Archive for 2008
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Plans for special events are well underway for the next MLA conference to be held in Hattiesburg, MS, October 21 to 23, 2009. This year is the 100th anniversary of our association. This year is a wonderful opportunity to remember our past with pride in all we have done to make MLA the viable organization that it is today. In spite of the challenges of the past and the present, librarians have served our state professional association with enthusiasm, imagination and integrity for one hundred years. As we look forward to our future, and keeping in mind this special theme of environmental sustainability in libraries, let’s plan to attend this very eventful conference. Please check this page often for additional updates as information about conference events and programming is made available. |
MLA Conference – Maps and Parking |
Preliminary Conference Program
2009 Conference Registration Forms
Hotel Registration Information
CEU Credits
USM Map for the MLA Conference
Other Information
Posted: December 3rd, 2008
Carol C. Hewlett has been appointed director of the Jackson-George Regional Library System.
D.L. “Chic” Anderson, chairman of the JGRLS Board of Directors, said the board at its Nov. 25 meeting unanimously appointed Hewlett, who was manager of the Ina Thompson Moss Point Library since 1999, to the top position.
Anderson said, “ Ms. Hewlett’s leadership skills bode well for the future of our library system. She brings a rare combination of talent, technology, and energy that together will help us serve our public.”
Hewlett, who has served as interim director since August, brings to the position a strong and diverse background of experience and proven leadership.
“My goal is and always has been to make a positive difference in the community,” she said. “Specifically, I welcome the opportunity to demonstrate to our local and state government officials, business owners, educators, senior citizens, the families and the children in our service area what it can mean to an individual and to a community to have quality library services.”
At Moss Point, Hewlett worked with city and library officials, the Friends of the Library and Advisory Board Members, and a private foundation board in a successful effort that resulted in a major expansion of the library in a new location in 2004. Her community involvements include: Rotary Club, Moss Point Active Citizens, River City Cultural Foundation, Moss Point Celebrations Committee, Moss Point Women’s Club, P.E.O., and advisory committees for the Moss Point School District. Under her leadership, the Friends of the Moss Point Library became one of the most effective Friends groups in the library system.
A graduate of the University of South Alabama, Hewlett earned a Master of Library Science degree at the University of Tennessee. Upon graduation, she became UT’s first librarian for its Career Planning and Placement Office, which led to a position with the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, providing information services to elected and appointed officials in each of the more than 300 cities in Tennessee.
In Tennessee, Hewlett honed her public speaking and networking skills to communicate and execute her agency’s mission statewide, and was active in library and local government professional organizations on the local to state levels. She was named as one of the University of Tennessee’s outstanding public services professionals and is a past president of the East Tennessee Library Association and the Tennessee Library Association.
Hewlett is of the second generation in her family to serve JGRLS. Her mother, Lou Hewlett was hired as bookmobile librarian in 1963 and was quickly promoted to assistant director on the recommendation of Lura Currier, director of the Mississippi Library Commission at that time.
“Lura Currier became my mother’s friend and mentor and trained her in all the details of librarianship. Their friendship lasted throughout Lura’s tenure at MLC and even until her death several years afterwards. The local library director at that time was Kathleen McIlwain and she and Lou became life-long friends as well until Ms. McIlwain’s death just a few years ago,” said Hewlett.
Lou Hewlett’s tenure at JGRLS stretched from 1963-1989. Carol Hewlett’s sister, Martha Hewlett Carrow, worked in the Technical Services department at the library from 1970 until 1985. She started out pasting pockets in books and worked her way up to head of the Technical Services department before she left in 1985.
Carol’s dad, Duell Hewlett, was a frequent library handyman that traveled from branch to branch fixing things and doing carpentry work at the branches during the summers when he wasn’t acting as principal of Orange Lake Elementary or Ed Mayo Junior High School, and her brother, Tom Hewlett, has conducted training sessions for JGRLS staff and has presented programs to the Friends of the Library on a few occasions.
A reception for the new director will be held in mid-January at the Ina Thompson Moss Point Library and will be open to the public. Information about the reception will soon be available at www.jgrls.org. Visit the library website for news, events and services of the Jackson George Regional Library System.
Posted: December 3rd, 2008
21st Oct 2009 Dates: October 20 to October 23, 2009
Location: Hattiesburg, MS
Theme: Eco-Friendly Libraries: Green for the New Century.
For more information see, http://www.misslib.org/index.php/activities/conference/2009-conference/
Posted: December 2nd, 2008
The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library would like to welcome Alice Shands as the new director of a growing library system. Former director of the Sunflower County Library System and department manager for the Memphis Public Library & Information Center in Tennessee, Shands began work in Columbus on Nov. 3. Shands looks forward to her new position saying, “The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library has a reputation in the state for excellent service, collections, and well-trained staff. We want to maintain that through the economic crisis in the country and continue to flourish.”
Posted: November 19th, 2008
The University of Mississippi Libraries are pleased to announce the following appointments.
Pamela M. Williamson serves as Assistant Professor and Curator of Visual Collections in the Department of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Mississippi’s J. D. Williams Library. She received both her B.A. in History and her M.L.I.S. at the University of Alabama. She is also a member of the Society of American Archivists and the American Library Association. She specializes in 19th century Southern History and Archives.
Alex P. Watson has joined the J.D. Williams Library at Ole Miss as a Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor. A native of Reed City, Michigan, Watson earned a master’s degree in English from Western Michigan University, where he taught for two years. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan’s School of Information program with an MLS.
Jason C. Dewland is the new Business Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor for the J.D. Williams Library at the University of Mississippi. He has a M.L.I.S. from Wayne State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland, and a B.A. in Political Science from Boston University. Previously he worked as a graduate student assistant at Wayne State University and as a Reference Librarian at Jackson Community College in Jackson, Michigan.
Posted: November 10th, 2008
Get involved in MLA by joining a committee! Active participation by the membership is critical to the success of our Association.
Committee Preference Form
* Committee Preference Form – Microsoft Word
* Committee Preference Form – PDF
Return completed form to: Jan Willis, Lee-Itawamba Public Library, 219 N. Madison Street, Tupelo, MS 38804-3807. Fax (662) 840-7615. Email: jwillis@li.lib.ms.us .
Posted: November 5th, 2008
Mantra Henderson, Assistant Director/Head of Public Services, James H. White Library, Mississippi Valley State University, attended the Peabody Professional Institute for Academic Library Leadership from July 6-10, 2008 at Vanderbilt University. The institute was conducted through lectures, panel presentations and group work, with sessions about academic library management and discussions on related literature. Participation in Peabody Professional Institutes is competitive and is determined through a review process.
Henderson was also invited to make two professional presentations, the first at Johnson C. Smith University’s Post-Information Literacy Leadership Institute October 10-12, 2008, in Charlotte, NC. The institute assists librarians at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) with the development/revision of their Information Literacy Instructional Programs. Participants had an opportunity to learn about various programs, and spent time designing an program for their own students. She originally attended the institute in November 2007 and was invited back to present her redesigned Information Literacy Program, but was unable to do the presentation due to illness. Her proposal was done instead by Dr. Teresa Neely, one of the presenters of the post institute. Also in attendance was Jama Lumumba, Librarian, Division of Library & Information Resources, H. T. Sampson Library, Jackson State University.
Her second presentation will be at the HBCU Library Alliance 3rd Annual Membership Meeting October 26-28, 2008, in Charlotte, NC. The HBCU Library Alliance is a consortium that supports the collaboration of information professionals dedicated to providing an array of resources designed to strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their constituents. They received funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to host an exchange program for five associate-level librarians from the HBCU Leadership Program to spend two weeks at an Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) library during the summer of 2008. The goals of the exchange were to provide the HBCU librarians with an opportunity to address a specific issue of strategic importance to their library with the assistance and expertise of ASERL library leaders, and to foster additional collaboration between ASERL and HBCU libraries. As a participant in the exchange program Henderson will be presenting her proposal and accomplishments at the membership meeting. Her exchange ASERL Library was North Carolina State University’s D. H. Hill Library.
Posted: October 21st, 2008
Karolyn S. Thompson has been elected President of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). Thompson is a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and Coordinator for Document Delivery at the Joseph Anderson Cook Library in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. President Thompson has set an agenda for the BCALA that will further enhance its scope and influence library services nation-wide.
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association is an advocacy organization for the development, promotion, and improvement of library services and resources to the nation’s African American community. BCALA also provides leadership for the recruitment and professional development of African American librarians.
Posted: October 20th, 2008
After 35 years with the Ripley Public Library, librarian Tommy Covington will retire at the end of December, 2008.
During his years with the library, Tommy has become known locally as the unofficial historian and archivist for Ripley and Tippah County. He is Tippah County’s most valuable resource person for all matters relating to the history and genealogy of the area.
Each year since 1973, when the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference began, until 2005, he has conducted tours for conference attendees, taking them to Faulkner related sites throughout Ripley. The group tours homes, cemeteries, and the Ripley Library where Tommy’s extensive collection of Faulkner resources is housed.
Tommy is a talented storyteller, attending festivals throughout the southeast, including the annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. He has traveled extensively in the United States and in England.
Friends, co-workers, library patrons, and the general public will celebrate Tommy’s retirement at a reception in his honor at the Ripley Library on Sunday, November 9th, at 2 p.m. Everyone is invited.
Posted: October 20th, 2008
When Tamara Blackwell, Adults Services Librarian at Bolivar County Library System, discovered Jenny Jones’ website offering grants in the amount of $25,000 to heroes that better the community, she immediately talked with the Youth Services Librarian, Bobbie Matheney, about applying for the grant.
The Bolivar County Library System had recently received funding from the City of Cleveland for a renovation of the Robinson-Carpenter Library in Cleveland, but there were no funds for the other branches to renovate. Two Early Literacy Computers had recently been purchased for the Robinson-Carpenter Memorial Library, by the Friends of the Library and the Library Endowment Board. When these new tools for children proved very successful, the library staff looked for other ways to obtain these for the branches as well. What better way to upgrade the children’s areas in the branches!
On September 30th, Bobbie and Tamara were surprised by a conference call from the celebrity herself announcing the award of $25,000 to purchase items for their “dream” to better the entire county. Not only will new computers be purchased for each of the branches, but updated children’s furnishings will also be purchased. We applaud Bobbie and Tamara for finding funding that is not traditional funding for libraries.
Submitted by
Lynn F. Shurden
Director
Bolivar County Library System
Photo by the Bolivar County Library System
Bobbie Matheney (left) and Tamara Blackwell (right) on a conference call with Jenny Jones announcing the grant at the desk in the children’s department.
Posted: October 8th, 2008
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