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April 2002 Volume 61, No. 7 |
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By Sue O'Neill Johnson, DC/SLA President
This month we lost one of the leading innovators and role models in our field, Dr Betty Stone. Please see the Remembrance for Dr Stone in this issue.
The final profile of the series, "Innovators in our Midst" is Sheryl Rosenthal, innovative news librarian. Sheryl has been the Director of Library & Information Services, US News &World Report, for the past three years. Before that she was Manager of Research Systems at the Washington Post, where she had just completed a prototype of the News Research home page. Expectations by her new employer were "to increase the value of library services through the expanded use of technology." Here is how she has met these expectations.
Sheryl’s action plan:
The most dramatic change that has taken place
The implementation of Sheryl’s proactive "service to many" approach has brought about significant positive change. Uncovering user needs is done by building close relationships with users, and fostering "the serendipitous exchange of information" that can result in added value. Timely response to one-on-one requests is still expected and delivered. Information gathered is looked at in terms of its possible reusability for a
broader audience.
Specific strategies you might try:
User self sufficiency builds business
End-users are encouraged to use desktop services, such as DJI, for simple requests and contact the Library for more in-depth research. This has reaffirmed the Library’s position as research experts while allowing them to create useful information products such as briefings and databases.
Every Wednesday at 4PM the library hosts a social hour and invites the entire company for food and friendly conversation. This strategy fosters a sense of community in an informal setting. This was especially helpful when Sheryl was new to the organization, and this strategy continues to be valuable in making the point that the Library is a focal point in the company.
Provide news briefing information packages
The briefings, an organized array of information on breaking news topics, are posted to the Intranet by 9:30AM. A daily e-mail alerts the users to what is new on the intranet, and a hot link is provided for easy access. This new service has led to increasing demand and more business for the Library. For a modified, external version of this web service, go to www.usnews.com and click on News Briefings in the left frame.
Integrate into the organization
Sheryl reports to the editor, and attends the daily editorial meetings; library researchers have liaison responsibilities for each section of the magazine. Sheryl is routinely consulted and library staff are included, in planning meetings for special issues and projects. All of this ensures that they remain close to the editorial process.
Provide desktop resources
Some of the online databases, directories, and electronic journals include: FACTIVA; Associated Press; Books in Print; Congressional, federal and judicial staff directories; AMA journals; Aviation Week and Space Technology; Chronicle of Higher Education; National Journal; and Science Online; Library-created tools such as the U.S. News Archive; Terrorism and Enron web-searchable databases; and a journalist’s toolkit.
Sheryl Rosenthal can be reached at srosenthal@usnews.com
The final article in this series will be the May issue, when I will take a look at the series as a whole and will pull out some common threads among "innovators."
USAID Development Information Services
Development Dialogue: Enabling E-Government in Developing Countries: ICTs Bringing Transparency
Thursday, May 2, 2002, 12:00 noon—2:00 p.m.
What types of benefits are being delivered by e-government applications? What are the critical success factors in implementing e-government? How can multilateral and bilateral aid agencies help?
In this Development Dialogue Prof. Subhash Bhatnagar will address these questions and others with examples from case studies of applications which were successful in combating corruption and increasing transparency through the introduction of information communication technology - ICT. Prof. Bhatnagar will consider these issues from his wide exposure to developing and developed countries in his training, research and consulting work.
Dr. Bhatnagar is currently with the World Bank in Washington DC, working on an assignment to mainstream E-Government applications into the activities of the Bank. (Visit the World Bank E-Government site: www.worldbank.org/publicsector/egov) He is on a sabbatical from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), where he held the CMC Chair Professorship in Information Technology. In the past he has served as the Dean of IIMA and a member of its board of governors. At IIMA he coordinated the activities of two research centers: Telecom Policy Study Centre and the Center of Electronic Governance. His research has focused on IT for development, e-government and e-commerce. He founded and chaired a new Working Group in the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) called Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries. He is the editor of the International Journal of IT and Development published by IOS Press and a newsletter on IT in Developing Countries. He is a recipient of IFIP Silver Core, and the Fellowship of the Computer Society of India. Subhash Bhatnagar's homepage: http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/~subhash
Directions: The Development Dialogue will be held at the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID Information Center Conference Room on the Mezzanine Level of the Ronald Reagan Building (RRB), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Please bring a photo ID. The nearest Metro stop is Federal Triangle on the Orange and Blue lines. As you exit the Metro, signs will direct you to the RRB. The entrance to the USAID Information Center, containing the Library and Conference Room, is located on the Mezzanine level, behind and slightly to one side of the neon light structure in the atrium on the same side of the building as the Metro entrance and the Berlin Wall section. No reservations required. All welcome. Those coming from outside USAID do NOT need a USAID pass in order to reach this location, but should proceed to the Information Center where the receptionist will direct you to the conference room.
SLA Membership Funding Winner — 2002/2004
As part of our Chapter twinning project with a developing country librarian, we are pleased to announce the winner of our two-year SLA membership funding for 2002/2004.
Dr. Krishana Gopal Tyagi is Director of the National Social Science Documentation Centre at the Indian Council for Social Science Research in New Delhi, India. He holds a Masters in Library and Information Science, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science. He is associated with many major programs and policy issues related to Library and Information Services in Social Science in India. He is also very active in training workshops for academics and librarians and in developing teaching kits and modules. Dr. Tyagi is playing a leading role in a number of local, regional and global associations, such as Delhi Library Network, Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), Asia-Pacific Information Network (APINESS) and International Committee for Social Science Information and Documentation (ICSSD).
Let's welcome Dr. Tyagi as a new SLA member associated with the DC chapter and two divisions: 1) Information Technology and 2) Social Science.
Public Service Behind the Closed Door: Cataloging Essay Contest!
Foot traffic… An interesting concept in the library world! If we are to judge our libraries' worth by the amount people who enter our library space we might be in for a bleak future. The wealth of resources offered by libraries via the net, and yes, even the unselected, unvetted, unverified, black hole of the internet itself, give people less and less reason to wander into the library space these days unless they have a specific item they need to put their hands on. And even if it is a physical 3-D item they need, we may offer to deliver it. Why should the darken our doorways? Is this good or bad? They will not see us sneaking Diet Coke at our desks even though we tell them there is no eating or drinking in the library. Can we get more "work done" without the constant interruption of people walking in on us while we are concentrating? Enticing… but that doesn't mean we want to stop serving our users!
People are now using their desktops to access our information. And what is the major tool we have for that? Our OPACs! Yes, the online line public access catalog is how people can search, find, and even view the data we are collecting for them. It is one of our biggest assets. And we can actually say – with a strong voice – with heads lifted high – Yes! – Cataloging IS a Public Service!
I jumped up and down when I saw buttons on friends when I was down in New Orleans. There were two versions. One is just straight forward "Cataloging IS a Public Service". The other – a more subtle and wider audience attraction is a Yin/Yang symbol on a round button. One edge says "Cataloging is a Public Service" and the other edge has "Reference is a Public Service". Out at OCLC in Ohio, these buttons were a result of a brainstorming session where Cynthia Whiteacre mentioned the phrase. Alane Wilson and Kay Covert, of OCLC, designed the buttons.
They can be yours too for a simple winning entry in to this years cataloging contest. Write a one paragraph explanation of "Why Cataloging Is A Public Service" The winning essayist will get as a prize the buttons to proudly wear to all high-class events. Your winning essay may even be published in scholarly, informative newsletter such as ChapterNotes!! Deadline for submissions is July 5, 2002.
Mail your entries to: Suzanne Pilsk, Cataloging Dept., Smithsonian Institution Libraries, NHB-Room 30 MRC -0154, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, D.C 20013-7012 or email to pilsks@si.edu
John Philip Sousa Middle School Selected as Chapter's Community Outreach Project
The John Philip Sousa Middle School is located at 3650 Ely Place SE, in a predominantly low-income area of southeast Washington, DC. It has 400 students in grades 6 through 8. Ninety-nine percent of the students are African American. Many come from one-parent homes at best. Over 90% of the students are on the free or reduced lunch program. Over 25% of the student population are in the special education program.
Due to budgetary constraints, the school opted to have a part-time librarian. Muriel Jenkins, is a retired librarian who taught 6th grade in the DC schools for several years before getting her library degree and becoming a school librarian. She has performed miracles in terms of getting the library functioning again and interacting with the students.
The Sousa Library is a very old library with very old books and periodicals. It does not have many of the books on the recommended reading list for middle schools students in the District of Columbia Most of the books are old and outdated with copyright dates ranging from 1967 to 1975. Mrs. Jenkins was advised to throw away many of the books because they are outdated but refused to do so because the collection would have been depleted.
For starters, the Chapter is going use the money it received from the World Bank Community Outreach Program "Dollar for Doers" fund to help the Sousa Library purchase new books, especially science and reference materials.
Then we will raise more money…. If you love to organize fund-raising events, or organize book drives, please contact Kenlee Ray, 202-483-2423, kenleer@aol.com or David Snyder, DSnyder@ascd.org.
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Join the DC/SLA Young Professional's Team for the Multiple Sclerosis Walk The DC/SLA Young Professionals Group has organized a team for the MS Walk on Saturday, April 20, 2002. The walk is 8 miles, begins in Washington, D.C. and ends at Glen Echo Park in Maryland. Free shuttle buses will be available at Glen Echo Park to take all walkers back to the starting point in Washington. Walk organizers provide rest stops, with food and water, every two miles and lunch and entertainment at Glen Echo Park. Special Team T-shirts will be given to team members who raise a minimum of $100 each. For further information on the MS Walk see the DC/SLA website at www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/yp/events/mswalk.html, the MS Walk website at www.msandyou.org/chapter_events/ms_walk/ms_walk.php3, or email Marla Schlaffer at mschlaffer@hotmail.com. When registering for the walk, please include the following information:
Come out and join the effort while having fun getting to know other librarians/information professionals in the D.C. area! |
SID Development Information Workgroup Program
Wednesday, April 17, 2002 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. Quality Programs: The Sabre Experience in Book Donation and Information Technology Training Programs Tania Vitvitsky, Executive Director of the Sabre Foundation in Cambridge, MA, will talk about Sabre's book donation philosophy and how their programs have evolved since 1986. For more information on Sabre, see their web site: http://www.sabre.org No reservations required. All welcome. Please bring a photo ID. The meeting will be a brown bag lunch held at Development Information Center (DIC), 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 1425, Washington, DC. Closest Metro stop is Metro Center on the Red or Blue/Orange lines. Take the 13th Street exit from Metro Center, turn left when you get to the street and walk to the corner of 13th and F Streets, NW. Cross F Street, and turn right to cross 13th Street. Enter the Shops at National Place. Walk to the North Office Tower access area on your left. Turn left into the elevator lobby and take the elevator to the 14th floor. On the 14th floor, walk away from the windows, turn right and at the corner, turn right again. Suite 1425 will be on the left about halfway down the corridor. To find out on the day of the event if the meeting is cancelled, contact the DIC receptionist at 202.661.5800. |
Remembrance of Elizabeth Stone
In this issue we remember a giant of our field, Dr Elizabeth Stone, Dean Emerita of Catholic University, who died on March 6th. Dr Stone is known for her work in the areas of literacy, continuing education, and training librarians in serving persons with disabilities.
Wilda Newman, past SLA Board member, and a member of the Alumni Board of Catholic University, describes Elizabeth as "a wonderful and delightful person, to the end, besides being a role model to a whole generation of librarians." John R. Posniak, Senior Reference Librarian, Comptroller of the Currency Library writes: "She made it possible for us working stiffs to take a full course load at night at Catholic. She remembered her students and was a quick learner. As President of ALA she caught on quickly, and taught all of us, and I say this with love in my heart, not to be deceived by appearances! She took a chance on probationary students, like myself, when other, "more prestigious" (read: now defunct) library schools couldn't be bothered. I guess I have nothing but good memories of her and her late loving husband and German Shepard. She took nothing for herself and gave us lives and careers."
Some of her most notable accomplishments were:
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Professional Associations: |
Honors Received Include: |
Dr. Stone's obituary is in Washington Post, Friday, March 8. It can be accessed online at www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/metro/obituaries/A58184-2002Mar7.html. The DC/SLA Chapter has made a donation to the Elizabeth Stone Scholarship at Catholic University School of Library and Information Science. Members are urged to join in with their support for the scholarship.
Send completed registration to:
For credit card registrations, e-mail your information to bfolensbee-moore@morganlewis.com. The fax option is no longer available. Due to fees incurred, all payments made by credit card will be non-refundable. Payment must be made in advance. No credit card payments will be accepted at the door. All registrations must be received by Friday, May 10, 2002.
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