Sharon Forks Library in the Georgia Library Association Spotlight

Sharon Forks Library, a branch of the Forsyth County Library System, turns eleven years old this year. Opened in November 2000, Sharon Forks was designed in the Arts and Crafts style, featuring mullioned-window interior walls, overhead mosaic panels, and furniture reminiscent of Stickley handicraft. Patrons find the vivid jewel-tone colors warm and welcoming.

The 23,000 square-foot branch was designed for a capacity of 100,000 users each year and a collection of 96,000 items. At that time, this was more than sufficient for the demand. In the past ten years, both Sharon Forks users and the collection have grown to 180,000 users annually and a collection size of 107,424 items. The greatest increase has been in circulation. Sharon Forks checked out 248,138 items in fiscal year 2001 compared to 857,668 in FY2011, a 246% increase!

To address this growth, Forsyth County Public Library is planning an expansion and renovation project for the Sharon Forks Library building. Voters approved the extension of a county SPLOST on November 8, 2011. The library’s portion will be $2.8 million when revenues are collected. The following changes are proposed:

• Up to 5,000 square feet additional public space
• An increase in parking from 150 spaces to 170 spaces
• Expanded adult and children’s collections
• A single-point-of-service public help desk
• Additional soft seating and study tables

Although the interior window-walls add to the charm of the design, they reduce flexibility in growing and shifting collections. Some of the walls will be removed. Staff workrooms and offices occupying the core of the building will be relocated to allow for a merging of the Circulation and Information departments into a central service desk.

Like so many other systems, FCPL has implemented self-check systems to supplement staffing dollars. Sharon Forks currently has three self-check units and more will be purchased with the renovation. An automated materials handling system is slated for installation to reduce check-in duties for staff.

Even though there will be many changes in the construction project, the nostalgic Arts and Crafts design and inviting color scheme will continue to welcome visitors. A patron commented recently: "Have I told you all how wonderful this library and staff are? I just love this place." We certainly don’t want to change that response!

For more information on the Sharon Forks Library, please visit http://www.forsythpl.org/

Want Your Turn in the GLA Spotlight?

Enjoying the library spotlight feature on the GLA website and wondering how you can get your library in on the action? Now is your chance because we're looking for new libraries to feature!

Please just email tessa.minchew@gpc.edu and include your name, contact information, and the name of your library, library system, or special collection. We'll answer any questions you have and offer you a proposed date for your moment in the GLA Spotlight.

AFPL in the Georgia Library Association Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed from the GLA homepage to make way for the latest spotlight.]

This month we are featuring Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System in the GLA spotlight!

Please visit the GLA homepage to learn more about the largest library system in the state.

Lavonia-Carnegie Library in the Georgia Library Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed from the GLA homepage to make way for the latest spotlight.]

Please check out our website for the new Georgia Library Spotlight! This month the featured library is the Lavonia-Carnegie Library in Lavonia, Georgia.

GLQ Fall 2011 Is Available

The Fall 2011 issue of GLQ has been published to the site at

http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/

Remember, the most current issue is restricted to GLA members and institutional subscribers. After this issue, the journal will be open access and there will no longer be a need for restricting access.

If you have registered before on the site, all you will need is the username and password you created during that registration.

If you have not registered before, you will need to go to "My Account" to begin. During registration, you will need to fill in the same email address you provided GLA for your membership there. You will also need to create a username and password.

Please let us know of suggestions, corrections, and ideas for the journal, or if you have any difficulty reaching the issue.

Southwest Georgia Regional Library System in the Georgia Library Spotlight!

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed from the GLA homepage to make way for the latest spotlight.]

This month we have a whole library system in the GLA spotlight!

Please visit the GLA homepage to learn more about the Southwest Georgia Regional Library System.

Albany State University in the GLA Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed to make way for the latest spotlight.]

Please check out our website for the new Georgia Library Spotlight! This month the featured library is the James Pendergrast Memorial Library at Albany State University.

Augusta-Richmond County Public in the GLA Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed to make way for the latest spotlight.]

Visit the GLA homepage to view the new Georgia Library Spotlight. This month the featured library is Augusta-Richmond County Public. Enjoy!

Georgia Library Quarterly V.48 No.3 (Summer 2011) Has Been Published

The Summer 2011 issue of GLQ has been published to the site at http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/vol48/iss3/

Remember, the most current issue is restricted to GLA members and institutional subscribers on through the end of volume 48 (this issue and the next.) After that, the journal will be open access and there will no longer be a need for restricting access.

If you have registered before on the site, all you will need is the username and password you created during that registration.

If you have not registered before, you will need to go to "My Account" to begin. During registration, you will need to fill in the same email address you provided GLA for your membership there. You will also need to create a username and password.

Please let us know of suggestions, corrections, and ideas for the journal, or if you have any difficulty reaching the issue.

Thank you,
Jeff Heck
jheck@aug.edu

Conyers Rockdale Library in the GLA Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed to make way for the latest spotlight.]

Please check out our website for the new Georgia Library Spotlight! This month the featured library is the Conyers Rockdale Library.

Tifton-Tift County Public Library in the GLA Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed to make way for the latest spotlight.]

Please check out our website for the new Georgia Library Spotlight! This month the featured library is the Tifton-Tift County Public Library.

GLA Scholarship Application Deadline, May 21!

Library school students, get those applications in for the Beard and Hubbard Scholarships! The scholarships provide $1,000 and $3,000, respectively, and the deadline to apply for these wonderful opportunities is May 21, 2011.

The Scholarship Committee will review all complete applications received by the deadline. Selection will be based on the application and supporting documents. Other considerations being equal, residents of Georgia will be given preference. Applicants will be considered for both awards by the committee and will be notified of the decision no later than June 15, 2011.

Please see the Scholarship page on the GLA website for application materials and more details.

GLA Award Nomination Deadline Extended to May 23!

Please consider nominating a deserving person for a GLA Award. The deadline for nominations has been extended to May 23, 2011 and the awards will be presented at COMO in October.

Visit http://gla.georgialibraries.org/comm_awards.htm to find all the information you will need:

list of committee members—ask us if you have a question; a printable nomination flyer you can print and post on your library’s bulletin board to encourage participation; the nomination form, with awards criteria; and a list of past winners.

The process is not complicated and it’s a great way to recognize someone who helps make GLA and Georgia libraries great.

Revised GLA Handbook Online

The 2011 revision of the GLA handbook is online, and a thing of beauty it is! Please take a look.

http://gla.georgialibraries.org/handbook.htm

Send any reports of typos or requests for changes to Susan Morris, Handbook Committee Chair. Hearty thanks to Susan and all of the other Handbook Committee members who've worked so hard on this project!

Alexander Campbell King Law Library in the GLA Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed to make way for the latest spotlight.]

Please check out our website for the new Georgia Library Spotlight! This month the featured library is the University of Georgia's Alexander Campbell King Law Library.

Free Webinars 5/18: Project Management 101 and Unconference Planning

The Georgia Library Association is pleased to announce the May 2011 sessions of the Carterette Series Webinars. The series highlights trends, innovation, and best practices in Georgia Libraries. The webinars feature Georgia speakers, but registration is open to anyone, anywhere. Topics are chosen to be of interest to employees of all library types, and each session is approved for one Georgia Continuing Education (CE) contact hour.

Can't make it to the live show? That's okay--the sessions will be recorded and available on the CSW site for later viewing.

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Project Management 101
Presented by Emily Almond
May 18, 2011
10:00am-11:00am EASTERN STANDARD TIME
REGISTER

How to apply the principles of PM in libraries without alienating everyone you work with. This session will cover these topics:

* Stakeholders
* Scope statements
* Scheduling/budgeting
* Triple constraint
* Risk assessment
* Change management

Unconference Planning
Presented by Andrew Shuping
May 18, 2011
11:15am-12:15pm EASTERN STANDARD TIME
REGISTER

Have you heard about unconferences? No idea what they are or why they're different from regular conferences? Are you interested in knowing more? Come find out what an unconference is, ways to organize it, and what the benefits are for having an unconference vs. a conference.

New GLQ Available on DigitalCommons

Please find the Spring 2011 issue of the Georgia Library Quarterly at:

http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/

Please remember that the most recent issue requires your sign-in using the username and password you created when registering.

Thank you,
Jeff Heck
Interim Editor, GLQ

GaCOMO Proposals May 31, 2011

We hope you’re planning to attend the annual COMO conference of the Georgia Library Association in Athens, GA, Oct. 5-7, 2011. Why not add to the interesting and informative sessions?

The COMO proposal form is now live at http://www.georgiacomo.org. The deadline for making presentation proposals is May 31, 2011.

Roberts Library in the GLA Spotlight

[Note: This is an archived post. This spotlight has been removed to make way for the latest spotlight.]

Please check out our website for the new Georgia Library Spotlight! This month the featured library is Roberts, which serves Dalton State College and Northwest Georgia.

GLA Award Nominations Due May 9, 2011

Please consider nominating a deserving person for a GLA Award. The deadline for nominations is May 9, 2011 and the awards will be presented at COMO in October.

Visit http://gla.georgialibraries.org/comm_awards.htm to find all the information you will need:

list of committee members—ask us if you have a question; a printable nomination flyer you can print and post on your library’s bulletin board to encourage participation; the nomination form, with awards criteria; and a list of past winners.

The process is not complicated and it’s a great way to recognize someone who helps make GLA and Georgia libraries great.

The Atlanta Emerging Librarians on Facebook and Twitter!

The Atlanta Emerging Librarians now has Facebook and Twitter accounts. These will be used to publicize AEL activities and promote events of interest to LIS students in the Atlanta area. Check them out!

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/AtlEmerLibFB
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ATLEmergingLib

For more information contact AEL at: AtlantaEmergingLibrarians@yahoo.com
The AEL page on the GLA site: http://gla.georgialibraries.org/div_nmrt_atllibmeetup.htm

Georgia Library Quarterly Goes Digital!

Open letter to the GLA membership regarding the digital transition of GLQ

With the issue currently in layout, volume 48, issue 2, Spring 2011 issue, the Georgia Library Quarterly will move entirely to digital publication. The change will allow the editorial board to use peer-review – for authors who elect to participate – and encourage them to do so since back issues will be open-source; allow issues of any size rather than being limited to certain numbers of pages; and, provide for faster publication and distribution. A paper copy of the journal will be made available to any GLA member who does not have an email address, through the end of volume 48.

Registration will be required to view the most recent issue of the journal, at least through the end of volume 48. To register, a GLA member must have an email address linked to their GLA information provided to Administrative Services.

To reach the new digital site, go to http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/.

To update your GLA information to include an email address, contact: Administrative Services Coordinator, Georgia Library Association, P.O. Box 793, Rex, Ga., 30273-0793.

Contact Jeff Heck, Interim Editor, jheck@aug.edu, with questions.

Academic Library Division Officer Nominations

Interested in becoming more involved in the Academic Library Division? Consider running for office! The ALD is seeking nominations for the positions of vice-chair/chair elect and secretary. The vice-chair/chair elect is responsible for identifying and booking a speaker for the COMO ALD luncheon, and helping the chair with speaker session/presenter recruitment. The secretary takes minutes at the winter planning session and COMO meetings.

If you are interested in running for one of these positions, please send an email to Laura Burtle describing how you would be an asset to the ALD in the position.

Free GLA Webinar 2/17: Building Library Websites with Weebly

The Georgia Library Association is pleased to announce the February 2011 special evening session of the newly dubbed Carterette Webinar Series (formerly the Wednesday Webinars). The series highlights trends, innovation, and best practices in Georgia Libraries. While we feature Georgia speakers, registration is open to anyone, anywhere, so please share this announcement as you see fit. Topics are chosen to be of interest to employees of all library types, and each session is approved for one Georgia Continuing Education (CE) contact hour. The sessions are recorded and available on our archives site for later viewing. (Please bear with us as we move content to a new site and system.)

Building Library Websites with Weebly
Presented by Hilly Frilot

Thursday, February 17, 2011, 8:00pm - 9:00pm EASTERN Standard Time
Awesome websites CAN be easy and free to create! Join this session to learn a little more about Weebly, a great company that makes website creation as easy as drag-and-drop. Spend your time focusing on your message and how you want to deliver it, not on HTML code, and create a professional-looking website in no time. The Collins Hill High School Media Center website was made with Weebly, and has become a go-to resource for our teachers and students.

REGISTER

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Please contact a member of the Carterette Series planning team with questions or ideas:
Sarah Steiner, Georgia Library Association, PACE Chair, ssteiner@gsu.edu
Buffy Hamilton, Wednesday Webinars Steering Committee, buffy.hamilton@gmail.com
Tessa Minchew, Georgia Library Association, Tessa.Minchew@gpc.edu

Georgia Library Quarterly to launch peer-review option

Beginning in 2011, the open access publication Georgia Library Quarterly will be undergoing some exciting changes. In addition to going online, a new blind peer-review option will be available to all submitting authors. In order to launch this option, the GLQ editorial board is seeking both reviewers and articles to be queued for review.

For reviewers, the workload will be light; you will be called on to review no more than one or two articles per year, and only if the submitted articles fall into your area(s) of expertise. The turnaround time for reviews will be 30 days. If you are interested in acting as a peer-reviewer, please submit your name, a brief description of your publication history or a resume, and a list of your areas of expertise to Sarah Steiner at ssteiner [at] gsu.edu. Please feel free to send along questions, as well.

Thank you for considering!