To block or not to block? That is the question many librarians contend with in deciding to filter users’ internet access. Although people might associate filtering with school and public libraries, “the issue of filtering Internet content is not just a public or school library issue. Academic, community colleges, and Read more…
Hello fellow information professionals! We, here at the Special Library Association Student Chapter, would like to tell you that we are hopeful and committed in creating blogs just for you. Our purpose is to feed inspiration and happiness within the informational world and that is what we will provide to you Read more…
A Special Librarian Abroad: Denmark and Sweden This past August, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Denmark to study medieval Scandinavian manuscripts, and take in Danish history and culture for about two weeks through a summer school program offered at the Arnamagnæan Institute and University of Copenhagen. This Read more…
INTRODUCTION: Before I dive right into the main focus of this post, I’d like to share a few of my own personal thoughts on the subject. I grew up reading comics, and I have to say I never anticipated that super hero movies and comic book characters would become as Read more…
Join us this coming Tuesday (March 26th) as we explore the world of museums and art libraries. Learn about the skills and knowledge needed for this exciting area of librarianship. We’ll hear from information professionals who work in art and history museum settings, as they discuss their positions, job responsibilities, Read more…
My original intent for this first blog of 2019 was for it to be on textile/fashion libraries with the hope of finding one related to one of the major legendary European fashion houses. While doing a basic Google search for a Gucci library, I stumbled upon a vintage digitized Gucci Read more…
On June 8, 2018, members of the SLASC had the pleasure of attending a tour of the Disney Animation Research Library (ARL). This tour was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes view of where over 65 million pieces of original Disney animation artwork from the past Read more…
Are you interested in animation and love Disney movies? Curious to learn more about working in a special library such as Disney’s Animation Research Library? If you answered yes, you are invited to join the SLASC for a free, in-person tour of the Disney ARL in Burbank, CA! On Friday, Read more…
Please join the SLA Student Chapter on May 1st at 6:15 pm for “There’s a Special Librarian for That?” 6:15-6:30 pm Social Chat 6:30-7:30 pm Program Join the SLASC at 6:15 pm PST for a brief social time prior to the program. This is an excellent opportunity to virtually meet Read more…
NEW WEBINAR! SLA-San Diego is offering an upcoming webinar about all the things you did not learn in library school, but need to know. This is for anyone interested in public, academic, archives, and corporate librarianship. Check it out! LET’S TALK ABOUT…. WHAT LIBRARY SCHOOL DIDN’T TEACH ME APRIL 20th, Read more…
Great news! The wonderful Kate Spaulding has written about the “Demystifying Conferences” event that took place on November 7th in the iSchool Career Blog.
Kate was our previous Communications Director and continues to be a valuable member of our virtual community. Her post gives an excellent summary of the points covered during the event, as well as links to helpful and informative resources related to the topics covered. For those of you (like me) who were unable to attend but are interested in viewing a recording, please check out the SJSU SLA YouTube channel; in addition to the most recent event we have recordings dating back to early 2015 showcasing the variety of wonderful speakers and topics our group has been lucky enough to host.
Keep reading for links and to view an embedded version of the event recording!
Join us tomorrow (November 7) for a presentation on the conference experience from guest speaker Dr. Michael Stephens. Have you ever been interested in attending an LIS conference to enhance your professional skills and development? For many, conferences present themselves as overwhelming or even intimidating events. Dr. Michael Stephens, Associate Read more…
Join us on October 3rd for a presentation on international librarianship with Librarians Without Borders founder Melanie Sellar. Our guest speaker’s presentation will begin promptly at 7:30pm (Pacific Time), but please pop in early for some virtual mingling beforehand (our “social half-hour” will be starting at 7pm).
Here is a link for the Collaborate room where the event will be held: https://sas.elluminate.com/d. jnlp?sid=2011274&password=D. 10CD983E2C411007F77A54FF505C43
We hope to see you there! Until then, we wanted to share some details about the event and the speaker.
Melanie will be discussing Comp O and what it means to “do” international librarianship. It’s a huge concept, and this guest lecture will explore how a closer examination of the term “international librarianship” (IL) yields a much sharper definition than you might initially think possible.
Given that higher education institutions are increasingly formalizing internationalization into their strategic plans and that LIS programs (like the SJSU School of Information) are responding by encouraging the inclusion of more international perspectives throughout the curriculum, it is useful to look at the who, why, and how of international librarianship.
IL is indeed a relatively small field that is not understood well. In order for IL to be studied, practiced, and funded in ways that are appropriate to its potential, this guest lecture will discuss some common misconceptions, and advocate for more intentional, reciprocal, and reflective applications.
Keep reading to learn more about guest speaker Melanie Sellar!
On August 29 at 6:30pm Join the SLA Student Chapter for: What I Wish I Knew Then Come join iSchool Special Library Association for a welcome back to school social and chat. Our “experienced” students and alumnae will discuss what they wish they had known when they started the program. Read more…
When most of us think of Yosemite National Park we think of soaring peaks, Half Dome, waterfalls, and perhaps crowds enjoying the sights and wonders of one of America’s most famous national parks. Did you know that Yosemite hosted over 5 million visitors in 2016? That’s a lot of people, especially considering most visit from April to October. In fact, you have to look pretty closely to discover the Yosemite Research Library. But it’s there. Past the visitor center, into the 1925 stone Herbert Maier designed Museum building, just past a Native American shopping kiosk, there is a small sign in a stairwell that announces to those who happen to get this far that the Yosemite Research Library is up those stairs.
And if you happen to venture up the stairs and into the dusty back rooms of the second floor, at the end of the hall you’ll see a bookcase for the library visitors to leave their things (particularly their edibles, given the possible critter problems that crumbs might create) and just beyond the bookcase you’ll encounter a closed door. Through that door is over 100 years of Yosemite related research treasures crammed into a small room filled with books, papers, and maps. Collection development started in 1923, and the library now holds over 10,000 items. Despite its rather hidden location and the lack of signage or directions, the library is open to visitors (10-4:30 Mon-Thurs, with a 12-12:30 break for lunch). And, as some of us were able to experience first-hand, also open to volunteers. San Jose’s SLA group was lucky enough to spend a day and a half volunteering at this special place.
In this post, a couple of our members share their experiences:
While Hogwarts might be a figment of our fantastical imaginations, education in the conjuring arts has a very long and very real history, so I guess it is not a surprise that there are libraries for that! As I delved deeper into the conjuring arts, I was amazed not only Read more…
We hear quite a bit these days about human rights and how we all need to work together to keep these rights intact. What are human rights? One definition is “everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person” (Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Since the adoption of the UDHR in 1948, lawyers, victims, and advocates have been working to ensure the values enshrined in the document are upheld equally around the world. That’s when libraries can be the most helpful places to go to find materials to support this work.
We’re less than two weeks away from a very special event, which we’ve collaborated with our SAASC friends to help organize. Join us on May 1 for The End of Term Web Archive: Collecting & Preserving the .gov Information Sphere. From 6:30-7:00pm (Pacific), San José State University’s student chapters of the Special Libraries Read more…
By Jonathan Christensen On March 15, 2017, the San Diego Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (SLA-SD) hosted an event for members to go on a private tour of the USS Midway Library (“the library”) at the USS Midway Museum (“the museum”). Similar to my most recent blog post, I had Read more…
Military Librarianship: It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure! When I first started this post, I intended to do an interview with a military librarian to represent this unique special librarian field. But I only had to dive into the research and reach out to a few contacts to Read more…
SJSU put on its spring conference of Library 2.0 on Expertise, Competencies, and Careers, on March 29th. One of the many interesting presentations was given by David Shumaker, from The Catholic University of America. He was one of the key participants in formulating the 2016 Core competencies for SLA Read more…