Blog

Introducing ACL-Pro Plenary Workshops

April 5, 2023 Conference

What’s better than gaining knowledge and fellowship through the ACL Conference each year? You guessed it – it’s earning continuing education units while you’re there too!

Each year, ACL provides opportunities for professional development and continuing education in the form of ACL-Pro workshops, which are included as part of your conference registration whether you’re joining us in-person or virtually. ACL-Pro is the arm of the Association of Christian Librarians that offers continuing education units, or CEUs, for qualifying continuing education and training activities.

We’re excited to announce two fascinating ACL-Pro workshops at this year’s conference:

Embedding Librarians & Libraries into the Campus LMS

Panelists: Robert Burgess, Mississippi College; Miriam Liethen, Grace College; Taylor Vanlandingham, John Brown University // Moderator: Kirsten Setzkorn, Cedarville University

Discover how librarians creatively practice embedded librarianship in the context of their campus’ learning management system. Learn from each panelist’s unique experience establishing and growing an embedded program, as well as the greatest benefits and challenges they faced along the way. Discussion will include the many forms embedded librarianship can take. Participants will come away inspired with tangible ideas on how to implement their own embedded program to the benefit of their students and institutions.

Creative Roles: How to Use Student Workers in Unique Ways

Panelists: Leslie Starasta, Lincoln Christian University; Gary Fitsimmons, Bryan College; Jean Waldrop, Harding University; Crystal Whitham, Allegheny Wesleyan College // Moderator: Kari Siders, Cedarville University

Many libraries use or place students in standard roles such as circulation or book processing, yet to fulfill the needs of the library, students can be trained and trusted to accomplish so much more. Students in these libraries were placed in roles that included tasks such as libguide creation, ILLs, social media, archives, cataloging, and more. This workshop will expand your idea of the typical student worker role and encourage you to consider how you can utilize students more fully at your library.

ACL-Pro workshops cover innovative topics in librarianship with a focus on actionable steps that you can implement at your library. Through the practical application of these concepts, you will be better equipped to take your library to the next level.

Participation in these workshops (in person or online) makes you eligible to receive Continuing Education Units (CEUs). To obtain CEUs for attendance at one or both ACL-Pro workshops participants will be asked to complete an evaluation form after the session.

The Cross and the Cup

March 31, 2023 2023, Reference Point Devotional

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24 NASB)

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men. (Colossians 3:23 NASB)

A trip to Israel makes the Bible come alive. Nowhere else does the sacred and the secular mix together so completely. During my husband’s and my trip to the Holy Land, I witnessed this mix on our walk down the Via Dolorosa. Our tour traced the fourteen Stations of the Cross from the Church of the Flagellation to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional

Rodney Birch – 3/2023

March 14, 2023 2023, Member of the Month

Rodney is the Instruction Coordinator & Research Services Librarian at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, ID (1577 FTE). Rodney has been an ACL member for 24 years.

Conference Spotlight: Workshop Presentations

March 8, 2023 Conference

We hope you can join us June 6-8 at Cedarville University in Ohio. If you are unable to attend in person, we hope you’ll join us at the virtual conference on June 26-27.

As the Presentation Coordinator, I am excited about the schedule of workshops. The line-up is wide-ranging and strong. We are pleased to offer 21 in-person workshops and 9 workshops online with Live Q&A sessions.

The conference planning team has chosen presentations covering a variety of library topics, including:

Faith Integration
Information Literacy & Teaching
Leadership & Management
Outreach
Public or Technical Services

In-Person Workshops (June 6-8)

	A	B	C	D	E
Workshop #1 Tuesday 10:45-11:45 AM	Witnessing While Being In The Heart Of Service to the Public – Lowell Walters & Ben Brick	Focus on Faculty: Learning Objectives for Instruction – Jeanette Parker	Usage Data: Methods and Madness – Kelly Bilz	An Index: The Heart of Research – Sarah Wessel, Laura Ladwig, Lori Thornton, & Jamey Wilkes
Workshop #2 Tuesday 2:30-3:30 PM	Stepping Out of the Library: How to Meet Students Where They Are – Christina Labuda	Reading, (W)riting, and Research as a Process – Do They Belong Together? – John Shaffett & Grace Andrews	Collaboration and Confidence: Demystifying Annual Statistics – Mary Logue & Denise Nelson	Service Through Collection Development: Diversity Statements in Collection Development Policies in Libraries at CCCU Institutions – Robin Lang
Workshop #3 Wednesday 10:45-11:45 AM	What would Augustine do? How to be a Virtuous Librarian in a Virtual World – Ezra Choe & Garrett Trott	Info Lit in Service of Student Success – Julie Sweeney	Excellent Service through Libguides… – Jennifer Walz	It Turns Out Libraries Need Catalogers After All! – Christa Welty-Salgado	OCLC News you Can Use – Suzanne Butte
Workshop #4 Wednesday 1:15-2:15 PM	The I in the DEI: Creating Inclusive Environments in the Workplace …- Peggy Nzomo, Garrett Trott, Deborah McConkey, Denise Nelson, Leslie Starasta	Online Tutorials: Fad or Future? – Robert Burgess	Item Type RDA Catalog Conversion – Lauren Denny	The Heart of Service: Leadership through Communication – Rodney Birch & April VanPutten
Workshop #5 Thursday 10:45-11:45 AM	Serving from Afar: Panel Discussion on Serving as a Remote Librarian – Carol Reid, Deborah McConkey, etc	Faculty or Staff?: Librarian Identity in Christian Higher Education – David Purdy	Once Upon a Time: An Academic Library Serving the Community through Story – Jacquelyn Matthews	Who is My Neighbor? Discerning Professional Ethics in a Season of Political Conflict – Rachel Maxon

Virtual Workshops (June 26-27)

	A	B	C
Workshop #V1 Monday 11:30 AM-12:30 PM	#socialmediaplan: Serving Patrons via Social Media Robert Oliverio	Collabs with People and Robots Krissy Nichols, Tina Craft, Shannon Buckler, Deborah McConkey
Workshop #V2 Monday 2-3 PM	How I F.E.L.L. (Faith, Epilepsy, Librarian, and Leadership): Romans 8:28 Applied Garrett Trott	Outsourcing Info Lit to OER: in Service to Ourselves and Others Erin McCoy	Open for Service: Migration to an Open-Source Library Services Platform Rusty Tryon
Workshop #V3 Tuesday 11:30 am-12:30 PM	Library Space as Service: How Do Our Spaces Serve Patrons, and How Do We Know When We’ve Hit the Mark? Rachelle Waldon	The Heart of Student Success: The ACRL Framework, Writing Frameworks, and First-Year Research Writing Amy Rice & Ruth McGuire
Workshop #V4 Tuesday 1:15-2:15 PM	Let’s Have a Difficult Conversation! Jeremy Labosier	Serving Beyond: The Library as Student Heartbeat Monitor for the Rest of the Institution Karina Dunn

Check out the Speakers page on the conference webpage to meet this year’s workshop presenters and read workshop descriptions.

I hope you are as excited as I am about the 2023 ACL Conference and these great presentations. Be sure to register soon (early bird registration ends March 15th). I look forward to seeing you in June, either at Cedarville University or Online. Together, I hope we’ll reconnect, grow professionally, and be inspired.

Kind regards,

Ruth McGuire
ACL Presentation Coordinator
conferenceprezo@acl.org

Registration is now open!

March 3, 2023 Conference

We are excited to announce that registration for the 2023 ACL Annual Conference is now open! Joshua Michael, the 2023 Host Librarian, and the librarians at Cedarville University are eager to welcome you to a great week of learning and encouragement as we explore this year’s conference theme: Service, the Heart of It All.

Our hope is that as many as possible would attend the in-person conference at Cedarville University in Cedarville, OH, June 6-8, which will include all of the traditional elements of our annual conference. We know that not all can come in person with budgets and time constraints, so we will continue to offer a virtual streamlined option for 2023, but at a different time than our in-person event. Please note the differences below.

June 6-8, 2023
IN-PERSON at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio

Please join us once again for a time of in-person professional development and rich fellowship at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. You’ll enjoy the traditional ACL conference experience with a keynote address, two plenary ACL-Pro Workshops, 21 concurrent workshops presented by librarian colleagues, section meetings, daily devotional time, poster sessions, vendor showcase, and many opportunities to collaborate and network with like-minded librarians. Virtual participation also comes with in-person conference regisration. Explore the full in-person conference agenda here.

REGISTER for Annual Conference

June 26 & 27, 2023
ONLINE via Whova

If you are unable to travel to Ohio, please be sure to join us online June 26 and 27. This option is less expensive since there are no travel expenses, but will be a robust program with opportunity for lively interaction and engagement. The two days of online content will be broadcast live according to the schedule. There will be nine workshops presented by librarian colleagues and the added opportunity to participate in live Q & A sessions with the presenters. View virtual posters, interact with library-related sponsors and exhibitors, and participate in the many networking opportunities. Virtual content will be available for all conference participant for 6 months post conference. Explore the online participation agenda here.

REGISTER for Virtual Conference

Program Highlights

Keynote Address: Living the Life of a Servant Leader

Scott Livingston

The servant leader is one who is seen as servant first, whose focus is the growth and well-being of the people in the communities to which they belong. However, without proper self-care, even the most well-intentioned leader can become depleted and unable to serve at their fullest potential. Join us for a dynamic and transformative keynote experience as we explore the value and virtue of living the life of a resilient servant leader.

ACL-Pro Plenary Workshop: Embedding Libraries & Librarians into the Campus LMS

Panel: Kirsten Setzkorn, Cedarville University; Robert Burgess, Mississippi College; Taylor Vanlandingham, John Brown University; Miriam Liethen, Grace College & Theological Seminary

In this panel session, discover how librarians from three different institutions creatively practice embedded librarianship in the context of their campus’ learning management system. As more institutions of higher learning adopt LMS platforms and the number of distance learners continues to rise, librarians can capitalize on new opportunities to embed their services and resources into these online learning environments. Learn from each panelist’s unique experience establishing and growing an embedded program, as well as the greatest benefits and challenges they faced along the way. Discussion will include the many forms embedded librarianship can take – from integrating LibGuides into LMS courses, to creating a research course in the LMS, to librarians taking an active role in classes in the LMS context. Participants will come away inspired with tangible ideas on how to implement their own embedded program to the benefit of their students and institutions.

ACL-Pro Plenary Workshop: How to Use Student Workers in Unique Ways

Panel:Kari Siders, Cedarville University; Leslie Starasta, Lincoln Christian University; Gary Fitsimmons, Bryan College; Jean Waldrop, Harding University; Crystal Whitham, Allegheny Wesleyan College

During this ACL Pro-Workshop panelists from four libraries will reveal how they have created unique roles for student workers in their library. Many libraries use or place students in standard roles such as circulation or book processing, yet to fulfill the needs of the library, students can be trained and trusted to accomplish so much more. Students in these libraries were placed in roles that included tasks such as LibGuide creation, ILLs, social media, archives, cataloging, and more. This workshop will expand your idea of the typical student worker role and encourage you to consider how you can utilize students more fully at your library.

We know that budgets are tight! For the greatest cost savings, take advantage of the early bird discount by registering by March 15. No one offers a conference experience like ACL’s in a similar price range so your professional development budget earns more value.

ACL strives to provide conference programming to help you thrive in your profession, so please join us!

Please feel free to contact me with your conference questions. I hope to see you either in person or online in June!

With joy,

April McKinion
Conference Manager and Outreach Coordinator
937-766-2255

Why Ohio?

February 28, 2023 Conference

Welcome to our small town, a village really. We aren’t known for very much apart from a few notable characters. Yet, examine us closely and you will find something far more important, enduring, and inherent. You will find a people, and a heartbeat of a community cut from a long, southwest Ohio heritage… a steady thrum of life in rhythm with the open contours of rich glacial till at the edge of ancient rolling hills. Here, countryside courtesy meets academic ambition in a blend of quiet, earth-hardened folks and fervent, coffee-fueled philosophers. We aren’t always the perfect marriage of common sense and intellectual effort, but rather, we have a more fitting common ground within the crossroads of long-held fundamental traditions and principled values. Faith, family, and neighbor mean so much more to the folks of this part of Ohio than the differences that may divide us ever could. This year’s ACL Annual Conference hosted by Cedarville University mirrors these same traditions and values: “Service, the Heart of It All”.

So why Ohio? Well to be fair, why not? Did you know the ACL home office is headquartered here in Cedarville? Well, consider this your open invitation to join us for the conference and experience all that Ohio has to offer. You can start your journey of exploration with the Local Ohio LibGuide and plan your trip in pursuit of the next great adventure. Between conference sessions, you might visit the Historic Clifton Mill, or tackle a mile of waterside trails in river-hewn gorges and park reserves, or take a driving tour of Green County’s five covered bridges. Even on campus you can find notable points of intrigue, such as the Biblical Heritage Gallery and Archives of the Centennial Library or the Center for Bible & Theological Studies Wiersbe Reading Room. Whatever adventure you choose while at the conference, don’t forget to join us for homemade ice-cream at Young’s Jersey Dairy.

Perhaps your summer plans are more ambitious and the blueprint for this year’s conference is wide open to the road ahead. Before the conference, you might meander over to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter or take an after-conference turn at the Museum of the US Air Force and National Aviation Heritage Area. Ohio may not be your first destination of choice, but in just one state, where else can you find the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Queen City Riverboats, Jack Hanna Zoo Exhibits, Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Serpent Mounds and the Adena & Hopewell Culture Center, or Kings Island & Cedar Point amusement parks, two Major League Baseball teams, and five presidential homes, museums, and libraries with more besides. I dare you to get lost, and to discover just what makes Ohio a place “At the Heart of It All”.

Come on over and enjoy …I hope to see you soon!

Nathanael Davis
STEM/Business Librarian; Assistant Professor of Library Science
Cedarville University
ACL Conference Technology Coordinator

Eye on It – 03/2023

February 23, 2023 2023, Reference Point Devotional

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV)

Baseball season is almost here! For me – a Little League coach – this means once again coaching 6-8 year-olds on how to play the game – teaching them how to run through first base, going over how to stand next to home plate when batting and not on top of it, and trying to keep the outfielders from wandering over to the playground. One of the toughest things to teach a young baseball player is how to keep their eye on the ball when they are up at bat. A lot of other things can be distracting, like fear of getting hit by the ball, exuberant parents shouting advice and encouragement, or a bird flying across the field. Focusing on seeing the ball and swinging the bat at good pitches is a struggle.

Bloomsbury

February 22, 2023 CLC Offers, E-Resources

Timeline: Annually (May 15-July 14)

Receive at minimum a 15% consortial discount on all Bloomsbury products, with the possibility of a greater discount the more products your institution purchases. This includes the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary and the Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries collection.

Grace Andrews – 2/2023

February 15, 2023 2023, Member of the Month

Grace is the Director of Library Services at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Ridgeland, MS (152 FTE). Grace has been an ACL member for 6 years.

Describe yourself using a book title: A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears

What’s the best thing about being a librarian? The thrill of the hunt! I love learning new techniques for honing the research process and sharing these with students and faculty, and I also love getting to hear first-hand from passionate researchers about their quests.

A Time for Calmness and Quietness

January 27, 2023 2023, Reference Point Devotional

A Song of Ascents. Of David.
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 131 (ESV)

Introducing ACL-Pro Plenary Workshops

The Cross and the Cup

Rodney Birch – 3/2023