USF SLIS Spring 2010 Graduation Reception

Saturday, May 8th is the USF spring 2010 graduation ceremony on the Tampa campus. Prior to the ceremony at the Sun Dome, we welcome you to stop by the CIS building atrium (conveniently across the street from the Sun Dome) to regroup, rest, gather together your family, or see to whatever needs you might have prior. Those not walking in the ceremony are also welcome to attend. There will be light refreshments and what is now becoming a tradition through student word of mouth - "the picture on the stairs" - before the graduation ceremony. Graduates need to be at the Sun Dome by 4:30 pm for the 6 pm ceremony so we will have refreshments available starting at 2:30 pm and the picture at 3:30 pm. Please RSVP directly to Jessica Voss (phone: 813.974.3953 or email jlvoss@cas.usf.edu) by Friday May 7th if you will be stopping by (and with how many people!). Everyone is welcome, even students who aren't graduating but want to show their support for their fellow classmates.

Info about commencement: http://usfweb2.usf.edu/commencement/
~JV

Midnight restoration of funding to FL libraries

from Florida Library Association (4/27/2010)

State Aid - Budget Chairs Restore State Funding to Public Libraries to $21.2 Million
At midnight on Monday, April 26 the House accepted a Senate offer to restore State Aid to Public Libraries to the current year level of $21.2 million.

When Senate Budget Chair J. D. Alexander made the offer, he asked if "the library guy" with the signs was in the room. The library guy we all know is Paul Clark who has pretty much lived in the Capitol keeping the issue in front of legislators and the press for 6 weeks. Senator Alexander was disappointed that Paul wasn't there and said that other advocates could learn a lot from him. There, working the issue until midnight were FLA lobbyist Chris Lyon, Small County Coalition coordinator Chris Doolin, and a whole contingent from the Department of State including Secretary Kurt Browning, Legislative Liaison Rivers Buford III, and John Boynton. This group barely left the Capitol all weekend long. Chris Doolin had a very positive impact for libraries, especially on Sunday morning. The folks from the Florida Association of Counties, and many county lobbyists have been working the issue aggressively as well.
For the past two months library advocates have worked tirelessly to tell the library story. The Salter>Mitchell public relations folks distributed press releases for FLA at several critical junctures. FLA's CapWiz wizard, Lisa Manners did an incredible job of keeping the message fresh with the result that library advocates generated over 60,000 messages in the last six weeks.
Thanks to everyone for their incredible efforts and congratulations on the wonderful success!
Charlie Parker, Chair
FLA Legislative Committee

Florida Library Association
[AB]

Most popular librarian in Florida!

(Paul Clark, a systems librarian for the Wilderness Coast Public Library, holds a sign outside of the Florida Senate. Clark is known as "The Library Guy," in the Capitol. Photo by Scott Keeler, Times)

The man they call "the library guy," Paul Clark, returned to the Capitol Tuesday carrying a simple, happy message: "Thank you."

SLIS Student Sally Shabouk publishes article in Parent Times

"The Yes and No of Reading" written by SLIS student Sally Shabouk was published in the Spring, 2010 edition of Parent Times, pages 5-7. Read... four little letters to strike terror in the hearts of parents and fear in the hearts of their children. The article discusses guidelines that parents can follow to help their children enjoy reading from an early age. For more information on the article click here. Sally Shabouk is a Youth Services Librarian at Glen Ridge Public Library.
~JV

Lauren Christos presented with the Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award

On Tuesday, April 20th, USF SLIS held the 17th annual Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Reception. The event started at 2:30 with a Welcome from Director Jim Andrews. Next was the ceremony induction of the new Beta Phi Mu members carried out by Dr. Stephanie Maatta and Dr. Anna Perrault. Twenty SLIS alums were welcomed into the chapter, which included: Carrie J. Hurst, Michael Jason Martin, James P. Ascher, Claudia J. Dold, Elizabeth Carter, Melanie C. Hensey, Karen V. Murk, Brittany Bennett Parris, Marilene L. Riemer, Barbara A. Cardinale, Michael C. English, LaKeisha Hall, Vera J. Lux, Ann Marie Maloney, Susan C. Ostroff, William J. Peterson, John F. Russell, Suzanne M. Schweitzer, Victoria L. Stuart, and Hillary S. Wade.

The 2010 Beta Phi Mu Inductees.

After the Beta Phi Mu Induction, Dr. Jim Andrews handed out the scholarship certificates to the Fall 2010 recipients. The Patricia Andrew Cone Endowed Scholarships went to Allyson Fletcher and Kari Kopko. The Johnie Key Thomson Scholarships went to Melissa Moore and Katherine Gage. The H.W. Wilson Scholarships went to Joy Scholing, David Sieffert, and Rebecca Guillen. The Blackwell/Perrault Scholarship went to Marcela Estevez.

Dr. Andrews handing Marcela Estevez her scholarship certificate.

The Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award of the USF School of Library and Information Science is named in honor of our USF Professor Emerita of the same name. Gates wrote respective librarianship texts such as Guide to the Use of Libraries and Information Science and Introduction to Librarianship. The Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to a SLIS alumnus whose outstanding professional career achievements serve as a role model for all library science graduates. The award was started in 1993 and has been given out almost every single year since. To help us remember Jean, Bernadette Storck gave a tribute speech. The talk was recorded and will be available on the Web site soon.

Bernadette Storck giving a tribute to Jean Key Gates.

This year the award was given to alumna Lauren Christos, an Associate University Librarian at FIU. She gave a brief thank you and speech about her work with intellectual freedom. For more information on Lauren click here.

Dr. Andrews and Lauren Christos receiving her award.

The afternoon closed with everyone eating snacks and drinking refreshments, while mingling and networking with colleagues. Overall the event was a success and we hope to see everyone at next year's Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Reception. To view more pictures from the event click here.
~JV

Celebrating the Art of Telling Stories...

On Saturday, May 1, 2010, the Miami-Dade Public Library System will celebrate its 10th Annual Art of Storytelling Festival. This family oriented event is free, and it takes place at the Main Library. Every year, a number of presenters and performers take the stage to offer activities for every age. Some of the highlights of the program include presentations of famous local and international storytellers, storytime characters, a giant puppet theatre, arts and crafts, and events especially directed toward teens and youth. Click here for a complete list of performers.

Each year the Miami-Dade Library partners with another country to give the event its international character. This year's partner country is Argentina, which is celebrating the bicentenary of its first independent government. Members of the CONABIP, or National Commission of Public Libraries and representatives of the Miami-Dade Library visited each others' countries and exchanged information, culminating with the Argentineans participating in this year's Festival.

1oth Annual Art of Storytelling International Festival

Place: Miami-Dade Public Library

101 W. Flagler St. - Miami, Florida

Date: May 1st 2010 - 10.30am - 4.00pm

Free admission and parking in selected locations.

SLIS student Leslie Trinkle at Emerging Paradigms

SLIS student Leslie Trinkle participated in a panel session during the 2nd Annual Emerging Paradigms: An Interdisciplinary Perspective conference on April 16, 2010 at the University of South Florida Tampa campus. The conference aims to bring together graduate students from all disciplines and USF campuses. Leslie's panel discussed Communication and Social Networking and the title of Leslie's topic was "Countering Information Overload in Online Search Environments."

Congrats, Leslie!
-JP

Student Organizations Book Sale Fundraiser on April 28, 2010

The School of Library and Information Science Student Organizations are holding a book sale fundraiser on April 28, 2010, from 8:00-4:00. The sale will be held in the front of the USF Tampa Library.

Donations have been collected from the faculty and students and we have a large variety of books and DVDs for sale. Hardcover books will be $2 and paperbacks $1, with the exception of a few new popular materials which will vary in price.
~JV

USF SLIS Graduate Student Melissa Moore ALA Video Contest Winner

April is School Library Month and SLIS graduate student Melissa Moore, media specialist at Banyan Elementary in Ft. Lauderdale, is being nationally recognized by the American Library Association (ALA). Ms. Moore created and submitted a video which depicts the many important roles she fulfills at her school on a "typical day" as a media specialist and won 2nd place in the ALA video contest. As a teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, technology integration specialist and library media program administrator, Ms. Moore exemplifies the essential role that a 21st Century Library Media Specialist plays in supporting student achievement in Broward schools. (Broward Schools Newsletter)

View the video on YouTube here.

USF SLIS Grad Students Make a Big Splash (groan) at the Florida Aquarium!

SLIS students Bill Harris, Ava Iuliano, and Eva Earles

In an interdisciplinary community project, students from the USF School of Library and Information Science, Mass Communication, and the College of Business collaborated in four teams to assess needs and recommend designs for a new website that would meet the mission, market, and growing and changing needs of the Florida Aquarium. More than 30 SLIS graduate, Mass Communication undergraduate, and Business undergraduate students participated in the competition to design and present web site prototypes to judges from the Florida Aquarium and faculty from USF on April 15, 2010 at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The teams' goals were to create a website that offered better user recognition of and connection to the Florida Aquarium attraction and research/education venue. They looked at ease of navigation and use, organization of information, visual interest and attractiveness, enhanced communication and interactivity, and accessibility using emerging user interface design. They showed ways of raising awareness about research and conservation efforts, getting information about attending and booking public and private events, marketing and promotion the organization, and e-commerce tools. Students considered elements for access to information, tickets, services, entertainment/games, directions, donations, research and education activities, live and virtual fieldtrips and adventures, media resources, and much more.

Thom Stork Announces Winners

The website(s) goals endeavored to provide all types of users with a portal through which to find and use information, establish as a future reference source, provide entertainment, learn from, buy tickets, donate, browse for information and recreation, and find a reason to return frequently to http://www.flaquarium.org. Ideas for: connecting to and synchronizing with new mobile connection devices; online media (through YouTube and ITunes); search engine optimization; social networking venues (such as Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr); using analytics to gather user statistics; incorporating streaming video for fieldtrips, onsite attractions, fieldtrips, and research tours; creating a virtual library and social bookmarks for accessing resources in the future; and creatively using other internet based features (such as a proposed "Brandon the River Otter's Blog"), were integrated into the prototypes.

The project gave today's USF students, future business and information professionals, a chance to exercise their unique and contemporary insight and employ their educational and professional design skills, dynamic user experience, unique insight of their educational discipline, fresh ideas and viewpoints, and comfort with technology to make an impact on the community. Project Advisors from the USF Colleges included lead faculty advisor and project coordinator, Coby O'Brien from Mass Communications, Mike Bowen from College of Business, and Diane Austin from the School of Library and Information Science. Also attending the presentations were Hal Vincent and Kelly Werder from Mass Comm , COB faculty Maryanne Rouse, and COB Dean Bob Forsythe in support and recognition of the USF students.

Winning Team, including SLIS student Ava Iuliano, with Thom Stork, FLA Aquarium President and CEO

Special (and robust) applause and thanks to SLIS graduate students Eva Earles, Ava Iuliano, and Bill Harris for their hard work and time put into this effort for their own professional development and for helping connect SLIS to other USF departments and outreach to the Tampa Bay community! Although a difficult decision to make in that all of the teams and projects contributed a fresh look at the Aquarium website, Ava's team won the competition, which had a cash prize and a photo op with Thom Stork, President and CEO of the Florida Aquarium. Thank you to Thom and the Florida Aquarium for this opportunity to give an educational and service learning experience to our students and a collaborative model for our university community. Future interdisciplinary projects between the colleges were discussed even before the event concluded. This is a fine example of USF interdisciplinary collaboration (College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Business), experiential learning, Tampa Bay community outreach, and developing a passion for what we do.

SLIS Graduate Assistant Alicia K. Long receives FLA Bernadette Storck USF Scholarship

On Thursday, April 8th Alicia K. Long was presented with the FLA Bernadette Storck Scholarship during the General Session at the 2010 FLA Conference. There were many USF SLIS faculty, staff, alumni, and students in attendance to see Alicia receive her award. ALA Executive Director, Keith Michael Fiels, is seated to Alicia's right as she receives the award.

Alicia receiving her award at the FLA Conference

Applicants must: be a resident of Florida and have some experience in a Florida library; be admitted to an accredited program at a Florida college or university or to a library/information graduate degree program at FSU or USF; commit to working in a Florida library for a minimum of one year after graduation; and be an FLA member in good standing. The applicant must also write an essay and have three letters of reference sent.

The scholarship has been available from a dedicated fund since 1995. This fund is replenished through donations and fundraising activities. The primary fundraising activity is the Silent Auction held at the FLA Annual Conference, which USF SLIS donated to this year.

Congratulations Alicia!
~JV

SLIS Exhibit at FLA 2010 Conference a Success!

USF's School of Library and Information Science was well received at the Florida Library Association (FLA) conference at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando this past April 7-9, 2010. The SLIS booth in the exhibitors' hall showcased our team spirit and provided conference attendees with information about our amazing graduate program.

SLIS Students Eva Earles, Bill Harris, and Shalu Gillum working the booth at FLA 2010

Communication and Information Officer Jessica Voss, along with Graduate Assistants Arlen Bensen, Eva Earles, Shalu Gillum and Alicia Long were on hand to answer questions and hand out USF logo bags, pens, magnet clips and stickers to those stopping by our booth. Many of our Graduate Assistants also lent a helping hand at the FLA sign-in desk. Dozens of USF alumni came to the booth to show their support for SLIS, and many attendees showed a strong interest in returning to school to pursue a Masters degree in Library and Information Science.
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USF SLIS hosts reception at FLA 2010 Conference

On Wednesday April 7th, 2010, the USF School of Library and Information Science hosted a celebration of camaraderie for faculty, students, and graduates of the School attending the 2010 Annual Conference of the Florida Library Association. The evening provided an excellent opportunity for social interaction among those who have a connection with the School. Faculty and students had the opportunity to get to know each other better outside of the academic setting, alumni got to visit with their former professors, and everybody got a chance to network within the USF family (and with some visitors as well).

USF SLIS Alumnas enjoying appetizers and refeshments at the FLA Reception

Some of the talks heard among the many people in attendance included alumni accomplishments, challenges, tips from graduates to the new students, jokes, and a sense of fellowship coupled with excellent food. Many members of the faculty attended, including USF SLIS Director Dr. James Andrews, and professors Dr. Alexander, Dr. McCook, Dr. Yoon, Dr. Perez, Dr. Gregory, Prof. Austin, Prof. Shereff, Dr. Henrietta Smith, Prof. Treadwell, as well as Communication and Information Officer Jessica Voss, and several Graduate Assistants.

To see more pictures from the event click here.
-AKL

National Library Week: April 11-17, 2010