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February 16, 2009

Heat up your career with a Master’s Degree

On Wednesday, February 11th, we hosted a wonderful program here at the system where people could find out about getting a Master’s in Library Science.  We had representatives from the University Center, UIUC and Dominican University.  Over 60 people attended the event.  I must say I was overwhelmed by the energy in the room.  It was wonderful to see so many people excited about the profession.  We did this last year as well, and based on the response of the program last week, I’m sure we’ll be doing it again.

posted by Debbie at 1:31 pm | Comments (0)

February 12, 2009

A little tumult around the Legislative Breakfast

Last week one of our staff was calling legislators to confirm their RSVP to attend the NSLS Legislative Breakfast on Monday, February 16. One of the legislators said he, and probably others, would not be able to attend because President Obama was just scheduled to be in Springfield for a Lincoln Birthday lunch. There was a collective “yikes” (or something of the like) heard around NSLS headquarters.

We had read in the paper that he would be in Springfield, but thought it was February 12 – Abe’s true b-day. A call out to a person in the know also said Monday was the day. We had to quickly mobilize to gather information and determine the true date. If the Prez was going to be in Springfield on the day of our Legislative Breakfast, we were going to have a great breakfast without legislators.

Staff starting calling all the legislators, another called our event site to give heads up. We could find only one alternative date in March, and then would have to determine if it would work for legislators. We kept our ears to the media for more info. Within 24 hours we felt secure that our February 16 date was clear. S

o we sent off an invitation to the President to join us, JUST in case he was looking for something to do Monday morning. Haven’t heard back. Looks to be a full house of attendees again, so better get back to the work at hand.

posted by Judy H. at 3:07 pm | Comments (1)

February 2, 2009

Behind the Scenes at John Cotton Dana

I have the honor of serving on the ALA John Cotton Dana Public Relations Award committee for 2009 and 2010. I traveled to Denver for Midwinter for three days of reading nominations, followed by a press conference announcing the winners. The experience was challenging, informative, and inspiring.

There were 10 judges to read 56 nominations from academic, public, school, and special libraries, as well as regional systems/consortia and state libraries. Every submission is initially read by two judges. If scores diverge by a wide margin, then there is a third and often a fourth reader. Winners can total up to 10% of the submissions. The challenge is that there are so many wonderful projects and well-written submissions. We had two wonderful projects submitted form NSLS libraries that garnered high praise from the judges, but alas, did not make the cut. Needless to say, I recused myself from reading these two, along with two other Illinois submissions. Over the years, NSLS has submitted many nominations, and now I have a better understanding why some of those were winners and others were passed over.

For most of the 62 years that this award has existed, there was no monetary compensation. But thanks to the generosity of the H.W. Wilson Company and the H.W. Wilson Foundation, there is now a $5,000 prize for each award winner. Keep that in mind as you work on your 2009 PR/marketing projects. I’m working on a presentation of helpful tips for libraries interested in submitting nominations. In the meantime, feel free to contact me anytime if you have something in mind and have questions.

posted by Judy H. at 2:13 pm | Comments (0)