OSRT Elections

The Outreach Services Roundtable is seeking individuals who are interested in becoming the next Vice-Chair!

OSRT promotes awareness of outreach services to professional librarians by booking speakers for library conferences, updating the OSRT & EMIERT blog, and awarding the Frances de Usable Award annually presented to a librarian who has demonstrated excellent outreach services in their community.

If you are interested in running for the Vice-Chair of OSRT, please submit your name to our current Chair, Rene Bue or Vice-Chair, Cassie Payne.

EMIERT Elections

We are currently looking for individuals to fulfill the roles of Vice-Chair & Secretary.  Participating in EMIERT is a great opportunity to network with other librarians in WLA and learn about the interesting things other libraries are doing with regard to diverse populations.

As Vice-Chair, your role is to assist the Chair, succeed the Chair in office, and make arrangements for the following years annual meeting and programs.  The Secretary records & distributes minutes of the proceedings of the roundtable, notifies members of meetings, and maintains the roundtable membership list. 

EMIERT is a very new roundtable, so it is important to prove it’s sustainability by ensuring officers for the new year.  If you are interested in submitting your name for one of the positions, please email me at athiem-menning@apl.org. 

WeLead in WLA

Applications for the 2013-2014 WeLead class are now available on the WLA website! Librarians interested in becoming a protégé or a mentor are welcome to apply. WeLead pairs veteran librarians/WLA members and emerging librarians together to foster new library leaders. Chosen protégés will receive a WLA membership as well as

• stipends to attend the WLA annual conference for two years
• a stipend to attend one section conference during the two-year initiative
• a stipend to attend the Leadership conference
• an appointment to a WLA committee
• special leadership programming opportunities
• and the ability to network with their mentor

The application deadline is July 31, 2012. For additional information, please contact members of the WeLead Task Force or Lisa Strand at the WLA Office.

ABOS Annual Awards

The Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, http://www.abos-outreach.org/, an affiliate of the American Library Association, offers annual awards that recognize outstanding service, support for conference attendance, and the education of a student currently enrolled in a Library Science degree program.
This year’s ABOS annual conference will take place in Richmond, Virginia from October 10 – 12.  Please share the following with your staff and encourage them to share this information.

John Philip Award - $300 The ABOS John Philip Award is given to recognize outstanding contributions and prominent leadership by an individual in Bookmobile and Outreach Services.
John Philip, known to all as "Mr. Bookmobile”, spent his long and honorable career as an advocate of Bookmobile and Outreach Services. He is the "Father" of the National Bookmobile Conference which started in 1986 and has now evolved into the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services. Through his strong leadership and high profile advocacy, Bookmobiles have been recognized as a viable library outreach service.
This award honors his dedication and tireless work and serves as a pinnacle for all Bookmobile and Outreach staff to aspire to reach.

Carol Combs Hole Travel Grant - Three (3) $500 travel grants Carol Combs Hole provided exemplary leadership on behalf of libraries, bookmobile and outreach services throughout her 32 year career as a professional public librarian. She retired from distinguished service to the Alachua County Library District on March 1, 2006 and died on October 1, 2007.
The three (3) $500 travel grants include free conference registration and a stipend for travel expenses and/or accommodations for the conference. The winners automatically will be registered for the conference. Carol Hole Award winners will be notified by August 7, 2012.

Bernard Vavrek Scholarship - $1,000 In order to contribute to the education and training of library staff working in the area of bookmobile and outreach services, ABOS has created the Bernard Vavrek Scholarship. It is awarded annually to a student who has been accepted into or is currently enrolled in a Library and/or Information Science graduate degree program, and who is interested in this particular field within the library profession. A check will be sent directly to the ALA accredited library school where the applicant is currently enrolled to be applied to the next term of study.  

Dr. Bernard Vavrek, Professor of Library Science and Chair of the Library Science Department at Clarion University, retired after teaching at Clarion from 1971-2008. He co-founded with John Philip the "Great American Bookmobile Conference", running it for many years until ABOS was formed and took over management of the conference.  This scholarship honors Dr. Vavrek's profound commitment to librarianship.

Check out the Awards on the ABOS website at http://www.abos-outreach.org/ABOSawards.html.
Application deadline for all awards is August 1, 2012.