Professional Development

On Saturday, I represented the ACRL-Science & Technology Section (STS) at the “ACRL 101″ orientation session. ACRL has more than 12,500 members, and three new interest groups were recently formed. I also attended the ACRL-STS Membership and Recruitment Committee meeting. Our committee is currently working on some interesting projects, including developing a wiki for new members of ACRL-STS and sending brochures about careers in science librarianship to various library schools.

On Sunday morning, I went to Lauren Pressley’s book signing and also ran into a few ZSR folks. Next, I went to the Exhibits and talked with various vendors. I stopped by the National Library of Medicine’s booth and learned that there are some upcoming changes to the MEDLINE database. On Sunday afternoon, I participated in a panel discussion on “Information Technology and Communities of Color: Issues and Opportunities in a Global Context.” There was one representative from each ethnic caucus of ALA on the panel, and I represented the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA). We had a lively discussion about the information technology needs of our respective communities. On Sunday evening, I joined other ZSR folks and Roz’s sister for dinner at an Italian restaurant.

On Monday morning, I attended the ACRL-STS program on “Big Science, Little Science, E-Science: The Science Librarian’s Role in the Conversation.” John Saylor from Cornell University Libraries, George Djorgovski from California Institute of Technology, Melissa Cragin from the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Chris Greer from the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development spoke about the role of science librarians with regards to E-Science. Djorgovski made a good point that “understanding complex phenomena requires complex data.” In addition, technology for information storage and access are evolving. Cragin also said that librarians need to be engaged with scientists during the research process. Next, I attended Roz’s presentation on the “Review of Web Guide Software for Libraries.” Roz spoke about LibGuides, and their presentation was informative. I was also able to attend the ACRL-STS Poster Session, which was focused on E-Science initiatives at various institutions.

It was also great roomming with Carolyn while at ALA Annual, and we were able to grab dinner a few evenings. The summer weather in Chicago was also nice. Overall, ALA Annual was busy yet productive and very informative this year.

I arrived in Denver, CO on Friday afternoon.After I unloaded my luggage at the hotel, I had dinner with Susan, Lauren C., and a couple of our Elsevier reps.On my way to dinner, I was happy to find a Starbucks near my hotel.

On Saturday morning, I went to the ACRL-Science and Technology Section All-Committees meeting.I am a member of the Membership and Recruitment Committee, and we discussed plans to create an ACRL-STS New Members wiki page, which would provide helpful information for those who are interested in joining a committee or becoming a chair of a committee.We also discussed plans to organize the New Members Breakfast, which is held every year at the ALA Annual Conference.

On Saturday afternoon, I attended the ACRL-STS Hot Topics Discussion Group.We discussed Assessment in the context of instruction.This topic has been on my mind lately, as I am planning to teach my second semester of LIB220.I shared my experience teaching LIB220 with my colleagues, and we had a lively discussion about various assessment techniques. I’m happy to share if anyone is interested in hearing more about what we discussed.

Next, I attended a discussion group on Embedded Librarians sponsored by the ACRL Heads of Public Services Discussion Group. One of my colleagues made a good point that Embedded Librarianship can inform our collection management decisions. They also provided a selected bibliography of publications about Embedded Librarians, and I will be happy to share this bibliography with others if anyone is interested.

On Sunday, I went to the Exhibits before my second committee meeting.This year, I am serving as Chair of the Scholarship Committee of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA).Every year, the Scholarship Committee selects a librarian to be sponsored by APALA in the ALA Emerging Leaders Program and awards a $1,000 scholarship to a graduate student in library school.More information on the APALA Scholarship is available at http://www.apalaweb.org/awards/scholarship.htm. I have served on the APALA Scholarship Committee since 2005, and I have really enjoyed working with my colleagues on this committee.

I stayed at the Curtis Hotel, which was a unique, fun hotel.It was great rooming with Lauren P. at the conference, and we were able to grab dinner a couple of nights.On Saturday night, I had dinner with Steve and Lauren P., and we also ran into Debbie Nolan after dinner. It was also nice seeing snow again this winter in Denver.Overall, it was an enjoyable, productive conference.