Fall Quarter Wrap-Up

Eek! After a woeful blogging hiatus, we've finally posted pictures from last quarter's events. We began the school year with a general meeting, at which first- and second-year members gathered to set the course for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Co-presidents Julia Glassman and Cynthia Orozco facilitated the meeting, asking members for input on events, professional development, and other activities. New members also got a quick rundown of what exactly ALA is all about.

As everyone settled into their classes, first-year ALA members got their first taste of the library world with a tour of the Santa Monica Public Library, hosted by docent Nancy Varat. The US Green Building Council recently gave SMPL a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Rating, and Nancy guided us through the library's sustainable features. Most notable is the garden in the central courtyard, which uses native plants to create an underwater atmosphere reminiscent of the beach six blocks away. PIC 3 Nancy also took us through the library's collections, paying special attention to its various murals. Afterwards, we headed to the King's Head Pub for food, drinks, and a pub quiz!

Finally, as the quarter began to heat up and the due dates for our final papers

grew uncomfortably close, we took a break from work with our second annual awkward sweater party. While last year's party centered on decorating cookies, this year we turned our attention to holiday ornaments, decorating clear bulbs with snowflakes, glitter, and other designs. There was a curious dearth of awkward sweaters, but mentors and mentees still enjoyed the chance to meet and discuss which classes to take Winter Quarter. (Data Curation was a popular choice.)

Our events have continued throughout Winter Quarter--stay tuned!

Save the Date! ALA Career Panel January 28, 2010

ALA's UCLA Student Chapter will be hosting a career panel for IS students on Thursday, January 28th from 12:30-1:45 in the Information Studies Salon (on the second floor of the GSE&IS building).

Panelists will include distinguished professionals in their respective fields, including academic librarianship, children's librarianship, law librarianship, information architecture, and other areas. Librarians will offer advice as to courses and experiences that would be helpful to students interested in these fields. There will also be refreshments. This should be helpful whether you are just beginning to consider your career options, or if you need more specialized information. Please join us!!

Perpetual Beta Technology Blog
Perpetual Beta, a new blog about technology and librarianship produced by American Libraries and Jason Griffey was launched last week. According to Griffey, the blog aims to offer practical tips and tricks on technological issues facing librarians, serving as a "Lifehacker for Libraries". Griffey also plans to offer video podcasts and discussions of emerging issues in the field.

The blog can be found here:
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/content/introducing-perpetual-beta

Welcome back MLIS Students and Faculty!

On behalf of the ALA student chapter officers, we want to welcome back the second year students and give a warm welcome to all the new first year students. Welcome to UCLA’s MLIS program!

We hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing summer! ALA is looking to hit the ground running this year, and we wanted to give everyone a quick preview of some of the exciting things we’re planning this year.

First off, the ALA student chapter will be hosting a recruitment meeting on Friday October 2, 2009 to welcome new students and to recruit new members to the ALA student chapter. And for new students interested in gaining some leadership and organizational experience, we’ll be having officer elections in the coming weeks for the following positions: Vice-President, Secretary, Webmaster/Blogmaster, and Co-Treasurer. Serving as an officer with the ALA student chapter is a great way to get actively involved in your MLIS education and will give you some great organizational experience, which will come in handy as we enter the library profession! This general meeting is open to all and *lunch will be served.*

On Wednesday October 7, 2009, we’ll hold our annual Mentor/Mentee mixer. This is a casual evening event where first year students will have the opportunity to meet their second year mentors, and of course mingle. Drinks and snacks will be served.

Here are some of the other events that we’re planning for the upcoming AY 2009-2010: a tour of UCLA’s libraries, a career panel, resume workshop, a training on how to utilize and leverage social media within our profession, and guest speakers.

Remember to also follow our blog to stay current on ALA events, IS departmental news, conference updates, national news on libraries and information technology, and to follow our news/blog feeds from various national ALA groups, the Library Journal (LJ) newsletter, ACRL, and ALSC.

Good luck to everyone this year!

--UCLA ALA Student Chapter