Annual Report 2008-2009

Computing Services Special Interest Section
Annual Report 2008-2009

Annual Meeting
Computing Services is sponsoring eight educational programs and one workshop at the 2009 Annual Meeting. We are particularly proud of the Cool Tools Workshop, which grew out of the positive feedback from the 2008 educational program of the same name.

Under the supervision of the Educational/Emerging Technologies Committee, we will rerun the Web 2.0 Challenge, a volunteer-based, free educational program for AALL members.

Besides our regular business meeting and breakfast meeting, we will hold two RoundtableDiscussions. This year the Roundtables include a discussion titled “Mashing Up the White House” (with guest speaker John Wonderlich, policy director, Sunlight Foundation), and a reception for Web 2.0 Challenge participants. We will also be hosting a Hot Topic discussion with speaker/blogger Connie Crosby who will be addressing the necessity for librarians to monitor emerging information technologies, especially in light of the current economic downturn.

This year, Computing Services will be sponsoring VIP registrant Connie Crosby at AALL.

Computing Services will participate at the CONELL Marketplace and in the exhibits area, interviewing members and posting comments on our website.

Awards and Grants
Sheri Lewis was awarded the Kenneth J. Hirsh Distinguished Service Award. Lewis served theSection and AALL in many official and unofficial capacities and well deserved the award. She was a unanimous choice among the Executive Board members.

We continued our practice of providing grants to worthy AALL members to attend the Annual Meeting. The Grants Committee, chaired by Monica Sharumt, gave grants to the following  members who we look forward to working with CS-SIS in the years to come.

Library Student and New Librarian grants were given to:

• Joe Cera, Student, University of Washington
• Caroline Young, Reference and Technology Librarian, Rutgers University Law School Library

Librarians with three plus years in service to the profession:

• Carmen Melendez, Reference Librarian, University of Puerto Rico Law Library
• Wei Fang, Digital Services Librarian, Rutgers University Law School Library.

In addition, Computing Services Special Interest Section added a new registration grant this year for the elected Incoming chair in order to recognize the significant amount of work entailed in chairing this special interest section. Incoming Chair Shucha is the first recipient.

Communication
A new Communications Committee was formed to adopt a new website and wiki, which will serve as the new platforms for CS news and information. This committee has also redesigned our SIS brochure.

Officers
The following served as officers for the year: Vicki Szymczak, chair; Bonnie Shucha, vice chair/chair-elect; Jean Willis, secretary/treasurer; Katie Brown and Meg Kribble, member-at-large; and June Hsiao Liebert, immediate past chair. Incoming officers for the next year will include Debbie Ginsberg as vice chair/chair-elect, Melissa Serfass as secretary/treasurer and Jason Eiseman as incoming member-at-large. We thank June Liebert for chairing the Nominations Committee and giving us an excellent slate of candidates.

Respectfully Submitted,
Vicki Szymczak, CS-SIS chair, 2008–2009