GIL Users Group Meeting 2005

2005 GIL Users Group Meeting
Thursday, May 19, 2005
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Macon State College

Dear Colleague:

We invite you to join us on Thursday, May 19, 2005, at Macon State for the 5th annual GIL Users Group Meeting. GUGM provides a rare opportunity to come together as University System Libraries' staff for a day of learning and sharing. We continue the tradition of providing updates about Endeavor's Voyager software, sharing best practices using the software, and serving library users. These sessions explore new initiatives that hold promise for adoption by all our libraries.

Kris Biesinger, OIIT Assistant Vice Chancellor for Advanced Learning Technologies, was an exciting presenter at last year's conference. It was a "no brainer" for the planning committee to bring her back this year as keynote speaker. Her message will draw on her recent leadership role with GACollege411, address issues of collaboration, and perhaps even touch on pertinent lessons she's learning from her 16-year old.

By attending GUGM 2005, you'll get to connect with individuals like yourself who share the common goals of advancing our exciting enterprise and delivering superlative information content and services to our students, faculty and staff.

This year our meeting is hosted in the beautiful new Jones building adjacent to the more familiar Building K. Our day will start in the Building K auditorium, then move next door to Jones. Lunch will be catered in Jones, with options for eating inside, or outside on the patio or on picnic tables by the lake. You're going to love the larger meeting rooms.

GUGM 2005 is open to all USG library staff and to other Georgia Endeavor customers. Please consider registering by April 15 so that we may optimize meeting spaces and support. Registration will close when we reach 230 attendees, so don't delay.

We look forward to seeing you for this exciting day in Macon!

The GUGM 2005 Program Planning Committee

Send questions, suggestions, and comments to: joy.schweiger@usg.edu

GALILEO Interconnected Libraries, or GIL, is an extension of the GALILEO initiative funded by the Governor and the General Assembly of the state of Georgia to enhance and expand educational opportunities for the citizens of Georgia. The successes that GALILEO has had in leveling the information access opportunities for the citizens of Georgia are being extended to University System's Libraries through GIL by providing students, faculty and staff expanded access to the information resources of the University System's Libraries.

Keynote Speaker 2005
Kris A. Biesinger, Ph.D.
Keynote speaker Kris Beisinger

Kris Biesinger is currently serving as the Project Manager for GAcollege411, a new statewide initiative to help students plan, apply, and pay for college. She is on loan to the Georgia Student Finance Commission from the Board of Regents where she is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Instructional Technology.

In her current position she has the responsibility for ensuring that GAcollege411.org is available for use by all Georgia citizens by the beginning of the 2005-06 academic year. This new statewide resource will provide students across Georgia with resources that help them to make career choices, plan high school course selections on college admissions requirements, compare colleges in Georgia, prepare for entrance exams, apply for admissions online, send electronic transcripts, and learn about and apply for financial aid. Many agencies are partnering with Georgia Student Finance Commission to make this the one-stop shop for any citizen considering college in Georgia. Among them are the Office of the Governor, the Board of Regents, the Department of Technical and Adult Education, the Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges and the Department of Education.

In her service to the Board of Regents, Dr. Biesinger directed the activities of the Advanced Learning Technologies unit, a group of 20 full-time professionals that facilitates collaborative online program development and delivery, manages the System-wide deployment of WebCT Vista, recommends technology standards, develops policy and procedure recommendations surrounding distance education, coordinates technology supported professional development opportunities, and conducts research on issues associated with distributed education.

Dr. Biesinger has been involved in education for over 30 years, holding her position with the University System of Georgia for the last 9. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Delaware, and a Master's degree in Gifted Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia.