Winners of the Sci-Tech Division Free Student Memberships Contest

The Student Relations Committee of the Sci-Tech Division conducted a contest for LIS students to win two free SLA memberships (including affiliation with the Sci-Tech Division and a chapter of their choice). The contest invited current LIS students to come up with some creative ways that the Sci-Tech Division should engage with library/information science students who are looking forward to a career in Sci-Tech librarianship. Our winners are Laura Wynholds and Andrea Richeson. Laura is currently in the MLIS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Andrea is a student at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Information, pursuing a Certificate of Advanced Studies program for Information Architecture & Design.

Some of the fun and exciting ideas sparked by the contest are as follows. Share these ideas, act on them, blog them, and build upon them:

Start a joint student/librarian community via a blog:

• Invite/recruit a collection of students from different programs across the country to contribute posts and comments.
• Invite/recruit a collection of current librarians to contribute posts and feedback as well, acting as colleagues and mentors(something akin to this, but less formal and more student oriented: http://digital-scholarship.org/digitalkoans/).
• While the proposal focuses on the idea of a blog, the function is building a online space for students to engage with SLA sci-tech students and librarians in a collaborative environment.
• Facilitate networking between students and SLA - Sci-Tech librarians (as future colleagues).
• Facilitate networking between students (as future colleagues) would give the students a chance to make a good impression on future hiring committees, through their writing, sharing current projects and ideas, demonstrating their involvement in the field, and ability to find and share resources.
• Act as a resource and networking tool for less connected students at smaller schools.
• Act as a communication tool for students and librarians so that they can be up to date on developments in the field.
• Provide positive PR for the division.
• Act as an outreach tools.

Start a group twitter account:

• Allows distributed postings or a regular account managed centrally that posts information about professional resources as well as information about conferences and events, scholarship opportunities, and job openings.

Facilitate other Web 2.0 ideas:

• Develop an online wiki available to students and professional members that shares professional resources as well as information about conferences and events, scholarship opportunities, job openings, chapters, and member profiles.
• Redesign Sci-Tech website (or at least the SciTech News publication) as a blog that allows comments.

Curricular outreach initiatives:

• Coordinate with science and technology librarians on college and university campuses who would be willing to visit core graduate courses in their university’s MLS or MSLS program.
• Prepare a recruitment presentation for these librarians that would highlight the exciting emerging paradigms of scholarly communication that are happening in science and technology fields.

Expand and focus on current LIS student workers from Science and Engineering Libraries:

• Add a student section to the website with cool science and tech links, blogs, University science and engineering websites.
• Host local social or educational events, presentations, and trainings on Science & Engineering Librarianship for all LIS students.
• Invite LIS students to attend University Engineering Design Day (end of the year engineering design final capstone/graduation project/ presentation day) -LIS students can see science and engineering students work and realize how important the library and research are to students.
• Invite LIS students interested in children's librarianship to partner with science and engineering libraries to host Jr. Scientist Day (a day that kids come to campus and learn about science and engineering- or a Saturday-Homecoming weekend- when families are invited to campus).

Expand Sci-Tech Division’s outreach to international students:

• Regard international students as SLA ambassadors, and try to arrange some campus presentations or student conferences when they travel back to home countries.
• Try to make joint efforts with local entities in setting up internship opportunities, research grants, project funds.
• Set up some exchange programs among US & international LIS students in summer to carry out field studies, research or internship.
• If SLA has adequate resources, it may launch its website or publications in multi-languages to make it more international oriented.