I  attended the first in-person annual SGB (SIG Governing Board) meeting since before the pandemic, and the SIGUCCS Executive Committee met for two whole days to discuss various topics related to the SIG.

Some updates from the SGB include an overview of the state of ACM Special Interest Groups provided by the president of ACM, as well as information from ACM about Open ACM (their new publishing program), ACM Financials and SIG Overhead, and the services provided by ACM to the SIGS.

From the ACM president’s presentation, it was interesting to see that some of the issues that we see in our SIG are also common in other special interest groups, including declining membership and lack of volunteers. The president of ACM also talked about looking for ways to reach younger professionals and diverse populations, and how to use different modalities to perform different conference functions (presentation, publication, and interaction were the terms he used to describe the benefits of conferences).

The second most interesting thing to come from the SGB meeting was the information about Open ACM – their new publishing program. In 2020 they announced that all content would be open access starting in 2026. Since then, they have been working to create a program (Open ACM, see https://libraries.acm.org/subscriptions-access/acmopen) that will go into effect January 1, 2026. This program could impact the future of publishing papers as part of the SIGUCCS conference, so you should be aware of this program.

Turning to SIGUCCS business, the board was able to view the location for the 2024 conference and discuss logistics for our meeting in April.  We are excited to be returning to Chicago at the other end of the Magnificent Mile. Within walking distance of the Westin where we spent the 2023 conference, the Embassy Suites location opens up a new set of opportunities for exploring dining and attractions at the end of the day. The hotel also offers breakfast every day and a reception every evening. The meeting spaces are perfect for our small conference and presentation information will soon be available for review. We think you will be excited to attend!

We also began to review sites for the 2025 conference. No news yet. But we have some prospects.

Another topic of discussion was the Affinity Groups that were begun after the last conference and their viability. While attendance at these is not large, and it is sometimes difficult to decide on topics, we feel that these are a valuable opportunity to reconnect and stay engaged between conferences. We plan to continue these meetings but we need your help.

ACTION ITEMS:

If YOU have ideas for a short presentation (10-15 minutes) that can be part of the Affinity Groups sessions, where you provide your expertise, followed by a discussion and conversation with your colleagues, please reach out to Miranda to schedule something! We’d love to showcase your expertise in this safe environment.

If YOU have ideas for a topic you would like to attend, please reach out to Miranda with that topic idea. We want to make these sessions something that is helpful and useful to you.

Lisa Brown (she/her)
ACM SIGUCCS Chair
http://siguccs.org

In late summer, the executive committee asked the ACM SGB (SIG Governing Board) and the SIGUCCS Community to allow the current board to extend their positions for another term of three years. This passed approvals and the executive committee is happy to continue our journey through June 2026. This will allow this group of individuals to host the 2023 conference, begin planning a 2024 conference, and work through the SIG Viability review that will happen in December 2023 without an interruption or disruption to the team. It will also allow us to begin to put into place some plans now for expanding appointed positions on the board to assist with all of these future plans.

In looking at a 2024 conference, the board is beginning to solicit proposals for a location for another in-person conference in the spring of 2024 and hopes to have the location and dates available at our 2023 conference.

And speaking of appointed positions, the 2023 awards cycle will be the last term for Kathy Fletcher and her management of the Communication Awards.  Becky Johnson has agreed to take on this role for the next award cycle. Becky has been an active Communication Award nominee and winner so she is perfect for taking over. We also want to thank Kathy for six years of service in this position. She has done an excellent job!

Lisa Brown
Chair, SIGUCCS Executive Committee

• Conference Chair: Laurie Fox
• Program Co-Chairs: Miranda Carney-Morris and Shawn Plummer
• Treasurer: Parrish Nnambi

As a result, the Executive Committee just completed its site visit for the 2023 conference and we are extremely excited to be planning this for you. The hotel is located in a great part of the city, with access to many restaurants, retail stores, and experiences. We are pleased to announce that the conference will be held at the Westin Hotel, Michigan Avenue located just north of Water Tower Plaza. The board has spent the last couple of days exploring the hotel spaces as well as the surrounding area.  We’ve also spent time on program planning and we think we have some great ideas for March. Watch for announcements as these ideas become more solid!

In addition to being a site visit, this was also the first in-person board meeting for this group since they took office in July 2020. Being in-person and having a full day conversation, which often extended into dinner, was such a treat. It reminded us of the reasons we love the in-person SIGUCCS conference. Networking and building relationships is what makes the SIGUCCS conference so valuable.

One of the main topics of conversation for our board meeting was long-term viability. With almost 3 years since our last conference, we are worried about disengagement. While the idea of an in-person conference in a few months might be keeping you engaged, it might not be enough for everyone. We will be continuing with monthly events online to provide both opportunities for social engagement as well as technical connections.

Stay tuned. This get-together has got us pumped up. We hope to bring some of that same enthusiasm to you over the next eight months in preparation for the conference!

Lisa Brown
Chair, SIGUCCS Executive Committee

It was with great sadness that we decided to move the 2022 conference in San Diego to a virtual event. With the pandemic continuing, and travel budgets at institutions in a state of flux, we decided that while some might be able to attend in person, that it would be better for the overall health of the community to be inclusive and do another virtual event. Additionally, we wanted to be respectful of the conference planning committee and make sure that they had enough time to plan a well-run virtual conference. We are taking what we learned from the 2021 conference and doing that work now! Watch for announcements in the coming weeks on schedule, sessions, and other activities.

Regarding San Diego, while this was a location that we were excited about visiting, we were no longer able to extend our contract with the hotel. Instead we were able to negotiate a cancellation fee that was under the contractual amount in order to serve the SIG as best we could. This was not done easily and it was disappointing to spend money and get nothing in return, but we also couldn’t see hosting a conference for only a small number of attendees.

Thinking ahead now to 2023, the board is concerned about how to proceed. We began looking at sites, but without a clear sense of how the pandemic will shift and whether or not institutional budgets will bounce back, we struggle with signing another hotel contract. We want to hear from you! And we want to hear from you sooner rather than later.

Our next board meeting is February 14. Put on your favorite red shirt or hat for Valentine’s Day and join us to provide us with your thoughts about how we proceed. We WANT to have a conference, but not if it means YOU cannot attend. Do you feel that your institutions will shift away from sponsoring travel and in-person conferences in the future? Is your institution seeing virtual conferences as a permanent and positive shift? If a virtual conference is what you NEED in order to stay connected, we want to make it happen and make sure that it is the best conference we can plan.

Join us for our next board meeting. Monday, February 14 at 2pm EST (1pm Central, 12noon, Mountain, 11am Pacific) and bring your ideas for how we can engage with each other, realize the very positive  benefits of this organization, and continue to build community while not being able to gather in person. Register today!

We’d to hear from you.

~ Lisa Brown, SIGUCCS Chair

ACM Senior Member Award

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Laurie Fox, past chair of SIGUCCS, was honored as an ACM Senior Member this past month. This award recognizes Laurie’s dedication to both SIGUCCS and ACM over the years. For those not aware, in addition to serving on the SIGUCCS executive committee, Laurie has been on the SIG Governing Board of ACM and holds the position of New SIG Advisor.

Keeping an Eye on the 2022 Conference

At this point in time, we are still planning an in-person conference in March 2022 in San Diego. At the same time, we are keeping an eye on the public health situation and making contingency plans if the situation should worsen or change dramatically.

We have received enough proposals to run a healthy program and presenters will be notified soon about next steps in the process.

We are in need of some volunteers for track chairs and readers. Contact the Program Chair, Beth Lynn Nolan, at blnolan@iu.edu if you are interested in helping out!

Looking forward to 2023

We are beginning to plan for the 2023 conference. This will be the 50^th annual conference for SIGUCCS! We look forward to hosting this great event and sharing even more information as planning gets underway.

Hangouts and Seminars

July began the continuation of our monthly hangouts and we had great attendance for a discussion around Return to Campus, and what that meant for everyone. It was great to gain perspective on how each campus is treating the fall semester and helped solidify ideas about a return to campus. In August we had a hangout discussing self-care as we start to feel the stress of back-to-school in an uncertain situation. Look for more information about upcoming webinars and hangouts coming soon.

Awards and Grants

Every year SIGUCCS looks for nominations for its annual awards for the Hall of Fame and the Penny Crane Awards. These awards are very important to the organization. If you know someone that has provided service to the organization and helped it grow, be sure to nominate them. The nomination process is open until November 1 for both of these awards and more information is available at https://siguccs.org/wp/participate/siguccs-awards/

We also recognize that information technology organizations would not be successful without good communication strategies. Because of this, we honor institutions that do outstanding work in this area. Submissions for communications awards are open until mid-October and can be made at https://siguccs.hosting.acm.org/wp/?page_id=406

Lastly, SIGUCCS is always welcoming new members. If you are looking to attend SIGUCCS and your institution has not sent anyone in a while, you might be eligible for an attendance / participation grant. The grant covers hotel costs and registration. The second round of attendance grants will be awarded in the Fall. Learn more at https://siguccs.org/wp/attend/conference-attendance-grants/

~ Lisa Brown, SIGUCCS Executive Committee Chair

Laurie is a frequent presenter at SIGUCCS Conferences, Past Chair of the SIGUCCS Executive Committee (EC), and New SIG Advisor on the ACM SIG Governing Board. She is currently serving as Past Chair on the EC, Chair of the Marketing Committee, and liaison to the Awards Committee.

Kathy Fletcher and Tom Gerace are also ACM Senior Members. We are proud of their contributions!

We have planned theme days:

• Wednesday: Conference Updates (all channels)
• Wednesday: Weekly Challenge Question (Slack)
• Thursday: Throw Back Thursday pictures (Facebook Community group)
• Monthly on Fridays: Board Updates (Newsletter) and Monthly Recaps (email)

Here are all of the SIGUCCS Communication channels:

• email list (SIGUCCS-L)
• Conference News Blog (https://siguccs.org/Conference/2022/blog/)
• Twitter (@siguccs)
• Facebook community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/siguccsfolks/)
• SIGUCCS Slack channel (https://siguccs.org/wp/?p=153)
• LinkedIn group (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1675517) 

If there is content you’d like to see from SIGUCCS, or you have something you would like to contribute, I’d be happy to talk. Contact me at fox@geneseo.edu

2021 Conference

The 2021 virtual conference took place in March and April and consisted of a number of great presentation sessions and social gatherings. With just over 300 unique attendees and session attendance up to 143, the topics seemed to be a big hit among attendees. Each session consisted of multiple short pre-recorded presentations and attendees could ask questions in the chat during the recording. Additionally, at the end of the session, attendees could interact live with the presenters.  Despite being a virtual conference, everyone was quite pleased with the format and opportunity to interact!

2022 Conference

Despite the success of the 2021 virtual conference, we are happy to announce that in March of 2022 we will be hosting a live, in-person conference again. Plan to join us in San Diego at the end of March. Mark your calendar now, and start your budgeting process.

Also, the Call of Proposals is open now and available at https://siguccs.org/Conference/2022/call-for-proposals/

We look forward to hearing what you have to offer!

Hangouts and Seminars

Following a short hiatus from the excitement of the 2021 conference, we will begin hosting monthly events again in July which will consist of either formal presentations with Q&A or hangouts on relevant topics. Final planning for the first few events is in the works. Look for emails on SIGUCCS-L coming your way soon.

Awards and Grants

Every year SIGUCCS looks for nominations for its annual awards for the Hall of Fame and the Penny Crane Awards. These awards are very important to the organization. If you know someone that has provided service to the organization and helped it grow, be sure to nominate them. The nomination process is open now for both of these awards and more information is available at https://siguccs.org/wp/participate/siguccs-awards/

We also recognize that information technology organizations would not be successful without good communication strategies. Because of this, we honor institutions that do outstanding work in this area. Submissions for communications awards are open and can be made at https://siguccs.hosting.acm.org/wp/?page_id=406

Lastly, SIGUCCS is always welcoming new members. If you are looking to attend SIGUCCS and your institution has not sent anyone in a while, you might be eligible for an attendance / participation grant. The grant covers hotel costs and registration. Learn more at https://siguccs.org/wp/attend/conference-attendance-grants/

~ Lisa Brown

After Zooming with fellow SIGUCCS emeritus members, Jennifer Fajman and Jane Caviness, Leila Lyons thought it would be nice to have a virtual get-together that included other SIGUCCS members. Leila, Jennifer, and Jane have a long volunteer history with SIGUCCS, including being past executive board chairs and Penny Crane award recipients. 

Because SIGUCCS had been hosting hangouts periodically since September, Lisa Brown (current executive committee chair) set that plan in action as part of the 2021 conference, and Christine Vucinich (past board and HOF) helped promote the “past” session to former members. The hangout was also promoted through the conference marketing.

The “past” hangout event attracted emeritus members, SIGUCCS attendees who had moved out of higher education, and many who didn’t have travel funds from their campus to attend in recent past years.  Attendees included some of our newest Hall of Fame recipients, Kelly Wainwright (our most recent Penny Crane winner), Irene Frawley (our ACM program manager for the past 20 yrs), and Alex Nagorski (past board and HOF from the great white north)! Also, a bunch of current members popped in to say hi. There was no formal agenda – attendees used the time to catch up, share some of their favorite SIGUCCS memories, and walk down memory lane while looking through photos on the SIGUCCS Shutterfly site (link here: https://siguccs.shutterfly.com/).

At the same time, the ”future” hangout session included members talking about the future of the conference and the “present” hangout included members sharing thoughts about the current pandemic situation, and how their institutions might be returning to campus.

Contribution by Christine Vucinich

• Check This Out: Loaning Laptops and Other Technology with Ashley Koebel from University of Michigan
• Revamping a Neglected Technology Space for Success: A Team-Based Approach to Developing Training, Documentation, and Communication for a Virtual Reality Space with Doralyn Rossmann from Montana State University

Check This Out: Loaning Laptops and Other Technology

LSA (College of Literature, Science and Arts) Technology Services Loan was created as a merge from different organizations across University of Michigan campus. They provide equipment to students and faculty within the college. They use WebCheckout to handle reservations and checkout. Most equipment has a maximum checkout limit of 72 hours, although some equipment has shorter or longer periods and exceptions are made as needed. Equipment has a 3 hour turnaround time upon return. During this time, equipment must be tested and cleaned.

Decisions about what to circulate are made based on past checkout data, partnerships with Learning and Teaching Consulting and during the COVID–era, reaching out to departments to determine what was needed. New equipment is purchased based on portability, durability and usability criteria. Equipment is reviewed on a life-cycle, usually 4 years, to determine if it needs replacing and if it can be replaced with the same make/model.

During COVID, the collection has grown and more exceptions have been made. 

Read more in the ACM Digital Library

Revamping a Neglected Technology Space for Success: A Team-Based Approach to Developing Training, Documentation, and Communication for a Virtual Reality Space

Montana State University began their Virtual Reality collaboration space journey by installing a large visualization wall, running Sage software, modeled after an installation at another university. The quickly discovered that the wall was not easy to use after installation, and the space went unused except as study space.

During the summer of 2019, Montana created a task force to determine how to best promote and support the space. This was a very efficient group of 12 people that met weekly to quickly re-launch the space with its new mission and service. This group also developed use cases to market the space more effectively.

The revised space includes partitions to isolate the space somewhat so that people using the space feel more private. They transitioned the operating system from Sage to Windows OS to support ease of use. The VR equipment was added to their checkout system. They also added a reservation system and hired a student to hold office hours in the space, was available by appointment and do training. 

Visit their website for more information: https://www.lib.montana.edu/spaces/virtualdiscovery/index.html

Read more in the ACM Digital Library