Advertising and Marketing Division Bulletin

Summer 2005

Editor: Hilary Rengert, eMarketer

Contents A Message from the Co-Chairs Notes from Toronto      Letter from the Past Chair      2005 Award of Merit-Robin Feuerstein      2005 International Travel Grant Award-Vijaya C. Menon      Conference Report      Review of Mining the New Web      Review of Communication with Clients Innovations and Inspirations      Review of Understanding the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Consumer Membership Update and New Member Biographies Call for Submissions Share YOUR Knowledge

A Message from the Co-Chairs

Greetings from your new division co-chairs, Paul VanderMeer and Vicki Staniszewski

Paul and Vicki were colleagues at Campbell-Ewald Advertising in Warren, Michigan. Campbell-Ewald is an IPG member agency and its largest client is Chevrolet. Paul has been employed at Campbell-Ewald’s Reference Center for three years, and worked at another Detroit agency, Doner, prior to that. In addition to his work as a special librarian, Paul was elected to the Board of Trustees of his local public library and currently serves as vice-president of the board. When he’s not hanging out in a library, Paul travels extensively, runs marathons, renovates houses, and raises orchids. He has been a member of SLA since 2000.

Vicki, recently retired from Campbell-Ewald after 20 years as Senior Librarian in the Reference Center, has been an SLA member for 25+ years and a DAM member for 20 years. Prior to her position at Campbell-Ewald, Vicki worked in academic and medical libraries. In addition to her duties as co-chair of DAM, Vicki's retirement interests include sleeping in, walking the dog and working in her garden.

We are hard at work on developing programming for our division that is relevant to the 2006 Baltimore conference theme, "Where Tradition and Transformation Converge." Certainly, the traditional ways libraries have conducted business in the past are being challenged every day and all would agree that transformation is an ongoing process. Look for more to come on Baltimore programming addressing these issues when programs and speakers are finalized.

Please contact us if you are interested in getting more involved in DAM. There is always a need for volunteers, particularly to help with the conference in Baltimore.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Paul & Vicki

Paul VanderMeer, pvanderm@cecom.com

Vicki Staniszewski, vstanisz@comcast.net

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Notes from Toronto

DAM steps out at night in Toronto! Top Row (L to R) Toni Burton, Kristine Spanier, Renee Brumett, Jen Hahs, Betsy Hoza, Deb Rash, Julie Zilavy, Robin Feuerstein. Bottom Row (L to R) Hilary Rengert, Gwen Loeffler, Grace Villamora, Leslie Cole, Lynn Donches (photo: Velda Ruddock)

2006 SLA DAM Board Meeting (L to R) Robin Feuerstein, Julie Zilavy, Tesse Santoro, Kristine Spanier, Jen Hahs, Paul VanderMeer, Jo-Ann McQuillan, Grace Villamora, Deb Rash, Hilary Rengert (photo: Velda Ruddock)

Letter from the Past Chair
Jo-Ann McQuillan, Institute of Communications and Advertising of Canada

Greetings from Toronto!

This will be my last letter to you as Chair of the Division–I am pleased to welcome Paul VanderMeer and Vicki Staniszewski to the Board as Co-Chairs for the upcoming year.

Before I officially sign off, there is some news that I would like to share with you.

SLA HQ Business

At the Toronto conference, SLA held a vote on some important issues that will change how SLA conducts business. First of all, a motion was passed to change the fiscal year to correspond with the calendar year, a change that makes work easier for treasurers.

Another important vote was held (and almost unanimously passed) to introduce online voting to SLA. Think about what a wonderful change this will be–we will conduct votes quickly, efficiently and we won’t unnecessarily kill trees. You can read more about this development at: http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/pressroom/pressrelease/2005prelease/pr2515.cfm

SLA has officially launched an online university that allows you to earn credits, manage your own professional development, all from the comfort of your own desk! This is a most exciting initiative–click here to find out more: http://www.sla.org/content/learn/clicku.cfm

DAM Business

We are still trying to fill a few outstanding positions on the DAM Board–please check the website for the most current list and contact details. Interested in getting involved? Don’t be shy–just talk to a current board member and we will help you find a role that fits you. You won’t regret getting involved–on the contrary, volunteering for SLA is a surprisingly rich experience.

Conference Wrap-up

If you didn’t have a chance to join us in Toronto for the Conference, you missed a wonderful week of learning, sharing and fun. This year’s attendance surpassed Nashville’s–we had over 5,300 attendees! In fact, there were so many information professionals at the Metro Convention Centre that we surpassed their capacity to provide internet access–because of SLA, they had to install more servers!

Although the conference was held in early June, visitors had a chance to experience the Toronto heat waves that we have been “enjoying” ever since (we are having our hottest summer ever up here!). Sessions were held at the Metro Convention Centre, and social events and meetings were conducted at the fabulous Fairmont Royal York Hotel. We made such an impact on the city that Mayor David Miller has officially declared the second week of June as Special Libraries week!

We held a number of sessions, many of which will be discussed in this issue of the Bulletin. And keep checking the division website for presentation slides and pictures.

Annual Business Meeting & Breakfast

We started off the conference, albeit too early in the morning, with a lovely breakfast and updates from the Board members. We had a chance to introduce ourselves to all present and provide updates on what we had been doing for the last year.

We also presented two important awards: the International Travel Grant and the Award of Merit. The International Travel Grant is a new award designed to allow a DAM member from a developing country to attend a conference. This was developed as part of our plan to attract more international members to our predominantly North American constituents. The first ever winner of this important award was Ms. Vijaya Menon from Grey Worldwide India.

We also handed out our annual Award of Merit to Robin Feuerstein, of the Center for Marketing Intelligence (CMI). Robin has been a long-time member of our division and had contributed to our growth in countless ways. Because our Conference was held in Canada, this year’s award was a pewter inukshuk, a classic Canadian symbol.

Open House

I am pleased to tell you that our Open House was a tremendous success, considering that we had fierce competition from the Dialog party and various other large events in the same venue. We had a great turnout, with the room exceeding 70 people at peak times. A lot of non-DAM visitors joined us, and assured us that we had the best party in the Fairmont Royal York Hotel!

Lexis-Nexis graciously sponsored this event and we teamed up with them to provide door prizes. Lexis handed out great bags, hats, pens and other goodies. DAM handed out Canadian treats and gifts from local supporters. Having door prizes added an extra incentive to attend.

Our food selection was delicious and we are pleased to announce that not one morsel was wasted. Our open bar, featuring Canadian wines and beers was a hit–several dedicated DAM members ensured that no wine was wasted, staying late to finish up every last drop!

Special Thanks

It has been a wonderful experience acting as Chair for the division, rewarding in ways I never expected. I have had the opportunity to meet lots of incredible people, connect with my peers across the world and help to make DAM a vibrant and active division. I know Paul and Vicki will work hard to make your Baltimore experience memorable.

I would like to recognize all of the Board members who helped me throughout the year–thanks for your support and patience. I would like to extend special thanks to Julie Zilavy, who has completed her term as our Director and Rebecca Rydzewski, who had to step down as Co-Chair, but not before starting to plan for the Baltimore Conference at the Tampa Leadership Summit.

I would also like to heartily thank my sidekick, Toni Burton, for all of her help over the last year, working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep me sane. Many of you had the chance to meet Toni in Toronto and witness her keeping me in line.

Thanks to all the first-timers who attended the conference and to all our international friends who traveled a lot further to be part of one of our best conferences ever!

Robyne Evans, Jo-Ann McQuillan, Grace Villamora (photo: Velda Ruddock)

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2005 Award of Merit–Robin Feuerstein
Nomination text by: Jen Hahs, Martin Williams Advertising, SLA DAM Vendor Relations Chair

and Kristine Spanier, Carmichael Lynch, SLA DAM Secretary

Robin Feuerstein, currently serving in the role of division Archivist, deserves to be the recipient of this year’s Award of Merit. Her accomplishments in her career and with the division are lengthy and impressive.

Robin holds her MSLIS from Pratt Institute and she is the Vice President and Director of Information Services for the Interpublic Group of Companies’ Center for Marketing Intelligence (CMI). She has been at IPG in positions of increasing responsibility for well over two decades. Her greatest achievements have been in leading the department to keep relevant with the times and needs of her company. First she spearheaded CMI into analysis and presentations then she helped to develop CMI’s Intranet, in part, to get maximum utility from these analyses and presentations.

Robin Feuerstein, Jo-Ann McQuillan, Kristine Spanier (photo: Velda Ruddock)

Currently she is consumed in reshaping CMI Online, to bring tools to Interpublic operating companies’ desktops, working with countless research vendors (and developing those negotiation skills) to enhance the range of information and analysis available through CMI and on the CMI site. With her superlative team, she has also designed and developed a special portal for new business development.

Robin has been a member of SLA for 27 years. In that time she has chaired the New York Group of the Advertising and Marketing Division (though not a charter member she holds the dubious distinction of being one of the last active members). They had topical, well-attended meetings each year and worked with industry resources helping develop, for example, the AMI and MARS online databases.

Robin has also held several officer positions at the national level of DAM. She’s spoken many times at Annual Conference. She “invented,” and for several years led, the now yearly, ever-popular “Agency Roundtable.” She’s been both panelist and of the moderator of “How Do I Practice?” a program co-sponsored with Library Management. She’s been on two panels presenting on advertising agency Intranets.

As for committee work, she served as Vendor Relations chair from 1995 to 1997 and division Archivist from 2002 to the present. She has long encouraged new information professionals to join and become active in both the association and the division. Robin was also included in “Super Searchers on Madison Avenue,” edited by Grace Villamora.

On a personal note, we have found that Robin is always willing to help out new DAM chairs. She gives advice, finds sponsors, participates in our conference sessions and freely gives her time where it’s needed.

She’s generous with her incredible knowledge of our industry and shares her secrets to success. Her humor and charm liven up DAM meetings and events and the division wouldn’t be the same without her.

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2005 International Travel Grant Award–Vijaya C. Menon
Text from the DAM Business Meeting
By Grace A. Villamora, brightresearch llc, SLA DAM International Relations Chair

At the Nashville conference last year, our Division approved a new International Travel Grant to provide an opportunity for a qualified international member to attend the SLA annual conference. Grant availability and requirements were announced in the 2004 Fall Bulletin. More particulars on the Grant can be found at the SLA DAM website.

Vijaya C. Menon, Grace Villamora, Jo-Ann McQuillan (photo: Velda Ruddock)

This Grant will create a bridge to our international members who would bring diversity and share creative resources, innovations and best practices beyond our North American borders. The International Travel Grant will help create an international community within our Division, in particular, and with SLA in general. Active participation from international members will further enrich our knowledge of international resources and enhance our sensitivity to other cultures and emerging hot global markets.

We are proud to present our first International Travel Grant winner from India, Vijaya C. Menon. Vijaya is the Head of Knowledge Management at Grey Worldwide India. She directs and manages information services to all ten offices in India, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. She has over 15 years of library management work at Grey, J. Walter Thompson, Accenture and the Reserve Bank of India.

Vijaya is currently pursuing her MS in Library Science and Information Services from the University of Aberstwyth, Wales, U.K., distance learning. She has completed a diploma in advertising and marketing from the Xavier Institute of Communications, a Bachelor of Library Science and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Mumbai.

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Conference Report
By Vijaya C. Menon, Grey Global Group, Mumbai, India

Where can you find a place:
· with the most spectacular waterfront,
· the third largest North American movie production center,
· where there are 100 different spoken languages,
· brimming with friendly, helpful people and
· the Mayor declaring the week as “Special Librarians Week?”

I found all the above and more when I landed at Toronto on June 3, 2005 to attend my first-ever SLA annual Conference 2005 and received the Advertising & Marketing Division’s (DAM) first-ever International Travel Grant.

Toronto is a fast-paced, friendly and fun city, a place for excitement, diversion and diversity. This beautiful city welcomed me with a big heart and a very warm weather. Approximately 5,200 participants representing 45 countries congregated at the Metro Toronto Convention Center for the annual dose of learning, bonding, networking and experiencing the conference theme, “We’re talking impact.” And, impact it did.

Conference Sessions

Coming from an industry that is now awakening to the value of Information Centers in advertising agencies, the conference did create a huge impact on my perceptions of International Librarianship. I went to Toronto with the sole intention of absorbing, analyzing and capturing the atmosphere of an international conference. I came back enlightened, filled with long list of new SLA acquaintances, inspired and energized at the prospect of numerous applications I would like to introduce in India, my home country.

The opportunity of meeting and sharing insights with fellow professionals confirmed the fact that technology was a driver in solving commonplace problems and integrating successful practices into existing systems. The world had indeed shrunk and accessibility was just a click away. This was impressed upon me when I attended the DAM roundtable moderated by Julie-Ann Zilavy of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. With participants from other agencies discussing common challenges, management issues, sharing practices and techniques, the ninety minute session ended too soon.

Having enrolled myself for two workshops of Continuing Education Classes, my sessions began couple of days earlier. The first workshop was a full day session on “Taxonomies for Indexing: A hands-on approach” by Alice Redmond-Neal & Jay Van Eman of Access Innovations, Inc. presented by the Information Technology Division. The presenters defined the various methods involved in thesaurus construction and structure for effective information retrieval. This session gave me the chance to meet librarians from diverse fields and I made interesting associations. The other workshop on “Building a Knowledge-Exchanging Culture” by Liz Orna presented by SLA’s Professional Development Center, used practical activities to explain strategies for the promotion of a knowledge-exchanging culture that are beneficial to both the individual and organization.

I eagerly awaited the commencement of the SLA conference on June 6, 2005, which began with DAM’s Annual Business meeting where an update of the division’s activities and initiatives was presented. At this breakfast session, I would meet members of the division, DAM’s current officers and also receive the International Travel Grant, which was presented to me by Grace A. Villamora, Chair, International Relations Committee, of brightresearch llc. This year, the Award of Merit was received by Robin Feuerstein of IPG. Jo-Ann McQuillan, DAM Chair, moderated the business meeting. Our division’s official photographer and art director was Velda Ruddock of TBWA\Chiat\Day. She was our ubiquitous eye-cam.

DAM Breakfast discussions (photo: Velda Ruddock)

More discussions at the DAM Breakfast (photo: Velda Ruddock)

The whole day was devoted to attending DAM sponsored sessions, which included Christine Olson’s “Communicating with Clients: Innovations and Inspirations.” An inspirational session, with no place to sit (standing room only), was made more riveting with Chris’ presentation of most effective strategies for promoting our services to the end-users. In the afternoon, Cathy Loblaw of Concerned Children’s Advertisers, Erica Ainsworth of Young & Rubicam Toronto, and Suzanna Prong Eygabroat of Datamonitor presented “Food Marketing Resources”. Topics discussed ranged from food regulations to diets and fads to lawsuits and obesity crisis. It was a very informational session for me. Another DAM presentation with an enthralling speaker was Mary Ellen Bates’ “Mining the Web for Information.” This was a packed session where Mary Ellen augmented our knowledge on new ways of communicating by using technologies like Blogs, RSS Feeds, Social Networking and Podcasting. Some of the other sessions I attended that added considerable value to my learning include:

· Writing and Presentation Skills for Delivering Intelligence Analysis
· International Advertising Librarians on research tools in advertising and marketing presented by Jo-Ann McQuillan covering the Canadian market and Robyne Evans of 20/20 Information Services presenting Australian research tools and resources.
· Top 10 Essentials of a Successful Website
· Training End-Users to use External Content

Although some of the topics were subject matter that I was aware of and which I could relate to, some of the new ideas that were put forward were thought provoking.

Another remarkable event at the SLA conference was the unveiling of the Click University, an online university managed by SLA HQ. As an exponent of Open University learning, I gladly welcome and look forward to accessing relevant e-courses as part of continuing professional development. This access is reserved exclusively for SLA members.

INFO-EXPO

The conference’s INFO-EXPO exhibit featured more than 200 publishing companies and vendor organizations. It opened with a Finnish “Shouting Choir” group with actors dressed in international costumes and was delighted when I saw one of the actors in an Indian costume. The INFO-EXPO had a great mixture of online library software firms like libraryworld.net, research companies like ISI Emerging markets, Thomson Gale, content integration solutions providers like Lexis Nexis, publishers like Business Monitor International, Sage Journals Online, and subscription services providers like Wolper Subscription Services and more. Although most of the exhibitors were located in the US, with few having international offices, it was a great opportunity to meet the vendors and see what services and products were on offer and get first-hand information from them. Some of the products were also demonstrated onsite by the vendors. All the booths were giving wonderful giveaways ranging from iPods, cameras, and coffee mugs to pens and sticky notes and not to forget, free massages for the weary attendees.

Jo-Ann McQuillan, Toni Burton, Renee Brumett (photo: Jen Hahs)

Receptions

But, it wasn’t all work and no play. For a first-time attendee, a must-attend session is the “First Timer” Reception where you get a purple color “First Timer” badge that you proudly display to the world. Attendees were given useful guidelines on scheduling programs, how to make full use of exhibits, tips on networking, tours, guide to local restaurants, and the FAQ’s all communicated over cookies, soft drinks, chocolates and tea.

The Advertising & Marketing Division had the Open House at Fairmont Royal York Hotel where wine, chocolate fondues and door prizes were relished up by one and all. There was an SLA International Reception hosted by Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters company, where all international members were warmly greeted. At this session, DAM’s International Travel Grant was mentioned and I was surprisingly thrilled when they acknowledged my award.

At the conference hall, we had free Internet connections courtesy of Elsevier, coffee breaks, cookies, and ice cream treats at the exhibit Hall. This was also the first time I actually accessed a Blog. The SLA Conference Blog provided details on conference activities and updates on sessions I could not attend due to conflicting schedules. On the last day of the conference, I also got to see the Toronto waterfront and enjoyed a guided City Tour. These were breaks well needed.

Appreciation and thanks

I thoroughly appreciate the opportunity to attend the conference and dip into this vast reservoir of creative inputs and opportunities. I feel privileged to be a part of this huge consortium of special librarians. It has been an eye-opener of sorts and has bolstered my confidence and infused a new sense of energy and urgency to sharing and implementing the knowledge at my workplace. Meeting with fellow librarians from the world over was truly an enriching experience, one that I look back on fondly. We parted with the enthusiasm of new forged friendships and educative interaction.

I am thankful to the Advertising & Marketing Division for instituting the International Travel Grant, which is a rare and tremendous opportunity for International Librarians to participate, share knowledge and ideas, develop new relationships where old assumptions are broken and new pathways to knowledge building are created. I appreciate and acknowledge my agency Grey Worldwide India, for the whole-hearted support and encouragement in my pursuit of continuous education.

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Review: Mining the New Web with Mary Ellen Bates
By Hilary Rengert

If there is a person in the information professional conference circuit close to resembling a rock star (packed venues, standing room only, and groupies), Mary Ellen Bates is a headline act. She not only gives a great performance on stage, Bates delivers quality information. I can only describe this session as electric.

As it should be. We came to hear about latest resources on the Web: blogs (Weblogs, perhaps already passé, have you heard of vlogs? Video-logs), social networks, multimedia information, and podcasting. How does an ad/marketing information professional use these new tools? The key is to understand what they are and how these new resources a can yield value-added pieces of information.

Blogs are Web sites containing dated entries of commentary or summaries and may include referenced sites, web links, images, searching capabilities and area for feedback and comments from visitors. Blogs can track consumer sentiment, feedback on products and advertising, product buzz and corporate thought leadership. There is no index of all blogs, but one can search blog site providers such as http://www.blogpulse.com/ and by monitoring particular blogs. To see a list, go to http://www.faganfinder.com/blogs/. Bates mentioned that more blog page links are given in Web search results. She also cautioned that info pro be aware of the ‘source’. Who is the author of the blog and what is the agenda?

Social Network Services are online communities of members linked together by various types of relationships. Members invite others to join and the site is web of circle of friends. Although the most popular example of this Web phenomena are Friendster and MySpace, Bates recommended business contact oriented sites such as https://www.linkedin.com/ Contacts can expand exponentially; Bates pointed out she has a million “friends.” Although they may not all be research or information providers, Bates stated the value of this service lies in the possibility that there is someone out there that can provide the information or lead you may need in the future.

Multimedia Information, can’t it be found for “free” on the Web? Well, yes and no. How many times have you been asked to find a TV broadcast or a commercial? Bates cautioned the audience (and as ad/marketing info pros, we know they are probably not out there…that is why there are subscription services!) that there are some sites that provide video and audio content. Try http://www.blinkxtv.com/.

Podcasting is an audio recording of a broadcast in the MP3 format for playback in a digital music player. Many early adopters of podcasting used i-Pods to listen to such files. However, a portable music player is not required listen to this method of content distribution. Bates describes podcasts as new way for industry experts, analysts, and commentators to get their messages out. We can use these as value-added content to a research project or new business pitch. To search for podcasts, go to: http://www.podcast.net/ (note: Blinxtv.com recently added podcast search capability to their site as well).

Did I see a lighter waving high above the (seated) crowd? Unfortunately, no encore was given. The conference sessions are on a tight schedule. I left with a better understanding of these technologies, a list of web sites to check out, and the determination not to fear the increasing changes in online media resources.

Who will start the SLA DAM blog?

Session screen shots are available at: http://www.batesinfo.com/sla-2005-new-web.pdf

To keep up with new technologies and media, follow Mary Ellen Bates' tips: http://www.batesinfo.com/tip.html

Kristine Spanier and Mary Ellen Bates (photo: Velda Ruddock)

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Review: Communication with Clients Innovations and Inspirations with Chris Olson
By Tesse Santoro, Dialog Group, SLA DAM Treasurer and List Owner

Chris presented a very useful session broken into three main sections

· How to generate visibility
· Inspiration Showcase
· Marketing reality checkpoints

Chris went through several real life examples of creating visibility via web sites, intranets, newsletters, email, graphics, postcards, and surveys with some candid do’s and don’ts. If you want exact cases, they are posted on Chris’s website. I will highlight just a few.

Our own Jen Hahs was included for her “potty postings” a unique and colorful trend newsletter literally posted in the rest rooms of her agency. And our Toronto Chair Jo-Ann McQuillan was gracious enough to be yet another guinea pig for Chris’s critical eye. Jo-Ann uses samples, giveaways and information therapy to get customers to visit her collection. Jo-Ann’s remark about once she gets them (customers) into her comfy chair, they are hers - got a big laugh from the standing room only audience. Since Jo-ann’s library ICA covers six time zones she created a “sticker” with a toll free number to the library that she posts everywhere. We definitely are a creative group. Another highlight was a video commercial from Fisbon (a college library) that had a librarian using Medline racing the clock to find results against a hapless internet user. Very, very funny. Definitely worth the trip to Toronto.

Chris then broke down how to create a consistent look by use of graphics, color, visual prompts, logos, or even email signature boxes. Creating a graphic identity is the first step to creating your library brand. She also shared many words of wisdom–work with your IT team–they know the technology. Spend your time creating the content. Her mantra of invest in your library’s future, and spend time and money developing your library’s brand was taken to heart as she closed up the program with a very interactive question and answer session.

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Review: Understanding the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Consumer

with Shane Wagg

By Stephen Fleming, Young & Rubicam Brands, SLA DAM Web Master

Shane Wagg was the presenter for this event co-sponsored by the Division of Advertising & Marketing and the Gay & Lesbian Issues Caucus.

Shane Wagg, Jo-Ann McQuillan, Stephen Fleming (photo: Velda Ruddock)

Shane gave us an overview of the “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Consumer,” covering definitions, history, statistics and trends about this niche market. According to him, this group is “accessible, but not an easy market” and early players need to do their homework. He provided a number of marketing case studies showing what works and what doesn’t work , and he even offered a list of best practices.

One of the many interesting topics Wagg discussed was the rise of GLBT visibility in the media; going from a few sitcom characters in the 70’s to entire cable channels today. This expansion of the “gay media” is a huge trend for marketers, since they now have many more choices for communicating to this market. Previously, companies focused on events and magazine advertising. Now they have opportunities with TV advertising as well.

Another interesting trend was the historic lack of “heroes” for the market, making it hard for marketers to use celebrity endorsements. However, with more and more openly-gay celebrities, especially from the world of reality TV, he predicts that risk-free spokespeople are on the way.

Wagg ended with some do’s and don’t’s: Do go national, Don’t stereotype, etc. For more guidelines, he recommends the Human Rights Campaign website:

http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=GLBT_Marketing&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=26&ContentID=27307

as well as the various Gay Chambers of Commerce:

http://www.cglcc.ca/ (Canada)

http://www.infotycoon.com/lavenderx/business/chambers.htm (US)

He referred to an excellent market research report from HIM Corp:

Guide to the Gay Market 2005
http://www.himcorp.com/guidebook2005.cfm

And to the Commercial Closet:
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/index.html

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Night out with DAM members Robin Feuerstein, Velda Ruddock, Julie Zilavy, Lynn Donches (photo provided by: Velda Ruddock)

Hockey players and DAM members Gwen Loeffler, Kristine Spanier, Hilary Rengert, Jen Hahs, Deb Rash, Betsy Hoza (photo provided by: Jen Hahs)

Membership Update and New Member Biographies
By Deb Rash, Carmichael Lynch, Membership Chair

We had eleven new members join the division from mid-April to mid-May.

Melanie Barajas is a Resource Librarian for The Richards Group in Dallas, Texas. She was a library intern at The Richards Group prior to accepting a full-time position with the agency in 2005. Melanie graduated in 2005 from The University of North Texas with a Master of Science in Library Science. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Baylor University. Melanie has been a member of SLA since 2004. Outside of work, Melanie likes to read, dance, and travel.

Ron Clowney is the Director of Corporate and Government Sales at ProQuest. He has been a member of SLA since 1996 and has a master’s in political science from the University of Michigan. Ron has worked at ProQuest since 1983 and has appreciated the company’s commitment to the information industry. They fully support SLA activities, from event sponsorships to scholarships to individual memberships. Ron wants to use his membership in the A&M division as a way to support its efforts–don’t worry about him using that privilege to market ProQuest resources. But, with the full backing of ProQuest he will be able to provide proactive support to the division where needed.

M.J. (Matthew-Jim) D'Elia received his MLIS in 2004 from Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS). He also has a BA in English and Visual Arts from the University of Western Ontario. M.J. is a fairly new member of SLA and in addition to the A&M division is also part of the Toronto Chapter, the Business & Finance Group and the College & Univ Business Librarians Group. Right now he is an Academic Liaison Librarian at the University of Guelph, serving the Economics and the Marketing Science departments, with responsibilities including collecting resources, delivering instructional sessions, and providing research help at the reference desk. He also sits on the library's Emerging Services Steering Team, which is tasked with identifying and implementing new technologies to improve library services. Before his position at Guelph, M.J. worked as a library intern at the Sexton Design & Technology Library at Dalhousie University. His professional interests include using multimedia in education, technology trends (e.g. RSS, news aggregators, blogs), information policy and ethics (copyright, file sharing, etc.), and innovating teaching methods. When not being an "information professional" M.J. runs a fun e-commerce t-shirt business (http://www.librariangear.com). He also love sports, so if he's not watching the Raptors or Blue Jays you can probably find him playing volleyball or ultimate frisbee.

Linda Lowe graduated from the McGill University Graduate School of Library and Information Studies in 1995. She has prior undergraduate degrees from the University of Winnipeg-a BA in Classics and a BS in Biology. Linda has been employed for nine years at the Food Development Centre (FDC), which is a special operating agency of the Government of Manitoba. In that organization she is responsible for the Library, as well as for the quarterly newsletter of the Centre and the FDC website. The FDC Library is a resource centre primarily serving individuals and companies involved in the agri-food processing sector. Linda performs most information services as one member of a team devoted to supporting economic development in the agri-food sector.

Lisa McIntyre graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995 with her MLIS. As her career has taken different paths, her membership has been rather random, but in total, Lisa has been an SLA member for about three years. Lisa is currently the Digital Asset Management (DAM) Librarian at GSD&M Adverting in Austin, TX. This is a new position and a new need for the agency. She is working with a core team to analyze their digital asset needs, create an RFP, and select a vendor to supply them with the basis for a digital asset management system. DAM is relatively new to the ad world and it is focused around being able to archive and repurpose work. DAM systems allow for metadata to be attached to the files, similar to traditional cataloging. Lisa has also held positions as an information specialist, a reference librarian and as an account manager (all within the agency). When she is not being an information professional, Lisa tries to keep up with her two young children (3 and 6). Austin is a great place to do things and she’s usually busy. Lisa thinks it is great that we have opportunities to help other people through great organizations like SLA and the DAM division. The discussion lists are a great tool for finding more; more about other people, more about doing our jobs better, more about information.

Ann Romeo is a Senior Consultant at FIND/SVP, with expertise in industrial marketing, energy, utilities, HVAC, security, packaging, printing, and all things mechanical. She has presently been learning basic medical marketing sources and is working with the healthcare unit to answer clients' inquiries. FIND/SVP proves both primary and secondary research to a wide range of business clients on just about any topic. At times it is like playing Trivia Pursuit for a living (much fun), and Ann feels lucky to have a job that teaches her something new every day. She has been a member of SLA for almost 10 years. She has a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington and has worked in the information industry for over 25 years, at the UW library, at Business International (now part of the Economist) and at FIND/SVP. When not working, Ann is an avid (but not very good) player of contract bridge, and a collector/reader/reviewer of detective fiction. She has served on the UW Slavic Alumni Club, and is currently on the board of the Seattle unit of the American Contract Bridge League.

Kris Theis works at Carlson Companies in Minneapolis, MN. Her job functions include providing competitive information and analysis for all Carlson Companies knowledge workers and for Carlson Companies’ clients via secondary research. She received her MLIS degree from Dominican University in River Forest, IL through the joint program with The College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN. She first became a member of SLA in 2000 and is a new member to the Advertising and Marketing Division. From 2000 to 2003, Kris was a Research Analyst with eFunds Corporation in Woodbury, MN and a substitute librarian for the Anoka County Public Libraries. In her spare time, Kris likes to work in her garden, read and chase after her 2-year-old triplets!

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Call for Submissions

Become a published author. The Bulletin is always accepting articles and contributions from our membership. Contact the Bulletin editor, Hilary Rengert, for more information or to directly submit an article for the next issue.

Care to comment on an article or topic presented in this edition of the Bulletin? Please send a letter to the editor, Hilary Rengert at hrengert@emarketer.com.

Share YOUR Knowledge

I am looking to interview information professionals for future editions of the DAM Bulletin. Insight into our members operations, effective strategies and methods are valuable to all of us, especially students and new professionals. If you are interested in sharing knowledge on your library/reference center OR if you are interested in learning more about a particular library/reference center, please send an email to Hilary Rengert at hrengert@emarketer.com

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