APA Librarian Conference Travel Award: Apply by 3/31 for Summer 2017 Conferences

Do you work in an academic or health sciences library in the United States? Are you an early- or mid-career librarian? Are you looking for sources of funding for a conference you’d like to attend this spring?

If the answer to all of those questions is yes, please consider applying for an APA Librarian Conference Travel Award! Through March 31, 2017, we are accepting applications for conferences taking place from May to August 2017. This includes – but is not limited to – LOEX 2017, the Medical Library Association Conference, ALA Annual, the ACRL Immersion Program and Teacher Tracks, and the APA Annual Convention.

The award is intended to help defray conference-related expenses for librarians with less than 15 years of experience after receiving their MLS. Three cash awards are distributed three times each calendar year, and the application cycle opens and closes on a rolling basis. At this time, we are not limiting the conferences that are eligible for travel award funding. Applicants should identify the conference that best meets their professional needs, and explain how attendance will support their current duties and future goals.

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Tutorial Thursday: APA Style CENTRAL Online Introduction

It’s Tutorial Thursday! In this series, we explore APA’s extensive library of video tutorials. In addition to our APA Databases and Training Videos available on YouTube, we now have an emerging library of training videos on our new APA Style CENTRAL® YouTube Channel. Recordings of webinars, like the one linked below, and other training videos are added as they become available.

For today’s edition of Tutorial Thursday, we’d like to share a recording of one of our APA Style CENTRAL webinars: APA Style CENTRAL Online Introduction.

Screenshot from the recording of the Writing With APA Style CENTRAL webinar

This 1-hour webinar, recorded Feburary 7, 2017, covers content, features, and tools in APA Style CENTRAL that can be incorporated into your research, writing or instruction.

is presented with librarians and other platform administrators in mind.

See for yourself how APA Style CENTRAL® can help a wide range of academic users at your institution to easily learn and use APA Style! This one-hour webinar introduces librarians to APA’s newest APA Style® product, APA Style CENTRAL®. This introduction will include a content overview and demonstration of features.

  • Get acquainted with the APA Style CENTRAL platform
  • Tour the learning resources available through APA Style CENTRAL
  • Learn how you can use the platform to support all users of APA Style — students, faculty, writing center staff, and researchers
  • Get information about administrative tools for APA Style CENTRAL such as LMS integration and the Admin Center

Please feel free to link this video or any of our APA Style CENTRAL playlists in your library websites, LibGuides, course management systems, or other locations where students, faculty, and researchers will find them.

For information on attending this and other webinars please see our APA Style CENTRAL training web page.

APA Lunch & Learns at ACRL 2017

Logo for the ACRL 2017 conference.Will you be at the Association for College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference in Baltimore? APA will be offering two training sessions this year, and we hope to see you at one of them!

Can’t attend the session you’re interested in? Stop by booth #1011 for a demo and updates.

APA Style CENTRAL® Lunch & Learn
Thursday, March 23, 2017
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Join us to learn more about how you can use APA Style CENTRAL on your campus. We’ll have a discussion about how APA Style® is being taught on your campus and how APA Style CENTRAL can fit into your current workflow. We’ll also look at tools and services in APA Style CENTRAL from faculty, student, and academic support perspectives, suggesting possible opportunities for partnership and collaboration.

Don’t have a current subscription or trial? Don’t worry! This session is intended for all those interested in how APA Style CENTRAL can be integrated into campus workshops, programs, and curricula.

Walk-ins are always welcome, but priority will be given to participants who register in advance. Be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend: http://asc-lunch.eventbrite.com/?aff=b

 

APA Databases Lunch & Learn
Friday, March 24, 2017
11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Join us for an update on APA’s Databases and Electronic Resources. This year’s session will include a refresher on PsycTESTS®, and will also review new fields and features recently added to PsycINFO® as we celebrate it’s 50th anniversary. The additions include new fields that highlight information that’s increasingly important to researchers, such as data sets clinical trials, and that improve cross-platform searching and search precision.

We will also provide a brief overview of APA Style CENTRAL®, our institutional resource for learning, teaching, and writing in APA Style®. For more in-depth information on APA Style CENTRAL, consider attending our training session on Thursday.

Walk-ins are always welcome, but priority will be given to participants who register in advance. Be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend: http://apa-lunch.eventbrite.com/?aff=b

APA Librarian Conference Travel Award: Reflections on ALISE 2016

The most recent recipient of the APA Librarian Conference Travel Award, Karen N. Reed from the Middle Tennessee State University, used the award to defray the cost of attendance at the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) conference in January. Alison Cody in APA’s Databases & Electronic Resources Customer Relations group recently talked with her to get her impressions of the conference. The following transcript of their conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and context.

Alison: What are your overall impressions of the ALISE conference?

Karen: I had a wonderful time at ALISE! It was very well-organized, and there were a nice range of session topics to choose from.

Alison: While you were there this year, you presented a paper to a special interest group in your research area. How did that go?

Karen: Yes, I presented a paper to the School Library Media SIG, which is an interest group for educators of K-12 school librarians. I was nervous going in, but was very pleased when it was over and I was able to receive audience feedback. People were very supportive but also asked questions that helped me think of an area for future research. You know, when you’re wrapped up in a research project, the subject matter is so clear to you – getting feedback from others can help you see things in a different light, or question where you were going. All of these ideas from others can only strengthen your work.

Alison: That must have been extremely valuable. Was the feedback useful for the current paper as well?

Karen: Yes, the feedback from my audience regarding my paper was so helpful; I’ve taken that feedback into account in tweaking my paper before I submit it for publication. Also, I was amazed at the individuals who attended my presentation: these were well-known people in my field. In fact, several of the people who spoke to me and gave me feedback were researchers that I had quoted in my paper! In speaking to them, I really had to stifle my fangirl urge to gush and instead try to act professional in talking research. But part of me was thinking “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m talking to so-and-so!”

Alison: What a great experience! What else did you pick up while you were there?

Karen: It was extremely helpful to me to listen to the different presentations and compare their research methodologies. I saw a nice range of ideas, and seeing their practical application to a research scenario gave me much to think about. I am currently writing my dissertation proposal, so it was perfect timing for me to attend this conference and soak in the research designs that have worked for other people.

Alison: It sounds like this was a great conference for you. Who would you recommend ALISE to, and why?

Karen: ALISE is structured towards university library science educators, which is a smaller and more specialized group than the prior librarian conferences I’ve attended such as ACRL. This is a more close-knit group of regulars who seem to know each other and work well together across different institutions. If this is a group that you are interested in meeting with and networking, then I highly encourage this conference.

Alison: I agree! And I’m glad to hear that it was a useful conference for you.

Karen: I am just very grateful to the APA for funding this opportunity. The conference went by very quickly, but I will remember it as a career highlight.

Alison: I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.

Now through March 31, 2016, the APA Librarian Conference Travel Award is accepting applications for conferences taking place from May to August 2017. Please see the website for more details on eligibility, deadlines, and application materials.

Webinar Alert: APA Style CENTRAL Trainings for March 2017

 

APA Style CENTRAL® is the newest member of the APA Style® family, launched in July 2016.

APA’s training specialists have developed several webinars for librarians, instructors, and students that include content overview and a live demonstration of features.

Click on any session link to register (all times are EDT).
The Online Introduction introduces librarians to the platform.

Teaching with APA Style CENTRAL details how faculty, librarians, and other instructors can use APA Style CENTRAL in teaching APA Style.

Writing Papers in APA Style CENTRAL teaches end users how to create and save papers using APA Style CENTRAL.

For more information, and to see the full schedule, visit the APA Style CENTRAL webinars page.