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Thursday, May 24, 2012

OLA SSD 2012 Keynote Speaker Brian Doyle

We are very excited to have Oregon writer Brian Doyle as our keynote speaker at this year's conference. Among various honors for his work is the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Mink River, published by Oregon State University Press, was an Oregon Book Awards finalist for 2012. Read why Lake Oswego Public Library chose Mink River for its 2012 city-wide reading program. Watch Brian on Live Wire, taped at the live radio show on November 18, 2011.

The University of Oregon bookstore will be at the conference selling copies of Brian's books -- he's written 10 including Thirsty for the Joy: Australian and American VoicesEpiphanies and Elegies, and The Wet Engine. Books from other Oregon authors will also be available


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

SSD seeking new Chair

The Support Staff Division of the Oregon Library Association is seeking candidates for Vice-chair/Chair-elect. This is a three year commitment -- serving one year as vice-chair, one year as chair, and one year as past-chair. This is an excellent opportunity for professional and personal development. Although it is a lot of work, it is also very rewarding, and you make a lot of great friends and contacts along the way. The thing to remember if the prospect seems daunting is that you're never alone in any aspect of the "job" -- the rest of the board and the past chairs are always there with you. - Susan Bacina Past-Chair, OLA/SSD

From Sean Park, current SSD Chair :

SSD is a wonderfully diverse group of library professionals, ranging from supervisors and shelvers to IT and children's librarians, and countless other areas of expertise across the spectrum of libraries in Oregon, from large to small.

I entered my term as SSD Board Chair with a sense of wonder and excitement (and a bit of bewilderment), as I previously did not have much exposure to SSD and almost no exposure to OLA. The SSD past-chairs were my lifeline (one serves on the Board and is an invaluable asset to the Chair), and helped me feel welcome while answering all questions I had along the way. My first event was the OLA Executive Board retreat in Silver Falls, which was a great experience that was made even better as the past-chair was at my side, keeping me apprised of procedure while providing valuable background on the topics at hand.

Working with the OLA Board has opened my eyes to the great things OLA does, and the group is composed of a wide range of librarians, every one of them friendly, helpful, and very devoted to the OLA mission. It has been a great pleasure getting to know them and working alongside them, and you will feel very welcome very quickly with this group.

This past year has seen some exciting changes for SSD. Scholarship awards for OLA membership and attendance at the annual SSD conference have been increased, and SSD membership is also going up. Videoconferencing has opened up involvement in SSD for people who otherwise couldn't participate due to distance. SSD is looking to expand training offerings across the state with book mending and technology workshops, while looking ahead at different training approaches (including increased exposure to the LSSC program) to help support staff increase services amidst shrinking budgets.

Time commitment:

  • Chair the monthly SSD board meetings, which can be attended in person or remotely via phone or videoconferencing (4 hours per month, depending upon travel)
  • Compose the monthly SSD board meeting agenda (1 hour per month)
  • Attend the monthly OLA Executive Board meetings (in person or remotely, 5 hours per month)
  • Attend the annual OLA Board retreat in Silver Falls in person (2 days per year)
  • Attend the annual SSD conference (1 day per year)
  • Liaise with OLA to assist members representing SSD at the OLA Conference (1 hour per month)
My term as SSD Board Chair has been extremely rewarding. The exposure to library staff from all corners of the state, and the friendships I've made, have been personally and professionally enriching. I would not hesitate to do it again, and strongly encourage those who are seeking more involvement in OLA/SSD to consider running for SSD Board Chair.  - Sean, SSD Board Chair

How to apply:

This is a nominated position, and you can definitely nominate yourself.  If you are interested, please contact us at olassd@gmail.com or you can contact any one of our board members.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

OLA SSD 2012 Conference Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for the 18th annual OLA Support Staff Division Gateways Conference: Support Staff -- Changing Lives Every Day! The conference will take place in Eugene, Oregon on Friday, July 20th at the Valley River Inn.

We are offering several incentives to encourage staff to participate in this year's conference and include:
  • If your library/system registers 3 attendees, the 4th attendee conference registration is free.
  • If you are traveling more than 150 miles (one way), you may be eligible for a $50 travel assistance scholarship (one scholarship per vehicle).
  • Early bird special! Save $5 per registration. Early bird rates apply to registration before June 20.
Visit our conference website to view the full program, register for the conference, or apply for a scholarship.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

OLA SSD Conference Hotel


The 2012 OLA SSD conference hotel, Valley River Inn, is offering a discounted room rate for conference attendees. The discounted rate is $109 single and $119 double. Other room packages available at a discount. Use the link below to make reservations at the conference rate.

Valley River Inn Conference Reservations

Book early! Conference rate is available through June 13, 2012.

Although you will feel like you are miles away, Valley River Inn is a hotel conveniently located near downtown Eugene, Oregon, in the heart of the city. The Willamette River, Eugene's largest shopping mall, and miles of scenic bike paths are just outside the doors. Valley River Inn is concluding a renovation of its guestrooms, meeting space, public space and Sweetwaters Restaurant. Everything will be renovated by the beginning of June, in time for the conference.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Fix-it Friday (Repair Manual Edition) : "One On, Two Off" Hollow Tube Recase

Welcome back to Fix-It Friday!  Today's post presents an illustrated guide to recasing a hardcover book using a single piece of paper and some PVA.  This procedure may be old hat to some of you who are already repairing books in your collection, but it is so useful (and simple) that I hoped it'd be worth sharing again.

This repair reattaches a hardcover case to a text block without replacing the endsheets and super.  A strip of paper, folded thrice, is used to rejoin the text block and case at the spine without losing the important open "tube" along the spine.  "One on, two off" refers to the three sides of the folded paper -- in this version of the repair, one of the three folds will be glued onto the spine of the text block, while the other two will be off the text block and glued to the spine inlay of the case.

If it sounds complicated so far, fear not!  Let's look at what we're dealing with and gather the tools we'll need.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Announcing Our 2012 Conference!

Conference 2012 

Support Staff: Changing Lives Every Day!

Friday, July 20, 2012 | 7:00 am - 4:00 pm

Valley River Inn, Eugene, OR http://www.valleyriverinn.com




Cost of attendance is $70 for OLA members and $85 for non-members.

We are pleased to announce that our keynote speaker this year is Brian Doyle, editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland and author of Mink River, his first novel and finalist for the 2012 Oregon Book Award for fiction. Bill Baars, Director of Lake Oswego Public Library, says
“Mink River is ‘northwest literature’ in a joyous, exuberant, Ken Keseyesque way, with an emphasis on uniquely Oregon characters, history, flora, fauna and rainfall.” 
Brian Doyle’s previous books have been finalists four times for the Oregon Book Award.


We are offering the following sessions at our 2012 conference:

  • Intermediate Book Repair for Libraries, an all-day workshop. Registration limited to first 8 participants.
  • Internal Customer Service – Support Staff Working Together 
  • Connecting with Youth – Oregon Libraries Care 
  • A Day in the Life – Support Staff in the Digital Age 
  • Coping with Change – Support Staff Striving for Excellence 
  • Beyond Books – Oregon Libraries Reaching Out 
  • Tek4U – Oregon Libraries and the eBook Explosion 
Conference attendees are provided with a buffet breakfast and choice of luncheon entrée.

Registration open soon!

Read more about complete session descriptions, and local information, including instructions for booking at the conference rate, and exciting financial aid news!