Welcome to our newest member-driven interest group!  The Residency Interest Group was created this month.

For more information on any/all of our interest groups, go to the interest group information page.

If you are interested in creating an interest group and know of at least four other MiALA members who would like to join, fill out the application form here.

Friday, March 8, 2019
Time: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Michigan State University, Main Library, Green Room

Save the date for MiALA's first Data Literacy Boot Camp. During this day-long event, you will hear from your library colleagues around the state who are incorporating various aspects of data literacy into their teaching, research, and professional practice. Find out more, including the schedule on the Boot Camp's webpage.

This event is sponsored by the Instruction and Information Literacy Interest Group

Registration is:
$20 for MiALA members (includes lunch)
$40 for non-members (includes lunch)

You can register for this event by going to the Data Literacy Boot Camp registration page.

Stay tuned to this page for further details and a call for lighting talks soon!

The Data Literacy Boot Camp planning committee:
Saxony Betts
Molly Ledermann
Emilia Marcyk
Terence O'Neill
Dianna Sachs

How do you demonstrate the value of your library to your campus community? What are you doing beyond gate-counts and collection statistics to communicate the difference your library makes in the teaching and learning life of faculty and students? Join the Michigan Academic Library Association’s (MiALA) Community College & Assessment Interest Groups for a one-day pop-up conference to learn about the many assessment options available for academic libraries. Take charge: Communicate value and foster success at your library through ACRL Standards assessment takes place on Friday, March 29, 2019 at Northwestern Michigan College in beautiful Traverse City.

Along with a presentation by Andrea Falcone, ACRL trainer from the University of Colorado-Denver, there will be a panel presentation and breakout sessions. We are looking for presenters to share their ideas and experiences as breakout sessions. No need to be an expert! While the pop-up covers the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education, sessions can deal with any aspect of assessment. Come and help others discover the means you have developed to share the story of what your Library achieves. Proposals dealing with different methods of assessing a variety of library services are welcome:
• Collections
• Education and Information Literacy
• Space
• Consultations
• Management
• Other services

Submit your proposals here: https://goo.gl/forms/fPs986iaDB9DCPB42

Proposals are due: Friday February 15, 2019

If you have any questions, please contact:

Mary Beeker, Northwestern Michigan College, mbeeker@nmc.edu
Hui Hua Chua, Michigan State University, chua@msu.edu
Stephanie Davis, Northeastern Michigan College, sdavis2@ncmich.edu
Sandy McCarthy, Washtenaw Communication College, mccarthy@wccnet.edu

University of Michigan
Alexander Deeke

Gale, A Cengage Company
Emily Mageski

Michigan State University
Joe Salem

Michigan State University
Jonathan Callies

Library of Michigan
Sonya Norris

University of Michigan Library
Kelly Hovinga

Central Michigan University Health
Tamara Sawyer

University of Michigan School of Information
Elizabeth Yakel

University of Toledo
Gerald Natal

Central Michigan University
Sandra Standish
 

Welcome to the New Year!

By now I’m sure your campus has kicked off the new year with new students and new energy. With all our new year’s resolutions in place – and hopefully sticking this time! – I invite you to add a new resolution to your list and get engaged with your colleagues at MiALA!

There are numerous happening in the coming months where you can get involved:

The Conference Planning Committee is hard at work, with this year’s event themed “Our Value: Communicating, Promoting, Visualizing” happening at the Conference Center at Saginaw Valley State University on May 13 & 14th.  Breakout session proposals just closed on Jan 11th, but there are still plenty of ways to get involved.  The call for poster sessions will be sent shortly, and the committee is still looking for volunteers.

Coming up on March 8th we have TWO great programs happening, a Data Literacy Bootcamp hosted at Michigan State University Libraries, and a collaborative event with the Academic Library Association of Ohio titled “Practical Assessment: From Beginner to Expert” co-hosted by the University of Toledo Libraries.  The Data Literacy Boot Camp will be sending out a call for lighting talks soon, and the Practical Assessment Workshop is accepting proposals until Jan 18th.

There is also a workshop scheduled at beautiful Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City on March 29th, 2019 titled, “Take charge: Communicate value and foster success at your library through ACRL Standards assessment.”  The call for proposals for this session is open until February 15th.

I do want to thank the many individuals and institutions for their hard work putting on these events.  The strength of MiALA is its grassroots ability to bring likeminded professionals together to provide opportunities for professional development, leadership, and committee service for all librarians, library staff, and library students working in higher education. My thanks to all of you – this is going to be an exciting spring!

If you have ideas on other topics or events for the coming months, it’s not too late!  If you have interest in developing a workshop, program, or pop-up conference, we can help with the organizing and provide sponsorship.  Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can help: president@miala.org

Paul Gallagher

Stephanie DeLano Davis
Librarian
North Central Michigan College

MiALA Interim Board Member
Past President 2015-2016

What are you currently reading?

• The 5 Essential People Skills by Dale Carnegie
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
• Modern Liberty and Its Discontents by Pierre Manent (trying; not an easy read)

What are your research interests?

• Digital Technologies and Their Impact on Learning Processes
• Information Literacy (High School-Community College; Nursing)
• Library Leadership (Advocacy; Management)
• Service to Underserved Populations (First Generation College Students; Incarcerated)

Do you have hobbies or interests outside of the library?
When not working, I enjoy spending time with my family, which, along with husband, Todd, mother, brother and various in-laws, includes two young grandchildren, one in Michigan and one in South Carolina, and a set a twins due in November. Reading and sharing children's literature with them is a great joy for me. Living in Northern Michigan offers many opportunities to experience the outdoors and take in its beauty; Todd and I hike, bike, kayak as much as possible, even in the winter when we opt for snow shoes. Writing, scrap-booking and participating in my faith community round out my hobbies and interests.

What drew you to the library profession?
I'm a life-long library user. In high school debate, I was exposed to the thrill of searching and finding information, a passion that led me to study library science as a minor at Western Michigan University (yes, they once had a library school) and, eventually, obtain a library Master's at the University of Illinois. A fundamental and unwavering belief that libraries are an open repository for anyone who wants to grow and learn, and the opportunity to support people in this effort, drew me to librarianship and has sustained my commitment to the profession.

What do you value about MiALA?
MiALA Rocks! This organization emerged because academic libraries/librarians needed a voice in Michigan. I value the voice MiALA gives our profession and I especially value the connections MiALA provides, connections to colleagues, connections to learning, connections to the broader Michigan library community. I believe these connections are what help me as I seek continuous improvement for myself and my library. As a community college librarian, I applaud MiALA for including community college librarians in its leadership ranks.

Take charge: Communicate value and foster success at your library through ACRL Standards assessment

Friday, March 29, 2019
Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City

The MiALA Michigan Community College & Assessment Interest Groups are co-sponsoring a one day pop-up conference that will focus on using the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education for assessment. The aim is to help guide academic libraries on demonstrating their value and showing their impact to campus constituents. Participants will utilize the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education to identify institutional priorities and campus collaborators, begin to design an impact model, and learn how to use the results of the ACRL Standards to communicate your library's impact.

This is a day long event starting at 9 a.m. and ending approximately at 3:30 p.m. The program will include a live webinar with Andrea Falcone from the University of Colorado Denver providing an overview of the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education, followed by a panel and facilitated discussions by other librarians.

Attend a lively program and take away ideas for getting started or staying on track with promoting your library's value and success.

This pop-up conference is intended for all librarians and administrators: Academic, Community College, 4 year University, and others. Attendees are not expected to have any prior knowledge of using the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education.

Call for Proposals

How do you demonstrate the value of your library to your campus community? What are you doing beyond gate-counts and collection statistics to communicate the difference your library makes in the teaching and learning life of faculty and students? Join the Michigan Academic Library Association’s (MiALA) Community College & Assessment Interest Groups for a one-day pop-up conference to learn about the many assessment options available for academic libraries. Take charge: Communicate value and foster success at your library through ACRL Standards assessment takes place on Friday, March 29, 2019 at Northwestern Michigan College in beautiful Traverse City.
 
Along with a presentation by Andrea Falcone, ACRL trainer from the University of Colorado-Denver, there will be a panel presentation and breakout sessions. We are looking for presenters to share their ideas and experiences as breakout sessions. No need to be an expert! While the pop-up covers the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education, sessions can deal with any aspect of assessment. Come and help others discover the means you have developed to share the story of what your Library achieves. Proposals dealing with different methods of assessing a variety of library services are welcome:

•     Collections
•     Education and Information Literacy
•     Space
•     Consultations
•     Management
•     Other services

Submit your proposals here:  https://goo.gl/forms/fPs986iaDB9DCPB42
 
Proposals are due: Friday February 15, 2019
 
If you have any questions, please contact:
 
Mary Beeker, Northwestern Michigan College, mbeeker@nmc.edu
Hui Hua Chua, Michigan State University, chua@msu.edu
Stephanie Davis, Northeastern Michigan College,  sdavis2@ncmich.edu
Sandy McCarthy, Washtenaw Communication College, mccarthy@wccnet.edu

Save the date for this joint ALAO/MiALA Spring Workshop from the Assessment Interest Groups of ALAO/MiALA! Registration will open January 2019.

Practical Assessment: From Beginner to Expert will be held in Toledo, Ohio on March 8, 2019 and is co-hosted by the University of Toledo Libraries.

Description: This workshop will bring together library staff who wish to learn and share knowledge about assessment practices and projects.  Do you have a project or assessment strategy that you would like to share with Ohio and Michigan colleagues? Please consider a proposal for a presentation that describes how you: designed assessments, developed methods, used measures and tools, implemented assessment, communicated with stakeholders, or achieved outcomes.

Assessment topics include but are not limited to

•     Accessibility
•     Collections
•     Data management and visualization
•     Digital libraries and repositories
•     Diversity, equity and inclusion
•     Instruction, teaching and learning
•     Increase funding, resource allocation
•     Marketing, social media, or web design
•     Methods
•     Programs and services
•     Research and scholarship
•     Space and facilities planning and use
•     User experience, user needs and usability

Proposal Format, Submission, Evaluation, Notification
Proposals are invited for 45 minute presentations or interactive workshops. Please submit a Word document or PDF with title and abstract of your proposal (limit abstract to 250 words). Include brief descriptions of your primary target audience, format, and objectives.

Proposals are due by January 18, 2019.

Please submit proposals to aig-chairs@alaoweb.org. Applicants will be notified of their status in early February 2019.

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria

•     Topic is of practical value to librarians who work on assessment
•     Methods / program addresses an identified need or novel concept
•     Results / conclusion / outcome demonstrate impact
•     Abstract is clear and well-written

Registration costs for the workshop will be waived for presenters.

Please direct questions to ALAO Assessment Interest Group Co-chairs Jen Starkey jms565@case.edu and Anna Liss Jacobsen jacobsa8@miamioh.edu