CEO Launches Blog


  • SLA CEO Janice Lachance has launched a new channel to communicate with SLA members and other information professionals around the world.

    The blog, InfoX -- At the Crossroads of People and Information, is open now with its first post.

    You're invited to drop in, add your comments, and return frequently to see new posts and make new comments. The blog includes an EasyFeed RSS link so you can subscribe to updates.

Tidbits

  • Job Satisfaction Top Topic

    Job satisfaction is the topic of the best-selling dissertation in the ProQuest Dissertions and Theses Database.

    While the database records scholarship from hundreds of academic disciplines, nine of the top 10 on this year’s list are business related -- with topics such as organizational sustainability, knowledge management, and manager-employee collaboration.

  • Blog Activity

    By 4 p.m. Monday, June 12, this blog had more than 9,600 page views and 107 posts (not counting comments).

    By 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, June 14, there had been more than 10,600 page views.

    By 10:35 a.m. Friday, June 16, there had been more than 12,450 page views. There were 159 posts.

    As of 9:08 a.m. Monday, June 19, there had been almost 13,300 page views.

    As of 2:10 p.m. Friday, June 23, there had been 15,500 page views.

    All times Eastern Daylight Time.

  • How Many?

    More than 146,000 librarians are employed in the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistcs estimates.

    Of these, about 63,000 work in elementary and secondary schools.

    The federal government pays the most, with an annual mean wage of $69,700.

    So it follows that D.C. is the best-paying geographic area, with an annual mean wage of $61,500.

  • The Ones Who Taught You

    There are nearly 4,000 post-secondary library science teachers in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics!.

    Some 3,600 work in colleges and universities; about 300 work in junior colleges.

    Illinois, with 900, has the most.

    Californians, with an annual mean wage of $73,800, earn the most.

Maryland SLA on Baltimore


  • The Maryland SLA Chapter has created this site to help out-of-towners learn more about the city. For even more information, see the Maryland Chapter's Baltimore site.

Easy Feeds

Blogs of Note

  • About These Links -- Mouse Over Titles
    Most of the blogs listed here were compiled by SLA staffer Carolyn Sosnowski (marked "CS") for the monthly Information Outlook department "Web Sites Worth a Click." Others (marked "JTA") were added by John T. Adams III, your blogger in chief. Pass your mouse over the title of the blog to see a brief description.
  • Beyond the Job
    If you are looking for a job or avenues for professional development, don’t forget to stop by or subscribe to this blog. In addition to job notices, the authors post links to relevant articles and information about networking and learning opportunities (conferences, symposia, workshops), all good resources to help you move forward on your career path. - CS
  • Catalogablog
    David Bigwood delves into library cataloging, classification, metadata, subject access, and related topics.
  • Christina's LIS Rant
    Focuses on library and information science, especially sci/tech libraries, special libraries, personal information management, sci/tech scholarly comms.... Blogger Christina Pikas is a librarian in a physics, astronomy, math, computer science, and engineering library.and a doctoral student at the University of Maryland.
  • Confessions of a Science Librarian
    John Dupuis, an academic librarian at York University in Toronto, writes this informative weblog that covers science and technology topics, with a smattering of science fiction thrown in. - CS
  • Dysart & Jones Associates
    Jane Dysart and Rebecca Jones are consultants in knowledge management, strategic planning, and professional recruitment. The blog, located on the firm's Web site's front page, features links to articles, notes about workshops -- not just those being presented by Dysart or Jones -- and other bits of information. - JTA
  • EngLib for the Scitech Librarian
    This site features news and comment for sci-tech librarians. The blog's owner is Catherine Lavallée-Welch, the electronic resources librarian in the Laura Kersey Library at the University of Louisville. - JTA
  • Filipino Librarian
    Regular SLA conference blogger Von Totanes produces this Web log for people interested in knowing more about the Philippines, Filipiniana, Philippine libraries and Filipino librarians.
  • Free Range Librarian
    News and refreshing commentary on the library world from Karen G. Schneider, who is also the director of the Librarians’ Internet Index. Frequent postings and comments make this blog multi-dimensional and full of interesting tidbits on technology, intellectual freedom, writing, and controversy. Schneider also reviews books and posts a list of what she’s reading. - CS
  • Information Wants to Be Free
    LIS and tech reflections from Meredith Farkas.
  • InfoX -- At the Crossroads of People and Information
    SLA CEO Janice Lachance on the future of the information profession.
  • Intelligent Agent
    A business research blog by Robert Berkman, editor of The Information Advisor newsletter. - CS
  • It's All Good
    Musings on the LIS world. - CS
  • j's scratchpad
  • Kept-Up Academic Librarian
    News and developments in higher education. - CS
  • LexisNexis Federal Info Pro
    Text and podcasts for federal government librarians.
  • Librarian's Guide to Etiquette
    "A polite librarian is a good librarian." Advice and chuckles. - CS
  • Library Sherpa
    Tracy Z. Maleeff's personal blog about SLA 2007. P.S. -- She's also a guest author on this blog.
  • Library Stuff
    This interactive (lots of comments!) and ahead-of-the-curve blog by Steven M. Cohen reports on technology (search, blog, RSS, communication, etc.), conferences, and, well, many other topics. - CS
  • LibraryLaw Blog
    A blog not (necessarily) for law librarians, but one that discusses legal issues to do with libraries. Copyright, censorship, licensing, privacy…all the hot button issues of our professional and personal worlds today. - CS
  • Libraryola: The Sounds of Library Science
    Christopher Zammarelli's views on the info profession.
  • Liminal Librarian
    "Liminality, the state of being 'in between,' is inherently unsettling, yet full of possibility. Liminal librarians are on the threshold, mindful of their 'in-betweenness,' taking issue with absolutes, and excited about what the future may hold." A new blog from Rachel Singer Gordon. - CS
  • Random Musings from the Desert
    Ruth Kneale, a systems librarian in Tucson, writes what she calls "a blog to supplement 'You don't look like a librarian!'...plus whatever else grabs my attention in the world of libraries."
  • Search Engine Watch
    It’s so hard to keep up with developments in search engine technology, so why not let the experts do it for you? The SEW blog posts up to the minute news on the favorites (you know the names) and newer players (why not try a few?). - CS
  • SLA 2005 Conference Blog
    From Toronto -- an oldie but goodie.
  • SLA 2006 Conference Blog
    Reminisce about the Baltimore conference.
  • SLA IT Blogging Section
    The name says it all.
  • SLA News Division
    News and notes on the News Division, listing of other blogs, and more.
  • SLA PAM Division Blog
    Sponsored by SLA's Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics Division, posts include updates on division activities, comments on topics of interest to division members, and announcements.
  • SLA Rocky Mountain Chapter
    The host chapter of SLA 2007 provides tips on the city, the conference, and more.

Top Blog

  • Offline Comments
    If you have comments, questions, suggestions, or complaints, please send John T. Adams III a note.

Thank You!


  • Elsevier
    The sponsor of the Cyber Connection has made it easy for bloggers to post from PCs in that area of the convention center.

Information Standards Featuring Web 2.0 speakers

We have new speakers for the Information Standards Featuring Web 2.0 session on Wednesday June 6th at 11:00 a.m.

Sophia Guevara, the Digital Content Section Chair-Elect for the IT Division, and author of this month's Information Outlook article, "Generation Y: What can we do for you?," will talk on Web 2.0 - The Basics.

Ken Okaya, resident Web 2.0 expert in the Web Development department of EBSCO, will talk on Web 2.0 Standards.

Jill Hurst-Wahl, President, Hurst Associates, well known information industry presenter and author of this month's Information Outlook article, "Librarians and Second Life," will talk on Web 2.0 Implementation - Blogs, RSS and Wikis.

Podcasts now available

If you couldn't make it to the conference, and even if you did, here are a few sessions that were recorded.  Topics:  leadership development, CI programs, copyright in the digital age, pharma pipeline databases, public speaking, and the LIS profession. 

http://sla.learn.com/learncenter.asp?id=178409&sessionid=3-0C30D4C5-2BD8-4375-B496-BFDFCA34130A&page=109

Presentation Slides and Audio

Updated July 4 to include info on audio and podcasts.

While waiting for presentation slides to be made available on the SLA website, you may want to check out those that are already up on the following websites: Bates Information Services, the Business and Finance Division, and the News Division (slides and audio). Six podcasts are also available at Click University.

And don't forget to check out the detailed notes on the following blogs: Confessions of a Mad Librarian, Data Obsessed, The Information Auditor, and Library Buzz.

This post was adapted from "SLA 2006: The Sessions."

Would you pay $5000 to attend SLA?

It can cost that much for some of the attendees from outside the U.S. to come to the SLA annual conference.  And in some cases, their organizations do not provide funding for them to attend the conference.  Those who do come find creative ways of funding the trip or divert money from other activities (like saving to purchase a house).  Thankfully, some also are able to share rides (once the get to the U.S.) and share hotel rooms. 

As SLA continues to draw people from outside the U.S. to the conference, we need to think about how we can help this group attend the conference without "going broke" in the process.  Can we offer more scholarships?  Travel funds?  Etc.? 

Post-Conference Post

Well, the conference is over and everyone is probably settling back into work, sifting through piles of e-mail, and if you're like me, feeling like the conference was ages ago already. With the announcement that Scott Adams will be a keynote speaker at next year's conference, I am very excited for Denver 2007! It sounds as if they've got lots of exciting sessions in the planning stages, including two that really captured my attention: "The Science of Beer" and "Vendor Speed Dating"! Only 350-odd days to go!

****

In case it isn't evident, I am a huge fan of Mary Ellen Bates - it was well worth the cross-country trip to hear her speak. Her enthusiasm is genuine and infectious, and her sessions are relevant to pretty much anyone in the special library field.  A few more things I learned in her sessions.

From “What’s on the Info-Horizon” – a scary but important exercise is to ask yourself this question: “If I were outsourcing my library, what would the RFP look like?” Forcing yourself to think about what parts of your job could be outsourced is a good way to find out what services you can be adding value to.

From “Becoming a Value-Added Info-Pro” – two neat services to monitor change in search terms and blogs:

  • Google Trends shows you the volume of searches for a given term, and explains spikes by including corresponding news stories. You can also see a breakdown of search volume by major city, region, or language. Very slick! (Try “earthquake”, for example, and see spikes for the quakes in Southeast Asia, Iran, Pakistan, etc.)
  • BlogPulse’s Trend Search lets you do similar searching of blogs. (Try “Tim Hortons” and see the huge spike in early April after an explosion in a Toronto Tim’s.)

Mary Ellen pointed out that these can be useful if you’re trying to familiarise yourself with a particular topic.

****

This year’s InfoExpo was fantastic. I spoke to many vendors and learned about lots of new developments in various products, and also saw a bunch of ones I’d never heard of or used. West’s graphical statutes are very impressive and I’m hoping they’ll come to Canada soon, too. My favourite, though, was getAbstract, which summarizes and rates business books. We order a lot of business books for our managers, and have to wonder how often they actually get read – I would be willing to bet that in many cases, a 5-page summary would suffice. I think this service would be well worth the reasonable subscription fee. Props also go to Shark Repellent for the zany shark-shaped stressballs!

Until next year, over and out!

Future SLA conferences

According to the SLA web site, the dates of the future SLA annual conferences are:

  • 2007         June 3 - 6        Denver, CO, USA
  • 2008         July 27 - 30      Seattle, WA, USA
  • 2009         June 14 - 17     Washington, DC, USA
  • 2010         June 13 - 16     New Orleans, LA, USA
  • 2011         June 12 - 15     Philadelphia, PA USA      

Please note that the dates for Seattle are in July, which I'm assuming are correct.  If not, I hope someone at HQ will let us know!  (I've also seen June dates published for Seattle on the paper sent with your Expocard.)

Note from SLA HQ: The dates of July 27-30, 2008, for the Seattle conference are correct. -- John Adams

SLA photos

There are nearly 200 photos from the conference and conference-related events at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/sla2006/.  I'm sure that more photos will be added as people return home from the Baltimore.

Last Call for Volunteers...

Another year, another (successful) conference.

The exhibits have been packed away and the presentations are slowly making their way to the websites of their sponsoring divisions. Program planning is largely complete for next year's Denver conference and "conference buddies" have exchanged hugs and vague promises to see each other next year. After a week of constant activity, fast and furious notetaking, and feet that cry out for a break, what's left to do?

Volunteer to help with next year's event, of course.

The call to help was a recurring theme at this year's conference; nary a presentation went by without a mention of the benefits, and joys, of playing a leadership role within SLA. But that's not why I'm posting.

After a year of frenzied phone calls, pleading emails and pulling my hair out, I'm pathetically grateful that the conference is over. I wore too many hats and tried to do too many things for too many people. Along the way, we lost volunteers -- a fundraiser here, a Chair-Elect there -- and felt like things were spiraling out of control more times than I can count. There are those who have taken potshots at my division for being "disorganized" -- and yet, disorganization wasn't the issue. Running a division, and putting on a full slate of programming under the guidance of two or three volunteers was the issue. We absolutely did the best that we could, given the circumstances. And I think we did a pretty dang good job.

My point -- and I do have one -- is that, despite the challenges inherent in holding a leadership role in a professional organization with committees staffed with volunteers, I've learned more in the last year than I even thought possible. I've planned events, created presentations, moderated a listserv, played at web design and coaxed volunteers. Okay, dragged them kicking and screaming. I spoke at six different events during this conference and attended more sessions than I even thought possible.

All of this from someone who, just a few years ago, had a paralyzing fear of public speaking. Who approached each conference with just a bit more than a bit of trepidation. Who knew a handful of people at every conference -- but nothing more than that.

Certainly, it's easy to have a reason why you cannot get involved. You already have countless demands on your time, after all, between work and family and church and life and sleeping. Within the Solo Division, a lack of time takes on a new meaning -- how many times have I heard "but I'm a SOLO. I don't have time to breathe, let alone..." What of those people who are members of -- and active volunteers for -- multiple divisions? Who are giving their spare time to the Engineering Division, for instance, and can't imagine that they could find the time to help SciTech or Solo, as well?

Each and every one of those reasons is valid. But, at the risk of sounding cliched, you have to look past the excuses and towards the benefits. Looking to move into a "techy" role at work? Perhaps you can enrich your skill set through a volunteer role. Nervous about your quarterly "State of the Library" presentation? Why not hone your public speaking skills in the supportive environment of SLA? For every reason not to get involved, there are two or three ways in which you could help your division, or chapter, while helping yourself. It's easy to stand on the sidelines and complain about the program offerings, or to criticize division (or chapter) leadership for making choices that you wouldn't have made. Get involved. Make changes. Have a voice. Lend a hand.

Why not give it a shot? Can't hurt.

Non-librarian speakers

I attended several sessions this year where the speaker was not a librarian or information professional, and I think these speakers add some different perspectives to the conference.

At The Island of Lost Maps, author Miles Harvey spoke about the assistance he received from special collections librarians in researching his book about map thefts, and also provided some insight into the respective cultures of rare books collections and map dealers. There are a lot of issues with special collections that I had not thought of—for instance, that libraries might not report thefts for fear of losing the trust of donors and funders.

At the Map Collection Reception, author Pete Petersen (who assured us that is his real name!) spoke about the process of piecing together a historical event, and librarians from Johns Hopkins University showed us a binder of maps that he gave to the library.

In The Science of Chocolate, two scientists from Hershey talked about how chocolate is produced and the health benefits of consuming chocolate (welcome news to the audience, of course!). The second speaker, a nutritionist, used a library card graphic on each of her slides that used information provided by Hershey's information center. It was an interesting way to highlight library usage, and hopefully inspiring to her colleagues as well as to the librarians in the audience.

While hearing from our colleagues in the information profession is a must at an SLA conference, hearing from those in other professions about how they use and contribute to our resources is vital as well.

Getting out of the Convention Center

Not that there is anything wrong with the Baltimore Convention Center—it was actually quite nice and it would be difficult to have a conference of this size without a convention center—but it was wonderful to have a few sessions at other locations.

I blogged earlier about The Island of Lost Maps, held at the Peabody Library, a short walk north from most of the conference hotels. On Wednesday, I attended the Map Collection Reception at Johns Hopkins University. The staff had put out a variety of Baltimore maps for us to look at while we munched on finger food and chatted, and then Pete Petersen, author of The Great Baltimore Fire, gave a very enjoyable presentation. Again, thanks to Jim Gillispie of the Geography & Maps Section (Social Science Division) for putting together some unique programs. I hope that our members from the Denver area will get involved with program planning and find opportunities like this for next year.

The tours always provide opportunities to get away from the convention center and get a behind-the-scenes look at local attractions. On Thursday, I went on a tour of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Despite some glitches with the tour bus, and an overpowering feeling of exhaustion that hit many of us at the end of the day, it was an interesting tour. The National Library of Medicine processes over a thousand document delivery requests every day!

INFO-EXPO Hall Winners

Winners in exhibit hall drawing were:

  • Sony Handy Cam winner at the Grand INFO-EXPO Opening: Marg Anderson, from Calgary, Alberta Canada.
  • Winner of the 4-night hotel stay in Denver at the Exhibitor Breakfast: JeraLynn Lee, American Academy of Pediatrics.
  • Winner of the $2,000 InterAction Passport Game: Vanessa Brogsdale, AARP, Washington, DC.

The exhibitor winner of the $2,000 will be announced in August and the two conference survey winners will be announced in July.

JHW's Notes: Digitization at MHS

One of the presentations that I heard was the library director of the Maryland Historical Society talking about the Eubie Blake Collection.  The director, Beatriz Hardy, spoke about all the things that went wrong as they tried to work on the project as well as how the problems were overcome.  It is a miracle that the project was completed and completed successfully!  Then she listed her "lessons learned."  They were:

  • Be flexible
  • Look at different angles (see the project from different angles, look at different ways of getting things done)
  • Reveal your problems
  • Be willing to admit that you don't know (whatever that may be)
  • Hire good people and check their references
  • Don't limit yourself geographically (vendors, staff, etc.)
  • Keep good records
  • Students work cheap
  • Have humor

Technorati tag: ,

Fireworks to Close the Conference

I believe it was Christina, a member of the host chapter, who told me that because Wednesday was Flag Day--an American holiday celebrating the American flag--there would be a fireworks display above Fort McHenry. Since the weather was rather crummy and I decided to spend a few more hours networking instead of venturing off on my own to find the fort, I went to dinner with some of the News Division members, then headed to the suite for a final night of networking. I had mentioned the fireworks to the others, but since it was beginning to rain, I wasn't hopeful that we'd see them.

"Fireworks! Look!"

Sure enough: not only were they exploding over the fort, but they were within easy view from the suite. We crowded around a window and watched.

"They're celebrating because the librarians are leaving," we joked.

I couldn't think of a better way to wrap up a conference than with such a display.

WEDNESDAY, 14 JUNE

Happy Flag Day from the birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner

Session 1: Competencies: Knowledge Sharing, presented by Arthur J. Murray, D. Sc., Applied Knowledge Sciences, Inc. and moderated by Craig Wingrove, KPMG LLP, for the Leadership and Management Division.
At least 90 people—an overflow crowd even after we got more chairs—attended this session at 7:30a.m., even though there was no food provided. Impressive.
He first talked about the knowledge life cycle: capture, share, apply. You can’t just do one; you must do them all.
The objective is to get the right knowledge to the right people and apply it in the right way. The speed at which this cycle occurs is increasing.
Knowledge life cycle check:
1. What is the result you’re trying to produce? Most knowledge sharing efforts fail because they tried to capture all the knowledge in the organization. Apply the Pareto principle—be selective—get the 20% that delivers 80% of the result. What are the key decisions involved in that result? This is the most important part of knowledge sharing!
2. Has the right knowledge been identified and captured?
3. Has it been made available to those who need it?
4. Has it been applied consistently to achieve the desired result?

Knowledge is applying the right information. “We’re drowning in information and starved for knowledge.” We want to capture knowledge to help make informed decisions.
The decision cycle: acquire information, assess or interpret it, make a decision based on it, communicate the decision, and act on that decision. We’re over invested in acquiring and acting, under invested in the others. The result? Poor or inconsistent decisions, repeated mistakes, wasted time and effort, erroneous effort, wrong interpretations. What is the cost?
Can one decision do you in? No, but a bunch of little ones can do it. If everyone makes one little one on the way to filling the CEO on background for a decision, what is the probability that he/she will make the right decision?

What is the one biggest obstacle to your organization being a true sharing knowledge enterprise? Unsupportive key management, cultural differences, knowledge hoarding, no effective mechanism for sharing, communication, and lack of clarity at lower levels as to what the organization’s goals are.

The largest portion of the presentation was his knowledge sharing competencies quiz. Murray showed us pictures and asked what competencies they portrayed.
used car salesman: ability to sell your ideas; credibility
train conductor: make people feel welcome in the system, make it fun, make them want to share knowledge
ballroom dancers: ability to lead and follow; partnership; patience—you cannot force the system to work
quilters: coordinate and “connect the dots”
gardener: nurturing; weeding
faith healer: get rid of demons
magic: look into the future
jazz musician: toot your own horn, improvise
Native American storyteller: storytelling—both your own and draw out others’ stories, share stories
mountain climber: scaling the heights, find extra strength to finish the job, fortitude and stamina and endurance, be in it for the long haul, “the view at the top is spectacular,” be willing to take the risk (but with the right equipment and support)
Jefferson, Adams, Washington: leadership, vision
athletic coaches: coaching, mentoring, motivation
high stakes poker players: risk taker, strategy
currency traders on the stock exchange: getting people to see the value and articulate it to others
ship’s captain: chart the course
bridge builder: break down information silos
fly fisherman: making the lure, enticing others into the system and hooking them
gymnast: balance
stand up comedian: lighten up, entertain
cheerleader: lead, regular communication
archaeologist: find the hidden knowledge nuggets, may have to unearth them and lead people to them
chess player: strategy, looking several moves ahead
white house press secretary: communicator
cowgirl: corral people, often is like herding cats
demolition team: demolish existing barriers to knowledge sharing, tear down old hierarchical structures
chiropractor: “organizational chiropractor,” getting things into alignment
window washer: sometimes you have to do the scut work

 He also had a bowl of water on the head table and three drinking bird toys. This was an illustration of how to get your customers to drink from the font of knowledge. They won’t do it by themselves; sometimes you just have to plunge them in; someone has to take the first plunge. Does adding more knowledge (water) help? No. With patience, he finally got all of them drinking.

 The four stages® of contribution (from Gene Dalton and Paul Thompson, The Four Stages® of Careers in Organizations, Novations Group, Inc., 1993)
1. contributing dependently (under supervision)
2. contributing independently—many people stop here
3. contributing through others. You can no longer be the only “go to” person; you have to give them the tools to become “go to” people too.
4. contributing strategically. Everything you contribute works to achieve strategic goals

 In contrast to the old, document-centric approach, the new, knowledge-centric approach involves:
1. everything in the old model, plus
2. cataloging people (and the knowledge in their heads)—not just the where but the who
3. then connecting people who need to be connected
4. motivating them to collaborate and share knowledge (carrot and stick, give back/coach others in order to survive and compete as an organization)
Start with one small project, succeed, then word will spread of your success and others will join in.

You must implement organizational alignment. Imagine a pyramid with the following eight layers. You design the knowledge sharing process from the top down and implement it from the bottom up.
1. vision
2. mission
3. strategic objectives (#1 from above)
4. strategy for carrying them out, execution
5. performance drivers, that will make or break the mission (e.g., new products, value chain, low cost)
6. core capabilities
7. key process areas
8. key enablers (people and technology)
Get over the technology; don’t start from the bottom. Align human and social capital with organizational and structural capital.

The four pillars of knowledge management (from Michael Stankosky, Creating the Discipline of Knowledge Management; The Latest in University Research, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005)
1. leadership
2. organization (understanding the organization, its process, what is there now)
3. technology, only as an enabler
4. learning, must learn rapidly (as an organization and as individuals)

Finally, tips to remember:
1. always “eat your own cooking,” walk the walk—you must share your knowledge
2. get others to link what they do directly to a strategic result
3. jump start if necessary, but let them quickly take over the reins, get them started (with the right tools) then get out of the way—check in now and then and coach if necessary

Questions from the audience:
How do you teach people what is important? Remind them of the 80/20 rule. Everything is important, but what is critical? Make list of all, then, choose the most important; then the most important of the ones left, etc.

“We need to learn at the speed of the rate of change or we’ll fall further behind and not be able to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. You create the future by what you do today.”

A fantastic presentation and a great speaker! His presentation will be posted on his website, http://aksciences.com,as SLA2006 presentation

The Closing General Session.
Karen Reczek, Conference Chair, introduced SLA Past-President Pam Rollo who thanked all the volunteers who made the conference possible, the SLA staff, and the President’s Circle sponsors (LexisNexis, Factiva, , Thomson, and Springer). She then turned the podium over to new SLA President Rebecca Vargha who announced the 2006 SLA scholarship winners She then presented the student chapter merit awards: for outstanding leadership, Pratt University Student Group, for innovative programming: Rutgers University Student Group, for creative use of e-resources: University of Maryland Student Group. The award for outstanding support of students went to the Wisconsin and Minnesota SLA Chapters.

Ty Webb and Brent Mai, co-chairs, showed a video about Denver and the upcoming conference, 3-6 June 2007. Keynote speakers will include Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip.

Claude Greene of Factiva introduced Walt Mossberg, author of the Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal, which has appeared every Thursday since 1991. He also produces his own conference, D: All Things Digital, 27-29 May 2007, San Diego, $4K each, Bill Gates is a speaker, no slides allowed

Casually dressed in beautiful purple shirt. Great sense of humor which can’t be translated to these notes.
What’s going on in the Internet, PC and cell phone worlds and how they connect.
New and different way we should be thinking about the Internet. We now think of it as a discreet entity and way of working. Saying “I’m going on the Internet” will look archaic in 10 years. We need to think about it like we think about the electrical grid. You can plug “everything” into it—it’s in the background. The Internet is a “grid of information, entertainment, commerce and other resources into which a very large number of devices will be plugged and each will take from the net just what they need to perform the function for which they were designed.” “Things in your kitchen will be connected to the Internet.” (Your microwave could download new cooking instructions, triggered by the package bar codes.) The Internet itself will recede into the background; talk more about the things enabled by it. “Your kids will watch tv almost entirely over the Internet.”
“The most interesting device in the world of personal technology today is… the device formerly known as the cell phone.” [or PDA] “The PC (and Apple) has peaked as the dominant digital device—we’re in the post-PC era.” “The PDA is a little computer;” can replace the laptop for light business use. He can sit in his favorite cigar store and edit his PT column and talk with his editor.
There is a problem, however. The carriers and networks “sit athwart the free market” and decide what services we will be able to access. You must go through them. “It isn’t a phone until Lou [the certification manager] says it’s a phone.” The same is true with the cable TV market. This is due to an abrogation of responsibility by the Federal Government. Networks should be able to make a profit, but not to decide what you can access. He compared this to the telephone company before deregulation.
Search and Google and Yahoo and Microsoft and others. “Search has been a tremendously democratizing thing.” But it has stalled; there has been no real innovation/improvement in accuracy or that would enable the average user to be more successful. Things look nicer, a few additional tools. He wants search to “focus more on actual answers, not just a list of links.” The biggest problem today is that “the emphasis has gone from sharpening the search for the consumer to selling ads.” Microsoft is trying to catch up; spending a lot of money with little result so far.

Other problems:
Our copyright system, against the way it’s set up and the way the companies have chosen to exercise their copy rights. We need a law stating what the consumer’s rights are. The law is written as there are no rights except as stated. We should be able to copy except for resale. Against software licenses that are for one copy for one computer; this isn’t the way the world works. The laws need to recognize the realities of the digital world without allowing real piracy. He is not against DRM—it’s just a tool, but against the way it is used, especially by the music industry.
Anonymity and that individuals are considered as smart as experts in their fields. We’re going to evolve into 2 internets: a fantasy one where people can say whatever they want anonymously and a real one. He is still dubious about Wikipedia. (the anonymity can protect people who slander or promulgate bad information). Yahoo! Answers: You can ask a question about anything and you get answers from anyone who wants to answer you. He said, “This is ethically irresponsible. Somebody’s going to die based on your answers. And you’re going to have blood on your hands.”
“I do have great hope and faith in the future of the Internet, accessed by cell phone and other devices.”

Questions from the audience:
What is the future of the information professional? The term is too vague, “it can be used to refer to data entry people in Bangalore.”[Way to go!] There is a need for someone who understands the context, can look for adjacencies, can seek out the information, executives don’t have the time and expertise to search. “Having a skilled researcher or librarian could pay huge dividends.”
What about the digital divide? Do you see a two-tiered Internet where you pay to put your URLs on a faster service? “I’m against it. Consumers will pay for it in the end.”
What is you opinion of citizen journalists and the media? “In principle I favor citizen journalism and blogging—more voices are a good thing, but the problem is that standards and ethics are abysmal or missing entirely. It is probably a historical thing—it will take time; it will evolve.”
Is Open Source a new model for the future? Does it pose a threat to Microsoft, etc.? “Open Source is not a religion that will save us. Open source today is mostly a bunch of geeks making things for other geeks. They don’t have a usability lab; they don’t care about usability. They are 80 percenters—they do only 80 percent of the work. No one’s responsible; someone has to be responsible. Microsoft puts out a piece of software and they are responsible. It’s overwhelming success has been on servers, not on the desktops of normal consumers.”

I am adding Mosberg to my very short list of keynote speakers who provided content, along with being entertaining and interesting. The others are Rosabeth Moss Kantor—years ago in Boston—and Larry Prusak of IBM. There may have been others, but I haven’t been to every conference.

For me, this was the end of the conference (for reasons I won’t go into here—at least not now.)

My Overall Conference Evaluation and comments:
The convention center is an excellent facility. Yes, it is long, but there are lots of places to sit and talk, and two hotels are connected to it. It is also right next to the Inner Harbor, well placed for sightseeing, museuming, dinner out, and just looking at nature. The food was reasonably good, service was adequate.
Why was no sound recording?
Attendance was up 11 percent from last year, but eight CE sessions were canceled. Attendance: 5844. The breakdown: members, 2519 (43%); non-members, 1406 (24%); exhibitors, 1919 (33%).
The Solo Librarians Division was very disorganized this year.
We really need free wifi in convention center, especially if the Association recruits volunteer bloggers. It would also benefit everyone and cut down the number of terminals needed in the Internet area.
I loved having the exhibits open on Sunday. That’s a great time to really connect with vendors; there is adequate time to talk to them.
It was nice that almost all other sessions were in one hotel.
Overall, a pretty good conference. Now, on to Denver.

 

Put a fork in it ...

... because the conference is done.

Img_0435It's been wonderful to reconnect with librarianship and meet with/learn from so many SLA "buds," mentors and pros.  Scarily enough, there's already programming to look forward to next year ...

JHW's Notes: Rocky Mountain High!

Next year, the conference will be in Denver, June 3 - 6 (2007).  That is very early in June, so mark you calendars now so that you don't forget when it is.  What will the conference be like?  I'm sure the plans are still be developed, but here are some ideas I think we need to consider.  (These are from me and others I've talked with.)

  • Rumor is that the day will start earlier, like at 7 a.m.  Question -- how many of us have a hard time making it to 7:30 a.m. meetings?!  (Lots)
  • Think about what day-trippers expect from the conference.  I will admit that I had not thought about this, but someone who comes for one day will likely want to visit the exhibit hall, go to sessions AND hear a keynote.  People who came this year for only one day could not do all three things during that day.
  • Create a nimble conference, perhaps by not filling up all of the speaker slots until very close to the conference.  That way hot, relevant topics as well as hot, relevant speakers can be added at the last minute (and those topics and speakers may not be hot or relevant now).
  • Put an area map back into the conference program. (We all should not have had to ask the Maryland Chapter questions about conference hotel locations.)
  • Communicate better what a "guest" ticket is and how that is different from an "exhibit only" ticket.  (Or using 2006 as an example, what was different between paying nothing to get into the exhibit hall, paying $25 for the exhibits and paying $50?  Yes, there was a distinction...)
  • Have better signage pointing people to the exhibits, registration, etc.  Lots of people had to ask where the exhibit hall was because it wasn't obvious (nor was where the keynotes would be).
  • Something at the annual meeting was mentioned about speaker compensation.  This has been widely discussed out on the Internet (blogs, discussion lists, etc.).  SLA -- HQ and/or board -- should tap into those discussions before it makes a decision.
  • Bring back -- with sponsor help -- something like a dessert party for everyone.  Those where wonderful networking opportunities.  Coffee, tea, water, dessert...doesn't have to be fancy.

If there is feedback or a suggestion you want to give, why not add it here as a comment.  If you're like many people, you didn't do any comment forms (or very few), so use the comment feature to tell SLA what worked, what didn't, and what you'd like to see changed.


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JHW's Notes: Oh the people you'll meet

At my first SLA conference in San Francisco many years ago, I met two women that I see every year.  since then I've met more people whom I see once a year at the conference.  These are my "conference buddies."  Hopefully, if you were at SLA this year, you made conference buddies.  Conference buddies are important people.  They are the ones that help you find good sessions, important speakers and interesting open houses.  These are people who might be roommates at a conference (especially when the budget it tight).  They are people who will care how you are doing (during the conference and afterward), and look forward to seeing you the following year.  Without them, the conference experience is "lacking."  They help to bring the conference to life.

I'm challenging you to look at the business cards and e-mail addresses you collected, and see if some of those are people that you should be keeping in touch with.  Perhaps just a quick note after the conference as a start.  "Hey...glad I got to meet you...."  Then as next year approaches, are some of those people potential roommates, travel partners, or buddies for wandering through the open houses?  Who knows...maybe out of those business cards are people who will be your conference buddies -- still -- in 15 years...and even people that you will see at other conferences.


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A career book recommendation

A recommendation from one person, is one thing. But when you get the same recommendation from three different people, and two within a few days of each other, you take notice. It was a fellow classmate who first told me about the career guide, Now, Discover your strengths. He had raved about it at the time, and I had mentally added it to my ‘books to check out’ list. But time passed, the book list had gotten shelved, and now here I was at the conference.

During the “Writing an Effective Resume” class, led by the fabulous career coach Marshall Brown, he also mentioned a “great book” by author Marcus Buckingham,…. Now, Discover your strengths. (Hmm, that’s familiar.)

This morning, I was in another workshop, “Where can your skills take you?”, where the three speakers discussed how challenges and opportunities in their work lives had evolved into new careers. Sometimes they had come to it through accident, sometimes through pointed reflection. And sometimes, partially, through reading a book. Speaker Susan Zalenski talked about how Discover your strengths had a feature wherein you could take a “strengths” quiz through the book’s website, enabling you to zero in on your dominant traits. Strengths can be the things you always took for granted about yourself, the qualities that you thought ‘everyone’ had, and yet are the things that make you unique and ‘strongly’ qualified for a particular kind of work. Zalenski said the book had helped her a lot--now, I hope it can help me. I guess I’m finally going to follow up on that recommendation.

Q&A from Mary Ellen Bates’ The Ah-Ha Moment

During the Q&A of this session, a few interesting ideas came up. I post them here for those of you who left before this or who weren’t in attendance:

  • Finding nothing tells you something. When your search doesn’t turn up anything, you can still give your client something. Tell them about the information landscape – what IS there, if there ISN’T what they wanted?
  • Never conclude a research request by saying, “Nope, there’s nothing!”. It is a disservice to your own information centre and to our profession. Your client will simply look elsewhere.
  • Sometimes your client wants you to find nothing, but they don’t tell you that because they don’t want your search to be biased.
  • If all else fails, call another librarian who’s a pro in the field you are researching.

Good things to keep in mind when trying to answer potentially un-answerable questions.

The Hacker Ethos comes to SLA

The Tuesday 7:30 News Division session, "News Researchers," probably could have used a somewhat jazzier title.  Something along the lines of "DIY News Research" or  "If You Build It, They (i.e., the Data) Will Come" ... perhaps even "You'll Have to Pry My Automated Databases Out of My Cold, Dead Hands ..."

Not quite what I was expecting at 4:30 a.m. PDT [my natural timezone].  But fun and inspiring.

Derek Willis, Research Database Editor at the Washington Post, talked about technology and methods for acquiring data, but the major theme seemed to be "you can do it yourself."  Derek emphasized that there's a lot of rich data out there in the world, but not all of it is accessible via vendors and when it comes to primary data, it may take a lot of work to make it usable (or just to even put it in a database/spreadsheet format).

His solution: create your own tools.  There are lot of tools out there for finding and aggregating web-based information, but if you can't find tools that do just what you need, it may well be worth the time and effort to program your own aggregators/scrapers/feeds, then disseminate the data (whether raw or synthesized) with simple, streamlined blogs, wikis and RSS feeds.

Derek emphasized that it doesn't take a full-fledged programmer to write and deploy a script with the ability to automatically gather and coalsce data from a source on a scheduled basis.  You need a little extra time, some extra effort, not a lot of extra money (if any ... Derek is a big fan of open source apps), and the willingness to (a) experiment and (b) embrace your inner geek.

The results, according to him?  You can grab lots of data quickly, efficiently, in a form that makes it easier for you to grok (my term, not his), analyze and disseminate to your users.   He also briefly touched on the occasional tensions that may form between library and IT when it comes to software, servers, etc. and how to work with (or around) IT.

It was lively, dense, intimidating (for those of us who aren't yet embracing our inner geeks) and inspiring.

Conference Wrap Up

So today is the last official day of the conference and I just wanted to thank the good folks of the Maryland chapter for hosting us in there great city and putting on such wonderful weather (well it has been snowing in NZ).

I have enjoyed my first visit to Baltimore and although I have not seen a great deal of it I must say I am impressed by it. Your crab cakes are wonderful and you brew great beer (that's important to us NZers :--)) The sessions I have attended have been very worthwhile esp. the one I attended on Tuesday given by the librarians from the National Geographic. What they are doing with the latest technologies such as wiki's, podcasts and blogs is very inspiring. However I could not help think that despite technology what a large amount of time it all takes but still it was very thought provoking.

The opening session speaker Gwen Ifill was also very good. I like the fact that despite her being involved in political journalism for such a long time she is still positive, I know I am not.

To the vendors, great parties as always and keep it up. I and your customers, or potential customers really appreciate it. A visit to Camden Yards and the tour was ver much enjoyed.

So hope you all had a great conference and have a safe journey home to wherever you are travelling and lets try and do it all again next year in Denver.

Mossberg on the 'Information Grid'

MossbergMost people don't think about the electrical grid when they plug in an appliance, and soon they won't think about the Internet when they go online, Wall Street Journal technology columnist told a packed closing general session Wednesday morning.

As more household items -- toasters, refrigerators, and the like -- become Internet ready, "the Internet itself will recede more and more into the background," Mossberg said.

"The Internet is a grid...into which a great number of devices will be plugged -- and tney will take from it whatever they need" to do what they were designed for.

The phrase "I was online" will fade from our vocabulary, he said, because "the Internet is going to become a 24/7 thing for everyone."

Patti Anklam on Net Work

(Cross posted, in part, to my blog) I attended the session by Patti Anklam on Net Work:  The New Leadership Challenge.  Patti blogs at Networks,  Complexity, and Relatedness and she has an Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) page.  Her slides will be posted to one of her sites and to the Leadership and Management Division page.

Patti provided an excellent overview of how exploring, mapping, and understanding your organization's  networks can enable or strengthen collaboration, innovation, efficiency, and can improve the bottom line.  She explained that strong networks are correlated with health both in the personal sense and for companies which can become “more flexible, adaptive and resilient.”   She also appreciates how librarians can be central to this effort because of our positions.

A network, very simply, is a set of relationships.  The relationships can be person-person, group-group, or information artifacts.

The patterns that show up in these maps tend to fall into categories:

  • silos or stovepipes
  • isolated clusters
  • highly central people or functions
  • marginalized voices
  • external connectivity
  • distinct roles and influence

She distilled her process for doing ONA down into general steps

  • start with a business objective
  • design the project
  • ready the organization
  • conduct survey
  • review the results
  • explore metrics (structural vs. centrality)
  • validate results (surprises?  Does it make sense?)
  • what-if, simulation of network w/out key players
  • figure out what action to take (“interventions”)
  • follow-up

She finished with a discussion of ways to build networks.  This should be done taking into account the purpose, policies, leadership.  It is also important to allow for flexibility and organic growth.  Finally, plan for evaluation/assessment.

Thank you, LMD for inviting Patti and Patti, thank you for coming!

Walter Mossberg: No Powerpoint!

Mossber

Walter Mossberg started the Closing General Session with a story about telling Bill Gates and Steve Jobs not to use slides for their presentations. And Mossberg is now talking and walking around on the stage... with no Powerpoint!

The Buzz About Ontologies - Part 2

Just attended the session on Ontologies, Taxonomies and Search with Denise Bedford from the World Bank.  The session was packed, they even brought in more chairs!  Denise gave an overview of what an ontology is, and explained the problems that ontologies and semantic searching have solved for the World Bank. 

Her slides will be posted on the Social Science Division website as soon as she clears them with the Bank (hopefully by the end of this week). 

The Social Sciences Division planning committee met this morning to talk about sessions for next year, and a session on ontologies is planned for Denver.  Hopes are that it will involve an overview of ontologies and how they differ from taxonomies, followed by a panel of people who have implimented the use of ontologies and semantic search in their organizations. See you then! 

I posted earlier this week about ontologies, hence the part 2 of this title. 

Hot Topics: Web 2.0 - Making use of RSS and collaborative applications

Barbara Ferry and I gave a Hot Topics Web 2.0 presentation at SLA yesterday. We were amazed at the turnout and energized by many of the ideas that were shared with us. If you missed the presentation but wanted a copy of our PowerPoint slides OR lost the location of where we've posted the presentation, handout, and sample podcasts, please visit National Geographic Libraries secured website:

  • Note: PPT is no longer available for access.

We'll continue to make it available for a few weeks on our site. Thank you and let's continue to collaborate!

5,844 participants!

Closing

Outgoing president Pam Rollo just announced the record-number of participants at this year's conference.

Attendance Up From Last Year

Total attendance at SLA 2006 was up 10.6 percent over last year's event: for Baltimore, 5,844; for Toronto, 5,283.

The breakdown for this year's conference:

  • Members -- 2,519
  • Non-members -- 1,406
  • Exhibitors -- 1,919

INFO-EXPO exhibitors also were up this year from 235 last year to 305. The exhibiting companies bought 480 booth spaces this year, compared to 441 last year.

There were 71 first-time exhibitors this year; 59 last year.

Click U Celebrates Birthday, Announces New CI Program

SLA will offer SLA members three new competitive intelligence certificate programs through Click University, the first and only online learning system for post-graduate, practicing librarians and information professionals. The CI certificate program will consist of three different levels of curriculum so information professionals can choose their courses based on their function within their organizations.

SLA will work with Knowledge inForm, drawing on the intelligence, research, and training expertise of its principals Cynthia Cheng Correia and Samantha Chmelik to design and develop the program. A blended learning approach, combining online modules with instructor-led classroom training, will be incorporated into all three certificates. Courses will begin in late 2006 and will be open to those working towards a CI certificate as well as to those SLA members who wish to take occasional courses to enhance their professional development and expertise.

The programs will be appropriate for seasoned CI professionals as well as library and information science professionals who are not currently performing a CI function. A third certificate will be a dual certificate combining the two.

Pictured, from left, are SLA Professional Development Director John Lowery, Correia, SLA CEO Janice Lachance, Click U Online Campus Manager Doresa Ibrahim, and SLA Learning Coordinator Shelva Suggs with the Click U birthday cake.

_mkt0334

Successful Competitive Intelligence Models

Ci

Moderator Cynthia Cheng Correia introduces the speakers from left: Colleen Meeker, Margaret McClure, and Fred Wergeles.

And the Winner Is...

The last official business in the INFO-EXPO hall Tuesday was selecting the winner of the $2,000 prize. And the winner, Vanessa Brogsdale, couldn't wait to collect. Vanessa ran through the crowd to claim her prize. In the bottom photo, she is pictued below betwen SLA Exhibits Director DeVonne Henry, left, and SLA COO/CFO Nancy Sansalone, right.

  _prz0387_prz0386_prz0385Winner_1

Sea Songs Ashore

Sea songs, London Broil and a variety of beverages were available to party goers at the SLA awards reception Tuesday evening aboard the U.S.S. Constellation in the Inner Harbor.Harborr

Singers Ship_1 _awr0021

Is that what I think it is?

Briefing1_1 Briefing2_1 Briefing3_2

It looked like two men were on a break at the Baltimore Convention Center's lobby on Charles St. ... but they weren't moving. On closer inspection, it turned out that "they" were statues, complete with faux soda cans and burgers. A little more sleuthing led me to the iron plate on the ground: "The Briefing by J. Seward Johnson, Jr."

 

WEDNESDAY, 12 JUNE

I was bad today. I slept in. Yes, I felt guilty. No, I don’t regret it. Yes, I feel much better now. Moral: The conference is important. Your organization (or you) sent you to learn. But you are a person and there is more to life than work. Take care of number one first. It’s okay to sleep in.

First up, the Solo Librarians Division Annual Meeting and Luncheon. Amanda Dingus Kindall, Earthlink, Division Chair first told us about the remaining Division programs, then talked a bit about the changes and challenges of the year. Among other things, our chair-elect, Kevin Adams, resigned for personal reasons. She and Carol Simon (check name) will bridge the gap for the Division for the next year. Renee Shoemaker is our Chair-elect beginning in 2007 and will be planning the Seattle conference. Carol graciously took over the conference planning for Denver. The listserv was moved to the Association server in January due to the illness of our fantabulous listmom, Gerry Hurley (who is doing fine). We all owe a debt of gratitude to Gerry and Silverplatter/Ovid/Kluwer for all their years of hosting the list (applause, applause). We lost some (probably inactive) members to the transition, but still have over 800 list members, including many non-Solo member. The website is being redesign—look for its new look soon. One of the new features available now are our two blogs: the Solo Conference blog, which will stay all year-round as a forum for evaluation, volunteers, and planning; and the Solo-to-Solo blog (check name) which will supplement and expand on the list—and be a value-added feature for members only.

The Division now has over 800 members—12 new ones just during the conference. This meeting drew only 32 people—but they represent the Division’s die-hard, core members. Program planning for this conference went relatively well. We didn’t try to program every slot we could—quality was more important than quantity (for which we were commended by SLA Board member and past Solo Chair Dan Trefethen). There were 14 participants in our CE Course, The breakfast meeting, Connectoring: Building and Using a Human Source Network, with Dorothy Orszulak, Executive and Career Coach. Communicating Your Value: Presenting to Management, with Amanda as moderator, was sold out.

Tom Rink presented the treasurer’s report for ??. As he said several times during the meeting, “we have money.” Division reports were turned into SLA HQ ahead of schedule. Carol reported on planning for the Denver conference. Program ideas: The Embedded Librarian with the Pharmaceutical Division); The One-Woman Review (Life after Librarianship) with Museums, Arts and Humanities; Open Source Software, Solo as the lead; Dream Jobs of the Future with Business and Finance; Special Librarians of the Future with Leadership and Management Division; Mining Gems of the Enterprise, Solo as the lead; and, of course, Success Stories of Solos. Our business meeting—thinking outside the box—will be a Sunday brunch off-site. Carol also described the conference planning process and asked members to please let her know what you need and want from the program. No complaints, please, just solutions. Judith Siess (me!) introduced John Welford, her collaborator on The New OPL Sourcebook (Information Today, Inc., 2006). Come to the book signing session on Wednesday 1:30-3:00. Carol passed out Solo wings to new members and those members who didn’t already have them.

BTW. Lunch was delicious. A little crab cake, haricot verts (green beans), scalloped potatoes, salad, and delicious petit fours. Kudos to the kitchen.

In the afternoon I attended Mary Ellen Bates’ excellent session, Becoming a Value-Added Information Professional. I didn’t get to hear all of it, so I will let your refer to someone else’s summary.

Instead, I will tell you about one of the presentations from the SLA Contributed Papers: Management Issues session. I went to provide moral support for a friend, but was very impressed with the presentation.

Getting to Know Your Academic Community: The Approach of New Science Librarians Figuring it Out! Anna Stoute (MacDonald Campus Library) and Natalie Waters (Schulich Library for Engineering and Science) of McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.

“We felt at first alone and isolated” in their large, research-intensive university library. From 1993 to 2001, McGill decreased the number of its librarians from 85 to 59 due to a hiring freeze. This meant that a lot of knowledge and expertise left with no one to pass it on to. In 2002, seven new librarians were hired, including Anna and Natalie, both new MSLIS graduates. They encountered the “everyone knows that” approach—new librarians were expected to know the university structure and problems, without any assistance from established librarians. The newbies found a disconnect between their expectations and reality. There was no formal evaluation; informal or self-orientation was all there was. They also expected faculty support; but the faculty expected everything to work the way it did under the “old” librarians and library services were very underused.

So, they had to make their own path. They introduced themselves to their own departments through attendance at informal events and talking to students. They introduced new services as outreach, including free coffee during finals week and addressing student questions by course in bibliographic instruction sessions. And they took a different approach to advertising their services—in the campus newspapers, seen as integral to the campuses. They found that attendance at their events increased as a result. They saw some definite benefits to having to make their own way: they did more outreach, were more open to new ideas, eager to learn, and always looking for ways to improve. They ended with this. “A librarian’s ultimate goal is to provide anywhere, any time answers. So our job is never-ending.” Amen.

 

 

JHW's Notes: Other blog content on the conference

Remember that there are other blogs with content on this conference.  Information Today is blogging the conference here.  Don Hawkins, of Information Today, has included photos from various parts of the conference including one of me holding a parrot.  The parrot was very well behaved and very soft.

If you go to Technorati, you can search on the sla2006 tag to find more conference content. 


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Springer Launching New eBook Collection


Springer eBook Collection
Originally uploaded by mesmerini.

Today I had the opportunity to meet with representatives from Springer who gave me a demo of their new eBook Collection.

I was already a bit familiar with it because my own library is buying it and I had a chance to look over the beta Web site a bit and give my own comments about it. My initial reaction was positive and I liked what I heard from the Springer reps as well.

The Springer eBook Collection will launch next week on June 20. Here is a sneak peak of the user interface as it is right now. Access is through SpringerLink. Search results are subdivided by subject, publication, author, editor, online date, etc.

Springer's product is different from some eBook vendors I've used in that they allow unlimited copying of the ebooks. Some vendors severely limit the number of pages that can be copied, so that roadblock has been eliminated. The Collection isn't a subscription--a library will own the material it buys and can store it locally if it chooses.

Springer advertises this Collection as "the world's most comprehensive online scientific book collection." 10,000 books will be available in 2006 (which includes 3,000 titles from 2005 plus all imprints transferred from netLibrary) with 3,000 added each year.

The Collection includes eBooks, eReference works (handbooks and "major reference works"), and eBook Series, and is divided into 12 subject collections with no overlap between them. A heavy chunk of that is in STM, but titles from Humanities & Social Science are included as well.

Chapters of books are searchable, and each has its own DOI. When intergrated into a library catalog, users can search the chapters as well as the book titles. MARC records and usage statistics are provided.

Users can download in either PDF or HTML format. It's a nice feature that the chapters are separate entities, so users can download just one chapter of a book if they want. There is no limit on the number of concurrent users.

Many users want material in PDF format, and they want to copy and share material with others. Springer, from my viewpoint, is a step ahead of others in allowing unlimited printing and sharing, as well as improved access to searchable book chapters.

Ebooks allow libraries to save space and better serve users at multiple locations who may not have the ability or desire to visit a library and look through a printed book. Any library investigating eBooks focusing on science, technology and medicine should take a good look at the new Springer Collection.

In the Hall

Exhibit_hall

A couple thoughts from Mary Ellen Bates' "What's on the Info-Horizon?" talk

Mary Ellen Bates had two great thoughts in her 11:30 session that I wanted to pass on. The talk was entitled "What's on the Info-Horizon?" She had a couple of points I thought bared repeating. They are:

1. Assume that what worked for you last year isn't appropriate now.

2. Any new technology or service can be seen as an opportunity not a threat.

Both these points have caused me to re-think many of the services I provide to my clients.

In the Marketplace

A customer makes a purchase at the SLA Marketplace in the INFO-EXPO hall.

Marketplace

Business and Parrots

You've gotta love a conference where you can attend a seminar on a weighty issue like business intelligence--and then get your photo taken with a parrot.

Thumbing through the catalog after lunch I spotted the 1:30 class, "Business Intelligence in a Changing World", with speaker Daniel Franklin from the Economist. I felt I needed to get back into intellectual mode after an hour and a half of collecting pens, balls, memo pads, and ridiculous amounts of candy from the vendors. (Note to self: make dental appointment soon.)

I wasn't sure what I expected when I entered the class--something vaguely dry but edifying.  Still, the fact that the room was packed to overflowing was a good sign. Franklin talked about statistics and trends in the world and what they'll mean over the next 20 to 60 years.....and it was fascinating. There's too much to encapsulate here, but among the snippets were that China, the U.S. and India will be the three biggest economies in the future, and that the next 60 years will see even faster changes ahead. Find out if any of your colleagues left their business cards at the end of the seminar; the attendees were told that we could get Franklin's presentation in email form.

While Franklin was truly a fascinating speaker, I have to admit that I was just as captivated by the "Parrot Guy" and his colorful birds. And it wasn't just me, information professionals were lining up in droves for the opportunity to have their photo taken with a parrot perched on their head. I confessed my hesitations to a fellow attendee about having a bird sitting on my head--he commented that simply 'sitting' was not what birds were known for. Luckily, there were no accidents. Those birds are well-trained!

Parrotheads

Jimmy Buffet couldn't make it to the show, but SLA did get the parrots. Brian the "Parrot Guy" rescues needy psittaciformes. Tuesday afternoon he brought a selection from his aviary to the INFO-EXPO hall. People were curious -- but hesitant at first. But after a while they lined up to get parrots on their heads (or shoulders).

Parrot_05_1 Parrot_03_1

Mary Ellen Bates on Becoming a Value-Added Information Professional

Bates

It's the second presentation Mary Ellen Bates is delivering today, and the fourth she's presenting for this SLA conference. It looks like she's that popular. And has that much energy. As I'm writing this, she's just going like the Energizer bunny.

Vargha: Grow Membership, Plan for Centennial

Rebecca_at_business_meetingNew SLA President Rebecca B. Vargha sees an organization that focuses its "talent and energies on creating a strong and vibrant forum for learning, teaching and innovation throughout the world."

In a brief speech at the annual business meeting Tuesday, Vargha said her three priorities are:

  • Increasing membership growth and retention.
  • Planning SLA's 100th anniversary celebration in 2009.
  • Gaining 1,000 members by SLA's centennial.

She asked members for their support, creativity, and "wonderful energy" in reaching those goals.

"The important first step," she said, "is to begin together."

Miss Zukas Fans Are Invited to Relax and Chat

Miss Zukas fans are invited to join me on the large terrace (the one with tables and fountains outside rooms 316-320) on Wednesday morning from 11am - 12 noon to share our enjoyment of Jo Dereske's Miss Zukas mysteries. If you are a mystery lover who hasn't heard of Miss Zukas, stop by and meet her (virtually, of course).

You will find me on the terrace with my nose buried in the latest Miss Zukas novel, Bookmarked to Die.

Rollo: Many Gains from Task Forces

Pam_at_business_meetingSLA gained much from the task forces formed a year ago, outgoing President Pam Rollo said at Tuesday's annual business meeting. Moreover, she said, the board of directors didn't just receive the task force reports, it took action.

At SLA 2005, the newly installed president announced that she was forming several task forces to study aspects of SLA ranging from how it recognizes members to how it uses technology. The groups started work last October and submitted their final reports last month.

When the board met June 9 and 10, its actions included votes to:

  • Institutionalize an annual plan to recruit new members.
  • Work more with partners and develop programs to attract more.
  • Give support to SLA branding and marketing.
  • Create new awards, especialy for members new to the profession.
  • Improve relationships with graduate schools.
  • Develop "aspirational" education programs.
  • Make improvements in communication technology.

In addition to these action steps, Rollo said the task forces provided SLA with:

  • Rich, robust research.
  • Hundreds of ideas and recommendations.
  • "Great" analyses.

Lachance Calls for Mobilization for the Future

Members heard a review of recent accomplishments and a look at the future of the association in SLA's annual business meeting Tuesday.

The meeting also included the installation of Rebecca B. Vargha as president for 2006-2007.Janice_at_biz_meetiing

SLA CEO Janice Lachance and 2005-2006 President Pam Rollo reviewed the past association year.

Lachance -- who announced at the meeting that her executive contract with SLA has been renewed for three and a half more years -- noted one of the more obvious successes: Attendance at SLA 2006, at 5,551, is "a few hundred more" than last year in Toronto.

For her, highlights of the last year included:

  • Approval of new bylaws to permit electronic member voting.
  • Approval of new bylaws to restructure member dues.
  • Realignment of SLA's governance year (formerly June to June) to coincide with the January-December fiscal year. This change means SLA's newly installed board members will serve a little more than 18 months, from now until January 2008.
  • Creation of new staff positions to "enhance the value of the membership experience."
  • An energetic focus on international development.
  • New strategies for increasing the scope of Click University.
  • Continuing work to acquire new association management software that will improve service to members and to volunteer leaders.
  • A facelift of www.sla.org, replacing the 2004 design and adding new features for RSS feeds and personalization.
  • An agreement with Information Today Inc. to collaborate on events, pubications, and information sharing.
  • A new advertising campaign in Information World Review, aimed at information professionals outside North America.
  • Baltimore transit bus advertising in the downtown area during the run of SLA 2006.
  • An ad in the Baltimore Business Journal promoting the annual conference and the profession.

Lachance also described her vision for SLA. "To strive for great things," she said, "we must be motivated, energized, and mobilized for the future." The vision includes:

  • Strong chapters.
  • Globalization.
  • Becoming a center of learning for information professionals.
  • Employing "advanced, but easy-to-use" communication technologies.
  • Becoming a teaching laboratory that will permit members to see, test and experience new things.
  • Identifying "rising stars" in the profession and showcasing "the best the profession has to offer us."
  • Becoming a powerful advocate for the profession worldwide.
  • Being "organized, structured and branded so people would be speaking about how SLA delivers on its promise."

JHW's Notes: Jenny Levine

Jenny Levine, the Shifted Librarian, is speaking as I write this.  Her session has to be moved to a larger room and it is still standing room only.  Jenny is well-known, popular, and relevant.  They should have known that she would draw a tremendous crowd.  Thankfully, her presentation will be online.  You might check her own blog to see if she puts a link there.


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The Shifted Librarian on How to Use RSS to Know More and Do Less

So many people were interested in learning about RSS (or was it because of the speaker?) that we had to move to another room. And we're now actually running late. The photo below was taken right before they got the projector working. There was actually applause for the AV people =)

Rss

If you moved to another session because of the large number of people, or you'd like to see the slides she used while the actual slides haven't been uploaded to the SLA website, her presentation for a previous conference on the same topic is available as a pdf file.

Factiva, SLA Honor Info Leaders

Factiva has recognized Ilene Strongin-Garry, research librarian, InterContinental Hotels Group, as the winner of the Factiva Leadership Award. Marie-Madeleine Salmon, head of information center, Publicis, won the European Information Professionals (EIP) of the Year Award.

The awards were presented at SLA 2006.

The Factiva Leadership Award is presented to an SLA member who exemplifies leadership as a special librarian through excellence in personal and professional competencies. Strongin-Garry was selected in recognition of the value she has brought to InterContinental Hotels Group in Atlanta.

In her role, she has successfully understood and met the strategic needs of her internal global clients. She led the effort to create the first information center and also designed a digital library so competitive intelligence and market research information could be accessed by employees quickly and easily. In addition, she initiated the first trends-research function for the company.

Strongin-Garry frequently plans activities and events to keep key stakeholders thinking outside the box and has made presentations to SLA events discussing her efforts to integrate these knowledge management systems in the organization worldwide.

The European Information Professional of the Year Award recognizes outstanding achievement in special librarianship by an established member of the profession living and working in Europe. Salmon was chosen in recognition of her proactive approach toward specialized information sources and technology-based solutions, and for her management and promotion of Publicis' Information Center using marketing techniques.

Her success stems from an understanding of users' needs and attitudes toward conducting research and her ability to respond to those needs effectively. As a strong believer in the communication aspect of the librarian function, she was instrumental in enhancing the communication skills of the information professionals at Publicis. In recent years she has spent a large amount of her personal time providing training to professionals at various conferences and to students in librarian programs.

Salmon also teaches at and attends conferences where she explains how to create and implement marketing and communication plans to promote information and library products and services. As a whole, her work has strongly contributed to putting Information Professionals in the spotlight by helping them communicate internally the added value they bring to the bottom line of the business.

JHW's Notes: The annual business meeting & other thoughts

I've just gotten out of the annual business meeting.  I don't know if any of the presentations will be online, but I hope so (PowerPoint, podcast, written remarks).  The event was not well attended, perhaps due to it not being non-compete time and being in a different time slot.  It was also not well publicized.  Thankfully, there was not any critical business that needed member input.

Here are some thoughts from the meeting (and some generated by the meeting) in no particular order:

  • Net income in 2005 for the association was $135,000 with corrections.
  • Many members give untold unpaid hours to assist the association in its efforts.  The association could not function without this help.
  • As of this morning, 5,551 people have attended the conference, which is more than Toronto.  a breakdown of that number will be given at the keynote tomorrow.
  • The staff at HQ has increased to 27 full-time people and one part-time, as the staff works on those things we -- the members -- and the association need to have done.
  • There is more outreach occurring to other organizations around the world.  Janice and Pam especially noted where they have traveled, meetings attended, etc.
  • There is more marketing going on, including specific marketing efforts here in Baltimore, to attract new people to SLA events.
  • SLA made several changes this past year, including a change in the by-laws that has allowed a change in the dues structure.  I want to note that dues are now based on a person's salary.  With the association attracting people who are business owners, consultants and independent information professionals -- and whose compensation may not be salary -- the use of salary as the basis for dues is an interesting one.
  • The change in the fiscal year is one that will impact the installation of the board of directors.  That will occur in January 2008.  the association is promising to webcast, podcast, etc., the event so that everyone can take part virtually.  The live audience is likely to be ~300 people.
  • Last year, one of the keynote speakers spoke on "transparency".  Conversations here have included questions about how transparent SLA's operations are.  Hopefully, as the association adopts new electronic means of communications, SLA will become more transparent. 
  • Rebecca Vargha, our new President, wants SLA to have a net growth of members of 2,0000 by 2009.  2009 is the association's 100th anniversary year.
  • SLA has started more than 20 blogs.
  • Janice LaChance has started a blog at http://slablogger.typepad.com/infox
  • 65 members, who had never worked at the Association level, worked on the task forces over the last year (out of 86 people total).
  • [Added at 11:55 a.m.] The annual business meeting this year occurred before the Chapter and Division Cabinet meetings.  Two questions: (1) Will anything occur at those meetings tonight that should then be discussed at the annual business meeting (which normally occurs after those meetings)?  (2) If all of the association's officers change at the end of the annual business meeting, does that mean that the incoming officers are meeting tonight or that the officers who have served over the last year are meeting tonight? 

I'm sure I'll add more notes later...and hopefully someone else will post notes, too.


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