(via ACRL) Focus groups are a valuable tool for academic libraries in gaining user feedback, particularly when collecting the information needed for improving services and facilities. They are also more effective than market surveys, as focus groups give not just raw data, but direct insight into the needs of library users. Learn more about making…
Category: Professional Development
ALA Course on Rethinking Library Instruction
Do you find that too many areas of your collection are underutilized by patrons? Do the instructional sessions that your library provides seem not to engage patrons? Be sure to take the newest offering of the American Library Association’s online course on the subject, “Rethinking Library Instruction: Libraries as Social Learning Centers”. The class, taught…
LACONI Workshop on Cataloging Books to be Held February 19
(via Gwen Gregory, IACRL President) A refresher workshop in cataloging books, this event will focus on the nuts and bolts of cataloging books in MARC following RDA principles. The program will include an in-depth discussion of the MARC tags and subfields for books. The main speaker will be Chris Oliver, Head of Resource Description and…
Workshop on Serving Patrons with Dementia to Take Place Jan. 26
Does your library offer programs and services to assist patrons who have dementia? Are you considering adding such services, or are you just curious about what other libraries have done to address the issue? Be sure to attend the “Serving Patrons with Dementia” workshop on Tuesday, January 26. The event, which is in-person only, will…
Drupal Training to be Held at UIC, March 17-20
(via Gwen Gregory, IACRL President) MidCamp (also known as the Midwest Area DrupalCamp) is an annual event held in Chicago that brings together people who use, develop, design, and support the Web’s leading content management platform, Drupal. MidCamp will be March 17-20, 2016 at the University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center West. Organized by…
Webinar on Autism and Libraries
The recording of the webinar “Libraries and Autism: Why It Matters” and the accompanying slides are available here, for anyone who wasn’t able to watch it live, or who did see it but would like to review the webinar’s content or share it with a colleague. The webinar discusses what autism is, how libraries sometimes come…
Applicants Sought for 2016 EBSCO/MLA Annual Grant
(via Jeanne Sadlik, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Library) In order to enable more librarians to attend Medical Library Association (MLA) annual meetings, EBSCO Information Services has generously donated money to the MLA Scholarship Endowment to provide stipends up to $1,000.00 each to four (4) librarians for travel and conference-related expenses, to be known as…
Twiss-Brooks Chosen as Mentor for Leadership Fellows Program
Andrea Twiss-Brooks (MS, MSLS), who is Co-Director of the Science Libraries Division and the Head of Collection Services at the University of Chicago’s John Crerar Library, has been chosen as a mentor for the 2016 class of NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows. Twiss-Brooks is one of 10 participants in this year’s program (five fellows and five mentors),…
Seeking Volunteers for ALA Committees
(via Gwen Gregory, IACRL President-Elect) Julie Todaro, American Library Association (ALA) president-elect, encourages members to volunteer to serve on ALA and Council committees for the 2016-2017 term (terms start on July 1, 2016). Committee appointments will be finalized at the 2016 ALA Midwinter Meeting, with notifications sent out in early spring, 2016. Todaro chairs both…
Call for Nominations, 2016 ALA New Member Round Table Elections
(via Lindsay Harmon, incoming IACRL Vice-President) The ALA New Members Round Table (NMRT) offers training, opportunities, and a wide variety of programs on the national, state and local levels to assist, encourage, and educate those new to the association and the profession. Now is the opportunity for you or a librarian you know to take…