Janet completed her bachelor’s degree program
the day after the awards ceremony at FLA in Orlando, held May 2, the opening
day of the FLA conference. She is waiting for acceptance to library school and
plans to begin in the Fall of 2013. Below is part of the email from Caroline
Reed, FLA Scholarship Committee member.
"The Bachelor’s Scholarship—This is awarded to a
student who has been admitted to an accredited bachelor’s degree program at a
Florida college or university who has committed to work in a Florida library
for a minimum of one year after receipt of the award. Our scholarship
recipient for this year is Janet DeVries. Janet currently works as a
Library Technician in Archives at Palm Beach State College where she assists
with reference duties as well as planning exhibits and special programs.
She was previously the Archivist for the Boynton Beach City Library.
Janet is currently working on a history degree at Florida Atlantic
University. She plans to continue on in the Library Science Program at
either USF or FSU."
Janet's summary of her trip...
The 2013 Annual Florida Library
Association Conference was held in Orlando May 1-3. The theme of New
Possibilities and Partnerships lived up to its promise. Not only did I
connect with librarians from public, academic and special libraries, I formed a
few special friendships and gained several mentors.
The conference schedule included a plethora of interesting meetings and
breakout sessions. I launched my inaugural conference by attending the New
Member & First Time Conference Attendee Orientation. The casual
informational session equipped me with the tools and the confidence I needed to
navigate my way around the action packed conference hall. FLA President Barbara
Stites ensured the attendees their involvement with FLA would snowball after
this three-day conference and quipped that one of us would even be standing up
at the front someday in the role of FLA president. One of the speakers
encouraged us to enjoy the conference by “being bold.” The new member meeting
set the tone for my first conference and inspired and energized me for the rest
of the week.
Duane Bray, the Keynote Speaker
at the opening session, spoke about publishing, partnership and possibilities.
His presentation poked fun at the quickly changing technology that
librarians have to deal with every day. He also generated ideas for future
publishing options. The Viva Florida 500:
Finding History in the Florida Electronic Library session provided a myriad
of useful navigation tips and tools for finding and utilizing the Florida databases.
Digital Librarianship: Building Digital Collections and Preserving Local
History explored partnerships between libraries, the community and other
institutions. All of the workshops provided valuable tips for implementing
similar ideas in our institution. Resource sharing and partnerships empower
libraries to deliver services in new ways and develop community connections.
The Performer’s Showcase
entertained and allowed convention-goers an interval of sitting down. The smile
factor multiplied as the story-tellers, magicians, mimes and musicians
delivered messages about libraries using their talent and flair. The Exhibit
Hall provided the opportunity to chat with vendors, sample databases, and
test-drive new scanners. Representatives from the Library and Information
Studies graduate programs at Florida State University and University of South
Florida provided valuable insight into their library school programs.
The poster sessions were as varied as the institutions attending the conference. Our library presented Old School Meets New Technology, a session highlighting the Palm Beach State College Archives.
A dazzling poster of vintage images of the college greeted the crowd. A looping presentation outlining our website interface and partnerships with Lyrasis and Internet Archive, coupled with several traditional college yearbooks highlighted the college’s success digitizing our archival collections.
Click link below for more information on the FLA Conference 2013.
http://a80.cci.fsu.edu/flalib/www/
Thank you Janet for a well written
summary of your adventures at FLA.
Congratulations on your scholarship
and your BA degree.
We are very proud of you!
