2025 Executive Committee

 We're pleased to announce our 2025 Executive Committee!

• President: Anne Hedrich (USU Merrill-Cazier Library, retired)
• Vice President/President Elect: Shawn Bliss (Smithfield Public Library)
• Past President: Robert Heaton (EBSCO)
• Secretary: Jon Ramsten (Community Member)
• Academic Library Member at Large: Jen Kirk (USU Merrill-Cazier Library)
• Public Library Member at Large: Jessie Eiman (Mendon Library)
• School Library Member at Large: Kaye Gensel (Adams Elementary School)
• Library Student/Paraprofessional Member at Large: Moni Edwards (Logan Library)

December Event

Speed date the tech in the USU Libraries's Innovation Hub! Come play with the tech, learn about the space, and meet with friends! Snacks provided.

Wed, 4 Dec, 6:00-7:30 PM

Q&A With Our President

 Robert Heaton is the 2024 President of the Cache Valley Library Association

What is your library story?

In college, my career aspirations careened from classical music to the law, then to Spanish translation, and finally aiming to be an English professor. The latest steps along that path brought me to USU, where I collaborated with the talented librarians Sandra Weingart, Kacy Lundstrom, and Wendy Holliday in teaching freshman writing as a master's student. Rather than move on to a PhD in English, I stuck around in Logan after graduating, and in 2012 Jennifer Duncan hired me as an electronic-resources assistant at USU. I went to library school at the University of North Texas (online) and was fortunate to land a faculty job at the Merrill-Cazier Library right after graduating. I stayed long enough to receive tenure and began working at EBSCO Information Services in the summer of 2022, where I work with a fantastic team to help libraries implement the open-source library services platform FOLIO.

What do you hope to accomplish as President?

Broadly, my goal is to harness the enthusiasm of library-minded people throughout the valley to make life better for all of them. CVLA has a history of providing its members valuable opportunities for collaborative work, professional development, and personal networking. I hope to hold that torch high, promoting the value that the organization offers and encouraging its members to keep collaborating just beyond the bounds of their different employers and library types.

Who are your favorite authors? What are your favorite genres?

I'm not as prolific a reader as many library folks. I have long been a fan of low fantasy, where magic intrudes on the real world (Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" series and C. S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia" are longtime favorites). More recent discoveries include the "Jackaby" series by William Ritter, Stuart Tarton's The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, I think all of which my wife found for me in one way or another. Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series and "Elantris" books are brilliant too.

What do you like to do for fun?

I enjoy baking (including learning the science of sourdough), visiting family, playing volleyball with friends, noodling on the piano (or listening to my wife play), taking backpacking trips with more lounging in a hammock than trekking for miles and miles, and watching either high-quality kids' movies or time-twisting sci-fi.

2024 Library Hero Award

Congratulations to

Joseph Anderson

who was named our 2024 Library Hero!

NOMINATION:
"I would like to nominate Joseph Anderson as a library hero. Joseph has loved and worked in libraries for years. As assistant director and non-fiction librarian at the Logan Library, he advocates for collection diversity and freedom to read, making sure that his collection has items to fill the needs of all members of the community. He is also a strong advocate for patron privacy. Joseph helps facilitate Friends of the Library and has also helped form partnerships with community entities such as Helicon West. Joseph has been involved in CVLA from the beginning. He currently serves as web master keeping the community informed. He also keeps us on track and makes sure we adhere to the by-laws. Joseph has combined his love of libraries with his inclination as a history buff.  For his MSLS, he wrote a research paper on the history of past and present attempts to form a county-wide library system in Cache County. He also recently gave a presentation for the Cache Valley Historical Society on the history of the Logan Library. All in all, Joseph works to help libraries be the best they can. Isn’t that a library hero?"
(nominated by Lauri Hancey)

The award was presented to Joseph on Tue, Jan 23 at our membership meeting at the USU Merrill-Cazier Library.

Annual Meeting

 

Please join us for our annual first meeting of the year. We'll be introducing our 2024 Executive Committee members, presenting our 2024 Library Hero award, and getting to know each other. Hot cocoa and cookies will be available.

Tue, Jan 23, 6:00 PM
USU Merrill-Cazier Library, room 101
(most USU parking doesn't require parking permits after 5:00 PM)

2023 Annual Meeting

The CVLA board will be meeting at 5:30 PM in the Merrill-Cazier Library on Tuesday, January 31st in order to pass the gavel from Jennifer Duncan to Debbie Ogilvie. We'll provide a few snacks and an opportunity for visiting with colleagues before we kick off the new year.

Anyone wishing to park for up to two hours for free on campus should go to the Gateway Terrace (adjacent to the Performance Center on the East end of USU campus). Please contact Jennifer ahead of time for a parking validation code (jennifer.duncan@usu.edu).

Please help us welcome the new executive committee membership.

May Service Project

This month we're helping Logan Pride. There is an office supplies drive from May 15-June 15, and a cataloging party on May 26 from 4-8. 

Boxes and handouts will be offered to public libraries and USU Libraries. Any other libraries may request a box by emailing cachelibraries@gmail.com.

On May 26, help us catalog and process the books at the Logan Pride headquarters (69 E 100 N, Logan). We’ll be entering basic information (title, author, bookshelf/location), and putting “property of” stickers in each book. 

Come for as much or as little as you’d like. Members will also be voting on a bylaw change. Information of the bylaw change will be sent in an email.

Hope to see you there!

 

And, drumroll please.....here is your 2020 CVLA Executive Committee:

President Elect:

Natalie Gregory, Logan Library

Secretary:

Robert Heaton, USU Merrill-Cazier Library

Member at Large Public:

Hollie Dabb, Logan Library

Member at Large School:

Bonnie Odd, Ridgeline High School

Member at Large Academic:

Andrea Payant, USU Merrill-Cazier Library

Member at Large Paraprofessional/Student:

Brynnan Sainsbury, Cache County Library

Congratulations All!

USU's Merrill-Cazier Library is hiring an Archival Cataloging Librarian!

Applications will be reviewed January 10. Check out our employment page for more details here.

USU's Merrill-Cazier Library Hiring

USU's Merrill-Cazier Library is hiring a Digital Assets/Accessioning Librarian. They are accepting applications now through November 25th. For more information check out the listing on our employment page, and you can apply here.

USU Library Pays Homage to 50 Years of Moonwalking with Display

Merrill-Cazier Library has a small exhibit to honor the 50 year celebration since Apollo 11 launched. Featuring materials from the Government Information Collection, the exhibit is located in the Library atrium and will be displayed through the month of July.

The exhibit includes historic materials about the first moon landing as well as USU faculty and student work in space research the past 50 years.

“USU continues to contribute to the next leap through its space grant designation,” display organizer and Government Information Librarian Jen Kirk said.

According to Utah Space Grant Consortium, USU is the number two university in the United States when it comes to funding for space research.

To see more about USU’s involvement, visit this free display July 12th through the 31st.

Check out this display at one of our awesome Cache County libraries!

Crowdfunding Opportunity to Support One of our Cache Valley Libraries

USU is crowdfunding the addition of a mother's room in the Merrill-Cazier Library. Many of USU's students are parents of young children, and a mother's room would be a great help to these students. See the link below for information about the project and how to donate.

Aggie Funded Mother's Room

Congratulations to Paul Daybell, our 2019 Library Hero!

Several CVLA members nominated him together for his work at both North Logan City Library, and USU's Merrill-Cazier Library.  The award was presented on January 19. From the nomination statements:

"Paul deserves to be named the CVLA Library Hero for his continued work within CVLA and all that he does and stands for within the library profession."
"Paul consistently lifts others in the profession and truly cares about the people he works with. Paul is an asset to every library he works at."

Way to go, Paul!

Here is your 2019 CVLA Executive Board!

President:

Sarah Rigby, Newton Town Library

Past President:

Dory Rosenberg, Merrill-Cazier Library, USU

Vice President/President Elect:

Karen Clark, Logan Library

Secretary:

Robert Heaton, Merrill-Cazier Library, USU

Members at Large:

Andrea Payant, Merrill-Cazier Library, USU (Academic/Special)

Frankie Urrutia Smith, Logan Library (Public)

Vaughn Larson, Edith Bowen Laboratory School Library (School)

Hollie Dabb, Logan Library (Student/Paraprofessional)

Local Library Positions Available

The Learning & Engagement Services unit at the Merrill-Cazier Library recently opened a job posting for a Library Teaching Assistant position.

The Logan Library has a Part-Time Library Page position available.

USU Libraries has a new posting for an Electronic Resources Librarian.  

Please see the Employment tab for more details.

March Membership Meeting

 January 24^th business meeting at 7:00 pm

Join us at the USU Merrill-Cazier Library (room 154) on January 24th for the presentation of the 2018 Library Hero Award, the introduction of the 2018 CVLA Executive Board, and an engaging panel on advocacy and community engagement in Cache Valley. 
Featured panelists will include librarians and community members from a range of disciplines and specialties across the Valley. 
There will also be time to socialize with light refreshments being served. 

Please invite your friends and coworkers and help 

CVLA kick off the New Year!

2016 MPLA Fellows

Congratulations to our members Jason Cornelius (Logan Library) and Becky Thoms (The Merrill-Cazier Library at USU) who are 2016 Fellows of the Mountain Plains Library Association Leadership Institute!

Jason and Becky are spotlighted with other Fellows in the most recent MPLA newsletter: http://bit.ly/25yGxbA.

CVLA Serving in ULA

Congratulations to the following CVLA members on their election to positions in the Utah Library Association!

🌟 Shawn Bliss (Cache / Rich Bookmobile) will be a Member-at-Large on the Executive Board!
🌟 Sherrie Mortensen (Logan Library) will be a Member-at-Large on the Youth Services Round Table (YSRT)!
🌟 Becky Skeen (USU Merrill-Cazier Library) will be Vice Chair of the Archives, Manuscripts & Special Collections Round Table (AMSC)!
🌟 Anne Diekema (SUU Sherratt Library, formerly of the USU Merrill-Cazier Library) will be Chair of the Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT)!

We know you'll all do great!

Library Hero Award

On Thursday, January 15, 2015, we presented our first-ever “Library Hero” award to the late Dr. Stephen Zsiray [pictured], a longtime valley school administrator and library advocate. The award was received on his behalf by his wife Paula during CVLA’s bi-monthly business meeting held at USU's Merrill-Cazier Library. The Herald Journal covered the event here. Congratulations to the Zsirays!