Month: May 2016

May 30, 2016

SustainRT Travel Awards for ALA 2016

 Attention SustainRT members!  The Sustainability Round Table will be offering two $100 travel awards toward attendance at the ALA conference in June 2016.  The awards will be granted to one current SustainRT member currently employed by a library or library-related organization, and one student currently enrolled in an M.L.I.S. program at the time of the conference.

The requirements for the student award are that applicants must:

  • Be currently enrolled in an M.L.I.S. program as of the conference date.
  • Submit a written essay (500 word limit) or 1-2 minute video essay on why it’s important for librarians to promote sustainability.
  • Grant permission for SustainRT to post their submission to the SustainRT blog and other social media.
  • Agree to write a short blog post (250-500 words) about their experience attending ALA and/or how they think that the Sustainability Round Table can encourage their fellow students to take an interest in promoting sustainability at their schools and in their communities.

Requirements for the professional award are that applicants must:

  • Be a current SustainRT member.
  • Be currently employed by a library or a library-related organization.
  • Submit a written essay (500 word limit) or 1-2 minute video essay on a project they have undertaken to make their library greener or to promote sustainability in their community.
  • Agree to write a short blog post (250-500 words) about their experience attending ALA and/or  how they think that the Sustainability Round Table can encourage and support librarians who wish to promote sustainability in their libraries and communities.

Entries should be sent to sustainrtoutreach@gmail.com by midnight  June 8, 2016. 

The winner will be announced by June 15, 2016.

May 23, 2016

Let’s get Sustainability in this CFP: Perspectives on the Future of Library and Information Science Education

From Madeleine Charney’s Post on sustainRT list: 

Great opportunity to write about LIS education and sustainability – examples from the call below that resonate with SustainRT >>>>

Librarian values
Qualities and qualifications necessary for effective LIS educators
Qualities and qualifications necessary for future librarians/LIS students
The changing nature of the communities that libraries serve and how LIS education has (or has not) addressed these changes

Proposal deadline is June 6th

CALL FOR PROPOSALS –  Please direct questions and submissions to: advancesLISeducation@gmail.com

Re-Envisioning the MLS: Perspectives on the Future of Library and Information Science Education
Edited by Lindsay C. Sarin, Johnna Percell, Paul T. Jaeger, & John Carlo Bertot.

The last several years have been marked by a number of societal challenges and changes that include, but are not limited to, the evolving nature of our economy; the workforce skills needed to succeed in a shifting job market; advances in technology; the changing nature of information and the methods of accessing it; transformations in education and learning approaches; and rapid demographic shifts occurring in our communities. Libraries are not immune to these challenges, and there is much discussion regarding the future of libraries among library professionals, in the media, and by politicians. As we consider the future of libraries, we need to simultaneously focus on the future of librarians – and how our instructional programs in general and the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree (and its variants) programs – prepare them for their careers. Taking inspiration from the University of Maryland’s iSchool and the Information Policy & Access Center’s (iPAC) Re-Envisioning the MLS initiative, this book seeks chapters on topics that include, but are not limited to:

  • The extent to which the MLS/MLIS degree is necessary or not necessary; The changing nature of the communities that libraries serve and how LIS education has (or has not) addressed these changes;
  • Librarian values
  • Qualities and qualifications necessary for effective LIS educators;
  • Qualities and qualifications necessary for future librarians/LIS students;
  • Aspects of the MLS/MLIS degree we need to maintain and/or those we need to let go;
  • Career paths for LIS grads (e.g. pathways outside of libraries);
  • The relevance of ALA accreditation and/or a discussion of the accreditation process; and
  • The impact of iSchools on MLS/MLIS education.

The book welcomes chapters that include case studies, empirical studies, and best practices from around the world. Please direct questions and submissions to: advancesLISeducation@gmail.com

Important Dates:

June 6, 2016: Submission of 750-1,000 word chapter proposal
July 8, 2016: Notification of chapter acceptance to authors
October 1, 2016: Draft chapter due
November 1, 2016: Final chapters due
Summer 2017: Estimated publication date

About the Editors
Lindsay C. Sarin is the Master of Library Science (MLS) Program Manager of the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, Reviews Editor of The Library Quarterly, and Editor of The Political Librarian.

Johnna Percell is the Communications Coordinator of the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland and Associate Editor of The Political Librarian.

Paul T. Jaeger, Ph.D., J.D., is Professor, Diversity Officer, and Director of the Master of Library Science (MLS) program of the College of Information Studies and Co-Director of the Information Policy and Access Center at the University of Maryland.

John Carlo Bertot, Ph.D., is Professor and co-director of the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC) in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland College Park.

May 18, 2016

Winners of the IFLA Green Library Award 2016

IFLAs ENSULIB (Environmental Sustainability and Libraries)
Winners of the IFLA Green Library Award 2016 

1st Place: El Pequeño Sol ecological library (The Little Sun Ecological Library), Germinalia A.C., San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, which was found to be “a project where sustainability was in the soul of the project from the first starting of the idea until to the new library”.

— THIS STORY IS AWESOME! Worth #1 slot – a must watch —

2nd Place: City of Cockburn, Australia, which was characterized as an “excellent green building with sustainable projects”.

3rd Place: La Tierra para quien la siembra (The Land is for those who sow), Columbia, which was found to be “Good working for sustainability with the community!”

More information about the IFLA award and the winning video: ENSULIB | ENSULIB on Facebook

For further information:Petra Hauke (Berlin, Germany), contact person for the IFLA Green Library Award: petra.hauke@hu-berlin.de, or Harri Sahavirta (Helsinki, Finland), convener of ENSULIB: harri.sahavirta@hel.fi.

May 16, 2016

LJ’s New Sustainability Column!

Library Journal  will be offering a new monthly column examining sustainability in libraries from a broad-based perspective, written by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich is Coordinator, Library Sustainability, Mid-Hudson Library System, Poughkeepsie, NY – and a Member at Large of ALA’s Sustainability Round Table!  The first one was just published May 2, 2016 entitled   “The Capacity To Endure | Sustainability”  is now available to read online.