Report on CATLA Fall Conference

It was nice to see old and new friends at the CATLA Fall Conference! Thank you to our hosts at United Library, who treated everyone to a library tour, as well as library director Beth Sheppard's interesting observations on distance D.Min students and the resources they use for research. Ruth Gaba's afternoon session presenting preliminary results from the M.Div student survey was well received, and attendees at Lisa Gonzalez' session on OPACs participated in a hands-on usability exercise.

Two vacant positions on the CATLA board were filled by acclamation during the business meeting. Karl Stutzman will be serving as Vice President, and Jo Ann Hrabak is the new CATLA Treasurer.

Parking Update for Fall 2010 Conference

Image: the Baha'i Temple

Parking is available on the street for 2 hour intervals (Evanston tickets heavily) or in the Garrett-Evangelical gated lot. Parking in the lot is $7/day (not pro-rated) and payable in cash at the main Garrett-Evangelical reception desk in the lobby of the main building.Garrett's parking information page has some information about visitor parking.

Schedule for Fall 2010 CATLA Conference

Greetings CATLA members!

The theme for this fall's conference is User Behavior: Observing and Responding.
The schedule for the conference on Friday October 29, 2010 at the United Library in Evanston is as follows:

9:00 – 9:30 Registration and refreshments
9:30 – 9:45 Business meeting
9:45 – 10:15 Updates on ATLA and 2011 Chicago Conference from Denise McFarlin and Matt Ostercamp
10:15 – 11:15 Beth Sheppard, United Library - The Proof is (or isn’t) in the Bibliography: Resource Use Patterns in a ‘Distance’ DMin Population.
11:15 – 11:45 Tour of the United Library
11:45 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 Choice of two roundtables
Ruth Gaba, Concordia University Wisconsin - Seminary Research: What They Value in a Source and the Tools They Use to Find Them.
Lisa Gonzalez, Catholic Theological Union - Fun with OPACs: Usability Testing and Other Methods to Improve Your OPAC.
2:00 – 3:00 Carpool and tour of Baha’i Temple

Directions to the library
Map of neighborhood

Please register with Lisa Gonzalez on or before Friday, October 8, 2010.

If your institution would still like to sign up for CATLA membership this year, please contact Yana Serdyuk, CATLA president.

Fall 2010 CATLA Conference

The Fall CATLA Conference will take place on Friday, October 29, 2010 at the United Library at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. The theme for the day will be "User Behavior: Observing and Responding." There will also be an update on plans for the 2011 ATLA Annual Conference in Chicago. More detailed information on the fall conference program will be posted soon.

As a reminder for those planning to attend the fall conference, institutional membership renewal notices will be sent in mid-August. All employees of CATLA institutional members are considered personal members of CATLA and do not have to pay the personal membership fee to attend CATLA conferences. If your institution will not be a member of CATLA for the 2010-2011 year, you may attend the fall and spring conferences for a $10 personal membership fee.

Don't forget, you can subscribe to the CATLA blog for conference updates, or contact Lisa Gonzalez, Communications Officer, if you would like to subscribe to the CATLA listserv.

CATLA Board Election Results

At our Spring Conference in Milwaukee, members voted to elect the following new officers:

Anthony Elia (JKM Library) to the office of Vice President/President Elect, Term ends June 30, 2013

Rebekah Hall (Trinity International University) to the office of Treasurer, Term ends June 30, 2012

Lisa Gonzalez (CTU) to the office of Communications Officer, Term ends on June 30, 2012

Eileen Saner (Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary) to the office of Secretary, Term ends on June 30, 2011

Many thanks to those who have served us well during their terms: Lugene Schemper (Calvin College), Amy Koehler (Moody), Bethany Hovda (Moody), and Rebekah Hall, who will be staying on the board as Treasurer.

If you did not receive this announcement via email, please contact Lisa Gonzalez to update your contact information.

CATLA Conference Recap

Here are a few notes about our recent CATLA Conference in Milwaukee.

Tour of the Learning Commons highlights:

• Cafe: attractive & convenient place to meet up with folks

• Large screen monitors for conducting searches

• Whiteboards on wheels & whiteboards built into classroom walls

• Movable pods with or without computers

• Classrooms & informal group meeting spaces

• Screen to indicate current availability of computers

Presentation by Dr. Deirdre Dempsey:

• Overview of key figures in the discovery & research of the Dead Sea Scrolls

• Discussion over the possibility that these writings came from the Essenes

• Introduction to some history & artifacts we would see at the exhibit

• Brief look at content of the Habakkuk Pesher & community rules

• Helpful resources in Dead Sea Scrolls studies

• Peek at why the Dead Sea Scrolls creates stimulating debates among scholars

DSS Exhibit at Milwaukee Public Museum:

• Historical & cultural artifacts from the time period

• Replicas of DSS and commentary provided for them

• 9 minute video teaser video
  

• Discussion of the relationship between the scrolls and scripture

• Kiosk where staff person talks about what resources the scribes used

• Displays of several different Bibles

• Area for interactive exercises & gift shop

And for those who couldn't attend, MPM has an overview guide.

Thanks to those who came! It was a great time! Looking forward to seeing you again in the fall!

Spring 2010 CATLA Conference @ UWM

Greetings, CATLA members!

Our CATLA Conference will be held on Friday, April 23rd at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.


Here is our schedule:

9:00-9:30 Registration & Refreshments
9:30-9:45 Business Meeting
9:45-10:00 Tour of Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons
10:00-11:30 Presentation
11:30-1:00 Carpool to Milwaukee Public Museum & have lunch
1:00 Tour of Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit (The tour will last approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.)

Dr. Deirdre Dempsey from Marquette University will be speaking to us about some of the intrigue surrounding the discovery and access to the Dead Sea Scrolls. She will also discuss relevant bibliographic materials for research and study on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Additional details:
Directions to UWM
Museum Directions/Parking
Hotels
Bag lunch options Cost: $12 (to be paid at registration)

CATLA registrants will not be charged a fee for entrance to the exhibit.

To register, please email Rebekah @ rhall@tiu.edu on or before Wednesday, April 7th. This deadline is firm...We don't want anyone to miss out!

When you register, please identify your lunch preference:
1- Smoked turkey and feta on flatbread OR
2- Vegetarian option of roasted eggplant, spinach, & hummus wrap

Spring 2010 CATLA Conference

Plans are underway with the upcoming Spring 2010 CATLA Conference on Friday, April 23rd hosted by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. As more details become available, I will provide a schedule of events and links about location, lunch, etc.

Stay tuned!