Category Archives: LIS Programs

Information about MLIS programs, including hack your program posts.

Opportunity: Call for Guest Writers for the ArLiSNAP Blog

The Blog Editors of Art Library Students & New ARLIS Professionals (ArLiSNAP) would like to invite guest writers to contribute to our blog: http://arlisnap.arlisna.org/

This writing opportunity is open to all! We welcome posts from art information paraprofessionals, professionals, students, and prospective art librarians! This could include anyone working with visual and performing arts, new media, and other arts-related collections. We also welcome posts from people who started their careers in librarianship and/or art information but have moved on to other arts-adjacent fields.

Choose from one of our suggested themes below, or propose a topic of your own! You do not need to have any previous writing experience. We will work with you to edit your work.

Please send an email to arlisnap.na@gmail.com expressing your interest and proposed topic.

Suggested themes:

Review a conference or seminar (including virtual webinars and other online experiences)
Highlight your experiences transitioning from a student to a new professional
Share an interesting read about librarianship or another information services-adjacent topic
What are you working on? Share the process of a professional project or your personal art, music, writing, etc.
Discuss an internship, fellowship, or first-year librarian experience

————–

Best,
Melanie Zerah and Alison Baitz

The Dual-Degree Art Librarian: Survey and Guide for Career Planning (by Autumn Wetli & Sarah Bilotta)

Whether or not a second Master’s, or perhaps even a PhD, is needed for the subject specialist librarian is an area of debate. We have decided to think about this conversation specifically in the terms of Art Librarianship. Gathered are some pros and cons to getting the advanced degree in art/art history, formulated from the thoughts of fellow ArLiSNAP followers and some scholarly articles on the subject.

For the purposes of informally ascertaining a consensus among early career art librarians or those interested in the field, we conducted some preliminary research with scholarly materials that address the educational requirements for professional art librarian jobs, as well as the opinions of more established art librarians. We then used this research as inspiration to formulate methods for engaging the perspectives of new and emerging art librarians. This culminated in circulating an open-ended question to evoke the thoughts and opinions of our colleagues, both via e-mail with librarians we have worked with and through the e-mail listserv of ArLiSNAP. In order to achieve varied and unrestricted opinions, we solicited feedback on the basis that we were curious to hear about colleagues’ experiences in the field in relation to this topic in a broad sense. All respondents were informed that this information would be used for an ArLiSNAP blog post (with the option to remain anonymous). For this survey and the resultant blog article, “subject Master’s degree” and “second Master’s degree” are intended to refer to a Master’s degree in a subject other than librarianship, obtained before, after, or in conjunction with a librarianship Master’s degree, and meant to bolster the scholarly research capabilities of a librarian in the field of the arts and design.

From the results of this survey, we have drawn conclusions not necessarily about the overarching value (or lack thereof) of the subject Master’s degree to the field of art librarianship, but about individual librarians’ experiences with or without a subject Master’s degree and patterns among this small sample of librarians, which may be indicative of trends warranting either further study or consideration for librarians who are considering a second Master’s degree.

From the nine responses we received from our call out for opinions, four individuals have a Master’s degree in a subject other than librarianship and five do not. Of the five respondents who do not have a second Master’s degree, two have completed partial coursework towards a second Master’s degree and one is currently applying to dual degree programs.

Responses from our survey

PROS

Research Experience
“[Getting a second Master’s degree] is a rewarding experience…something that has come in very handy as an academic librarian.”
-Librarian with a second Master’s

“I think I would consider pursuing a second Master’s degree to not only further my understanding of the field, but also have a better grasp on the type of research [that] is done at the graduate level by participating in it myself.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in librarianship, but without a subject Master’s

“…the [Master’s degree in Art History] provided me with appropriate knowledge of arts and art history subject areas; resources, tools, and methodologies; and vocabulary to meet the requirements of the co-op role, and that experience has been invaluable for shaping my readiness to enter the workforce in art librarianship.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in Art History, currently working on MLIS

“[Getting a subject Master’s degree] is a rewarding experience and really helped me learn how to sculpt a scholarly research project, something that has come in very handy as an academic librarian.”
-Librarian with an arts-related subject Master’s degree, currently working on MLIS

Job Possibilities
“I have held two professional librarian positions since graduating from library school, and both asked for an Art History MA as a preferred requirement.”
-Librarian with MLIS and MA in Art History

“…feedback [from others in the art librarianship field] has consistently been a positive assertion that having the two degrees will help me have a competitive edge in the job search.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in Art History, currently working on MLIS

“My current job does not require the second masters, but other positions I might be interested in down the line do require it for promotion…”
-Librarian with MLIS and partial coursework towards MA in Art History

Enhanced Opportunities for Professional Development
“Though I have yet to determine if — or how — having a second, subject specific Master’s will help my career in art librarianship, I can say that it has had a strong influence in my professional development throughout the MLIS program.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in Art History, currently working on MLIS

“[Having a subject Master’s degree] has gone a long way to gaining acceptance and interest from members of professional organizations that cover the intersection of arts and librarianship.”
-Librarian with an arts-related subject Master’s degree, currently working on MLIS

Strengthened Relationships with Art Scholars

“…it’s always helpful for an academic librarian to have a second master’s degree or even PhD. It can go a long way in your ability to gain respect or trust from faculty and administration.”
-Librarian with MLIS, previously enrolled in MA program in Art History

“I definitely find it easier to be an art & design librarian without an extra Master’s than I think I might serving art history [faculty].”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

“Having an advanced degree helps when you are working with senior scholars, whether curators or university academics.”
-Librarian with MA in Art History and Master’s degree in Librarianship

CONS

Cost
“[Enrollment in Master’s degree program in Art History] was costing a fortune, and I knew my loan debt was already staggering.”
-Librarian with MLIS and partial coursework towards MA in Art History

“To me the biggest reason not to get a second master’s was the money. I wasn’t sure that the investment would be necessary or pay off sufficiently to warrant the debt.”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

“If I could go back and do it again, the only thing I would change is lowering the amount of student loans I took out…Luckily I qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program because I work for a university, but who knows what will happen with that program in the near future…”
-Librarian with MLIS and MA in Art History

A Degree is Only What You Make of It
“I do think it’s a challenge to find a good position in the field regardless of whether you pursue the second degree.”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

“I think the more you do and achieve, the higher your chances will be for potentially landing that ideal position you’ve got your sights set on…”
-Librarian currently applying to Master’s degree programs

“…having served on a few search committees now, I can say that it’s not necessarily the education that gets you the job, but rather the way you present yourself and articulate the ways in which you can/have applied that education to a practical position as a librarian.”
-Librarian with MLIS and MA in Art History

Not All Art Librarian Positions Require a Subject Master’s

“[A second Master’s degree] is not required for my current role where I lead the library’s instruction program and work with a variety of subject areas.”
-Librarian with MLIS, previously enrolled in MA program in Art History

“[In my current position] the second Master’s is less needed because I’m not being asked to help with graduate level research. So in general, I think it depends on your position and the level of research you are expected to help with.”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

Responses in the Literature
In addition to reaching out to our colleagues, we looked at a couple articles that performed studies on the MLIS and an advanced subject degree. This was not an exhaustive search into the literature on this topic, but rather, a very brief look into the results of a couple similar surveys. Much like the results of our own informal survey, the importance of a second advanced subject degree, really depends on the individual and should be evaluated on case-by-case scenarios.

Echoing responses we heard from ArLiSNAP followers, one of pros of an advanced-subject degree was found in its ability to make the librarian a better researcher than if they had just pursued the MLIS. This helps the librarian in two ways. First, it better prepares them for research and publication of their own, which can help with career advancement in regards to tenure and/or promotion (Mayer & Terrill, 2005, p. 68). Secondly, the librarian has first-hand research experience that many patrons, perhaps particularly graduate students and faculty, need (ibid.) One article made an interesting note, that from their research, the demand for second masters or advanced degrees was found to be most desirable for library administrators (Ferguson, 2016, p. 732).

Many School of Information programs offer dual degrees, which allow students to receive the a second, subject specialized Master, at less cost and time than pursuing the MA/MS solely on its own. Art History as a second Masters is commonly a part of these programs. A few programs that offer such are The University of North Carolina, Indiana University Bloomington, Pratt Institute, and Kent State University.

References

Ferguson, J. (2016). Additional degree required: advanced subject knowledge and academic librarianship. Libraries and the Academy, 16(4), 721-736. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/632342

Mayer, J. & Terrill, L. J. (2005). Academic librarians’ attitudes about advanced-subject degrees. College & Research Libraries, 66(1), 59-70. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.66.1.59

Hack Your Art Librarianship Program: The University of North Texas

This Hack Your Art Librarianship Program post is contributed by Cassie Swayze. Cassie is a recent graduate of the University of North Texas and is interested in the convergence of fine arts, digital technologies and long-term preservation solutions. She currently resides in Austin, TX and can be found on Twitter @castleswayze. When she isn’t blogging or library-ing, she can be found reading longform articles and swimming in lakes, creeks and streams around Central Texas.

The University of North Texas (UNT) Information Science school is an ALA accredited program located in Denton, TX. The program requirement is 39 credits including the practicum and capstone courses. Incoming students can choose to major in either MS-Information Science or MS-Library Science. I received my degree from UNT this fall (just two short weeks ago), and elected to complete the MS-LS degree. Although, program staff strongly encourage me to pursue an Information Science degree because it is more versatile. However, my career objectives are focused on employment in either a fine art museum environment or humanities archives and the Library Science track was a better fit for my personal goals. This post will focus on the MS-LS program but you can read more about the IS track on their website [http://informationscience.unt.edu/].

The MS-LS can be completed online or in-person, or a combination of online and in-person. I live and work in Austin, and the UNT program is based in Denton (about an hour north of Dallas), so my program was primarily completed remotely. However, there were students in my cohort who completed a mix of online and in-person coursework, and it is feasible to tailor your experience depending on your location. I also encountered students in my cohort located across the country from California to Maine. Each region is assigned its own cohort but students interact with each other primarily through their program of study (more on that below). For example, one of my fellow students was located in the Bay Area and completed a wide variety of internships from area museums to the Internet Archive. There are advantages and disadvantages to pursuing an online experience. I elected to complete the majority of my coursework remotely because I did not want to relocate from Austin. I was also fortunate to obtain my degree debt free because I was working full-time and attended as an in-state resident.

Students enrolled in the MS-LS can select from seven different programs of study to tailor their degree experience. Students may also complete the general program of study for librarianship. Your selected program does not appear on your transcript or diploma but serves as a guideline for course selection. Students pursuing the online program are encouraged to speak with their advisors throughout the program and advisor approval is required before enrolling in courses each semester. I chose to speak with my advisor via telephone prior to each semester and emailed past instructors seeking advice about coursework selection. I was quite nervous about the level of involvement from faculty and program staff prior to enrollment, but everyone was readily available to advise and answer my questions. I only visited the advising office in person one time in two years (which was really different than my undergraduate experience)! Beyond the program of study guidelines each student must complete and pass three required courses: Information and Knowledge Professions, Information Organization, and Information Access and Knowledge Inquiry. The three core courses require in-person attendance at a two day institute either in Denton or a city based in your cohort\’92s region. These core classes were the only time I interacted with students outside my program of study and I found it refreshing to hear perspectives from student librarians, music librarians, metadata specialists, cataloguers, health informatics, etc.

Additional mandatory requirements include two guided electives selected from a predetermined list with the assistance of your advisor. Finally, all students must complete an 120 hour practicum. There is an option to waive the practicum if you have been or are already employed in a library or related organization (archive, museum). Although I qualified for a waiver, I chose to complete the practicum because it was excellent work experience and an opportunity to develop workflows using the applications and databases I learned about throughout my coursework. One big advantage to the online coursework is that the practicum can be completed anywhere. The UNT LIS program maintains an active graduate list serve where local and national organizations advertise opportunities for practicums and employment opportunities. The Dallas Museum of Art’s reference library and the Southern Methodist University (SMU) art library recently advertised practicum opportunities on the list serve, and the Amon Carter Museum of Art in Fort Worth occasionally posts advertisements for students in the local area.

I chose to complete my practicum with the UNT Special Collections Library and worked directly with the Portal to Texas History digital library describing records and performing metadata creation. Although my practicum was not in the fine arts I worked at the Blanton Museum of Art throughout my program. I was also able to perform processing duties at the Harry Ransom Center humanities library and collaborated on digital projects with staff at the Blanton Museum while enrolled. These experiences certainly made my online degree program feel worthwhile and diverse, but UNT LIS students must be proactive in seeking out opportunities themselves. I also joined professional organizations (student discounts!) and attended webinars whenever my schedule allowed. One big difference between an in-person versus virtual experience is that students have to be motivated about networking and internship opportunities. I was able to develop my resume while enrolled at UNT without relocating or pursuing financial assistance, which was ideal for my personal/family life. The UNT LIS department also offers scholarship assistance to enrolled students and has a lengthy menu of scholarships available. I was told during one of the core institutes that the department frequently has funds leftover from unclaimed scholarships.

The program of study selected by students provides guidelines for the remainder of the required credits for the degree plan. Although I entered the program intending to pursue art librarianship my interest pivoted to archival studies and digital humanities once I was enrolled. The program relies heavily on project-based learning and I was able to tailor my research to arts communities and user groups. In my personal experience, metadata and cataloging coursework at UNT accounted for visual arts resources and their unique traits. I was able to use any project-based learning to examine LIS issues in art museums. Frequently I used these opportunities to examine digital scholarship in fine arts environments.

During my second semester, my advisor recommended enrolling in Introduction to Digital Libraries, which was offered as a five week course during the truncated May-June term. The course was taught by Dr. Jeonghyun Kim and introduced me to digital curation, which was my academic focus throughout my program. UNT also offers a Graduate Academic Certificate (GAC) in digital curation, although, unfortunately the offerings required for the curation GAC did not align with my academic schedule. Instead, I completed the GAC in Archival Management & Imaging Technology with special focus on born-digital and digitized archives, and explored the integration of digital libraries and digital exhibitions into preexisting arts communities. I enjoyed my coursework in digital curation immensely and was able to apply the principles to my archival studies. Art museums and art libraries, especially in academia, are more committed than ever to preserving born-digital records and digitizing existing collections. The digital curation coursework was the most valuable information I encountered at UNT and Dr. Kim was one of my favorite instructors. I continued to encounter the standards and principles taught in my digital curation courses in nearly every other class throughout the program. Beyond digital curation, I focused on archival studies in humanities repositories and art museums. My coursework was mostly taught by adjuncts who are professionals in the field, and their real world advice was extremely valuable.

The degree plan allows students to pace themselves according to their personal and financial capabilities, and I elected to complete my degree in 24 months. Full-time workers are encouraged to take no more than six credits (two courses) per semester but there were colleagues in my archival cohort who enrolled in nine credits. Personally, I took nine credits during each summer term and it was very challenging to maintain the pace while conducting in-depth research. I completed my practicum while enrolled in both guided electives, each of which focused on metadata creation. There were many late nights trying to puzzle out an assignment about VRA Core or MODS while juggling my description duties for the Portal to Texas History. I would not recommend agreeing to this many obligations while working full-time; it was very challenging to remain focused and manage my personal schedule beyond school/work.

I have nearly a decade of experience in the fine arts, working in galleries, nonprofit arts organization, and art museums. The decision to pursue art librarianship was a longtime dream and felt integral to my personal career goals. However, there are salary limitations to librarianship (as most of you reading understand!), and I could not justify pursuing a degree with large out of pocket costs. Like the LIS program offered by San Jose State University, the UNT LIS degree is designed to advance students’ careers who are already employed full or part-time. Faculty and staff possess an understanding of working professionals unique needs, and I found that most faculty (and definitely the advising office) are compassionate towards remote students’ specific limitations. Throughout my program I met and collaborated with students employed in libraries, archives and museums, and they brought unique, real world experiences to our discussions. I really enjoyed the diverse perspectives because learning about librarianship and archival studies in theory is quite different than in practice.

The online program relies heavily on Blackboard discussion forums and GoToMeetings for lectures so a dependable Internet connection and reliable computer hardware is necessary. I returned to graduate school after seven years in the workforce so there was a slight technology learning curve for me. I also enjoyed pacing myself and my work load throughout the program. My time management and organizational skills improved ten-fold and I mastered effective online writing and communication skills. There are several other excellent LIS programs in Texas, but I would recommend pursuing the UNT program if you are a working professional seeking to expand your skills. If you are already employed in a library, art museum or humanities archive, the MS-LS or MS-IS provides an opportunity to gain academic credentials and expand your skill set without committing to full-time coursework.

Call for Hack Your Art Library Program submissions!

Hello all!

We are looking for people interested in blogging about their Art Librarianship program or what they’ve stitched together to formulate their own!

Here is a rough outline of what we are looking for in a post: general description of your program, requirements for the art librarianship track or how you are formulating your own focus, what classes are offered, information on faculty, your personal experience as a student, does the program offer internships/hands on experience, and finally, would you recommend this program.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in contributing to, please email autumnwetli@gmail.com. Thanks!

A Compendium of Archivists Talk About Their First Professional Publishing Experience

The SNAP Roundtable blog just published a great roundup of mid-career archivists discussing their routes to publication, all through grad-school term papers or essay awards. As I’ve written about this previously, obviously I feel like these perspectives are good to have.

https://snaproundtable.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/on-the-job-training-publishing/

Hack Your MLIS Program: Visual Resources Librarianship

Hi Arlisnappers! After a yearlong absence, I am back on the blog as a feature post writer and excited to be a part of the ArLiSNAP team once again. I recently graduated with my MLIS and I currently work as the Director of Visual Resources at the University of Georgia.

In April 2014, I shared my tips for hacking your MLIS program to focus on art librarianship. Now I’m back with a better-late-than-never follow-up on how I hacked my MLIS program to prepare for my career in visual resources librarianship. We have discussed how to plan your coursework so you are prepared to manage digital collections before, and this post will focus specifically on what you need to manage visual resources collections.

Visual Resources Center, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia. Image courtesy of Courtney Baron.

What is visual resources librarianship?

Visual resources librarianship is a bit different from art librarianship, though the two fields require similar skills and educational backgrounds. I have worked as a full-time visual resources professional for one year now, so I have a good idea of what the profession involves and what is required to do the job successfully. That being said, each position is unique depending on the needs of the institution. Visual resources professionals historically functioned as slide librarians, usually in art/art history departments or libraries. Now, we primarily manage digital image collections, though slide collections still exist at many institutions, and assist faculty and students with their image needs. We may also manage public visual resources spaces that range from digital scanning and projects labs to libraries with circulating materials.

Become involved in VRA

The Visual Resources Association (VRA) is smaller than ARLIS, but equally as welcoming. Hands down, this is the best way to get – and stay – connected to the field, especially if you are one of the few people in your program interested in art and visual resources librarianship. Not only do you have access to a large network of art and visual resources professionals, but you can also follow news, concerns, and trends on the VRA listserv. I encourage you to be active on the listserv as well since name recognition can help you in your job search later on! Seriously – my predecessor was very active, and I get asked about him all the time. If you have been involved with ARLIS but haven’t yet ventured into VRA, there is a joint conference next year in Seattle, WA, so it will be an opportune time to check out both organizations and annual conferences. There is also a similar group to ArLiSNAP called vreps – visual resources association emerging professionals and students – that you should join. The VRA Bulletin is the journal of the association and each issue contains a wealth of information about current issues and practices in the field.

Focus coursework and projects on visual resources topics

As I said in part one, the best way to ensure you are getting a similar education to a MLIS program that does offer an art librarianship track is to see which courses they require and which electives they offer. I also recommend looking at similar tracks, such as digital content/asset management or archives. I recommend courses on the following topics, since they relate to visual resources: humanities information services, digital libraries, descriptive cataloging and metadata, database design, digital humanities, and digital archives. Basically, looks for classes that focus on metadata, technologies, databases, and managing or curating digital archives, libraries, and other collections. These classes will give you an overview of the information you need and you can focus your projects and papers specifically on arts and humanities topics.

Independent study

In part one, I discussed an independent study on art and visual resources librarianship that I designed as an elective in my MLIS program. If you would like more information on that, I’m happy to share my syllabus and course projects in a later post.

This time, I’m focusing on what you can do independently outside of coursework to build some of the skills you need to work in visual resources.

Photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom

Knowledge of photography, especially editing software, is very helpful for managing image collections. I still have a lot to learn about photography, but I have heard that ShootFlyShoot has fantastic photography classes. Why is this important? So you understand how the images you work with are produced, and you can produce images if required. Some visual resources positions require original photography of works of art, either from works in museum or galleries, or from faculty and student work. I do not produce original photography in my current position, but I do a lot of scanning, and knowledge of photographic editing techniques is essential. I use Adobe Photoshop, and recommend Photoshop Classroom in a Book to learn the basics of using Photoshop. The book has a disc with tutorials and sample images to practice editing. Adobe Lightroom is a simpler and easier way to edit images and is preferred over Photoshop by some visual resources professionals.

Metadata

Just like a library book would be lost without a catalog record, images would be lost without good metadata. I believe that metadata is perhaps the most important part of managing image collections. After all, what’s the point of having a collection if your content cannot be easily found? Just as there are cataloging standards and formats for cataloging books, archival materials, etc., these also exist for visual resources collections. Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO) is a content standard for visual resources collections (comparable to RDA) and VRA Core is a metadata schema used to describe images (comparable to MARC). If you have access to Adobe Bridge, you can download the VRA Core panel and practice creating metadata for images. It’s also essential to be familiar with the Getty vocabularies, which are now available as Linked Open Data. The vocabularies will give you the structured terminology for art, architecture, and other materials and are essential tools for the proper cataloging of images.

Image resources

Working in visual resources doesn’t just mean managing image collections. There is a reference and instruction component. You must be able to help others find and locate images using subscription databases, institutional image collections, and free resources on the web. The most popular subscription database for images is Artstor Digital Library. If the institution where you attend school or work does not have a subscription, you can still check out the website or YouTube videos to learn more about how the database works and how to use it. There is a section with free guides, including subject-specific guides, and studying these is an excellent way to increase your knowledge of this resource.

Visual resources professionals manage institutional image collections or archives. These collections can include images from faculty and student image requests, images from digitized slides, images purchased from vendors, and images related to institutional history. In order to properly manage these image collections, you need to know how digital asset management systems work. A broad knowledge of DAMs is important, because there are many different systems out there. The most popular DAMs for visual resources include Artstor’s Shared Shelf, Luna Imaging, and Madison Digital Image Database (MDID). These can be high cost for some institutions, so in-house solutions are also popular.

You also need to know how to locate high-quality and accurate images on the web. Libguides are an excellent way to compile these resources, and many institutions have great libguides on locating images for you to browse and study. My personal philosophy behind libguides, or curating image resources in general, is this: quality over quantity. Your job isn’t to know all instances of where to find images of the Mona Lisa. Your job is to know where to find the best images of the Mona Lisa.

Copyright and fair use

You also need to know how the images you manage, or how images available in subscription databases or on the web, can be used. This is why copyright and fair use comes into play. For general information on copyright law, look at Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators: Creative Strategies and Practical Solutions. For copyright information related to the visual arts, your best resources are from the College Art Association. Copyright, Permissions, and Fair Use among Visual Artists and the Academic and Museum Visual Arts Communities was released in 2014 and and the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts was released earlier this year. Study these documents and know them well.

Get experience – if you can

Some institutions don’t have a visual resources collection, but those that do usually need help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a visual resources professional and ask if you can volunteer, intern, or even just visit the collection and learn more about what they do and what a typical day is like for them.

So this is what I recommend doing as a library science student if you are interested in visual resources. If other visual resources professionals are reading this, I’m curious to hear what you also recommend!

Survey: Canadian LIS students, grads, and hiring staff on transition to academic librarianship

Please check out the following survey and see if you qualify! The research is on MLIS students, recent graduates, and hiring librarians and managers at Canadian academic institutions. (This is reposted from a listserv.)

Dear LIS colleagues,

This email is to invite you to participate in a research study exploring the transition between LIS education and employment in academic libraries.

Our study seeks to examine how students are prepared for and what challenges exist when transitioning from LIS to a career in academic librarianship. Our findings will help contribute to Canadian LIS literature and provide recommendations to LIS programs and employers to help support the successful transition from school to employment.

The survey will remain open until July 28, 2014. Please distribute this email widely.

Eligible participants include:

·         Current students enrolled in a Master of Library and Information Studies, or directly equivalent, program at a Canadian university. Students can be pursuing part-time or full-time studies. Participants in this category must have completed approximately 50 percent of their program and have an intention or interest in pursuing a career in academic librarianship.

·         Recent graduates who have completed a Master of Library and Information Studies, or directly equivalent, program at a Canadian university within the last year (graduated no earlier than April 2013) and are actively seeking employment at a Canadian academic library.

·         New professionals who have completed a Master of Library and Information Studies, or directly equivalent, program at a Canadian university within the last three years (graduated no earlier than April 2011). Participants in this category are recent graduates who are currently employed full- or part-time, either on a permanent or contract basis, at a Canadian academic library.

·         Hiring managers or librarians who participate in hiring committees at any Canadian academic library, in any discipline, on either a contract or permanent basis. Librarians involved in other elements of the hiring process and supervisors of new professionals are also encouraged to participate.

If you have any questions, please, contact either Laura Thorne by phone at (250) 807-9107 or by email at laura.thorne@ubc.ca or Catherine McGoveran by phone at (613) 562-5800 ext. 2725 or by email at catherine.mcgoveran@uottawa.ca.

Survey data is being collected via Verint, a survey tool provided by UBC IT. Verint is a Canadian-hosted survey solution complying with the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. All data is stored and backed up in Canada.

This study is being conducted in English; however, should a participant require assistance to participate, the researchers will endeavour to provide this assistance wherever possible.

When completed, the researchers will seek to publish the results of the study. If you would like a copy of the research findings, please send a request to either Laura Thorne by phone at (250) 807-9107 or by email at laura.thorne@ubc.caor Catherine McGoveran by phone at (613) 562-5800 ext. 2725 or by email at catherine.mcgoveran@uottawa.ca.

To participate in our study, please follow the link: http://www.surveyfeedback.ca/surveys/wsb.dll/s/1g336c

Thank you for your support,

Laura Thorne & Catherine McGoveran

Laura Thorne

Learning Services Librarian, UBC Okanagan Campus Library

The University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus

(250) 807-9127

laura.thorne@ubc.ca

Catherine McGoveran

Bibliothécaire spécialisée en information gouvernementale / Government Information Librarian

Centre d’information GSG Information Centre ; Bibliothèque Morisset Library

Université d’Ottawa / University of Ottawa

(613) 562-5800 ext./poste 2725

catherine.mcgoveran@uottawa.ca

Summer Study Abroad Course: “Follow the Fringe”

Summer Study Abroad Course: “Follow the Fringe”, 2nd Season. Application period closes February 14. Space is limited!.

The University of Maryland, College of Information Studies, Maryland’s iSchool, announces a Study Abroad course offering this summer. Directed by Mary Edsall Choquette, iSchool faculty, the course, “Follow the Fringe: Documentation and Preservation of Cultural Movements in Media,” offers 12 students the opportunity to travel to Scotland and participate in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014.

The course introduces students to the fundamentals of archival documentation and preservation of, and access to, performance activity information. It specifically focuses on documentation and preservation of movement phenomena performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014. Students will research and follow a performance group from the CalArts Festival Theater Summer Program, California Institute of the Arts, which has participated in the Edinburgh Festival for11 years.

The Festival Fringe in Edinburgh is the oldest performance festival of its type. While several “fringe festivals” now happen in cities in the United States, the Edinburgh festival is the mother of all and has the historical elements making it most worthy of initial research and practical experience. It provides a unique experience to investigate strategies for documentation of performance phenomena and the creation of archives, adding to the history of the event.

Building on a model for live performance documentation and preservation created by Dr. Choquette, students will plan a documentation strategy specific to this project; implement that strategy; collect the resulting media and data in a digital archive; and place the digital archive in a shared repository in Edinburgh, at CalArts, and at the University of Maryland. Students will also create metadata for access purposes.

Students will live and work for 2 weeks in the heart of Edinburgh, among thousands of people performing and working at the festival as well as audience participants and the residents of the city. This provides a unique experience of living in a city being lit by culture 24/7 during the 2-week stay.

Students will be exposed to real life in Scotland through tours of libraries and archives, and independent touring experiences and will be exposed to the world of festival culture through practical experiences; by living among festival participants; and through audience activities. Students will blog regularly and tweet daily about their experiences; resulting data will be included in the digital archive.

Throughout these various experiences, students will document and collect found cultural information and will collectively produce a digital “Movement Mash-up Mural” upon return from Scotland. The Mural will be premiered at a public event at Maryland’s iSchool.

This course directly relates to the iSchool’s mission of engaging in collaborative and innovative research, teaching, and service. It also responds to the iSchool’s vision of transforming the way individuals, organizations, and communities connect with information. The course also reflects the iSchool’s commitment to diversity and community across cultures.

The schedule for the course is as follows:

Start date*: 7/15/2014
Date of departure from US: 7/27/2014
Earliest return date: 8/10/2014
End date*: 8/19/2014
*On campus workshop dates TBA.

For more information on the “Follow the Fringe” course and to apply for admission, please see the online course brochure:
https://myea.umd.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10836

Questions can also be directed to Mary Edsall Choquette: mechoque@umd.edu

Are you Library Management Material?

Although it might seem to many of us, while students, that library management is something to consider years from now, if ever, it might be worth a second thought during your MLIS program. If you have been in library school any length of time, you are bound to have picked up on something like “a shortage of qualified library leaders is coming, so get ready!” While this may or may not be true, it is entirely within the realm of possibility that some of us will eventually be library managers. With the proliferation of educational tracks and certificate programs, choosing one is sometimes a daunting prospect. What would entice you to choose a Library Management emphasis over others?

Maybe the answer lies in taking stock of your personality, skills, abilities, and goals. For me personally, Management Studies is ideal. I LOVED 5300: Library and Information Center Management. I reveled in topics like Strategic Planning, Organizational Culture, Human Resource Management, Ethics, and Development/Fundraising. Of course, maybe this has something to do with the fact that I have had some management experience and can envision myself in a leadership role readily. Or maybe it’s simply that I like being in charge!

What about you? Can you picture yourself in a management role of some kind? Do you think the administrative side of the job would perhaps overshadow your primary objectives as a librarian? Yes or no?

Professional development- opportunities abound!

As always, you can also see what’s coming up through the Educational Opportunities Calendar. Keep reading for details about all the great conferences, CFPs, scholarships and more opportunities below!

Deadline to register is Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Next Chapter: Rare Books in Modern Times

Presented by the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts

November 13 & 14, 2012

Philadelphia, PA

Hosted and co-sponsored by:

American Philosophical Society

Millions of books are contained in 21st-century libraries, museums, archives, and special collections. Those defined as rare may be historically significant, scarce, unusual or innovative in format, or otherwise unique. The evolution from handwritten text to printed volume and digital page is indicative of cultural and intellectual growth and parallels improvements in the use and care of books. The book in modern times is a source of knowledge and a work of art. This two-day program will explore the definition of the rare book within the context of its physical history and current preservation concerns. Presenters will also address ways to engage the public with rare book collections in conservation work and exhibition planning.

Topics will include:

* Identification and description of historical bindings

* Preservation priorities and conservation issues for rare books in the digital age

* Digitization selection

* Objectives in targeting volumes for conservation treatment

* Rare book exhibition planning and interpretation

Program Fees:

$225 CCAHA members

$250 Non-members

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, October 30, 2012

More information about this program and online registration is available atwww.ccaha.org/education/program-calendar. Major funding for this program was generously provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), with additional support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Independence Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

CFP: ALCTS PARS Digital Preservation Interest Group at 2013 ALA Midwinter Meeting

The ALCTS PARS Digital Preservation Interest Group invites speakers to participate at the Digital Preservation Interest Group session at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 from 8:30-10:00 AM.

The mission of the ALCTS PARS Digital Preservation Interest Group is to serve as a venue for discussing the preservation management of digital assets whether commercial, born-digital or converted from analog formats.

Presentation topics should be of current interest to technical services librarians, preservation librarians, digital librarians, and archivists.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

-Digital preservation planning

-Digital preservation of special formats such as social media, digital humanities projects, websites, research data, email, etc.

-Digital preservation tools and systems

-Collaborative digital preservation efforts

-Digital preservation strategies such as format migration, replication, or emulation

-Digital preservation best practices

-Trusted Digital Repository certification

-The economics of digital preservation

-Training for digital preservation job responsibilities

-Digital preservation challenges

-Digital preservation success or failure stories

Presentations should be approximately 15-20 minutes in length. Additional time will be allowed for questions and discussion.

Please send abstracts of proposals to co-chairs by Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. If you have questions, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Digital Preservation Interest Group Co-Chairs:

Sibyl Schaefer

Assistant Director, Head of Digital Programs, Rockefeller Archive Center

SSchaefer@rockarch.org

Meghan Banach Bergin

Coordinator, Bibliographic Access and Metadata Unit, University of Massachusetts Amherst

mbanach@library.umass.edu

Proposals are due by November 1, 2012

The Association of Architecture School Librarians holds its annual meeting in conjunction with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Our 2013 Conference will take place in San Francisco, CA from March 21-24, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt Union Square.

The AASL 2013 Conference Planning Committee is requesting proposals for two Special Focus Panels to be held Friday, March 22, 2013; the first will be a one-hour session for a series of up to 7 lightning talks (not more than six minutes long, not more than 15 slides) on topics pertinent to architectural librarianship. The second session (1.5 hours) will host three panelists and focus on academic topics(15 minute long presentations).

Lightning Talk Proposals

Lightning talks, also known as Pecha Kucha, encourage presenters to focus on the essential elements of their topic. Themes suggested after last year’s conference include: library participation in the Solar Decathlon, promoting print collections in an e-resource world, developing a green building materials collection, cooperative collection development, new sustainability resources, and for-credit courses in information literacy.

While these topics all merit longer presentations, the six-minute time limit allows the presenter to use visual media to convey his/her message and to focus on only the essential elements of the talk, hopefully promoting discussion after the presentations. There is also little risk that the talk will be boring.

AASL Conference participants interested in presenting a lightning talk, should send a one-paragraph description including proposed title and the speaker’s name and affiliation to David Eifler (deifler@berkeley.edu) by November 1, 2012. The 2013 Conference Committee will review all proposals and will inform applicants of selection decisions by December 1, 2012.

Academic Panel Proposals

Taking cue from the theme of the ACSA 101th Annual Meeting, AASL academic panelists will use the idea of New Constellations/New Ecologies as their starting point.

Panel topics should address ways in which architecture is responding / has responded (or not) to the accelerated rate of change in our culture and environment. Panelists may choose as broad or narrow approach as they see fit as long as they can properly make their argument in the allotted time. They can address or draw from any aspect of architectural practice, theory, history or education.

Possible topics include:

megalopolises, mega-regions

crossdisciplinarity or blurring the boundaries – in and out of architecture

global/local

community-based design

environmental, cultural, technological, or demographic change and its impact on architecture or architectural education

The Academic Panel will allow for three 15-minute presentations and ample time for questions and discussion.

AASL Conference participants may submit abstracts of no more than 300 words to Martha González Palacios (martha.gonzalez@austin.utexas.edu) by November 1, 2012. Abstracts should explain the connection of the chosen topic to ACSA 101’s theme, summarize the argument to be presented and include the proposed title and speaker’s name and affiliation. The 2013 Conference Committee will review all proposals and will inform presenter of selection decisions by December 1, 2012.

Call for Applications: ARLIS/NA Gerd Muehsam Award

The Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) is accepting applications for the Gerd Muehsam Award. This award is given annually for a student paper or web project focused on a topic relevant to art librarianship or visual curatorship. Current students and recent graduates in library studies, art history, museum studies, and studio art are eligible to apply.

The deadline for applications is November 30, 2012.

For detailed information about the award and application instructions please see the ARLIS/NA web site: http://www.arlisna.org/about/awards/muehsam_info.html

The Program Committee is now accepting proposals for Posters for the 41st annual ARLIS/NA conference to be held in Pasadena, CA from April 25-29, 2012. The deadline for Poster Session proposals is Friday, November 16, 2012.

A Poster Session is the presentation of a topic or research both visually and through direct interaction with conference attendees at a table. This format encourages one on one discussion and self-paced viewing. Posters may include projects, works in process, and other topics of interest to conference attendees.

To submit a Poster Session proposal for the Pasadena conference please click the link below and complete the online submission form:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ARLISNA-Posters

The ARLIS/NA-VRAF Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management will be held from June 18-June 21, 2013 at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

The members of the collaborative SEI 2013 Implementation Team are:

Amy Trendler (Ball State University), SEI Co-Chair for ARLIS/NA; Betha Whitlow (Washington University), SEI Co-Chair for the VRAF; Meghan Musolff (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor), SEI Faculty Liaison and Incoming Co-Chair for the VRAF; Rebecca Price (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor), Local Arrangements Chair; Karen Kessel (Sonoma State University), SEI Curriculum Specialist; Ian McDermott (ArtStor), SEI Curriculum Specialist; Adrianna Stephenson (Southern Methodist University), SEI Development Lead; Emily Lemieux (Williams College), SEI Webmaster.

The SEI 2013 website, with a full program and details of the institute, will go live in early December 2012, and registration will begin on January 22, 2013. The SEI is a proven and popular program and fills up each year, so be sure to register early to insure your place. In the meantime, if you have questions about SEI 2013, please contact SEI Co-Chair Betha Whitlow (bwhitlow[at]wustl[dot]edu) or SEI Co-Chair Amy Trendler (aetrendler[at]bsu[dot]edu).

ANNOUNCING: A NEW TRAINING Program for scholars, conservators, archivists and researchers in the Use of Reflectance Transformation imaging (RTI) for Documenting ancient texts and artifacts including the Loan of Imaging Equipment.

The University of Southern California’s West Semitic Research Project

(www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp) has received grants from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish a Training Program in advanced imaging technologies for the documentation of ancient texts and artifacts with an initial emphasis on Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI). The IMLS and the Mellon Foundation have also funded the purchase of imaging equipment to support the Training Program.

The objective of this project is to develop an infrastructure for training scholars, conservators, archivists and researchers in the use of RTI technology and subsequently to lend the necessary imaging equipment to participants in the training program so they can do an initial RTI documentation project either in field environments (archaeological sites, etc.) or in libraries, museums and/or other similar venues, worldwide. This initial undertaking should be understood to be a pilot project that can develop into an ongoing, broader documentary effort and preferably may also serve as the catalyst for establishing a consortial network for image documentation of a given corpus (or corpora) of ancient texts and/or artifacts. All equipment to be lent out is both rugged and compact and is thus ideal for doing sophisticated imaging in remote locations. Twenty-four awards over three years (approximately eight per year) for traineeships will be provided based on the merit and intrins ic importance of a proposed pilot imaging project as well as the appropriateness of the subject matter for RTI imaging.

For more information, see http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/Training_Program.pdf

or contact Marilyn Lundberg (mlundber@usc.edu) or Bruce Zuckerman (bzuckerm@usc.edu).