The Silverfish - March/April 1998

The Newsletter of the Association of Library and Information Science Students

[Formerly the Sojourner]
March/April 1998

ALISS Constitution with Proposed Revisions
Book Sale
Letter from President
From the GSLIS Computer Lab
New: Evening Degree Liaision
Early Warning: ALISS & ASIS Elections

SPRING BOOKSALE APRIL 9-10 The ALISS Spring Book Sale is coming Thursday and Friday, April 9-10, in the alcove of By George. Proceeds from the sale help pay for convocation, conference scholarships, snacks, and parties.

This is a chance for you to unload your bookshelves. Donations can be put in the collection boxes located in SUZ 127, the GSLIS Office, and the Student Lounge. If you have A LOT of books, or know of someone who would like to donate but cannot bring the books to campus, a pickup can be arranged.

Contact David Wright at ddwright@u.washington.edu. Volunteers will be needed for a sorting party (Wednesday, April 8) and for the sale, so keep your calendars free.

Contact Laura Tanji at ltanji@u.washington.edu if you'd like to volunteer. For more information about the sale, please contact me at riesland@u.washington.edu.

Melissa Riesland, ALISS Secretary

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GSLIS Lab is Hiring

GSLIS Lab is Hiring!! The GSLIS Computer Lab is now hiring student helpers for the Spring Quarter. Duties include assisting users with basic computing skills, searching the Internet and various on-line vendors such as, Dialog, Datastar, Lexis-Nexis, etc.

Qualifications: GSLIS major standing; previous computer experience. Salary: $7.00/hour

All positions are part-time up to 19.5 hours a week. Applications are available at the GSLIS Office and the Computer Lab. If you have any questions please contact:

Scott Schramke (schram@u.washington.edu), 543-2869 or
Judith Nyman-Schaaf (nschaaf@u.washington.edu), 543-1794

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Letter From the President

Hi!

I'm sooooo glad the quarter is almost over (and if I were done with all my LIS 530 homework, I'd be in rapture). First of all, congratulations to everyone who's graduating this quarter! You've worked hard and now it's time to kick back and savor the triumph. (Or start job-hunting for real.)

As you may have heard via the rumor mill (or by assiduously checking uwash.gslis on a daily basis), there's been quite a lot going on around GSLIS this quarter.

2 director-candidates have visited (Michael Eisenberg and Judith Klavans) and met with about a dozen students over in the HUB for Q/A sessions.

The Committee on Accreditation preparation goes on relentlessly. Your student reps deserve your thanks and encouragement -- they're doing great work representing YOUR interests. It's a time consuming activity, but necessary and worthwhile.

Dr. Hiatt announced his retirement in June. Rumor is some of his books are coming the Book sale ...

Silverfish got a new editor, Brian Bannon (bbannon@u, who is debuting this very issue!); and the ALISS web page got a new Webgoddess, Emily Schultz (shamrock@u.washington.edu).

SALA got new officers - Dana Bostrom (bostrom@u), Lorena O'English (oenglish@u) and Susi Swis (sswis@u); and SLA is losing 2 to graduation this quarter (Raney Newman and Julia Parker).

Andy Wickens organized a field trip to the Braille Library.

SLA and ASIS cosponsored the most successful Student Resume Night in recent years, with an almost 1:1 ratio of students to resume-reviewing professionals!

This was followed in short order by the GSLIS Alumni Association's Winter Dessert Soiree, which was a success on the level of networking as well as on the level of very yummy desserts.

ASIS arranged for a serial room reservation in the HUB and we inaugurated our own 'brown bag/colloquia' with a visit from Vonda McIntyre. Next quarter our speakers will include Geri Bunker on the UW's Digital Library projects, and Kathy Forsythe on the Dublin Core.

Now that the quarter is racing to a close, we can all take a deep breath and veg ... a little bit, anyway! When we get back Spring Quarter, we'll be voting on the ALISS constitution revision (see elsewhere in this issue and on the website), having the Spring Book sale, getting resume workshops and other job/career events scheduled, and preparing for Convocation.

If you plan to participate in Convocation, your input is needed NOW. Yes, it does seem way toooooooo soon to be thinking about it, but the **room** has been reserved for 2 years! The "basic template" is already set (HUB West Ballroom, Husky Catering -- e.g., cake, coffee, veggies, punch; one guest speaker -- probably Deborah Jacobs, new SPL head unless other nominations are forthcoming; cost -- graduates free, everybody else $5 each). Could we have something different? Probably -- but it will require

some ideas,
some bodies/volunteers,
probably some changes in the pricing,
INTEREST from the folks who are most immediately affected.

If this isn't what you had in mind, YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW NOW (and be specific!). Also be prepared to be asked if you're willing to put in some time/energy to have something different!

Zoe

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New: Evening Degree Liaison

Brian DeBroux (bdebroux@u) is our first ALISS Evening Degree Liaison. This position represents and advocates for the interests of GSLIS Evening Degree students, including (but not limited to): the scheduling of courses to be offered outside day hours; class times; lab hours; availability of required materials and resources; program equability between day/evening. The Evening Degree Liaison will be the official channel of communication between evening students and GSLIS administration, ALISS, and/or other organizations.

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Early Warning: ALISS & ASIS Elections

Interested in student government or liaison/committee opportunities? Next quarter, both ALISS and ASIS will hold their elections.

Background: While ASIS elections have always been held Spring Quarter, over the past five years ALISS elections have been held in the Fall. There are good reasons for holding elections in either quarter:

In the Fall a whole new crop of energetic first-year students arrives, eager to get involved. They bring new ideas, new personalities, and the charm of GSLIS-innocence.

Generally, second-year students don't run for office in the Fall, though there is no prohibition against their candidacy. Many second-year students have fieldwork/internship opportunities or part-time jobs to juggle. Additionally, many second-years graduate in December or March, which shortens their availability.

Spring elections let the folks who will be second-years in the coming year participate as officers.

Outgoing and incoming officers have Summer Quarter to catch up on what's involved, plan for the upcoming year, and ease into things -- rather than start at a dead run in the insanity that is Fall Quarter.

Both ALISS and ASIS officers will be happy to discuss their offices and job duties with you if you're interested. As you may have noticed, much of the activity around GSLIS is generated by the student organizations, including fieldtrips, conference participation/scholarships, workshops (resumes, business cards, etc.), and social activities.

Be a part of making it happen -- you're needed and welcome!

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Edited by Brian A. Bannon (last updated 3/13/98)
Border background from Bordertown