The programming committee is excited to release a call for session proposals for the 42^nd Annual Association of Architecture School Librarians Conference, in San Diego, California, March 12-14, 2020.

We invite individuals from across our community to share insights and experiences. Whether you offer decades of knowledge or are just beginning your career, we want to hear from you! 

AASL borrows its theme from the 108^th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) annual meeting to explore what it means for libraries to be OPEN by:

• Performing “open heart surgery” on architectural libraries to challenge assumptions about library functions and services, to position the library at the heart of the campus;
• Addressing approaches to increase awareness of open access and alternatives to high-cost publishing;
• Exploring issues  related to interdisciplinary collaborations between architecture and allied disciplines in the library, the classroom, and digital spaces; and
• Challenging AASL to increase diversity, inclusivity, and equity.

Conference programming will include different formats: lightning-talks, conference papers, group workshops, and discussion panels.

• Lightning Talks: 5-minute presentations limited to 15 images/slides at 20 seconds each,
• Conference Paper Presentations: 15-minute presentations, with five additional minutes for audience questions.
• Group Workshops: 1-hour participatory sessions where the audience gets to explore a new tool or process using their laptops.
• Discussion Panels: 45-minute discussion/debate between a group of four or fewer presenters on a single topic, with 15 additional minutes reserved for audience participation.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Midnight PST Monday, October 7, 2019 (extended).

We welcome all proposals. Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

Accreditation + Assessment
Tenure & Promotion – Alt-metrics – Measuring Impact – Alternative Skills for Librarian

Collections
Documenting Student Work – Institutional Repositories – Born-Digital Records – Special Collections & Archives

Digital Scholarship
Digital Humanities – Data Projects – Digital Repositories –Asset Management – Metadata 

Equity
Access – Advancing Inclusion – Diversity – Accessibility in Libraries – Social Justice

Local Architecture
San Diego – Tijuana – Southern California – Baja California – Border Regions

Instruction
Information Literacies – Research Engagement – Curriculum Development & Mapping – Studio Support

Outreach
Grants – Interdisciplinary Collaborations – Community Engagement – Liaison Relationships

Spaces
Renovations – Maker Spaces – Library as Learning Lab – Branch Closings – Resource Sharing/Management  –  Innovative Use of Library Space

Please note that proposal abstracts will be included in the conference program. Please use this Google Form to submit your proposals:  https://forms.gle/GvdoMpLCEuLCJuDM7.

If you have any questions regarding submissions for our sessions, please contact the 2020 Programming Committee at aasl2020sandiego@gmail.com.

Presented at the Pittsburgh Conference by Rebecca Price and Chris Sala and via email to the listserv on April 10, 2019.

There were two big issues that came up in our Strategic Planning work that need to be addressed. 

1) Our name -- Association of Architecture School Librarians.  Many feel that the inclusion of the word "school" is exclusionary and off-putting to those who might be part of our group, but who don't have particular responsibility for or allegiance to an architecture school (e.g., archivists, curators, librarians in broader roles, etc.).  As we move forward, we want to be inclusive, welcoming all who have any architectural (i.e., built environment) connections.  At our meeting we discussed potential name changes, some of which resulted in an acronym change as well.  Our plan is to get your feedback and ideas before making any decisions. Rose and I will work together to send out a feedback form to the list in the next few days. We'll give it an early summer deadline and then the board will gather the feedback and take appropriate next steps. That may take the form of a vote -- it'll depend on what they hear and learn from you. 

*Provide suggestions for a -- Association of Architecture School Librarians -- name change*

2) Our relationship with ACSA, particularly as it affects our conference schedule and location.  I want to start by emphasizing that this is not about breaking ties with ACSA (we all value our connections to ACSA); it’s about redefining our relationship and potentially adding some control.  No matter what we decide about sharing our conferences with ACSA, we will continue all other efforts to interact with them and support our faculty through them (e.g., ACSA Column).

Increasingly, it seems, we have scheduling conflicts with ACSA and ARLIS/NA, VRA, and ACRL conferences or ACSA meets in a location where we have no member librarian, which complicates our planning. 

There are pros and cons to meeting together.

Pros

1. Potential sharing of programming with faculty
2. Serendipitous encounters with faculty
3. Sponsorship by vendors who attend ACSA and the ability to meet the vendors (I don't think we'd take a huge hit on funding as most of our sponsors are specific to AASL.)

Cons

1. Lack of control (location, time, hotel venue are all chosen by ACSA)
2. Expenses (Room and AV services can run $800-1000/day and catering is dictated by the hotel and therefore relatively expensive)

Based on our discussion at the Strategic Planning session in Seattle and our subsequent work, the idea of occasionally meeting separate from ACSA has been raised.  Here's an idea that we'd like to share and get feedback on.  Perhaps as often as every other year, but not necessarily that often, we would meet at one of our member institutions.  We might do this when we notice that ACSA is meeting in a location where we have no member librarian or in a location where we have just been for another conference or at a time that conflicts with other professional obligations. 

There are pros and cons to this model as well.

Pros

1. Control over choice of place and time
2. Lower conference costs
3. Opportunity to highlight our libraries
4. Chance to increase awareness of our member libraries and make deeper connections with our colleagues

Cons

1. Requires host institution/librarian to step up and handle local arrangements (meeting room, social event spaces, catering) – the rest of the conference planning (programming and tours) would still be done by the Conference Planning Committee
2. Requires us to be nimble and respond quickly to ACSA planning

*Provide feedback on proposed independent member driven conference (location and schedule).*

2019 AASL Conference: Call for Proposals
41^st AASL Annual Meeting
Black Box: Articulating the Architecture Information Professional’s Core in a Post-Digital Era

The AASL Programming Committee is now accepting proposals for the 2019 AASL Annual Conference, which will be held in Pittsburgh, March 28-31, 2019. This year AASL borrows its theme from ACSA to ask the question: What are the challenges that information professionals specializing in Architecture and its related fields face in a post-digital era. Many of the challenges are easily identifiable - shrinking footprints, reorganizations, preservation, the digital divide, data management, digital scholarship, digital literacy, hybrid collections, re-skilling, increased responsibilities, general uncertainty - and are not limited to architecture information professionals alone. The theme challenges us to shift our thinking, to open up conversations about these topics, and to explore solutions. We have the chance to re-imagine these challenges as opportunities, creating a new core for information professionals in architecture that will help us to communicate our value to and  to increase our visibility among peers, administration, and our teaching faculty.

Conference programming will include ignite-style talks, conference papers, and posters.  

Ignite-style talks are 5 minute presentations. Each presentation consists of 20 slides that advance automatically. We encourage those with project ideas or projects in process to submit a proposal for an ignite talk.

Conference papers provide presenters the opportunity to engage the audience on a deeper level and provide greater detail with 15-20 minute presentations.

The poster session will return again this year, and we would especially like to encourage early career members (5 years or less experience) and graduate students to apply for the poster session, though all are welcome to do so. Posters should be formatted to 20”-30”, portrait orientation.

The submission deadline is September 28, 2018. Please consider writing a proposal that addresses the challenges listed in the theme or any others that are relevant to our work. Many of these topics were specifically identified in the 2018 conference feedback as important to our members.

Please note that proposal abstracts will be used in the conference program. Please use this Google Form to submit your proposals: https://goo.gl/forms/Cadx2vsSsoA7tXkY2.

If you have any questions regarding submissions for our sessions, please contact the 2019 Programming Committee at aasl2019conference@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

The 2019 AASL Conference Programming Committee
Jessica Aberle
Beth Dodd
Ardys Kozbial
Laura Marion

The AASL Programming Committee is now accepting proposals for the 2018 AASL Annual Conference, which will be held in Denver, March 15-17, 2018. Our theme this year is Identity Imperative: we will explore the roles we construct as information professionals associated with architecture and its related fields. We seek to understand ourselves as members of the information profession, members of AASL, and participants of our local communities of practice, education, and cultural institutions.  What opportunities and challenges do we share with other information professionals? What is unique to us? And how have our individual and institutional experiences shaped how we craft our identities? This focus on Identity Imperative is fitting as AASL approaches its 40th anniversary. We will try to answer these questions and plan for our future through a Strategic Planning Session and various opportunities to present the work we do.

Conference programming will include Ignite-style talks, conference papers, and posters. 

Ignite-style talks are 5 minute presentations. Each presentation consists of 20 slides that advance automatically. We encourage those with project ideas or projects in process to submit a proposal for an Ignite-style talk.

Conference papers provide presenters the opportunity to engage the audience on a deeper level and provide greater detail with 15-20 minute presentations.

The poster session is a new opportunity, and we would especially like to encourage early career members (5 years or less experience) and graduate students to apply for the poster session, though all are welcome to do so. Posters should be formatted to 20”-30”, portrait orientation.

The submission deadline is September 15, 2017. The committee is soliciting proposals for the following topics, which should tie into AASL’s theme, Identity Imperative.

Accreditation + Assessment 
Tenure & Promotion – Alt-metrics – Measuring Impact – Alternative Skills for Librarians

Architecture School Collections 
Documenting Student Work – Institutional Repositories – Born-Digital Architectural Records – Special Collections & Archives

Denver 
Proposals celebrating Denver and its unique architectural identity

Digital Scholarship 
Digital Humanities – Student Work – Exhibits & Projects – Digital Repositories, Asset Management, & Metadata

Outreach & Collaboration 
Grants – Interdisciplinary Opportunities – Partnerships – Community Engagement

Instruction 
Information Literacies – Research Assistance – Curriculum Development & Mapping – Supporting Traveling Studios

Please note that proposal abstracts will be used in the conference program. Please use this Google Form to submit your proposals: https://goo.gl/forms/D3KdLBltyIPd3Cnz2

We would also like to encourage our members to consider submitting a paper to the Open Session in ACSA in order to generate and to foster a collegial exchange of ideas between ACSA and AASL. For more information, please visit their conference website.  

If you have any questions regarding submissions for our sessions, please contact the 2018 Programming Committee at jaberle@ufl.edu.

We look forward to you sharing your work and stories with us in Denver.

Sincerely,
The 2018 AASL Conference Programming Committee
Jessica Aberle
Beth Dodd
Ardys Kozbial

During the AASL Membership Meeting held in Detroit on March 24, 2017, we reviewed the proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws that I had sent before the Conference. The changes were approved with a few revisions that I have incorporated to the documents linked below.

Changes to Constitution and Bylaws 2017- tracked changes

Changes to Constitution and Bylaws 2017 - final version

Please, take a moment to review them and send questions or edits if you notice any errors by Monday, May 8 to Mar González Palacios (mgonzalez@cca.qc.ca). After that, we will update the Constitution and Bylaws on the website to reflect the approved changes.

As we begin thinking about next year's conference in Denver, we want to get your feedback about the Detroit conference.  We've prepared a survey in which we ask you about the Detroit conference in some detail. In addition to asking you to rank your experiences, there are lots of comment boxes.  Please let us know what worked and didn't work.  We'll take all input into account as we look ahead to next year.  There are also opportunities to make suggestions for topical discussions and tours for Denver.  

Click here to link to the survey.  It will take about 10 minutes.  We'll leave the survey up through April 30th.  I'll send a reminder before we take it down.  

Your feedback is vitally important to making next year's conference valuable to you.  Please fill out the form even if you weren't able to attend the Detroit conference.  Your responses are submitted anonymously, unless you include your email for follow-up.

Many thanks in advance for participating!

Below is the agenda for our upcoming membership meeting.

This agenda and all reports have been submitted in advance and are available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B2ZscKR9gofwT0Zla3ZkZ0UzZ3M for your review. At the meeting we will provide brief summaries and will give time for questions or comments. Please, print out your own copies if you would like to have them for reference at the meeting.

Please, let me know if you have anything that you would like to be considered for addition to this agenda.

The membership meeting will take place on March 24, 2017 from 2:00-3:30pm in Detroit, MI.

Agenda

1.     Call to order

2.     Approval of the minutes for last Membership Meeting (Seattle, WA)

3.     Reports  of Executive Board:

a.     President (Mar González Palacios)

b.     Past-President (Martha Walker)

c.     Vice-President (Rebecca Price)

d.     Treasurer (Ted Goodman)

e.     Secretary (Cathy Carpenter)

4.     Reports  of Executive Appointed Officers:

a.     Webmaster (Cathryn Copper)

b.     List Moderator (Ann Lindell)

c.     Column Editors (Barbara Opar / Lucy Campbell)

d.     Archivist (John Schlinke)

5.    Archive digitization

6.     Reports  of Standing Committees:

a.     Membership and Publicity (Paula Farrar)

b.     Professional Development (Maya Gervits)

c.     Awards (Amy Trendler)

7.     Constitution and Bylaws revisions (Mar González Palacios)

8.     Strategic Planning and Next Steps (Rebecca Price)

9.     Nominations (David Eifler)

10.  40th Annual Conference (Chris Sala)

11.  New Business

Good billing in the ACSA update about our upcoming conference.

.

http://www.acsa-arch.org/acsa-news/read/read-more/acsa-news/2017/03/16/aasl-in-detroit

Read about Cindy Frank's work to make her special collections more possible at the University of Maryland:

http://www.acsa-arch.org/acsa-news/read/read-more/acsa-news/2017/02/08/using-the-special-collections-for-library-outreach

The AASL Nominations Committee would like to announce candidates for the following offices.

• Vice-President/President Elect (3 year term) - Chris Sala, Columbia University
• Treasurer (2 year term) - Kasia Leousis, Auburn University
• Secretary (2 year term) - Stephanie Beene (University of New Mexico)

We would like to thank Chris, Kasia and Stephanie for their willingness to run for these important positions.  Additional nominations can be made by the petition of two voting members and should be sent to David Eifler not later than February 20th. 

We will announce the final slate by March 1, which will be voted on during our annual meeting in Detroit later that month.

AASL Nominations Committee

Cindy Derrenbacker, David Eifler, Sarah Dickinson