by Leslie Reynolds, Information Technology Division Chair (Published September 1, 2012)
Did you have as wonderful a conference as I did in the windy city?
If you missed out on the Annual Conference in Chicago, you deprived yourself of a plethora of amazing programs and social events! The IT programs went tremendously well – from cloud computing to social media and the impact of standards on metadata. Kan Kin, our program planner for Chicago and his assistant Jason Keinsley (program planner for San Diego), and other member-volunteers did a fantastic job; many of our board members have captured the essence of the IT sessions for this issue of b/ITe.
Did you keep up with the twitter feed of what was going on through #slachicago and @slait?
The highlight of my networking opportunities was the IT Dow Jones Dance Party – Gangsters and Flappers. As luck would have it, the grand ballroom in the Hilton was the perfect 1920’s setting. This event just gets bigger and better every year! I hope you took the opportunity to dance and, if you arrived early enough, you are now the proud owner of a gangster hat, flapper feather headband, long white beads, a whistle on a string or a pocketful of faux money. If you saw Mr. Big Gangster and wondered who that was, it was our very own Jason Keinsely playing the mobster extraordinaire!
I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank our business partners who helped us provide this amazing conference experience for you: Platinum Partner Dow Jones, and Silver Partners Elsevier, IEEE, Proquest, ReprintsDesk and Springer.
Now that annual conference has come to a close, we are already well on our way for planning for yet another amazing conference in San Diego. Speakers are being recruited; continuing education workshops are arranged; and another amazing Dance Party is being planned (if you have a suggestion for a theme, Adrienne Smith would love to hear your ideas).
The IT Division website has been undergoing renovations as it moves to the WordPress platform. Several volunteers stepped up to help with the final touches and document transfer. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them assisting our webmaster Christine Geluk with what has been a daunting task: Henry Mensch, John DiGillio, Ruth Kneale, and Catherine Lavallée-Welch.
The IT Business meeting was the perfect opportunity to let members, like you, know about the Divisions activities from the last year. We celebrated award winners! The Outstanding Chapter Technology Programming Award recognized the Rocky Mountain Chapter. The Joe Ann Clifton Student Award for outstanding paper regarding the use of information technology went to Wayne Pender, who’s paper “Metadata for Video: Too Much Content, Not Enough Information” appears in this issue. It was also my pleasure to award the Grieg Aspnes Outstanding Member Award to Jill Hurst-Wahl. An excellent slate of board candidates for 2013 was presented and approved, thanks to the efforts of the Nominating Committee, headed by our Past-Chair Michael Kim. Congratulations to Libby Trudell and Leoma Dunn who will become Chair-Elect and Treasurer respectively. Adrienne Smith has been named the Program Planner for 2014.
Speaking of elections, remember to vote in the upcoming SLA elections, voting opens September 5 online.
We continue to seek volunteers and suggestions on how we can provide you with the services and programming you’d like to see from your IT Division. Please remember that I am always happy to hear from you at leslier@tamu.edu or @leslier or @slait.
