InsideOCULA

Blog posting from a new librarian

Last month I talked about the importance of conferences in the professional development of new librarians. This month I would like to continue on this track, focusing on educational opportunities.

As new librarians we are often asked to participate in projects which require the quick development of knowledge and/or skills in unfamiliar areas. Luckily, there are a number of sources available to us. The most obvious, of course, is the Partnership’s Education Institute http://www.thepartnership.ca/partnership/bins/index.asp. This institute is a collaboration of the provincial and territorial library associations. The courses offered year-round, range from one hour webcasts and teleconferencing to extended six-to-eight week online courses.  The most recent offering was on the Peer Review process.  I, for one, signed up.

Another good source of information is the ARL Spec Kit site: http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/spec/.

Your library may hold a good print collection of these kits, however, the executive summaries can also be freely downloaded from the website. These kits are invaluable as a starting point for any new project you may be involved in. They include great concrete examples. There are hundreds to choose from and I defy you to find some area of librarianship which has not been covered at some point in time. Individual titles can be purchased.  ARL also sponsors 2-4 day leadership workshops for those wishing to gain management skills. Your library will normally advertise these special sessions when they are in close geographic range.

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/proftools/elearning.cfm also hosts numerous online learning opportunities ranging from one hour sessions to multi-week courses on a variety of topics related to academic librarianship.

The Canadian Library Association website offers a Resource section, http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Resources, which includes a number of free toolkits for download.

The sites I have mentioned represent a small sampling of practical resources available to us as professional librarians. I can personally attest to the fact that these kits and courses can prove invaluable in providing you with the information you need when you need it most.  

Carol Perry

The OLA Super Conference 2009 was two months ago and already we are planning for 2010!

To continue with the tradition of great Super Conferences we need your help. Please consider submitting a proposal for a session or a topic that you’d like explored at next year’s conference.

Call for Proposals Submission Deadline - April 30th, 2009

2010 SUPER CONFERENCE
February 24-27, 2010
Metro Toronto Convention Centre

What topics is OCULA looking for?
We are looking for presentations that reflect the challenging and exciting times in college and university libraries. Particular topics of interest include collection development, reference services, theories of information literacy, the future of academic libraries, and more. This is a great opportunity to present your ideas, research or experience to your peers.

How do I submit a proposal?
You can submit a proposal for a session you would like to PRESENT; however, you can also submit a proposal for a topic that you would like to see covered but that you don’t want to present. Please submit your idea to the OLA website at:
http://www.accessola.com/ola/bins/form_page.asp?cid=5-2050

To ensure that your submission does not get lost in the online universe, please also email the title of your submission to: khoffma8@uwo.ca

What if I have other questions?
Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns

khoffma8@uwo.ca or pgreen@conestogac.on.ca

We look forward to seeing all your great session ideas!

Collegially,

Kristin Hoffmann

Trish Green
OCULA Super Conference 2010 Program Planners

Blog post from a new librarian

“Communicating Professionally: a how-to-do it manual for library applications” by Catherine Sheldrick Ross and Patricia Dewedney is something that all librarians should be aware of especially if you are a new librarian AND a new professional.

My colleague Anne Fullerton, one of the OCULA board members at large, brought it to my attention.  I was talking to her one day saying…”geeze I don’t even know where to begin writing this project proposal.”  And boy, did I say this to the right person!  She handed over this book by Ross and Dewedney and I took it to my office, used it to great success, then had a copy ordered for our general collection…so I could use it!

Communication Professionally is a practical book.  I don’t think it is one that you would read end to end BUT it is a go-to book, there when you need it.  It covers the basics of communicating, from creating voicemail messages, to the reference interview, to e-mails, to formal presentations.

I have it sitting in my office waiting for my next crisis….

Read a review here

(p.s. it was written in 1998 and doesn’t contain information on writing blogs…so Ross and Dewdney can’t be held responsible for my poor writing here!)