Newsletter

San Jose was the place to be during April for lively discussions of the theme "The Insufficient Librarian." Keynote speaker Mychal Threets invigorated attendees with his speech emphasizing library joy.



Presenters covered a wide range of important topics, including inequities in library hiring, rising censorship of library resources, facilitation skills, reimagining library spaces, mental health support, multilingual services, politicization of library displays, navigating the tenure track, standing out in a large university, rapidly learning new subject areas, AI, peer support, instruction tips, finding your place in professional organizations, and embracing imperfection, fun, and a mindset of abundance.




Presenters, top to bottom, right to left: Elizabeth Tibbits and Stef Baldivia; Claire Sharifi and Chanda Briggs; Marley Rodriguez and Urusa Ali; Jimmy Zavala and Jet Jacobs; Nery Alcivar-Estrella and Grace Skalinder; Lynsey Eames (from Qatar!)

We also made plenty of time for fun, with social events including a SCIL Mixer, a visit to The Bias Inside Us exhibit at Santa Clara University, and a U-Jam exercise event.



Photos and presentation materials will eventually be archived on the CARL website, so stay tuned! 

Did you attend? Take our survey and let us know what you think!
 

If you look around Southern California libraries, you’ll see a lot of SCIL (Southern California Instruction Librarians) members and former officers. If you want to get involved with helping this organization that serves the needs of instruction librarians, now is the time to sign up!  If you have ideas for programs or want to help connect and mentor instruction librarians, run for a SCIL office.

SCIL is voting for three elected officer positions for the 2024-2025 academic year:

• Chair-Elect (who will also serve as chair in 2025-2026, and past chair in 2026-2027)
• Secretary
• Membership and Outreach Coordinator

General Responsibilities of SCIL Officers

SCIL officers are expected to attend the majority of business meetings and events either in person or virtually. Business meetings are held every 6-8 weeks during the fall and spring semesters. 

Events

• SCIL Works (offered in January or early February) is a half-day mini-conference that highlights the work of area professionals centered around a new theme each year. 
• Spring Program (offered in April or May) is a full-day event that engages participants in a discussion/workshop centered on a topic of interest. 
• CARL Interest Group Showcase during CARL Conference (normally in even years) years instead of the Spring Program.
• SCIL usually organizes a summer social outing during July but attendance at this event isn’t required. 

Elected Officer Position Descriptions

Chair-Elect

This person will serve for a total of 3 academic years, first as Chair-Elect, then as Chair the next year and Past Chair for the year that follows. This length of service provides the Chair-Elect to get help from the current Chair and Past-Chair as well as the rest of the executive committee throughout their tenure. The Chair-Elect shall serve as a member of each workshop or program committee, and shall serve in place of the Chair, as required or requested by the Chair, and shall perform other duties as requested by the Chair. This person either organizes CARL IG participation at the CARL conference or the Spring  Program depending on the year. When becoming Chair, this person prepares the agenda for and conducts all meetings. In addition, the Chair serves as a member or chair of program committees for SCIL programs, usually chairing the committee to organize SCILWorks and acts as the liaison between SCIL and the CARL Executive Board. The Chair appoints the Webmaster and other non-elected positions as needed.  As Past-Chair, this person continues to serve on the Executive Committee to provide a smooth transition for the organization. The Past-Chair can serve in the place of the Chair and Chair-Elect as needed and shall perform duties as requested by the Chair. This person also runs the SCIL officer elections.

Secretary

Attends SCIL business meetings, prepares and keep minutes of meetings (Membership or Steering committee), as required, and sends copies of the minutes to Steering Committee members, and shall perform other duties as requested by the Chair. The Secretary is also responsible for SCIL business-related announcements and reports.

Membership and Outreach Coordinator

Shall be responsible for public relations (e.g., monitoring event registration and resolving registration issues, and greeting members at workshops or programs), the planning of membership social engagements exclusive of annual SCIL programs, (typically the summer social outing), communication regarding social events, and shall perform other duties as requested by the Chair.

Voting will open May 8-22, 2024. Please note that in order to vote in the election, you must be a current SCIL member with a CARL membership on May 22, 2024. Feel free to email Kat Koziar, chair of the nominating committee, with any questions, or contact any of the current officers directly (California Academic and Research Libraries (CARL) Association).

• Member Check-In (Rayheem)
• Amend/Approve Agenda
• Amend/Approve Minutes from DRAFT CARL Board Meeting Minutes 2023.12.08
  • Minutes approved
• Update on Holiday Inn and Conference Planning
  • The Conference Planning Committee has been working overtime to bring this into fruition. 
  • Appreciation shoutout, especially Shamika & Sean!  
  • Some issues:
    • Hotel Contacts continue to change from Charlene to Solange.
    • Now there’s two new representatives. 
    • Rayheem set up a meeting with new hotel contacts to work out finer details of the conference.
    • This meeting w/ hotel contacts will take place next Monday(3/11).
    • Canceling the conference was not possible because of the hotel contract.
    • 1st in-person conference coming out of pandemic. 
    • On the line for 4 days worth of hotel stays. 
    • We have a financial commitment w/ Holiday Inn that the previous planning committee signed us up for.
  • Size of venue: For every conference year, we have an Estimate Document that is drafted. We have a certain attendance/budget. Decline could be attributed to COVID, dwindling budgets, or waning interests. 
  • Initially, the 2024 conference was budgeted for 200 people. Rayheem expected 160 about a year ago. Now this number is unrealistic. 
    • Now 52 people have registered & 9 sponsors. Rayheem anticipates more registrations (approx. 90). 
  • Venue is large. It can accommodate 200, but we will have empty space due to low proposal submissions. 
  • Accommodate for empty space w/ moving walls.  
  • Audio/visual (outside vendor) was quoted $15,000 in the 2022 contract/invoice.
  • Too expensive, not enough people will attend. So Rayheem has to wait to next week to determine the budget for audio/visual
  • Draft Agenda/ Programming has been established. We will be able to fill all of the time. 
  • Next week, the final agenda will be released. 
    • Breakfast: 8:00-9:00 am
    • Midday lunch: 1 hours
    • Presentations: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
    • Thursday Keynote Speaker:  3:00 - 4:00 pm
    • President Remarks
    • Saturday Closing Remarks:
      • 12:00 - 2:00 pm
    • Shamika has been planning extracurricular events w/ SCU. Smithsonian event. 
• Presentation of 2024 Proposed Budget
  • Grace’s Updates: Proposed Budget still needs to be approved.
  • We’re paying even-year expenses: 
    • Registration w/ secretary of state
    • Already paid for January:
      • Stipends
      • Rockman scholarship
      • Accountants' bill
    • Upcoming:
      • Insurance
      • Research Grant Award
      • Transaction Fees (estimated to be higher because conference registrations are going through AffiniPay).
      • Budgets for interest groups (projected as lower compared to last year). 
    • Major Expense: Conference:
      • No concrete estimate for conference yet.
  • Jennifer suggested taking a vote to approve the proposed budget. 
    • Absent members:
      • 2 of Directors-at-large & Kelli
    • We took a vote on the chat
      • Vote to approve:
        • Melissa
        • Rayheem
        • Jennifer
        • Grace
        • Nery
        • Grace has been authorized to proceed. 
  • ACTION ITEM: Rayheem wants to meet w/ the executive board post-conference to discuss the budget.
  • ACTION ITEM: We will discuss what we need to do to not be at zero or fall below because the conference will be a hit to the bank account.    
• New Direction for CARL 2024 and Beyond (Student and Paraprofessional outreach, engagement, and recruitment, In-person Meet ups, Dues Increase)
  • Over the pandemic years, lower participation/energy in the CARL body at large.
    • Not referring to interest groups.  
  • How can we restore the money that we will lose after the conference?
    • Currently $40 dues 
  • CARL will increase dues to keep up w/ inflation and offer more robust programming. 
  • This would have to go to the body for a vote. 
  • To increase engagement, Rayheem will plan in-person activities & events
  • Rayheem has 3 CARL in-person activities/ meet-ups planned for upcoming summer (1) and fall (2) in Southern California. 
    • Local
    • Not require CARL $
    • Plot this strategically to target as many campuses as possible. 
  • Avoid bars/expensive venues.
  • Prefers relaxing & affordable locations to open up conversations/activities/networking. 
  • Rayheem will reach out to interest groups for further support. 
  • Shamika mentioned the importance of being active rather than performative. 
  • Shamika proposed “Evening in the Library” that may be social or cultural w/ food. 
  • This will allow us to welcome each other to our own respective libraries. We will need library hosts. 
  • We should seek feedback/advice from others to see how we can move forward. 
  • Jennifer recommends library tours.
  • Jennifer suggests to reach out to ALIGN to determine if they would be interested in hosting similar meetups in Northern CA. 
  • Rayheem wants to outreach to recruit prospective members like MLIS students and library paraprofessionals (i.e. library technicians /  ILL specialists/etc.)
  • Tabling (i.e. library schools, virtual events, LOEX, CCLI) was proposed but we have to consider vendor dues. 
  • ACTION ITEM: Rayheem wants to reach out to Kelli, the Membership Director, to increase membership engagement. He will encourage her to create a committee to execute this. 
  • ACTION ITEM: Shamika & Nakisha plan to become involved w/ Kelli to support efforts to increase membership & engagement.
  • ACTION ITEM: Rayheem and Nery will organize a BlueSky Document so folks may plug-in outreach ideas. 
  • ACTION ITEM: Rayheem will start a roster of in-person and virtual events to start considering tabling opportunities
• Output of elected/appointed leadership
  • Rayheem acknowledges this is volunteer work.
  • But he is concerned about the lack of intentionality of the executive leadership board. 
  • Rayheem can’t do it all.
  • If it’s too much, Rayheem is open to having a discussion to help you transition out of the executive board team.
  • Rayheem is open to having discussions about how to strategize about raising money, programming, outreach, recruitment, etc. 
  • All of us need to be active.
  • Let’s realize our ideas by committing to action. 

• Director at Large, Private Colleges and Universities 
  • Advertised CARL conference to USC’s library school
• No report: President; Vice President; Past President; Secretary; Treasurer; Membership Director; ACRL Chapters Council Delegate; Director at Large, Community Colleges; Director at Large, UC; Director at Large, CSU

• Mentorship Committee Chair
  • No updates at this time. Things are running smoothly.
• No report: Newsletter Editor; Web Coordinator

PRESIDENT
Rayheem Eskridge
Cal Poly Pomona
president@carl-acrl.org 

PAST PRESIDENT 
Shamika Simpson
Long Beach City College

SECRETARY
Nery Alcivar-Estrella
CSU Northridge
secretary@carl-acrl.org

TREASURER
Grace Skalinder
CSU Northridge
treasurer@carl-acrl.org

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Edeama Onwuchekwa Jonah
San Diego Mesa College
dal-cc@carl-acrl.org

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, CSU
Laura Wimberly
CSU Northridge
dal-csu@carl-acrl.org

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, PRIVATE COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES 
Jennifer Silverman
University of Southern California
dal-private@carl-acrl.org

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, UC
Melissa Beuoy
UC Irvine
dal-uc@carl-acrl.org

ACRL CHAPTERS COUNCIL DELEGATE
Melissa Beuoy
UC Irvine

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
Kelli Hines
Western University of Health Sciences
membership@carl-acrl.org

WEBSITE COORDINATOR
Dave Drexler
CSU Fresno 
web@carl-acrl.org

EQUITY AND INCLUSION COORDINATOR
Nicole Crawford
Long Beach City College
equity@carl-acrl.org

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Beth Namei
Claremont Colleges
communications@carl-acrl.org

MENTORING PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR
Ethan Annis
Dominican University of California, San Rafael
mentorship@carl-acrl.org

NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Kelli Hines
Western University of Health Sciences
newsletter@carl-acrl.org