Against the Grain V35#2

So glad to see spring — green grass and flowers all around us in Charleston and Sullivan’s Island.  Hope your spring is as springy as ours.

Musically Minded

I used to play the piano but gave it up for the computer.  However, I am now making plans to buy a small piano (assuming I can fit it in the house).  Turns out my grandson George is taking piano and doing very well so I thought I would dust off my piano books and play with him.  Of course he and the other grandkids are doing taekwondo, ballet, karate, golf, and learning to cook.  Whew!  Sounds like fun!

I remember being impressed when Ivy Anderson from California (now in Tennessee!) had an online piano concert not too long ago.  Ivy has recently retired and has more time to play.  I enjoy seeing photos of her beautiful neighborhood in Nashville and her regal collie Sadie.

Speaking of music, I look forward to emails from CMUSE because there’s always some musical tidbit to enrich your understanding.  Lately I have learned a brief history of Jazz music, how music therapy works, and why music enhances our emotions.  CMUSE.org

Notes from Charleston 

Hope y’all met and heard Buhle Mbambo-Thata’s keynote — We will get there together — at the 2022 Charleston Conference.  Very upbeat and inspirational.  Plus, Leah Hinds and I recently have had a conference call with Buhle and her colleague Gracian Chimwaza (Founder and Director of ITOCA) about a possible session in Charleston or a Charleston In Between!  Buhle travels a lot and was recently in New Orleans and then London.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Speaking of Charleston-in-between, we had a great sign up for our April session — The Future of Scholarly Communication in a ChatGPT World.  We had 195 individual and 206 group rate registrations which included participants from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lesotho, New Zealand, Nigeria, Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe.  Besides the Charleston Conference, we hope to offer 2-3 virtual Charleston in-betweens!  This one featured the amazing trio of Peter Brantley, Heather Staines, and Gary Price.  We are always on the lookout for innovative and fast-breaking topics!  Please write us at editors@charleston-hub.com. 

The 2023 Charleston Conference Call for Papers opened today and we’re excited to see your proposals for topics and sessions.  We’ve added a new thread for preservation, intended to highlight conference sessions that focus on digitization, archival practices, and other means of future-proofing collections.  We’re also soliciting more proposals for the “Up and Coming” thread, designed to provide foundational information for those new to the profession, MLIS students or recent grads.  There is a demonstrated need for  more of these sessions from comments in our attendee evaluations and in conversations amongst the conference directors, so please consider sharing your knowledge!  https://www.charleston-hub.com/the-charleston-conference/call-for-papers/

Some important dates are coming up for the conference!  Pay attention at https://www.charleston-hub.com/the-charleston-conference/!  Vendor Showcase booth registration opens on Monday, June 12.  Exhibitor booths sold out for 2022, so be sure to book early to save your spot!  Conference registration and hotel guest room blocks will open on Wednesday, June 14.  Hotel rooms go fast in Charleston too, so don’t delay! 

Other Conferences and Related Notes

It was way back when that my husband Bruce and I went to the London Book Fair.  There was lots of tension and bags were being searched because Salmon Rusdie had been threatened with death because of his book, The Satanic Verses.  See one of the latest articles in the New Yorker “The Defiance of Salman Rushdie” by David Remick.

Which brings me to an article in the Bookseller on “AI And Rising Costs dominate conversations at packed-out London Book Fair.”  Apparently now there are back-to-back meetings and standing room only events!  Sorry I couldn’t be there.

Cool article in today’s New York Times (April 23) about baseball’s new rules.  Baseball is 148-years old!  My father and my two brothers and I grew up listening to baseball on the radio or even later on tv.  I have heard the complaints about the games being too long and not as exciting as football.  So the baseball powers that be have been listening and have made and will continue to make changes.  Here’s hoping this will increase baseball’s popularity!

Just heard that the astute Richard Charkin has recently published a book, released on April 17, 2023:  My Back Pages: An Undeniably Personal History of Publishing 1972-2022.  I remember meeting Richard at one of the Fiesole Retreat years ago.  Congrats Richard and I can’t wait to read it!  “Richard Charkin’s experience as a publisher is unique among his generation.  Over the past half century he has been (at different times) a scientific and medical publisher, a journal publisher, a digital publisher and a general publisher.  He has worked for family-owned, publicly-owned, university-owned companies and start-ups.  In this memoir he uses his unrivalled experience to illustrate the profound changes that have affected the identity and practices but not the purpose of publishing.”

NASIG’s Nominations and Elections Committee has announced the results of the 2023 Election.  Here they are!

• Vice-President/ President elect: Paul Moeller (U of Colorado Boulder)

• Treasurer: Nicole Ameduri (Springer Nature)

• Member at large: Christian Burris (Wake Forest University); Heather Staines (DeltaThink)

Hooray and Congratulations all around!

And speaking of NASIG, one of our fantastic conference directors Courtney McAllister is the Vice President/President Elect!  Courtney had a recent job change from her role at EBSCO to become a Solution Architect at Atypon.  Congrats Courtney, and thank you for all you do for the Charleston Conference!  In addition to all her other roles, Courtney will be organizing the poster sessions this year.  We’re beefing up the in-person poster sessions by popular demand, so keep an eye out for more information to come.

Check out the preliminary program for the SSP 2023 Annual Meeting.  Leah Hinds, our Executive Director of the Charleston Hub, will be attending and presenting alongside Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe for another installment of the Charleston Trendspotting series.  Be sure to attend if you’ll be in Portland for the meeting!  Session 1A on Thursday, June 1, at 10:30 am.

We’re Delightfully “Against the Grain”

On the ATG front, since we switched to online only, there are a few diehards (count me in) who prefer print.  Okay!  So we are exploring this option and are hoping for the best.  If you know of a POD service that is worthwhile and not too expensive, let us know editors@charleston-hub.com.

Do you have an idea or a burning interest in a topic or information need?  If so, why not guest edit an issue of Against the Grain?  We are always interested in/looking for engaged librarians of any type — experienced or brand new!  Or maybe you want to nominate someone?  Try editors@charleston-hub.com.

We at ATG love new initiatives!  This is why we are starting “Above the Fold” for which Caroline Goldsmith is recruiting new talent.  Above the Fold will feature music/album/concert reviews, pop culture, food/restaurant reviews, new initiatives, games, and much more!  Topics not necessarily related to librarians, publishers or vendors, but interesting and engaging for everyone.  If you’d like to contribute an article for this new online column, please contact Caroline at <caroline@charlestonlibraryconference.com>!  And be sure to check out our first article in the series by Marci Cohen, Assistant Head, Music Library, Boston University, “Boygenius: The Record.”

That’s it for this issue.  Be sure to send your Rumors to editors@against-the-grain.com for inclusion in the future!