New Hampshire Library Association - NHLA

The 2009 NHLA Spring Conference presentations, handouts, and other documents have been posted to the spring conference website. To access the materials go to either Schedule or Program in the left menu and select a Session. The documents, which may be printed or downloaded, have been included as links under each corresponding presentation session. 

More documents may be added to the website as they are received from presenters.

Please contact Melinda Raupach at melinda.raupach@unh.edu if you have any problems downloading the files.

Posted by Melinda R. at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A transcript of the 2009 Catherine Redden Lecture presented by Jean Amaral on the first day of the Spring Conference is now available to be downloaded as a PDF. (The presentation was also video recorded and will eventually be made available on YouTube. I'll post an announcement on this blog when it is available.) I highly recommend that you download the transcript and read through it, and have a conversation with your colleagues about the issues she raised.

In the meantime, here are a few excerpts from her talk entitled "Follower is the New Leader, or Leading from Anywhere."

"I’d like to talk with you about leadership in the 21st century. It is said that Voltaire wrote, 'I am a leader, therefore I must follow.”' I think it’s time we turned this idea on its head. In the 21st century, our mantra should be “I am a follower, therefore I must lead.

But let me be clear: You might think with this call to action that I am a leader myself, that I have aspirations to become a library director or head of reference, that leadership comes naturally to me. None of this is true...But the truth is, leadership does not come naturally to me, and when in situations where it’s called for, I have to work hard and consciously at it."

"In servant leadership, the leader becomes a follower, and I would argue as well, followers are more likely to become leaders...Servant Leadership is not about a personal quest for power, prestige, or material rewards. Instead . . . leadership begins with a true motivation to serve others.

Rather than controlling or wielding power, the servant-leader works to build a solid foundation of shared goals by (1) listening deeply to understand the needs and concerns of others; (2) working thoughtfully to help build a creative consensus; and (3) honoring the paradox of polarized parties and working to create ‘third right answers’ that rise above the compromise of ‘we/they’ negotiations.

The focus of Servant Leadership is on sharing information, building a common vision, self-management, high levels of interdependence, learning from mistakes, encouraging creative input from every team member, and questioning present assumptions and mental models.” (p. 144) Now that’s leadership I can get behind, and leadership I want to strive for in my own actions as a follower."

You can download the full speech here and soon it willbe available on the Catherine Redden Lecture Series webpage as well.

Posted by Steve B. at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thanks to the generosity of New Hampshire librarians, $525 was raised through the spring conference raffle at Attitash. Thank you to all the libraries, individuals, sections of NHLA and co-ops that donated either items for the raffle baskets or entire baskets! Thank you also to the librarians who purchased tickets over the course of the two day event. Annually, the money raised is designated for a fall conference speaker. Thanks again!

Sean Fleming / NHLA Ways and Means Committee

Posted by Sean F. at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Come one! Come all! Librarians, Library workers, Trustees, Friends of Libraries, and past, present, or future library leaders...

This summer, the New England Library Association will present a unique opportunity for you to attend a mindful and meaningful mini-conference in the New England region. This is NELA Counterparts.

Counterparts 2009 is a two-day educational event for NELA members, state library association members, consortia members and any other interested persons. Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, July 16-17 on the Connecticut College (New London) campus, this year's program is no exception.

Thursday afternoon's presentation will be "The Role of Libraries in Promoting Civic Engagement" with keynote speaker Dr. Nancy Kranich, Civic Librarian, Past President ALA, and Lecturer and Special Projects Librarian at Rutgers University.

With a minimal cost for a dorm room overnight, Friday's session includes a component of information exchange among attendees and association officers.

Please join us beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 16th and concluding Friday, July 17th by 1:00 p.m. This 24-hour program offer is an exceptional learning and networking experience among library workers in all of New England. The NELA Counterparts experience builds stronger organizations and creates opportunities to make personal contacts that last a lifetime.

You are welcome to sign up for any or all events, including Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening (wine and dinner), Thursday overnight, and/or Friday morning session. The program will conclude Friday by 1:00 p.m. and a boxed lunch will be provided.

There is a Friday night overnight option for participants. spend the afternoon and evening on the Connecticut coastline. Connecticut College is easy driving distance to Mystic Seaport, Mystic Aquarium, and the Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods casinos and other attractions.

For information on our Speaker, conference details and registration forms, see http://nelib.org/counterparts. 

Registrations will be accepted until June 30th.

Confirmation, agenda and directions will be sent upon receipt of registration.

Kris Jacobi, NELA Counterparts 2009 Chairperson

Posted by Judy H. at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RTG committee wants to thank the NHLA Conference committee for a fabulous 2 days!  Our "READS-TO-GO Wants to Know" session was well-attended and provided us with much to think about.  We hope everyone's questions were answered, but if not, feel free to email me directly (dmayr@library.windham.nh.us).

I want to apologize for my ineptness in showing attendees how to find a list of RTG kit titles on the NHU-PAC.  It seems I was in the NHSL catalog and not the NHU-PAC!  Duh!

To find a list, go to the NHU-PAC and type READS-TO-GO [kit] into the "title contains" search box.  (You can also do a title search in the ILL screen).  This should bring up all the titles.  You can also type in READS-TO-GO without [kit], but you will get a few extraneous titles.

It was suggested by attendees, that if you want to borrow a kit you should call or email the host library before putting in a request through the automated ILL system.  Many kits have holds, so the host libraries will tell you how they want to handle the request.

We received many suggestions of titles to be included in the future book discussion kits--many thanks!  Christine Tarrio was the winner of our "Rewards" prize.

There was a suggestion that The Time Traveler's Wife be a kit.  It already is!  The kit is held by the Dover P.L.

Other suggested titles do not fall within our guidelines.  For instance, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.  This book came out in 1989 and does not qualify as current.  Another suggestion was Deep Economy by Bill McKibben.  This title is current, and it is discussable, but there is no demand for it.  If a group wants to use it, then there are 70+ libraries that own the title.  Our mission is to provide kits of titles that are in high demand.  The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson was suggested also.  This title is a young adult book, and goal is to provide material for adult readers.

I will write more about RTG in the days to come!  --Diane Mayr

Posted by Diane M. at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Please don't be put off by the title, "A Short Course on Patent Reference for Science and Technology Librarians" (from the Spring 2009 issue of Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship) is useful for any librarian whether you work in a science and technology library or not. This is a very well-written and accessible introduction to patent reference. The author, Linda Shackle, is the Coordinator for Science & Engineering Services/Engineering Librarian at the Noble Science & Engineering Library. Shackle covers U.S. and international patents, free web databases, a section on legal advice, and includes an annotated webliography of free web sources.

Bookmark the article and look forward to impressing your patrons with your amazing patent reference skills! As always, if you need any help, feel free to call or email us the Law Library or better yet, call the experts at Pierce Law Library where intellectual property is their specialty.

Posted by Mary S. at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Spring Conference registration deadline has been extended to Monday, May 11th.  It's not too late to send in your Registration Form and join us on May 19th and 20th at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel & Conference Center.

Check out the NHLA Conference website for more information on accommodations, registration, programming, and vendors.  

We hope to see you there!

Posted by Melinda R. at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)