GLA will be at booth #1100 in the Exhibit Hall at ALA Atlanta Midwinter Meeting

GLA will be at booth #1100 in the Exhibit Hall at ALA Atlanta Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits, Jan. 20-23, 2017.
If you'll be attending ALA, please stop by the booth to learn more about GLA and its activities. There will be free giveaways for those who stop to chat, and also a GLA tumbler will be given to anyone who joins GLA at the booth.
Hope to see you there!

Academic Library Division Call for Papers - Submit by April 3, 2017

Call for Papers!

Academic Library Division of the Georgia Library Association

Georgia Chapter of ACRL

Georgia Libraries 2017 Conference

October 4-6, 2017

Columbus, Georgia

The Academic Library Division of the Georgia Library Association/Georgia Chapter of ACRL invites Georgia librarians and library science students to submit research papers pertaining to academic libraries for presentation at 2017 Georgia Libraries Conference. Criteria for selection include purpose, content, organization, scholarship, and references. Papers should include research on developments in academic libraries that present challenging opportunities for libraries and librarianship throughout the state, region, or nation. Papers should be approximately 2000 words.

The Georgia Library Quarterly (GLQ) may invite selected authors to submit their papers for possible publication in GLQ.

GLA will award a cash prize for the paper selected as the top entry and complimentary Georgia Library conference registration for the second and third entry. The three top papers will be presented at the Georgia Libraries Conference in Columbus, GA.

New this year!
Attend a workshop on scholarly writing to help you generate paper ideas!
Getting Started in Scholarship: A Scholarly Publishing Primer for Librarians
February 22, 2017 -- 2PM EST (1PM CST | 12PM MST | 11AM PST)
Co-sponsored by Carterette Series Webinars and the GLA Academic Library Division
Visit http://gla.georgialibraries.org/events_carterette.htm for more information

Notice of Intention:
Submit via email a notice of intent and a brief abstract. Send emails with the subject line “ALD Research Papers” to jennifer.townes@gcsu.edu. Your notice of intent should contain your name, address, phone number, email address, a tentative title, and a brief (200 word) abstract by April 3, 2017.

New this year
Optional Pre-submission Peer Review
If you want your paper reviewed by scholarly writing expert prior to the final submission, e-mail it to jennifer.townes@gcsu.edu by June 1, 2017.

Paper Submission:
The final paper (approximately 2000 words) must be submitted by July 17, 2017.
Use the Chicago Manual of Style as the style guide for the submission. Use author/date format with a reference section at the end.
Notification of Results: August 14, 2017

Send Notice of Intention to Submit and Final Paper to:
Jennifer Townes,
Research Papers Committee Chair
jennifer.townes@gcsu.edu

Clayton County Library System in the Spotlight!

Forest Park Branch

The Clayton County Library System’s (CCLS) mission is to contribute to the success of the citizens of our diverse community by offering a full range of library services that meet their informational, educational and leisure interests, fostering the love of reading in our youth and the lifelong pursuit of knowledge for all. Throughout its six branch locations (Headquarters, Forest Park, Jonesboro, Lovejoy, Morrow, Riverdale) the library system offers a wide range of programs, services and classes including children/teen and adult programming, free wireless internet, free computer classes, community outreach programs, print and electronic books, magazines and music, and access to databases such as Mango Languages, Brainfuse, Gale Virtual Reference Library, Chilton Auto Manuals, Learning Express, Galileo, and much more!

At CCLS, librarians believe in the value of connecting with patrons through exciting programming. In 2015, the system was awarded a grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). This grant “Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise” enables librarians to partner with key organizations in the community to teach financial literacy, home ownership, budgeting, money management, and business ownership.

CCLS also developed STEAM initiatives which include music production, writing, recording and visual media development, and built a makerspace, equipped with 3D printers, music mixing and recording equipment, and other innovative tools.

Many new and exciting changes are happening within CCLS!  In the Fall, community meetings were held for the new College Park location to better understand preferences and needs for the new branch. At the same time, the Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) was implemented to introduce self-service checkout to our community.  CCLS tagged 75% of its collection, set up staff work stations and have begun the installation of the security gates and the automated materials handling system.  When all is completed CCLS will be able to expose its community to a new level of customer engagement.

CCLS partnered with the United Way to develop Learning Spaces for the Tots (a place to prepare kids from 1-4 to learn to read), and recruited a Teen Advisory Board to provide input on what teens in the county want and need from a public library.  CCLS Advisory Board is comprised of eleven members who represent several Clayton County High Schools.

CCLS librarians collaborated with the county IT department to develop and teach computer classes to county employees, partnered with Habitat for Humanities to enlighten the public about their programs to renovate houses. County librarians teamed up with the Extension Service to offer Reality Check for teams (an interactive financial survival exercise), and partnered with Clayton State University’s Primary Care Clinic to help insure our citizens are health literate.

Clayton County Library System strives to build a stronger connection with the community, to create spaces that appeal to its patrons, and to provide FREE resources that make Clayton County a great place in which to live, work and play.

Visit CCLS website at www.claytonpl.org and Rediscover the Library. 

GaCOMO Slideshare Page Is Live!

Did you miss GaCOMO16, a particular session, or do you just want to refer back to a really interesting slide? Check out the GaCOMO Slideshare page!

A number of presenters have submitted their presentation materials to help create this resource.

[If you presented this year and would like your materials to be included on the Slideshare page, just send Sofia Slutskaya an email with attachments. Please remove any notes from the deck that you do not want made publicly available, since the slides can be downloaded. Also let her know what kind of license you’d like to put on the materials (all Rights Reserved & CC Attribution-NonCommercial are the two everyone is using now) and send a list of subject tags if you’d like.]

AEL Mingle with the Admins - January 14, 2017

On January 14th, Atlanta Emerging Librarians will be meeting to kick off the new year with our annual “Mingle with the Admins”.   As is tradition, we have invited a mix of public, academic and special library administrators to share information about their libraries and any open positions they may have available.

This year’s Mingle will be held on Saturday, January 14th, from 11am-1pm at Manuel’s Tavern in Poncey-Highland (602 North Highland Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30307). Appetizers, sweet tea and soda will be provided.

This is a great opportunity to meet administrators and hiring managers from libraries where you are interested in building your career.

RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mingle-with-the-admins-tickets-29898983665  to attend – space is limited! We hope to see you there!

2016 Planning Committee
Ashley Day
Lydia Hofstetter
Rosemary Humphrey

GLQ Fall 2016 Issue Now Available!

The fall 2016 issue of the Georgia Library Quarterly is now available at http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/

Read about GLA and COMO conference news, as well as Georgia library news; read an article about the history of the COMO conference; learn about the history of Georgia public libraries; and check out the spotlights, MOPL, and book reviews!

Brunswick-Glynn County Library in the Spotlight!

Watercolor by Nancy Muldowney*

The City of Brunswick, located on the Georgia Coast, has had a long and rich history dating back to1738 when the first European settler arrived.  The city was one of the original five ports of entry during colonial America, and was officially founded in 1771.  Today, the Port of Brunswick is still a huge industry for the area, and it is currently the second in the United States for roll-on/roll-off vehicles.

Like the city, the Brunswick-Glynn County Library has also had a long and rich history.  It was first organized as a subscription library in 1883, and was housed above a store in Downtown Brunswick.  Around 1894, the library was moved to a different location and was able to offer “drive through” service.  It was reported that Mrs. Hunter Hopkins rode up to a window on her horse to return and check out her books.  Throughout the next few decades, the library moved several times to various locations within the downtown area.

When WWII broke out, the coastal town began to change.  While German U-boats sat in the waters off the city’s coast, Brunswick began building Liberty Ships.  Throughout the war, the Brunswick Library remained open.  However, money was scarce and there is little history of the library during the war years.

After the war, funding for the library began to increase.  The library was housed on the second floor of City Hall in Downtown Brunswick.  The increase in funding made it possible to purchase more and more books.  The weight of the shelves became an issue, and in 1950 the library literately outgrew the building.  With a shift in the structure, one night the pendulum of the clock in the clock tower came crashing through the librarian’s desk on the second floor all the way through to the City Manager’s desk on the first floor.  Next, the partition between the Courtroom and the library collapsed.  Finally, when the walls of the second floor started to separate from the floor, the library was moved to a larger facility a few blocks away.  The library continued to grow, and in 1958 an old grocery store on Gloucester Street in downtown was purchased and renovated.  The library has since been torn down, rebuilt, and renovated, but has not moved again from the site.  

Today, the library is the Headquarters Branch of the Marshes of Glynn Libraries, the public library system in Glynn County, Georgia.  It is open 51 hours a week to the public, and offers an array of services.  Margie Young, a steadfast and long-time volunteer said, “the Brunswick Library is a friendly, quiet place where everyone is helpful, the books are free and so are the various programs offered for children and adults.  Just about whatever you need can be found at the library in a book that will take you into a new world of your choosing.  Visit the Brunswick Library and see if you don’t agree.”

Visit http://moglibraries.org for more information.

The library building painting is a watercolor by a local artist, Nancy Muldowney.  In over the 20 years of living in the Golden Isles, Nancy has not only been active as a professional artist and business owner but actively involved in community nonprofit organizations.