News

Dear USAIN members and conference attendees,

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta issued a statement about the likelihood that the coronavirus will spread in the United States.  They are not currently able to say how far the disease will spread, and it is unclear how federal, state and local authorities will react in the weeks to come.

The USAIN Executive Council and our conference hosts at Texas Tech University are monitoring the situation with regard to our April conference in Lubbock.  As of this writing, we are continuing with our plans for the conference from April 26-29, which will feature pre-conferences, invited speakers, breakout sessions, posters, cornhole, learning the two-step, and much more.  

While our biennial conference is the highlight of our year and a wonderful opportunity for all of us to meet and exchange ideas, it is also important that we act in the best interests of everyone’s health, well-being and safety.  We will continue to monitor the situation in conjunction with the leadership at Texas Tech and any relevant local officials, and we will keep you updated periodically on our plans if anything changes as the April conference date draws near.

The CDC is the definitive authority on disease monitoring and on guidance regarding domestic and international travel.  So far it is international travel that is being contained at higher education institutions with advisories to limit participation in study abroad programs to and from specific countries.  We are watching for any advisories that apply to domestic travel in the United States beyond the standard precautions for preventing the spread of coronavirus that are similar to those used for colds and flu.  So far, the USAIN2020 Conference is a go!

If you have questions, you may direct them to the Texas Tech conference co-chairs, Innocent Awasum and Jack Becker or the USAIN Conference co-chairs, Kristen Mastel and Melody Royster.

Sincerely,

Claudine Jenda & 

USAIN Executive Committee 

The USAIN Nominations and Elections Committee invites nominations for the positions of President, Secretary, and Director.  Please consider nominating yourself or someone you recommend for one or more of these positions.  The committee will reach out to nominees for confirmation.

• The USAIN President has a three-year cycle (President-Elect, President, and Past President) and is typically someone who has past or current experience serving on the USAIN Executive Council.

• The USAIN Secretary serves a two-year term, starting on June 1, 2020, with the possibility of running for an additional term.

• There are three Director positions to fill.  Each Director serves a two-year term, starting on June 1, 2020, with the possibility of running for an additional term.  A Director position provides an excellent opportunity to get involved and see how the organization works.

Please refer to the USAIN Bylaws (https://usain.org/Fullbylaws) and Procedures and Rules (https://usain.org/P-and-R) for additional details about the responsibilities of these positions.

Please email your nominations to Kristen Mastel (meye0539@umn.edu) by January 24, 2020.  The election will open in March/April 2020.

We encourage you to nominate yourself or a colleague for these positions.  USAIN’s success depends on members who are willing to take active leadership roles, and new leaders are welcome!  We also hope you will agree to become a candidate if nominated to run. Feel free to contact me or the other committee members with questions.

Hello everyone!

The communications committee is pleased to share the first of our newsletters with you. We hope that you enjoy it and if you have any suggestions for future content please let us know!

USAIN newsletter 11_19_2019.pdf

The USAIN Awards Committee is pleased to announce we are now accepting applications and nominations for our biennial conference scholarships and awards. The USAIN 2020 conference will be held April 26-30, 2020 at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.  The deadline for applications and nominations is January 15, 2020. 

Scholarships are to be applied to the costs of attending the USAIN 2020 conference is available to agricultural/science librarians in the following categories:

• Graduate Students (one $1000 scholarship)

• Members New to USAIN or Agricultural Information (two $1000 scholarships)

• Librarians Representing HBCU Land Grant Universities (one $2000 scholarship)

The committee is also accepting nominations for the following awards:

• Service to the Profession Award: This award is designated for USAIN members who have demonstrated leadership in advancing the field of agricultural information and who have established new directions or visions for the field.

• Honorary Membership Award: Honorary Memberships are given to individuals who are not members of USAIN, but who have been either an outstanding individual in the field of agricultural information or who have provided outstanding service and support to the Network.

Scholarship application and award nomination information can be found at the links above.  The deadline for applications and nominations is January 15, 2020.  Scholarship recipients will be notified by January 31, 2020.

The USAIN website has been updated with hotel and registration information for budgeting your trip to the 17th USAIN Biennial Conference in Lubbock, Texas hosted by Texas Tech University Libraries from April 26-30, 2020.  

The Hyatt Place Hotel at 2309 Mac Davis Lane will also offer the conference rate of $129/night. The hotel is located directly across the street from the Overton Hotel.

Other hotels in the area are the Holiday Inn Express Lubbock Central - Univ Area at 2115 Marsha Sharp Fwy and Courtyard by Marriot Lubbock Downtown/University at 308 Avenue V, Lubbock, TX.

The full conference registration fee will include the following:

• Registration
• Sunday night reception
• Monday breakfast, lunch and 2 breaks
• Tuesday breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 breaks
• Wednesday breakfast, lunch and 1 break

Registration will open in late 2019.

• USAIN or IFLA Member Registration - $350
• Non – USAIN Member Registration - $400
• Student Registration - $150
• One Day Registration - $175
• Exhibitor Registration - $600

Pre-conference and tour cost information will be posted when registration opens.

The conference will be followed by the Agricultural Network Information Collaborative (AgNIC) Annual meeting, April 29-30, 2020. You may register for both USAIN and AgNIC together or register for only the AgNIC Annual Meeting.

• AgNIC Annual Conference PLUS USAIN Member Registration - $500
• AgNIC Annual Conference ONLY (April 29-30) - $125

Hello everyone!

This past year marked the 30th anniversary of USAIN (June 1, 2018 – May 31, 2019). It was a busy year that included continuing initiatives as well as new projects such as an oral history special project to document the history of USAIN and the changing landscape of agricultural librarianship. For more information please check out the complete presidents report here USAIN President's Report 2019.pdf.

The review committee received a number of intriguing proposals for the 2nd USAIN Research Fellows Award. The committee recommended two proposals to support this year: 

• Inga Haugen received an award to support her project, "Virginia Agriculture Publications Inventory" 
• Emily Lin received an award to support her project, "Agricultural State and Local Literature: Where are the Gaps in Preservation and Access?" 

Congratulations to Inga and Emily! We look forward to hopefully hearing more about their research projects at USAIN 2020!

- USAIN Research Fellows Award committee members: 

Kiri DeBose, Britt Foster, Allison Level, and Becky Miller 

I am excited for the future of USAIN by the number of members that were interested in running for a position on the Executive Council. The USAIN Election results have been tallied and our new officers will be:

President-Elect (2019-2022), Jessica Page has been elected

Treasurer (2019-2021), Valrie Minson has been elected

Director(2019-2021), Megan Kocher has been elected  

Director(2019-2021), Stephanie Ritchie has been elected 

Director(2019-2021), Suzanne Stapleton has been elected  

I want to thank them for their commitment to service and to the other USAIN members who stood for election. Thank you also to the USAIN Nominations and Elections Committee (Noel Kopriva, Melody Royster, Leslie Delserone), as it takes a lot of time and energy to ensure that we have a slate for elections. Please join me in congratulating our new officers.

In addition, we will soon be appointing committee and interest group membership and leadership. If you have any interest in serving please contact Kristen Mastel (meye0539 AT umn DOT edu). 

The President's proposed FY 2020 budget eliminates funding for libraries by eliminating the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and millions of dollars dedicated to America’s libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Funding through IMLS and LSTA make our communities stronger through programs and services.  We encourage all USAIN members to send a letter to their representative to preserve federal funding for libraries. One opportunity is through the ALA form. One letter asks members of the House Appropriations Committee to fully fund the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the other asks the Committee to fully fund the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program. 

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Kristen Mastel

USAIN President 

Hello everyone!

Planning has begun in earnest for the 2020 USAIN conference  to take place at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Please save the date April 25^th – 30^th, 2020 with Theme: Smart Agriculture in the era of Climate Change. In order to continue the planning of the conference, we are looking for volunteers to be part of any of the following committees below:-

Sponsors & Exhibits Committee (Chair Kristel Mastel )

The primary responsibility of this committee is to identify sponsors and exhibitors to financially support the 2020 USAIN Conference (raise a minimum of $15,000). Secondarily, this committee will work with members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC)[Grant Gerlich is LOC liaison and member of the committee] to secure conference materials, local sponsorship, and door prizes.

Contributed Papers & Poster Selection Committee ( Chair Scott Marsalis)

The primary responsibility of this committee is to plan and organize the contributed papers and posters session for the 2020 USAIN Conference. Secondarily, the committee will work with Interest Group Conveners to organize their sessions. It will be important to have a member of the LOC in this committee.

Preconference Committee (Chair Britt Forster)

The primary responsibility of this committee is to plan and organize the pre-conference session(s) for the 2020 USAIN Conference. The Conference Planners would like to offer a variety of programming types, to provide member speaking opportunities as well as unique sessions.

Invited Speakers Committee ( Co Chairs Jack Becker and Peter Fernandez)

The primary responsibility of this committee is to plan and organize the keynote and plenary speakers invited to present at the 2020 USAIN Conference.

USAIN depends on us volunteering for when we do, we have opportunities to learn, serve, share, grow, and  lead.  I encourage members to sign up and volunteer to be part of any of the committees. It is a really fun experience. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact conference co-chairs Innocent Awasom Afuh (awasom.afuh@ttu.edu) and Jack Becker (jack.berker@ttu.edu) with either specific interests or a general willingness to serve where needed. We will try to accommodate everyone’s preferences  and have committee roasters set by March15th, 2019. Thereafter the various committee chairs/co-chairs would set the ball rolling in their committees.

Thank you all for stepping up to help in the planning towards and putting into place  a fantastic USAIN 2020 conference.

Sincerely,

Innocent Awasom (awasom.afuh@ttu.edu)  and Jack Becker (jack.becker@ttu.edu) USAIN 2020 Co-chairs