SLIS FACULTY, STUDENTS, AND ALUMNI “INVITE, INVOLVE, INFORM, INSPIRE” AT ALLA Convention 
by Melissa Fortson
The 2009 Annual Convention of the Alabama Library Association was held April 7-9, 2009 at the Hotel at Auburn University
and the Dixon Conference Center. As SLIS Director Dr. Elizabeth Aversa stated in an April 7 message to the SLIS-L listserv,
SLIS students, alumni, faculty, and friends were “front and center at the state’s library conference in Auburn.”
During a Wednesday morning breakfast and meeting of the Association’s College, University, and Special Libraries section, Dr.
Jeff Weddle (SLIS faculty) shared The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press. Dr. Weddle discussed “the American small press and
little magazine movement, focusing primarily on New Orleans’s Loujon Press, a 1960s-era exemplar in the field.” His remarks
were followed by a screening of a documentary largely inspired by Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press,
Dr. Weddle’s Eudora Welty Award-winning book .
Wednesday also saw the induction of several SLIS alumni into Beta Phi Mu, the International Library Honor Society (see related
feature on page 7).
SLIS held its annual “Alumni and Friends” reception at 5:00pm on Thursday, April 9. This reception for the SLIS community
was held in the Presidential Suite of the conference hotel and followed the “New Directions, New Faculty” panel presentation by
Drs. Aversa, Albertson, Bonnici, Naidoo, and Wallace. In addition to the presentations and panels listed below, other
conference highlights included two current SLIS students (Third DE Cohort) winning the Blackwell Award for Research
Promise. In a message to the SLIS-L listserv, SLIS Student & Alumni Services Manager Beth Riggs told the SLIS community that
“Jessica Platt and Pete Benson's research paper Improving the Virtual Reference Library Experience: How Closely Do Academic Libraries
Adhere to RUSA Guidelines? was the basis for the award winning student presentation given by Jessi last week for the ALLA.”
SLIS faculty (F), students (S), and alumni (A) reported participation in the presentations, talks, and poster sessions listed below.
Poster sessions:
Rebecca Whitten (A), Alabama Apparitions: Building a Collection based on the Ghost Lore of the State of Alabama; Jane C. Daugherty
(A) & Melissa Fortson (S), The Brewer-Porch Children's Center Library Initiative: Serving the needs of a specialized community through
communication and collection building; Jackie Brodsky (S), Growing Community Partnerships; Amia Baker (A), Jing Project: Do You See
What I See?; Jennie Kemp (A) & Sara Maurice Whitver (A), Social Bookmarking at the Tuscaloosa Public Library Reference Desk ; Jeff
Graveline (A) with others, Alabama by the Numbers: Using Government Web Sites to Explore Alabama’s People, Industry and Culture;
Jeff Graveline (A) with others, Core Competencies for 21st Century Librarians: Perspectives from the Front Lines; Susie Cross (A) & Carrie
Springer (A) with others, Federal Internships in Libraries; Ashley J. Brown (S), Space Week: Collaborating with the Community for a
Successful Library Program ; Jessica L. Barton (S), R. Alexander Perry (S) and Stephanie D. Taylor (S), with Asst. Prof. Brett
Spencer (UA Libraries), Why Library and Information Science?: A Follow-Up Study of the Factors Shaping the Career Choices of Library
School Students.
Other sessions:
Laurie Charnigo (A) & Carley Suther Knight (A), Popcorn n’ Picture Books: Promoting Children’s Books in Academic Libraries; Steven
Yates (F), moderator, What A Year! The WAY to Strong, Successful High School Library Programming; Evan Conaway (S), Gaming Fun
Night; Carol York (S) with others, Adult Programs for Everyone; Greg Schmidt (A), Don’t Replace That Book; Pete Benson (S) &
Jessica Platt (S), Improving the Virtual Reference Library Experience: How Closely Do Academic Libraries Adhere to RUSA Guidelines? CUS
Research Forum; Greg Schmidt (A) with others, Issues in (non-serials) Acquisitions; Cassie Johnson (S) with others, Reaching Outside
of the Library; Dr. Rachel Fleming-May (F), Renewing Your Involvement in the Reference Interview; Jeff Graveline (A) with others,
Technoforum: Be Informed and Innovative Regarding Copyright Issues Involving Electronic Resources; Wendy Stephens (A), Teen Tech Talk
Addded by Editor: The 2010 Annual Convention is scheduled to be at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama on
April 13-16, 2010. We hope to see a good representation of SLIS there too!