Librarians gather at Sweet Briar

Posted on July 08, 2011 by Staff Writer

Sweet Briar College will host the 13th Annual VIVA Interlibrary Loan Community Forum Friday, July 15 at the Florence Elston Inn Conference Center on campus. More than 100 interlibrary loan librarians and library administrators are expected to attend.

VIVA — the Virtual Library of Virginia — is a state-funded consortium of nonprofit academic libraries serving colleges and universities in the commonwealth, including 33 private nonprofit institution members. VIVA’s goals include enhancing electronic resource sharing, facilitating interlibrary loans, coordinating collection development among members and providing educational and training opportunities.

Forum organizer and Sweet Briar librarian Joe Malloy says the conference is valuable for practitioners of a discipline that is constantly changing.

“This annual event allows library directors, interlibrary loan librarians and practitioners to learn about new trends and technologies in document delivery as well as introducing new staff members to the VIVA-ILL,” Malloy said.

During the daylong conference, various sessions will cover issues, advancements and best practices across the discipline. Topics range from shipping solutions from UPS to working with student employees to VIVA Wiki. There is also a session for librarians new to the interlibrary loan field.