Dear Alumnae/i and Friends,

Spring has come to Chicago earlier than usual this year, and our campus has never looked prettier at this time of year. I mention this in particular because we want to invite you to come on campus and see what’s new. I had the opportunity to meet with several alumnae/i recently who hadn’t been on campus since their graduations, and they were surprised at all the changes.

Some of you, like me, earned degrees when the Graduate School of Library and Information Science was on the lower level of the Rebecca Crown Library (remember the orange carpeting?). Now we are located on the top floor of the library, with faculty and staff office space together on one floor. And, just this past summer, we expanded that space to add two new faculty offices, two new staff offices and a small suite for our PhD students. In addition, the Butler Children’s Literature Center reopened in a new space on the second floor of the library, which includes a rotating collection of new books sent to us by publishers for use primarily by our students; a classroom that serves as a learning laboratory and also for programs related to the center and houses the B. J. Kass and Effie Lee Morris donated collections; a small research room that houses the Ellin Greene Storytelling Collection donation; and an office for the curator of the center. This summer we hope to complete a digital lab for our archives and cultural heritage students.

We are fortunate to have the support of Dominican’s president and other senior administrators to expand our physical facilities to meet the needs of our expanding program. So, again, I extend a personal invitation to you to visit the campus. Just let us know when you can make it and we’ll arrange a tour for you.

In the meantime, we wish you a pleasant spring wherever you are located and hope that you will stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Susan Roman, Dean and Professor
Dominican University

Headlines

• Goings On
• Congratulations Graduates
• Focus on Scholarships
• On the Road
• Student News
• Faculty News
• Alumnae/i News
• Upcoming Events
• Recent Events
• Staff News

GOINGS ON

New Editor, Renewed Focus for Dominican University’s World Libraries

World Libraries, a free, peer-reviewed library and information science journal founded in 1990 (originally titled Third World Libraries), begins a new era with the publication of Volume 19, Numbers 1 & 2 this spring. Volume 19 is the first to be published by the journal’s new editor Christopher Stewart, assistant professor at GSLIS. This special double issue focuses on the Follett Lectures from 2005-2011. The Follett Lectures are presented annually by the holder of Dominican’s Follett Chair, one of a very few endowed chairs in library and information science. The current issue, along with the complete World Libraries archive, is available at www.worlib.org. World Libraries appeared only in print until 2004, when it began to migrate to a completely online journal. The transformation took place over several years, during which time it was published in both formats. It is now an openly accessible online journal--without registration, passwords or fees. World Libraries provides a forum dedicated to all aspects of librarianship throughout the world, especially for librarians and libraries in regions without associations or agencies to encourage scholarly communication and professional development.

Library Journal Movers & Shakers 2012

Congratulations to Leah White, MLIS '08 (left) and Renee Grassi, MLIS '09 (right) on being named to the Library Jounal's 2012 list of "Movers and Shakers." This annual list of approximately 50 librarians "spotlights librarians and others in the library field who are doing extraordinary work to serve their users and to move libraries of all types and library services forward." White, a reader services librarian at Northbrook (IL) Public Library, was cited as a community builder for her role in founding Chicago Deskset, a series of events where information professionals and book lovers network and help charities at the same time. Grassi, youth services librarian at Deerfield (IL) Public Library, was cited as an advocate based on her creation and implementation of programming for children with special needs. View the entire list.

Library Matters Symposium

GSLIS hosted a symposium on January 6, 2012, bringing together thought leaders in librarianship from across the nation to discuss hot-topic issues and the future of public library service. This event, supported by a planning grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), generated ideas for a future public television program on the public library, to be produced by creative partner Judith Paine McBrien of Archimedia Workshop. For more information, please visit www.librarymatters.com.

CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES

Congratulations to our January Graduates

Please join us in congratulating the following individuals who were conferred the master of library and information science degree on January 14, 2012:

Annette Alvarado; Jessica Bartz; Vlada Bernhardtz; Laura Bos; Brian Carrizosa; Mary Jo Chrabasz; Theresa Ciupinski; Richard Clegg; Tracy Coyne; Dawn Cummins; Patricia Dantis; Francis Davis; Sarah DeBacker; Carlen DeThorne; Cynthia Douglas; Jolie Duncan; Kenneth Duray; Janis Elmore; Rebecca Feil; Juanita Fisher; Stephanie Fletcher; Sandra Flowers; Julie Foote; Melinda Foote; Kelly Grigg; Shannon Gruber; Anna Ha; Austin Hall; Kelly Haras; Lindsey Hoesterey; Elizabeth Humrickhouse; Portia Kapraun; Julianne Keaty; Casey Kinson; Heidi Knuth; Jeannine Kropski; Kimesa Kupferer; Allison Mennella; Kelly Miles; Jennifer Lauren Mondala; Sean O'Brien; Lauren Odom; Kimberly Pacana; Leslie Peet; William Pekara; Matthew Regan; Daniel Rogers; Katie Ryan; Katherine Sleyko; Amanda VerMeulen and Tara Wood.

FOCUS ON SCHOLARSHIPS

First Vera May Barnes Zubrzycki Scholarship Winner Named

The inaugural Vera May Barnes Zubrzycki Scholarship was awarded to Melissa L. Lambert during the Polish American Librarians Association (PALA) annual meeting on February 19 at the Polish Museum of America in Chicago. The scholarship is funded by a bequest to the PALA from Chicagoans Michael and Christine Zubrzycki in honor of Mr. Zubrzycki’s mother. A current student at GSLIS in the school library media program, Lambert expects to receive her degree in May 2013 and to seek work in a school library. The Zubrzycki Scholarship is intended to support a library school student specializing in service to children, with emphasis on incorporating multiculturalism, particularly the Polish-American experience, into her practice of librarianship. The selection committee included GSLIS Dean Susan Roman, PALA President Aldona Salska, and Leonard Kniffel of the American Library Association (ALA).

Daylily Alvarez named Butler Scholar

Daylily Alvarez, a student in the doctoral program, has been named the 2012 Butler Scholar. Alvarez currently works at Truman College, where she enjoys providing information services to a uniquely diverse student body. Her academic interests include community informatics, international librarianship and services to special populations. She works with World Libraries, a Dominican University-produced international, electronic peer-reviewed journal focusing on libraries and socio-economic development. Alvarez presented a poster entitled “Global Citizenry through Librarianship” at Dominican’s 2012 URSCI Expo on Wednesday, April 4.

Support Scholarships Via the Dean's Endowment Fund

The Dean's Endowment Fund campaign is an opportunity to make a GSLIS education more affordable for today's students. The campaign is focused on increasing the funds available for scholarships to increase access to GSLIS. Gifts of any amount are appreciated and are a demonstration of your appreciation for your graduate experience. Donate Now!

ON THE ROAD

GSLIS works hard to recruit the best and brightest to our profession and our school. We’ll have a presence at these upcoming events; if you’re attending any of them, come by to say hello, and spread the word to colleagues:

STUDENT NEWS

Masters student Anna Pauls was interviewed recently in her hometown newspaper: Kane County Chronicle.

Masters student Jane Susinka was appointed administrative assistant to the chief of police and the police department of Itasca, IL, where she will also be responsible for villagewide records management.

Real-World Project in New Class on Digital Media

Students in the new class, LIS 889 Digital Media and Collections have been working on an exciting class project, creating an archive and Web site for the punk band DA! in Chicago. DA! was formed by Lorna Donley, MLIS ’04, at age 16. She eventually gave up playing bass for DA!, became a librarian and now works at the Chicago Public Library. Lorna and her colleagues provided recordings, tapes, posters, printed matter and ephemera to the class, all of which is being converted into digital files. The class has been working on the audio recordings at the Experimental Sound Studio in Ravenswood on the creation of files for the archives.

GSLIS PhD Students Present Poster Sessions at ALISE

Eight students currently seeking their PhD through the GSLIS featured their work at the January 20, 2012, meeting of the Association for Library and Information Science Educators (ALISE) in Dallas:

Robert Connor: "Literacy and the Dissemination of Information in the Medieval Latin East and Europe: The Rule of the Order of St. John."

Anthony Molaro: "Information Deserts: Chicago’s Experience" and "Merging Large and Complex Library Organizations: A Phenomenological Approach to the Lived Experiences of Those Directly Involved."

Kelly Visnak: "Learning: Investigating Small Group Interactions in a Blended Learning Environment."

Elizabeth Garcia: "Information Seeking Behaviors of the School Social Worker: What Is the Librarian’s Role in the Practice of Bibliotherapy?"

Guillermina Duarte: "If You Can’t Hear Me, How Can I Help You?’ A Case Study of Library Services to Deaf High School Students."

Elizabeth Zak: "The Color of Information: Organizing Knowledge and Information Through Color."

Amy Phillips: "The Framing of the Public Library in the Media."

Christina J. Ward: "Reader Response and the YA Drug Novel: Its Impact on the High School Heath Curriculum."

FACULTY NEWS

Karen Brown, associate professor, has been promoted to professor, effective for the 2012-13 academic year. Brown recently published an article, "From Travel to Tourism: The Social and Cultural Impact of Photography as a New Medium of Communication in Nineteenth-Century America," in EME: Explorations in Media Ecology 10.1-2 (2011). She also presented a paper with Mary Pat Fallon, assistant professor, titled "Library As Place: New Media and New Designs for Creating Community" at the 2011 Media Ecology Association Convention held in Edmonton, Canada in June.

Janice M. Del Negro, assistant professor, won the 2012 GSLIS Excellence in Teaching Award, which is supported by the Follett Corporation.

Mary Pat Fallon, assistant professor, was awarded tenure.

Debra Mitts-Smith joins the GSLIS faculty as visiting professor. Mitts-Smith previously served as an assistant professor in Dominican’s GSLIS and has held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota and at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she earned her doctoral and master’s degrees in library and information science. She also holds a master’s degree in French from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Edward Valauskas spoke as a guest lecturer in a graduate art & science seminar at Northwestern University, sharing rare books from the collection at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He also presented another one of his popular Harry Potter's Herbology classes at the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, and spoke at the Chicago Botanic Garden library on "Renaissance Artists: Illustrations of Science and Art." This lecture is tied to an exhibit in the library, which in turn is tied to the current exhibit at the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern, "Prints and the pursuit of knowledge in early Modern Europe."

ALUMNAE/I NEWS

Merle Branner, MLIS ’10, was appointed coordinator of instructional technology at Woodlands Academy in Lake Forest, IL, in July 2011.

Karen Danczak-Lyons, MLIS ’97, was appointed April 16 as director of the Evanston Public Library in Evanston, IL.

Kelly A. Miles, MLIS ’11, was appointed February 6 as school librarian at the British School of Chicago.

Abby Nafziger, MLIS ’11, blogs at http://www.npowernw.org about her experience working with Npower Northwest as one of a team of AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers working on ways to help nonprofits make the most of technology. View her YouTube video.

Roberto Sarmiento, MLIS ’84, is one of five librarians to be named fellows of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). SLA recognizes fellows for leadership within the information profession and the association. The title is bestowed on mid-career professionals in recognition of past service and in anticipation of valuable contributions and leadership well into the future. The five information professionals will be honored on July 15 at SLA's 2012 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in Chicago.

Christy Stanford, MLIS ’11, was promoted to volunteer and intern coordinator at the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago in February 2012.

Looking for a Job? Recruiting for an Open Position?

Did you know Dominican is a member of the Illinois Small College Placement Association (ISCPA)? ISCPA is a dynamic and respected consortium of 25 colleges and universities, best-known for its premier job fairs: CareerFest and TeacherFest; the free Online Career Center; collaborative interviewing programs including Fall Interview Day; and promoting high-quality career services designed for students and employers. Organized in January 1988 by career-services professionals at 13 Illinois colleges, the ISCPA limits membership is limited to Illinois, small, private, non-proprietary, four-year liberal arts colleges and universities. Please take advantage of its resources!

Stay Connected with GSLIS

Please send us your news! Job appointments, promotions, publications and the like are all worthy of note in Off the Shelf, published quarterly. To submit news, contact Diane Foote, assistant dean, dfoote@dom.edu, 708-524-6054.

Please also consider hosting a practicum or internship! We’re always looking for site supervisors for students interested in practica; we’re especially eager right now to secure some practicum positions in corporate and/or special libraries. If you are interested in helping our current students gain the experience they need to be library and information leaders, please contact Alexis Sarkisian at asarkisian@dom.edu, 708-524-6949.

UPCOMING EVENTS

All alumnae/i and friends are welcome to join us for events. For complete details, including how to register, please visit http://www.dom.edu/gslis/cpe/register.html

Spring Commencement - May 5, 2012

Supervisory Skills: Building a Productive Team - May 31, 2012

In this fourth series workshop, participants will learn how to conduct more productive meetings, ways to help team members fulfill their team roles and responsibilities, and approaches for handing team conflict. This event takes place from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and will be held at the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 North Grove, Elgin, IL, 60120. Six CPDU credits are available. $130 registration fee includes box lunch.

Butler Children's Literature Center Book Discussion Events

Join Thom Barthelmess, curator, Butler Children's Literature Center, and fellow children's book enthusiasts on the third Thursday of each month for lively book discussions, socializing and snacks. Meetings will begin in February. Visit the Butler Children's Literature Center for a reading list and details.

RECENT EVENTS

15th Annual GSLIS Career Day, 2/18/12--The MLIS Is a Golden Ticket! Where Will Yours Take You?

A panel of speakers, including several from nontraditional library-related careers such as publishing and nonprofit management, shared insights for job seekers to a capacity crowd of nearly 85 participants. The GSLIS Alumnae/i Council, headed by chair Jamie MacDonald, MLIS ’08, organized and hosted the event.

The Butler Children's Literature Center Presents the Truth about Choice, 2/25/12

This day-long conference, emceed by Thom Barthelmess, Butler Center Curator, explored the choices we make as teachers, librarians and readers. Noted author and intellectual freedom advocate Chris Crutcher was the keynote speaker for the event, which included an array of panels including one featuring book reviewers and review editors (Gillian Engberg from Booklist, Deborah Stevenson of the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, reviewer Louise Bruggeman representing Kirkus and Christine Heppermann, senior reviewer, representing Horn Book); a group of librarians and teachers sharing some of the best (and worst!) reading choices they have made and GSLIS’s own Janice Del Negro, assistant professor, discussing the intersection of popularity and quality in young adult literature. Photograph of Chris Crutcher.

eBooks: Issues and Trends, 3/7/12

This all-day session offered practical insight into the increasing role ebooks play in library collections. Speakers included Christine Lind Hage, director, Rochester Hills (MI) Public Library and member, ALA/OITP E-books Task Force; representatives from two new ebook suppliers, Baker & Taylor and 3M, OverDrive, and OCLC; and an panel of experienced librarians, who discussed best practices on patron requests, digital rights management and other issues.

C. W. Follett Lecture, 3/13/12

This year's C. W. Follett Lecture featured GSLIS Follett Chair Mary Minow, who presented "eBooks and the Reader." The simple days of libraries purchasing books and lending them to the public are waning in the face of digital data; Minow urged the capacity crowd of 180 to educate themselves on the issues and advocate for legislation that will protect the intent of the U.S. Copyright Act with regard to ebooks. Minow is a member of the National Museum and Library Services board. She manages the Stanford Copyright and Fair Use website and founded the Library Law blog. In addition, she serves on the board of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, as well as the board of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Supervisory Skills Series: Interpersonal Skills for Supervising Others, 3/15/12

This workshop, first in a series of four (see "Upcoming Events," below), helped participants learn to use communication tools to maintain and improve relationships with staff, peers and their managers. Facilitator Diane Decker has more than 15 years experience facilitating training, and is certified as a professional facilitator. She is co-author of First Job Survival Guide: How to Thrive and Advance in Your New Career and Serving the Public: A Curriculum for Court Employees. This series takes place at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL.

GSLIS Spring Lecture, 3/21/12

Barbara J. Ford, director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and Mortenson distinguished professor at the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, delivered the annual Spring Lecture on "UNESCO, Libraries, and Inclusive Knowledge Societies." Ford is also an American Library Association (ALA) representative and on the United States National Commission for UNESCO. Photograph from left-to-right of Dominican University President Donna M. Carroll with Barbara Ford.

Supervisory Skills Series: How to Motivate Staff, 4/10/12

In this second series workshop, participants learned motivational techniques including delegation, coaching and feedback. This series takes place at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL.

The Butler Children's Literature Center Presented the Common Core and You: Phase II, 4/12/12

Joyce Karon, member of the Illinois P-20 Council on education, discussed the common core standards for English language arts and math and the implications for school librarians and classroom teachers. Karon is currently a member of the Illinois P-20 Council and is a former member of the Illinois State Board of Education and the former coordinator of library media services, Barrington Community Unit School District 220.

The Butler Children's Literature Center Presented Chicago Children's Book Publishers' Fall 2012 Preview, 4/21/12

Local publishers Albert Whitman & Company, Capstone, Norwood House Press and Sourcebooks, Inc., gave a sneak preview of children's and young adult books coming out for fall 2012. Alumnae/i, students and other interested members of the public learned what was new before the reviews will be written.

Book Reviewing with Janice M. Del Negro, first session on 4/22/12

Assistant Professor Janice M. Del Negro has been reviewing books for youth for professional library journals for almost 30 years. She is offering a three-session course designed to give participants insight into the career-expanding skill of book reviewing. Topics covered in these sessions include an introduction to the major professional review journals, criteria for evaluation of fiction and non-fiction, the elements of a cogent review and feedback on your own reviews. Del Negro, formerly editor of the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, has also reviewed for Kirkus and Booklist, and is currently reviewing for School Library Journal.

Supervisory Skills Series: Professional Hiring and Meaningful Performance Reviews, 4/24/12

In this third series workshop, participants learned the do's and don'ts of conducting interviews including the best questions to ask. This session equipped participants to provide a more positive and constructive performance review process for those they supervise. This event took place at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL.

STAFF NEWS

Marie-Louise Settem Wins Contest to Rename Undergraduate Research Journal

The Advisory Committee for the Dominican University Undergraduate Research Journal is pleased to announce the new name of the URSCI online undergraduate research journal: "The Constellation: A Journal of Undergraduate Research." Marie-Louise Settem, instructional services coordinator in GSLIS, submitted the creative new title and asked that the $100 prize be donated to the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters' Retirement Fund.

New Administrative Assistants Join GSLIS

Megan Tideman, administrative assistant for the school library media program and the PhD program, joined the staff on February 20, 2012. Jason Flowers, administrative assistant for admission and continuing and professional education, joined the staff on March 26, 2012.

Please keep us informed by contacting us at: gslis@dom.edu

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Photo Credits:

Leah White and Renee Grassi: courtesy of Library Journal.

Edward Valauskas: courtesy of Mr. Edward J. Valauskas.

15th Annual Career Day: property of Dominican University, Samantha Hopper '14 photographer.

Chris Cruthers: property of Dominican University, Samantha Hopper '14 photographer.

Mary Minow: courtesy of Dominican University.

Donna M. Carroll and Barbara Ford: property of Dominican University, Samantha Hopper '14 photographer.