The 2009 Atlanta Area BIG (Bibliographic Instruction Group) Conference will be held at the University of West Georgia, Friday May 29th.
This year’s theme is “The Learning Commons: New Frontiers in Instruction.” Ingram Library’s annual Charles E. Beard Lecture will be the keynote address for the conference with the program beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the University’s Campus Center Ballroom.
Atlanta Area BIG, an organization of instruction librarians, works to ensure that libraries play a role in advancing the educational, cultural, and economic life of Georgia through the expansion of information literacy. BIG originated in the 1980s as an informal way for instruction librarians from academic and school libraries in the greater Atlanta area to share ideas and discuss common issues. Thirty years later, it is still striving to improve the library services necessary to enhance information literacy. Mary Jane Rootes, Assistant Professor and Instructional Services Librarian at the University of West Georgia, is the president of BIG.
Dr. Russell Bailey, Director of Phillips Memorial Library at Providence College, Rhode Island, will present the 2009 Charles E. Beard Lecture. Bailey’s presentation on “The Evolving Commons—Information, Teaching, Learning, Research” will focus on the new learning commons model for today’s libraries. Bailey is the co-author of Transforming Library Service Through Information Commons: Case Studies for the Digital Age and Information Commons Handbook. There is no fee for the lecture and the public is invited to attend.
The Charles E. Beard Lecture honors the late Charles Beard, who served as Director of University Libraries at the University of West Georgia from 1978 to 2004. The lecture series was created in 2007 to honor Beard’s dedication to the library profession for almost forty years. For the twenty-six years that he was at West Georgia, Beard led Ingram Library through a period of rapid technological change which altered the course of library services and programs. His influence extended far beyond West Georgia, as he was instrumental in the development of GALILEO, one of the first web-based initiatives of its kind, which made a wide realm of information resources available to all Georgians. Susan Smith, associate director of Ingram Library, described Beard as a “champion for libraries. He was forward thinking,” she said, “He was always asking for funding, acting as an advocate, talking about freedom of speech and freedom of access to information.”
BIG’s focus on learning commons is a timely topic for the University of West Georgia’s Ingram Library and very much in keeping with Charles Beard’s vision for library services. Ingram Library recently received funding from the University’s Student Technology Fee Committee to begin building a learning commons environment within the library, to better accommodate the needs of library users in the digital age.
Members of the University of West Georgia campus and the larger community are invited to attend the entire conference as well as the Charles E. Beard Lecture. A campus parking pass will be required for the day. To obtain a parking pass, please send an email to mrootes@westga.edu and the pass will be sent to your email address after May 15.
To register for the BIG Conference, go to AA BIG Homepage and follow the link to “Registration for 2009 Conference.” There is no registration fee for the conference but registration closes on May 22.
For further details, please contact Mary Jane Rootes at (678) 839-6363 or mrootes@westga.edu or Catherine Hendricks at (678) 839-5337 or chendric@westga.edu.
