President’s Column, May 2024
“On this June day, the buds in my garden are almost as enchanting as the open flowers. Things in bud bring, in the heat of a June noontide, the recollection of the loveliest days of the year, those days of May when all is suggested, nothing yet fulfilled.”
Francis King, The Well-Considered Garden
As the teaching term ends (and the grading bonanza continues!), we are greeted by the beginning of summer and its multiple opportunities to recharge our batteries and work on ongoing projects.
At the end of April, our ASIS&T Board met in Dublin for its annual retreat, which enables Board members to put other work concerns aside, however briefly, and focus on planning for the Association. This includes strategizing to maintain and increase the organisation’s success, brainstorming for future projects and events, and evaluating processes and approaches to challenges and the current long term plan of the Association. I am extremely grateful for each of our Board members and their collective support and dedication to ASIS&T as we collaborate to develop and promote our Association.
As we enter summer, here is your summer ASIS&T Watchlist:
The much anticipated 2024 IDEA Institute is taking place this month, this time focusing on artificial intelligence. This technology already affects many areas of our daily and work lives. Be at the forefront of understanding, evaluating, and potentially adopting AI by taking part!
Our 87th Annual Meeting of ASIS&T will be held from Oct 25-29, 2024 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The theme for this year’s AM is Putting People First: Responsibility, Reciprocity, and Care in Information Research and Practice. We are delighted to introduce new opportunities for educators and educational researchers to become involved in the conference. Registration for the AM will go live on our website in June. Hotel reservations are already open. Secure your booking now!
Throughout the summer, there will be ongoing events hosted by our Chapters and SIGs. These local events importantly help us reach smaller groups among our ASIS&T community, as well as contribute to solidifying relationships with other societies. Summer is also the time to renew your ASIS&T membership. As existing members you will find a reminder to renew for July 1st when you log into the ASIS&T InfoHub. We hope you will renew now to continue to enjoy all of the benefits of the ASIS&T community, including networking and collaboration opportunities with researchers, educators, and professionals located around the world.
We further invite you to encourage your colleagues to join ASIS&T. Our members are the lifeblood of our community - help us sustain and grow this vibrant community. Individual memberships are always welcome. We challenge everyone to remind their institutions of the significant benefits of Institutional membership and to help us further develop a network of institutions. Institutional members already enjoy a number of benefits, including memberships across member categories, discounts, and listing in ASIS&T’s Academic Directory. In the coming months, institutional members will reap additional new benefits, which will give them more opportunities to collaborate with colleagues. Watch this space! Joining as an institutional member will definitely have advantages!
Full descriptions of membership categories and instructions for joining are available on the ASIS&T website.
As ever, we have a terrific HQ team to help us navigate all of this. We are extremely lucky to have these wonderful people who not only keep the wheels on the bus, but make this feat look so easy.
Wishing you everything good that the beginning of summer brings. Níl aon scammal sa spéir — May you find not a cloud in the sky.
Crystal
“And since all this loveliness can not be Heaven, I know in my heart it is June.”
Abba Louisa Goold Woolson