Petroleum and Energy Resources Division
Special Libraries Association

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	FROM THE CHAIR
	¤	Create your future in Minneapolis
	PER DIVISION SLA CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, MINNEAPOLIS, 1999
	FROM THE CHAIR-ELECT
	¤	Bylaws vote passes
	¤	Mid-Winter Meeting
	FROM THE EDITOR
	SLA-DPER LISTSERV VS. TROUBLE IN TECHNOLOGY LAND
	INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM LIBRARY TO BE REFURBISHED
	ANNOUNCEMENTS
	¤	From Nancy Bourque
	¤	From Parker Ladwig
	INTERNET CORNER—WHERE DO WE FIT IN THE INFORMATION EQUATION?
	¤	Web Sites Pertaining to Digital Libraries, Virtual Reference
	¤	Keeping Up with New Internet Resources
	¤	Useful Web Sites

FROM THE CHAIR
Libby Black, Chair

There is a best selling, self-help book, called "Do What You Are." With my job at Mobil changing and maybe going away soon, I have been thinking about how to do "what I am." One dormant skill is cheerleading. Yes, cheerleading. Come on, I know there are some of you out there who were also cheerleaders. My hey day was as a junior-high boy’s (as if there were any other) football cheerleader in Corning, Arkansas, in 1973.

Now I must figure out how to integrate my skills as a cheerleader into today’s dynamic Information-Knowledge Management environment. Maybe I can start each presentation with a cheer. After all, the pros encourage you to get your audience’s attention. Here is a self-penned icebreaker: "Okay. Ready/ 32 bits/ 64 bits/ A giga byte for a dollar/ All for (the competition)/ Lay down and waller." Try it and let me know.

Those of you who know me know that, while I am good at many things, I really am not a very good cheerleader. (Corning High knew it too, as I never made the squad again.) Nevertheless, I have always felt that one of the jobs of the PER Division Chair is to be a cheerleader. The Chair must cheer for volunteers, cheer for new members, cheer for the Division and cheer for SLA.

This "From the Chair" column was scheduled to be my middle-of-the-second-half cheering column. Unfortunately, I’m struggling to find something to cheer about. Division membership, as of 12/31/1998, is down. The oil & gas industry is tanking under the weight of oil & gas prices at 40-year low. The utility and energy companies are merging like rabbits. Worst of all, right before the Mid-Winter Conference, my company informed me that they can no longer "afford the cost of Library services." I still have a job but it is much different. I am heartbroken to lose my library.

With three minutes to go, I am not expecting our PER team to win this year. Next season may be better or maybe it will not. Whatever changes I have experienced, I am glad I have PER and SLA behind me. Thanks for electing me as your cheerleader. I enjoyed screaming, yelling and jumping around in snappy outfits. Please join me in chanting: "Pork Chops, Pork Chops/Greasy, Greasy/We Can Find a New Job/Easy, Easy.

Pam Weaver and I attended a busy and informative Mid-Winter Meeting. While Pam went to meetings on leadership and understanding the workings of SLA, I worked on the finishing touches for the Minneapolis Conference. Please see the PER Division schedule elsewhere in this newsletter. SLA plans to introduce a Web-based conference planning tool on March 1, 1999. The paper pre-conference program will be short in order to save money. There was a bit of alarm amongst the conference planners over the abbreviated pre-conference program. Conference planners felt that good information was being omitted. SLA heard our concerns and changed the format of the pre-conference program and promised to beta-test the electronic conference planning system.

Larry Prusak will be the Keynote Speaker in Minneapolis. He is the author of "Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What they Know" and the author of one of my all time favorite library articles, "Blow Up the Corporate Library." The Candidates Forum, which I wish every member could attend, touched on several important subjects. Candidates want to make SLA the organization of choice for information professionals. We must learn how to capture in our membership people who don’t have the word "library" in their title. And, lastly, the greatest distance we have to bridge may be the distance between the patron and the librarian.

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PER DIVISION SLA CONFERENCE SCHEDULE,
MINNEAPOLIS, 1999
Libby Black, Chair

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FROM THE CHAIR-ELECT
Pam Weaver, Chair-Elect

Bylaws vote passes
A vote of the membership of PER passed the Bylaws revisions. A total of 127 ballots was received:
     Yes - 123
     No - 2
One ballot was returned unmarked and one "yes" ballot was received on 1/4/99, well after the 12/4/98 deadline.

Thanks to all who took the time to vote, and to those who included comments with the ballot. Comments will be saved for the next Bylaws review.

Libby Black (Chair) and I attended the SLA Winter DACOLT Meeting in San Francisco, 1/21-22/1999. The meeting focused on Officer Leadership Training and Conference planning.

In addition to becoming more familiar with the internal workings of SLA, we were introduced to two new major web products SLA will be rolling out in the Spring. The Association Management System will allow individual SLA members to make changes to his/her membership records on a web form through a password-protected system. It will also allow membership access to the entire SLA Directory in a searchable web interface. This function may eventually diminish the necessity of printed SLA directories such as the Who's Who.

The second web-based product SLA will make available in the Spring is a Conference Planning Guide. The Annual Conference Program will be on the site with a searchable interface and a planning section so the member can create his/her personal schedule for conference sessions s/he is planning to attend. The schedule planner also allows the member to include personal plans in the schedule (networking lunches, visits to relatives, site seeing, etc.) so the entire Conference experience might be more organized.

Several hours during DACOLT were focused on Conference planning. Libby was involved in finalizing the plans for the Minneapolis (June 1999) Conference, and I began the process of planning the Philadelphia (June 2000) Conference.

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FROM THE EDITOR
Parker Ladwig, Bulletin Editor

My tenure as bulletin editor is approaching its end. I am excited to have participated in the PER Division’s move from paper to the Web. I am also glad to have a better sense of how the division’s leadership gets all those things done which we have come simply to expect.

Above all, I would like to thank those who have contributed news to the bulletin. Besides the officers, who are generally expected to contribute, I would like to especially mention Ann Coppin. Thankfully, she can always be counted on to provide information on interesting Web sites. If you haven’t looked at those sites before, why don’t you take a few minutes to do so? At the end of this issue’s article Ann asks for feedback—I’m sure she really would appreciate it.

Remember, we do have one more issue to publish before the conference. I would like to get articles by May 1. And remember, an article can be a simple paragraph or two.

Thanks in advance!

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SLA-DPER LISTSERV VS. TROUBLE IN TECHNOLOGY LAND
Ed Walton, Networking Chair / Webmaster

In early January, a problem with the SLA-DPER Listserv slowly presented itself. A new users were requesting subscription to the list, but nothing was happening. It would appear that someone, namely myself, had fallen asleep at the wheel; however, technology was the culprit. Everyone who requested a subscription to the listserv in the last half of November, December, and most of January did not get subscribed to the list. More importantly, we do not have a record of who requested to be subscribed. Therefore, if you tried to subcribe to the SLA-DPER Listserv and have not received an official notification that you are subscibed, you're not. If you want to be subscribed, please submit a new request to the listserv. Instructions are available on the PER Website at www.sla.org/division/dper/listserv.htm.

For you techies, and those of you who just want an amusing story, here is the "technical" explanation of the problem. After three weeks of investigation, the elusive answer to the problem was found. My company's email system would not communicate with SLA's server in a polite manner. Therefore, SLA's server rejected my impolites emails, but in retalition would not notify me that it was rejecting them. So, the subscription requests were not being approved and I was not notified of that fact. The solution to the problem required setting-up a new e-mail account outside of my company to communicate with the server. What tangled "webs" we weave? By the way, who said that? I know your librarian instincts wants to answer that question, but don't!

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INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM LIBRARY TO BE REFURBISHED
Catherine Cosgrove, Head of Library & Information Service
Institute of Petroleum

The library of the Institute of Petroleum, London, is being refurbished this year.

The library is situated in a building built in 1777 and which was at one time lived in by Alfred Waterhouse, the architect of the Natural History Museum. The existing library shelving was installed in the early 1960s and can no longer cope with the, mainly A4, format of material received nowadays, or the increasing use of IT by visitors and staff. An added problem is the fact that we cannot suspend any lighting from the ceilings which are painted with pictures of mythical beasts, chariots, angels, etc.

So in July, August this year we will be closed for a few weeks while the existing shelving is removed and new shelving and work stations are installed.

We hope to continue some sort of service while the work is in operation. We will be able to answer telephone, fax and e-mail queries. We hope to be able to lend some material. In the spring we are having rolling stacks put in our basement and this will temporarily allow much of the library material to be stored on accessible shelves during the summer. The only thing we will be unable to do is to accommodate visitors in person.

You can get an idea of what we hold by looking at our catalogues on our web page: www.petroleum.co.uk

Catherine Cosgrove
Head of Library & Information Service
Institute of Petroleum
61 New Cavendish Street, LONDON, W1M 8AR, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)171 467 7111 fax: +44(0)171 255 1472
e-mail: ccosgrove@petroleum.co.uk

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

From Nancy Bourque
Baby number three, Leah Claire, arrived on October 19, 1998. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 15oz. Leah's two sisters, Tara and Erin are thrilled with the arrival of their real-life doll! Daddy, Tom, lives in a very pink house. Even the cat's a female!

From Parker Ladwig
Baby number three, Emma Catherine, arrived on January 27,1999. She weighed 9 lbs, 3 oz. Emma’s two brothers, Gus, 4, and Nathan, 2, can’t keep their hands off her. So far she’s dealing well with the ruckus of two boys, but we’ll see how it goes in the future. My wife, Monica, had eclampsia following the pregnancy (that’s right, toxemia plus a seizure), but she has recovered over the past weeks.

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INTERNET CORNER
Where Do We Fit In the Information Equation
Ann Coppin

Digital libraries, virtual reference - where do we fit into the equation? Are our services staying the same? evolving haphazardly in response to someone’s idea/request? Or, are we changing/adapting our services and libraries as a result of considered thought? It is so easy to be caught up in the daily and weekly current needs. A journal or newsletter becomes available electronically; it is expedient to subscribe to it. A staff member sees the opportunity to provide Intranet services of some sort to our parent organization; this requires library resources. We choose resources, no matter what format, including Web sites, for their quality and relevance to our clientele; the digital library is here, planned or not. Higher management decisions result in one library serving a larger, geographically dispersed clientele; virtual reference is here, ready or not.

Changing resources, changing technology, changing organizations - where do we fit into the equation? We know how to understand the situation that results in the information request; we know how to determine from the question and the situation what is really wanted; we can make judgements about the resources to use to get an answer.

The following article is a topic of listservs and conversations. It is about a librarian who is valued for her ability to confront the diversity of information resources and extract what is valuable to her clientele. It is about a librarian who has segmented her market and determined which ones she will serve out of all the potential customers. It is about providing different service levels for different groups. It is about focusing on content and not format.

Buchanan, Leigh. "The Smartest Little Company in America" Inc., v. 21, no. 1, p. 42-54, January, 1999, http://www.inc.com/incmagazine/archives/01990421.html

It starts "Highsmith Inc. uses a knowledge-management tool of extraordinary power...She’s the librarian." As an aside, reading it in both the original magazine issue and via Internet access pointed up interesting differences. The magazine article is six pages of text and a seventh page with a colored photograph and a side bar. There are three separate boxes, "Think Like a Librarian," interspersed appropriately in the text. The online version prints on 14 pages, no color, no graphics, and the three "boxes" appear as one item following the main text. However, the online article has a supplemental checklist for evaluating the legitimacy of Web-based resources.

Back to "Where do we fit into the information equation?" We provide easy access to content and people - selecting and directing to resources. We are intelligent peopleware agents. We provide business services including customized research, answers and reports. Business intelligence services involve watching, analyzing, extrapolating, and recommending. Training is becoming one of our services - training in computer literacy, in Internet, in information literacy. Some information centers are offering virtual "water coolers," a chat room for people to gather and exchange information. We can look at emerging information technologies, at our organizational culture, and appropriately use a technology for the benefit of the organization.

Lipow, Anne G. "Serving the remote user: reference service in the digital environment," Proceedings of the Ninth Australasian Information Online & On Disc Conference and Exhibition, Sydney, January 19-21, 1999, http://www.csu.edu.au/special/online99/proceedings99/200.htm

Lyman, Peter "The social functions of digital libraries: designing information resources for virtual communities," Proceedings of the Ninth Australasian Information Online & On Disc Conference and Exhibition, Sydney, January 19-21, 1999, http://www.csu.edu.au/special/online99/proceedings99/300b.htm

Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE, http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/ Provides information and tools for those building digital collections.

Alexa, http://www.alexa.com/
It is a "free advertising-supported Web navigation service. It works with your browser and accompanies you as you surf, providing useful information about the sites you are viewing and suggesting related sites." It was mentioned in the SLA Continuing Education Course "Re-Creating Information Services with New Technologies" discussion of community building technologies.

Cartia Inc. http://www.cartia.com/
ThemeScape is a Enterprise Information Mapping application that helps you find facts faster and gain insights. The result shows a pattern of general themes (large labels) as well as concentrated topics (small peaks and labels). It was mentioned in the SLA Continuing Education Course "Re-Creating Information Services with New Technologies" discussion of identification technologies.

"Toward a Worldwide Digital Library," Communications of the ACM, Vol. 41, No. 4 April,1998, http://www.acm.org/cacm/0498/0498toc.html

An issue devoted to the topic of digital libraries.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/newsites.html
There are sections on sites updated daily, weekly, monthly

The Library Web Manager’s Reference Center: Current Awareness Resources, http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/current.html
Links to publications, news listings, etc. You can search a number of the sites from this page.

Librarians' Resource Centre, http://www.sla.org/chapter/ctor/toolbox/resource/index.html

The Special Libraries Association, Toronto Chapter is providing this compilation of internet resources organized for the practicing librarian. It is arranged within three sections: Serving our Clients, Professional Development, Technical Services.

Arriba Vista, www.arribavista.com
This search engine finds images on the Internet in response typed in terms. The result is a series of thumbnail photos. Too general a search can retrieve unwanted results. Click on the desired image and you’ll be linked directly to the Web site where the picture came from.

DocDel, http://www.docdel.com/
A directory for document delivery services and users - hundreds of resources and providers. The site was developed by Instant Information Systems who maintains it as a free resource.

East View Publications, http://www.eastview.com/, and Missing Maps by East View Cartographic http://www.missingmaps.com
Provide access to books, periodicals, microfilms, maps, and electronic products from Russia and the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. Russian patents, standards, and statistics are also offered.

GEOSCAN http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/ess/esic/gescan_e.html
A searchable bibliographic database of all Geological Survey of Canada publications.

Inc. http://www.inc.com/issue/jan99/
The January 1999 issue of Inc. features articles about handing information overload.

The Best Information on the Net (BIOTN) chosen by librarians at O'Keefe Library, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa, http://www.sau.edu/cwis/internet/wild/Neatnew/index.htm
There is a "Special: Report on the Internet Librarians Conference, Nov. 1-5, 1998" included in a Previous Week’s Pick. After the current week’s picks there is a section, Previous Weeks Picks, with the weeks listed by date. Click on November 13 and then scroll down to this informal report.

Information Today, Inc. http://www.infotoday.com/
This publisher, who sponsored the conference Internet Librarian '98, has the proceedings available for purchase. Links to the presentations available through the Web are at http://www.infotoday.com/il98/presentations.htm.

Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, http://www.library.ucsb.edu/istl/
This is the quarterly publication of the Science and Technology Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries. The theme of issue number 20, Fall 1998, is "The serials crisis in science and technology libraries."

PubList.com http://www.publist.com/
Searchable directory of information about more than 150,000 publications from around the world. "...information comes from definitive sources such as Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory."

PollingReport.com http://pollingreport.com/
Provided by "The Polling Report" of Washington, D.C. Polls are listed under Politics & Policy, Business/Economy, or The American Scene.

Survey of Library Automation Systems In Use at Various Libraries, http://www.alrc.doe.gov/library/autosurv.html
By Solo Librarians' Listserv. After the listing by vendor of the contacts for those using the products there is a listing of "Other Resources for Library Automation Vendors" with links to library automation vendors and to pertinent articles.

This column lists a variety of sites that may be useful to you. Do you find them useful? Please send any comments or suggestions for sites or topics to Ann Coppin at coppin@pacbell.net

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DISCLAIMER
Petroleum and Energy Resources Bulletin is published quarterly for members of the Petroleum and Energy Resources Division of the Special Libraries Association.  The Special Libraries Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by the contributors of the Association's publication.   Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official position of the Special Libraries Association.  Acceptance of advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product by Special Libraries Association.

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