St. Catherine University: SLA

Join us for our monthly meeting. Upcoming topics include library tours, how the SLA Holiday Party and silent auction went, Thank You cards for silent auction donations, discussion of meeting dates for Spring semester, volunteer and networking opportunities. Tuesday, December 10th CdC 017 5:15 - 5:45 pm Hope we see you there!

The student group sponsored two events in October, the Plymouth Library Tour and Speed Networking event and Salon #4 – How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All .  Both events were in collaboration with the MN chapter and it was great to see so many students and MN chapter members at the events. On October 15, the student group hosted its first Salon series event for the Marilyn Johnson lecture, How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All , held at St. Catherine University.  Ms. Johnson spoke of how once she lost her research and IT department at Time magazine, she discovered the myriad of services available to her at her public library and how they have saved her personally and professionally.  She spoke the praises of librarians far and wide! Afterwards, the dinner, drinks and discussion at Geordies 454 Bistro was well attended by MN Chapter members and St. Kate’s students and faculty.  And, the best surprise of all, Marilyn Johnson joined us f...

Polly Perkins was our 2010 SLA National Conference Scholarship Winner and she was off to New Orleans in June. Polly wrote of her experience at her first SLA National Conference for the MN SLA Chapter's Spring 2010 Bulletin . Her reflections are reprinted here: SLA in New Orleans: What a Great Time! Polly Perkins, Student Group Co-President I was so excited to be awarded with the St. Kate's SLA Student Group Conference Scholarship. I was thrilled to be able to experience a truly professional networking and learning opportunity in a city I had not seen for over twenty years. When I arrived, I gathered my maps and headed out for a stroll around the French Quarter. I had no concept of the true definition of hot until I stepped outside my hotel and was steam broiled in about two seconds. As I walked and sweated, I was amazed at how lovingly the history had been preserved by the current residents and their refusal to give in to the devastation caused by Katrina. There is a unique...

Our new Associate Dean for the St. Kate's MLIS program, Dr. Deborah Grealy, was introduced to the MN SLA Chapter at their meeting on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 . Dr. Grealy spoke of her career in Special Librarianship and how she has always sought out the local SLA chapter. She also spoke of the accreditation process and her vision for St. Catherine University's MLIS program. She was warmly received by Minnesota's special librarians. Following Dr. Grealy's talk, five St. Catherine MLIS graduates and current students sat on a Reverse Mentoring Panel. The purpose of the panel was to provide veteran librarians with some insight from new librarians. The panelists spoke of school and work experiences that have been most helpful to them, ways experienced librarians can help those of us new on the job, the importance of communication and business skills, and being a "pretend extrovert." Many thanks go out to Liz Scheibel for planning and moderating the panel. Also, ...

Before we begin the new school year, it is time to look back at some of the events we had last spring. On Monday, March 15 the student group joined with the SCU MLIS department and shared a Monday Night Event. The student group's portion of the evening was a presentation on the SLA Alignment Project. The following recap, from Polly Perkins, was published in the MN SLA Chapter's Spring 2010 Bulletin : "Caralyn Champa, MLIS Alum 2009, and SLA Alignment Ambassador, presented at the March 1st Monday night event at St Kates on the Alignment Project, an intensive two-year research effort recently undertaken by the Special Libraries Association. The Alignment Project was aimed at understanding the value of the information and knowledge professional in today's marketplace and how to communicate that value. Caralyn's report covered the Projects results, information of interest to everyone concerned with the changing information landscape and SLA. Caralyn's PowerPoint...

On April 1, two groups of about five St. Kate's MLIS students traded an hour of beautiful spring weather for a tour of the library at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts , and the trade was well worth it! Head Librarian Janice Lurie gave us an introduction to the library/archives and the purpose it serves for the museum as a whole. She gave us all very good advice on the need to stay proactive and to work collaboratively with institutional colleagues, while keeping the organization's overall vision and mission in mind. We heard about the wide variety of patrons at the library from Assistant Librarian Jessica McIntyre. She wowed everyone with her ability to answer obscure questions from the public, from students, and from museum curators. NHPRC (National Historical Publications and Records Commission) Project Archivist Stephanie Kays told us about the projects that she works on as part of a three year grant. She is working with museum staff on document management issue...

We had twenty-one people, including four alumni, come learn about how to create an e-portfolio for marketing yourself in the job market. Thanks for the great turnout! If you are interested in taking Ellen's e-portfolio class it is offered, free of charge, fall and spring semesters to SCU students and alumni. Watch the KateWay News. If you were unable to attend on March 8 you will soon be able to download the handout of e-portfolio resources from the SCU MLIS Web site. Watch for it on the Events Archive page.

Apologies for the late tour recap - especially since it was a wonderful evening! On October 15, after several of us shared a happy hour snack downtown, about 15 librarians and library students gathered at Hennepin County Library's Central Library in Minneapolis for a tour of the special collections there. We started with Marcelyn Sletten in the Milestones Collection, part of the childrens' library. The collection includes award winners, local authors, and other noteworthy books and related objects. Marcelyn described her experiences with children in this room, including several funny and touching stories about children who responded to the items in the room (such as an international collection of Cinderella stories). After Marcelyn talked, we took some time to explore the collection ourselves. Everyone spotted something that provoked a memory of his or her own childhood, or of time spent with children, and the room was filled with excited exclamations. Once we were able to tear...

The wine basket was won by Claire Stokes. Congratulations, Claire! Thanks to the generosity of MN SLA members, we were able to raise $190 last night at the SLA Night of Honors. Special thanks to The Wine Thief in St. Paul for donating a bottle each of red & white wine. (see http://www.winethief.net ) If you didn't get a chance to enter the drawing, the student group will be having a silent auction at the Holiday Party December 11th. Look for more information soon.

The Resume Event co-sponsored by our group and the MLIS department was a success! 27 people attended and heard Judy Galt of Galt Information Services, LLC give an overview of resumes. Attendees then were able to review their own resume with Renee Weddle, Librarian at Cargill; Jane Ann Nelson, Library Director at Augsburg or Marilyn Cathcart, MLIS Assistant Professor and former Director of the Legislative Library. Judy's slides are posted on St. Kate's website if you are interested. Thank you to all who helped make the event a success!

Last night the St. Kate's SLA Student Group, in partnership with CALCO , hosted a tour of the library at the Minnesota History Center. Librarian Brigid Shields took us on a whirlwind tour of the library, showing us the books, inventories and microfilms in the library's reading rooms, and also the underground storage areas. Tour attendees were astounded by the sheer volume in these dim, climate controlled rooms: room underneath room of stacks, and football field sized areas of shelves - and yet, like many libraries, space is running out to house the collections. We got the basics on the most popular reasons people use the library's resources: you can do research on your family (including birth, death, and immigration records), house history (try searching: college st catherine - no CdC in the 1920's!), and various topics in Minnesota history. Tour attendees included 12 MLIS students, 2 alumnae, 12 librarians (including representatives from 4 CALCO libraries), and even...