Janet Goes to FLA - Receives Scholarship!

 

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!