2013-2014 ALASC Officers

2013-2014 ALASC Officers

Chair: Elaine Hall

My name is Elaine Hall and I am excited to be serving a second year as Chair of ALASC. My vision for the next year is to put a strong focus on providing networking and professional development opportunities for all SLIS students despite their regional location. I also aim to highlight the benefits and opportunities of being an active member of ALA – both as students and as LIS professionals upon graduation.  I am very excited about the elected members of this year’s board as they offer tremendous experience and desire to meet ALASC’s objectives and provide an essential service to the SLIS community. I look forward to see what we will accomplish in 2013-2014 as a board as well as a SLIS community.

In addition to my role with ALASC, I also work part time for SLIS as a graduate student assistant and also serve as the Special Projects Manager for SLISConnect. I am also an active member of the American Library Association and Washington Library Association. My academic interests include academic libraries, research, information literacy, and emerging technologies. I live 60 miles north of Seattle where I spend my free time gardening, cooking, writing, and hanging out with my husband and two young children.

Co-chair / Web Coordinator: Laura ten Pas

I live in San Francisco working as an Assistant Librarian at a small design college.  I started the MLIS program in Fall 2012 and am interested in connecting with and contributing to our SLIS community.  I am pursuing a combination of classes from the Leadership/Management and Web Programming/Information Architecture pathways.  I like that the Co-Chair/Web Coordinator position involves both these areas.  I look forward to serving you!

One of my proudest memories is of the three years I spent working as a Student Email Coordinator in the office of Outreach & Recruitment at CSU, Northridge. It wasn’t just the camaraderie but the feeling of accomplishment when I was able to designing a simplified process for helping students from around the world find the answers they were looking for in obtaining information about our university and various graduate and undergraduate programs. The challenges of my position extended to finding a middle ground in terms of language or meaning, advocating for our campus on the state, national and international level, building relationships within our department and the diverse colleges within the university, and providing training for all Outreach & Recruitment student workers to facilitate an effective service support system for assisting potential students. I was happy to do it because, for three years, I loved helping people accomplish their goals for the future.

Likewise, in the position of Outreach Development Coordinator, I will strive to be a valuable asset in setting and supporting the ALASC’s goals, engaging students in ALASC activities, building relationships to provide a strong support system for connecting distant students, and assist in developing professional relationships for all LIS students within their regional areas while advocating for national and state level ALA involvement. It will be an honor to continue my love for helping others, giving any who seek it the support of making social and professional connections to further their studies and meet their own challenges within all aspects of the LIS community.

Kerstin is a first year student in the SLIS program with a background in English language education. Her LIS interests are digital services; emerging technologies; information organization, description, analysis, and retrieval; and information architecture.  When she is not studying or working, she enjoys reading, writing, dance fitness, and participating in social media outlets.

I am very excited to represent the SJSU ALASC as secretary for the 2013-14 school year. My background as an educator and administrator has been especially helpful as I transitioned into the library world. In the public library setting I have been responsible for teaching children, teens and adults a variety of subjects from navigating databases, computer program instruction, to story time and special programs. Attaining my MLIS will fuse my educational background with my library experience.

I have a background in visual arts, with an emphasis on collaboration.  This has brought me to the field of librarianship, where creative problem-solving, storytelling and community connections are important skills. My focus is on ways that information literacy and programming can help young people make sense of their world, make change in their communities, and connect with the people around them. I currently live in the Bay Area, and am involved in projects ranging from preschool storytimes to library teen zone mural workshops.  As Social Media Manager, I will do my best to create opportunities for information sharing and creation, and to create an online space for collaboration and learning that connects ALASC, the ALA, and all of you.  I want to bring out the best of librarianship – creativity, service, and learning – by connecting good design and information.

Treasurer: Julia Bourland Chambers

I wish to develop stronger connections with fellow student members of ALASC and continue what the existing leadership team has done so well this year in developing a growing awareness of the benefits of active membership. I’m interested in the position of Treasurer because managing the financial resources of an organization is an area in which I wish to gain more leadership experience. As an officer of ALASC, I would like to use my background in strategic planning to help the organization develop a vision and goals for the May 2013-2014 term; and as Treasurer, I would strive to ensure the financial well-being of the organization during my term and establish goals for the fiscal longevity of the student organization. I’m a second year MLIS student and head librarian at a K-5 independent school in Berkeley, CA. As head librarian, I am responsible for the school’s library budget and all financial decisions related to the school’s library program. I have served on the boards for two non-profits in Berkeley in the positions of Secretary, Membership Chair, Vice President, and Chair of Advancement.

Regional Events Coordinator: Elissa Papendick

Elissa began the MLIS program at SJSU in the spring of 2013. Her professional interests include art librarianship, digital collections, and open access publishing. A California native, Elissa moved to Chicago in 2008 to complete a dual masters in Art History and Arts Administration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2012, she returned to the Bay Area to begin a position as the Circulation Supervisor at Mills College in Oakland, CA. Elissa is happy to be living in a temperate climate again and in her free time she enjoys art, gardening, hiking, reading and trips up the Northern California coast.

Virtual Events Coordinator: Sheamonique Ellis

I am a second year Library and Information Science Master’s Candidate. My BA is in Africana Studies with an emphasis in Literature and Humanities. My future career goals are to be an English Academic Librarian and a lecturer for a major university’s Library and Information Science department. Currently, I work in Marketing for Banners Brokers and I conduct database administration for CET PROperties.

The current emphasis in my studies is Information Intermediation and Instruction. I have taken a serious liking to management courses and database creation. Although, I have little student involvement in student organization for SJSU Library and Information Science program, I have had lots of involvement in extracurricular activities and student organizations during my undergraduate years at San Diego State University. I was secretary of Africana Studies Majors and Minors from 2008-2009. I recorded minutes, organized all paperwork related to the projects and events put on by the organization. I was also a board member for Student African American Sisterhood also during the 2008-2009 school year. Being a board member mainly involved student mentorship and being a recognized leader of the student organization. I have also been a member of National Society of Black Engineers since 2009, participating a numerous events and summer programs. I was President of Africana Studies Majors and Minors in 2009-2010 and a number of my duties include heading meetings, overseeing volunteer projects and coordinating the programs for the Africana Studies department of San Diego State University.  I have held a number of leadership positions in my professional career as well.