin previously worked as an adjunct librarian at Manhattan College.
Michelle Toth was granted a Nuala Dresher Award and is on leave for Spring 2005.
Holly Heller-Ross is coordinating a series of Plattsburgh area inter-library (public, academic, hospital, school, law) professional development tours and lunches titled "Maximizing Community Information Resources" with funding from the SUNY Network Quality Communities: Building North Country Community Partnerships program. For more information see http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/holly.hellerross/MaximizingCommunityInformation.htm
Carla List-Handley led a workshop at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia in January. The workshop was entitled "Building a Better Graduate: Information Literacy in YOUR Syllabus." List-Handley will lead a workshop at the Broome County Library in February. The workshop is entitled "Building Bridges between Libraries and Faculty: Information Literacy in the Curriculum."
Alexander Gomez has been hired as the new Evening Supervisor for Crane Music Library.
Crumb Library has begun hosting a series of book discussions this academic year at the start of each semester. The discussions are titled the Bregman Book Discussion Series and are hosted by the College Libraries, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and the Honors Program. Four discussions are held in the library's lobby each semester, each with two faculty and two honors program students as panelists.
The Crane Archives, previously located in Crane Music Library, has been combined with the College Archives and Special Collections in the Snell Room of Crumb Library. This move of the material will allow better service to patrons and a better housing environment for the music archival material related to the Crane School of Music.
Nicollete Schneider joined SUL on November 16 as Reference & Access Services Librarian in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC).
Ann Skiold joined SUL on February 1, 2005 as Fine Arts Librarian.
Harriet Sonne de Torrens resigned her position as Head of the Fine Arts Department, effective September 10, to accept a teaching opportunity in Toronto.
The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) hosted a reception for Carolyn Davis to honor her thirty-three years of service to the Library and to wish her well on her retirement, effective December 31.
Jacquelyn Kowalcyzk, Temporary Reference Librarian, left SUL on December 17 to take a position as a Public Librarian.
The following Librarians have been promoted and/or received continuing status:
Robert Cleary, Acquisitions, continuing status - Michael Pasqualoni, Research and Information Services Department (RISD), promotion to Sr. Assistant Librarian - Maryjane Poulin, Science and Technology, continuing status - Suzanne Preate, Digital Services/Digital Imaging Services Center (DISC), promotion to Associate Librarian and continuing status.
Michael Pasqualoni, Subject Specialist Librarian for Public Administration and Political Science, has joined the adjunct faculty of Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. This semester, he is teaching IST 662: Instructional Strategies & Techniques for Information Professionals, a 3 unit graduate seminar.
SCRC director Christian Dupont, presented a lecture on Hugo Gernsback, "father of magazine science fiction," at a symposium celebrating the 120th anniversary of his birth held at the Luxembourg Consulate in New York City on November 3. Descendants of Gernsback and former executives of Gernsback Publications were among the attendees. SCRC is the primary repository of Gernsback's personal papers and publications.
The newly created Digital Imaging Services Center (DISC) opened its doors to the University Community at the beginning of the fall semester. The mission of the DISC is to produce images, text, and other material in widely accessible digital formats to support the teaching, learning, and research activities of the University Community . The center is staffed by Suzanne Preate, Digital Imaging Librarian, and Penelope Singer, Technical Specialist.
Syracuse University Library hosted the Endeavor Mid Atlantic (EMA) Users Group Meeting on October 25 & 26. Nancy Turner, Electronic Resources Librarian, served as local arrangements chair and Bobbi Gwilt, Head, Monographs Department, served on the 2004 conference committee. The conference was a great success thanks to the hard work of the many library staff members who contributed by presenting and moderating sessions and assisting with local arrangements. SUL presenters included: Lisa Bankert, Acquisitions; Robert Cleary, Acquisitions Librarian; Augie Teska, Data Systems Administrator; Sarah Theimer, Catalog Librarian; Bobbi Gwilt; Glen Wiley and Ed Gokey, Fine Arts Department Library Assistants; Mike Puckett, Visual Resources Specialist; Charles Tremper, Head, Serials Department, and Lydia Wasylenko, Head, Database Management Department. The conference attracted 109 librarians, most taking advantage of two days of presentations and workshops held at the Library and at the Schine Student Center.
Robert Cleary, Acquisitions Librarian, participated in a discussion at a meeting of the ALCTS Automated Acquisitions/In Process Control discussion group at ALA Midwinter. Robert presented an overview of SUL's Invoice Interface program, which has been in use for over twenty-two years.
Lesley Pease, Head of Maps & Government Information Department, has been appointed to a three-year term as the Website Administrator for ALA Government Documents Round Table (GODORT). The Website Administrator creates and maintains pages, maintains overall appearance and content of the site, provides policy oversight, maintains the GODORT Policy and Procedures Manual; provides technical and design support to other web page managers and designers; and ensures archiving of materials for permanent retention.
As part of Syracuse University's inaugural year exploration, "University as Public Good: Exploring the Soul of Syracuse," the Syracuse University Library has launched an interactive web site to invite public discussion, perspectives and thoughts on the "meaning of soul" from the University and greater community. Located at the web address: http://libwww.syr.edu/soul, this new online forum additionally includes "soul" resources, quotations, definitions, suggested readings and a schedule of upcoming events and programs.
The creation of the web site was headed by the Library Soul of Syracuse Committee, including Chair Greg Griffin, Senior Director of Development; Marty Hanson, Preservation Administrator; Kelly Hovendick, Interim Head of Reference; Abby Kasowitz-Scheer, Head of Instructional Programs, and Pamela McLaughlin, Head of the Access and Digital Services Division. The web design was done by Penelope Singer, DISC Technical Specialist and Suzanne Preate, Digital Imaging Librarian.
Laura Cohen published a book chapter with two colleagues, Matt Calsada and Fred Jeziorkowski, "ScratchPad: A Quality Management Tool for Library Web Sites," in Content and Workflow Management for Library Web Sites: Case Studies, ed. Holly Yu, 102-126. Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing, 2005. In addition, Laura spoke on November 16 at Internet Librarian 2004 in Monterey, CA, on "Top Techniques for Top Web Search Trainers."
Carol Anne Germain had received the New York State Chancellor's Excellence in Librarianship Award and the Janway/NYLA's NMRT Excellence Award. Carol Anne Germain also authored a book chapter, "From Acorn to Oak: Transforming a Novice into an Expert," which appears in Priscilla K. Shontz's The Librarian's Career Guidebook.
Carol Anne Germain and Deborah Bernnard edited Empowering Students II: Teaching Information Literacy Concepts with Hands-on and Minds-on Activities. Pittsburgh, PA: Library Instruction Publications
Jane Kessler published an in depth review on NoodleBib 5 in the January 2005 issue of the Charleston Advisor (Vol. 6, #3), online at http://www.charlestonco.com/review.cfm?id=217&CFID=8371800&CFTOKEN=40851772
William Young published an article entitled "Reference Team Self Management at the University at Albany" in Library Administration and Management, Fall 2004, Volume 18, No 4, p 185-191. He is currently serving as the Head of the Reference Management Group for 2005.
Nancy Pearl, librarian extraordinaire, presented "The Perils and Pleasures of a Lifetime of Reading," at a luncheon event, 11:30 am-2:00 pm, on Tuesday, March 8, 2005 in the Campus Center Ballroom, University at Albany, uptown campus. The event was hosted by Albany's University Libraries. Seattle Librarian Nancy Pearl is an inspiration to all librarians: she started the program "If Everyone in Seattle Read the Same Book," which has been replicated in many American cities. She has a weekly program interviewing authors on NPR. Ms. Pearl is the recently retired Director of Seattle Public Library's Washington Center for the Book. For many years, she also ran the library's youth-services department. She is the author of Book Lust, a 2003 best-seller about her favorite books from the 1,800 or so she has read. She is writing a sequel to Book Lust, tentatively titled The Morning After, which will be published in 2005. Last year, Pearl was awarded a Washington Humanities Award.
Laura Finkel is the new Special Collections Librarian at Vassar College. She comes to Vassar from Cornell University, where she served as archivist for the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Ron Patkus has been promoted to Associate Director of the Library for Special Collections. In addition to overseeing the Special Collections department, Ron had added responsibilities for Library Development.
The exhibition "Albert Einstein: Life and Letters, 1905-1955" will on view at the Vassar College Library from February to May, 2005. The exhibition highlights the library's recent acquisition of the Morris and Adele Bergreen Albert Einstein Collection. Several events will be held in conjunction with the exhibition.
ACRL just announced that Vassar College Libraries is one of the five winners of 2005 Katharine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards. These awards, funded by an endowment established by Katharine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab, editors of American Book Prices Current, recognize outstanding exhibition catalogues issued by American or Canadian institutions in conjunction with library exhibitions as well as electronic exhibition catalogues of outstanding merit issued within the digital/Web environment. Division Four (brochures), Vassar College's brochure entitled "Uncle Tom's Cabin in Print: The Collection of Mary C. Schlosser," by Mary Schlosser, Ronald Patkus, and Joyce Bickerstaff. Conway commented, "With a handsome cover and nine full pages in a folding brochure, this provides an excellent summary of the publishing history of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Includes collector's notes, a chronology and a checklist of 70 items with enough illustration to give it visual interest."
Newsletter compiled from member contributions March 17, 2005 by Steve Black, Communications Chair, blacks@strose.edu.
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