Against the grain v34#6

If I’m being honest, we’re running a bit behind schedule in getting this issue out to you, our dear readers.  Is it just me or does it seem like January has 45 days in the month?  I guess that’s a good thing in some cases when you can sit by the fire and nap like Mole and Ratty, but not when you have deadlines to meet and miles to go before you sleep!  So let’s get on with the show!

2022 Charleston Conference: Fond Remembrances 

I really enjoyed this conference a lot!  I know, I know, I always enjoy the conference.  One of my favorite innovations this year was a drop-in at the Mark Clark Suite in the Francis Marion Hotel!  This was an innovation dreamed up by the magnificent Leah Hinds, and catered by her team of husband Patrick, sister Caroline, conference registrar Sharna Williams, conference mentor Shirley Davidson, and many more.  I just wish we could have more of these drop ins!  I was unable to get to several of the in-person sessions but am still attending sessions virtually which will be online for the next year.  So all of us have time to see even more! 

Meg White, conference director extraordinaire and Senior Advisor at Delta Think, wrote a blog post with reflections from the conference.  Thank you, Meg, for your astute observations and for distilling the big ideas and themes from the week for us!  The post also includes links to several other write-ups of the event.  If you attended, we’d love to know what you thought!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Charleston Premiers!  Each year, the Premiers provides the Charleston Conference audience the opportunity to see a showcase of the newest companies, products, and innovations for publishing and scholarly communications.  After seeing a 5 minute “pitch” presentation, there is time for audience Q&A followed by audience voting in the following categories: Best Design, Most Impactful, and Best New Product.  Since the 2022 conference had both an in-person and a virtual audience, we offered voting options for both.  The winners are:

“We heard from many librarians who recognize that Spanish and Latin American Studies professors have been underserved.  They acknowledge that Platino Educa fills a much-needed gap with authentic content from across Iberian-America,” said PJ Kuyper, President of Platino Educa, winner of Best Product from both audiences.  A recording of the session can be viewed on the Charleston Conference YouTube channel.  Please join us in congratulating all the winners of this year’s Charleston Premiers!

We’re also excited to announce that this year’s Charleston Leadership Interviews videos are now available on our YouTube channel.  These interviews between industry leaders and conference directors offer deeper insights beyond conference week.  There is only so much time during the annual conference to delve into the thoughtful discussion many of these topics deserve.  The interviews are a way to keep the conversations going. 

“Don’t miss out on the Charleston Leadership Interviews this year,” said Erin Gallagher, Chair, Acquisitions & Collections Services, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.  “I was thrilled to chat with so many delightful and insightful folks and to hear about how they’re shaking things up in the library and information realm.  It’s an honor to learn from both seasoned and early-career librarians.  There’s something for everyone in these interviews and I’m grateful to have taken part.” 

Career Moves and Updates

Delta Think recently announced the addition of Zsolt Silberer to the Delta Think team, effective January 2023.  Zsolt comes to Delta Think with twenty-five years of experience in scholarly publishing, working for influential service providers, leading commercial publishers, and trusted societies throughout his career before joining Delta Think as Senior Technology Consultant.

eLife has announced four new appointments to their Board of Directors.  They are Federico (Fede) Pelisch, from the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK;  Jane McKeating, from the University of Oxford, UK;  Freddie Quek, from Times Higher Education;  and Joanne Hackett, from IQVIA.

Alison Mitchell is taking a new position as Chief of Staff at Digital Science & Research Solutions.  “It’s an opportunity to use everything I’ve learned to support this dynamic and growing business, with the fabulous goal of making open, collaborative and inclusive research possible.” 

Brittany Hayes, who many of you will recognize as a former co-editor for the“Optimizing Library Services” column in ATG, has been promoted to Senior Director of e-Collections & Open Access Initiatives at IGI Global.  Congrats Brittany!

Our friend Gayle Karolczyk recently celebrated her 16th work anniversary at the Francis Marion Hotel.  Gayle and her staff always take such good care of us each year for the conference.  Thanks Gayle for all you do and congratulations on 16 years!

The Library of Congress announced the appointment of Hannah Sommers as the new Associate Librarian for Researcher and Collections Services in the Library Collections and Services Group.  In this role, Sommers will lead the future of the Library’s collections and the services it delivers to researchers and users. 

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill has named María R. Estorino vice provost for University Libraries and university librarian, effective January 30, 2023. She has held the role in an interim capacity since May 2022.  Estorino joined the UNC University Libraries in 2017 as associate university librarian for Special Collections and director of the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library. In that role, she was a member of the University Libraries’ leadership team, with a focus on expanding and advancing the work of Carolina’s special collections.  Read the full press release here.

Other Conferences and Meetings

LIBER Europe just announced the keynote speaker for their 2023 annual meeting is Chris Bourg, Director of Libraries at MIT.  The meeting will be held July 5-7 at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest.  https://liberconference.eu/

Are you attending LibLearnX in New Orleans?  Leah Hinds, our Executive Director, will be there.  Say hello if you see her in the halls!  “It’s been a few years since I’ve attended an ALA meeting, but I’m looking forward to see the new format, attending sessions, and catching up with colleagues in the exhibit hall,” says Leah.

Plans are underway for more Charleston In Between virtual mini conferences this year.  Do you have thoughts or ideas on what hot topics need covering before the Charleston Conference rolls around in November?  Or topics that need in-depth coverage that we don’t have the time to fully dive into due to the packed nature of the schedule that week?  Let us know!

On the Blog

Have you been keeping up with the ATG Blog?  I know the onslaught of information prevents me from keeping up with everything coming at me these days (makes me think of a column Eleanor Cook used to write for ATG called “Drinking from the Fire Hose!” Do you remember it?) but these are short, concise and easy-to-read!  Plus they’re only posted weekly on Wednesdays rather than every day, so you have more time to digest.  Take a look!  Our latest post is from Andreas Degkwitz, Chief Librarian at Humboldt University in Berlin.

Well, that’s it for this go-round.  Thanks to all our staff, authors, editors, and contributors for another wonderful issue.  See you next time!