NASIG Newsletter

CALL FOR NEWSLETTER CONFERENCE REPORTERS
Lillian DeBlois, Conference Editor

NASIG regularly publishes reports on the annual conference in the September issue of the NASIG Newsletter. The Newsletter needs volunteer reporters to cover the conference events, including the preconferences, vision sessions, strategy and tactics sessions, workshops, informal discussion groups, and user groups. I am soliciting your help in covering the sessions at the 2008 conference in Phoenix, Arizona for inclusion in the Newsletter. We would like to have all of the sessions covered. If you are planning to attend the conference and are interested in submitting a report on a session, please contact me directly (lillian_deblois@msn.com).

Please indicate the session(s) that you would like to cover since I do not have access to your registration preferences.

The following guidelines will apply:

•    The reporter’s name will appear in the byline as the author of the report.
•    The deadline for submitting a Newsletter conference report is July 1, 2008 (about 4 weeks after the conference) for inclusion in the September issue.
•     Reports are generally summaries of presentations and may vary somewhat in length, scope, and depth of coverage, at the reporters’ discretions; reports must be full prose (not outlines or written out notes) and preferably between 250-500 words.
•    The Newsletter Editorial Board reserves the right to edit reports to any degree, or to not publish any report it deems inappropriate or unsatisfactory.
•    Reporting for the Newsletter is not the same as recording for the Conference Proceedings; Newsletter reports are generally less substantial than articles in the Proceedings.
•    NASIG members, and especially the Newsletter Editorial Board, will be very appreciative and grateful for your report!

CALL FOR PROCEEDINGS RECORDERS
Allyson Zellner, Proceedings Co-Editor

NASIG is seeking conference recorders for the preconference, vision, and tactics sessions at this year’s annual conference in Phoenix. Recorders are asked to attend specific sessions, take notes and then synthesize the notes into a readable, comprehensive report of the session for the conference Proceedings. For vision sessions, recorders may be asked to listen to recordings of a presentation and work with the speaker to create a report for publication in the Proceedings.

Reporters will work under the general direction of the Proceedings editors. Editors for the 2008 Proceedings are Buddy Pennington, Allyson Zellner, and Carol Ann Borchert.

If you are a NASIG member with the ability to write clear, organized prose, and who is able to submit a report by Friday, July 18, 2008, please consider this opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the organization.

To apply, submit a letter of application by e-mail to:

Allyson A. Zellner, MLIS
E-mail : azellner@ebsco.com
Phone: (205) 981-4074

Include in your application your complete contact information (including your snail mail address, e-mail, and phone number!), sessions you plan to attend, and a writing sample. Please include the writing sample as an attachment or as a link. The writing sample can be on any topic; it does not have to be related to librarianship. The purpose of the writing sample is to illustrate your writing ability. Suggested samples include: reports on a process, event, or meeting; book reviews; excerpts from essays or academic papers. Do not include minutes of meetings.

The deadline for applications is Friday, April 18, 2008.

PPC UPDATE
Erika Ripley and Sarah Wessel, PPC Co-Chairs

The Program Planning Committee is busy finalizing the details of what we believe is a great program. We are excited to announce our three vision speakers:

• Marshall Breeding, Director for Innovative Technologies and Research, Vanderbilt University
• Mike Kuniavsky, ThingM
• Carol Pitts Diedrichs, Dean of Libraries, University of Kentucky

In addition to the strategy and tactics sessions giving you lots of strategic and practical information, there will be several preconferences that provide opportunities to go in-depth in topics such as management, cataloging for non-catalogers, and metadata. For more information about these and other opportunities, check the conference website. Continue reading 23:1 (2008:03) 23rd Conference (2008): PPC Update…

CPC UPDATE
Cory Tucker, CPC Co-Chair

The planning process for the 2008 NASIG Conference is well underway. The 2008 Conference is June 5-8 in Phoenix, Arizona, and will be held at the Tapatio Cliffs resort (Pointe Hilton).  For information on the location, please visit the resort’s website at http://www.pointehilton.com/indextc.cfm.

More details on the Conference should be posted on the NASIG website in December.  If you would like more information on Phoenix, please visit the City of Phoenix Tourist Information site at:  http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/touridx.html.

22nd CONFERENCE PHOTOS - LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

22nd NASIG Conference in Louisville.  Photo by Char Simser. 

CPC at the Registration Desk.  Photo by Char Simser.

CPC Co-chairs Angel and Tyler.  Photo by Char Simser.

Opening session speaker Tom Owens.  Photo by Char Simser.

On the way to the Frazier Museum.  Photo by Char Simser.

Exhibit at the Frazier.  Photo by Char Simser.

Dinner at the Frazier.  Photo by Char Simser.

Vision speaker Karen Schneider and Anna Creech schmooze at the Frazier. 
Photo by Char Simser.

Public art horse and jockey.

Vision speaker Bob Stein.  Photo by Char Simser.

Sign for speed rounds strategy session.  Photo by Char Simser.

2007 award winners.  Photo by Char Simser.

Louisville Slugger Museum.  Photo by Char Simser.

Brainstorming session attendees with moderator Katy Ginanni.

Early crowd at the brainstorming session.

Jonathan David Makepeace makes a point at the brainstorming session.

More people at the brainstorming session.

Public art bike rack.

Carol Green and friend.

Public art chandelier and, yes, that is a penguin.

Vision speaker Daniel Chudnov.

Outgoing committee chairs Paoshan Yue and Adolfo Tarango and outgoing board member Adam Chesler.

Sunrise on the Ohio River.  Photo by Char Simser.

The passing of the gavel.  Outgoing president Denise Novak and incoming president Char Simser.

And it’s on to Arizona.  2008 CPC co-chair Cory Tucker and the winner of the Arizona tee shirt door prize.

22nd CONFERENCE

NOTES FROM THE BOARD WRAP-UP SESSION
June 3, 2007, 1:00 p.m., Louisville, KY
Joyce Tenney, NASIG Secretary

• Novak reported on a fundraising idea that had come up during the conference. A possible NASIG cookbook.  The idea is being investigated and Novak will report back on this idea.
• Creech reported that ECC had asked if NASIG-L was still needed, as we have several other venues of communication.  After discussion it was decided that NASIG-L is still valuable and needed.  Creech will relay that to ECC.
• Overall conference feedback so far has been very favorable.  Minor issues were discussed and liaisons for next year’s PPC and CPC will report back to those groups.
• Timing of brainstorming session was discussed and ideas for improving next year’s experience with this.  
• Schatz reported that Bylaws Committee has looked at the bylaws amendment for the term of the treasurer and had some questions.  After some discussion on the implications of the term of the treasurer and treasurer in training, it was decided to continue the discussion during the July board conference call.
• There was a great deal of discussion on the brainstorming session and how to keep the discussion continuing with NASIG members.  It was noted that there was too much input from past presidents and board members; the discussion needs to take place within the membership.  It was decided that NASIG-L might be the best forum for this discussion.  
• Many ideas were discussed for improving the process of N&E and Novak will continue discussion with N&E next year.
• Schatz suggested getting a NASIG table at ALA to get more exposure for the organization.  There was agreement to look at the idea.  Schatz will get info on cost and report back to the board.

2007 CONFERENCE EVALUATION SUMMARY REPORT
PLACE YOUR BET IN KENTUCKY:  THE SERIALS GAMBLE
May 31-June 3, 2007
Evaluation & Assessment Committee

NASIG’s 22nd annual conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Galt House Hotel.  The conference began with a selection of preconference workshops, held its opening reception at the Frazier International History Museum and finished up with a bus tour of historic Louisville.  This year’s conference again included a variety of vision, strategy, and tactics sessions.

Two hundred ninety-seven conference evaluations were submitted this year, a 54% response rate.  Although both print and online evaluation forms were available, attendees were strongly encouraged to submit their evaluations online.  98% of respondents used the online forms, and those who provided their names and contact information were automatically entered into a drawing for a free 2008 conference registration.  The winner of the drawing will be announced on NASIG-L.

CONFERENCE RATING

On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being high), survey respondents gave the 2007 conference a rating of 4.23.  The attendees rated the overall conference facilities and local arrangements at 4.20.  Comments indicated general approval of the hotel and environs.  The Louisville location rated slightly lower than Denver (4.51) at 4.18.  The meeting rooms (4.30) and hotel rooms (4.59) received a slightly higher rating than last year.  The meals (4.09) and breaks (3.84) rated somewhat lower than last year, and comments suggested that the distance between the break area and some of the meeting rooms made the breaks feel rushed.  Several respondents expressed a desire for more intuitive and Web-friendly program information online.

PROGRAMS
 

This year the conference presented three vision sessions.  Vision session 1, “The Evolution of Reading and Writing in the Networked Era” with Bob Stein received a 3.80 rating.  Vision session 2, “Hurry Up Please, It’s Time: State of Emergency” with Karen Schneider received a 4.18 rating.  The final vision session, “A New Approach to Library Service Discovery and Resource Delivery” with Daniel Chudnov rated a 3.95.

The eleven strategy sessions this year generated ratings from 3.63 to 4.49, with eight of the eleven sessions rating over 4.0.  The highest rating went to the panel discussion “From Tech Services to Leadership.”  The strategy sessions averaged an overall rating of 4.09.

There were sixteen tactics sessions offered at this conference.  Ratings ranged from 3.41 to 4.56 with nine sessions rated at 4.0 or higher.  The highest-rated tactics session was “Verbal Bourbon: Speaking Secrets to Intoxicate your Audience” presented by Jeff Slagel.  The tactics sessions averaged an overall rating of 4.01.

There were only thirty respondents for the poster sessions.  The overall rating for the poster sessions was 4.31, up from last year’s rating of 4.09.  The majority of respondents (21) felt they had enough time to visit the posters, although several respondents expressed a desire to have the posters up for a longer period and/or have another session with the presenters.  Ratings for the individual poster sessions ranged from 3.76 to 4.28.  The highest rating was for “The CONSER Standard Record” presented by Les Hawkins and Hien Nguyen.

There were four preconferences offered this year and all were very well received with ratings from 4.00 to 5.00.  The comments were overwhelmingly positive for all the sessions.  However, several of the preconference evaluations had a very low response rate (less than 25%), an issue that will be addressed with next year’s evaluation.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS
 

The Louisville conference continued a number of special programming events.  The user group meetings and informal discussion groups rated 3.82 and 4.05 respectively.  The overwhelming majority of respondents wanted both these types of sessions to continue.  The first timers/mentoring reception received a 4.25 rating; comments suggest that first-timers and mentors alike appreciate this event.  The brainstorming session received a rating of 3.23.  Many respondents felt that this type of session is generally useful for the organization, but this year’s topic (encouraging candidates to seek executive office) did not lend itself to open discussion or attract a diversity of viewpoints.  The business meeting (3.82) received approximately the same rating as last year; attendees greatly appreciated the brevity of the meeting.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As in past years, academic librarians represented the largest group (71%) of respondents.  This includes university (170), college (33) and community college (4) librarians.  Attendees from specialized libraries, including medical (13), law (10) and corporate libraries (10) represented the next-largest group (11%) of respondents.  The percentage of responses from the vendor and publisher community including subscription vendors (11), publishers (9), automated systems vendors (3), and database providers (1) was down from 12% last year to 8% this year.  The percentages of respondents from public libraries (7) and consortia (5) were slightly higher than last year; the percentage of responses from government, national or state libraries remained similar to previous years.  Six respondents chose the category “Other,” primarily attendees from museum libraries, research institutes and other categories not clearly defined in the list.

Most respondents were mid- to late-career librarians; 70% of respondents had seven or more years of serials-related experience, up from 65% last year.  Most were also repeat NASIG attendees; 45.3% of respondents had attended 1-5 previous conferences, and 21% had attended 6-10 previous conferences, similar to last year’s percentages.  First-time attendees represented 15.5% of respondents, down from 21% in 2006.

The overwhelming majority of respondents identified themselves as serials (153), electronic resources (104), catalog (89), or acquisitions (81) librarians.  The number of respondents identifying themselves as collection development librarians decreased from 69 in 2006 to 56 this year.  Twenty-two respondents identified themselves as paraprofessionals, an increase from 16 in 2006.  As usual, many respondents identified themselves with multiple categories and various “Other” designations.  Many of those who selected “Other” emphasized middle-management responsibilities that were not among the existing choices.

The Evaluation & Assessment Committee would like to thank everyone who took the time to fill out the evaluation forms.  Your comments and feedback are important as NASIG continues to strive to provide positive conference experiences.  We welcome suggestions regarding the evaluation forms.  Please address comments to Anne Mitchell, amitchell@uh.edu.

Submitted by:
2007 Evaluation & Assessment Committee
Joe Badics, Carole Bell, Jana Brubaker, Sarah Corvene, Susan Davis, Lee Krieger, Anne Mitchell (Chair), Martha Spring, Lori Terrill (Co-Chair), Alison Roth (Board Liaison)

REPORT FROM THE 2007 AWARD WINNERS
Sarah Sutton, Awards & Recognition Committee

For 2007 NASIG awards, grants, and scholarships, the Awards & Recognition Committee received numerous applications from worthy candidates.   We received seven applications for the Fritz Schwartz Scholarship, four applications for the Horizon Award, eleven applications for the Serials Specialist Award, and nine applications for the Student Grant Award.  We did not receive any applications for the Marcia Tuttle International Award. 

The review process was again blind for all awards. The identities of the winners were not revealed to the committee members until the scores were tallied and the winners were selected according to established criteria. For 2007, the committee awarded one Fritz Schwartz Serials Education Scholarship, six Student Grants, one Mexico Student Grant, one Horizon Award, and one Serials Specialist Award. The awards covered the cost of travel; room, board, and registration fees for the 22nd NASIG Conference held in Louisville, Kentucky; and a one-year NASIG membership. In addition, the Fritz Schwartz Scholarship winner received $3,000 to help defray the costs of library school tuition. The 2007 award winners are as follows:

NASIG CONFERENCE STUDENT GRANT AWARD RECIPIENTS
Barbara Shipman, Wayne State University
Erin Sharwell, University of Washington
Jessica Ireland, University of South Florida
Joann Palermo, Louisiana State University
Sanjeet Singh-Mann, UCLA
Toni Fortini, Southern Connecticut State University

MEXICO STUDENT GRANT AWARD RECIPIENT
Jorge Alberto Mendoza-Torres
Escuela Nacional de Biblioteconomia y Archivonomia, ENBA

FRITZ SCHWARTZ SERIALS EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
Angela Slaughter, Indiana University

HORIZON AWARD RECIPIENT
Chandra Jackson, University of Georgia Libraries

SERIALS SPECIALIST AWARD RECIPIENT
Rita Johnson, Wright State University Libraries

As in past years, the Awards & Recognition Committee asked all of our award recipients to provide feedback about their conference experience. Below are their responses to the committee’s questionnaire.

Why do you feel it is worthwhile for students and newcomers to attend a NASIG conference?

The NASIG conference is great for newcomers because of both its size (not too big) and the variety of serials topics represented. It provides a good overview of all of the different types of work that serialists are doing in their institutions.

NASIG bridges the unnecessary divide between libraries, publishers, and vendors; it would be worthwhile for students to experience this productive partnership as they enter the serials field.

It’s worthwhile for students to attend a NASIG conference because it introduces them to a field that isn’t taught in library school.  Also, the NASIG conference is also a networking environment where students can create friendship with serial specialists located all over North America.

As a paraprofessional and new to the area of serials, the conference served to strengthen my desire to continue to learn and grow in the field.  The sessions I attended were both interesting and applicable to the position I hold.

How did attending the conference benefit you personally?

I was introduced to many people working on the same kinds of issues that I am, so I’m beginning to create a network of colleagues that can be called upon for advice (or commiseration!)

I made a lot of connections with colleagues across North America and learned about ideas and initiatives in the world of serials. I felt reassured by learning that my library is not alone in the problems and issues we face with the switch to primarily electronic resources.

Attending the NASIG conference benefited me personally in many ways.  I’ve gained the experience of attending my first professional conference. I’ve also met a lot of people and developed new friendships from the award winners as well as fellow NASIG members.

NASIG was truly an enriching experience.  It was very beneficial in providing basic information as well as new and thought provoking ideas. The conference gave me new contacts, new friends, useful knowledge and fun educational experiences.  I look forward to attendance at NASIG conferences in the future.

Did attending the conference influence your career plans? If so, how?

Not directly, but it was interesting to see the variety in serialists positions.

Yes. I am more interested in participating in professional organizations and conferences, and I am more seriously considering working in the corporate world (e.g. for a vendor) at some point in my library career.

Attending the NASIG conference influenced my career plans greatly. The many sessions that I’ve attended opened my eyes to different tasks, responsibilities and challenges that face serials librarians presently.    I also got a glimpse at what the future holds for serials librarians. I’ll have a better understanding of what serials librarians do and this will help me tremendously when I interview for a job as a serials librarian.

Since I was new to the position I am in, attendance at NASIG served to focus my interest in increasing my skills in order to better perform in my current position.

What can NASIG and/or the Awards & Recognition Committee do to improve their award programs?

I thought the committee and NASIG as a whole did a fantastic job with the Horizon Award program. The application process was very simple, and after receiving the award, the committee made sure to communicate often with me about everything.

I was very pleased with my experience, and I can only suggest that an official wrap-up meeting at the end of the conference (scheduled to accommodate departures) to better connect with other award recipients. I feel I made more connections with NASIG members than with my fellow grant recipients, and it would have been nice to meet up with the group to talk about our experiences.

The most important thing that NASIG and the Awards & Recognition Committee do to improve the grant and scholarship program is to market the programs throughout North America.  I think that a lot of students would be interested in attending such a wonderful conference. Also, I think that there should be an informal luncheon the day before the conference where all the grant and scholarship winners can get together to talk and learn more about one another.

The program is excellent.  How can you improve on what is already a wonderful program?

What could NASIG and/or the Awards & Recognition Committee do to improve your conference experience?

Everything they did was great, in particular the mentor/mentee get-together.

My conference experience was great.  Everything went smoothly for me thanks to the wonderful job done by everyone on the committee.  I can’t image what else could be done to make it better.

I had a wonderful experience at NASIG.  The one thing that I would improve on is to have some type of social activity for the award and grant winners, just to break the ice.

Do you have any other suggestions or comments? Please tell us about them here.

Everyone involved was fantastic (almost as good as winning the award itself!). Keep up the good work!

The speakers were very informative and the sessions I attended were interesting and encouraged discussion.  Louisville was a wonderful location.  What fun and interesting things there were to see.

I would just like to say that I had such a wonderful experience at the conference.  Students can benefit so much by attending the annual NASIG conference.

How/where did you learn about NASIG’s awards?

My supervisor at work is a NASIG member.

NASIG website and suggestion by my department head.

A co-worker told me about NASIG and encouraged me to think about attending the conference.  I leaned about the awards while visiting the website.

I learned about NASIG’s award from a librarian that I work with.

Where should NASIG be promoting awards?

In the graduate schools: there are a lot of listservs that could be used to announce the awards competition. Contacting administrative assistants at each graduate program’s department office would be a great place to start. Some programs may not have serials faculty contacts, so it’s best to spread the word to the whole graduate program.

I think it would be great to use the listserve to remind those who do the nominating to consider their staff for nominations. The website is a good place for actual application info.

Members should be encouraged to promote the organization and the awards in the serials world.

NASIG should be promoting awards to student organizations, or on the student listserv.

The Awards & Recognition Committee would like to thank all of the NASIG members who helped to make the 2007 award recipients’ experience at the 2007 conference such a success.

NASIG 23rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE
“TAKING THE STING OUT OF SERIALS”
JUNE 5-8, 2008 – TAPATIO CLIFFS HILTON RESORT, PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Sarah Wessel and Erika Ripley, Co-Chairs

The 2008 Program Planning Committee (PPC) invites proposals and/or program ideas for preconference, vision, strategy, and tactics sessions.  The program planners are specifically interested in hearing from publishers, vendors, librarians, and others about issues relating to scholarly communication, licensing, and publishing.  Please keep in mind the following:

• The Program Planning Committee will review all submitted proposals for their content, timeliness, and relevance to the conference theme and reserves the right to combine, blend, or refocus proposals to maximize their relevance and to avoid duplication.
• The Program Planning Committee will treat all submissions as suggestions and guideposts.
• Time management issues and reimbursement guidelines generally limit each session to two speakers. 
• Proposals may be suggested as one type of session and/or format and ultimately be accepted as any one of the other types of sessions or formats; this decision is the purview of the Program Planning Committee.
• Vision and strategy speakers are required to produce a written paper for the conference proceedings.  Because NASIG publishes its conference Proceedings, content needs to be unique for copyright purposes. 
• ALL presentations must be original and not previously presented at other conferences.

The conference will be held at Tapatio Cliffs Hilton Resort, nestled in between Phoenix and Scottsdale in the midst of the Sonora Desert: http://www.pointehilton.com/indextc.cfm.

NASIG has a reimbursement policy for conference speakers whose organizations do not cover expenses.  For more information about this policy, please see: http://www.nasig.org/conferences/reimbursement_policy.htm.
 
SESSION TYPES

• Preconferences are in-depth programs that focus on practical aspects of the work and skills we perform on a daily basis.  In general, these programs are several hours in duration, have limited attendance, and may include hands-on training.
• Vision sessions are offered at no-conflict times to allow all conference attendees to participate.  These programs generally deal with the larger universe of ideas and issues that may influence the serials world. 
• Strategy sessions generally deal with all or, at least, several segments of the serials world including, but not limited to publishers, vendors, service providers, and librarians. These sessions are 90 minutes; please allow 10 minutes for questions from the audience. 
• Tactics sessions are designed to address day-to-day issues and generally deal with one or two practical aspects of the serials world. These sessions are 60 minutes; please allow 10 minutes for questions from the audience.

To suggest a proposal or an idea, please fill out the submission form available at: http://www.nasig.org/public/forms/idea.htm.

The deadline for this call for proposals and ideas is August 20, 2007.

For more information about the North American Serials Interest Group, please see: http://www.nasig.org/.

Inquiries may be sent to the PPC co-chairs, Sarah Wessel and Erika Ripley at: prog-plan@nasig.org.

PPC UPDATE
Erika Ripley and Sarah Wessel, Co-Chairs

PPC is gearing up for work on what we hope will be another great conference.  The 2008 theme is “Taking the Sting Out of Serials.”  The submission form for program proposals and ideas is available online: http://nasig.org/public/forms/idea.htm.  The first round of submissions will be reviewed after August 20th.  Ideas submitted after that time will be considered in a second round of reviews; look for a second call in early September for more details.  The committee is particularly interested in hearing from publishers, vendors, librarians, and others about issues relating to scholarly communication, licensing, and publishing.  If you have a suggestion for a great topic or speaker, please don’t hesitate to share that information with PPC and to encourage colleagues to submit proposals.

The evaluation and assessment report for the 2007 annual conference will serve as a valuable planning tool as PPC considers ideas about the program schedule, the number and types of sessions, and ways to include a wider range of speakers.  If you have thoughts you want to share with the committee, please contact us at prog-plan@nasig.org.

We look forward to seeing your program ideas soon!