SLA News

Compiled by Kate Bird

SLA/CASLIS Manitoba Fall Workshop: Licensing Electronic Resources

Thursday, October 26, 2000 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) at 161 Portage Ave. East Winnipeg - 7th. Floor Boardroom (Canada Room)

Just in time for Halloween, we will pick up where previous SLA/CASLIS workshops in this area left off, by offering an extended, hands on, half-day workshop, exploring the sometimes scary world of contracts and digital licensing.

Session leader Mark West is the supervisor of the Serials Group at the University of Manitoba Libraries, with responsibility for both print and electronic media. Since 1994, his special interests have been in library consortia, contracts, and licensing networked digital information. Mark has presented licensing workshops and seminars for the Special Libraries Association and CASLIS Manitoba, and Manitoba Libraries Associations Conference.

The workshop will provide a flexible, comfortable, informal seminar setting in which to exchange information and experience concerning licensing digital information.

Cost: $20.00 CASLIS Manitoba/CLA/SLA members $30.00 non-members. Please send a cheque payable to either: SLA Western Canada Chapter OR CASLIS Manitoba and send to the attention of Vera Keown, Manitoba Regional Director, SLA NRC Information Centre Institute for Biodiagnostics 435 Ellice Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 1Y6 Ph: 204-984-6027 Fax: 204-984-2434

Special Librarians Day - April 5, 2001

Celebrate your day! Help change people's attitudes, perceptions, and understanding about what you do and the value you add. Large or small, your observance and participation of ISLD 2001 will make a difference. You may also submit a theme for the 2001 ISLD. The deadline for submissions is Friday, November 3, 2000. A logo will be designed from the winning theme and a $200 cash award will be presented to you for celebrating ISLD 2001.

Virtual SLA

SLA announces the launch of Virtual SLA, its new interactive website, at www.sla.org. This new site features a cleaner, more functional look and incredibly user-friendly access. SLA members played a key role in the development and approval of Virtual SLA, providing valuable feedback to the Association's design team.The Membership sought simplicity, user-friendliness, and improved organization of content, all of which are hallmarks of Virtual SLA.

The home page of Virtual SLA contains a new side navigation bar and top menu bar, which include enhanced search capabilities and a site map. The administration of the new web site allows for efficient content management, formatting and standard metadata.

With a burgeoning demand for more resources and tools for the information profession in the online world, organization of content became a critical need for the Association. The release of Virtual SLA signals a giant step in fulfilling that need. SLA Executive Director David R. Bender, Ph.D., commented that "SLA has taken yet another bold step forward in meeting the needs of the membership by developing a web-based environment for learning, sharing and real-time interaction."

SLA's Membership Task Force

The Membership Task Force is one of five special information gathering groups designated by the SLA Board of Directors in January 2000 to help chart the future of our Association. The Task Force has been working since early March 2000 on its assignments which are to prepare a revised definition of SLA membership

• to create a "virtual" member category for a trial audience

• to redesign the student category to offer all qualified students free "virtual" SLA membership

• to design a flexible membership fee structure to allow members to choose member services

We've made progress toward our goals, but the Task Force hasn't completed its assignments. We need feedback for SLA Members (or potential members). Please examine our draft proposals for changes in SLA membership definition and fee structures and then let our Task Force know what you think. You can discover what this Task Force has been up to by going to this URL: www.ibiblio.org/journalism/slataskmem.html

There you will find links to our draft documents. Be advised that reading these documents will take some time. Our task is a big one and we're dealing with serious issues and conflicting options. Please examine our draft proposals critically. Afterwards, please email your comments, questions or suggestions to Carol Williams, WCC member of the Task Force . Our Task Force will work diligently to incorporate your ideas into our final report to the SLA Board. And just as importantly you can rely upon the Task Force's discretion and professionalism in handling your comments. The target date for your responses is November 1, 2000.