It's time for ACRL!

ACRL hits Philadelphia tomorrow, and there are plenty of opportunities to meet up with other librarians, even if you are not attending the conference. Join SCALA for dinner Friday night, meet iSchool students and faculty at Drexel's reception, and get your groove on for a good cause at Bibliodiscotheque! Here is a rundown of events, followed by some general conference-going advice in the SCALA's first DOs and DON'Ts post.

Wednesday night: A Conversation with Colleagues & Future Academic Librarians at Hagerty Library, 33rd and Market streets (RSVP requested)

Thursday night: Bibliodiscotheque!

Friday night: Dinner with other library school students? Drexel student or not, let us know if you're interested by filling out this form.

Ready to take on the conference? Here's what you need to know.

If you registered in advance, DO bring your badge and remember to stop by the registration table.

DO plan ahead. Take a look at the schedule and note which events interest you most. Have a backup plan, too. The conference schedule lets you search by keyword, date, and track (pre-determined lists of related events).

DON’T be married to your schedule. Opportunities come up, sessions may not be what you expect, and you want the flexibility to make the most of your conference experience.

DON’T feel like you have to suffer through a session that is not what you expected or that you are not interested in. You can attend more than one session in a given time period. DO sit by the door or the aisle if you plan to bolt.

DO attend the fun events – Bibliodiscotheque, the reception, the keynotes. You can sleep on Sunday.

DO attend the exhibits on Thursday or Friday (it's free!), Bibliodiscotheque, and the Drexel reception Wednesday night even if you are not attending ACRL.

DO tweet during the conference! If you are a Drexel MS(LIS) student and @DrexelSCALA isn’t following you on Twitter, let us know.

DO bring a bag large enough to carry home more than you brought. ACRL is not providing tote bags this year, so any swag you pick up will have to be carried another way.

DO wear layers and comfortable shoes. Hotels and convention center rooms can be chilly, and freezing is far from fun.

DON’T dress too casually. Library conferences are far from formal affairs, but that is no excuse to wear a high school theater T-shirt, ill-fitting jeans and flip-flops. Even if you are not job-hunting now, you want to put your best self forward.

DO meet new people, students and otherwise. Exchange business cards or contact information, and remember to follow-up later, especially if they work someplace you would love to be someday!

DO make up some simple business cards with your contact information and your status as a student.  You never know who you’re going to meet.  DON’T be afraid to give your card to someone, no matter how important they are in comparison to you!

DO bring a few copies of your resume to be reviewed at the Placement Center, or to hand out if someone asks (but DON’T plan on handing a lot out – people don’t want to be burdened with a ton of paper).

Got comments? Post them on Twitter or in the comments below.

— Catherine and Andrea

Breaking the Mold panel is online!

Now that school is winding down, here are some archived job-related talks from SCALA and ALA!

First is the DUSLA/SCALA panel discussion Breaking the Mold: LIS Careers Outside the Library. Some people have reported an audio echo, but if you use the slider bar to jump into the talk and then back to the beginning, it seems to fix itself.

The LLAMA job hunting talk from November also is online. LLAMA (Library Leadership & Management Association) is a division of ALA, and the presenter, Brian Keith, is the assistant dean of the University of Florida Libraries. Keith discussed finding, applying for, interviewing for, and getting library jobs from the perspective of the hiring manager. Learn what mistakes NOT to make and how to make yourself stand out!

Do you have any tips about where to look for jobs or learn more about LIS careers? Share them in the comments!

Volunteers Needed for the Philadelphia Book Festival

The 2011 Philadelphia Book Festival is looking for volunteers to help run various author events, musical performances, interactive programs, and a festival street fair. From April 11th - 16th, the Central branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia will be bustling with activity and they need your help to make it happen. Get more details on the Book Festival's website about volunteering.

Image: (c) 2011 Mikey Burton

Elections!

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Well, it's that time of year. Two of our officers are graduating in just a few days, so we're electing new officers.

Voting is open now until Wednesday, March 16th, at 5pm EST. We will announce the new officers at our end of term happy hour at Landmark (33rd and Market) from 5-7 that evening.

Vote now!

End of the Quarter Happy Hour

Are you jumping for joy knowing the quarter is almost over? SCALA wants to celebrate with you!

End of the Quarter Happy Hour
Wednesday, March 16th
5-7 pm
Landmark Restaurant
(Market St between 33rd & 34th Sts)
FREE APPETIZERS & SPECIAL DRINK PRICES!

Answer the poll below!

Are you coming to the Happy Hour?

• Yes
• Maybe
• No

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Image Credit: flickr.com - elston - CC license

Opportunities from Drexel and ALA

Friday, March 4: One-hour open online chat with ALCTS New Members Interest Group (ANMIG) at 11 a.m. Eastern. 

Are you a graduate student or recent graduate student looking for your first full time job as a cataloger? Or maybe you are a more experienced librarian that who has recently been laid off or are looking for new opportunities? Maybe you have found a satisfying cataloging related position and would like to share your experience with those who are looking for work? If so then, you should be interested in the ALCTS New Members Interest Group's March chat. Topics include where to look for cataloging jobs, desirable qualities and qualifications for cataloging applicants, ways to build cataloging skills during a job search, access to professional materials and keeping up to date with the profession, managing your online presence, and traditional job search topics such as resume building, cover letters, interviewing etc.


ANMIG team members Sarah Smith and Erica Findley will host the chat. If you can't make the chat, the transcript will be made available in ALA Connect.

The chat is open to all ALA members of all types and non-ALA members.

To join the chat please visit our ALA Connect page and look for the embedded Meebo room. Get more information here: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/alcts-webinars-free-lis-students-and-faculty

Tuesday, March 29: Drexel University Research Day proposals due.

All members of the Drexel University community are invited to a celebration of Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity with a day of posters and presentations at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Friday, April 8, 2011.

Please note that the abstract submission site will close at 11:59 PM on Tuesday, March 29, 2011.

For more information, visit www.drexel.edu/researchday or email researchday@drexel.edu.


Free webinar from ALCTS: Current student members of the American Library Association will be able to register for any ALCTS webinar free of charge.  Students who wish to take advantage of this offer need to be current student members of ALA and register in advance for the webinar(s) in which they are interested.  Students need not be ALCTS members. 

"Beyond Books" Graduate Fellowships Available

Check out this fantastic opportunity to attend "Beyond Books: News, Literacy, Democracy & America's Libraries." Apply for one of 10 fellowships which will pay for registration, travel, and lodging for the event in Cambridge, MA, April 6-8, at the MIT Center for Future Civic Media.

For more information, go to http://journalismthatmatters.org/biblionews/2011/03/03/fellowships/

Applications are due March 15.