On Thursday, learn from a group of brilliant minds behind everything from coastal fisheries research, genomic databases, special libraries, OceanDocs training, and beyond…
#IamPortArkansas
Our first keynote for Thursday will be Dr. Brad E. Erisman, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. He will be presenting on “The Coastal Fisheries Research Program at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute”
Following Brad will be another keynote speaker, Dr. Chris Bird, Associate Professor at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. Chris will be presenting on “Diversity of the Indo-Pacific Network and the Genomic Observatories MetaDatabase”
Soak in their incredible research with a tea break before jumping into more programming:
How does a small library grown into a scientific information center? Olga Kopytova and Aleksei Baiandin at the A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS in Russian Federation, Crimea, will tell you in their talk on “A Small Library That Could.” In the meantime, have a look at their growing repository!
For our closing program there will be an “Aquatic Commons and OceanDocs Training and Work Party” led by Sally Taylor and Pauline Simpson. Lunch included!
Aye aye captain Sally!
A little about Sally…
Sally is a science librarian at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) where she supports students and faculty in biology, fisheries, forestry and resource management. Currently she is on a 6-month secondment as the Research Data Services Librarian at UBC. Sally has been an IAMSLIC member since 2000 when she attended her first conference close to home in Victoria, Canada. She was IAMSLIC President in 2013-2014 and is now Chair of the Aquatic Commons Board.
A little about Pauline…
Pauline has worked in marine information management all her working life. She was Head of Information Services at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK and in retirement continues to support IAMSLIC Aquatic Commons and several continuing IODE Projects: OceanDocs, OceanExpert, the new ODISCat and particularly the Ocean Best Practices System as Project Manager. Pauline has held several roles in IAMSLIC including President. She is attending as IODE representative and hopes to contribute to the discussions on forging a new relationship and building joint projects between IAMSLIC and IODE.
Best of luck to everyone on Friday for the Bay Boat Tour, Sand Sculpting Competition, and/or Beachertoberfest!
We hope you have the finest of weather over in Texas, but just in case, make sure to have a look at this list of what to pack before you hop on your plane.
The Wednesday afternoon of our conference will introduce us to a varity of speakers from around the world, and just in time too, because we need to know who everyone is before our banquet Wednesday evening… oh yes, there is a Texas banquet planned with plenty of dancing expected, yeehaw! We hope you’ll have time to have purchased your very own stetson by then, I will make it my mission to do so!
We’re dancing from Texas to the Philippines to last year’s host Uganda where we will hear from an exciting line up, followed by our amazing poster exhibition!
To lead the dance, another IAMSLIC vetern Daryl L. Superio will no doubt guide his co-authors, Myrna T. Luceño, Maria Vanessa T. Bendali-an, Anna May A. Yap-Zerrudo, Joel A. Ciriaco, and Erish G. Estante-Superio in telling us about “Pawikan on FB: Facebook as a Source of Information on the Current State of Sea Turtles in the Philippines”. I think we’ll be giving this talk the famous blue thumbs up.
This time last year some of us might have been cruising on Lake Victoria, but this year Lake Victoria comes to us with Eva Mutongole Wamala from the National Environment Management Authority, Uganda presenting to us on “Our Waters, Our Life. The Role of National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Library in the Collection, Storage and Dissemination of Environmental Information for the Conservation of Lake Victoria in Uganda.”
Eve was teaching the children how to make mats and bags from the palm tree leaves that can be found along the shores of Lake Victoria and in the process she also talks about how to conserve them for the future use.
A little about Eve…
Eve is a librarian by profession and holds a Master of Science in Information Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Science. Currently, she is working as the Senior Librarian, in-charge of both the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Reference Library and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Resource Centre. She has 30 years’ experience working with different libraries in Uganda. She has partnered with colleagues over the years to set up five libraries and more than 50 environment information resource centers around Uganda. The Library is in the process of setting up more resource centers and by December 2020, the number will have increased to 100. During the course of her work, she has attended more than 10 professional trainings in different areas of Library and information science. Eva also attended many professional congresses and conferences to which she is a member where she presented papers on open access and information repackaging and some of these have been published in newsletters and journals. She has also published a book for adult academic reading on Environmental Information in Industries: Provision, Access and Use by Environmental Information Managers†LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Eve loves reading and writing and currently is also working on several projects to enhance reading and writing for children in Uganda. She has published titles in children’s literature, one of which concerns awareness about the local environment.
We have a great poster session in the late afternoon, which always proves super informative:
Building A Successful Partnership: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Publications and Aquila,Joyce M. Shaw, Gunter Library, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, The University of Southern Mississippi.
A little about Joyce…
Joyce Shaw has served as the Head of Gunter Library at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (Ocean Springs, MS, USA) since December 1995. In 2008 she was invited to join the faculty of University Libraries (The University of Southern Mississippi) as an associate professor, awarded tenure in 2009, and promoted to Professor in 2015. A 23-year member of the International Association of Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSIC), in 2013-2015, Shaw served as the SAIL regional affiliate’s Representative on the IAMSLIC board. She served three terms as Chair of the Special Libraries Section of the Mississippi Library Association. She is a graduate of Rosary College (now called Dominican University, River Forest, IL, USA) with an MLIS and Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL, USA) with an MA in Urban Studies. Her service activities include membership in and past-president of the Rotary Club of Ocean Springs and Co-Zone Captain for the Mississippi Coastal Clean-Up. The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, founded in 1949, is the only marine laboratory in the state of Mississippi. The Gunter Library serves the students, faculty, and researchers at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and the School of Ocean Science and Engineering at Southern Miss.
Preservation, Collaboration, and Visualization: How a Book Becomes an Experience, Morgan Witte & Anne Moser, Water Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Anne and Morgan showing off their hard work installing the Under the Surface exhibit at the Water Library.
A little about Anne and Morgan…
Anne Moser is Senior Special Librarian in the Wisconsin Water Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Education Coordinator for UW Sea Grant Institute. Since 2008, she has managed a small library focused on freshwater science with an emphasis on the Great Lakes and the water resources of Wisconsin. As education coordinator, she manages the hands-on experiences, training and education resources that promote Great Lakes literacy for formal and informal educators and their leaners. Most of her own programming revolves around outreach and education to lifelong learners interested in aquatic and Great Lakes sciences, from preschool age through retirement. She participates in events such as preschool story times at public libraries, a tall ship sail around Lake Michigan with formal educators and presentations to the public on the Great Lakes issues. Anne has worked as a special librarian in Madison, Wisconsin and Seattle, Washington over the course of her nearly 30 year career in libraries in local government, environmental consulting and higher education. Water has gotten a grip on her and she is deeply grateful to work in this area of environmental science. Anne holds a B.A. in Spanish and Art History from Colby College in Waterville, Maine and an M.A. in Library and Information Studies from the UW-Madison.
Morgan Witte is a recent MLIS graduate from UW-Madison and worked at the Aquatic Sciences Center as a graduate project assistant with the Wisconsin Water Library. One of Witte’s projects involved a repository of groundwater reports on the Water Resources Institute website. She standardized the format and made sure information was complete to optimize the reports’ usefulness and discoverability. She has also revived the Water Library’s blog, AquaLog.
Building on the Past: Tracking Research Output and Impact, Kathryn Lage, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories / Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Katie in beautiful Bamfield, BC.
A little about Katie…
Katie Lage is the Librarian for the MLML/MBARI Research Library, the joint library of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). The MLML/MBARI Research Library collects broadly in support of research and teaching in the physical and biological marine sciences as well as ocean engineering and technology. I teach and develop programming on library research methods and on the changing landscape of scholarly communication. I have an interest in open data, data citation, authors’ rights, and in the use of GIS and geospatial data in research.
Finding Facts to Fight Fake News About the Climate Crisis, Zoe Pettway Unno, NNLM PSR Biomedical Library, University of California Los Angeles.
A little about Zoe…
Zoe Pettway Unno is the Education and Outreach Librarian at the NNLM PSR Biomedical Library, University of California Los Angeles. Zoe started her library career in the healthcare sector as a medical librarian and then the manager of Library Services and Physician Education at Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center; followed by roles as Science Librarian at California State University, Fullerton, and Science and Engineering Librarian and Head, Science and Engineering Library, at USC. She has experience in management, leadership, and science literacy in special and academic libraries. Her interests include scholarly communication, science communication, and the popularization of science. She develops outreach activities to meet the needs of diverse library users. She has presented on innovation, outreach, and science literacy in libraries.
Welcome back to our pre-conference news. With the conference less than a week away, who’s ready and rarin’ to go?!
I’ve just checked the weather and it looks like we’re in for a mostly sunny day in Port Aransas next Wednesday… and it’s just as well because we’re looking at the “Effects of Hurricane Harvey on Water Quality, Productivity and the Planktonic Food Web” this morning, which is our opening address from Dr Edward J. Buskey, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Marine Science, The University of Texas at Austin. We’re aware of the devastation Harvey caused on the surface, so it will be very interesting to hear about the effects naked to the eye.
Keri Baker and Jaime M. Goldman from Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic, Campus Library will talk to us on “Currents of Change II: Reshaping the Landscape of the University ETD Administrative Process”. It’ll be great to gear how the admin process can be changed for the better… hopefully they’ll have some recommendations on cutting down on some of the workload!!
Keri Baker and Jaime Goldman
A little about Keri…
Keri Baker is one of two subject specialist librarians at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Campus (OC) Library. In addition to her MLS degree from Florida State University, she also holds a BS in Marine Biology from Eckerd College.  She joined the team 6 years ago and helped launch the university’s institutional repository, NSUWorks. In addition to her reference work for the OC Library, she is the point person for Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography’s student, faculty and staff content in NSUWorks and actively manages all faculty and staff Selected Works profiles.
A little about Jamie…
Jaime Goldman is one of two subject specialist librarians at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Campus (OC) Library.  Jaime has a B.S. in Marine Science and Biology, with a minor in Chemistry from Coastal Carolina University; a M.S. in Marine Biology and Coastal Zone Management from NSU; and a M.S. in Library and Information Studies, from Florida State University.  Jaime has worked with the NSU Libraries for over 18 years and enjoys being able to combine her marine and library science education and experience in her work at the OC Library in providing reference and instruction services while also overseeing the library’s operation.   Jaime was part of the initial committee that designed and set up the NSUWorks IR and served as the initial liaison to the Oceanographic Campus. She also coordinated the creation of the NSU ProQuest ETD portals for dissertation and thesis submission and now chairs the NSU ProQuest ETD Administrative Group.Â
After a nice cuppa to keep you alert, we’ll hear from Michelle Leonard- Marston, Science Library, University of Florida- On “Implementing Research Integrity in Undergraduate Research”. Michelle is always great to present for us here at IAMSLIC and this is sure to be a very informative talk.
Michelle Leonard-Marston
A little about Michelle…
Michelle is the Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources Librarian at University of Florida. From 2010-2012, Michelle served as the Principal Investigator for a large National Science Foundation (NSF) grant project “Gaming Against Plagiarism,†an interactive online game about ethics in the STEM disciplines, and has served as a grant review panelist for NSF. In April 2017, Michelle received a travel award to attend the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Research Integrity Short Course on RCR Instruction (SCoRCRI). She is the co-coordinator for the UF RCR Stakeholders Group, a campus-wide initiative to bring together faculty who teach RCR in their curriculum. Michelle is also the Editor for the UF Journal of Undergraduate Research and has co-authored a book on user-driven acquisition!
We might have a chance for some networking and sunshine (a very important combination in my book!) mid-morning for those of us not involved in the IAMSLIC business & executive meetings that will follow Michelle and take us through to lunch.
Stay tuned for the next blog post to hear about the exciting line up we have after lunch. We know we’re making you green with envy, tempting you with these blog posts, but it’s still 4 days away, any chance you can convince your library to let you come join the fun?!
We’ve been telling you a bit about the conference over the last few posts and if you’re happy to keep reading, we’ll keep telling…
Next Tuesday the 22nd October is our 3rd conference day and the organisers have been kind to us for this one. After an intense few days of networking, workshops and amazing speakers, we’ll be in for a treat in the afternoon when we jump on the fun bus and head to the Harte Research Institute.
To get us in the mood for visiting a busy research institute, Tuesday will open with a welcome by Dr. Robert W. Dickey, Director, UT Marine Science Institute, Chair, Department of Marine Science. Wow, Texas are really bringing out some of its best people to greet us
Continuing on with Texas’s best, we have 2017’s Conservationist of the Year Jace Tunnell. He is the director of the Mission-Aransas Reserve, was the president of the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation from 2016 to 2018. His conservation efforts include educating the public about plastic pollution, estuarine science, and protection of our natural resources.
Jace Tunnell
Jace will deliver a morning keynote to us on ‘Hurdles with Nurdles: A Gulf-wide Citizen Science Project’. Nurdle Patrol is a citizen science project lead by the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, Texas. It is looking to gather information about where nurdles are located across the Gulf of Mexico, remove the nurdles from the environment, and create awareness about the nurdle issue to help find the source.
Nurdles are small plastic pellets and are the basis of everything plastic.
They look like food to animals, absorb toxins in the environment, and could be deadly to some animals. Jace’s keynote will discuss what a nurdle is, how they get into the environment, and what efforts are being made to reduce the number of pellets entering the waterways.
I think as library staff who work in Marine Science, this is a cause close to our hearts and we’ll be very interested on Jace’s hurdles with the nurdles!
Before we head away for the afternoon, we have an important workshop addressing on our very own IAMSLIC.
Jeanine Scaramozzino
Jeanine Scaramozzino will be leading a workshop on Reimagining the Future of IAMSLIC. i can’t think of a better way to end the afternoon, then giving our input on how the future of IAMSLIC should shape up.
A short ride into Corpus Christi will bring us to the Harte Research Institute where we’ll hear about the Institute from Dr Larry McKinney, the Senior Executive Director, followed by a keynote address from Dr Paul Montagna. This keynote will address ‘What the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Taught us about the Deep Sea’. Given our in situ location, this should prove to be a fascinating talk.
The Harte Research Institute are one of our kind sponsors this year and we are extremely grateful. We can express this appreciation when we lucky delegates get to tour the facilities and see where all the magic (I mean science!) happens!
Of course our timetable is subject to change, but that’s all part of the fun (as long as shopping time, field trips, beach parties, banquets and boat trips are not eliminated!!).
Welcome back to all our pre-conference news. We left you last time reading about the Rapid Response on the Texas Coast, from our keynote speaker Dr Jeffry Paine. Following Jeffry on day two of our conference will be Geoffrey P. Timms from the College of Charleston, South Carolina.
Geoffrey will be talking to us on “Holding Our Ground at the Edge: Influencing Perceptions of Library Value.”
A bit about Geoffrey…
Geoffrey is an academic librarian at the Marine Resources Library, College of Charleston. He has over a decade of experience in electronic resources management, public services and science librarianship, collection management, systems and web development, and leadership. Geoffrey has published over a dozen articles covering important library topics such as information literacy, citation metrics, collections management, time management, and more!
Our next port of call in our IAMSLIC community is to Mississippi, where we will hear about “Workshops that Work”. I think we’ll all be sitting up alertly for this one, it’s always great to hear how people manage to get the energy and enthusiasm going for a workshop. This workshop will be delivered by Joyce M. Shaw, Tisha Zelner, Jamie Stanfield, Justin Easterday. Learn more about this dynamic quarto below.
A little about Joyce…
Joyce Shaw has served as the Head of Gunter Library at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (Ocean Springs, MS, USA) since December 1995. In 2008 she was invited to join the faculty of University Libraries (The University of Southern Mississippi) as an associate professor, awarded tenure in 2009, and promoted to Professor in 2015. A 23-year member of the International Association of Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSIC), in 2013-2015, Shaw served as the SAIL regional affiliate’s Representative on the IAMSLIC board. She served three terms as Chair of the Special Libraries Section of the Mississippi Library Association. She is a graduate of Rosary College (now called Dominican University, River Forest, IL, USA) with an MLIS and Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL, USA) with an MA in Urban Studies. Her service activities include membership in and past-president of the Rotary Club of Ocean Springs and Co-Zone Captain for the Mississippi Coastal Clean-Up. The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, founded in 1949, is the only marine laboratory in the state of Mississippi. The Gunter Library serves the students, faculty, and researchers at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and the School of Ocean Science and Engineering at Southern Miss.
A little about Tisha…
Tisha is the Head of Public Services at Cook Library, The University of Southern Mississippi. She lead and manage all aspects of user services across three libraries, including research consultations, reference assistance, information literacy and bibliographic instruction, outreach, interlibrary loan and document delivery, circulation, course reserves, and stacks maintenance. She also provides leadership to public services librarians and staff in planning and executing departmental activities and contributes as a senior member of the Libraries’ executive team to libraries-wide planning, building design, personnel management and planning, budgeting decisions, and setting the Libraries’ strategic directions.
Justin Easterday is the Education and Human Sciences Librarian also at the Gulf Coast Library. He received his BA in history from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and his MLIS from Emporia State University. In his position, Justin functions as part of a team that establishes and improves library services, allowing the library to effectively assist students. He provides assistance with research, library instruction, collection development and additional support for faculty and students in the College of Health and Human Sciences on the Gulf Park campus. He also provides research consultations with students.
We are in very comfortable and familiar hands for the afternoon. After what I’m sure will be a fabulous Texas lunch, we’ll hear updates on “The Future of Aquatic Commons,”an IODE Update, “Possible future of the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) database” and an ASFA update.
Presenting on “The Future of Aquatic Commons: Recommendations Based on an Evaluation of Business Models and Stakeholder Consultation” will be members of the Aquatic Commons Evaluation Team. Follow the links to learn more about these members, or better yet, say howdy in person! Sally Taylor (science librarian at the University of British Columbia, Woodward Library), Stephen Alayon (IAMSLIC President-Elect and Acting Head of the Library and Data Banking Services Section, SEAFDEC/AQD in Iloilo, Philippines) Ingrid ÄŒatić (Head of Library at the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Croatia), Angela Clark-Hughes (Librarian Associate Professor and the Head Librarian of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) Library at the University of Miami), Maria Kalentsits (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy), Lisa Raymond (Co-Director of the MBLWHOI Library and Director of Library Services at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts), and Amanda Whitmire (Head of Miller Library at the Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove, California).
The “IODE Update: AIUs, ODISCat, Ocean Best Practices” will be presented by Jennifer Walton (Director of Library Services at the Marine Biological Laboratory Library and Co-Director of the MBLWHOI Library), Pauline Simpson (Programme Coordinator, Central Caribbean Marine Institute), Aida Sogaray (Librarian, Dirección Nacional de Recursos Acuáticos, Uruguay), and Lisa Raymond at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Presenting “On the Edge of Tomorrow: Possible futures of the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) database” is Diana Castillo. Diana is a recent graduate from the Dalhousie School of Information Management and now works as a librarian at Oregon State University.
Maria Kalentsits will then conclude the day’s programming with an update on the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) database.
The afternoon will open up our infamous Guin auction. For those of you who don’t know what that is, check out this great poster from Barb Butler.
We’re honoured to kick off day two of the conference with an impressive welcoming committee from the University of Texas, and of course our President Jeanine Scaramozzino. Our first morning talk will be led by Daureen Nesdill on “Ensuring the Legacy Data for the Southern Right Whale is FAIR.”
A little about Daureen…
Daureen Nesdill’s experience working in both medical and ecological research and her interest in data management led to her being named the Research Data Management Librarian at the J. Willard Marriott Library, Univ. of Utah in 2006. In this role, she led a task force investigating the services and resources necessary for the library to develop a data management program. Her responsibilities include assisting researchers with data issues, overseeing submissions to the data repository, and teaching workshops in data management, data storage options, and DMPs. In addition to her data management duties Daureen is a member of TRAIL (Technical Report Archive and Image Library) providing open access to U.S. federal technical reports.
Dr. Admanda Whitmire and Molly Engelbrechtwill follow Daureen, giving a talk on “Subversive Gatekeepers: Developing Methods For Enabling Remote Access to Hidden Collections”. Those of you who tuned into the last blog post will know Amanda from the Data Management Workshop, so here is a little on Molly.
A little about Molly…
Molly works as a Librarian in the Cadet Hand Library, Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis. She provides instruction in the use of specialized library resources to undergraduate classes, performs reference and research functions for the BML community, curates several special collections, and offers outreach services. Not only is she an active member of IAMSLIC, she also serves as an officer of the Eastern Pacific regional chapter, Cyamus.
We have another home grow hero to start our Keynote talks with Dr. Jeffrey G. Paine speaking on “Rapid Response on the Texas Coast: Acquiring Post-Harvey Lidar and Imagery to Assess Storm Impact and Monitor Recovery.”
A little about Jeff….
Jeff coordinates near-surface geophysics projects at the Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin. His principal research interest, geophysical applications in the shallow subsurface, combines an academic background in geophysics and extensive professional experience in near-surface strata. He specializes in applying borehole, surface, and airborne electromagnetic induction methods and seismic reflection and refraction methods to help solve geological, hydrological, environmental, and engineering problems. He has served as principal investigator in more than 45 studies funded by State, Federal, and regional agencies and has published more than 130 articles, reports, and abstracts. He is the 2010 recipient of the Gold Award from the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society.
We have an exciting line up to follow Dr Paine’s keynote talk which we’ll be bringing to you in the next post. We don’t want to wear you out with all the good stuff in one sitting, this is not a Texas BBQ after all. So stay glued to the blog, Twitter or Facebook page for your next installment!
We are just bursting with excitement at IAMSLIC HQ to welcome everyone to Port Aransas! Can you believe that our conference is just 11 days away!?! In fact, here’s Dave Baca, past President of IAMSLIC and current conference committee member sharing some of that excitement with you:
We promised that we’d keep you posted on all our activities and speakers for our conference, so here’s an update on that…
We’re kicking of #IamPortAransas in style with a Data Management Workshop facilitated on Sunday 20th @ 10.30am by Jessica Trelogan and Amanda Whitmire. You are in safe, knowledgeable hands here as both Jessica and Amanda are Data experts. This is a must attend event if you know nothing about Data Management, know a little, or want to advance your knowledge- it’s tailored for everyone!
Jessica Trelogan
Dr Amanda Whitmire
Jessica is on home ground, coming to us from the University of Texas Libraries and Dr Whitmire, a veteran of our IAMSLIC Conferences is Head of Miller Library at the Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford’s research outpost on the coast at Pacific Grove, California.
The Executive Board will meet following the workshop, giving the rest of us time to get ready for the B.E.A.C.H. P.A.R.T.Y.!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve very excited about this. I’ve never been to an American beach party, although I’ve been drip fed a diet of them through my TV since the early days of 90’s Beverly Hills 90210. I’m sure a Texas beach party won’t disappoint.
There will be a shrimp boil and bonfire catered by Rollin’ Tide Boil Company . The boil will include wild caught Gulf Shrimp, corn on the cob, smoked sausage, new potatoes and Vidalia onions. Vegetarian and non-shellfish options will be available. The Reception will include tents, seating, Tiki torches and several beach bonfires. Dessert is traditional and Key Lime S’mores! Music will be provided by Rollin’ Tide. Texas beer and wine, margaritas, water and iced tea will be available.
#IamPortAransas Beach Bonfire
Have we tempted you yet? Come on, join us in Texas!
For those of you who haven’t made up your mind about attending yet, we have just a few spots left on our delegate list and a very tempting programme for you to consider.
This year we are exploring the theme of Living on the Edge. Like Texas, IAMSLIC is also composed of diverse members who are either living ordinary lives in rather extraordinary circumstances or coping with unique situations at libraries and information centers. When we meet at conferences, or via listserv and web meetings, IAMSLIC helps to serve as a melting pot; a space where mixtures and exchanges of library practices, experiences, culture, and philosophies are shared among our members.
Sharing our success, failures, challenges, and strategies make up the story and history of IAMSLIC. We share a rich hybrid culture. We have members leading libraries or information centers in extreme, poor or sad situations- in a disaster risk area, in conflict areas, and with bleak funding prospects or reduced budgets, among other examples. We are constantly bombarded with issues on increasing subscription costs, mergers or closures, succession planning, and devaluing of libraries. In short, librarians and information staff live on the edge. We have an adventurous or perilous lifestyle in our mission to develop an informed and literate society. Yet despite these situations, at the end of the day, we THRIVE!
We hope that you will find this conference rewarding, informative and fun. We are excited to meet new friends, learn new cultures and have a great time. IAMSLIC is a unique organization and we want to inspire you in your career, in your workplace, and with your IAMSLIC family. Enjoy!
Over the coming days we will give you a flavour of our programme and an introduction to some of our speakers. For those of you who cannot join us in Texas, please stay tuned to this blog, our Facebook page and on Twitter @Iamslicorg and #IamPortAransas.
It is with great sadness today that IAMSLIC reflects on the life of Caroyln Winn, our founding mother, who passed away Saturday, September 21, 2019 at the age of 92.
In 1975, Carolyn Winn, the newly-hired
librarian at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Jane
Fessenden, librarian at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), sponsored the
first meeting of marine science librarians from the east coast of the US and
Canada. This was the birth of the International Association of Aquatic and
Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC).
Founder, 1975, editor journal 1989-90,
IAMSLIC president 1982-83
Carolyn is fondly remembered by this
organisation. Barbara Butler, librarian at the Oregon Institute of Marine
Biology, remembers how Carolyn once rented a red-convertible with a friend at a
conference in Hawaii and toured around the island, “I think this action gives
us an insight into the fun-loving free spirit she was!†a work/play balance is
important and she understood this. Lisa Raymond, librarian at Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), recalls that Carolyn was her first boss when
she started at WHOI in 1984 and that she was “a wonderful mentor, a true
professional. I remember seeing all the time and effort she put into
IAMSLIC – particularly the Directory. She was the first professionally trained
librarian hired by WHOI and her title was Research Librarian.â€
This organisation will forever be indebted to
Carolyn Winn. Since that first meeting in 1975, we have developed into a
thriving international community and we have Carolyn to thank for that. She was
highly accomplished in her career and IAMSLIC benefitted from this great bank
of knowledge. In just over two weeks’ time we will once again share our
success, failures, challenges, and strategies that make up the story and
history of IAMSLIC at our 45th International
IAMSLIC Conference in Port Aransas, Texas. We will remember Carolyn at this
upcoming conference and will raise a glass in her honour.
Our heartfelt condolences are with her family, friends and colleagues.
Visiting hours for Carolyn P. Winn will be held at the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield, RI 02879 on Saturday, October 5, 2019 from 3-5pm.  Condolences may be made online at: www.averystortifuneralhome.com
In a few weeks, you will receive an invitation to participate in a survey about the future of Aquatic Commons. We will seek feedback from those who have used or contributed to Aquatic Commons, OceanDocs or other repositories. In preparation for the survey, here is a brief history of Aquatic Commons and the rationale for conducting an evaluation.
The IAMSLIC Aquatic Commons repository was first proposed in 2005 as a means for smaller institutions and research organizations without sufficient technical support to make their digital publications available online. The repository, which launched in 2007 using the EPrints software, was initially hosted by the Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA) but was moved to IOC’s International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) programme in 2011 when FCLA faced budgetary issues.
Aquatic Commons has grown to a repository of over 20,000 publications from more than 90 different organizations. In partnership with IODE and FAO-ASFA, IAMSLIC has improved access to grey literature and legacy documents, and provided a way for institutions to showcase their literature. However, the repository landscape has now shifted: more IAMSLIC members maintain institutional repositories; other repository options exist for publications or datasets (e.g. OceanDocs, MarXiv Papers, Zenodo, Dryad, Pangaea); and the DSpace software is more widely used than EPrints.
The Aquatic Commons Board, which oversees the repository, recognized that the future sustainability of Aquatic Commons was a critical issue and recommended to the IAMSLIC Executive Board that an evaluation be done. The newly formed Aquatic Commons Evaluation (ACE) team identified and investigated four new business models, looking for ways to collaborate with our existing IODE and FAO-ASFA partners, reduce duplication of effort for those involved in both Aquatic Commons and OceanDocs (e.g. depositors, editors, steering groups), and streamline IT support and development for the software.
The upcoming survey will solicit your input on the four proposed business models. Survey results, combined with additional feedback gathered from key stakeholders, will be presented at the 45th IAMSLIC Annual Conference in October, and will provide direction to the IAMSLIC Executive Board on the Aquatic Commons repository and future access to aquatic sciences literature.
Regards, Sally Taylor, on behalf of the Aquatic Commons Evaluation team: Stephen Alayon, Ingrid Čatić, Angela Clark-Hughes, Maria Kalentsits, Lisa Raymond, Amanda Whitmire.
