Saturday, August 21, 2010

Pictures from the MTA Library

Earlier this week we attended a tour of the MTA Library, hosted by Matthew Barrett and Kenn Bicknell. Occupying part of the 15th floor of the MTA Headquarters building at Union Station, they have a beautiful library with an amazing view of downtown LA. Even more impressive than their physical space is their online presence. They've done amazing things with web 2.0 and social networking by using resources such as Facebook, Flickr, Scribd and even Second Life to connect with their patrons and the public.

The main reading room of the MTA Library:
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Checking out the resources:
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Matt, showing us one of the back rooms:
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You might be a librarian if your desk looks like this:
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A little bit of their beautiful view:
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Many thanks to Matt and Kenn for hosting us. I know that everyone who attended was thoroughly impressed.

-Robin

Friday, August 20, 2010

Save these dates!

Please mark these important upcoming events in your calendars:

September 2, 5:30pm: Downtown LA Networking Happy Hour.

September 24th, noon: Career Agility professional development workshop, at USC.


More details about the following events will be posted soon. Please save the dates.

September 30th, 6pm: Mentoring Open House, at CSUN, with Doris Helfer and Mentoring Chair Maria Brahme. Come learn about the SLA-SCC mentoring program over hors d'oeuvres and wine.

October 17th, 5pm: Sternheim Fundraiser, at the LA Arboretum. Please note, this was previously scheduled for October 10th. Make sure you note the new date of October 17th!

November 4th, 11am: Networking lunch and tour of the Natural History Museum Library, with Richard Hulser.

December 15th, 5pm: Holiday Social, at the Skirball Center.

Some of you with sharp eyes and great memories may have noticed that our Awards dinner is not on this list. I'll post the information as soon as I have it all settled, but you can count on a date sometime in November.


Local area happy hours and networking lunches can be scheduled anytime. Please contact me if you're interested in hosting. I'm also always interested in setting up library tours. If you work in a library that might be of interest to the SLA-SCC, let's set up a tour! And if you don't, but you really want to see a particular special library, let's talk. I might be able to arrange it.

-Robin
rdodge@fidm.edu

Downtown LA Networking Happy Hour, September 2, 5:30pm.

I've had many requests for another Downtown LA* happy hour, and I think this beautiful Southern California weather is calling us to the backyard paradise at the Hotel Figueroa. Everyone is welcome. Tell your coworkers and friends.

September 2, 5:30pm
Hotel Figueroa
939 South Figueroa, Los Angeles, 90015
(walk through the lobby to the back patio)

Hotel Fig is convenient to the red line (7th/Metro stop, exit Figueroa and head South), and there's several parking lots around that don't charge a fortune (look for the little lots several blocks away for the best deals).

RSVP to Robin, rdodge@fidm.edu, or on the facebook event page (and while you're there, join our facebook group).


*Why Downtown LA? Again?
We recently mapped our membership and we have a high concentration of members in the downtown area. I've also had almost no volunteers to host happy hours in outlying areas, or even on the westside. If you want a happy hour or networking lunch closer to your neck of the woods, let's set one up! All you have to do is find a venue that doesn't mind hosting a group of 10-20 librarians who might have passionate and mildly disruptive conversations about metadata and information literacy. I'll take it from there.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

SLA-SCC August 2010 Newsletter

Hope everyone is having a great summer!  Linked is the August 2010 newsletter.  Enjoy!

http://www.sla-scc.org/documents/pdf/SCCSLA_Newsletter_August2010.pdf

Monday, August 16, 2010

Register today for the SLA-SCC Professional Development Workshop!



Career Agility

September 24, 2010 at the USC University Club



A Professional Development Workshop showcasing how Librarians and Information Professionals can be more nimble in their careers and primed for the future.

Brought to you by SLA Southern California and the USC Libraries.

Featuring an experts panel, in-depth breakout sessions on career topics, and a mini jobfair.

Cindy Romaine, Principal of Romaniacs and President-Elect of the international Special Libraries Association.




Deb Hunt, Principal of Information Edge and Director, Special Libraries Association Board.



Belinda Beardt, Consultant for AIM Library and Information Staffing and President, SLA-SCC.






11:30 a.m. – Noon – Check-in / Networking
Noon – 2:15 p.m. – Three Course Lunch and Panel Discussion
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. – In Depth Breakouts with Panelists
4:15 – 4:45 p.m. – Sum Up and Vendor Introductions
5:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Mini Job Fair and Networking Reception (wine, beer, soda and water hosted by USC Libraries)

USC University Club -http://www.usc.edu/bus-affairs/uclub
Map and Directions -http://www.usc.edu/bus-affairs/uclub/about/map.html ($8.00 parking)

To register: 1) RSVP to rdodge@fidm.edu by September 17th. 2) Pay by check payable to SLA-SCC, and mail to Robin Dodge, FIDM Library, 919 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Or via PayPal, below. Payment will also be accepted at the door.

For telephone or e-mail registration, or if you have questions, contact Robin at rdodge@fidm.edu or 213-624-1200 x.3376

_________ $50.00 (SLA Members / USC Library Staff)
_________ $60.00 (Non-members)
_________ $40.00 (Students, Retirees, and those between jobs)
_________ Sponsor a student for $40.00
Name: ______________________________________
Affiliation: ____________________________________
E-mail: ______________________________________

Entree: chicken or vegetarian? ______________________


Paypal for SLA Members/USC Library Staff:








Paypal for Non-members:








Paypal for Students, Retirees, and those between jobs (choose this option to sponsor a student):





Friday, August 13, 2010

Join us for drinks and dinner and networking in the OC!

The location has changed to JT Schmid's in Tustin.

Sorry for the short notice, but this meetup was urgently needed. Orange County, here we come!

When: Thursday, August 19th, 7pm

Where: JT Schmid's
2415 Park Ave.
Tustin, CA 92782

Hosted by Liz Yeh, founder of the new group Orange County Libations Club.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, August 18th to rdodge@fidm.edu, or on facebook.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Attention Employers: The SLA-SCC invites you to participate in our Professional Development mini-job-fair.

This announcement is for employers interested in participating in the mini-job-fair portion of our Professional Development program. Members, stay tuned for the event announcement, which will include registration information.


Employers, SLA Southern California invites you to participate in ...

Career Agility - A Professional Development Workshop showcasing how Librarians and Information Professionals can be more nimble in their careers and primed for the future.

When: Friday, September 24, 2010; Noon – 6:30pm

Where: University of Southern California's University Club

Presented by: The Special Libraries Association Southern California Chapter (SLA-SCC)

Schedule: Buffet lunch and panel; Breakout sessions; Wrap up and vendor intros; Networking reception and mini-job-fair.

We hope your organization can participate in the mini-job-fair!

Participation cost = $100, which reserves table space, a special badge, and admission for one of your employees - HR and/or librarian – to the whole event.

Table materials should be compact – brochures or one pagers. Feel free to bring your own tabletop (small) signs. SLA-SCC can print 8x11" signs upon request.

For more information contact Sara Tompson at sarat@usc.edu.


Register by September 10th to meet talented information professionals who could be your next great hire. To register, pay via Paypal and email your company and representative info to Robin Dodge, rdodge@fidm.edu. OR send your check to: Robin Dodge, FIDM Library, 919 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015.






Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Why you should come to our networking events.

I can't believe it's already August. With 7 full months of programming under my belt I can say without a doubt that this has year has been the most fun I've had professionally in a very long time. Why? Because I've attended all of the SLA-SCC events! And you should too. Most of our events this year have been free, open to non-members, and pretty easily accessible (Did you know that some chapters cover entire states? And you thought driving across town was bad). Every event offers the opportunity to meet new people, expand your horizons, learn about other libraries, and sometimes there's even beer (at happy hour, not on library tours).

We have some really fun events coming up for the rest of the year, and I hope to see some old friends and new faces. In case you need proof of how much fun we have, I have photographic evidence. Enjoy!

GIA Library Tour, July 16.

More GIA pics from Grace Rosales. (Thanks Grace!)

Westwood Happy Hour, August 5, pics from Sara Tompson. (Thanks Sara!)

Oh, and there was a really fun lunch at the Hammer on July 29th, but I was way too busy enjoying my delicious meal and some free art to take pictures. Trust me, you should have been there.

See you at the next event!
-Robin

MTA Library Tour, August 18th, 11am

The SLA-SCC is going to the MTA library, AKA the Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library! MTA Librarian Matthew Barrett will be hosting this informative tour, including a tour of their Second Life library and a discussion of their impressive social networking efforts. This is a tour you shouldn't miss!

When:
Wednesday, August 18th, 11am. Bring your lunch money, and let's do lunch afterwards at Philippe's.

Where:
Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
1 Gateway Plaza, 15th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://www.metro.net/about/library
If you're taking the subway to Union Station: exit towards the Vignes Street side, come up to the East Portal of Union Station and take the escalator up to the Patsaouras Bus Plaza, 25 story highrise to the left is the MTA headquarters building, enter through the lobby and go up to the 3rd floor security desk to sign in. Take elevators to the 15th floor, follow signs to the library.

Why:
Because you should have a little bit of fun mid-week, on your lunch hour, at the MTA Library.

RSVP:
Please RSVP soon so Matt can give our names to security. Email rdodge@fidm.edu, or RSVP on the facebook group announcement (and join our facebook group while you're at it!).

See you soon!
-Robin