The LITA Distance Learning Interest Group will meet at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago to discuss current issues in distance learning and future plans for DLIG:

Current issues in DL

• Course Management, Learning Management and WebConferencing Systems.  Many institutions are moving to moodle. Let’s share our experiences integrating library resources into these systems, challenges posed by moving to a new system, and solutions for collaboration.
• Learning objects and tutorials. How are you creating and sharing online instructional content? Where would you like to see these projects go?
• Economic impacts on DL programs. How have budget cuts impacted your ability to engage with distance students, faculty and staff through technology?

Future of DLIG

• What would you like to see from DLIG over the next six months?
• How can we best use ALA Connect or a DLIG listserv to communicate?
• What kind of programming would you like to see at future conferences?

Saturday, January 24, 10:30-12:00pm, Colorado Convention Center, Korbel Ballroom 4A

The LITA Distance Learning Interest Group will meet at the 2009 ALA Midwinter Conference in Denver to discuss current issues in distance learning and some of the exciting things the interest group has planned. Here are a few of the things we’d like to discuss:

• Instructional Technology for library instruction
• Recent developments in Instructional Technology projects
• Current issues and opportunities for Distance Learning
• Interest Group opportunities between conferences
• Uses for our blog at http://dlig.wordpress.com/

Are there other topics you’d like to discuss? Please feel free to leave them in the comments or email Lauren Pressley and we’ll add them to our list. All are invited! Please bring your experiences and ideas to share in an informal setting. We hope that you will join us for a lively and useful discussion.

The Journal is now under the new Editorship of Jodi Poe, Head of Technical Services, Houston Cole Library, Jacksonville State University (Jacksonville, Alabama). Jodi was previously Distance Education Librarian at Houston Cole Library for 8 years.

Manuscripts and ideas for papers can be submitted directly to Jodi Poe for peer-review. The Journal has a rapid turn-around time (approximately 4 months) for accepted material, contingent on scheduling. Topics can cover research, theory & practice related to:

• Distance education programs for income production
  Distance learning statistics in libraries
  Strategic Planning for Distance Education
  Evaluation of distance learning librarianship programs
  Off-campus licensing, costing, budgeting
  Remote access issues
  Institutional repositories in distance learning/education
  Satellite libraries: budgeting, growth, usage
  Outsourcing for distance learning
  Proactive roles for distance learning librarians
  Faculty/librarian interaction in distance learning
  cooperation and collaboration for distance learning
  Information literacy for distance learning
  Instructional service techniques
  Information delivery for distance education
  Reference services for distance education
  Document delivery for distance education
  Developing collections for distance education
  Consortia involvement in distance learning

About the Editor
Jodi Poe comes to the Journal with more than 17 years of service in an academic library, and eight years of service in distance education. She is currently the Head of Technical Services at the Houston Cole Library at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. Prior to accepting the department head position in October, Jodi served as the distance education librarian at the Houston Cole Library for eight years.

During her tenure as a distance librarian, Poe has written numerous journal articles on distance learning and librarianship, which appeared in popular journals like The Journal of Access Services and the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery and Electronic Reserves. Additionally, Jodi co-authored a chapter in the book Going the Distance: Library Instruction for Off-Campus Students.

Instructions for Authors
Instructions for authors are available at http://www.haworthpress.com or can be emailed to you directly by Jodi Poe.

Free Print Sample
A free print sample of the journal is available by sending an email to: marisa.starr@taylorandfrancis.com Please give your full name and preferred mailing address.

Learning Virtually: Online Professional Development for Library Workers with Tight Budgets and Full Schedules

Saturday, June 28th, 1:30-3:30pm

• Planning training and professional development for library staff or for yourself? Have limited funds? How can e-learning be a solution for your library or institution?
• Many innovative technologies are available in delivering flexible and inexpensive on-site programs.
• This program will feature some current trends in e-learning as addressed by creators, experts, and librarians involved with virtual learning, the role of the e-learner, and the use of virtual space in training and development via e-learning.
• Panelists
  • Jon Stahler, Manager of Web Services, ACRL;
  • Dan Balzer, Learning Architect, BP (The Green Room)
  • Elaine Fabbro, Senior Reference Services Librarian, Athabasca University
  • Jonathan Finkelstein, Founder & Executive Producer, LearningTimes, and President of LearningTimes Network;
  • Moderator, David A. Wright, Director, Learning Resources, Surry Community College

Saturday, June 28th,4:00 pm – 05:30 pm CJCLS/CLS/DLS Poster Session

http://web.gccaz.edu/~cmacdon2/LearningVirtually/LearningVirtuallyFlyer.pdf

Saturday, January 21

• 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services Hearing
  Menger Hotel, Ballroom A
  (Review revisions to the Guidelines here.)

Sunday, January 22

• 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. All-Committees Meeting
• 11:00 – 12:00 Bibliography Group Meeting*
  Convention Center, Room 103A
• 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Executive Committee
  Convention Center, Room 007B

Monday, January 23

• 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Discussion Group
  St. Anthony Hotel, Georgian Room

ALA Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA
Saturday, June 28th, 8 a.m. – 12 noon

This event will look at the question of whether, in our world of online access to resources and services, if all users aren’t in fact distance learners? Or is there a valuable distinction between distance learners and library users who use online library services and resources? Further, should all library staff have engage with distance learning? Together we will look at these questions in three ways: impact on the library’s mission and culture; how outreach is affected; and challenges for solo distance-learning librarians. Discussion will engage the audience to identify ways to integrate distance-learning services and resources with traditional support and physical collections.

Agenda

8:00-8:15 a.m.: Welcome
Lauren Pressley, Co-chair, LITA Distance Learning Interest Group, and Instructional Design Librarian, Wake Forest University

8:15-8:45 a.m.: Keynote
Kim Duckett, Librarian for Digital Technologies and Learning, North Carolina State University Libraries

8:45-9:30 a.m.: Perspectives of a Solo Distance Learning Librarian
Chad Haefele, Reference Librarian, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

9:30-10:15 a.m.: Distance Learning & Library Outreach
Samantha Hines, Assistant Professor, Distance Education Coordinator and Social Sciences Librarian, University of Montana

10:15-10:30 a.m.: Break

Organizational Perspectives: Distance Learning in the Library, Across the University, and into the Future

10:30-11:15 a.m.: Howard Carter, Associate Professor and Manager, Instructional Support Services, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

11:15 a.m.-12:00 noon: Harvey R. Gover, 2008 ACRL/Haworth Press National Distance Learning Librarian, Acting Chair and Consultant to the Distance Learning Section Guidelines Committee, and Assistant Campus Librarian, 
Max E. Benitz Memorial Library, Washington State University Tri-Cities

Visit the Distance Learning Interest Group Blog at http://dlig.wordpress.com

Saturday, January 12, 10:30-12:00pm, Courtyard Downtown, Salon III
#3 on the map (PDF).

The LITA Distance Learning Interest Group will meet at the 2008 ALA Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia to discuss current issues in distance learning and some of the exciting things the interest group has planned. Here are a few of the things we’d like to discuss:

• Our program, If we don’t call it distance learning, does it exist?, for Annual 2008.
• A possible LITA webinar on distance learning issues.
• A possible online course.
• Uses for our blog at http://dlig.wordpress.com/ .
• General issues in distance learning such as integrating library resources with course management systems.

Are there other topics you’d like to discuss? Please feel free to leave them in the comments or email Karen Wetzel or Lauren Pressley and we’ll add them to our list.

All are invited! Please bring your experiences and ideas to share in an informal setting. We hope that you will join us for a lively and useful discussion.

American Libraries columnist Meredith Farkas is distance learning librarian at Norwich University in Vermont. On December 7 at 2 p.m. Eastern time she will be participating in an OPAL Casual Conversation online program.

http://www.opal-online.org/progschrono.htm

————-

Write an article for the MLA News Technology column in 2008! Writing provides a great opportunity to either share expertise you already have or delve into a topic you’ve been wanting to learn about.

Your column can be a topic review, a case study, or a report on the state of a technology. Recent topics: distance education applications, data mining, Web-based reference management tools, and library podcasts.

Some of the topics we’re interested in for 2008:

- GIS for health information
- Responsible disposal or reuse of equipment
- The InfoButton
- Anatomy of a query URL: If I run it again tomorrow, will it still work?
- Productivity software: alternatives to Office

Your own topic suggestions are, of course, welcome as well. Maximum length: 700 words.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Pat Weiss
Lynne Fox
Technology Co-Editors, MLA News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patricia M. Weiss, MLIS
Reference & Information Technology Librarian
Technology Editor, MLA News

Falk Library – Health Sciences Library System – 200 Scaife Hall – University of Pittsburgh
3550 Terrace Street – Pittsburgh, PA 15261
pwf@pitt.edu – Phone 412.648.2040 – Fax 412.648.8819

Health Sciences Library System: http://www.hsls.pitt.edu
HSLS on del.icio.us: del.icio.us/hsls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

—————-

For Immediate Release
November 20, 2007

LITA Congratulates Lauren Pressley Their New Emerging Leaders Program Participant.

The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) Board is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Lauren Pressley to the ALA Emerging Leaders Program. Lauren is currently the Instructional Design Librarian at Wake Forest University and co-chair of the LITA Distance Learning Interest Group.  In addition, Lauren serves on the ALA Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship and the ACRL WSS Instruction Committee.

The ALA Emerging Leaders Program enables newer librarians from across the country to participate in problem-solving workgroups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. Each participant is expected to provide two years of service to ALA or one of its units.  The LITA Board wishes to ensure that its’ Emerging Leader has a meaningful leadership experience within LITA, therefore Lauren will work closely with the LITA President and President-elect on aspects of the LITA strategic plan implementation.

LITA had a number of excellent applicants and congratulates these additional LITA members on being accepted into the ALA Emerging Leaders Program as well:  Derik Badman, Emily Ford, Wing Yee Vincci Kwong, Sally Ma, Ghouse Mohammed, Neely Tang, Joseph Williams, and Michael Witt.  LITA has a very bright future with such bright, rising stars.