The Western New York/Ontario Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries invites you to a one-day conference on trends in the profession and career development. Please join us as we return to the historic Roycroft Inn in East Aurora and explore several facets of career development, from an overview of the ageing of the profession, to hiring trends in librarianship, to brushing up on your job seeking skills, to maximizing peer support for writing and publishing efforts.

Librarianship is not like other professions. We're a lot older, and we're aging at a much faster rate. At the same time, the people entering librarianship are unlike those who have entered the profession in the past. What does this mean for the profession? What does it mean for library administrators?

Stanley has studied extensively about the aging of our profession. He will share his research and insights with us, and facilitate a question-and-answer session about what this means for academic and research libraries.

Stanley Wilder is the Associate Dean for River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester. Prior to his current position, he served at the Louisiana State University Libraries, and at the University of Illinois at Chicago Libraries. He holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Wisconsin, an MLS from Columbia University, and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has many published works relating to the demographics of librarianship, including the recent study Demographic Change in Academic Librarianship, published by the Association of Research Libraries. He has also published extensively on the serials crisis.

Why are job ads written the way they are? What are employers looking for in an application? This workshop will give you suggestions for how to write a cover letter and resume that will move your application to the keep pile.

Melissa Jadlos, Associate Director of Milne Library SUNY Geneseo has been on both sides of the application process. For the past 5 years, she has coordinated all searches at SUNY Geneseo and has written and read many types of applications throughout her 20 years in academic libraries.

Writing-some are naturals, others struggle to write that first sentence. Librarians who want or need to publish scholarly research need institutional and collegial support. The University at Buffalo libraries have given their institutional support to an academic writing group comprised of junior faculty librarians who are dedicated to assisting each other through the writing process. This presentation will show you how to form your own writing group and leverage your institution's mission, vision and goals to support events like one or two day "writing retreats".

Cynthia Tysick, senior assistant librarian at the University at Buffalo, is a junior, tenure track librarian who has struggled with understanding the publishing process and criteria for tenure. The acculturation process into academia is virtually non-existent for librarians but Cynthia has used the writing group as a model that works to bridge the gap between MLS and faculty status.

The Mentorship Program initiative, the first for the Canadian Library Association Student Chapter at the University of Western Ontario, aims to connect MLIS students with Librarians and Information Professionals in the field.

Many students feel that mentoring should become an integral part of the MLIS experience because of the incredible opportunities it grants students, especially students new to the field of librarianship. Developing a network of professional contacts, being able to discuss library-related issues, and facilitating knowledge exchange are several of the benefits to students who receive mentoring before entering the profession.

For Mentors, sharing and reflecting on experiences, passing down knowledge, and contributing to the development of a new professional entering the field are several reasons current professionals participate in mentoring programs.

Initially, the Mentorship Program was going to run as a pilot for September 2005 with full implementation in January 2006, however the enthusiastic response from LIS professionals has enabled us to offer more Mentors to students than we had anticipated.

My poster relates to the “publishing” aspect of the conference theme. Earlier this year, with much input and advice from colleagues, I successfully submitted a proposal for a new library school textbook to two publishers. Both were interested, and I signed with the first one I had contacted. The book involves many screen snaps from commercial databases, for which I had to obtain permissions. I learned, the hard way, how not to approach that task. My poster would detail the elements of a successful proposal, and the do’s and don’ts of obtaining permissions.

With many library leaders reaching retirement age within the next 10 years, younger librarians must develop leadership skills now to prepare for the future. A team of local librarians in leadership roles are developing a Leadership Institute through WNYLRC that will identify and develop tomorrow’s leaders in librarianship through an intense program of seminars and workshops that will emphasize the development of individual leadership skills in librarians who exhibit leadership potential, the acquisition of knowledge and skills to become effective leaders in a rapidly changing workplace, and the formation of a leadership network. This network will include opportunities for librarians in attendance to nurture relationships with successful leaders in the library community who will act as mentors. The WNYLRC Leadership Institute will be available to librarians from all types of libraries (academic, special, school, and public) who have shown leadership potential including a strong vision and enthusiasm for the libraries of tomorrow. This poster session will include a literature review on the topic of library leadership, a listing of key characteristics of leaders, what strategies successful leaders use to make things happen, a brief list of leaders in the library field, and skills librarians need to learn to be effective leaders. Quotes from leaders in the field will also be included. Conference participants will have the opportunity to complete a brief survey asking what type of content they prefer to be included in WNYLRC’s Library Leadership Institute.

This poster session will present the Resource Center as an example of how solo librarianship can help university departments expand their capacity to serve as adjunct information resources for their constituency. The University Community Initiative Resource Center at the University at Buffalo (UB) is an independent special library that serves the information needs of University Community Initiative (UCI) staff and community partners, UB faculty, staff and students, and the local community. It is not affiliated with the University at Buffalo Libraries. UCI is a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Urban Affairs.

The UCI Resource Center has been in existence for five years. It began as a small reference collection for crime prevention and criminal justice. Since that time, it has evolved into a complete reference center encompassing other UCI project areas,

including community development, quality of life problems, public safety, and housing, to name a few. Our staff consists of one part-time librarian, who serves as webmaster, cataloger, and information specialist, supplemented by graduate students from the UB Department of Library Studies.  

The poster session will include a description of the range of the UCI librarian's duties, a piece on how the library was organized, tips on how to find materials on a shoestring budget, photos of the Resource Center, published articles written by the librarian, and a copy of the UCI website on a laptop computer. A demo version of the library software used at UCI and the Buffalo Police Dept. will also be available because it is an excellent choice for small libraries.

Our website may be found at http:/uci.buffalo.edu.

Professional Portfolios are frequently a requirement of an academic librarian’s promotion and/or tenure. This poster session will present guidelines and recommendations for the production of a professional academic portfolio. Coverage will include long and short-term preparation, adherence to requirements and specifications mandated by the institution, organization, aesthetic considerations, and final production. The presenter has successfully developed three professional portfolios leading to promotions and tenure prior to serving 2003-2005 as a member of the Prince George’s Community College Faculty Promotion Committee.

The American Library Association held a Library Career Forum was held as a pre-conference event at the 2005 Midwinter Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. This day-long forum provided opportunities for librarians from a wide variety of perspectives to gather for presentations on current issues and concerns about recruiting new librarians into our profession and professional ranks. The pre-conference event also served as a forum for librarians to share their expertise and best practices they have used or are planning to use in recruiting science librarians. Additional commentaries were made with regard to encouraging undergraduate and graduate students to consider library career options. I was the leader of the breakout session discussing Recruiting Science Librarians. This current poster-presentation provides a synopsis of that ALA Library Career Forum from a science and technology perspective, especially for those libraries considering their needs for subject specialists (or not) for positions in the biological or life sciences and in the areas related to the New Biology of bioinformatics, genomics, systems biology, and proteomics. In addition to the current staffing needs of libraries, a discussion for recruiting “bioinformatics librarians” took place during the breakout session. Summary statements and recommendations are shown.

The sheer amount of literature available to the health care provider is astounding. Even with modern computers and networks keeping pace with emerging trends and best practices can be a daunting task for the most committed provider. A new position in the health care team has been suggested: The Informationist.

The Informationist would be the point of contact for information needs in four areas: clinical, research, public health, and consumer health. Each area requires unique research and information retrieval abilities as well as in-depth subject expertise. As a new and equal member of the healthcare team, the Informationist would have the responsibility of keeping team members abreast of the latest evidence-based treatment practices.

The Informationist would search all available resources for relevant information to share with healthcare professionals. Placing an information professional into the clinical setting and giving him/her responsibility at the point of care could be either a logical extension of a librarian’s existing role or a transition into a new role with exciting career possibilities.

If the Informationist career is to take root, several things must happen: a recognized need must exist, a curriculum must be developed with buy-in by the universities, and impact on librarians and current library education must be assessed. The Informationist fulfils a recognized need, but the last two issues must be addressed. Professional librarians are poised to take the lead in this emerging profession. This poster will explore the many facets of the Informationist’s role and consider its potential impact on library science.

• Stanley Wilder: PowerPoint Presentation

• Melissa Jadlos : PowerPoint Presentation

• Cynthia Tysick: PowerPoint Presentation