DLIS Spring Symposium

This spring’s Symposium was a great success with attendance from many alumni, students, faculty, and local librarian professionals. Many LIS topics were presented including: community engagement, children services, databases & metadata & more!

ALA President Elect

The featured speaker Barbara Stripling, ALA President Elect, spoke with enthusiasm and inspired attendees to focus on the important work in librarianship: literacy, innovation, and community engagement. Of particular interest to our archive students, Dr. Stripling discussed moving toward primary sources. Studies show when context for cultural objects is expressed, a viewer’s empathy for the culture is increased. Students and attendees enjoyed Dr. Stripling’s presence throughout the day, enjoyed conversation   with her, and her terrific energy and passion was spread. Thank you for joining us, Dr. Stripling!

Faculty & Professionals 

A number of professionals from the NY Metro area spoke about programming and problem solving. Alumna Selina Sharmin presented on programming and services initiated by the New Americans Program at Queens Public Library. Sharmin inspired the audience with experiences in developing programs for multiethnic communities, and even to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider. The director of Gold Cost Library, Michael Morea, explained his innovated approach to helping users with everyday technology needs. He recommends that his librarians provide “the info people are not going to find out of the box”. Beth Reiten, a professional trainer for ProQuest, described facets of the bibliographic company, and the numerous possibilities for librarians and information professionals in these arenas.

Students and Alumni

The symposium is a great place for students and alumni to practice presenting in the profession. Recent alumna April Earle and current student Kathleen Curran (right) presented on the Oral History Project they have assisted with through their class projects. Recent graduate Leslie Chen and Gabrielle Hew shared unique perspectives on popular culture. Many students were in attendance and enjoyed conversing with the area professionals. A group of both current students and alumni presented on interning experiences, projects they completed through internships, and their personal perspectives on starting out in a new