A Message from the President by Jill Ann Hurst, Hurst Associates
People. They are our customers, our coworkers, and our bosses. We often forget that SLA is not a thing but a living, breathing group of people. And as a group we can be resources for each other.
Resources? Yes! Members of SLA come from judicial, hospital, corporate, newspaper, academic, prison, museum, and government libraries. Looking for articles on a South African industry, and can't find up-to-date articles in the United States? Why not contact an SLA member in South Africa to see if that person can help! Reviving a corporate library and want to know what materials and equipment other corporate libraries use? Call a local SLA member and see if you can tour that person's facility and get some advice. Looking for information from industry associations? Check Who's Who In SLA to identify SLA members at those institutions, perhaps they can help pave the way for your request. Yes, it works!
Looking to expand your talents? Want to add project management skills to your skills set? Want to meet more people in the library community? Opportunities abound for you to do just that. Take continuing education courses and workshops that are offered by various library organizations including SLA. Work on regional library projects, such as regional automation committees. Assist this SLA chapter in providing information, workshops, and resources to its members. Early in 1999 the Chapter will be asking for nominations for President-Elect (3-year total commitment), one Director (2-year commitment) and a Secretary (1-year commitment). In addition, the Chapter is continually looking for people to assist with programs and other initiatives.
Remember…the Chapter and the association is made up of people. It is people who keep the Chapter running, people who plan what the chapter will do in the future, people who help you meet others in Chapter (and the association) who can be resources to you.
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ASTM STANDARD USERS by Sheila McKilligan; Unison Industries, Engineering Documentation Dept,Norwich, NY.
Have you visited the new demo site where you can try downloading a full text ASTM standard? You can download, see how it comes across, check that your Adobe Acrobat reader is operative, and save lots of time for your users. I liked what I found, and so did our engineers. I have subscribed for up to 50 ASTMs to be downloaded during the next 12 months, for $299. This is a bargain, working out to only $5.98 each document; generally ASTMs cost $12 - $15. I will be providing ASTMs to our 3 other divisions in TX, FL and IL, sending the electronic file by e-mail.
You can also subscribe to the entire ASTM collections, for only $5,900, which could be a great buy for some companies. There are sub-sets available such as 2,300 + ASTM metal standard for $1,995, and a 200 standard sub-set for $1,195.
I am sure we will see more of the Standards organizations presenting us with this access in the coming months. I am waiting for Military standards and specifications to be available, free or low price. This site is under construction. If anyone knows more about this site, let us all know.
Try out the demo site: http://demo.astm.org and download up to 8 ASTM standards available for demonstration.
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On the Listserv by Susan Price, Syracuse University Library
Shawn Oplinger has been appointed by the SLA Association to the position of Manager of Internet Services.
Shawn has already distinguished himself by upgrading our listserv software to Listproc 8.1a. The upgrade has many new features and security enhancements. Shawn promises to provide us with an updated Listproc 8.1a manual in the near future.
Coincidentally, Shawn owns the new listserv of listserv owners -- so if any of our subscribers has problems with the list that your listowner cannot answer, there is a sympathetic discussion group for us to turn to. Shawn manages all of the 80 SLA listservs and all of the SLA websites hosted on the SLA server.
He also has been very helpful in facilitating access to the SLA Chats -- even from networked computers. I join Maurice Harris (who struggled in June in Indianapolis to field questions from listowners) with an enthusiastic welcome to Shawn Oplinger!
Our Chapter listserv currently has 52 subscribers.
If you want to keep informed, receive SLA time sensitive information, be in contact with fellow librarians, and more, subscribe to the listserv today! The listserv helps to 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 with the subject line blank to:
listserv@listserv.sla.org
In the text field, type:
Subscribe sla-cuny your-first-name your-last-name
To post a message address e-mail to: sla-cuny@listserv.sla.org
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.
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UNYOC, Medical Library Association Fall Meeting Hilights - Day 1 by Jeannette Smithee
CLRC
The general session on Thursday, Oct., 15 started with a welcome by UNYOC president Tracy Kulick and conference chair Susan Frey.
The keynote speaker was Ellen Detlefsen of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She followed the conference theme of Reflections - a look at the past and visions of the future by looking at highlights from the literature about medical librarianship in 1898, 1911, 1964 and 1998. She quoted from articles about expectations and roles of librarians serving hospitals and about the emergence of the National Library of Medicine from the Library of the Surgeon General (started from a "slush fund" remaining at the end of the Civil War).
The Tony Cooper, CEO of Arnot Ogden Hospital, provided more food for thought. He compared the current state of health care financing to Custer's Battle of Little Big Horn. His historical presentation was illustrated with accounts of how the Indians at Little Big Horn won the battle but lost the war. Tracing the changes in health care provision and financing through the 20th century. he illustrated how the current battles in health care finance reform may be another example of winning a battle to lose the war.
Following lunch, the Medical Library Association President gave a brief overview of the priorities set by MLA and its board. She asked for feedback on possible future projects for the Association. She then introduced two of the founding members of the UNYOC Chapter, Lucretia McClure and Ursula Poland. They described the manual world of medical libraries in 1964 when they were new to the profession of medical librarianship and were fortunate enough to attend the first meeting of the Upstate New York group.
The founding members traced the changes as their libraries were among the first to use computers for searching medical literature and the Chapter was involved in the efforts to increase cooperation and interlibrary loan among medical libraries. Eric Lufte, curator of historical collections at the SUNY Health Science Library at Syracuse then presented a short paper on Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman physician who graduated from the Geneva Medical College (a predecessor of the SUNY HSC) and the prejudice against women physicians in the 19th century,
Conference attendees had time to share ideas with colleagues during breakfast and break periods sponsored by vendors. Visiting vendor displays and poster sessions of sucessful projects from Chapter members also generated ideas.
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UNYOC MLA and UNYSLA Conference – Day 2
by Barbara Watson, Martin P. Catherwood Library, NYS School of Industrial Relations
Friday morning from 9:00 to 10:30, attendees in the Seneca Room viewed the video "A practitioners perspective: the fault dear Brutus" of Eugenie Prime's address to the 88th Annual SLA Conference.
Ms Prime challenged information professionals to stop blaming others, recognize our potential, carve our own future in the Information Age, and take charge of our fate. Instead of "why's," she challenged us with "why not's." Can the head of the Library of Congress be a Librarian? Why not? Following the video, coordinator, Jill Hurst, lead a discussion on practical ways in which we can take charge of our fate and how we can convey to library students that they are the next leaders of the profession.
At 11:00 the Keynote Presentation for the day was given by Jim Matarazzo, Dean and Professor of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College. He currently does research and consulting on the value of information professions, corporate library excellence, management, and the evaluation of the corporate library. He predicts that future library service functions will move higher up on the value chain. The key to success is to figure out the uniquely special services that your library requires, whether it is working the same hours as your co-workers, publishing research, or serving tea every afternoon in the library. He stresses that our greatest need will be to acquire and package information more effectively.
After lunch, the program was again headed up by Jim Matarazzo presenting the program: "Special Library Evaluation: Methods and Techniques." In order to show your library in the best light possible, you must be able to justify your budget, and demonstrate how the contributions of your library support your organization.
Dean Matarazzo showed us examples of how to actually measure the library's contribution. Significant contributions to company research, cost analysis surveys, and increased job proficiency indicators were only a few of the evaluation methods shown. Keeping the library visible by taking pictures, framing articles, and showing library attendance counts were only a few of the ideas he gave us.
Breaks offered time to walk along the lake edge, enjoy the view and the warm, sunny weather, and "network" with colleagues.
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Belonging to the Chapter: There are Benefits by Karen Kreizman, Membership Chair
When we joined SLA, each member was given the option of selecting one free Chapter and one free Division. The advantages of belonging to a Division are often very apparent. We get to meet people who work in the same subject specialty as ourselves, share information on subject resources and we also get to attend subject focused programming at the annual meeting. So unfortunately, the pluses of belonging to a Chapter are often overlooked.
Belonging to the Upstate New York Chapter of SLA can provide you, the busy information professional, with the following benefits:
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Let’s Go Surfing for Legal Information!
by Boodie McGinnis, School of Hotel Admininstration Library
In the not-so-distant past, the thought of legal research conjured up images of hours and hours in a law library pouring over huge volumes, or having to master the intricacies of (and pay for) very expensive commercial services such as Lexis and Westlaw. That’s not necessarily the case any more. Courts, governments, and legal information providers are jumping online at a rapid pace, meaning that more and more legal information - cases, statutes, regulations, law reviews, and discussions - can be found with just a few clicks of the mouse.
One of the best starting points for online legal research is FindLaw (http://www.findlaw.com), a metasite that evolved from a simple list of resources first prepared for a workshop of the Northern California Law Librarians. FindLaw provides an extremely well-organized directory of links to selected Internet law resources as well as a search tool for legal Web pages, a free database of full-text Supreme Court cases, a search engine and directory of online law reviews, state legal codes, interactive continuing education courses, and online discussions of legal issues. Overall, it is a rich and user-friendly resource offering a unique combination of links and actual content.
The Legal Information Institute (LII), a part of Cornell University’s Law School, (http://www.law.cornell.edu), offers another comprehensive meta-site with links to numerous internet legal resources. From the LII page, one can access a collection of recent and historic Supreme Court Decisions, hypertext versions of federal statutes, federal rules of evidence and civil procedure, recent opinions of the New York State Court of Appeals, a statistical database on litigation in the Federal Courts, the American Legal Ethics Library, international treaties, and other important federal, state, and international legal material.
LII also offers access to selected content of the Cornell Law Review, links to web sites for other legal journals, a current awareness service, and contact information for faculty and staff of U.S. Law Schools and other prominent legal professionals. The LII site has won numerous awards from those who rate internet web sites, and is also highly recommended as an excellent starting point for both links and content.
Other law schools also offer sites that are noteworthy for their links to various federal, state, and international resources, as well as content or text of articles and discussions. A few of the many excellent sites available include:
Another well-organized site is LawSource (http://www.lawsource.com), which provides ALSO (American Law Sources Online), a fairly comprehensive compilation of links to no-cost online sources for American and Canadian Law. From ALSO, (http://www.lawsource.com/also/), one can access both federal and state codes, amicus curiae briefs, interstate and multistate compacts, uniform laws, law schools, law reviews and periodicals, and law-related list-servs.
There are also a numerous specialized web sites for more specific kinds of legal information. A few examples:
- Personal Legal Information
http://www.nolo.com
For lay-oriented or personal legal information, this site contains feature articles and links for a wide range of basic and not-so-basic legal issues such as wills, trusts, small business law, bankruptcy, landlord/tenant law, personal injury, divorce law, and others.
- Business Law Site http://www.members/aol.com/bmethven/index.html
Produced by a California law firm, one can find links to numerous national and international legal resources as well as to information about trademarks and copyrights, legal forms, articles, and essays.
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov
This site includes searchable bibliographic and full-text databases for patents from 1976 to present.
- IBM Patent Server, IBM Intellectual Property Network
http://www.patents.ibm.com/ibm.html
This site provides free access to a database of more than two million patents issued since 1971 as well as images of patented devices dating from 1987 to the present. Full copies of the complete text of most patents can be ordered for a nominal fee ($3-$12).
- Legaldocs
http://www.legaldocs.com
A wide range of legal document forms, including wills, rental agreements, powers of attorney, and others are available. Some forms are free, others are available for a fee (ca. $2.50 to $28.00 each depending on the topic).
- Court TV Online
http://www.courttv.com
For those interested in keeping up with current legal cases, Court TV Online presents summaries and verdicts of all past Court TV trials, video clips of famous cases, analyses of potential court cases in the news, and a glossary of legal terms.
- Virtual Environmental Law Library
http://joshua.law.pace.edu/env.environ.html
Pace University School of Law’s site features a search engine for locating links by subject, citation, popular name, and keyword.
- Employment Law
http://www.workindex.com
Numerous links to sites with information (both links and content) relative to employment law can be found through Workindex, a project of Labor Relations Press and Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (note: see previous edition of the newsletter for discussion of Workindex).
- The Consumer Law Page
http://www.consumerlawpage.com
This site focuses on consumer fraud.
There is a wealth of legal information available on the web for free. As special librarians, it behooves us to be aware of what’s out there that may be of potential use to our clientele.
If I’ve failed to mention sites that are equally useful to the ones mentioned, or if you discover new sites that have emerged, please share what you’ve found with other members by sending a note to either the newsletter editor or me (mmn3@cornell.edu
) so that we can include information in a future issue of the newsletter.
Thanks and happy surfing!
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The Canadian Online Information Summit
The 1999 Canadian Online Information Summit will be held March 29 - 30 at the Toronto Convention Centre. The program includes concurrent sessions for information professionals who plan, manage and deliver online information, for content publishers and creators and targeted sessions for specific professional groups.
A wide range of speakers will be presenting sessions over the two-day period. Speakers include Sylvia Piggott, President, InfoPLUS; Reva Basch, consultant and author of Secrets of the Super Net Searchers; and Ulla de Stricker, de Stricker and Associates.
Full registration information is not yet available. However, if you would like more information on this event, check out:
http://www.flexnet.com/~infohiwy/f-cois.htm
This site will be updated with more information on the Summit as it becomes available. SLA is a sponsor of this event.
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Student Chapter News
The University of Buffalo School of Information and Library Studies began this Fall with the revitalization of the SLA Student Group, thanks to the interest of students pursuing careers in special libraries. We held two programs during the fall semester, a presentation from a panel of special librarians representing four types of libraries and tours of the NYS Supreme Court Library and the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library's special collections.
During the last organizational meeting, plans were finalized for the spring semester. In addition to the panel and tour, the Student Group is planning a trip to nearby Rochester, NY. This year will mark our second
year participating in the annual "Books for Kids" drive.
The mission of the SLA Student Group at the University at Buffalo is to enrich the experience of SILS students, while introducing them to the benefits of affiliation and involvement with a professional association in their newly chosen career. The newly created web page keeps students informed of our plans.
Heather Munger, President, SLA Student Group School of Information and Library Studies University at Buffalo
SLA Student Chapter, University at Buffalo
http://wings.buffalo.edu/sils/slas
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Unesco Network of Associated Libraries
by Barbara Watson, NYS School of Industrial Relations
The Unesco Network of Associated Libraries (UNAL) is an organization working to bring together and support a group of libraries in order to foster international understanding, promote intercultural dialogue, and spread knowledge of minority cultures. UNAL is essentially a network of libraries which are open to the public, each serving a local community.
UNAL brings together institutions that are open to all, regardless of age, language, or social status. The organization and responsibilities of these libraries vary from country to country.
The UNAL Co-ordinator provides a link between libraries through the publication of a quarterly newsletter, published in several languages. Libraries may choose to form partnerships in order to foster cross-cultural understanding and to promote the exchange of ideas. The Library Partnership Project is just such a twinning. The Partnership is mainly for cultural purposes, allowing young people from various countries to communicate with each other, exchanging information and ideas.
If you are interested in twinning with other libraries involved in this project, please see UNAL’s web site http://www.unesco.org/webworld.unal/unalmem.htm for a list of all the member libraries, listed by country. Sign up forms and other information is also available. School libraries, and communitiy libraries are encouraged to join. If you have children in school, please pass this information on to their school librarian. This could be an excellent project for social studies classes. I am currently in the process of getting social studies classes from a school in Indianapolis involved.
If you want further information, please visit their web site at:
http://unesco.org/webworld/unal/unal_introduction.htm
or please contact:
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URL Sightings! by Susan Wood
Web Sightings continues this issue with a reader’s input and a few other recent finds. I had asked for two things in the last issie and am still looking for a good full text law reviews site. Jill Hackenberg from SUNY-Bufallo has created a web site that many of us will be delighted to use when we check it out. It can be found at the following
Recommendations
- By Jill Hackenberg, SUNY-Buffalo
Travel Site
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/geography/travel.html
A web site that many of us will be delighted to use when we check it out.. Jill Hackenberg uses every link to make sure they stay current.
- Law Library Resource Xchange
http://www.llrx.com
Updated twice a month. This site features articles on a Crash Course in Copyright done by lawyers for the University of Texas including a sample copyright policy and many copyright related links; a site from NYU on foreign databases by jurisdiction; and a tutorial on researching companies on the Internet. You can sign up to be alerted when new information is released.
- The Advanced Book Exchange
http://www.abebooks.com
This is a site that allows you to search numerous book dealers at once for out of print books. I have used this site several times and found that the prices for the same book can vary significantly. It is a good way to locate first editions of books that aren't yet classics but you and I know that someday they will be valuable. At least that is what I keep telling myself as my home library keeps expanding.
-
infoplease.com
http://www.infoplease.com
The Web site, infoplease.com, is a one-stop reference site from Information Please LLC that integrates various Information Please Almanacs on sports, entertainment, and general knowledge with the Random House Webster's College Dictionary and the Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition. Access to the site is free and it is continuously updated.
