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Contents
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Welcome New Members!
Submitted by Alphonse Vinh, avinh@npr.org
Please welcome the following new members to the SLA/DC Chapter:
George Diez
Megan Galaida
Terrel Hale
Anita Johnson
Judith Keen
Charlotte Kohrs
Laureen Lentz
Elizabeth Schilling
Gloria Thomas
Cecelia Thorn |
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President’s Corner: Leadership
By Anne Caputo, DC/SLA President, anne.caputo@factiva.com
By the time you read this message the Winter Meeting of our association will
have ended. I can’t accurately predict the outcome of this event, but I can
confidently predict that it will have centered around the theme of leadership
within SLA. Much has been said about our living in a time of transition, and
indeed the 'interesting times' of the legendary curse are a reality for us. We
have approved a new and streamlined set of by-laws for SLA and now we are asked
to take up the task of adopting a new and simpler set of by-laws for our
chapter. These by-laws will be fleshed out by a set of operating procedures that
will more closely define our daily chapter business.
The Winter Meeting will also take up consideration of SLA's mission statement
and our strategic positioning, we will consider branding, get an update on the
search for a new Executive Director, and look forward to new elections for the
presidency of SLA and other leadership positions. These brief summaries
represent the intense and difficult work of dozens of people, and enacting their
recommendations will require work from many dozens more.
In light of all this focus on leadership, I'd like you to give consideration
to the following,
Consider running for office in DC/SLA. Dave Shumaker (dshumake@mitre.org)
is the chair of the nominating committee. Self nomination is encouraged, as is
nomination of others. We are one of the last SLA chapters to continue holding
contested elections at the chapter level. This means we need at least two
nominations for the office of 1st Vice President, President-Elect,
2nd Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, and Director. The
Chapter Manual found on our website gives more detailed descriptions of these
offices.
Examine the roster of those in our chapter running for
national office, and support them if you can. Lynn McCay, candidate for
Director and Buzzy Basch, candidate for Treasurer, are both members of our
chapter.
If you don’t want to run for office, get involved in one of
our committees. Myriad opportunities exist, both large and small, for those
interested in one of the committee tasks.
Help us review the new suggested by-laws format for the
chapter and give us your feedback on whether we should continue to hold
contested elections for chapter office, have the array of chapter officers we
currently have and other important changes in the way we operate.
Vote in our chapter elections when they appear in the next
few weeks
One of the benefits of a professional association is that it allows us to
practice our leadership skills. This valuable experience can help us in our work
lives and in other leadership opportunities. We can learn more about the
management process make key contacts and have fun! A particular pleasure for me
is to watch members enter our profession and also enter the ranks of SLA
leadership. You can be one too.
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Member News Congratulations to Liz Farley, DC SLA
member and volunteer whose baby girl was born on December 29th (6 pounds 10 oz)!
Hannah Daisy Cunningham is an extremely beautiful and welcome baby!!
Chris Olson's article, "What's In It for Them? Communicating the Value of
Information Services" was published in the November issue of Information
Outlook. Chris will be leading a workshop on March 14th for the Academic &
Research Libraries Division (ARLD) of the Maryland Library Association at the
Anne Arundel Community College, outside of Annapolis, Maryland. Chris’
presentation, titled "Beyond Pretty Pictures and Prayers: Effective Library
Promotion Campaigns," will identify considerations, strategies and activities
which form the foundation of successful promotion & public relations campaigns.
Workshop participants will put their newfound knowledge to work by outlining
campaigns for different, typical library marketing opportunities. Additional
information is available on Chris’ web site (http://www.ChrisOlson.com) and the
ARLD site. (http://www.mdlib.org/divisions/arld/programs/arld_program_3-28-03.htm)
Ceceile Kay Richter prepared a study that was the subject of an amicus
brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2002 in the case of United
States of America v. Navajo Nation, Docket 01-1375. Ceceile conducted a 19-year
review of the disposition by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims of suits involving
identifiable Native American entities and individuals and presented her research
in table form. She was hired as an independent researcher by the Tribal Supreme
Court Project of the Native American Rights Fund and the National Congress of
American Indians. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, represented by the
venerable Native American-rights law firm of Hobbs, Strauss, Dean & Walker,
presented conclusions they drew from the study in their brief in support of the
Navajo Nation. They found that of 108 claims brought under the Tucker Act (28 U.S.C. Sec. 1491) or Indian Tucker Act (28 U.S.C. Sec. 1505), monetary damages
were awarded in only 37 cases and that in only 11 of those cases was the award
more than $1 million. Ceceile's study is attached to the brief as an appendix.
Ceceile, who calls herself an informationist, is the sole proprietor of her own
independent research firm, The ResearchSource for Hard-to-Find Information. The
attorneys asked Ceceile to briefly describe her credentials on the title page of
the study and Ceceile answered the call by identifying herself as "A Member of
The Association of Independent Information Professions, The Law Librarians'
Society of Washington DC, and The Special Libraries Association, Legal
Division." (Sorry that I didn't have room to mention the Washington DC chapter.)
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Traumas and Perils of Professional Life: Dressing For
Work Dilemmas
Submitted by Suzanne Pilsk, PilskS@si.edu Coming to
work is not that traumatic. Each day I learn how to catalog better and better.
New materials come across my desk challenging me to learn a variety things.
Being asked to speak on a topic is not that traumatic. I have been
"lucky" enough to have given enough speeches that I am no longer frightened by
the onset of stage fright. I still get stage fright, of course, its just that I
know to expect to be nervous and shaking; feeling light headed and faint is
standard now. Most people think I talk normally with that quavering sound.
The real issue - the truly traumatic experience as a
professional? What to wear to work?!?!
It is horrible. Each night before bed, I silence everyone when the weather
comes on the FOX 5 News. I plot and plan dry-cleaning trips and laundry "flips"
from washer to dryer trying to get the right things done in time. But why? I sit
in a cubicle and catalog. I do not see the public. I do not have any kind of
interaction with the public. Even for conferences -- the dress code is, well,
basically casual. Everyone is wearing clothing out of a suitcase and has
sneakers on since they walk the exhibition floors over and over. Not to mention
exploring the hosting city.
Why do I fret so? The label "professional librarian" makes me feel I need to
make sure I am not looking stereotypical. Yet, I can’t make myself wear
those sadistic torture devices known as "nice women’s shoes." And, lets face it:
when you are cataloging, looking down at materials, up at the computer, reaching
for reference materials, the hair can get annoying. Having it pulled back in a
tight small bun makes me more efficient. After working on the computer and
cataloging various types of materials for about 2 years, BAM, I couldn’t focus
anymore. The glasses are now up to two pair because the bifocals didn’t work
right. I have one pair to wear when I look across the room and one when I am
staring at the computer. I recently moved to a new cubicle. It’s great! It gets
natural light and it is away from the common traffic. I am less distracted and
should be able to get more work done. But, it is freezing! Some strange
Nor’easter comes crashing down across the keyboard and swooping down to my feet.
I have invested a lot in Chapstick. And, yes, I have to wear a sweater. Let’s
face it, I am in trouble: practical shoes; hair bun; multiple glasses, little
sweater!
Spicing up my look with some funky earrings? They hurt when you answer the
phone. Rings, bracelets, jewelry all clank and get in the way when reaching for
texts and typing. I was making odd typos on a record until I realized that my
bracelet was hitting the space bar. I have almost choked myself in very curious
ways. Once, while trying to be a little bit more hip, my dress (!) got caught
under the wheel of my chair so when I pulled back it was as if a noose was
tightening around my neck. I bent down to pick up the dropped pencil and my
necklace got caught on the key board tray – I banged my head and knocked the
phone on the floor. I saw stars and came close to truly knocking myself out!
Dressing "professionally" is dangerous!
I don’t have an answer as to how we can fix the stereotyping of the
librarian. I think I am more of a cause than a cure. If anyone out there in DC/SLA
wants to help, feel free to get in touch with me. Maybe a little counseling is
what I need… we could meet at a mall for some one-on-one counseling. I’ll bring
the credit card. |
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.
Subscriptions:
Chapter Notes is free to DC/SLA members. Subscriptions to non-members are
available at $10 per year.
Advertising:
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
Phone: 202-565-1668
Email: weberk@stb.dot.gov
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Monday, February 17th is the deadline for materials which can be included
in the March 2003 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
Phone: 202-994-1352
Email: holt@gwu.edu
Event announcements should also be submitted electronically to the:
Listserv Moderator:
Kelley Weber
Surface Transportation Board
Phone: 202-565-1668
Email: weberk@stb.dot.gov
DC/SLA Internet Committee:
Frederik Heller
Phone: 202-383-1157
Email: fheller@realtors.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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Get Listed in the Washington Area Library Directory!
Submitted by Amy Pass,
apass@opa.easter-seals.org Is your library listed in the forthcoming, third edition of the Washington
Area Library Directory yet?
If not, we invite your library or information center to submit its entry for
WALD – a joint product of DC/SLA, DCLA, and LLSDC. Our goal is to compile the
most comprehensive directory possible, and to accomplish that, we need your
library’s entry.
As many DC/SLA members have attested, the process for listing your library in
WALD is relatively quick -- and much more fun than filling out a tax form. To
ensure that your library or center is listed in this unique guide to the DC
metropolitan area’s vast information resources, please do the following:
Step 1. Go to the WALD website at www.arealibraries.com, click on "HELP," and
request your library’s logon and password via the "pop-up" e-mail.
Step 2. After you receive your library’s logon and password via return
e-mail, go to www.arealibraries.com and click on the "Update" link.
Step 3. Fill out the online questionnaire and click on "Approve" when
finished.
If you have already received your logon and password via a letter from WALD’s
publisher, Data-Matic, but haven’t filled out the questionnaire – PLEASE GET
LISTED NOW!
DC/SLA members Amy Pass (apass@opa.easter-seals.org) and Eileen Deegan (edeegan@pd.state.gov)
will be happy to answer any questions you have about getting listed in WALD or
about the forthcoming edition.
Please contribute to WALD’s success -- Get Listed!
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Information Resources & Technology: Share an
Experience
Submitted by Cynthia Holt, holt@gwu.eduVictoria Harriston, Digital Resources Librarian at the National Academy
of Sciences, made the suggestion of a column entitled "Information Resources
& Technology: Share an Experience." This would be a forum for sharing
experiences of what you’ve had to go through to deploy specific products,
e.g. technical considerations, making site-wide vs. limited staff access,
training and outreach, marketing, consortia benefits, negotiating,
licensing, and last but certainly not least, handling the ever increasing
costs for desktop delivery. To submit an article for this column on your
experience, please contact:
Cynthia Holt
Reference Department
The Gelman Library
George Washington University
2130 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052
holt@gwu.edu
The preferred formats for articles are Microsoft Word or a text file.
Please attach all images in .gif, .jpg or .tif formats. |
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69th IFLA Council and General Conference, Berlin
1-9th August 2003: Government Information and Official Publications
Section (GIOPS)
Submitted by Pamela Tripp-Melby, ptrippmelby@worldbank.org
Theme: Practitioner Training in the Use and Promotion of Government
Information.
Sub-theme: Building the future: enabling citizen participation in
democracy
The Standing Committee/GIOPS invites librarians, other information
professionals, policy makers and political scientists to submit paper proposals
providing perspectives and experience on professional training practice. The aim
of the session is to equip practitioners to enable end-users to use government
information for democratic participation.
Key Threads
Proposals may focus on, but are not limited to:
- identifying the challenges, gaps and requirements in government
information training
- identifying current best practices and methodologies
- determining how we prepare end-users to critically acquire and assess
government information to support decision-making and enhance democratic
participation.
Workshop Session - Theme: Training the Trainers
The Open Session will be followed by a Workshop Session on how best to put
the theoretical knowledge into practice, focusing on the design, delivery and
evaluation of government information training . Topics could include:
- Identifying the trainers – who do we want / need to train?
- Identifying our audience – who are they? what are their needs?
- What is the current extent in formal library education of training in
governmental information? Identify the current government information
elements in their curricula.
- How do we train? What are the methodologies? Identify what works and what
doesn’t.
Please email abstracts of one page by 21 February 2003 to the
Chair, Bruno Gnassi at bgnassi@rogers.com,
Jane.Wu@fao.org and
paul.anderson@scottish.parliament.uk.
Include name, position, institution, address, telephone and fax numbers, and
email address. Notifications of abstract acceptance will be issued by 28
February 2003. Full papers are due 18 April 2003 and should not
exceed 8 pages. Notifications of acceptance of full papers will be issued
by 1 May 2003.
Please note that all fees, including registration to the conference, travel,
accommodation etc. are the responsibility of the authors of the accepted papers
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Research Tip of the Month
Submitted by Mary Ellen Bates, mbates@BatesInfo.comI often hear the Web search gurus - Greg Notess, Chris Sherman, and Gary
Price, among others - talk about how important it is to use more than one search
engine for in-depth research. There’s surprisingly little overlap among the
search engine indexes, and the ranking algorithms vary from one search engine to
another. So I have to remember to go from Google (isn’t that everyone’s default
search engine?) to several other search engines and, no, I don’t always
remember.
That’s why I was so delighted to see the recent changes to HotBot
(http://www.hotbot.com), which had been the favorite of power searchers a few
years ago. It went into decline for a while, and has emerged, phoenix-like, as a
front-end to four other high-powered search engines - AllTheWeb, Google, Inktomi
and Teoma.
When you type in your search words, you click a radio button to select which
of the four search engines you want to use. Click the "Advanced Search" link,
and you will see the advanced features specific to that search engine. You can
set defaults for a number of the advanced search and display options for each
search engine. You can also customize the HotBot home page - instead of just
seeing the minimalist search box, you can also have the language, domain/site
and date filters display on the home page, or the "word filter," which lets you
specify Boolean operators and field limitations. You can even change the look of
HotBot by selecting one of several "skins," or you can upload your own skin,
should you feel particularly creative.
So, how well does a search work in HotBot? Pretty well. You select which
search engine you want to use, type your terms in the search box and select any
available advanced search features you need. The search results page includes
links to modify the search or run the search on one of the other search engines.
If you need to conduct a search in multiple search engines sequentially, and
retain the power search features of each engine, HotBot is a great tool.
I have a few quibbles with HotBot. To me, one of the strongest features of
Teoma is its "Resources" list - web sites that match your search terms and that
are link-rich. They’re often excellent resources for digging deeper into the
web, and identifying invisible web sources that wouldn’t appear in a search
engine’s index. Unfortunately, HotBot only returns the "Web Results" pages, so
the "Resources" links are never surfaced.
Likewise, one of the features I like about Google is its integration of links
to Open Directory Project categories in its search results. If a page in the
search results came from the Open Directory Project, that category listing is
hotlinked, making it easy to explore further sites from ODP. While those same
pages appear in the HotBot search results, the description and ODP link are
missing. The nifty "cached" pages feature also disappears from the HotBot search
results, alas.
That said, the new HotBot is a great tool. I may still go directly to Google
for the ODP links, or to Teoma for its "Resources" list, but when I feel that I
need to cover the waterfront and find as many relevant sites as possible on a
topic, HotBot is my new first choice.
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The Law Librarians' Society Of Washington, D.C. 2003
Legal Research Institutes I and II The Legal Research Institutes are
hands-on all day programs aimed at those working in law libraries who want to
sharpen their research skills and non-law library personnel and paralegals with
limited experience using basic legal sources.
Program
| Monday, March 10th, 2003
Case Law
Statutes
Secondary Sources |
Tuesday, March 11th, 2003
Federal History Research
Administrative Law
International & Foreign Research |
Location:
Georgetown University Law Center
Edward Bennett Williams Library
111 G St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Metro stop: Red Line Union Station or Judiciary Square
For further directions see
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/topics/directions.html
Time: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Cost: LLSDC members:$30 each day/Non-members:$75 each day/enrollment
limited to 60 people. Lunch sponsored by Lexis-Nexis.
Mail registration to:
Jane Walsh
E.B. Williams Law Library
111 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 662-9199
Note: Registration by Mail Only. Registration Deadline: February, 28th
2003
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2003 Legal Research Institutes I and II Make check payable to: Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC
Name:_______________________________________________________________
Firm/Institution: ________________________________
Email:________________________________________________________________
Please check:
_____ Legal Research Institute I, Monday March 10, 2003
_____ Legal Research Institute II, Tuesday March 11, 2003
Please check:
_____ LLSDC Member ____ Non-Member
Registration Confirmation will be available on the LLSDC Website -
http://www.llsdc.org
Note: Contributions, gifts, dues or registration fees paid to the Society
are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal tax purposes.
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