Against the Grain v34#4

Thanks to Leah Hinds, Executive Director of the Charleston Hub, who has taken over writing Rumors!  But y’all know me, there are still some Rumors that I want to personalize as long as I can.  Also, please read Tom Gilson’s News & Announcements on the Charleston Hub.  They are full of all the news you need to know!  http://www.charleston-hub.com/

Movers and Shakers

Got a note from the always-on-the-move Jack Montgomery!  Jack is still working at Georgia Southern in government documents, but he and his delightful wife Lesley will be moving to New Orleans within the next few months.  Lesley finished her MILS last May and has accepted a position as a professional librarian at Tulane!  Wow!  They are selling their house in Statesboro and looking at real estate in New Orleans.  I have invited them both to the 2022 Charleston Conference!  Stay tuned! 

Meanwhile, had a delightful lunch meeting here on Sullivan’s Island with Salvy Trojman, Managing Director, Canada Commons and The Trojman Corporation.  Salvy will not be at the Charleston Conference because he will be vacationing in France.  Poor guy.  Salvy’s son William has just enrolled in the Charleston School of Law and is interested in entertainment law.  Exciting!  Oh to be young again!  Salvy was an ATG Star of the Week back in 2014 when he was at Gale:  http://www.charleston-hub.com/2014/01/atg-star-of-the-week-salvy-trojman-director-digital-archive-program-canada-gale-cengage-learning/.

Talk about moving around, the awesome Darrell Gunter is just back from the 9th Annual International Peer Review Congress in Chicago.  BTW Underline has produced 250+ successful Hybrid/Virtual conferences.  https://peerstage.wpengine.com/peer-review-congress-2022-program/

Speaking of which, I am looking forward to reading Darrell’s new book, Transforming Scholarly Publishing with Blockchain Technologies and AI.

Rest in Peace

Many of us have been and continue to be riveted and saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. I was quite young when she was crowned but I remember exactly where I was in our house in Richmond, Virginia. Here are a few memories from the British Library and the Library of Congress. 

https://www.bl.uk/news/2022/september/her-majesty-queen-elizabeth-ii

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2022/09/rest-in-peace-queen-elizabeth-ii/

We here in Charleston are sad to learn of the passing of the marvelous Deanna Marcum on August 16, 2022, and James Robert Rettig on August 17, 2022.  Two famous and well-respected librarians.  May we remember them always for their leadership and humility and may they rest in peace.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/williamsburg-va/james-rettig-10891765

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/deanna-marcum-obituary?id=36281377

Charleston Conference News

The Charleston Conference decided to take a chance with the 2022 conference!  We are having two conferences for the price of one (in person November 1-4;  and virtual November 14-18) depending on the preferences of our attendees.  Currently, we have over 1,000 registrants and over 126 vendors at the Vendor Showcase and the early bird registration is still in force!  So far, around 75% of registrants plan to attend in person.  Thanks to everyone for supporting the Charleston Conference!  Come one, come all!  Greatly looking forward! 

Our Charleston Vendor Showcase will have some new surprises in store this year!  We’re excited to feature a scavenger hunt (with prizes, of course!), an Opening Brunch with Bloody Mary and Mimosa Bar (sponsored by our friends at Better World Books) and the Welcome Reception will feature some special cocktails and treats sponsored by Helper Systems, located in the Gaillard Grand Ballroom Prefunction Room B.  Not to mention the Vendor Showcase luncheon and afternoon refreshments, plus all the great vendor swag from our participating exhibitors!  Make plans to be there!!!  And if you’re still on the fence about exhibiting, we do still have a couple of spaces available.  Contact the incredible Toni Nix for details:  <justwrite@lowcountry.com>. 

Thanks also to all of our amazing conference sponsors!  The conference as we know it wouldn’t be possible without support from our friends in the industry.  We still have a few sponsorship options available, contact Caroline Goldsmith for details:  <caroline@charlestonlibraryconference.com>.  

Are you a fan of the Wheel of Time book series, or have you watched the new Amazon Prime show?  Did you know that the author, Robert Jordan, was from Charleston?  One of our conference attendees and presenters contacted us with a question about organizing a tour of the special collections exhibit housed at the College of Charleston and we were glad to help make that happen!  Here’s a description of the tour, scheduled to take place on Thursday, November 3, at noon for conference attendees:  “Among the many treasures held in the Special Collections of the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library are the collected papers of Robert Jordan, author of the best-selling Wheel of Time fantasy series — today a hit show on Amazon Prime.  Join us for the story of the making of this world-wide literary phenomenon, told through these unique materials by Dr. Michael Livingston, professor at The Citadel and author of the forthcoming book Origins of the Wheel of Time: The Legends and Mythologies that Inspired Robert Jordan (Tor, 2022).”  A huge thank you to Paula Sullenger, Associate Dean for Information Resources at Texas A&M University Libraries, for suggesting the tour and helping with the organization, along with Heather Gilbert and Kelly Hudson at the Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, and Michael Livingstone from the Citadel! 

Bet You Missed It has got a new look thanks to Caroline Goldsmith.  These updates will be sent to our email list every other Friday.  Check it out and let us know what you think! 

Speaking of “Bet You Missed It,” did you see the recent press release from Cadmore Media?  In case you missed it, here are some excerpts:

“The 42nd annual Charleston Library Conference, the beloved and unique event that brings thousands of librarians, publishers, and vendors together to engage with the issues confronting the industry, will be hosted on Cadmore Media’s event platform.

“The in-person event will take place November 1-4, 2022, and attendees will be able to view the schedule and watch livestreamed keynotes on the Cadmore platform, via the device of their choice.  The virtual portion of the conference, occurring November 14-18, will include all the sessions from the in-person event, as well as exclusive online content and networking options designed for the virtual environment.

“‘We are thrilled to be working with the Cadmore Media team for the 2022 Charleston Conference,’ says Leah Hinds, Executive Director of the Charleston Hub.  ‘We recently commissioned a survey on in-person and virtual attendance options, and it’s clear from the results that our attendees value the opportunity to attend and present in both formats.  Cadmore will help us achieve our goals of offering the best possible conference experience to our attendees in Charleston and online.’

“Violaine Iglesias, CEO and co-founder of Cadmore, added ‘As long-time attendees of the Charleston conference, the Cadmore team is delighted to help Charleston continue their mission of connecting the scholarly communications community in a collegial and collaborative way.’”  See the full press release at http://www.charleston-hub.com/2022/09/press-release-cadmore-media-to-host-2022-charleston-conference/. 

In Other News

This news is from the eagle-eyed Ramune Kubilius.  She encloses a press release from Catherine Lavallée-Welch, 2022 SLA President.

“I am delighted to announce that SLA will collaborate with the Medical Library Association (MLA) on our 2023 conference, rather than SLA having its own 2023 annual conference.  Our objective is to strengthen our value proposition for SLA and MLA members and SLA’s financial sustainability.  Growing the diversity, inclusion and size of our conference is exciting and an essential pathway.  Your conference experience will be enriched by contributed content from SLA and MLA members, additional special content programming that MLA and SLA will jointly develop, and broader community engagement opportunities.  As with this year, there will continue to be virtual elements for those who cannot attend in person.  Please plan to join us in Detroit, Michigan, May 16-19.  More details will be provided in the next few weeks, including the call for content and programming, and we look forward to engaging with our MLA colleagues next May.”  https://www.sla.org/

Thanks as always for reading!  Until next time!