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Seeking: Call for Proposals

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The newsletter and conference are back this spring after a short break this fall…

WNY/O ACRL Spring 2011 Association of College and Research Libraries | Western New York Ontario Chapter

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Greetings: We’re back!

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Wanted: Poster Presentations

Does the thought of presenting at a conference seem intriguing but intimidating?

Here is your chance to talk about something that interests you at a conference…

Spring Conference 2012 Once again OCULA and WNY/O ACRL have joined forces to present a Spring conference. What is the future of academic libraries and more importantly, how do we play a role in shaping that future?

Join us on Friday, April 27, 2012 for "Bring it On! Shaping the Future of Academic Librarianship" where we will discuss the changes that are approaching on the horizon.

Continued on page 3

We are looking for poster presentations for the upcoming spring conference to be held in Jordan, Ontario…

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Spring 2011 ACRL | Western New York Ontario Chapter

Marc Dewey Bayer

In dynamic times like ours, especially during downturns and economic uncertainty, anxiety runs high, and all areas of any organization feel the need to establish their value in hopes of securing static permanence. While other academic departments rely on FTE's and seat counts to justify their budgets, academic libraries have traditionally relied on gate counts, circulation stats, and reference question tallies.

More recently, given our long history in academe, we include site visitors and download counts in our value calculus. There is no arguing with statistics, and, though numbers are often fallible in

different contexts, we cling to them and are called to action when they don't add up to a sufficient amount.

While the traditional numbers may (and that's a big "may") be declining, a survey of our users with a simple qualitative question like "Do you value the library? And why?" almost always returns a positive response with a plethora of results. And for good reason: We are doing more than ever! If I "save" a student by helping them scan a table from an article and include it in an Endnote footnote an hour before the assignment is due, does that not appear more valuable to her than all the times she came into the library for a quiet place to study (which, by the way, is something students really value)?

This year's WNY/O ACRL Spring Conference is about the value of academic libraries. What gives your library value? Is it just in time services like 11th hour citation management help? Or maybe it's green capital projects attracting potential students to your campus. There are a range of possibilities from small to large and hopefully you'll be able to join us and explore them. For today's academic libraries are valuable because of manifold and complex reasons compared to yesteryear, and it's important to take some time to get together, discuss all we do day-in and day-out, and come away with larger narratives so that, without relying on traditional numbers, we can better communicate our story to those who have make difficult value decisions.

Message from the President t

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Spring 2011 ACRL | Western New York Ontario Chapter

(Continued from page 1)

Call for Proposals Does the thought of presenting at a conference seem intriguing but intimidating?

Here is your chance to talk about something that interests you at a conference in a less formal and more creative setting – a Pecha Kucha.

This exciting format encourages participants to fit their ideas into a 20 X 20 presentation– 20 slides, each shown for only 20 seconds. You will be done with your presentation in less than 7 minutes!

Your content should address themes related to the future of academic library, such as the implementation of new services, trends in librarianship or a report on recently completed research in this area.

Please fill out the proposal form at http://bit.ly/wAgo4O by March 15, 2012.

Operations resume

WNYO ACRL is resuming the biannual conference and newsletter schedule after the brief hiatus this past fall.

This issue of the newsletter contains information on contributing to our organization to help ensure that we have the necessary resources to continue this regular schedule of events in the future. Whether contributing a poster session for a conference or joining the board to organize activities, your help is greatly appreciated.

The WNYO ACRL board would like to thank its members for their continuing support.

Nominate Now

Become a board member of WNY/O ACRL.

The following positions are open for the 2012-2013 term.

• VP/President Elect (3 year term)* • Programs/Vice Chair (2 year)** • Nominations Chair (2 year term) • Treasurer/Membership (2 year term) • Two Councilors (1 year term)

The nomination form can be found online at: http://wnyoacrl.org/board-position-self-nomination Members should be from the Western New York region or the province of Ontario. Nominees should be members of WNYO ACRL before taking office.

For information on the responsibilities of each position, view the chapter by-laws at: http://wnyoacrl.org/about-us/by-laws

Nominations are due by March 20, 2012

* One year as VP, one year as President, one year as past president.

** Vice-Chair moves to Chair after one year.

We will listen to Michael Ridley help us understand how these changes are a good thing; how these changes will help us grow as a profession; how these changes will help our universities see what a vital component libraries are to the success of higher education. You will be given an opportunity to share some success stories, and gain some new ideas of how to approach all that will change.

Academic librarian and administrators are encouraged to attend. The program concentration will be on recognizing the future of our libraries and how to prepare for what is to come. This conference is designed for individual participants; each individual must register. The conference registration form and additional information on the conference can be found on the WNYO ACRL web site at: http://wnyoacrl.org/conference

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Spring 2011 ACRL | Western New York Ontario Chapter

Spring 2011 Conference in pictures

Innovation and Creativity This special one-day event co-hosted by Western New York/Ontario chapter of the ACRL and the Ontario College and University Library Association focused on innovation in academic libraries and included an instructive and lively session on ways to foster creativity.

Inn on the Twenty, Jordan, Ontario – April 29, 2011

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Spring 2011 ACRL | Western New York Ontario Chapter

Is there a crisis in academic librarianship? Yes. And not a moment too soon. While there are some significant challenges in our field, the real looming crisis is that we might not grasp the tremendous opportunity before us. It's time to escape the echo chamber and break out of the filter bubble. Our universities and colleges are at a critical stage of transformation. The challenges they face are exactly the issues academic librarians can respond to: learning outcomes, learning objectives, research productivity, self-directed learning, research accountability, critical thinking, technology leadership, and more. Let's forego the orthodoxies; let's call a truce in the turf wars. Instead let's reaffirm the values that guide us, the expertise we have, and the strategies necessary to lead organizational transformation. There has never been a more exciting time to be an academic librarian. And then there is another completely different possibility. Perhaps, just perhaps, academic librarians don't belong in the library at all. Hmmm.

The Crisis in Academic Librarianship, and Why This is Such a Good Thing – Message from Keynote Speaker Michael Ridley

About the Speaker Until January 2012 Michael Ridley was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Librarian at the University of Guelph. Currently he is on sabbatical where he is writing a “book-like-thing” on literacy, completing a graduate degree in higher education, editing Access (the magazine of the Ontario Library Association), teaching, and consulting with a number of professional organizations.

Ridley has been a professional librarian since 1979 working at a variety of positions at the University of Guelph, the Health Sciences Library at McMaster University, and the University of Waterloo. In 1995 he returned to the University of Guelph as the Chief Librarian and in 2004 was named the CIO.

Ridley has served as the President of the Canadian Association for Information Science, President of the Ontario Library Association, and Chair of the Ontario Council of University Libraries. He has been a member of the Board of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN),and the Canadian University Council of CIOs (CUCCIO). Ridley currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION).

He blogs at MichaelRidley.ca and is on Twitter as mridley.

Spring 2011 ACRL | Western New York Ontario Chapter

We are looking for poster presentations for the upcoming spring conference to be held in Jordan, Ontario

The theme of the conference will be the future of academic librarianship. We encourage you to participate with any ideas, research or reports of innovative services in your library that deal with trends or issues facing the profession.

We welcome submissions from members, non-members, students and professionals.

Please contact Dave Bertuca or Tom Orrange with your poster ideas: dbertuca@buffalo.edu tmo39@Medaille.edu

Seeking Posters: Spring Conference Needs Poster Presentations

This is a publication of WNY/O ACRL, INC. WNY/O ACRL, INC. is a not-for-profit educational corporation of the State of New York

http://wnyoarcl.org