Reminder: Sign up for conference!

Just a friendly reminder: the Early Bird Registration deadline for ALA Annual, July 9-July 15, in Chicago, is this Friday, March 6th. After Friday, rates go up to the 'Advanced' prices. If you're planning to go, this is the week to register!

The student rate is $95 this week, with ALA membership (and it's $120 next week and after!). Also, if you've got the $10 to spare, I definitely recommend springing for membership in the New Members Round Table (NMRT)--it's a great resource for new librarians to network and learn from others' experiences. (Also, they throw a good party at Annual each year.) If you are in NMRT, or are thinking of joining it, you might also be interested in their listserv, NMRT-L.

Book Kart Drill Team!

For those who missed the BKDT meeting, we have a Google Group, which you are encouraged to join if you have any interest at all in this thing; you can e-mail me at coral dot hess at gmail dot com, if you dislike the Google Groups interface and just want me to add you. We're using it to share ideas for themes/songs/awesome dance moves/videos we like. We also have a Google Calendar. Join the Google Group for access to it, or you can look at the publicly viewable version here. (Spoiler alert: I'm proposing a meeting on Wednesday, November 23, from 12:30-1:30. I know it's the day before Thanksgiving, but I have this theory that most people will still be in town that day. Join the group and make counter-suggestions, if I'm wrong!)

Just a heads up: by mid-December, we're going to need a commitment from everyone on our BKDT crew about doing this thing. That means coming to practices and being at the competition, at ALA Annual 2009 (in Chicago, IL, from July 9- July 15, though the competition will probably be that Saturday or Sunday). We need to start looking for funding, and the number of people who are participating has a big influence on how much we need to ask for. Yes, this is an opportunity to have your conference attendance subsidized; so, while it's a super fun and awesome thing, it is also something you need to be sure you can commit to.

More about that later, though.

In the meantime: about halfway through this video, something awesome happens. You should watch it.

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