A reminder to our students out there that there is still time to apply for the San Diego Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (SLA-SD) 2012 Student scholarship. The deadline is Wednesday, October 31, 2012, and the scholarship is for $1000 plus a one-year student membership in SLA-SD.  Please visit http://sandiego.sla.org/2012/09/sla-sd-accepting-applictions-for-2012-scholarship/ for full details about the scholarship and how to apply!

A big “Thank You” to everyone who helped collect books for our 3^rd Annual Words Alive Book Drive!  We were able to collect 45 new and gently used books for the Words Alive community literacy programs.  Amanda Bonds, the Community Literacy Programs Manager, informed me that SLA-SD is the “longest habitual book drive partner” of Words Alive!

Some of the books you generously donated have already been distributed to children and youth from underserved communities across San Diego County.  Every book will be in the hands of young readers by the end of May.

The majority of the books donated for children 2-5 years of age will be used to create or grow collections of Lending Libraries at Child Development Centers where Words Alive volunteers read aloud each week.  These libraries provide access to books for children and their families allowing them to explore books together at their homes.

To learn more about Words Alive, their mission and how you can help, go to  www.wordsalive.org

Click on the link below to view the “Thank You” letter from Words Alive:

Thank You from Words Alive!

Come join us next Thursday, May 3^rd for a special SLA social! In honor of our third annual book drive, we’ll be meeting up during happy hour at Rock Bottom Brewery in La Jolla from 5:30pm-7pm. This is a great opportunity to help support the Words Alive children’s literacy programs.

We can’t collect textbooks, reference books, travel guides or overly worn books or damaged books (broken spines, torn pages, completed puzzles, etc.), but everything else is okay!  The donations go to various places around San Diego County like child development centers; Head Start centers; San Diego Center for Children; Monarch School for Homeless Youth; and the Armed Services YMCA. Please help spread the word and consider bringing new or gently used books in English or Spanish for ages 0-18. To learn more about Words Alive, their mission and how you can help, go to www.wordsalive.org.

SLA members and non-members are welcome to attend. The more the merrier! If possible, please e-mail me at lauren.rasmussen.sla[at]gmail.com to RSVP. This way we can try to save enough room at the bar. See you there!

SLA-SD members have a wonderful opportunity to support the Words A!ive children’s literacy programs with the 3^rd Annual SLA-SD Book Drive! Please consider bringing new or gently used books in English or Spanish for ages 0-18 with you to our April Social Event (Date, time and place TBA). If you can’t join us for the social, you’re very welcome to contact Jessica Olson (SLA-SD Student Liaison and book drive coordinator, jessie57701@yahoo.com) to arrange a pick-up or you can drop them off Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm at the Words A!ive offices:

5111 Santa Fe Street, Suite 219
San Diego CA 92109.  

Let’s give as many people as possible an opportunity to share the gift of reading with children!  To learn more about Words A!ive, their mission and how you can help, go to www.wordsalive.org.

Come join SLA-SD as we celebrate the end of the month-long book drive to benefit Words Alive!
Bring your collected books to Woodstock Pizza (www.woodstockssd.com).

Woodstock Pizza

6145 El Cajon Blvd

Thurs. Apr. 29, 5:30-7:30 pm.

Hope to see you there!

 

Donate new and gently used books in English or Spanish for children ages 0-6 years at this location!

Benefiting the children’s literacy programs of

 
For more information contact SLA student liaison and book drive coordinator Kate Vigderson at katevigderson@sbcglobal.net

Thanks to the kind efforts of SLA publicity director Cara Schatz and SLA-SD colleague Sabrina Nespeca, SLA-SD now has a LinkedIn group.

Our chapter's LinkedIn group is a subgroup of the SLA LinkedIn group.

Join SLA-SD on LinkedIn by:

• Finding "SLA-SD: Special Libraries Association, San Diego Chapter"
  in the group directory at www.linkedin.com [OR]
• Visiting www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2875375&trk=anet_ug_hm

Regards, Daria DeCooman, SLA-SD Communications Chair, dariadster@gmail.com

On Saturday, November 14, two dozen SLA-SD members and friends descended on the San Diego Public Library's Central Library. There, we helped with two projects owned by the library's California Room, whose collection pertains to California history.

Info pros Bee Bornheimer, Robin Dodds, Melinda Hansen, Vani Inampudi (pushing the cart in the photo here), Marita Johnson, Peggy Makie, Sabrina Nespeca, Camerin Poulson, Melanie Quinn, Jennifer Snapp-Cook and Kate Vigderson all pitched in and gave the effort their all.

These intrepid volunteers helped sort and sleeve several boxes of historic photographs and helped box and sleeve several drawers of San Diego postcards. SLA-SD President Cindy Shamel also participated.

Prior to getting started on our work, we all enjoyed a tour of the California Room and the library's Wangenheim Room, which contains a collection of rare books, manuscripts and artifacts illustrating the development of the book through the ages.

Special Collections Supervisor Rick Crawford, a member of the California Room staff, provided an orientation to the California Room. Also he kindly made the volunteer opportunity possible and guided participants through the work needing doing.

The volunteer work party was staged as a way to give back to the California Room, whose staff help provide access to the SLA-SD chapter archives which are housed in the Central Library.

At the end of day, when the working and networking came to a close, all agreed that the event had been productive and lots of fun. Most importantly, Rick expressed appreciation for the group having put in place the first steps toward making the postcard and photo collections accessible to the public.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the California Room can contact Rick at rcrawford[AT]sandiego.gov.

Anyone interested in participating in future SLA-SD volunteer work parties just needs to stay tuned to this blog. Given the good results from this year's work party at the downtown San Diego Public Library, another work party on behalf of the California Room may be in the works for 2010.

See photos taken by SLA-SD President Cindy Shamel.

See photos taken by SLA-SD Archivist Daria DeCooman.

XXX

Article written by Daria DeCooman

When SLA-SD kindly provided a donation last spring to help support the La Roca Library project, chapter members asked to be informed later about the project’s impacts.

During the 2008-2009 school year, the project provided professional staffing and enhanced resources (including an improved computer lab with Web access) for the small onsite library at La Roca – a homeless shelter and community center in Tijuana.

At the end of the project last May, librarian Maria Luisa Mendez Lozada, who headed up the project on the ground, reported metrics including:

• 2,169 library visitors (this figure includes some folks who were counted more than once, as they visited on multiple occasions) during the course of the project.
• 1,317 books consulted in the La Roca Library.
• 157 learning activities (e.g., story hours, literacy games) delivered in the La Roca Library and in La Roca Primary School classrooms and reaching 1,140 youngsters aged 3-12.
• 125 computer classes delivered in the library and reaching 863 students including youth and adults.

Through the project, many youth and adults gained skills, including library skills and computer literacy skills. In the photo, you can see two La Roca community members enjoying the La Roca Library computer lab.

A fuller account of the impacts of the La Roca Library project is available at http://libraryconnect.blogspot.com/2009/09/la-roca-library-project-touched-many.html.

“Why I like the library” thank-you notes from La Roca youth and adults are available on the Library Connect Facebook page at www.facebook.com/libraryconnect.

Again, a big thanks goes to SLA-SD for its kind support of the project.

Even though the La Roca Library project has concluded, Elsevier San Diego’s support of La Roca continues.

Elsevier San Diego continues to partner with the nonprofit Corazon de Vida to support education for Tijuana youth. In September 2009, Elsevier’s philanthropic program RE Cares awarded Corazon de Vida a $13,000 grant to cover tuition, uniforms and school  transportation for 100 students from the Hacienda, La Roca and Casa de Paz shelters during the 2009-2010 school year.

For updates on how Elsevier San Diego is partnering with Corazon de Vida to support vulnerable youth and orphans in Tijuana, please visit www.projectlaroca.blogspot.com/.

XXX

Article written by Daria DeCooman

The SJSU SLIS Omega Chapter of Beta Phi Mu is looking to update its membership list. We are particularly interested in finding emails for members, so we can communicate more easily.

If you are a member of the Omega Chapter, please email your contact information to Daria DeCooman at dariadster@gmail.com.

For more information on the Omega Chapter, see http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/resources/betaphimu.htm.

For more information on Beta Phi Mu, see:

• www.beta-phi-mu.org/index.php
• www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44420139194&ref=mf

Kind regards,
Daria DeCooman

Beta Phi Mu Omega Chapter Member