From the IT division:

The Award is given to the chapter which has put together an exceptional technology-related program-current, relevant programming which has greatly impacted the chapter membership. The purpose of the award is to encourage chapters to continue striving for the most useful, cutting-edge technology programming. The IT Division provides this award not only to recognize the chapter across the entire association, but also to provide a financial gift of $500 to encourage future programs within the chapter.

RMSLA’s Virtual Lunch webinar series launched its first program in November 2010, featuring former chapter president Scott Brown speaking on the topic of business research in social media. The series has since then included other SLA luminaries, talent from within the RMSLA chapter, and outside experts, covering research niches, technology tools, career themes, and SLA-specific content. Revenue in our first six months covered the cost of a Screencast.com account for securely hosting the edited video files.

Many thanks to RMSLA Director Connie Clem for her leadership in the Virtual Lunch webinar series!

>> Update, July 19 2012: Download the presentation file (PDF). (Includes random content captured from the conference Tweetstreams, supplemented by information and links shared in the live session.)

Are you missing out on SLA 2012 in Chicago, or eager to compare notes on sessions you had to miss?

On July 19, you can join in on a joint Rocky Mountain Chapter/Illinois Chapter review opportunity. This will be an “open mike” hour for attendees to share take-aways, insights, and ideas from SLA 2012 Annual Conference sessions and the INFO-EXPO.

Time: 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time

From the Rocky Mountain Chapter, Mary Ellen Bates and Lee Ann Benkert will open the discussion. Mary Ellen (Bates Information Services) is presenting several sessions, and Lee Ann (who works at the National Security Space Institute) will be a panelist in the Future Now discussion at the close of the conference on July 18, sponsored by Springer.

Anne Hengehold and Paty Schintgen from the Illinois Chapter will join us.

All Rocky Mountain Chapter members, Illinois Chapter members, and SLA members from anywhere else are welcome to attend.

<registration is now closed>

If you were unable to join us today, here’s what happened at our virtual lunch recap of the SLA 2011 Conference!

The Rocky Mountain Chapter was joined by the Rio Grande Chapter for Q&A session with the SLA President-Elect Candidates David Cappoli and Deb Hunt.

Q: Could the candidates speak to what an alternative or different model for conference might look like?

Q: What ideas do you have for bringing a multidisciplinary audience to SLA conferences or partnering to enable librarians to attend non-librarian conferences under member registration fees and get CE credits?

Q: What changes  would you like to see in SLA’s business model to ensure financial sustainability. “In your opinion, how can SLA’s leadership improve transparency with its members?

Q: What are your thoughts on marketing SLA membership outside the traditional MLS/MLIS audience? (e.g., is publicizing our training events a good pull?)

Check out the SLA Blog with all the SLA candidates’ answers to questions: http://slablogger.typepad.com/sla_blog/2011-candidates/

The Presidents from Rocky Mountain (Julie Cavender) and Rio Grande (Nora Stoecker) chapters spoke about their experiences at the SLA 2011 Conference. We also heard from RMSLA Director, Connie Clem, about her experience with the virtual conference component. The  SLA 2011_Recap slides are available for download. Here’s one more quotable from a CI Session:

“Information is everywhere, insight is rare”

There were a record number 22 people in attendance! Sure there were a few technical glitches and we got through them.  It was great having Rio Grande members participate and contribute. We hope to have more collaborative events in the future. And thank you to David and Deb for speaking to our Chapters!