LAMP @ ALA

LAMP participated in the Diversity and Outreach Fair at the 2010 American Library Association Conference in Washington D.C. this weekend. With eye-catching light-up buttons as well as a poster, flyers, and brochures, LAMP representatives from University of Illinois (Nathan and Amani) and University of Wisconsin (Darcy) recruited and explained their mission to librarians and library students who passed by.

Some of the most frequently asked questions:

1. Q: What is LAMP?

A: LAMP (LIS Access Midwest Program) is a regional alliance of 10 Midwest universities and their libraries that encourages students from historically underrepresented groups to enter the field of library and information science. The program offers undergraduate (and graduate) students a number of opportunities to increase their awareness of the LIS field. LAMP provides students with mentoring, internships, and financial assistance in the form of fellowships once the student is admitted to one of the schools in the alliance.

2. Q: Who funds LAMP?

A: Grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

3. Q: What universities participate in LAMP?

A: Ten universities in four Midwestern states

Illinois

• Dominican University
• University of Chicago
• University of Illinois at Chicago
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Michigan

• Michigan State University
• Wayne State University

Ohio

• Ohio University – Alden Library

Wisconsin

• Marquette University
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The answers to these and other questions can be found on LAMP's website under LAMP FAQ.

In the News: Why Information Matters

There's good information and bad information out there, and being able to tell which is which is critical to making good decisions... and reporting the news accurately. Polling company Research 2000 whose statistics were widely distributed on blogs and internet news sources like Daily Kos has been accused of fabricating thousands of statistics.

My housemate brought this story to my attention because it directly affects his dissertation research-- about 5% of the data he's using came from Research 2000. He now has to re-do his statistics and crunch the numbers all over again. Students as well as reports should take warning: not all statistics (or data) are neutral!

Polling wars: Kos takes on Research 2000

Daily Kos Plans to Sue Polling Company

Certificate in Advanced Study for Rural Librarianship. Apply Now!

"The University of North Texas Department of Library and Information
Sciences received a grant from the Robert and Ruby Priddy Charitable
Trust to assist rural public libraries in Texas. Funding will support a
three-year project, Promoting & Enhancing the Advancement of Rural
Libraries (PEARL). The goal of the project is to enhance the role of
public libraries in targeted rural communities in Texas.


Five scholarships are available for students to complete a Certificate
of Advanced Study in Rural Librarianship. The students selected will
have tuition and fees paid for to complete a Certificate of Advanced
Study (CAS) with all classes delivered online beginning with the Fall
2010 Semester. This is for post-masters study and most of the credits
can be applied toward a doctorate. Students will have two courses per
semester paid for. They will have their way paid to the Texas Library
Association each year, to a workshop at UNT at the beginning of each
year, and to a yearly forum with region librarians. Additionally, they
will have the following paid for: a webcam, internet access, cell phone
plan, and a new laptop. The scholarships will be closed as soon as five
acceptable candidates are identified and their full admission status is
completed.

For more information about the grant and scholarship please go to
http://pearl.unt.edu"

Funding Opportunity: ARL receives new grant for diversity recruitment

This press release about ARL's new diversity-related grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services just came through my Google Reader. This program (see ARL Diversity Programs) is similar to LAMP in that it offers financial and mentoring support for students from under-represented groups seeking to attend library school. It appears that the program intends to provide career counseling and other support services to graduates as well.

Here's a sample from the press release. The whole thing can be found at http://www.arl.org/news/pr/IRDW-grant-17June10.shtml

"ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce Awarded IMLS Grant

Washington DC--The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has been awarded a grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st-Century Librarian Program in the amount of $543,014 to fund the next iteration of the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW). The IRDW will provide support for graduate school in library and information science and other professional development opportunities to 30 students from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups over the next three years. Recruitment for the program will focus on students with academic training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. Participants in the IRDW, known as ARL Diversity Scholars, receive a generous compensation package over the course of two years and numerous other benefits..."

Check out ARL Diversity Programs if you're interested in applying to the Initiation to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW) or other scholarships.

LAMP: friending and tweeting

You can friend the Library Access Midwest Program on Facebook and see photos from the 2010 Summer Institute and past institutes and activities!

Check out some pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=237318&id=175204709545

LAMP is also on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lampprogram

This is a great way to get updates on LAMP and network with scholars at other schools.

This is your brain on crackberries

On the Muskegon ferry ride across Lake Michigan on my way to the LAMP Institute, I noticed tons of passengers entertaining themselves with information. Many read books, of course, but I also saw people texting, playing games on their cellphones, using Kindles, doing business on netbook laptops, and watching Dora the Explorer DVDs with their kids on personal DVD players. One fellow LAMP attendee was Googling jobs in the middle of Lake Michigan on his Blackberry (at least until he could no longer get a signal).

All these technological distractions got me wondering: Do we even know how to be idle anymore? Instead of standing on deck and appreciating the boat ride and the wind in their hair, most passengers were in the cabin, entertaining or informing themselves with technology. This article in the New York times seems to support my suspicion: computers are addictive and sometimes multitasking is not as efficient as we think.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html

A sufferer of iPhone-envy myself (the reference librarian in me wants to be able to instantly find out when the Sears Tower became the Willis Tower while I'm walking down Jackson Street in Chicago), I have resisted getting a smartphone-- or as a friend calls hers, a "Crackberry"-- in order to protect myself from information overload. Librarians of the future need to think about the implications of a world where information is always turned "on."

Ferry Photos!

Here are the Madison LAMPers on the Milwaukee-Muskegon Ferry.



(Photos courtesy of Pang Xiong.)