SLA Blog

New Orleans Has Something for Everyone. Even Copyright Experts.

New Orleans is one of those amazingly unique cities that offers an array of culturally rich traditions and customs. King Cake. Beignets at Café Du Monde. Bananas Foster at Brennan's. Dueling pianos a Pat O'Brien's. A leisurely lunch at the Court of the Two Sisters.  Listening to the Wild Tchoupitoulas.  But the New York Times article, "Want to Use My Suit? Then Throw Me Something"  brings something a little extra to the intrigue for those interested in copyright in The Big Easy. New Orleans is known for its parades and extravagant costumes. But what many members of certain tribes are now concerned with is the commercial exploitation of their traditions and costumes with no return. In this case, the article focuses on a tribe that is tired of having photographs that are taken of them in public show up on calendars, posters and prints, without reaping any of the rewards.

Though not discussed in the article, this issue is often referred to as Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCE),  or Folklore, and is becoming a bigger issue around the globe as for-profit companies use cultural imagery/voice/dance traditions to promote a product and the culture receives no benefit (or even a damaging effect). TCE is being discussed on different levels around the globe and is being approached at the UNESCO and WIPO  levels....with few agreeing on anything. Much of the copyright issue builds into the creation of derivative works, and who owns what portion of a culture, and what is the value. For example, let's say an automobile manufacturer in Europe creates a TV advertisement incorporating dance steps from a South American Indian tribe, costumes from a North American Indian tribe, and traditional music from a specific region in China. Who owns these cultural expressions? Does anyone? If someone does, how is permission received? How is a price negotiated? Who gets what? Is it acceptable to one culture to have their traditions collaged / integrated with those of other cultures that may be in conflict? How do you authenticate what comes from which tribe, and how is the money split? You get the picture. It's complicated. It will be years before, if ever, this issue is resolved. In the meantime, Traditional Cultural Expression is just one more piece of New Orleans to be aware of, and to appreciate, at SLA 2010, 13-16 June.

James Carville and Mary Matalin to Kick Off SLA 2010 in New Orleans!

Political Powerhouse Couple to Welcome Conference Attendees to The Big Easy

Husband-and-wife political commentators James Carville and Mary Matalin will deliver the opening keynote
  address June 13 at the SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in New Orleans.

Carville and Matalin will speak during the SLA 2010 Opening General Session, sponsored by Dow Jones & Company, an SLA 2010 major conference partner.

SLA’s 2010 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO, slated for June 13-16 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, will bring together thousands of special librarians, information professionals and knowledge managers for four days. The event will feature more than 250 educational sessions and panels, numerous networking opportunities, and the SLA INFO-EXPO, a trade show with 250-plus information industry vendors under one roof. 

Special early-bird rates are available to SLA members through April 9. REGISTER TODAY!

Read the press release from SLA HQ.

As the economy makes its recovery, what trait will characterize the successful organization? Innovation.

Info pros are always eager to introduce new ways of thinking into their organizations, but finding time to flex your innovative muscle may not have been a priority in the recent economic climate. Yet now it may be more important than ever. In a recent Huffington Post blog, Karen Noble, President of Karen Noble Consulting, discusses how fostering innovation can give organizations the competitive edge.  Noble suggests organizations establish an innovation time where failure is welcome and a team simply gets together to think of ideas, proposals and solutions without rules.

Innovation starts with YOU.

As a professionals in the workplace, you are responsible not only for your own success but for contributing to  the competitive advantage and bottom line of your organizations. SLA urges you to bring innovation back into your repertoire. Here are a few ways to start:

•    SLA’s Innovation Lab will help you keep up to date on the latest Web 2.0 technologies.  Make sure you have the skills you need to connect with your clients today—and it’s free.

•    Explore the vendor community to see how they are helping to further innovation in organizations. Don’t miss this free webinar, where Reed Elsevier shares its best practices on innovation.

•    There is nothing like a good conference to spark the creative juices, and SLA 2010 is the best!  You’ll find  hundreds of networking and professional development opportunities  to help get your inner innovator in gear. Check the Online Conference Planner for the latest information about conference-wide events and sessions.

•    Finally, don’t forget that SLA members have access to free Click University Webinars throughout the year to help you think creatively. Missed one?  Take advantage of  the self-paced replays.

Early Bird Registration Ends 9 April 2010 - Register Today!

Early Bird Registration Ends 9 April 2010 - Register Today!

Register Today for SLA 2010!

Join SLA 13-16 June in captivating New Orleans for the SLA 2010 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO.With more than 250 sessions and panels; endless networking opportunities; and the high-octane INFO-EXPO hall, this is one conference you can't afford to miss!

Register by 9 April and save $180 off the May advanced rate.  

Got a Question for Nicholas Carr?

What would you say to a man who claims computers aren’t nearly so important to business success as they used to be, that Web 2.0 tools are “amoral,” and that the Internet is degrading our ability to read and think deeply?

 

If you’re a vendor or fan of one or more of these products, you’d say a lot—and they have.

 

When Nicholas Carr, the keynote speaker at the Closing General Session at the 2010 SLA Annual Conference, wrote Does IT Matter? in 2004, leaders of Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and other makers of hardware and software products objected strenuously. When he used his blog in 2005 to criticize Web 2.0 products that rely on volunteers to provide content, saying they crowd out higher-quality material published by professionals, he was accused of being elitist and undemocratic—though Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, admitted that some information on his site was incorrect. And when the Atlantic published his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” in 2008, critics countered that the Internet is contributing to the development of “fluid intelligence,” a skill that enables us to solve problems without using knowledge we acquire from deep reading.

 

OK, so we know what Carr’s detractors are saying. But what would you say to him if you could ask him one question?

 

Here’s what I say: Let’s find out. So I’m asking SLA members to suggest questions to pose to Nicholas Carr in an interview I’ll be conducting in a few weeks. The interview will be published in the April/May issue of Information Outlook.

 

Got a question you’d like to ask Nicholas Carr? Send it to me at shales@sla.org. I’ll select a few of the more interesting questions and ask them during the interview.

Complimentary Access to Two More ProQuest & Dialog Databases

SLA recently partnered with ProQuest & Dialog to allow SLA members 90 days of complimentary access to specific ProQuest or Dialog databases. SLA negotiated this opportunity to provide members with a way to evaluate information products without risk. You can access the databases HERE.

The next products that will be featured for trial access are:

CSA Illustrata: Technology -- Databases of searchable tables, figures, graphs, charts and other illustrations from scholarly research and technical literature, using "deep indexing" to categorize data, variables and other content, enabling the researcher to find information that otherwise would not be retrievable in traditional, article-level indexing systems. Tables and figures from more than 2,720 journals from prominent publishers resulting in more than 4.4 million indexed images.

Conference Papers Index -- Conference Papers provides citations to papers and poster sessions presented at major scientific meetings around the world. Subject emphasis in the life sciences, environmental sciences and the aquatic sciences, with over 3 million papers from conferences presented since 1982.

Continue to check SLA's Exclusive Member Benefits page often to see this and other special offers your professional association has negotiated on your behalf.

Shape the Future of IMLS, Participate in Wiki on Future of Museums & Libraries

The U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has launched a wiki-based dialogue on the future of libraries and museums called UpNext.

Between now and 12 May, there will be nine discussions scheduled on such topics as Changing Definitions & Roles of Museums and Libraries, 21st Century Learning & Information Use, and Metrics for Evaluating Service and Impact.

IMLS states that it plans to use, “the knowledge shared in the wiki to help shape the agency’s strategic plan, research directions, publications, convenings, and grant making.”

SLA encourages members to look at the schedule of discussion topics below, monitor the discussions and participate in the wiki as much as possible. Additionally, bring the UpNext effort to the attention of SLA members who have expertise and interest in the topic areas. It is important that the perspectives of members of the special libraries community are well represented in these discussions.

Register as an UpNext wiki member. The Wiki has nine different topics to be discussed on the following schedule:

 3-16 March
1. Changing Definitions & Roles of Museums and Libraries  
2. Shifts in Power & Authority 
3. Museums & Libraries as the “Third Place”

31 March - 13 April 
5. 21st Century Learning & Information Use  
6. New Models & Structures for Collaboration

14 - 27 April 
7. Planning for a Sustainable Future 
8. Metrics for Evaluating Service & Impact

28 April - 12 May 
9. The 21st Century Museum & Library Workforce 
10. UpNext: Where Do We Go From Here?

19 May
Last official “Wiki Wednesday” IMLS will post wiki final summary.

Call for nominations: Best New Orleans Restaurants

The worst-kept secret about New Orleans is that it has some of the best restaurants anywhere.  Those of us who love the Crescent City positively agonize about where we will eat every meal; after all, there are only so many meals in a day to enjoy!

If you love New Orleans, please help by nominating your favorite restaurants in any or all of the following categories:

1. Best bet for a splurge
 
2. Cheap eats
 
3. Best traditional New Orleans fare
 
4. Best nouvelle New Orleans fare
 
6. Quick eats near the Convention Center
 
7. Best po boy
 
8. You can't leave New Orleans without eating here...

Results will be compiled and shared with those attending SLA 2010, 13-16 June.  If you haven't yet registered, do it today.  You don't want to miss a meal . . . um, I mean session!

Please e-mail your nominations to Maura Kennedy (mkennedy@sla.org)

Introducing the 2010 Class of SLA Fellows!

Five leading information professionals (drum roll, please.....) --Rebecca Jones, Dee Magnoni, James Manasco, Jill Strand and Libby Trudell—have been named as the 2010 Class of SLA Fellows. 

“The SLA Fellows are a group of professionals of unrivaled intelligence and dedication, and I am confident that each of these individuals will continue to be an important asset to this organization and the profession,” said SLA President Anne Caputo. “I congratulate and thank them for their service to SLA thus far, and I look forward to seeing what they do with their talent and drive as they move into the next leg of their SLA journey.” 

Rebecca Jones  

Rebecca Jones joined SLA in 1981 as a student and is currently a managing partner with Dysart & Jones Associates, a Toronto consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, organizational development and change processes for libraries and information-intensive organizations. She is the former director of the Professional Learning Centre at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Studies and is now chair of the Advisory Board as well as an instructor. 

Jones has written and presented on the profession’s competencies and worked with the team that created SLA’s Competencies for Information Professionals of the 21st Century, for which she received SLA’s Leadership Award in 2004. She has served on the SLA Nominating Committee (2008-2009) and as secretary (1999-2000) for the Leadership and Management Division of SLA (LMD) and is currently an alignment ambassador for the Toronto Chapter.

Dee Magnoni

Dee Magnoni has been an SLA member since 1992 and currently serves as chair-elect of Leadership and Management Division of SLA (LMD) and the past chair of the Engineering Division.  She is the library director at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Mass. Hired as the library’s first director eight years ago, she built from scratch many of its services and resources. 

Magnoni served a term as a director on the SLA Board of Directors (2001-2003), chaired SLA’s Professional Development Advisory Council (2005-2007), and was a member of the association’s Finance Committee (2003-2005) and Nominating Committee (1999-2000).  She served as president of two different chapters: the Boston Chapter (2005-2007) and the Rhode Island Chapter (1995-1996). She also chaired the Information Technology (IT) Division (2001-2002) and was the convener of the Information Futurists’ Caucus (1999-2000).

James E. Manasco  

James E. Manasco joined SLA in 1994 and is a member of the Kentucky Chapter and the Science-Technology, Information Technology (IT), and Academic Divisions. He is head of Collection Development for the University of Louisville. 

Manasco has served in a variety of SLA leadership roles, including chair of the Sci-Tech (2003-2004) and IT Divisions (2008), president of the Kentucky Chapter (2003-2004), and chair of the 2010 Annual Conference Advisory Council. He is a co-presenter of the popular Sci-Eng 101 series of programs offered at SLA’s Annual Conference each year and is the editor of Sci-Tech News, the multi-divisional bulletin that covers several of SLA’s science-related units.  The Kentucky Chapter honored him with its Professional Award in 2004 and its Outstanding Member Award in 2007.

Jill Strand

Active in SLA since 2000, Jill Strand is a member of the Minnesota Chapter and the Legal, Competitive Intelligence (CI), and Leadership and Management Divisions. She manages the Information Resources Library team at Maslon Edelman Borman Brand, LLP, a mid-size law firm in Minneapolis, Minn.  

Strand has served SLA as a member of the Public Relations Advisory Council (PRAC) since 2004. She recently finished a term as the council’s chair, during which she helped recruit, train and support more than 80 alignment ambassadors, an effort that garnered her a 2009 SLA Presidential Citation.  She is a member of the 2011 SLA Annual Conference Planning Committee and serves on the 2010 Nominating Committee.

At the Minnesota Chapter, Strand has served as alignment ambassador, vice president, president-elect, and president (2006-2008) as well as on the chapter’s executive board as secretary (2003-2006). At the division level, she serves as professional development chair for the Legal Division and worked on the 2009 Conference Planning Committee for the CI Division.

Libby Trudell   

Libby Trudell, vice president of marketing at Dialog in Sunnyvale, Calif., has been a member of SLA since 1996. She previously served on the SLA Board of Directors as chapter cabinet chair (2006-2008) and is currently chair of the 2011 SLA Annual Conference Advisory Council and a member of the  Public Relations Advisory Committee. 

Trudell is also the public relations chair for the Information Technology (IT) Division and the San Andreas Chapter and has served on the chapter’s executive board as director (2000-2002), president-elect (2002-2003), and president (2003-2004). The chapter honored her with the Mark Baer professional achievement award in 2009.

She has held a variety of positions at Dialog with responsibility for functions including information professional market development, product management, strategic planning, product marketing, and customer services. 

SLA Member Discount-Institute for Competitive Intelligence DEADLINE EXTENDED

The Institute for Competitive Intelligence has extended the registration deadline until 15, March for all SLA members who would like to participate in their series of onsite courses to be held in London, UK, in March. The Institute for Competitive Intelligence (ICI) is offering all SLA members discounts of 15 percent on one workshop, 20 percent on two workshops, and 25 percent on three or more workshops for their workshops being held on London in March.

The following workshops, taking place throughout March in London, UK are included:

•    1-2 March-Competitive Intelligence Basics
•    3 March-Decision, Risk and Bayes Analysis
•    4–5 March-Primary Research (Human Intelligence)
•    17 March-Information Warfare
•    18 March-Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
•    19 March-Counter Intelligence
•    22 March-Financial Analysis
•    23-24 March-Secondary Research