Be a Player: Professional Library Associations & You

Ted Wanner, Continuing Education Specialist, Texas Library Association

Continuing Education?

Continuing Education?

• 30 years ago, most libraries still had card catalogs• 22 years ago, no World Wide Web • 18 years ago, no wikis or blogs• 14 years ago, no Google• 8 years ago, no Facebook, no Web 2.0• 5 years ago, no Twitter• 4 years ago, no iPhone• 2 years ago, no iPad

Associations For All Kinds of Libraries

•Academic

•School

•Public

•Special

Academic Libraries

• Over 150 in Texas

• Some Key Issues:– Library instruction– Integrated Library Instruction / Collaboration– SACS– Marketing, PR, and Advocacy– Money

Public Libraries

• Over 570 in Texas

• Some Key Issues:– Professional staffing– Relevance in the Internet Age– Library instruction and Programming– Marketing, PR, and Advocacy– Money, money– Disaster Preparedness

Special Libraries

• Corporate, museum, medical, law, art, etc.

• Sometimes hard to define or count

• (Over 9000 nationwide)

• Some Key Issues:– Money money money– Rising data costs– Marketing, PR, & Advocacy

School Libraries

• Over 7000 in Texas

• Some Key Issues– Professional staffing– Integrated Library Instruction / Collaboration– Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills– Labeling and other challenges– Marketing, PR, and Advocacy– Money money money money

Q: How do we address common issues with one voice?

Q: How do we address common issues with one voice?

A: Professional Associations!

National Level

• American Library Association (ala.org)– American Association of School Librarians– Association of College & Research Libraries– Public Library Association– Special Library Association– Association of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies

– Library Leadership & Management Association

– Etc.

National Level (cont.)

• American Association of Law Libraries• American Society for Information Science & Technology

• Chinese American Libraries Association

• Medical Library Association

• Music Library Association

• Urban Libraries Council

Social Media Revolution

• Rise of Virtual Conferences

• National Divisions and Round Tables giving way to Communities of Practice

• Opportunities for Digital Natives

www.ala.org

ALA Annual ConferenceJune 23-28

ALA Annual Conference

• Over 25,000 participants

• Speakers include Dan Savage, Sue Gardner, Molly Shannon, Jeff Kinney, Daniel Ellsberg, Brooke Gladstone, Jeff Jarvis, and many more

• Meetings on every aspect of libraries

• Nationwide Placement Center

Closer to Home

Texas Library Association

• Over 100 years old

• Largest state library association(bigger than New York, California, & Illinois combined)

Nearly 7000 members

Average of 7500 conference attendees

15 staff

TLA Divisions

• College & University Library Division

• Public Library Division

• Special Library Division

• Texas Association of School Libraries

TLA Districts

TLA Districts

1. Abilene

2. Amarillo

3. Austin

4. Corpus Christi

5. Dallas

6. El Paso

7. Fort Worth

8. Houston

9. Lubbock

10.San Antonio

Round Tables & Interest Groups

• Major areas of interest in librarianship– Acquisitions, Archives, Automation, Cataloging,

Children, Genealogy, Library Instruction, Reference, Supervision & Management, Young Adults, etc.

• Special interests – Black Caucus, CE Providers, Distributed E-Learning,

Doo Wop (fun), Gay-Lesbian-Transgendered, REFORMA, Service to Spanish Speakers, TALL Texans, TPALS (vendors), etc.

Committees (examples)

• Functions within the Association– Awards, Budget, By-Laws, Conference

Programming, Continuing Education, Legislative, Membership, New Members

• Major ideals of the Association– Intellectual Freedom, Leadership

Development, Professional Recruitment and Retention, Professional Rights and Responsibilities, Texas-Mexico Relations

Publications

• Texas Library Journal

• TLACast

• Intellectual Freedom Handbook

• TexLine

• Texas Reference Sources

• Award lists (Bluebonnet, Tayshas, 2x2)

Texas Library Journal

Publications

• Texas Library Journal

• TLACast

• Intellectual Freedom Handbook

• TexLine

• Texas Reference Sources

• Award lists (Bluebonnet, Tayshas, 2x2)

Publications

• Texas Library Journal

• TLACast

• Intellectual Freedom Handbook

• TexLine

• Texas Reference Sources

• Award lists (Bluebonnet, Tayshas, 2x2)

BLOGS

CE Opportunities

• District Meetings and Workshops

CE Opportunities

• District Meetings and Workshops

• Online tutorials & webinars

–www.txla.org/ce

Examples of TLA webinars

• Opportunities in academic libraries with Claremont CEO Robert Walton

• Outreach to special populations with ALA President Molly Raphael

• Management series with Dr. Julie Todaro

• Copyright series with attorney / consultant Gretchen McCord

Upcoming webinars

• Free job-hunting series in Summer 2011

• Leadership series with future ALA President Maureen Sullivan

• Technology integration

• Management and Supervision

• Collaboration and partnerships

• Library instruction

CE Opportunities

• District Meetings and Workshops

• Online tutorials & webinars

• TALL Texans Leadership Development

TALL Texans topics• Leadership vs

Management

• Communication, Coaching, Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, Advocacy

• Strategic Planning, Risk-taking, Ethics

• Personal Career Planning

CE Opportunities

• District Meetings and Workshops

• Online tutorials & webinars

• TALL Texans Leadership Development

CE Opportunities

• District Meetings and Workshops

• Online tutorials & webinars

• Institutes– TALL Texans Leadership Development– Senior Leadership

Advocacy at 2011 Conference

Testifying to the Legislature

Legislative Efforts

• 2011 Session and Aftermath

• Restoration of direct state aid

• Restoration of TexShare

• Sustain Telecommunications Discounts

• TexShare databases for K-12

Legislative Efforts

• 2011 Session and Aftermath

• Restoration of direct state aid

• Restoration of TexShare

• Sustain Telecommunications Discounts

• TexShare databases for K-12

Legislative Efforts

• 2011 Session and Aftermath

• Restoration of direct state aid

• Restoration of TexShare

• Sustain Telecommunications Discounts

• TexShare databases for K-12

TLA Conference

• April 12-15, 2011 in AUSTIN

• Nearly eight thousand people

• Over 200 educational programs– Best practices– New tools– New inspirations

TLA President Jerilynn Williams

Public LibrarianMontgomery County

Tentative Logo for 2012

2012 Preconferences

• Return on Investment – value of libraries

• Library Mashups – Social Media

• International library development

• Dealing with difficult patrons

Sample Workshops

• Social Media• Grants & Fundraising• Library Instruction• Faculty Collaboration• Programming for

Children & Youth• Management• Assessment

• Intellectual Freedom• Outreach • Genealogy• Facilties Redesign• Virtual Reference• eBooks & eReaders• Presentation Skills• Graphic Novels

Recent Keynote Speakers

• Julie Andrews• Isabel Allende• Ralph Nader• Julie Powell• Scott Simon

• Gloria Estefan

• Marlee Matlin

• Rita Perlman

• Paula Poundstone

• Gloria Steinem

2011 Speakers

Jamie Lee Curtis Greg Mortenson

2012 Speakers?

Other opportunities

• Networking

(Welcome Party, Presidents Party)

• Book Cart Drill Team

Volunteer for Conference

• WWW.TXLA.ORG

• EVENTS: ANNUAL CONFERENCE

• VOLUNTEER LINK

Volunteer for Conference

• WWW.TXLA.ORG

• EVENTS: ANNUAL CONFERENCE

• VOLUNTEER LINK

Join Your Professional Association

• Get Published!

• Get New Skills!

• Make Things Happen!!

• Help Steer the Profession!

• Get a Job!!!!

Join both ALA & TLA for $35

Normal student rate: $25 TLA, $30 ALA

Save $20! www.ala.org

Member Groups and Communities

Chapters

Joint Membership Link

• http://tinyurl.com/d7jgdy

Contact Info

Ted Wanner

Texas Library Association

tedw@txla.org

www.txla.org

Or reach me through MyTLA