Valuable Resource for MLIS Students

Hello everyone,

This is the first posting from Blake Robinson, your new FastTrack/Faculty Liaison for SCALA. No one except Jacqui really knows what my formal title means, so I prefer "Online Student Officer." My goal is to ensure that online students do not feel like second-class citizens and to remind students, both on-campus and online, that SCALA is here to serve you.

In any case, I would like to recommend a valuable resource for all students in SIS, though it emphasizes librarianship. The listserv is called NEWLIB-L and is run from the University of Southern California. It provides valuable information from employers, new librarians, and library students on issues of all sorts. It is especially useful for job postings and interview advice; I strongly encourage you to subscribe if you want to find a job.

To subscribe, go to http://www.lahacal.org/newlib/ and follow the instructions to subscribe. I suggest you also choose digest format (near the bottom of the page), as this is an extremely active listserv.

I hope you all find this information useful, and I hope everyone is surviving the fall term so far. Don't forget: SCALA is here for you if you need us. Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I can do to help you.

Blake

Washington Trip Review: Four Stars!

*Update! 10/2: Balungile Moleme sent us some awesome pix too! They've been added to the end of this post!*

All reports indicate that the Washington Trip was a wonderful success. We all had tired feet and thumbs ached from downing Noah Wyle's sad turn in the TNT "Classic" The Librarian, but overall an excellent time was had touring the Library of Congress and Book Festival.

Shoutouts to Dr. Leanne Bowler, Dr. Sue Alman, Dr. Mary Kay Biagini, and Harold the Bus Driver for all their hard work on Saturday. Many thanks, y'all!

Here are a few select photographs from Brian Rogers and Xiaomeng Wang, two MLIS students who attended the Washington Trip. If you have photos you would like to share of the Washington Trip (c'mon somebody's got something good from the bus ride home!), email them to jacqueline.h.taylor@gmail.com and I'll add them to this post. Enjoy y'all!


Archway into the Library of Congress (the primary, Jefferson building; other buildings include the Adams and the Madison).

Staircase entrance to the Reading Room viewing gallery--Athena marks the way.

An arched window in the Reading Room.
We were split into two groups for the Library of Congress tour, here one group stands in the Reading Room viewing gallery. Can you spot yourself or your friends? The ponytail-ed lady with her back to the camera was our knowledgable tour guide, Susan.
Setting of BookFest, this pool sat inbetween Capitol Hill (a picture of which heads this post, and which the Library of Congress sits directly behind) and the Mall (where all the BookFest tents were pitched).
The puddles couldn't slow BookFest down! This picture captures the enormity of BookFest--the event took up the entirety of the Mall--approximately 3 city blocks!
Two distinguished Pitt MLIS students stand in the Library of Congress lobby.
Capitol Hill sits directly infront of the main Library of Congress building (the Jefferson). A soon-to-be-completed tunnel will connect the two underground.
Inside one of the BookFest pavilions


More of Brian's photos (including the header to this post) can be seen at http://flickr.com/photos/brianhrogers/sets/72157607548961515/.

Joe DeNardo Weather Watch for Washington Trip

Just as a quick FYI--you may wish to pack your brolleys and ponchos for the Washington Trip, lads and lasses. The Weather Channel is calling for a 70% chance of rain at the time of this post. You can keep an eye out on the forecast here: http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USDC0001?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared .

PS- To all of you not native to Pittsburgh, Joe DeNardo (sing along now: "Joe said it would!") is a legend in Pittsburgh weather forecasting.

Washington Trip FAQ

Rock n roll y’all! With the Washington Trip just days away, here’s your handy-dandy FAQ guide to the event. Please direct any additional enquiries to both Dr. Leanne Bowler (lbowler@sis.pitt.edu) and SCALA President Jacqui Taylor (jht3@pitt.edu).

If you are NOT on the SIS- and SCALA-sponsored bus, you may NOT go on the Library of Congress tour. Sorry, folks, but even the Library of Congress limits its numbers.

The bus waits for no one! If you were planning on bussing to SIS to catch the Washington Trip bus, please be aware of Pittsburgh Transit Authority’s limited Saturday schedules—you may not be able to take your regular bus into campus. Similarly, make note of the bus’s location when arriving in Washington D.C.—it will pick up from the same spot that it dropped off.

Wear comfortable shoes! I know this seems glaringly obvious, but this is NOT the time for your Minolo Blahniks. You will be on your feet most of the day, and it is a very long day. Be sensible in your footwear—fear not the white “librarian” tennis shoe!

Meals are not included in your $26 fee. You are responsible for feeding yourself while in Washington and both directions on the bus. There will be food kiosks at the Book Fest but if you dare try to bring a hot dog into the Library of Congress, so help us SCALA will disown you! Even if Mo Williems’s pigeon gave said hot dog to you!

Here is the itinerary for the trip:
5:15 am: Bus to arrive at SIS (135 North Bellefield Avenue, Oakland)
5:30 am: Depart SIS
9:30 – 10:00: Arrive in Washington, D.C. (Drop-off point to be determined. Will be near to the Jefferson Building, LC)
10:30 – 12:30: Tour of Library of Congress (Jefferson Building) and briefing about the Congressional Research Service
12:30 – 5:30 pm: Book Festival on the National Mall
7:00 pm: Bus departs Washington, D.C. (Same location as drop-off in the morning)
11:00 pm: Arrive at SIS (135 North Bellefield Avenue, Oakland)


For more information on the Book Fest itself, please see: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

Please feel free to use the blog here to connect with a ride into/out from campus, make meal reservations with each other, or make alternate travel arrangements for any part of the day.

October General Meeting Date Set!

"Town" meeting! Town meeting y'all!

SCALA's October meeting has been set for Wednesday, October 8th at 1pm in the first floor lounge (room 1A04).

See y'all--and perhaps some "Nightmare Before Christmas"-worthy goodies--there!

Sept 8 General Meeting Minutes

Thanks to the fabulous teamwork of our outgoing (and she's not an introvert either) Webmaster and our incoming Webmaster, the minutes from September 8th's general meeting are now available on the SCALA homepage.

Just follow this link to catch up on what you missed out on: http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~scala/archive/Minutes2008_09_08.pdf

PS- I promise I'm not the only person who will be posting on this blog. You will hear from others I swear it!

New Officers and Next Meeting

Congratulations to your newly elected Fall 2008 SCALA officers! Serving Pitt MLIS students this semester are Jacqui Taylor (President), Rachel Carver (Vice President), Amy Lee Heinlen (Secretary), Coral Hess (Treasurer), Blake Robinson (Faculty/FastTrak Liaison), and Jean Sant (Webmaster).

SCALA will be holding its next meeting in October, probably on the week of the 6th. So let's hear it oh active SCALA members ours--what times and dates work best for you? We'll strive to accommodate as many people as possible. We luvs yinz! Leave your mark in the comments section of this post to help us find a time!

More Meeting Details

We have found the land of milk and honey! It is room 1A04, and we'll be using it for the meeting on Monday. The room is commonly known as the first floor lounge and is directly across from the elevators.

We will be undergoing elections--anybody who's interested in any position may nominate themselves or have another person nominate them--you can find descriptions of the different officer positions on the SCALA homepage (a link to which you will find in the sidebar on this blog, sweetness).

At the meeting, we will also be voting on the Constitution. At the beginning of the summer, the current SCALA officers completed a constitutional review. You can find the proposed new Constitution here (http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~scala/archive/revisedconstitution.doc), and the proposed outgoing Constitution here (http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~scala/governance.html).

See y'all there!

First Meeting of the Semester!

SCALA's first general meeting of the 2008-2009 school year will take place on Monday September 8th at 11am. The location of said meeting is currently top secret, but all will be revealed in the coming days. Hint: it will be somewhere in the SIS building. Double hint: sustenance will be provided.

Yummo!