DLIS Spring Symposium 2015 Photo Gallery

View images of the day’s event below:

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St. John’s DLIS Co-Sponsors Major Long Island Library Event

April 16, 2015 – In conjunction with both the Nassau and Suffolk County Library Associations, DLIS co-sponsored and hosted the Long Island Libraries and Pop Culture Conference (LIPopCon) at the St. John’s Oakdale Campus. Event activities spanned different locations on campus, including the Bourne Mansion and the Benilde Library. Held between 9 and 4:30, attendees were provided breakfast and lunch, as well as numerous opportunities for networking and meeting new people. DLIS students could be seen tabling the event alongside independent artists and book signing booths operated by the day’s guest speakers.

PopCon2015: An Analysis of Event Themes in Presentations

Speakers at the day’s event sought to shed the negative beliefs and stereotypes of graphic novels and comics and establishing a greater presence in libraries and library services. Adamant in presentations, beliefs in the power of visuals and visual literacy as tools for increased engagement with the library. An independent comic artist and writer panel, a St. John’s University Librarian and Instructor, and a panel of public and academic librarians addressed these issues in their presentations.

Long Island PopCon 2015: Photo Gallery

View images of the St. John’s co-sponsored event below:

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DLIS Student Presents Research at METRO Annual Conference

Emily Griffin, DLIS Student

There is no limit to your education in library and information science. Independent studies in librarianship allow students to explore field topics that do not have specific courses at an institution. DLIS student Emily Griffin recently engaged in an independent study of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) through the Map Warper software. Map Warper is a GIS program and open source tool that allows users to impose current Google Maps data onto existing and historical maps. Griffin first gained experience with Map Warper by working on the New York Public Library (NYPL) project to create a digital gazetteer as part of an Academic Service-Learning project. The NYPL Map Warper is displayed on digitized maps for historical places in New York City. Griffin applied her experience and insight to the tool’s usefulness in a St. John’s University undergraduate Discover New York course project with adjunct faculty member Caroline Fuchs.

SLA Student Group Visits the Bronx Zoo

Members of the SLA@SJU, the student chapter of the Special Libraries Association, took a trip to the Bronx Zoo on April 11^th to tour the Wildlife Conservation Society Library and Archives. Led by archivist Madeleine Thompson, the students had a chance to speak with librarians and other archivists about highly specialized collections.

Event Recap: “Libraries Change Lives”

Approximately 80 St. John’s students, faculty, staff, alumni, librarians and patrons of the Suffolk County Library System, friends and family gathered at the Oakdale campus’ Bourne Mansion Saturday, March 15 to hear from guest speakers ALA President, Barbara Stripling and Christian Zabriskie of Urban Libraries Unite.

Administrative Assistant Linda Russell and Graduate Assistant Ally Mercado welcomed guests as they arrived, offering program folders and gift bags, and pointing out the free hot breakfast, tea and coffee available for an hour before the program officially began.

Dr. Shari Lee to Present at the Long Island Library Resources Council 2014 Conference

DLIS Associate Professor Dr. Lee will conduct a presentation on her latest research, Creating Authentic Teen Spaces in Public Libraries, at the Melville Marriott Vanderbilt Room during Session II of the Conference.

Dr. Lee was recently awarded ALISE/Norman Horrocks Award for exemplar professional leadership within the organization.  She has been an ALISE member since 2008, when she joined as a doctoral student whose dissertation Teen Space:  Designed for Whom won the 2011 Eugene Garfield/ALISE Doctoral Dissertation Award.  Currently, Dr. Lee serves as St. John’s DLIS Youth Services and Librarianship specialist.

Dr. Lee’s presentation will explore the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit, with a understanding of the effects of architecture and design on behaviors – specifically with regards to teen spaces in public libraries.  Dr. Lee will approach the topic of “an authentic public library space for teens is one that accommodates teens and their cultural practices in [a] meaningful way.”

To find out more information about the event, please visit the SJU DLIS Newsletter’s Upcoming Events page.

 Progressive Librarians Guild

One year after its establishment, the St. John’s Chapter of the Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) is gathering momentum and establishing itself as a resource in the Division for critically examining some of the often unacknowledged political issues and challenges that we will face as LIS professionals, and for coming up with strategies for solidarity and action around these issues.

The PLG hosted a well-attended panel at the DLIS symposium in March featuring presentations by alumni Kate Angell and Robert Weiss, and current MLS student Katrina Ortega (Martinez).

The group holds regular informal meetings and is currently laying the groundwork for two service projects involving collaboration with local community organizations to meet the information needs of their constituencies. All of our activities are open to the wider DLIS community, including students, faculty, and alumni. For more information please contact Christian Collins at christian.collins10@stjohns.edu