SLA Blog

Conference Registration, Membership Renewal Solutions

SLA 2013 Conference registration is now fully functional. The Early Bird Registration Deadline has been extended to April 19th. Hope to see you in San Diego on June 9th!

SLA launched a new Website to better serve the needs of our members and the information profession. This site is linked to several of our operating systems, including our member database, conference registration systems, and professional education software.

Unfortunately, the process of migrating these systems to new servers has caused disruptions to our membership  systems.

While we are urgently working with our hosting partners to restore full functionality, please use this interim solution to  join/renew your SLA membership.

JOIN OR RENEW YOUR SLA MEMBERSHIP

1. New members can go to www.sla.org and click the join button to join online.

2. Renewal / Current members can renew by phone (1-703-647-4900) or fax your renewal statement with payment to 1-703-647-4901.

3. Changes to your membership (e.g. adding or deleting units, changes to member type, or any other changes) call 1-703-647-4900 or e-mail membership@sla.org.

For any assistance with your membership, call 1-703-647-4900 or e-mail membership@sla.org

We appreciate your patience as we work to ensure that you receive the level of service you expect from SLA. We will let you know when SLA.org and our operating systems are fully restored.

 

Only 2 Weeks Left Until the Early Bird Deadline!

The early bird deadline for SLA 2013 is Friday, 12 April. Don't miss this opportunity to save on conference registration costs!

Need to share information with your boss about the conference? The "Dear Boss" letter will help you explain the importance of this education and networking event.

Conference Highlights:

Register for SLA continuing education courses and you will add more value to your organization!

Keynote speaker Mike Walsh is sure to be inspiring and thought-provoking!

The INFO-EXPO will be packed with industry leading companies!

Connect, Collaborate, and Strategize at SLA 2013!  Register today!

Highlights of San Diego Tour

Headed to San Diego for SLA 2013? Come and check out the San Diego sites on a guided bus tour so you can get the lay of the land before the conference kicks off on Sunday morning.

On Saturday, 8 June, from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., tour attendees will have a chance to see city sites such as the exciting Gaslamp District, stunning Balboa Park, picturesque La Jolla, historic Old Town, world famous Coronado Island, unique Little Italy, the waterfront Embarcadero and more!

Aboard the motorcoach, the San Diego tour guide will display a photo of a notable building or landmark. The first attendee to spot the actual item from the photo will win a San Diego-inspired prize, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

The cost for this bus tour is $50.00, and tickets can be purchased through the online conference registration system.  Register for the conference and buy your tickets today!

If you’ve already registered, it’s easy to add this event to your registration record! Access the registration system and use the username and password that you created during registration to log in. Once you are logged in, scroll down to the purchased items section and select "purchase registration items." You will be taken to a page where ticketed items are organized by day. Click on the “+” next to a day to expand the ticketed event list and make your selections. You can then proceed to checkout.

Special thanks to Wiley-Blackwell for sponsoring the tour!

See you in San Diego!

Contributed Papers: A Showcase of Results

Are you interested in research and scholarship? Are you wondering what other SLA members have done in these areas, and how you might do it, too? Come to the Contributed Papers sessions at SLA 2013!

Each year, a set of Contributed Papers are chosen through a competitive selection process to be presented by SLA members at the annual conference. A few of the papers are presented each day of the conference, offering multiple opportunities to hear directly from your peers about experiences they’ve had, research they’ve conducted, and best practices they’ve developed.

Here are this year's times, topics and presenters:

Metrics, Ranking, and Discovery
Sunday, 9 June, 1:30-3:00 pm

• Linda Galloway and Anne Rauh, "Social Media and Citation Metrics"
• John Coll, "Outgoogling Google: Connecting Your Users to Content through a Single Search"
• Margaret Carroll, "Determining Value: Using Rank to Identify Library Characteristics that Contribute to the Bottom Line"
• Giovanna Badia, "Comparing the Indexing of Cited Journals to Identify the Premier Database for a Specific Discipline"

Mobile, Remote, and Distributed Information
Monday, 10 June, 4:00-5:30 pm

• William Cook, "Peeking Over Cubicles: An Ethnographic Approach to Knowledge Management"
• Louisa Verma, "Using Mobile Technologies to Connect Face-to-Face"
• Helen Poot and Bill Patterson, "There's an Elephant in the Room, but Your Staff Isn't: Connecting and Collaborating with Your Offshore Team"
• Hildy Dworkin, "After the Storm: Establishing Library and Information Services from a Temporary Location"

University Faculty Issues and Knowledge Management
Tuesday, 11 June, 2:00-3:30pm

• Merle Rosenzweig and Bethany Harris, "Supporting National Institutes of Health Grantees through a Collaboration between the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library, the University of Michigan Medical School Office of Research, and the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects"
• Cindy Elliott, Jim Martin, Mary Feeney, and Ricardo Andrade, "A New Approach to Needs Assessment and Communication to Connect and Collaborate with Faculty"
• Robin Dasler, "Beyond the Repository: Rethinking Data Services at the University of Maryland"
• Cindy Romaine, "Modern Tools Solve Ancient Riddle"

I hope you'll add these sessions to your schedule and come see what your peers have been up to!

Ruth Kneale
Chair, Contributed Papers

Connect, Collaborate and Strategize for Your Best SLA Annual Conference

The theme of SLA 2013 is Connect, Collaborate, Strategize. Use that directive as your roadmap when you arrive in San Diego!

Connect with--

• colleagues with whom you can share your challenges and successes

• your favorite publishers, digital content providers, data warehouse companies, and library automation companies, as well as newly-discovered ones, in the INFO-EXPO

• your inner geek, some hardcore technologies, and a widget or two

• library ninjas, experts offering career advice, authors of contributed papers, and many more speakers who can help you demonstrate your value to management and clients

• fellow attendees at the fabulous parties and receptions

Collaborate with--

• colleagues at Division meetings to help move your Division toward the future

• attendees in CE courses that explore copyright, sales calls, taxonomies, social media, CI and many other topics

• SLA as you consider a volunteer role for a unit or the HQ board

• the many students and first-timers that attend conference so you can share your conference tips and continue to network with them after returning home from San Diego

Strategize about--

• the future of our Association by taking the time to share your opinions and dreams with an SLA Board member

• new ways to help your Division or Chapter bring top-notch programming to its members

• how you can best be a leader to the members of the Association

• what leadership training you need to help you succeed in your career

There are many opportunities at SLA 2013 to learn and network. Check out the online planner to design your conference experience.

See you there!

Sara Davis
2013 Annual Conference Advisory Council member
Engineering Division member

Deepen Your Knowledge of Copyright and KM in San Diego

SLA is offering courses from both its Copyright and Knowledge Management/Knowledge Services certificate programs in San Diego in June. It's a perfect opportunity to get hands-on, in-depth education on topics of utmost importance to modern organizations.

CCM700 Teaching Others About Copyright and Licensing (Friday, June 7; $395/$495) covers the critical aspects of instituting enterprise-wide copyright education, including developing a copyright policy and explaining difficult legal concepts in plain language. Instructor: Lesley Ellen Harris of Copyrightlaws.com

CCM600 Copyright Compliance and Management (Saturday, June 8; $395/$495) provides pointers for avoiding copyright infringement lawsuits, negotiating and working with license agreements, and dealing with unlocatable copyright owners. Instructor: Lesley Ellen Harris of Copyrightlaws.com

KMKS102 The Knowledge Audit: Evaluating Intellectual Capital Use (Friday, June 7; $495/$595) is an exploration of using the needs analysis and information audit data to evaluate an organization's knowledge assets. Instructors: Dale Stanley, Gilead Sciences; Robin Jourdan, Ford Motor Company; Guy St. Clair, Columbia University

KMKS101 Fundamentals of Knowledge Management and Knowledge Services (Saturday, June 8; $495/$595) links KM theory with knowledge services, which encourages informed decision-making, accelerated innovation, and leadership support for efforts related to maximizing KM/KS efforts. Instructors: Guy St. Clair, Columbia University; Dale Stanley, Gilead Sciences

Each course takes place over a full day, which allows for meaningful discussion, learning exercises, and networking.  These courses are part of Click University's certificate programs, but may be taken à la carte.

Contact Click University for more information.

SLA 2013: Make Your Boss Look Good

Some of the best reasons to attend SLA 2013 in San Diego have nothing to do with you and everything to do with your boss.

Yes, you read that correctly--attending SLA 2013 is about making your boss look good. At least, that's what you want him or her to think.

If you're like a lot of information professionals, you need to get management approval to attend a conference. And if you can only attend one conference this year, SLA 2013 is it. So you want to be sure you make a strong argument to be in San Diego this June.

From your standpoint, that's an easy case to make. SLA 2013 will offer dozens of educational sessions and networking events, an exhibit hall packed with vendors showcasing new products and services, and an environment that lends itself to sharing ideas, making new connections, and brainstorming new strategies for success.

But getting management approval to attend SLA 2013 isn't about what the conference will do for you--it's about what it will do for your boss (and, by extension, your organization). Things like helping him or her make better decisions, convert information to intelligence, and gain an edge in the market. These are the kinds of conference benefits that will resonate with management; your challenge is to communicate them.

SLA is making it simple for you to do just that. Go to the SLA 2013 Website and download the Employer Approval Letter and the Conference Preview. Together, these materials make a persuasive case for giving you the green light to travel to San Diego in June.

Of course, getting approval to go is only half the battle--the other half is convincing your boss that the conference was worth the investment. SLA is helping you with that as well. At SLA 2013, you'll receive a publication in your tote bag filled with advice about how to make the most of your conference experience, both while you're in San Diego and after you return to your workplace.

So don't delay--start helping your boss make the smartest decision he or she will make this year. See you in San Diego!

 

Enhance Your SLA 2013 Conference with Social Networking

A few simple and fun activities can go a long way to make your conference experience more interactive, educational, and memorable to you. Here are a few recommendations from SLA staff:

1. Follow the handle, use the hashtag
   When at the conference, either follow or tune in via your Twitter app to @SLA2013. Because the handle is programmed to retweet everything with #SLA2013, this is a great way to hear what people are saying about certain sessions, capture key takeaways & quotes from sessions you can't be in, and hear when something you don't want to miss is just beginning (read: IT Dance Party). 
   
   And when tweeting, tag your tweets with #SLA2013. This is a great way to connect with your fellow attendees (watch your followers count increase after your first tweet at the conference), develop your professional network, and meet people you will continue to converse with after the conference.
2. Get your tips, starting now
   SLA members Tracy Z. Maleeff and Jill Hurst-Wahl have already tweeted a plethora of interesting, fun, and useful tips about San Diego. From everything to conference event info to hot tips on local dining, attractions, transportation (you name it), the @SLA2013tips account has it all. Follow the account today to make the most of your experience.
3. Build, then share, your online planner
   SLA staff recently blogged about using the online planner. Included in that post was filling out your personal schedule. Try logging in using your Facebook account to see which sessions your friends are interested in. Once you've fleshed out your schedule, share it via Facebook and Twitter so all of your social media contacts can see what you're interested in. Sessions with colleagues can be interactive, productive, and fun. 
4. Check out SLA's Fan Page for daily photo posts
   This year SLA is making room on its photographer's schedule to capture and post Facebook photos each day. Check out the Fan Page each evening and if you see yourself, tag yourself!
5. Look for the blog roundup after the show
   Like last year, we'll be scanning #SLA2013 for all the great conference takeaway blog posts that our    attendees publish, and posting them in a roundup here on the SLA Blog after the conference. Hearing key takeaways from others can inspire action-item ideas, give you ideas for new things to do next year, and contextualize some of the experiences you had at the show. 

What did we miss? Let us know in the comments.

Enhance Your San Diego Travel Experience

Be sure to check out the SLA San Diego Chapter’s hospitality wiki and @sla2013tips for helpful info as you plan your SLA 2013 trip.

The San Diego International Airport is conveniently located just three miles from the San Diego Convention Center. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can walk to your conference hotel! If you’d like an alternative to schlepping your bags a few miles down the road, not to worry! There are plenty of transportation alternatives outlined on the wiki.

Once you’ve mapped out how to get around, pop over to the local attractions section of the wiki to see what activities are available when you are in need of a break from the fluorescent lighting in the convention center. It will be hard to decide whether to soak in some vitamin D at one of the local beaches, parks, or at the renowned San Diego Zoo.

The wiki's restaurant guide lists a variety of dining options in the area. Additionally, you may want to sign up on one of these sites to begin receiving restaurant deals for the San Diego area:

Groupon San Diego
SD Reader City Deals  
U-T San Diego Deals 

Many of the restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter in particular have been known to run deals on these sites. FYI, convention center-area restaurants will have the zip code 92101 so keep an eye out for restaurants located there.

If you’re looking for even more information about visiting San Diego, the San Diego Convention and Visitor Bureau’s site is chock full of things to do and places to see. See you in San Diego!

#SLA2013: Tips for Using the Online Planner

Whether you’re registered for the SLA 2013 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO, or still thinking about attending, the Online Planner is a good way to take a look at the schedule of events for the conference.

Sorting

You can easily sort the planner to jump to exactly what you're interested in. Sort by event category, or by sessions presented by a specific chapter, division or sponsor.

For instance, if you are interested in what tours are available, simply click on Tours located in the right hand column. 

If you are interested in which sessions your chapter or division is hosting, hover over Presented by: located in the right hand column and select your unit.

To view session descriptions you can hover over any listing, or click the session title. 

Building Your Schedule

Creating your own schedule is a good way to organize your time at the conference. After logging in, add a session to your schedule by clicking the white star next to the session title. A black star indicates that this session is on your personal schedule. You can also click the button add to my schedule located at the bottom of each session description.

To view your schedule click the arrow next to your photo at the top right of the screen and click my sched. Your personalized schedule will appear and you're ready to share your SLA 2013 schedule with your colleagues!

Sharing and Exporting

With the online planner, you can connect your favorite social networking sites to see which sessions your friends, followers, and connections will be attending. You can also export your planner to Outlook, Google Calendar, and Apple iCal. Exporting provides you with offline access to your calendar, and allows you to add your own personal events and reminders.

When you're done building your personalized schedule, you can share your itinerary on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the icons located above the search bar, or e-mail it to other attendees. Be sure to add #SLA2013 to your tweet. It'll be retweeted by @SLA2013 so others can view your schedule to see what sessions they might be interested in!

Mobile Site

The online planner is also accessible on your iPhone, Droid, or Blackberry. Visit http://www.sla2013.sched.org/mobile from your device to add the mobile site to your home screen.

Thanks to our Sponsor

Be sure to thank Factiva for making the online planner and mobile site possible. They will be at booth #300 in the INFO-EXPO in San Diego.

Questions

Let me know if you have questions about using the planner at jgrady@sla.org.