Core News

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Category: Buildings and Operations

📢 Call for Nominations

The Nominating Committee is soliciting nominees for the Spring 2022 ballot for the offices of Core President-Elect, Councilor, and Director-at-Large. The Committee seeks qualified individuals with strong service and leadership records in ALA, Core, and/or the previous ALCTS, LITA, LLAMA divisions, (or equivalent library associations) who will successfully advance Core’s vision and values in close collaboration with other Board members and Core section leaders. Candidates will be expected to describe experience in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their library communities. The President-Elect will serve a three-year term: as President-Elect, in 2022-2023, as President in 2023-2024, and as immediate Past-President in 2024-2025. The ALA/Core Councilor will serve a three-year term, 2022-2025. Three Directors-at-Large will be elected to serve three-year terms, 2022-2025. Candidates must be current Core members at the time of the election. The Nominating Committee will select at least two candidates for each open position. The last day to…Continue Reading

Happy Birthday to Us = Free Recordings

happy birthday for you

Core turns one today! It’s our birthday and to celebrate we’re launching a new archive of educational recordings, all of which are free for Core members. There are already 27 webinars and conference programs available on-demand, and each month we’ll add new ones. Six months after webinars (and some conference programs) are presented live, we’ll add the recordings to this library. Some of the sessions available now Seeking Clarity during Low-Morale Experiences: Actualizing Tools for Self-Preservation – Core President’s Program with Kaetrena Davis Kendrick 2021 ALA Annual Top Technology Trends Building Virtual Team Cohesion – Tips for Managers Creating a Strategic Library Communication Plan to Convey the Library’s Value and Values How Do We Do That Again? Documenting Library Work Expand the Horizon: Challenges and Opportunities in Working with Metadata for Unusual Content Types Crisis Communication for Libraries Celebrate our first year together as a community on your schedule – check out…Continue Reading

Submit a Program Proposal for ALA Annual 2022

ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition - Washington DC - June 23-28, 2022

Proposals are due by October 1, 2021, and you don’t need to be a Core member to submit one. When completing the form, be sure to select “Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures” to have your proposal reviewed by Core. We welcome topics of interest to a wide range of library professionals in many different areas, including… Access and Equity• Advocacy in areas such as copyright, equity of access, open access, net neutrality, and privacy• Preservation Week• Equity, diversity, and inclusion, both within the division and the profession, as related to Core’s subject areas Assessment• Emphasizing the role of assessment in demonstrating the impacts of libraries or library services• Assessment tools, methods, guidelines, standards, and policies and procedures Buildings & Operations• Changing trends in organizational structures, services, staff operations, and facilities• Best practices for inclusive practices and design Leadership and Management• Developing leaders at every level• Best practices for inclusion by using…Continue Reading

Summary, July 2021 Core e-Forum, “Job Hunting and Hiring During the Pandemic”

During the July 2021 Core e-Forum “Job Hunting and Hiring During the Pandemic”, our group aimed to examine innovative practices from hiring institutions and job hunters during the unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to bring to light the adaptations library job seekers have had to implement in order to successfully obtain employment as well as how hiring institutions successfully onboard candidates during this time. To begin with, we asked participants to introduce themselves and asked the questions “Have you been involved in a virtual job search during the pandemic? If you’re a job hunter, how many jobs did you interview for? If you’re a hiring manager, how many applications did you receive for the open job?” We received 22 introductory responses and there were some common themes that emerged from these answers. Job seekers reported considerable difficulty obtaining positions. Three reported sending applications to ~20 open positions.…Continue Reading

Register for a Forum Preconference!

Core Forum: Together Again, October 7-9, 2021, in Baltimore, Maryland

Preconference registration is open for Core Forum! Register for an all-day library buildings tour or an afternoon preconference offered on Thursday, October 7, in Baltimore, Maryland. We Create Inclusive Experiences! Library Buildings Tour (8am–4pm) Choose Your Own Adventure Scholarly Communication Assessment Rubrics (12–4pm) presented by Suzanna Conrad, Emily Chan, Daina Dickman and Nicole Lawson Crisis Communication/Message Dissemination for Libraries (12–4pm) presented by Gregg Dodd, Christine Feldmann and Meghan McCorkell Evidence Based Practice in Libraries (12–4pm) presented by Amanda Click, Claire Walker Wiley and Meggan Houlihan New Connections in the RDA Toolkit (12pm–4pm) presented by Stephen Hearn, Robert Maxwell and Kathy Glennan If you’ve already registered for Forum and would like to add a preconference to your existing registration, please contact us. The 2021 Forum is our inaugural conference for Core and is ALA’s first return to in-person events. It will bring together decision-makers and practitioners from the ALA division that focuses on: Access & Equity Assessment…Continue Reading

Interest Group Week Recordings Available

We had another successful Interest Group Week last month with more than 6,000 registrations. A big thank you 💖 to all the chairs, moderators, and speakers, who put together 23 great presentations and discussions! We’ve added links to the recordings on the IG Week page, and you can find links to the slides in the interest groups that participated.

Summary, June 2021 Core e-Forum, “Does Better Training Lead to Greater Job Satisfaction?”

In the June Core e-Forum, participants were asked to discuss the relationship between job training and job satisfaction. The discussion also addressed ways to organize a successful training program and using instructional design methods to improve technical services training. The first day’s discussion revolved around more general questions about the nature of on the job training and participants’ own roles in on the job training. The purpose of the second day was to address more specific topics of training structure and organization, and to examine the link between successful training and job satisfaction. It was obvious from the lively discussion on Day 1 that we all are almost always engaged in on the job training and feel strongly about its nature and organization. Themes that consistently emerged were cross-training, documentation, continuity, understanding the reasons for changes, but also preserving institutional memory. The following questions were asked and answered many times…Continue Reading

Forum Registration Is Open!

Join us for the first ever in-person Core Forum, October 7-9, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore! It’s an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and make new connections while celebrating the intersection and overlap of the core work we do. Learn more about our keynote speakers. Forum Features ⭐ 30+ sessions presented across 6 concurrent program tracks Access & Equity Assessment Buildings & Operations Leadership & Management Metadata & Collections Technology ⭐ Welcome reception ⭐ 2 days of thought-provoking sessions ⭐ 3 keynote presentations â­ Closing session ⭐ Poster Sessions ⭐ Tabletop exhibits ⭐ Dine-arounds ⭐ Game night ⭐ Unconference space for informal discussions Note: Lunch and dinner will not be provided. We will organize small group dine-arounds at nearby restaurants. Attendees will be responsible for paying for their own dining expenses. Participation is optional. Core Forum Early-Bird Registration Rates Ends September 6 $299 Core Member $329 ALA Member $399…Continue Reading

“Seeking Clarity during Low-Morale Experiences: Actualizing Tools for Self-Preservation” President’s Program

We’re honored to have Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, renowned author, scholar, facilitator, and co-host of the popular podcast series #FixMyLibrary as our President’s Program speaker at ALA Annual from 11:45am to 12:45pm CT on Saturday, June 26. Focusing on her research on morale in the workplace, Kendrick will discuss the impacts of repeated and long-term exposure to workplace abuse and/or neglect on employee emotional and physical health and career practice and outlook. Kendrick’s presentation will review low-morale research data, including data on how these experiences are being effected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and will offer attendees pathways to begin applying self-preservation tools immediately in their workplaces and personal lives. A graduate of Clark Atlanta University School of Library and Information Studies and an alumna of Winthrop University, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick’s research interests include professionalism, ethics, racial and ethnic diversity in the LIS field, and the role of communities of practice in practical academic librarianship. Her most recent work,…Continue Reading

Save the Date: 2021 Core Forum

Core Forum provides an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and make new connections while celebrating the interconnected library work Core members share. Registration opens in June. Forum features a welcome reception, 2 days of thought-provoking presentations, keynote presentations, tabletop exhibits, dine-arounds, a game night and poster sessions. Additionally, there will be an unconference space where informal discussions can happen throughout the event, including ad hoc, birds of a feather discussions. Sign up to receive announcements via email. Interested in leading or contributing to a session? We’re looking for presentations on hot topics and innovative content in the following areas: Access and equity Assessment Buildings and operations Leadership and management Metadata and collections Technology Watch for a Call for Proposals announcement this month. Become a sponsor: Opportunities include sponsoring the welcome reception, being the hero organization that provides coffee and tea during breaks, and hosting tabletop exhibits. Stay tuned for the…Continue Reading