On April 9, 2021 we celebrated six years of SENYCon, and our second virtual year!
SENYCon is an annual conference to highlight the unique talents and skills that are held by the library professionals in the Southeastern region. This event is made possible due to an outpouring of enthusiasm from our members, and the event is free for all Southeastern members. We hope you can join us! View materials from previous events, including the SENYCon 2021 Prequel, on this LibGuide.
Both academic and public libraries are represented, and the event was open to all. Please see all the recordings and program materials below.
Presenters: John Santana, Columbia-Greene Community College
Program Title: Weeding as social justice
Time: 10:00am-10:25am
Program Description: You may not realize how many items in your collections feature sexist language, discredited claims, gender-specific language, and even racist imagery. At Columbia-Greene Community College we were stunned to discover just how many books were outdated - and not just in terms of the information carried within.
Presenters: Rajene Hardeman (MHLS, Wikimedia and Libraries User Group, Wikimedia NYC)
Program Title: Librarians and WikiData. A short tour.
Time: 10:30am-11:00am
Program Description: 20 minutes to present. Ten minutes to provide follow-up suggestions for further Q&A and networking.
There is a global movement among “Wikibrarians” to show the value of Wikidata for librarians, whether building collections, employing linked data, monitoring citations or tracking authors and genres. Utilizing Wikidata tools stretches from the very basic (adding entries) through technical data diving and exploratory visualizations.
Fortunately, librarians across the globe are willing to share and teach the necessary skills for novices as well as those looking to manage complicated queries.
This 20-minute presentation would sample brief case studies where librarians in both the U.S. and international libraries are managing Wikidata to their advantage.
By canvasing contacts and their projects within three of my networking groups (IFLA Wikidata working group, Wikimedia NYC, and Wikimedia and Libraries User Group), I can provide a sampling of Wikidata implementations. The aim is to assemble and present a fast paced “tour” of how libraries are using Wikidata across the globe.
Follow-up online Q&A to engage attendees.
Presenters: Jaclyn Savolainen, Dutchess Community College, as prepared by Tina Kiernan, Dutchess Community College
Program Title: Public FAQs in LibChat
Time: 11:05am-11:25am
Program Description: Besides the traditional AskUs24/7 policy page, Springshare allows for the creation of public FAQs. DCC started creating FAQs and has found then useful for students and librarians alike.
Presenters: Veronica Reynolds
Program Title: Lights, Camera, Edit! Quick Tips on Making Basic YouTube Videos
Time: 11:30am-12:00pm
Program Description: YouTube became a critical tool for libraries this year. Learn how to set up a simple, low cost studio that can be folded away, then make easy edits in iMovie and upload the results to YouTube with attractive thumbnails.
Program Title: All Are Welcome Here: Creating a Drag Queen Story Hour
Presenter: Cheryl Baker, Children's Librarian, Haverstraw Public Library
The speaker has pre-recorded this video and will be available for Q&A at lunchtime.
Program Description: I ran the very first Drag Queen Story Hour held in the RCLS library system. In my presentation I want to give some tips about how to put together a DQSH program. I will talk about how to find a Drag Queen, how to select books, and what kinds of crafts are fun to do in your DQSH. I will also discuss what kinds of responses you might get from patrons and how to deal with questions and challenges.
Presenters: Sarah Holsted, Southeastern
Program Title: Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition - Disaster Planning for Libraries
Time: 12:50pm-1:10pm
Program Description: The presentation is the capstone to the Project RESILIENT webinar series funded through a grant from the National Library of Medicine. The goal of the grant was to provide library staff with the resources to be resilient in the face of job-related stress and to provide library staff with resources about preparing for and communicating during emergencies or disasters in libraries and in their communities. This presentation will highlight key lessons and resources from each webinar and include a resource guide that attendees can share with colleagues and patrons.
Project website: https://libguides.senylrc.org/ResilientWorkshops/Home
Presenters: Joanna Goldfarb, Ramapo Catskill Library System; Lisa Kochik, Newburgh Free Library; Katrina Hohlfeld, Valley Cottage Library
Program Title: Shonen on a Shoestring: Cooperating to Attack Colossal Manga Series
Time: 1:15pm-1:45pm
Program Description: Cooperative eBook purchasing has the potential to increase an individual library's "bang for their buck," and help better serve their patrons who read e-materials. However, some popular graphic novels, manga, and other lengthy series are hard to justify spending a huge chunk of a single library's funds to acquire en masse. By working with other libraries in a system, it is possible to split the cost for purchase of the complete run of titles, or coordinate which series to acquire in order to expand the borrower's options.
During Covid lock down, teen librarians throughout the Ramapo Catskill Library System did just that: cooperated and coordinated eBook orders to expand the RCLS Consortium manga collection. Presenters will share how the idea came about during a regional Teen Librarians meeting, how participating librarians worked together to decide which series to purchase, getting the word out to teens and other manga fans, and the impact of coordinated manga purchasing on the eBook collection and teen population.
Presenters: Jenny Chin, Clinton Community Library
Program Title: Digital Work Management with Asana
Time: 1:45pm-2:05pm
Program Description: Organization is important in working efficiently and effectively in libraries. It helps reduce stress and allows you to have more time to tackle work that matters. Perhaps you already use some forms of digital management like online calendars or to-do lists -- but what happens when these simple tools don’t feel like enough? In this presentation, you will learn about the useful features of Asana, a popular project management application, to streamline routine tasks, and even manage complex projects. We will also go over the use of templates, collaboration with team members, as well as tips to help you get started successfully. No matter your position within an organization, getting organized is the key.
Presenters: Beth Zambito, Newburgh Free Library
Program Title: Hiring for Change
Time: 2:10pm-2:40pm
Program Description: What happens when long-time employees retire, and you need to fill a number of key roles while facilitating the change needed to move an organization forward? Hear about lessons learned from a hiring manager on how to create and communicate your vision and strategy for a sustainable staffing model that considers modern librarianship, community needs and inevitable staff turn-over in the face of long-held structures and culture within an organization. Opportunities and challenges inherent to the process of hiring with change in mind will be discussed, as well as the management and communication needed to make it work.
Presenters: Chrissy O'Grady, SUNY New Paltz and Adrianna Martinez, SUNY New Paltz
Program Title: Born Digital Pandemic Internship: creating a digital humanities internship utilizing critical librarianship
Time: 2:45pm-3:15pm
Program Description: This presentation is a reflection on the work of two early career librarians to establish a remote digital history internship during the Fall 2020 semester. This presentation will discuss the initial internship idea, pedagogy, successes, challenges, and things to consider moving forward.
The internship utilizes the trial version of Omeka, a digital collection publishing platform, to create an open digital conversation about undergraduate student experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The internship was developed in two parts: first by introducing the intern to concepts in critical librarianship, the digital humanities field and sustainable digital collection practices; and second by collaboratively shaping the internship based on student interest and personal impacts. While the initial scope of the internship was to focus on the pandemic, a priority in this program is student voice, the intern was particularly interested in expanding the scope of the project to include events and movements that occurred in 2020 including the Black Lives Matter movement, the environmental crisis, and the U.S. political election. The internship takes a critical theory approach to librarianship and digital history, allowing the intern to explore concepts of white supremacy, digital collecting, oral history, and representation.
Attendees will be encouraged to engage with presentation concepts through tiered reflective questions.