Thompson attends prestigious EBSCO Users Group Conference
Goodman Campus Librarian Jim Thompson received a special honor recently by being chosen as the only community college employee ever chosen to attend the EBSCO Users Group for North American Libraries event in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The event on Oct. 25-26 consisted of the following: two full days of learning, sharing, and networking; engagement with peers and sharing of experiences and ideas; attending user led panel sessions on getting the most value out of your technology investment with EBSCO; interfacing with EBSCO product experts and Library Services Engineers; and witnessing how EBSCO is innovating in library technology.
"Having the ability to represent Holmes Community College and the state of Mississippi on a national scale was an amazing opportunity at the EBSCO Users Group Meeting in Salt Lake City," said Thompson. He was the only Mississippi college and university representative at this year's conference.
"I received a direct invite from a company that supplies the majority of our state's informational resources," he said. "I remember the second night there, sitting at the dinner table with Stanford University on my left and the marketing team for the American Psychological Association on my right, that our community college was afforded a rare seat to institute change on a national level. We all left the conference with a greater understanding of the services and innovative application techniques that can be used to enrich resource gathering and researching."
Not only did Thompson have this opportunity, he also presented at the Mississippi Library Association Annual Conference at the Lake Terrace Convention Center in Hattiesburg a few days before on Oct. 17-20.
His presentation during the technical services round table dealt with Holmes' diverse circulation materials and the technical cataloging style needed to integrate them into the collections.
"I was afforded the chance to discuss the wide variety of technical services that can be offered to a population," Thompson said. "This, combined in a round table discussion with peers from other libraries in Mississippi, led to a consensus that libraries are evolving and we are meeting the changing needs of our patrons in new ways."
Thompson holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master's degree in library science from USM as well.
