This was both a NMRT Professional Development Conference and a SLIM course. NMRT is the New Members Round Table section of the Kansas Library Association. As a graduate course, it fell under the Current Issues in Management of Information Agencies section. The title was “Be what you want to be: Defining your role as an information professional.” Held at the Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, this full-day workshop offered opportunities to listen and interact with library professionals from around the state of Kansas. It took place on Thursday, February 12, 2004, from 9:00 – 4:15 in the Hemisphere Room (Room 501) of the Hale Library.

The information contained within this document is a compilation of what I took away from the event. At the end of each workshop’s description and information gathered, there is a section of points for further investigation. These are items that were mentioned and that struck my interest to investigate further.

Back to Table of Contents

Agenda

9:00 – 9:30 Meet and Greet

Refreshments and Registration

9:30 – 10:30 The Who, What, Why and How of Library Systems

Kay Russell, Assistant Director, North Central Kansas Library System

10:30 – 10:45 Break

10:45 – 11:45 Professional Organizations: Getting the Most for your Money

Rosanne Goble, Executive Director, Kansas Library Association

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch

Mix and mingle. Take the opportunity to chat with our guest speakers and KSU librarians in this informal setting.

1:00 – 2:30 The World of Librarianship! Be What You Want to Be!

Panelists:

Sharon Sharpe, Head Media Specialist for Geary County Schools USD 475

Roger Adams, Rare Books Librarian, Special Collections, KSU

Linda Knupp, Assistant Director, Manhattan Public Library

2:30 – 2:45 Break

2:45 – 4:15 How to Get the Perfect Job and Advance Your Career!

Panelists:

Jean Darbyshire, Director of KSU Libraries Administrative Services

Tara Baillargeon, Social Sciences Librarian, KSU

Catherine Jeanjean, Life Sciences Librarian, KSU

Ron Ratliff, Humanities Librarian, KSU

Back to Table of Contents

The Who, What, Why and How of Library Systems

Text Box: Kay Russell,
Assistant Director,
North Central Kansas Library System,
Manhattan Public Library
629 Poyntz Ave.,
Manhattan, Kansas 66502
(785) 776-4741 ext. 140
krussell@manhattan.lib.ks.us

Kay explained how the regional library system in Kansas works, and why it was set up by the legislature. I had been unaware of the library systems before her talk for several reasons. Having grown up in populated places on the East Coast, I was accustomed to each town or area providing its own library system and having the resources to support it. When we moved to Kansas eight years ago, we moved to populated Johnson County, with its own public library system. Johnson County is one of the areas that has opted out of the regional library systems. Kay’s talk was important in reminding me that not every public library system is what I have been accustomed to.

Key Points:

Purpose – to promote and support public library service in Kansas.
Regional library systems work well with widely scattered and small populations – i.e., much of Kansas. 80% of libraries in Kansas serve populations of 5,000 or less.
Many times people working in the small libraries do not have MLS or even Bachelor’s degrees, but it is important for residents to have information and resources available.
There’s a difference between libraries and outlet libraries/reading rooms, with the latter not being licensed.
Works with the State Library, including distributing the Kansas Library Card.
Funding for the libraries in the various regional systems is distributed in this way:

1/3 of the state aid is divided among the libraries
2/3 of the state aid is given to libraries based on population

The Kansas regional library systems offer the following services:

Consulting
Reference
Technical Services
Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan
Summer Library Program
Talking Books
Continuing education for librarians and their staff (education grants available):

K-Place – 4 day program held in May at ESU, sponsored by KS Library and SLIM
Tri-Conference and other conferences
Library Certificate Program at SLIM

Kay gave us three hand-outs. I’ve scanned the maps from two of the hand-outs, and inserted them below. Although they are small, they can always be pulled off of this document and enlarged on another document. The first one depicts the different regional library systems and what they offer. The second map shows the regional library systems and the areas in white depict who has “opted out” of participating in the system.

Further investigation:

§ Look up the Kansas Library Standards. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KSL/development/standard2000.html

§ Talking Books through Library of Congress… keep abreast of their plans to switch to CDs.

§ Look into K-Place and the ICE Group (Institute for Continuing Education) grant for VideoConferencing to be familiar with both. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KSL/admin/KLIB0401.pdf

Back to Table of Contents

Professional Organizations: Getting the Most for your Money

Text Box: Rosanne Goble,
Executive Director,
Kansas Library Association,
1020 SW Washburn,
Topeka, KS 66604
(785) 235-1383 (phone/fax)
(866) 552-4636 (toll free)
kansaslibraryassociation@yahoo.com Rosanne is the Executive Director of the KLA. I recently had a very positive interaction with her in that capacity. After rejoining KLA in December, I became concerned that I might not be on the Tri-Conference 2004 mailing list. I e-mailed Rosanne with a request to be forwarded to whoever could help me in KLA. She quickly responded that the materials would be sent in February and that the “buck stopped” with her. I was impressed.

Key Points:

l KLA is a professional lobbying organization. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA/

l Advocacy is an important theme for the Kansas Library Trustee Association.

l KLA is keeping an eye on Kansas legislative issues, such as the open records act (similarities to the Patriot Act).

l KLA is working on a statement about filtering and intellectual freedom – trying to make a proactive move about filtering so that legislators can vote “yes” on internet filtering.

l Kansas has home rule, so communities can opt out – decide what’s best for their community, use local control. Important with regards to Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the E-rate universal services fund from the federal government.

l KLA Education Foundation is separate from the KLA, and it is a 501(c)3 corporation. Able to receive and grant funds. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA/foundation/

l Conferences, such as Tri-State, are opportunities to see best practices and how things are working across the state. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/tricon/2004/index.html

l There’s a Kansas Library Directory (where directors and trustees can be looked up) on the KLA website. http://skyways2.lib.ks.us/kld/

l Continuing education grants and scholarship applications are available through KLA. Due date for KLA scholarship is July 1^st and recipients are only allowed one grant from KLA. Information in italics was discovered through my own research. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA/divisions/coned/index.html

Further Investigation:

§ Look into Sections and Round Tables in KLA. What sounds appealing? http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA/divisions/index.html

§ Look at the Open Records Act in the Kansas legislature

§ Recommend that KLA send e-mail reminders to members to rejoin each year. Perhaps a database could be set up where members who are joining or rejoining could simply type in their e-mail address and the date. An automatic response could then be sent out based on the date to remind members to rejoin.

§ Plan on applying for the KLA MLS scholarship in July. Read the guidelines and begin putting everything together in May or June.

Back to Table of Contents

The World of Librarianship! Be What You Want to Be!

Sharon Sharpe,

Head Media Specialist,

Geary Schools USD 475

123 North Eisenhower

Junction City, KS 66441

sharonsharpe@usd475.org

Roger Adams,

Rare Books Librarian,

Special Collections, Room 506,

Hale Library,

Kansas State University,

Manhattan, Kansas 66506

(785) 532-4755

rcadams@ksu.edu

Linda Knupp,

Assistant Director,

Manhattan Public Library,

629 Poyntz Ave.,

Manhattan, Kansas 66502

(785) 776-4741 ext. 129

lknupp@manhattan.lib.ks.us

Three panelists spoke.  A lot of the descriptive words they used for their niches in librarianship will be useful when I create my poster presentation for Tri-Conference 2004.

Key Points from Sharpe:

l        Traits/activities you need as a library media specialist:  proactive, service-oriented, instruction, prioritize, administrative (budgeting, ordering, managing staff), constant staff development, team player, know terms, know strategies, be part of learning communities, crucial to be involved at all levels – district & state, be active and part of listservs, network, make selections for library in context of curriculum and community, have connection with public library system, be able to “wear many hats,” take on different roles, have continuous communication with the principal, provide quarterly reports, be observant.

l        Thank the school board for their support throughout the year.

l        Be a communicator – “one part of a ring that keeps growing out”

l        Flexible scheduling (an integrated library) is wonderful, but works best as a building decision, not top-down decision.

l        Can’t “guard” your library.  If you do, you could be considered as an extra person.

Key Points from Adams:

l        Rare books and special collections tend to be located in urban areas.

l        Corporate Archivist – 9/10 of their job is storing the artifacts.  Every product, every size.  Useful to have for future legal entanglements, marketing, etc.

l        2^nd Masters Degree – usually in the Humanities – is often required, especially at academic libraries.

l        While the pay is good (10 – 20% better than senior management), there’s not a lot of career advancement or turn-over.

l        Some snobbery in this field.

l        As the bibliographic janitor or caretaker, special collection librarians are buying for the future, making decisions for what is retained.  Your community may not even be born yet.

l        Special Collections are usually the crown jewel in an institution’s collection.

l        What you do as a special collection librarian:  public speaking, lecturing, asking people for their donations, creating displays, looking for collections, make ethical decisions, encourage the use of your collection (albeit with conservation in mind).

l        Internet has changed special collections.  Things happen much faster.  No more waiting for a printed catalog.

l        90% of special collections are located in closed stacks for conservation and security reasons.

l        Book site mentioned by Roger:  http://www.lib.ksu.edu/depts/spec/rarebooks/oop.html

Key Points from Knupp:

l Working in a public library is “planned chaos.”

l Hire the best people you can; recruitment is crucial. Learn to work well with others.

l Important activities: planning, management, personnel management, training, coaching, hiring, firing, discipline, guiding, mediating, evaluating, gathering statistics, working with stakeholders, resource allocation, budgeting, managing grants, partnering, be liaison with community and government, fundraising.

l Be involved and promote services by educating.

l Have something of value to offer and then sell yourself.

l Take management courses, like public administration.

l Make sure other people can do their jobs and make decisions.

l While department heads don’t always have MLS currently, they are starting to replace retirees with MLS degrees. If you don’t have your MLS degree, you won’t advance in public libraries.

l While there may be a hierarchical formality on the organization chart (on paper), there needs to be a functional team (de-compartmentalized) feeling.

l Must be active in the community – look at statistical data, demographics. While Knupp hasn’t done a formal community analysis, she thought that focus groups could provide some helpful information (as opposed to surveys). Would want to triangulate the data.

Further Investigation:

§ What courses would be useful to learn more about archives and would they fit into my plan?

§ Look into statistics and public administration courses at Johnson College Community College. Maybe take one when I have a lighter SLIM course load.

§ Start reading more about focus groups and their typical framework. How is data collected – videotaping?

Back to Table of Contents

How to Get the Perfect Job and Advance Your Career!

Catherine Jeanjean

Life Sciences Librarian

126 Hale Library

Kansas State University

Manhattan, Kansas 66506

(785) 532-7414

cajeanje@lib.ksu.edu

Jean Darbyshire

Director,

KSU Libraries Administrative Services,

Room 504J, Hale Library,

Kansas State University,

Manhattan, Kansas 66506

(785) 532-7465

jdarby@ksu.edu

Ron Ratliff,

Humanities Librarian,

Room 208, Hale Library,

Kansas State University,

Manhattan, Kansas 66506

(785) 5325041

rrat@ksu.edu

Tara Baillargeon,

Social Sciences Librarian,

Room 206, Hale Library

Kansas State University,

Manhattan, Kansas 66506

(785) 532-5760

tjb@ksu.edu

The panelists offered very practical advice and their own experiences involving the various aspects of job searching. Jean Darbyshire presented information from the employer’s point of view, while both Tara Baillargeon and Catherine Jeanjean added their recent experiences of job searching. Ron Ratliff shared his experiences of being on a search committee.

Key Points:

Consider what sort of job you are looking for: mentoring and developing opportunities?; up front or laid back atmosphere?; a place where one person can make a difference?
The wording in an ad for a job position tells you about the organization and its culture. (Do they use “duties” or the term “responsibilities”?)
There’s a difference between being qualified for a position and being competitive for a position.
Project all of your qualities – and the only opening opportunity you are given is the resume and the cover letter.
Resume – keep clear cut; time, duties, companies. Use white spaces, 12 point font size, bold. Keep the same level of organization throughout. Keep it simple and thorough, but not detailed.
Cover Letter – tell about your knowledge, skills, and experiences and relate them to what the company is looking for. Keep cover letter to one page. Don’t use graphics or pink paper! Follow directions!!! Proofread and be meticulous, especially if you’re using a template. Don’t use acronyms. Say something genuine that makes you memorable. Bring yourself closer to the institution; tie yourself to the strategic plan. Cover all items mentioned in the ad in your cover letter, including the following important points. IMPORTANT POINTS: Communication skills, technology skills, ability to collaborate and be part of a team. Send it addressed to a real person, and don’t say “Madame.”
References – call references before you put them down to avoid catching them off guard. Could say references available on request, but if a place is requesting a number of references, give it to them.
Search Committees – usually passive. Place ad, wait for responses, screen for minimum qualifications, score preferred candidates, references or telephone interview, decision for invitation for interview, full day to day and a half interview (expenses fully paid), unranked list of recommendations to decision maker. At KSU, takes 3-4 months to fill a position.
Recruitment Firms – also known as head hunters. Cut time down to a 90 day timeframe. They telephone like institutions, professional associations. Ask for people to nominate others or themselves. May ask you to create a “blueprint.” Blueprint is labor intensive, but useful in preparing for the job interview.
Interview – looking for thinkers and planners, someone who will add to the organization long-term, someone who will continue learning. May be asked to make an on-site presentation during the interview. PREPARE for the interview. Look at the company’s website, their strategic plan. Questions you ask tell the interviewers more about you. Make connections, give more information. (“How do you support professional development?” tells the company that you are interesting in continuing education and keeping up in your field.) After interview, send a thank you as a nice thing to do.
Once you’re offered the position – negotiate. Don’t assume the salary is what the salary said in the ad. Consider the following:

How many other librarians are in your specialty?
Investigate the institution’s funding
Condition of the library; ALA (or SLA) reports on salaries.

Negotiations start low…. keep repeating “I’m very interested in your job.” Besides salary, can negotiate moving expenses, deposit on house, begin date, corner office, professional development, professional association dues, particular mentor, etc.

Further Investigations:

§ Start creating resume. Look at resources available.

§ Begin looking at job sites and start noticing the types of positions available in the Kansas City area, especially in the corporate arena.

Back to Table of Contents

Thoughts about the Conference

It couldn’t get any better than this. A paid day off, a chance for professional training by information professionals in the field, and a credit towards my graduate program to boot! Catherine Jeanjean did an excellent job of preparing materials for us, and in setting up the schedule and place. By having the two individual speakers in the morning and the panels in the afternoon, it kept us going during the usual after-lunch slow down.

I found Jean Darbyshire’s practical advice extremely helpful and also terrifying. I haven’t had to search and interview for a “serious” position since… college over 20 years ago. I’ve certainly had a number of positions, but I have almost always been overqualified for them, and the interview ended up being a formality. There are certainly aspects of a job search that make my hands sweat just thinking about it (they are already doing so as I type!!!). Am I going to be qualified for the type of position I would like? I certainly know a little about a lot of things, but I can’t be considered an expert.

Using the further investigations, however, I can perhaps add to my knowledge base as well as begin preparations for my job search. I have already gone on numerous special library tours offered in the Kansas City area, and will continue doing so. One aspect of the job search that wasn’t touched upon seriously was the benefit of networking. It is my belief in social networks that has made me an active member in the Heart of America SLA chapter, as well as showing the class membership for LI-863 in this electronic resource. It is also a large part of attending a professional conference, such as the Tri-Conference.

Another theme of the workshop was continuing education. I am pleased that the library professionals in Kansas place a high value on continuing education. With the rapid pace of changes, especially with technology and in the business environment, it is crucial that we not rest on our laurels, and continue to learn no matter what our vocation or position. Conferences, such as the Tri-Conference, are only a small part of continuing education.

As a personal touch, I hand-created 10 individual thank you cards. Using the cards, I wrote and thanked each of the presenters. I also sent Mary Bailey a thank you card for giving us tour of the Technical Services.

Back to Table of Contents

Resources for Job Searches

This site was not provided, but is of interest to me:

SLA (Special Libraries Association)

Can log on (as an SLA member) and access sections for Jobs and Career Planning.

http://www.sla.org/content/jobs/index.cfm

The following information was provided at the end of the day, and was prepared by Catherine Jeanjean. Items highlighted are websites that I find more pertinent to me at this time.

Internet Job Sites

Kansas and Region

Other Sites

Lisjobs.com – Jobs for Librarians and Information Professionals

Sorts jobs by state, nationwide and non-US

Can also search by type of institution

http://www.lisjobs.com

American Library Association

American Libraries Late Jobs Online

Posts by date

http://www.ala.org/education/latejobs

New address is:

http://www.ala.org/ala/education/empopps/careerleadsb/hotjobsonline/hotjobsonline.htm

BUBL Information Service

Job Vacancies

Contact bubl@bubl.ac.uk

Primarily UK with some US postings, by location and then by date

http://bubl.ac.uk/news/jobs

Chronicle of Higher Education

Career Network – Jobs in Library Science (free access job pages)

US jobs primarily (has section “outside academia”)

http://chronicle.com/jobs

Library Job Postings on the Internet

Jobs posted by geographic location and by type of position

Extremely comprehensive site – provides links to other job posting sites

http://www.libraryjobpostings.org

University of Toronto – Faculty of Information Studies JobSite – also provides links to other useful sites

Jobs listed by location and by type – 1 of 7 ALA accredited library schools in Canada

http://www.fis.utoronto.ca/resources/jobsite/index.htm The following link is correct:

http://plc.fis.utoronto.ca/resources/jobsite/index.htm

University of Western Ontario – Faculty of Information and Media Studies

Job Postings

Sorted by location

http://www.fims.uwo.ca

Kansas State University Job Site

(linked to by other sites such as ALA Student Chapter at Buffalo)

http://www.k-state.edu/hr/opportunities.html

HigherEdJobs.com

Jobs in Higher Education – to search enter Librarian in “Search Positions by Keyword”

Can sort by location or type of position

http://www.higheredJobs.com

Association of Research Libraries

Career Resources

Search for All Announcements or Entry Level Positions, By Region and By Job Category

http://db.arl.org/careers

The Academic Position Network Job Search

Search by region, field of interest, institution type, professional level

Enter Library in “Field of interest”

http://www.apnjobs.com

LITA

Jobs in Library and Information Technology

(technical service type positions)

Can scan new entries plus by region

http://www.ala.org/ala/lita/litaresources/litajobsite/litajobsite.htm

Association for Library and Information Science Education (Alise)

Job Placement

Arranged by Type of Position

http://www.alise.org

LISJobNet

Information for Jobseekers/Career Entrants Online version of The Library Association’s Recruitment journal, Library and Information Appointments

Search by location, sector or browse all records

Mostly UK

http://www.lisjobnet.org.uk/jobs/query.htm

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

IFLANET Libjobs

Website with instructions for subscribing

http://www.ifla.org/II/lists/libjobs.htm

Academic Careers Online

Global site for posting jobs at colleges and universities around the world

http://www.AcademicCareers.com

Educareer – Higher Education and Career Information Network

University Job Bank

Faculty and Staff Positions – Other Professional Fields or search for Librarian

http://www.ujobbank.com/edu

NASIGWEB Job Listings

Serials/Tech Services related job announcements.

Listed by date.

http://www.nasig.org/jobs/list.htm

Lists of Resources

The Networked Librarian

Employment Resources for Librarians – Job Search Guide

Jobs posted by state and then by country

http://pw2.netcom.com/~feridun/region.htm

American Library Association

Guide to Employment Sources in the Library and Information Professions

Links to general sources, library joblists, associations

http://www.ala.org/hrdr/guide/main.html (site not there)

http://www.ala.org/ala/education/empopps/employmentopportunities.htm

Library Job Postings on the Internet

Link to posting sites by type of position and location

http://www.libraryjobpostings.org

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Graduate School of Library and Information Science – GSLIS Job Information

List of job posting sites including a list of library school sites

http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/resources/jobs.html

University of British Columbia – School of Library, Archival and Information Science

Employment Resources – Library

Sites posted by region/location – don’t post jobs themselves

http://www.slais.ubc.ca/resources/employment/Library.htm

Academic360.com

Library Science

Provides listings to library internet sites and to academic internet job sites

http://www.academic360.com

Internet Library for Librarians

Links to sites with library job postings

http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/job.htm

Back to Table of Contents

Thoughts about the Reading

We were asked to read Richard O. Mason’s What Is an Information Professional? article prior to attending the conference and post three questions/ideas that sprung from that article. I found it so interesting that of the questions posted, we often looked at entirely different aspects of the article. It made me re-read this with different points of view.

The questions I posed before the conference:

After reading Mason's article, I had several thoughts and questions about librarianship.  Here are three:

1.  In Perley's 801 class we discussed the idea of librarianship as a profession and looked at the trait theory.  One of the ways librarianship would not meet the trait theory (see Rubin's Foundations of Library and Information Science, p. 379), would be there is no licensing for members of the profession.  Just heard an NPR story about how florists in Louisiana are required to pass a rigid test in order to be able to sell flowers... they are licensed florists if they pass.  I believe we are a profession, yet can we be taken as

seriously as other professions where it's required to have a state license?  In a field where information is constantly increasing and changing, along with new technologies to help manage it, shouldn't there be a requirement for those in charge of information to have a certain amount of continuing education classes to keep abreast of what is new?

2.  I was very interested in Mason's description of an asynchronous arrangement.  This is when "the source puts information into the buffer at one time and the client retrieves it at another time" (p. 133).  While Mason used videotape technology as his example, it would seem that relational databases would be a better example today, 14 years later.  Another example might be the portal -- where sources on a topic can be arranged and available for retrieval at later dates.  The asynchronous arrangement seems to be a win-win situation for librarians, if they are able to foresee or predict what their clients might need or want.  What are some real-life examples from librarians?

3.  Mason's description of seven major information professions was enlightening.  It seems as if the title "librarian" in a job title is rarely used outside of the school, public or academic library.  During this course, I would like to examine jobs posted on SLA and ALA websites (and other professional library associations) to determine where they would fall in Mason's categorizations:  accountant, archivist, librarian, records manager, information systems analyst (MIS), management scientist, and museum curator.  Have things changed a lot since 1990 when Mason wrote this article, or would he add new categorizations if he wrote about librarianship today?  What are the jobs available in the real world, and what are they calling them in 2004?

Finally, the idea of professional competencies has really developed since Mason's article.  I plan on examining the professional competencies that SLA has developed, and seeing how they hold up across the spectrum of librarianship.

Key Points:

l Few of these questions were answered at the conference, but I have had some information shared with me by other MLS students who are in the field already, especially with examples of asynchronous arrangements. The idea of creating on-line tutorials was especially exciting to me.

l A number of the other students who have responded to my questions have also thought about the licensure issue. Should the profession require a license to operate in a state? Do any states require such a license for information professionals at this time?

Further investigations:

§ I need to become very comfortable and familiar with the SLA competencies for information professionals. Having just had a virtual workshop on this topic in December, I need to go back over my notes to see what other professional organizations are looking at the competencies developed by SLA. View the competencies at: http://www.sla.org/content/learn/comp2003/index.cfm.

§ With regards to the competencies, map out my own professional and personal competencies to start preparing for job searching.

Back to Table of Contents

Other SLIM Participants at the Conference

The students listed below are ones that I remember seeing and interacting with. There were some students that were there, but I did not meet. They are at the bottom.

Name	Email Address	Photo	Interaction
Mary Bailey	lmbailey@wamego.net		Mary was kind enough to take a few of us on a tour of Technical Services in Hale Library, where she works.
Christine Barrett	barrett_christine@stumail.emporia.edu		Christine sat at my table, in the front. She is now the Recruitment Chair for SLA@SLIM-KS, so I was able to pass off some material to her before the conference began.
Uma Doraiswamy	E-mail Not Avaliable		Uma is from southern India, and has just started at SLIM. She lives in Emporia now, and was in Terre Haute, IN for 4 years before that.
Donna Ekart	dfe@ksu.edu		Donna was happy to be able to take class where she works… and not have to drive to ESU or OP!
Karl Foster	kfoster911@netzero.net		This was the first time I met Karl. He is very personable.
Thomas Gibbs	tgibbs_01@yahoo.com		Thomas and Maria know each other, and she pointed him out as he passed us on the way to the conference. I don’t think we’ve been in any classes before.
Robert Miller	E-mail Not Avaliable		Robert was in my 811 class with Maria and Amy. He worked on his group project with Amy, I believe.
Jeanette Parker	netty@havilandtelco.com		Jeanette sat at the table behind me, and is almost finished with her program. It was so nice re-connecting with her and Judy since we all were in a small group in 801 together.
Amy Rodda	earodda@earthlink.com		Amy and I talked briefly about how enjoyable we found Cecilia’s 811 class was last semester.
Travis Schulz	schulztr@esumail.emporia.edu		I’ve been in class with Travis before.
Ginger Shields	kevin-ginger@kc.rr.com		Not a great photo of myself.
Heather Smith	hsmith_815@yahoo.com		I just met Heather at the beginning of the workshop.
Rebecca Stark	stark-sachs@juno.com		I met Rebecca briefly during the lunch break. Her hair is now a lot shorter.
Judy Stockstill	jstockstill1@cox.net		Judy sat behind me with Jeannette. She’ll be finishing up her degree this year. I so enjoy listening to Judy’s point of view. It’s always well-presented and thought-out. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again at the Tri-Conference.
Anna Tatro	tatroal@hotmail.com		I met Anna for the first time today, although I have noticed her name on posts. Anna and her fiancé just relocated to Emporia for her to go through the SLIM program. He’s not having an easy time with the job market there.
Maria Williams	E-mail Not Avaliable		Maria and I carpooled to the conference, and really got to know each other a lot better. I’m afraid that I did a lot more talking than listening! She’s enjoying her job with my friend, Jane Wood, at the UMKC Women’s Center. We sat at the front table with Christine.

Brian Bell	blb_lib@yahoo.com		An interesting observation… I may or may not know some of these students or had interactions with them. Without the photographs, it’s hard to tell. I really AM a visual learner! One thing I noticed during the conference was that it tended to be the men in the group who asked the questions of the speakers. While I know that Christine and I also asked questions, as well as some of the other women, it did tend to be 3 or 4 male individuals who asked the bulk of the questions. Interesting.
Jason Coleman	Coleman_Jason@stumail.emporia.edu
Jeff Friesen	E-mail Not Avaliable
Lisa Leiker	E-mail Not Avaliable
Ruth McCauley	mccauley@terraworld.net
Craig Pearman	E-mail Not Avaliable
Ruth Rodden	rshaderodden@yahoo.com
Mary Yadon	mayoda@yahoo.com

Back to Table of Contents

A Compilation of Further Investigations

This is all of the Further Investigations sections combined in one place. Think of it as a “to-do” list.

1 Look up the Kansas Library Standards. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KSL/development/standard2000.html

1 Talking Books through Library of Congress… keep abreast of their plans to switch to CDs. http://www.loc.gov/nls

1 Look into K-Place and the ICE Group (Institute for Continuing Education) grant for VideoConferencing to be familiar with both. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KSL/admin/KLIB0401.pdf

1 Look into Sections and Round Tables in KLA. What sounds appealing? http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA/divisions/index.html

1 Look at the Open Records Act in the Kansas legislature

1 Recommend that KLA send e-mail reminders to members to rejoin each year. Perhaps a database could be set up where members who are joining or rejoining could simply type in their e-mail address and the date. An automatic response could then be sent out based on the date to remind members to rejoin.

1 Plan on applying for the KLA MLS scholarship in July. Read the guidelines and begin putting everything together in May or June.

1 What courses would be useful to learn more about archives and would they fit into my plan?

1 Look into statistics and public administration courses at Johnson College Community College. Maybe take one when I have a lighter SLIM course load.

1 Start reading more about focus groups and their typical framework. How is data collected – videotaping?

1 Start creating resume. Look at resources available.

1 Begin looking at job sites and start noticing the types of positions available in the Kansas City area, especially in the corporate arena.

1 I need to become very comfortable and familiar with the SLA competencies for information professionals. Having just had a virtual workshop on this topic in December, I need to go back over my notes to see what other professional organizations are looking at the competencies developed by SLA. View the competencies at: http://www.sla.org/content/learn/comp2003/index.cfm.

1 With regards to the competencies, map out my own professional and personal competencies to start preparing for job searching.