Spring 2007 Candidate's Statements
Rebecca Blakiston
President:
I have enjoyed working as LSO President over the last term and believe we have been successful in reaching our goals, and I hope to continue in this position through the Spring semester. Upcoming opportunities next semester include participating in the Information Ethics Roundtable to be held at the UA, holding a Job/Internship Fair in Tucson (similar to the one held in Phoenix this Fall), and sponsoring a SIRLS student to attend ALA in Washington, D.C. through the Student to Staff program. I hope to continue to strengthen the communication between SIRLS students and SIRLS faculty, and to have distance student participation through mechanisms such as Skype for our meetings and making available podcasts of our events. I also hope to work closely with our incoming Programs and Social Coordinator to continue holding successful professional development and social events for SIRLS students. I will continue maintaining our blog, but as many officers are reaching graduation (including myself next December), much time will be spent trying to bring new students into the mix to learn about the various responsibilities and opportunities, allowing them to be able to maintain the strengths of our organization as we move forward. I encourage current and new students to be involved in this organization, and look forward to continue serving you as President.
Michelle Johnson
Vice President/Treasurer:
Hi! My name is Michelle and I have been your LSO VP/Treasurer for the last year. I am running for the VP/Treasurer position again for the Spring 2007 semester because I have enjoyed keeping LSO's funds organized and I feel like I have more ideas to offer that will make LSO an even better student group than it currently is. Being able to work with other members in LSO to create and host professional development activities has been rewarding and I look forward to being able to participate in that role again.
Cecilia Tovar / Cindy Elliott
Faculty/Student Liaison:
Cecilia Tovar: As Faculty Liaison, I am committed to attend faculty meetings to look out for SIRLS student’s interest. In addition I will report to the Library Student Organization (LSO) on meeting outcomes. I feel confident that I can make a significant contribution to LSO as Faculty Liaison. I look forward to meeting the challenges of the job and I shall make every attempt to fulfill your expectations.
My name is Cindy Elliott, and I am running as a joint candidate for Faculty/Student Liaison along with Cecilia Tovar for Spring 2007. I started the program in Jan 2006 and plan to graduate in Fall 2007. I am running for Faculty/Student Liasion because I have worked with faculty in a similar capacity in other departments on campus, and hope to provide the student perspective at faculty meetings, and facilitate information sharing between faculty and students. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you all!
Secretary:
Paula Maez
Program Coordinator:
My name is Paula Maez and I am running for the LSO position of Program Coordinator. I feel that I am the best candidate for this position because I posses the skills and knowledge needed to perform the duties of Program Coordinator. I am a hardworking, dedicated individual that will put forth all my effort to create exciting and informative programs as well as providing interesting speakers to enhance your professional development. Thank you for your vote.
Aaron Valdivia
Social Coordinator:
As Social Activities Coordinator I will gladly accept all challenges and responsibilities that the position entails including the planning and overseeing of all monthly social events for LSO members. I will make sure that all social events are accordingly planned and organized in advance of LSO meetings, and SIRLS events when appropriate. I understand that these responsibilities may include ensuring reservations and advanced organization and planning at public locations when needed for LSO event/meeting attendees. If accepted for the position of Social Activities Coordinator I will uphold these duties to the best of my abilities for the duration of my time as an LSO officer.
Jobs Coordinator:
Beth Hoffman
Webmaster/Listserv Manager:
I am a good choice for LSO Webmaster because my computer science
background gives me the skills needed to maintain the LSO website and
Listserv, as well as assist with any technical problems that may arise
with our blog and wiki. I am also willing and interested in working to
find additional ways for LSO to extend its internet presence, by
investigating options for internet chat with distance students,
podcasting, and any other suggestions that students might have.
Fundraising Coordinator:
Jessica Browning
Distance Student Liaison:
In my experience as an overseas distance learning student and subsequent newcomer to both Tucson and the U of A, I feel that the lack of a formal department orientation or survival guide which addresses both the academic and daily life aspects of attending SIRLS places unnecessary stress on students. While the LSO website does include a guide for SIRLS students, informal enquiries have yielded that the guide is not well-publicized to those who may seek it, nor does it address comprehensively the issues which distance learners or newcomers face in moving to Tucson or virtually attending SIRLS. A student may be able to find required information on other pages within the U of A website; however, information pertinent to SIRLS students should be in a centralized guide in order to shorten research time. As the Distance Learning Liaison, I aspire to lessen the confusion and stress of adjusting to SIRLS life by creating, and publicizing, a centralized resource which expands upon the information in the current LSO guide. While the guide's primary target audiences are distance learning students and students new to Tucson/SIRLS, the guide will ideally serve as a reference to SIRLS students of all levels. As this is a large-scale project requiring the energy and experience of many people, I invite all of you to contribute your time and feedback in creating a SIRLS reference. As librarians, we direct patrons to reference materials written by others. Now, it's our turn to write a reference—by SIRLS students, for SIRLS students.
Rachel Magee
Distance Student Liaison:
The life of a distance student is a unique one. Dealing with jobs, family, and online discussion forums can make life hectic. As Distance Student Liason, I will work to make sure the concerns of the distance student are represented to the LSO and the SIRLS faculty and staff, as well as with the Phoenix Friends of SIRLS group. Great strides have been made to include distance students through podcasting and having presenters appear in both Tucson and Phoenix. I would like to continue this trend by representing Distance students (from Phoenix and other areas) on the LSO council. Thank you for your consideration.
Dereth DeHaan
Distance Student Liaison:
I live in Phoenix, and have experienced all types of SIRLS classes as a "distance student" -- online, on-campus, and Phoenix classes. With this
experience, I would bring to this LSO position a good understanding of
the
challenges and benefits of all the class styles. Also, I've been
attending
SIRLS for more than a year, and so have some familiarity with staff,
faculty, policies and procedures. As an intern with the State Library,
I've
developed contacts and networked throughout the state, and am in a
position
to be aware of many opportunities for students.
One idea that I'd like to explore is the development of internships for
distance students. With the new internship coordinator, this seems like
a
possibility. I would also like to facilitate more podcasts of events.
Also, I would like to explore how professors are using technology for
their
distance classes -- are they maximizing the distance learning experience
by
using an array of the technology available? These are just some of the
issues I'd like to address as distance student liaison.
BiblioTech Editor:
Tracy Stout
Alumni Liaison:
As Alumni Liaison I would try to build and maintain relationships between alumni and our current SIRLS students. This relationship is important in order to encourage the alumni to stay involved with SIRLS and increases the possibility of establishing mentoring activities. I would be good in this position because I understand this importance and am willing to try my best if elected.