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Mark your calendars for the 2013 Virginia Library Association Paraprofessional Forum's Annual Conference

Lisa Varga — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:32:04 +0000

Mark your calendars for the 2013 Virginia Library Association Paraprofessional Forum’s Annual Conference. The dates are May 19-21, and the location is the Holiday Inn Select/Koger South Conference Center in Richmond, Virginia. This year’s theme is Libraries: Gateway to the Future. Make plans to attend this event where you will hear great speakers, network with friends and colleagues from across the state, and gain some new insights and knowledge that will enhance your job skills. The fee for the full conference is $110 for VLA members and $160 for non-members. Registration for one day is $65 for VLA members and $90.00 for non-members. For additional information about the conference you may contact VLA Executive Director Lisa Varga or one of the following VLAPF co-chairs:

Lydia Williams

Deloris Thomas

Nominations for VLA Paraprofessional Forum Awards due May 1, 2012

Lisa Varga — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:24:23 +0000

The VLA Paraprofessional Forum invites you to nominate one of your colleagues or yourself to receive one of the three awards being given during the annual conference in May. The awards and descriptions of each one are listed below.

The Outstanding Paraprofessional Award The Outstanding Paraprofessional Award was launched in 1996 as a means of recognizing excellence among the library paraprofessionals in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This award will be presented to a deserving Virginia paraprofessional at the VLAPF Spring Conference. It is presented annually to an individual who has been a member of VLA for at least one year and who demonstrates excellence in performance in his/her field of expertise. This individual should also be someone who fosters communication among library employees throughout the Commonwealth and advances and strengthens the image of paraprofessionals. You may nominate a colleague or yourself.

The entry should include: Name of the nominee Library where the nominee is associated Two-three paragraphs describing why the nominee deserves this award Additionally, the nomination may include a list of activities, programs and organization participation, recognitions or awards, innovative support staff development activities, or other noteworthy achievements in the workplace Name and library of the nominator

The VLA Paraprofessional Forum Award The VLA Paraprofessional Forum Award was established in 1995 through the generosity of Evelyn Kimball, a retired library paraprofessional who recognizes the value of support staff development. This award is meant to assist someone who is unable to acquire local funding to attend the conference. Awarded annually, it will provide full conference fees to a deserving paraprofessional.You may nominate a colleague or yourself.

The entry should include: Name of the nominee Library where the nominee is associated Two-three paragraphs describing why the nominee deserves this award Name and library of the nominator

The VLAPF Supporter of Paraprofessionals Award The VLAPF Supporter of the Year Award was established in 1996 as a means of recognizing an individual who has provided significant support to their staff and who has been a champion for library support staff in Virginia libraries. If you know someone who has been an advocate for continuing education programs and pay increases for their library support staff and who has encouraged their library staff to excel in the workplace, you are encouraged to nominate them to receive this award and recognition. You may nominate a supporter of paraprofessionals. The entry should include: Name of the nominee Library where the nominee is associated Two-three paragraphs describing why the nominee deserves this award Name and library of the nominator Nominations must be received by May 1, 2012.

Submit nominations for the VLAPF Supporter of Paraprofessionals Award to one of the co-chairs:

Susan Carroll

Paraprofessional Forum Co-Chair

Longwood University

Redford & Race Streets

Farmville, VA 23909

PH: 434-395-2873

carrollsk@longwood.edu

Deloris J. Thomas

Paraprofessional Forum Co-Chair

College of William & Mary

PO Box 8794

Williamsburg, VA 23187

PH: 757-221-3050

djthom@wm.edu

You are invited to 2012 VLACRL Spring Program!

Tatiana — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:38:04 +0000

What: The Virginia Chapter of ACRL (VLACRL) invites you to our annual
Spring Program “Starting at the end: Rethink your instruction based on student bibliographies.”

When: Monday, April 9th, 2012

Where: Sweet Briar College, Florence Easton Inn & Conference Center

Registration: Register online

$45 for VLACRL members (qualification: membership in ACRL or in VLA);

$55 for non-VLACRL members

Program Details:

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Registration and coffee

10 a.m. – 11 a.m. – Keynote Speaker Sandra Jamieson, Director of Composition, English Department, Drew University, “Struggling with Sources: Rethinking the Research Paper.”

Dr. Jamieson will discuss the findings of the Citation Project, a multi-institutional study of student source use in 174 papers from 16 US colleges and universities (http://site.citationproject.net/). Data findings reinforce some of the findings from single-institution studies, but also offer broader insights into the ways students select and use source material in researched papers.

11.15 a.m. – 12.15 p.m. – Reverse Engineering Workshop “How would we teach differently to get different results in student bibliographies?” facilitated by Candice Benjes-Small, Coordinator, Information Literacy and Outreach, Radford University and Luke Vilelle, Public Services & Social Sciences Liaison Librarian, Hollins University.

12.30 p.m.-1.30 p.m. – Lunch (included in registration fee)

1.45 p.m. – 2.45 p.m. – Shaunna Hunter, Public Services Librarian, and Liz Rand, Head of Rhetoric and Writing, Hampden-Sydney College, “Empowering Students as Researchers: Faculty/Librarian Collaboration.”

2.45 p.m. – 3.00 p.m. – Wrap-up.

For further registration questions, please contact Meridith Wolnick at mwolnick@virginia.edu

Join the VLACRL list @ groups.google.com/group/vla-crl and Like Us @ VLACRL Facebook for updates!

Youth Services Forum Meeting

Lisa Varga — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:34:15 +0000

The 2012 VLA Youth Services Forum and Executive Committee will be meeting on Friday, April 20, from 1:30-3:30pm at the Twin Hickory Branch of the Henrico County Library System, located at 5001 Twin Hickory Road, Glen Allen, VA.

VLA Technical Services & Technology Forum Presents: “Understanding XML” with Matthew Gibson

Lisa Varga — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:43:28 +0000

Tuesday, March 20, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA

This one-day hands-on workshop will explore XML with a specific focus on fundamentals of design, markup, and use. The workshop will explain why XML is important, particularly in the domain of describing, storing, and delivering information in a library setting.

XML Workshop Flyer (please print and post in your library.)

Topics to be covered include:

XML: What is it?
What is the difference between XML and HTML?
Why should librarians care about XML?
Understanding XML validation: What is it and why is it important?

Prerequisites: No prior knowledge of XML is required; familiarity with markup languages such as HTML is helpful. All students should be very comfortable navigating Windows operating system, and should be able to save files from the internet to the local computer, and understand how to find and open those files. The computers in the workshop classroom run Windows 7.

Matthew Gibson is Director of Digital Programs at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH). At the VFH, he oversees Encyclopedia Virginia, a digital publication about Virginia history and culture, and guides the short- and long-term planning for the organization’s digital efforts and scholarly communications. Matthew is an experienced conference presenter and author in the field of digital library standards. For the past nine years he has taught week-long XML application building workshops as an independent consultant and for the Association of Research Libraries. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia.

VLA Members: $85 per person / Non-members: $125 per person (Includes lunch in R-MC dining hall)

Click for online registration form.

Click for directions to Randolph-Macon College Library.

(Parking readily available during Randolph-Macon College’s Spring Break.)

Questions? Please contact Lynda Wright, Chair of the VLA Technical Services & Technology Forum for the Virginia Library Association at lwwright@rmc.edu

VLA NMRT Forum Call for Nominations!

Rebecca Miller — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:39:56 +0000

Have some great ideas about things you’d like the VLA NMRT Forum do? #makeithappen by nominating yourself or someone you know for the following positions!:

Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect (1.5 years, spring 2012- fall 2013)
Secretary/Treasurer (6 months, spring-fall 2012)
Communications & Outreach Director (6 months, spring-fall 2012)
Programming Director (6 months, spring-fall 2012)
Conference Director (6 months, spring-fall 2012)
Student Representative (6 months, spring-fall 2012)

Elections will take place at the end of February. Please note the shortened terms of office due to the mid-year election; future terms of office will be in whole-year increments.

Nominations and self-nominations are encouraged! Nominees must be current VLA members. For more information on each position, view the position descriptions and responsibilities on the Leadership page of our blog.

Send your nominations by February 15 to:

Megan Hodge <mlhodge@gmail.com>, VLA NMRT Chair

Rebecca Miller <rebeccakate.miller@gmail.com>, VLA Membership Chair

After we close nominations on February 15, all candidates will prepare statements for the blog during the week of February 22-27 (we’ll send more information about this later), and elections will be held online February 28-29. By this time next month, VLA NMRT Forum will have its first executive board!

20 Years of VLA Paraprofessional Forum Conferences! JOIN US!

Lisa Varga — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:56:02 +0000

Do your remember attending one of the VLAPF conferences years ago; how many of the conferences that were held at the University of Richmond did you attend?
We would love to see you at the 2012 conference to be held May 20-21, 2012 at the Koger Center in Richmond. We are celebrating 20 years of Forum conferences.
Contact the conference co-chairs, Deloris Thomas or Susan Carroll, so we can include you on the list for special recognition during the opening session on May 21, 2012.
Registration forms and a preliminary program of events for the
conference will be available soon. Thank you!

Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) informational webinar, 12/13/11

Lisa Varga — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:01:54 +0000

Hello Colleagues and Potential Candidates!

The Library Support Staff Certification Program (LSSC), a national certification program that allows library support staff to demonstrate competencies and be certified by the American Library Association (ALA), will offer an hour-long informational webinar at 2 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Dec. 13. The presentation will explain the value of this certification to library support staff, employers and library users. Attendees will also have the opportunity to have their questions answered by program staff members.

For more information on the webinar and how to register, please visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/867921969. For more information on LSSC please visit our website!

ALA Emerging Leaders from Virginia: Rebecca Kate Miller and Rocco Debonis

Lisa Varga — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:40:14 +0000

Congratulations to Rebecca Kate Miller of Virginia Tech Libraries and Rocco Debonis of the University of Maryland University College, who have been selected for the 2012 Class of Emerging Leaders of the American Library Association!

Click here for the full announcement and more information about the Emerging Leaders program.

Past Emerging Leaders from Virginia

2007: Mario A. Ascencio, LeRoy Jason LaFleur (both from George Mason University)

2008: Mary Hanlin (Tidewater Community College), Renee DiPilato (Alexandria Public Library), Sally Ma (Fairfax County Public Library). Sally, Renee and Mary wrote this article in Virginia Libraries about their experiences.

2009: Laura Horne (University of Richmond), Sara Townsend (Norfolk Public Library), Beth Larkee (Hollins University), Suzanna Panter (Henrico Co. Public Schools), Sarah Wright (Potomac Library)

2010: Laura Amos (Norfolk Collegiate School), Nathan Putnam (George Mason University)

2011: Elizabeth Appleton (George Mason University), Alicia Blowers (St. Stephen & St. Agnes School), Megan Hodge (Chesterfield Co. Public Library), Matthew Jabaily (Old Dominion University)

Rocco Debonis

Rebcca Kate Miller

Rocco DeBonis has earned a Master of Secondary Education, Master of Fine Arts in Literature and Creative Writing, and most recently a Master of Library Science. He has been a Reference and Instruction Librarian at the University of Maryland University College since January 31st of this year, where he is liaison to the Undergraduate School’s Center for Student Success and the Graduate School’s Education Department. Previously, he taught science in New York City public schools and then English and creative writing at Northern Virginia Community College. He hopes that the Emerging Leader program will introduce him to other librarians of all ages who are new to the field, and that the program will serve as a conduit to continued involvement in ALA.

Rebecca Kate Miller is the Information Literacy Coordinator & College Librarian for Science, Life Sciences, and Engineering at Virginia Tech. She earned my MLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2007, and worked at Louisiana State University until she joined the faculty at Virginia Tech in May 2010. As a new information professional, she is very interested in connecting and supporting other new librarians, and work with the Virginia Library Association to do this. Currently, Rebecca serves as the VLA Membership Chair and has collaborated with Megan Hodge to reactivate the VLA New Members Round Table Forum. Nationally, she serves as the Secretary of the ALA New Members Round Table and on several ACRL committees. Rebecca is looking forward to meeting new colleagues and gaining new insights through the Emerging Leaders program.

JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT ONLINE CAREER CHAT ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH.

Lisa Varga — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:36:35 +0000

Our topic will be Career Communication Documents – including that all-important resume.

Provided by the ALA JobLIST Placement Center

Your resume is still one of the best tools for your job search and career advancement strategy. However, resumes – how they look and what they need to communicate – have changed. And other communications documents like your profile, your cover letter and your business cards, have become more important. Bring your ideas, your questions, and any resources you’d like to share with others to our next chat session. And be ready to join a great discussion about communicating your value to prospective employers.

Our facilitator will be Caitlin Williams. Caitlin has been in the field of career development for more than 20 years. She writes, speaks, conducts research and coaches individuals on ways to continue growing professionally, as well as ways to remain employable in a challenging economy. She is on the faculty of San Jose State University in Calif. Caitlin has been partnering with ALA for nearly 10 years to offer individuals help with managing their careers, and providing one-on-one career counseling sessions in the ALA JobLIST Placement Center during ALA conferences.

Beatrice Calvin

Program Officer, Placement/Recruitment

Office for Human Resource Development & Recruitment

American Library Association

50 E. Huron St.

Chicago, IL 60611

bcalvin@ala.org

800/545-2433 ext. 4280

312/280-4280

www.ala.org/hrdr

Make a living making a difference!