PEGA-SIS Newsletter
Vol. 2 | Issue 1 (Fall 2017)
Letter from the Chair
Happy Autumn, everyone!
I don’t know about you, but the time since the Annual Meeting has flown by. It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were all gathered in Austin. And yet, here it is: October. This is actually my favorite time of year. The weather has turned cooler so my boots and cardigans can come out in force (Librarian Mode dialed up to 11), and I love the energy that fills the building as a new class of students starts its journey. For those of you in firms and other libraries, I’m sure you experience a similar feeling during your annual cycles too.
It’s also the time when PEGA takes on a new year. We had a fantastic year in 2016-2017 and plan to maintain our momentum this year. First of all, that means we’ll be continuing to promote and support our recent initiatives. Popular offerings like Ask PEGA and Show Us Your Shelfie! will remain features in our excellent newsletter and blog. We also sponsored our first webinar last spring and plan to propose more this year. And keep an eye out for the evolution of Beer and Edits, which will soon be a year-round initiative.
If you’re interested in getting more involved with PEGA, we’d love to have you. Our committees always have room for more volunteers. One of the best things about PEGA is that it’s literally part of our mission to help get you involved in this profession. If you have ideas or suggestions you want to see implemented, or a way to support your fellow law librarians, please reach out to me. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Deborah Schander, Chair
AALL Professional, Growth, & Advancement SIS
Show Us Your Shelfie!
Ask PEGA
Beer & Edits by Stacia Stein
First of all a big thank you to all participants of this years Beer & Edits in Austin!
Beer & Edits is one of my favorite AALL events. While I enjoy other larger networking events, it is sometimes too easy at the Annual Meeting to get lost in a crowd. Everyone seems to already know everybody. Many experienced librarians see the conference as an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues. As a newer librarian it can be daunting to jump in and forge new connections.
The first time I attended an Annual Meeting, in 2015, I stayed away from Beer & Edits because, although the beer aspect sounded promising, I didn’t think I had any scholarly interests. What I learned last year was that there is a scholarly aspect of my work that I am interested in, would like to explore, and maybe write something about. People participate in Beer & Edits in a number of ways and have a variety of different experience levels. Some people have written complete or almost complete papers and are looking for feedback (and others volunteer to provide that feedback). Others have the germ of an idea and want to meet someone with whom they can discuss the idea, flesh it out, and perhaps find a collaborator. Some participants might have complete idea-block and be looking to brainstorm ideas. Discussion can really get flowing as the beer does.
The event is open house style with participants arriving and departing at different times. The organizers of Beer & Edits have at least a couple of matches for everyone and work to facilitate these matches during the event. While sometimes chaotic, no one who attends Beer & Edits is ever left standing awkwardly alone with nary a potential collaborator.
But what happens if you would like someone to look over a draft paper or collaborate on a project and it is August, or December, or March? PEGA-SIS is currently developing ways to expand its scholarly networking and matchmaking opportunities year round by leveraging My Communities. This exciting project will help us build Beer & Edits into a permanent year round networking program. Beer & Edits on My Communities will be a place for people to exchange scholarly ideas, find readers and editors, and connect with collaborators. We hope to launch the new program at the start of 2018.
Please sign up for Beer & Edits on My Communities in order to participate. We want to offer the same matchmaking and networking opportunities to members irrespective of the time of year or whether one has the chance to attend the Annual Meeting. And, of course, we are looking for feedback and volunteers!!! If you wish to be a part of building this new space please contact stacia.stein@yale.edu.
All About CVs
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