A few year ago, Christine Kline, a University of Iowa SLIS student, asked me to advise her work for an independent study on the workforce projections for college libraries in Iowa. Chris completed that study, surveying college library directors around the state, and assembled her findings. She predicted that there would be a sudden rise in openings in academic libraries in Iowa , especially in leadership positions. It is amazing to see how accurate her predictions were as we see the changes occurring in leadership in several Iowa colleges. The retirements of our long-time colleagues in directorships at Central and Grandview, accompanied by Jill Gremmel's departure from Wartburg to Davidson College, affirm Chris's prediction that new leadership will be needed. We certainly wish Sandra Keist, Robin Martin, and Jill Gremmels all the best as they experience their respective transitions. Also, we extend best wishes to long-time Iowa-ACRL member Betty Rogers, who retires from Coe College .
Ryan Gjerde, chair of the electronic communication committee deserves special thanks and recognition for his work on our website. Not only has he worked diligently to bring information up to date on the website, now, as the IREN website hosting solution disappears, he has been busily finding us a new host and transitioning our website to that new location. Our new address is www.iowaacrl.org.
Reminders:
• The Iowa Library Association fall conference October 10-12 in Coralville's new convention center. ILA-ACRL will be sponsoring a session on library consortia featuring Julia Gammon of OhioLink. [More on this below.] The conference promises to be a reader's delight featuring YA author Chris Crutcher; Masha Hamilton, author of The Distance Between Us;as well as many Iowa authors.
• Research award proposals: Watch for a call for applications in October. A $500 grant will be awarded to an ILA/ACRL Chapter member for a presented or published scholarly work
• Consider volunteering for ILA ACRL. Find the form for offering your services at http://www.iowaacrl.org/organization/volunteer.html.
Find a little time to relax before the hectic days of fall arrive!
Submitted by Jean Donham