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Special Libraries
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A Message from the President
by Jill Ann Hurst, Hurst Associates At the end of the annual conference all the new board members, whether at the national level or within the chapters and divisions, began their new responsibilities. My transition to Chapter President began when I accepted the nomination for President-Elect. There is much to learn about how the Chapter and our larger organization operate, and there seems to be so little time to learn. Thanks to Susan Wood for her leadership and guidance through my transition! What does the Chapter President do? I am a conduit between SLA headquarters and the Board on various matters (e.g., budget, resources, and procedures). I am also the primary person from the Chapter who communicates with headquarters on questions of procedures or ideas on how we can work more efficiently. I keep information flowing between the Board members and within the Chapter. And I over see all the projects that the Board takes on. That means I check-in with Board members on the progress of our various projects, and ensure that we are going to meet our goals. Thank goodness for e-mail since that is the way most of this communication happens between Board, headquarters and myself! What are my goals for the year? My primary goals for the year are to persuade more people to volunteer within the Chapter and to inspire people within the chapter to communicate more with each other. (Yes, that means you!) How can we meet these goals? First, after you read this Bulletin, think about your skills and how they might assist the Chapter's efforts. We have several open positions on our Board and certain areas can always need manpower. Would you like to assist with organizing our 1999 programs? Would you be interested in helping new members feel welcome? Would you like to write articles for the Bulletin? Think about it. Second, if you have e-mail, subscribe to the Chapter's listserv (an e-mail distribution list) and contribute your ideas and information that are useful to your colleagues in the Chapter. And use the listserv to seek out ideas and assistance. It's there for you – for us! I look forward to your support in keeping this chapter vital!
The University at Albany's SLA Student Group is anticipating another year of offering library school students opportunities to learn about special libraries. Student officers discussed the benefits of joining the SLA student chapter at the School of Information Science and Policy's orientation on Tuesday, Sept. 1. On Wednesday, Sept 9, the student group held its first meeting of the semester. Future student chapter activities may include a tour of the state library and/or tour of a newspaper library. Student Profile: Ann Gunning School of Information Science and Policy – SUNY Albany My interest in special libraries stems from my work background. After working briefly as a secondary education English teacher, I began what was to become a 16-year career at TV Data, a company that supplies television listings and other TV-related information products to newspapers and entertainment businesses. Ann Gunning is the President of the SLA Student Chapter at SUNY Albany. To learn more about her and the Student Chapter activities, visit the SUNY Albany SLA Student Chapter web site.
Subscribe Now…It’s Free!!! Did you know there is a way to reach members of the Upstate NY Chapter easily? Its our very own listserv hosted by National. The listserv has been used to help conduct chapter business, relay announcements, discussion of forthcoming programs, and a means of passing information from national to all our chapter members. Our large geographic coverage makes the listserv an ideal mode of communication. We ask all our members to subscribe. To subscribe to the Chapter's listserv, send an e-mail to: listserv@listserv.sla.org. Leave the subject line blank. In the text field, type: Subscribe sla-cuny your-first-name your-last-name Be sure to read and keep the confirmation message. This message includes information on how to post a message, get listserv help, and how to unsubscribe.
William (Bill) Jenkins, from Ithaca, NY, has won an SLA Scholarship to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bill, who has worked within several libraries in the Cornell University Library, is going to Illinois to work on a MS in Library and Information Science. Bill hopes to graduate in the Summer of 1999. After graduation, Bill will look for a position in an academic, special library. Bill can be reached at wcj1@cornell.edu. While at the University of Illinois, Bill will have an assistantship working on a grant sponsored by the school and the Telecom-munications and Information Infra-structure Assistance Program (TIIAP). The purpose of the grant is to increase the participation of low-income residents in PrairieNet (the local freenet) by providing accounts, computers, and instruction to residents, and also by training low-income teens to repair and distribute donated computers and provide end-user support to their neighbors. The Chapter wishes Bill the best of luck in Illinois and looks forward to his future contributions to our profession.
by David Fulton, UNY-SLA Webmaster When I moved to the Syracuse area two years ago, I contacted Sue Price about doing some volunteer work for the Chapter. She remarked that one of the Chapters goals was to establish a web site. I had a beginners knowledge of HTML, but had never set up or maintained a complete site. I saw an opportunity not only to be of service, but also to learn some valuable webmastering skills. Sue Price and I met several times to discuss the objectives for the page. From the beginning we wanted the site to reflect the needs of the users. We sought feedback from Chapter members during the initial set up and received several suggestions about content and appearance. We felt that the page should be a point of contact for Chapter members and, therefore, most the features should be devoted to Chapter business. These include announcements of upcoming conferences, links to other New York library sites and national SLA sites, Chapter meeting minutes and bylaws. We also felt that we should provide some services for other users as well. We included links to SLA scholarship information, New York Civil Service Exam information, Office of General Service contact announcements, and an extensive list of job opportunities. Our other priority was to keep the design simple. We wanted people to easily navigate the page and find what they were looking for quickly. I had taken Web design courses which stressed that most, if not all, information about a sites contents should be visible on the first screen, with no scrolling. Another design element was the elimination of large graphic files. In 1996, modems were slower than they are now and online access charges often accrued by the minute. We did not want a graphics-heavy page that would slow download times. (I read about a grade school class that developed a whimsical download time test: If you couldn’t hold your breath for the time it took a page to download, it was too big.) Have you seen web pages which depict a workman and a shovel with the slogan "Under Construction"? Web sites should always be under construction! Internet sites such as the Upstate SLA should be constantly adding new features and updating its information. One member asked if we could include a picture to make the site more visually interesting. I’m all for it, but since our Chapter covers such a wide area I’m not sure what kind of image would be representative. The Adirondacks, the Capital, the Finger Lakes, the Erie Canal? It seems trite, but true, to say that I have learned a lot during the past two years. I think the page is a successful, valuable project and I am happy to have the opportunity to work on it. I plan to continue learning more, especially with the onset of XML, a new markup language for HTML documents. Although I am the one who writes the code, I believe that this page is really produced by all of us. Suggestions and material arrive through e-mail and the online form and they are always welcome. The positive comments I have received from Chapter members and others who have used the site make all the effort worthwhile. The web site came about through a combination of volunteer efforts, input from members and a decision to use Internet technologies to provide a service to the Chapter. These forces continue to keep the page going and growing.
by Susan Wood, University of Wisconsin Beware of free lunches if you are a retired librarian!! Yes, that's what drew me to the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum on a beautiful spring day. The enthusiasm of the people I met led me to volunteer as a docent (trained tour guide) for third graders and a job as one of the shop owners in the gift shop. It has been a delightful, expensive, and great learning experience. The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum has the most comprehensive collection of paperweights in the world with over l900 paperweights and with related pieces and Germanic glass collection, the Museum owns over 2l00 items. Mrs. Bergstrom at age 63 started collecting paperweights like the one her grandmother had. She bequeathed 63l paperweights, related objects, and her home to the City of Neenah as a public museum. The museum has two permanent collections and numerous guest exhibits featuring a wide variety of art forms. As a docent, I had to learn about making paperweights, some of the historical factories in France, England and the U.S., and contemporary paperweight makers. It is fascinating material and exciting to pass this knowledge on to our 3rd grade school kids. They are mesmerized as they watch the video showing how animals, flowers, and other objects are created in glass and then encased for all time. A sulphide paperweight has a relief of a person or place. The people the third graders want to commemorate range from Leo (of Titantic fame) to Madonna to the Hansens to their grade school teacher. Makes you realize how far we've come from the days of Elvis and JFK. The Museum draws collectors from all over the world--our program in May featured the head artist and owner of Perthshire in Scotland. Many of our visitors like to chat about places they have visited glass artists, like New Zealand or Wales. They share stories of finds and misses. They come in all ages and shapes - like the fellow in the Columbo style coat who didn't bat an eye at a $750 purchase. There is a good introductory book by Pat Reilly for $22 entitled Paperweights The Collector's Guide to Identifying Selecting & Enjoying New & Antique Paperweights. I've also found sites on the net that list places with collections, paperweights for sale, and a bulletin board where collectors exchange information on places to look for weights and ask questions. I have visited several paperweight collections and am compiling a list of places around the world to someday visit. It has really been a fun time and I encourage everyone to look around for a new avenue as a volunteer opportunity. It can lead you to most interesting experiences.
by Barbara S. Beverley, Empire State Development The Seventh All New York Reception at SLA Annual was held on June 8 at the Hyatt Hotel in Indianapolis. At what has become our home away from home, Total Information, a book jobber located in Rochester, plied us with goodies and (free!) drinks. Nearly one hundred colleagues from the Upstate New York, New York, Long Island, and Hudson Valley Chapters enjoyed a peaceful respite where we could meet and relax. Total Information has sponsored the reception for over ten years, nearly as long as it has been exhibiting at SLA Annual. The first three years the reception was for Upstate New York Chapter members only, expanding to include all the New York chapters in 1991. On behalf of the Upstate New York Chapter Barbara Beverley presented John Smith, President of Total Information, a plaque, expressing the Chapter’s appreciation for his continuing sponsorship and support. It was exhibited at Total Information’s booth in the exhibit hall during the conference. Total Information will continue its support by sponsoring the Eighth Annual All New York Reception in June 1999 in Minneapolis. See you there!
by Louise Macuirles, General Electric Research & Development Center Members of SLEEK (Special Librarians Eating and Exchanging Knowledge) met in August to tour Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady and then followed with dinner at Pietrocola’s restaurant. Proctor’s Theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has just finished under-going the final stage of interior renovations. During the hour-long tour, our guide highlighted the con-struction of Proctor’s in the 1920’s, its history, and the community efforts to save it from the wrecking ball in 1978. We were impressed by the awesome interior of marble columns and staircases, embossed velvet wall covering, chandeliers, and architectural features abundant with gold trim. As the group walked on stage and through the dressing rooms, we could almost hear echoes of performers who entertained there: George Burns and Gracie Allen, Red Skelton, Bob Hope, Hal Holbrook, and others. A small museum, located on the balcony level, contains photographs, posters, and memorabilia associated with the theater’s past. Today, Proctor’s is the stage for many Broadway plays and one-of-a-kind shows. After the tour, the group enjoyed dinner at nearby Pietrocola’s restaurant. We were joined by several students of the Graduate School of Information Science & Policy at the University at Albany. As usual, the dinner was excellent and the conversation delightful. SLEEK is an informal group of Capital District area librarians who meet every other month. There is no agenda other than eating and networking (as the acronym implies). Announcements of dinners are distributed electronically via e-mail, posted on SISP-L, the listserv of the Graduate School of Information Science and Policy at the University at Albany, as well as distributed via US mail. For more information or to be added to the mailing list, contact Barbara Beverley at 518-474-5664 or bbeverley@empire.state.ny.us or Louise Macuirles at 518-387-7539 or macuirles@crd.ge.com. SLEEK Syracuse For those interested in meeting fellow librarians in the Syracuse area stay tuned. Allison Perry and David Fulton are planning a SLEEK event. If you are interested in attending an event contact Allison at: perry@gaylord.com
Get librarians together these days and the conversation quickly turns to web sites that are either adored or abhorred. Let’s begin this new column where readers can recommend or condemn sites they frequently use. Recommendations by Susan Wood, University of Wisconsin The Digital Librarian <http://www.servtech.com/public/mvail/home.html> This is a librarian's choice of the best of the web. She has great links and a very wide interesting group of places. A fellow librarian recommended this site and we now have a link from the library's home page to it. I have used it and been very satisfied. The CIA World Factbook <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook> The Factbook takes you to the countries of the world with very current info on each including map of location, info on population, government, religion, literacy, etc. Good place to have bookmarked if you are frequently asked about lesser known countries. We recommend it as first stop on quick overview of foreign places. The New York Law Journal <http://www.nylj.com/> This site will get you Court Rules and full text of some current cases. It's worth a browse if you are expected to keep current with what's happening in the New York legal community. Recommendation by Barbara Watson, NYS School of Industrial Relations, Cornell University Workplace Relations <http://www.workindex.com> Workindex.com is the new web site from Cornell University's School of Industrial Labor Relations and Human Resource Executive magazine. The index will prove invaluable to anyone looking for workplace information, including corporate HR professionals, top executives, line managers and job-seekers around the world. Those interested in human resources, labor relations, benefits, training, technology, staffing, recruiting, leadership, motivation, insurance, relocation, legal issues and more, will make use of this valuable tool. Workindex.com is designed to provide a gateway to the best workplace-oriented web sites on the Internet. WANTED A good travel web site. Full text law reviews site with accurate links. If someone is looking for a particular topic or subject, let Susan Wood know. She'll see what she and the staff at the University of Wisconsin in Oskhosh can find. Send info and requests to Sue Wood at woods@uwosh.edu.
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This page was updated on April 14, 1999.