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Contents
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Member News
From Mike Conklin, Chief, Library and Information Services, Information Services Division, Departmental Offices, Treasury Department. FEDLINK's Kathy Eighmey and I are exchanging jobs from August 26 until December 20. Please
welcome Kathy to Treasury. She will be acting Chief Librarian and, undoubtedly, be seeking collaboration from each of you, as I will at FEDLINK, for consortial agreement opportunities for desktop commercial information services. She brings a wealth of knowledge about federal libraries, publishers and information vendors, and the federal information procurement process.
Our legal/legislative/reference librarian, Tom Storck, as you may know, is representing Treasury Bureaus' requirements for the IRS' re-contracting of its LexisNexis contract. Stay in touch with each other and with Kathy as we begin to craft a plan to have a consortium of shared products and services on TreasNet.
Bill Turner was recently elected treasurer of the District of Columbia Library Association. He began his two-year term on July 1. At the same time for one year, Bill will be serving on the SLA Board as Corresponding Secretary. Shirley Loo was elected as director of DCLA for a two-year term. She joins Mike Kolakowski on the DCLA Board. Mike is serving the second year of his two-year term. Shirley had served as DCLA President 1989-1990. She received the DCLA Community Service Award at the annual banquet. Shirley and Betsy Knauff, past SLA Chapter President, are the cochairs of the DCLA Student Financial Assistance Committee. The committee awarded the first $5,000 Ruth Fine Memorial Student Loans earlier this year. Ruth Fine was SLA Chapter President in 1953 and she also served as DCLA President in 1963. (www.dcla.org)
Greta D. Ober (goberbeauchesne@imf.org) was a speaker at the 2002 SLA Conference in Los Angeles. She presented a collection of International Business websites covering Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Other regions covered during that session: Middle East/North Africa, and Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union. The handouts and powerpoint presentations will be posted to the SLA's Social Science Division website (http://www.sla.org/division/dsoc/).
Also, published in the August 2002 issue of "The One-Person Library" is a bibliography on "State-of-the-Art" Libraries which was compiled by Greta. |
President’s Corner: The Rest of the
Story
By Anne Caputo, DC/SLA PresidentBuried in the text of the September
Chapter Notes President’s Corner column is a suggestion that the October issues
will announce some changes in the way Chapter Notes is distributed….. and now you
get the to hear the rest of the story. The cost of printing and distributing our
newsletter has been a topic of discussion at the DC/SLA Board meetings for at
least 4 or 5 years. We have looked at the monthly cost of printing and mailing
the 8-12 page newsletter carefully. These costs have increased every year. At
the same time, we hear from members who would be just as happy to have an
electronic newsletter only…and we hear from those who would definitely prefer to
get the whole thing in print. We also hear from those who would like a monthly
print calendar, but would be very happy to read the text of the newsletter on
the web. We also know that as many as 1/3 of all SLA chapters, including New
York, the largest chapter, have discontinued printing and mailing their
newsletter altogether.
In analyzing the cost of producing and mailing Chapter Notes, currently about
$16,600 per year, we have realized a revenue loss in the range of more than
$5,700 this year and more than $13, 600 last year after advertising support has
been deducted. Advertising revenue is on a significant rise, but the actual cost
of the publications is still our single largest Chapter expense. Moving to a
larger portion of our distribution via electronic means will allow us not only
to conserve our budget, but to also allocate budget expenditures for more varied
programs and speakers. We believe this action will allow us to respond to more
of the suggestions and desires expressed in the strategic plan.
After much discussion and consideration, the DC/SLA Board has voted to bake
the cake, serve it to you and keep it…all at the same time. This is what will
happen:
- In this issue you will find a mail-back form offering the opportunity to
continue to receive the print version of Chapter Notes, just as you always have.
YOU MUST RETURN THIS FORM TO REMAIN ON THE PRINT DISTRIBUTION LIST.
- Everyone will get a monthly print calendar of upcoming events with a brief
description and a place to go for more information
- Everyone with an email address on our chapter list will get a notice when
the new issue of Chapter Notes has been posted to the web site. If you are not
already on this list, subscribe by sending an e-mail to
lists@lists.sla. org,
leave the Subject blank, type SUBSCRIBE SLA-CDC YOURNAME in the body of text.
More information about posting to this list and unsubscribing can be found at
http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/list.html.
- We will revisit this distribution method at the end of the Chapter year in May
and determine whether we need to make any additional changes.
Through all this, we welcome your comments and suggestions. An electronic
newsletter has a number of advantages in that it can be published more quickly
and economically, and it can be archived in the proverbial safe place. On the
other hand, many people like a print reminder of meetings and activities to post
in their office or carry in their calendar. We hope this mechanism will please
everyone. So have that cake and eat it too!
| Chapter Notes Print Mailing Request
Please continue to send me Chapter Notes in print.
Name: ______________________________________
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Special Libraries Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by the contributors to SLA’s publications. Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official views of SLA. Acceptance of advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product by SLA. Chapter Notes is free to DC/SLA members. Subscriptions to non-members are available at $10 per year. Advertising rates effective September 1997 are: $95-1/4 page; $175-1/2 page; $290-full page.
For information regarding advertisements, contact the DC/SLA Chapter Notes Business Manager:
Kelley Weber
Surface Transportation Board
202-565-1668
weberk@stb.dot.gov
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Friday, October 11th is the deadline for materials which can be included
in the November 2002 issue. The issue is distributed approximately three weeks after the deadline. The preferred submission format is a Word document sent via email.
Materials for Chapter Notes should be sent to the Editor:
Cynthia Holt
The Gelman Library
George Washington University
2130 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-1352
holt@gwu.edu
Event announcements should also be submitted electronically to the DC/SLA Internet Committee Chair and Listserv Moderator:
Kelley Weber
Surface Transportation Board
202-565-1668
weberk@stb.dot.gov
Webmaster:
Kristina Lively
National Endowment for Democracy
202-293-0300
kristina@ned.org
Send address changes for Chapter Notes to:
SLA Headquarters
ATTN: Address/Name Changes
1700 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009-2508 |
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Who Are Our New Members?
Anita JohnsonMy name is Anita Johnson. I recently moved to Washington,
DC from Urbana, Illinois, three hours south of Chicago, where I completed a
Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois. I
spent last year as the President of the Special Libraries Association Student
Group at the University of Illinois where the cabinet cooperatively planned and
implemented nineteen lectures, panel discussions, field trips, and other events.
I previously studied Economics, Philosophy and International Development. In
conjunction with my academic work, I spent six months living in Manila, the
Philippines working with a micro-finance lending organization. My pre-library
school professional experience includes work in both nonprofit and private
sectors. Immediately before returning to school, I worked for 3 1/2 years as a
researcher and analyst in the Chicago office of Economics Research Associates, a
leading consulting practice in the areas of tourism and real estate economics.
My professional interests include web development, reference/traditional
librarianship, and in-depth research. I am also very interested in knowledge
management: encouraging and supporting information sharing practices through the
creative use of technology. My subject interests include international studies,
economic development, urban planning/development, and environmental sciences.
I grew up in a small town in Minnesota, then spent nine years in the Chicago
area before beginning at the University of Illinois. I enjoy traveling, swing
dancing, gardening, and nearly any outdoor activities. I’m very excited to be a
part of the DC/SLA Chapter. I can be reached at
anita.johnson@illinoisalumni.org.
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Support DC/SLA - Complete the
Washington Area Library Directory Questionnaire
Submitted by Eileen Deegan and Amy PassOne of the most important
contributions you can make to our Chapter this year will entail your “virtual”
presence and relatively little time.
We are producing a new edition of the Washington Area Library Directory and
need your help to ensure that your library or information center is listed in
this unique guide to our metropolitan area’s vast information resources.
Specifically, we need you or a co-worker to complete an electronic questionnaire
about your library’s or center’s resources and services. Your entry will appear
in the forthcoming Washington Area Library Directory free of charge.
Publication of the Directory is a joint project headed by Eileen Deegan and
Amy Pass of DC/SLA, Mike Kolakowski of DCLA, and Judith Weiss of LLSDC. Last
published in 1996, the Washington Area Library Directory’s third edition will be
available for sale and distribution the first quarter of 2003.
In the coming weeks, the libraries and information centers where Chapter
members work will receive a letter in the mail from the Directory’s publisher,
Data-Matic Systems Company. The letter will contain an URL, ID and password for
accessing the questionnaire on the publisher’s website. Directions for filling
out and submitting the questionnaire can also be found on the website.
Should our letter fail to reach your workplace, you can request an ID and
password via email. Additional details about this process will be sent through
the DC/SLA email discussion list in the weeks ahead.
The information your library or center provides will contribute immensely to
our goal of producing the most comprehensive directory possible. Your support -
either by completing the questionnaire or encouraging your library’s director to
complete it - is vital if we are to meet this goal.
Please watch for our letter and seize this opportunity to make a long-lasting
contribution to DC/SLA and our region’s information community - quickly and
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Picturing Cataloging?
Suzanne C. Pilsk, Cataloging Liaison from the DC/SLA ChapterIt used to
be that you had to have a well-designed letterhead. Pretty simple when we think
back on it but I remember agonizing meetings about typeface, fonts, placement of
letters, design integration, etc. etc. etc.
Things have blossomed since then. You now need to not only have a "corporate
image" but you have to be able to "sell your organization" with a web product.
(Also known as webpage or homepage or site or whatever) So now we need to take
our old letterhead and transform it into something that people will understand
in a two second view of your website and will (please - we hope!) then stay on
your website and explore the extensive depth of knowledge we have placed on it
and subsequent pages.
Here in the cataloging world, what should we do to make our image shine? What
picture do you add to the page to illustrate "Cataloging Department"? We have
mounds of text that we could put here and there - mark it up in html or xml or
whatever is the going markup language - we can link here there and everywhere -
leap our viewers to important facts, figures, standards, even procedures. But
you gotta catch their eye. You gotta draw them in to your world. Text on a
screen ain't a big draw.
Let's get visual. What would a representative image be for cataloging: the
backlog. Picture this: pictures of shelves of backlog showing all the work
needing to be done. And, therefore, how busy the whole department is - or should
be. But that might also be sending a mixed signal, don't you think?
Okay - librarians at work! Yes, pictures of people sitting at their desks
staring at their computers inputting in-depth highly analyzed records. Ooo now
that is exciting - NOT! Pictures of people's backs, humped over with bad
posture. Yuck.
Hands on the keyboard. The artistic shot. Dramatic shadows. Resting yet at
the ready for quick input. Yes, I can see this. But what about the nails? Should
they be manicured? How many catalogers do YOU know with a French manicure? And
rings. There are issues associated with the meaning of rings.
How about pictures of our "tools of the trade"? That use to be the big red
books from Library of Congress, microfiche readers of the LC shelf list, our
wooden card catalogs, even our beloved electric erasers. Sigh - what are our tools now? The computer - and well,
OTHER WEB SITES. This is not picturesque. Are we going to take screen shots of
other people's sites and put them on our site to show as our tools? This sounds
very confusing to me.
Let’s go with the simple group portrait. Do we have a way of taking the glare
off all the glasses? What about the chains? Do we let everyone keep the distance
glasses on their faces and have their second set of reading glasses on their
customized eyeglass leash? Or do we make everyone throw their glasses off so
that have that deer in the headlights look and have everyone saying in unison "bibliograFEEE"?
This is way too hard. I think I'll stop being a web designer and go back to
my "may subd geo" subject headings and leave the professionals to do their job.
(Actually, I need to run - my manicure appointment is in a few minutes.)
If you have ideas of pictures that
illustrate your department, send the ideas or better yet, the link to you
homepage for inclusion in Cataloging Corner: Suzanne’s email:
Pilsks@si.edu. Thank you for those who did submit reasons why cataloging is a public
service. Congratulations to Caryn S. Wesner-Early at Biotechnology and Chemical
Library, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for her winning play!
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How to Find Your Library's Value and Sell it to Upper Management
Date: October 17, 2002
Time: 6:00 p.m. -.8:30 p.m.
Location: National Geographic Society Cost: $22 -- Includes appetizers and
soft drinks!
Note: ***Limited to the first 60 people to sign up!***
Directions: By Metro, go to Farragut North (red line). Exit the Metro at one
of the far ends for Connecticut Connection (Connecticut & L streets). Proceed
north for two blocks. Make right on M Street and enter National Geographic on
the right mid-block. Follow the hallway to the left of the 6-bank elevators up
the stairs to the reception area just outside the National Geographic Library.
Food will be served at 6:00 p.m. and the program will start promptly at 6:30 on
the second floor of this building, so please come on time.
Parking: If you require parking, you must email
bferry@ngs.org in advance by
October 7th with your name and vehicle identification (license plate/make of
car).
Questions? Email bferry@ngs.org or
rbraden@ngs.org
We've all faced this dilemma -- you know your library is valuable, but how do
you prove it? Join your colleagues in a panel discussion outlining successful
strategies for finding the hidden value in your library and then illustrating
that value for upper management.
- Web Site Metrics -- Danna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress
- Return on Investment -- Marilyn Bromley, Bureau of National Affairs
- Surveys -- Barbara Ferry, Susan White Frazier; National Geographic
- Benchmarking -- Robyn Frank, Office of the President
- Storytelling -- Renee Braden, National Geographic
Bring an example of your library's marketing materials, annual reports,
benchmarking studies, Web site printouts, etc., to share with the group. The
program will allow some time for participants to look over each other's
materials.
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How to Find Your Library's Value and Sell it to Upper Management:
Registration Form |
Name ______________________________
E-mail: _______________________
Phone: ________________________Payment method:
_______ Check _______ VISA/MC
Send completed registration and payment to:
Barbara Folensbee-Moore, Library
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004
Office: 202-739-5131
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If paying by credit card, include:Card number:
__________________________________
Card Type: ________ VISA _______ Mastercard
Expiration Date: ________
Name on Card: ________________________________
Signature: _____________________________________
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For credit card registrations, e-mail your information to:
bfolensbee-moore@morganlewis.com. Due to the fees incurred, all payments
made by credit card will be nonrefundable.
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Join Your DC/SLA Colleagues for Happy Hour! Kick off your Halloween celebration a little bit early, by joining the DC/SLA
Young Pros for happy hour at Uni's. Enjoy food and drink and lots of great
conversation. I hope you can join us! For more information, please contact
Beth Perell at 202/263-3983 or bethperell@hotmail.com
Where: Uni's 2122 P St. NW Washington DC - see the write up in the
Washington Post
http://eg.washingtonpost.com/profile/1026242/?&flavor_id=2&context=restaurants
When: Tuesday, October 29th, 2002; Happy Hour prices from 5 pm - 7 pm, we
will have the room until 8 pm.
Directions: Take the Red Line Metro to Dupont Circle and exit at the South
entrance. Head around the circle to P St. and turn left. Uni's is about
halfway down the block past Hopkins St. There is limited street parking and
there are garages nearby as parking can be difficult in the area.
Prices: $2.25 rail drinks; $3 Kirin lager and house wines; $3 sake martini;
$2.50 salmon maki; $3 kappa maki and edamame; $1 one piece sushi.
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Society for International Development (SID) Development Information Workgroup (DIW)
Submitted by Gail Wadsworth, gwadswor@smtp.cdie.org
Internet Gateways
Two presenters will share their experiences disseminating reproductive
health information using an internet gateway in this brown bag lunch. Peggy
D'Adamo from the Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs will talk
about the Reproductive Health Gateway that the Center's Health Materials
Working Group established two years ago. http://www.rhgateway.org . Susan
Pasquariella will talk about the Population and Reproductive Health (POP/RH)
Portal on the Global Development Gateway.
http://www.developmentgateway.org/pop
Date: Wednesday November 13, 2002
Time: 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Development Information Center (DIC), 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 1425, Washington, DC.
No reservations required. All are welcome. Please bring a photo ID. The
closest Metro stop is Metro Center on the Red or Blue/Orange lines. Take the
13th Street exit from Metro Center. On the 14th floor of the building, go to Suite 1425. To find out on the
day of the event if the meeting is cancelled, contact the DIC receptionist
at 202.661.5800.
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Society for International Development (SID) Development Information
Workgroup
Submitted by Romila Sudhir, rsudhir@smtp.cdie.org
Introduction to Open Source Software
Adrian Mikeliunas, CISSP (Certified Information Systems
SecurityProfessional) Information Security Officer, World Bank Group will
provide an introduction to the new and exciting field of Open Source
Software. Please check out Adrian's web site on his interesting work with
Linux at: http://www.mikeliunas.com/linux.htm
Date: Tuesday, October 8, 2002
Time: Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Address: National Endowment for Democracy, 1101 15th Street, NW, Suite
700, Washington, DC 20005.
Metro access: McPherson Square on the orange Line or Farragut North on
the Red Line.
RSVP: Allen Overland, via email (Allen@ned.org), or phone (202 293-0300) at your earliest convenience.
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Book Club Meeting Date/Time/Place: Thursday, November 7th, 6:30 pm at the National Geographic
Society.
Book: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by
Malcolm Gladwell.
RSVP: Susan Fifer Canby at sfiferca@ngs.org
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Special Libraries Association 93rd Annual Conference-- Los Angeles,
California, June 7-13, 2002 "One-Dot Shopping: Best International Business Websites"
Submitted by Iris Anderson, ianderson@imf.org
Note, this session was co-sponsored by Business & Finance Division
A sequel to last year’s very successful session called One-Dot Shopping:
Best International Business Websites, was held on Tuesday, June 11. The
regions featured this year were the Middle East and North Africa; Eastern
Europe and former Soviet Union; and Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand
and the Pacific Islands. Over 150 people attended the program and stayed to
ask questions at the end. The exciting presentations were supplemented by
printed handouts in the form of webliographies. Speakers had just enough time
to present their favorite sites, so the handouts were an important additional
resource for capturing the best authoritative, free (and a few for-a-fee)
websites available for each region. All three presenters did outstanding jobs
and the Social Science Division would like to thank them each again. The first
two presenters have also been very active with the Business & Finance
Division, who again co-sponsored this program:
- Hal Kirkwood, Assistant Professor, Purdue University - Middle East/North
Africa websites;
- Rita Costello, Collection Development and Reference Librarian, UCLA -
Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union;
- Greta Ober-Beauchesne, Research Librarian, Joint World Bank-
International Monetary Fund Library - Oceania: Australia, New Zealand and
Pacific Islands
All handouts and presentations are posted on the Social Science Division’s
website at http://www.sla.org/division/dsoc/index.htm
Stay tuned as we plan for a third One-Dot Shopping program at next year’s
annual conference in New York City. Regions to be covered will be Canada,
Mexico and the United States. Since these three regions are critical for all
aspects of international business information, we should be prepared for
another big crowd to attend this popular, resource-rich series. Any questions
or comments should be addressed to Iris Anderson, Co-Program Planner for the
Social Science Division at ianderson@imf.org
The Social Science Division is most grateful to the Dialog Corporation for
supporting this program series.
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Come Join Your DC/SLA Colleagues in
Welcoming Our Chapter’s New Members! This is always a great social opportunity
to meet and greet old and new chapter members. There will be food and drink and
lots of great conversation so I hope you can join us! For more information,
please contact Alphonse Vinh at 202/513-2352.
Where: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Ave NW
(18th and Mass.) Choate Room, 1st Floor. Check-in at Security Desk.
When: Thursday, October 24th, 2002; Reception: 6:30 - 8 p.m.; Cash bar;
plenty of good eats
Price: Members $17; Non-members $22; New members FREE (please
indiate if you are a new member when you RSVP)
Directions: Take the Red Line Metro at Dupont Circle and go 2 blocks east of
the Dupont Circle South entrance. Paid public parking is also available across
the street and around the corner on 18th Street.
RSVP by October 21st to: Barbara Folensbee-Moore, Library, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, 1111
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC20004, Phone: 202-739-5131
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Registration Form:
Name ____________________________________________
Phone: ________________ E-mail: ____________________
Payment Method:
_______ Check
_______ VISA/MC
_______ New Member (Free)
If paying by credit card, include:
Card number: __________________________________
Card Type: ________ VISA _______ Mastercard
Expiration Date: ________
Name on Card: ________________________________
Signature: _____________________________________
For credit card registrations, e-mail your information to
bfolensbee-moore@morganlewis.com. The fax option is no longer available. Due
to costs incurred, all credit card registrations are final. No credit card
registrations at the door. |
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