LEHIGH VALLEY CHAPTER
of the
PENNSYLVANIA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Registration and Coffee
Harmon Hall of Peace in Miller Family Building

Concurrent Sessions:

Researching Companies, Industries, and Markets in 2008

Kelly Cannon, Muhlenberg College Librarian, will cover the essentials for doing business research in the year 2008. We will look at important databases and free sites for locating company financials, company descriptions and forecasts, industry-level information, and consumer markets.

* Fishing for Fun: Hooks for Storytelling

Sharing a story doesn't have to be scary or hard. Whether you are a public, school or academic librarian, storytelling provides an educational, creative and entertaining link that connects listeners to history, culture, the everyday world, the not-so-everyday world of imagination, and the library. Join Lehigh Valley Storytellers Guild member Larry Sceurman, teller of stories and tales, for simple and fun storytelling tips to get your audience involved.

Open Source, Open Course & Open Resources

Dean Shaffer from DeSales University will highlight some of the many free resources available online. How do you make use of the vast resources available considering that we all seem to have less time available? Knowing about some of the new learning spaces, and being aware of some of the resources available online, may help you to deal with the growing demands of technology in education.

Concurrent Sessions:

Improving Satisfaction in Virtual Reference Encounters

What quality services do today’s library users want and expect in our chat services? Join Marie L. Radford, Ph.D. from Rutgers’ School of Communication, Information & Library Studies as she discusses research findings from her current IMLS funded project, Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives. She will provide practical tips and tactics to develop better interpersonal communication and to demystify chat reference.

Rural Librarianship: from Archivist to Ziegler

Myra Ziegler, Summers County Public Library Director, will discuss the triumphs and challenges of being a one-person librarian in rural West Virginia. Rural librarians do it all—from Friends Groups to Endowment funds, from story time to dissertation research, from maid to manager, from legislative lobbyist to mental health counselor. With creativity and humor, this 20-year rural librarian will share her tips for success and strategies for coping.

* Dynamic Displays for the 21st Century Library

Susan Phillips, Lending Services Supervisor from Cedar Crest College, explores the process of creating effective library displays . The slide presentation includes 46 examples featured in her 2007 publication GREAT DISPLAYS FOR YOUR LIBRARY STEP-BY-STEP. Beginning with a variety of suggestions for drawing inspiration, this session offers practical advice for creating unique yet economical library exhibits. If time permits, Susan will also share her publishing experience.

Lunch and Keynote, Lisa Scottoline

The Lehigh Valley Chapter is pleased to bring in Lisa Scottoline, best selling author of legal thrillers, as this year’s keynote speaker.  Lisa will no doubt give a ’thrilling’ talk, followed by a booksigning.  The booksigning will feature her latest book, Lady Killer, as well as some of her other titles.  Fellow librarian, Susan Phillips, will also be on hand to sell and sign her book, Great Displays for your Library Step-by-Step.      

Concurrent Sessions:

* Lights, Camera, Research!

How to make library orientation more relevant to incoming freshmen is something we grapple with each year.  Join Tina Hertel from Lehigh University as she shares her experiences from producing a library orientation video, where students introduce students to the library resources and research opportunities.

* Courtin’ Kid Customers

Participants will discover how to deliver several successful youth programs that encourage literacy skills and library awareness for youth ages preschool through high school: “Preschool is Cool”, “Going to the Dogs“(reading with therapy dogs), “Lunch with the Librarian” (kindergarten readiness), “Yeah for YA”, and “Teaching Kindness through Literature.”  Presenters: Katie Cardell, Melanie Fiske, Connie Fritch,  Mary Ann Lewis, Beth Rosania, plus 4 local therapy dogs & their owners.

* More Weeding Without Tears

Back by popular demand!  If you missed it last year, here’s another chance to join Anne Bittner, cataloger at Northampton Community College, for a nuts and bolts discussion of a field-tested deselection plan that can be adapted for use in any library.  Overcome weeding anxiety and start fighting collection clutter today!