Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I'm Famous....sorta

I am the founder of a group called Young Arkansas Library Professionals.  This group meets monthly for dinner, has networking events at state conference, and provides a unofficial voice for those new to the profession.  We share educational and job opportunities with each other, as well as use each other as sounding boards for new ideas.

As the founder of this group, I am super excited to see that we are featured on page 6 of American Libraries.  The picture shown in this article depicts us at a downtown Little Rock, AR bar during the Arkansas Library Association Conference.  We were so glad to welcome Molly Raphael to join us for a night of young librarian fun!

You can find more information about our group on our website or on our facebook page.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Emerging Leader 2011 - Now What

I was thrilled to be able to participate in the American Library Association's Emerging Leader program for the class of 2011.  The program allowed me to meet librarians from all over the country, some of which I hope to maintain lifelong friendships.  The program allowed me to learn a significant amount of information about ALA and provided me the opportunity to get more involved with the organizational side of the organization.  I truly believe that the Emerging Leaders program has given me opportunities that I would never have had otherwise.  The opportunity to meet and mingle with ALA officials and staff was not only memorable, but it gave the opportunity to create professional ties with many people I might not otherwise have met and/or had the courage to speak to on my own.

I am excited to say that my participation in the Emerging Leaders program along with my participation in my state library association has allowed me to help push forward and solidify the Arkansas Library Association's future sponsorship of Emerging Leader participants.  The Arkansas Library Association will start sponsoring an Emerging Leader participant with the 2012 Emerging Leader Class.

Since having finished my term as an Emerging Leader, I have taken on three virtual committee/task-force roles within ALA.  I also presented a program on the Emerging Leaders program at the Arkansas Library Association Centennial conference in September 2011.This program was well attended and included great questions and comments from the audience.  I will also be providing a follow up article for the Arkansas Library Journal (I have previously published an article on the Emerging Leaders program in the Arkansas Library Journal, but this will be a follow up article that focuses on my conference program and my Emerging Leaders project, Deadlines ALA."

Team J - Emerging Leaders class 2011

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Staying Relevant Through Programming

I recently presented a 5 minute lightning talk at at the annual Arkansas Library Association Unconference on "Staying Relevant Through Programming" where I presented the PowerPoint below.  After positive feedback on the presentation, I have written an article based on the presentation that will be printed in the next issue of the Arkansas' Library journal, Arkansas Libraries.

About the Not so Shoeless, Librarian

Since everyone brings their own individual experiences to the table when making a decision, processing data, or sharing an experience, I have decided to share a short biography of myself.  


My name is Ashley and I am currently 28 years old.  I live in central Arkansas (yes people in Arkansas wear shoes) with my boyfriend and two dogs, Novella and Faraday.  I currently work as a library director for a small rural library serving a county of 30,000.  I received my undergraduate education from Henderson State University with majors in English and History and my MLS from Texas Woman's University.


My current interests are supernatural fiction, ya fiction, emerging technologies, community outreach, and community volunteerism.


I write  for the Arkansas Library Journal and am a guest writer for my local newspaper.  


I have been named Best Librarian in Hot Spring County 3 years in a row, I was named one of 20 to watch in 2010 by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, and I was chosen to be part of the ALA's Emerging Leader class of 2011.


I currently serve on the Board of the Hot Spring County Chamber of Commerce, I am the Secretary for the Healthy Hot Spring County Coalition, and I am the Public Libraries Division Chair for the Arkansas Library Association. I also created a networking group in Arkansas for young library professionals called "Young Library Professionals of Arkansas."  I serve on the the following for ALA: ALCTS Outstanding Collaboration Citation Award Jury, YALSA Teen Book Jury, and the ALCTS is forming a Transforming Collections Task Force. 

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Launching of The Not So Shoeless, Librarian

Today I finally join the blogging world with The Not So Shoeless, Librarian.  I will use this blog to share my musings on all things library, including, but not limited to my personal experiences.  I am sure that the content and quality of my blogs will vary from time to time, but I plan to use this as an avenue of professional expression.  If you would like to hear from me on a particular subject, please do not hesitate to request a post on said topic.  My first actually blog will come later this week.