Table of Contents:

SLA's Call for Nominations

Sherlocking the Net

Note from the burned-out and laid off...

From the Chair - Pam Weaver

Read any good cereal boxes lately? I'm usually up and out of the house earlier than everyone else so I rarely take time to sit down to eat breakfast, let alone read the cereal box, but the back of a box of Kellogg's Smart Start caught my eye last week. It has inspirational points titled "Seize The Day." A quote from Elsa Cremer Kay, 1998 NYC Marathon Runner particularly captured my attention: "Everyday I try to do something for someone else, learn something new, accomplish a challenge - no matter how small and seek an adventure."

After reading that, I realized I'm in a holding pattern -- a busy holding pattern, nonetheless a holding pattern. I spend so much time worrying about the status of the petroleum industry, getting today's work done, keeping up with stuff at home, etc., that I don't allow time for adventure. It's time branch out -- whether with new experiences on the job, something new at home, or a volunteering to do more for your professional organization (like SLA) or a charitable group which needs your help.

I'm willing to "Seize the Day" -- how about you?

This is the time of the year the Chair usually does a State of the Division report. We're in great shape! We have all the necessary committee positions filled, our budget is healthy, and sponsors are coming through for the 2000 Annual Conference.

Thanks to Dorthy Eska's hard work, we already have the following sponsors lined up for the Philadelphia Conference: API EnCompass/EI, EBSCO, Editions Technip, IHS (Information Handling Service), Majors Scientific Books, Petroleum Abstracts, and Questel-Orbit. Please thank these sponsors for their support if you have contact with them.

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1999 Annual Business Meeting Minutes

Petroleum And Energy Resources Division
Special Libraries Association
Meeting of the 1999/2000 Board
Minneapolis, Minnesota
9 June 1999

(Minutes prepared by Donald Wulfinghoff, Secretary.)

In attendance were:

Pam Weaver, Chair
Ed Walton, Chair-Elect
Libby Black, Past Chair
Edna Paulson, Treasurer
Donald Wulfinghoff, Secretary

All the previous are voting members, together constituting a quorum.

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 8:50AM by the Chair, Pam Weaver, in a conference room of the Hilton Hotel.

ROLL CALL
All attendees introduced themselves, and signed the attendance list.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The agenda was distributed. Upon suggestion by the Chair, a motion to approve the agenda was made by Don Wulfinghoff, seconded by Ed Walton, and passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

(a) Review of 6 June 1999 Board Meeting
The Board meeting of 6 June 1999, which occurred three days earlier, was reprised briefly. The attending principals being the same, and no further developments having ensued in the interim, no additional topics were raised. Distribution of the minutes was promised.

(b) The Role of the Secretary
Subordinate to the preceding, no further imperative to discuss the role of Secretary at this time was felt.

NEW BUSINESS

(a) Approval of Committee Chairs
The following slate of PER committee chair candidates was brought before the Board:

Pam Weaver reported that all the nominees had agreed to serve, except that no contact had been established with incumbent archivist, Jan Heagy.

The Secretary inquired as to the purpose and responsibilities of the archivist, and was educated on this matter by the collective assembly.

Upon suggestion by the Chair, a motion to approve the slate was made by Don Wulfinghoff, seconded by Edna Paulson, and passed unanimously.

(b) Conference Call to Approve Nominating Committee
Echoing the issue discussed at the June 6th Board Meeting, the Nominating Committee cannot be approved by electronic communications, but instead requires voice communication, either in convocation or by electrical methods of voice transmission.

Inasmuch as candidates for the Nominating Committee are still being sought by Nancy Bourque, the Chair announced that approval of the eventuating slate must occur by telephone conference call. The Chair will arrange the conference call in due course, when the slate of nominees has been filled.

(c) PER Membership Survey
The survey of PER members that has been designed in recent months is to be compiled by Ed Walton.

Pam Weaver was approached by Lauren Bach of Philips Business Systems with the suggestion of funding a PER activity. As a result of this discussion, it was suggested that Philips Business Systems might sponsor the costs of conducting the member survey. Lauren Bach will check with her company to see whether it will provide sponsorship.

(d) Libby Black's e-mail of 6/2/99: How to Proceed in Light of Declining Membership
Libby Black summarized an e-mail that she had sent to members of the PER Board regarding the question of how PER should proceed in light of its declining membership. The decline was ascribed to the state of the petroleum industry, in particular its reductions of staff, consolidations, and movements to foreign locations.

Ms. Black posed the specific question of whether the PER Division should continue to sponsor sessions of general interest. The matter was discussed, but no change to present practice was put forth.

(e) Division Cabinet, etc.

(1) Global 2000 and other funding requests
The District of Columbia Chapter of SLA had circulated a request for funding to support Global 2000, an international librarians' meeting sponsored by SLA and others in London. A suggestion was immediately put forth to donate a specific sum. However, Don Wulfinghoff objected, on the basis of not knowing the financial status of the Division, not knowing the purpose of the Global 2000 event, and not understanding how the DC Chapter and PER Division fit into the picture. Wulfinghoff stated his general view that the Division should not be disbursing its funds to supplicants without a clear picture of its status with regard to the recipient and without having a clear reason for contributing.

Pam Weaver stated that the financial status was unclear because the Treasurer responsible for this year's report had resigned, and the records are available currently. The discussion then diffused in the direction of regarding the financial status of the Division. The discussion of the issue ended by deferring action until Edna Paulson could investigate the cost of scholarships for emerging petroleum librarians.

(2) Changes at the Year 2000 Conference
(a) Increase in Registration Fee
Pam Weaver announced the plan by SLA to increase the registration fee for the annual conference were announced. There was discussion to the effect that the fee is already substantial, and why this is being done at a time when it is difficult to sustain membership. However, no role in the decision could be identified for PER.

(b) Funding for PER Breakfast Sessions

It has been the practice for PER to provide a free continental breakfast for the attendees of its early-morning events.

The question was raised whether to change this practice to one of charging attendees for the session. This culminated in the prevailing sentiment that this would discourage attendance, a particularly inappropriate outcome at this time of declining PER membership.

As an alternative, the idea was suggested of inviting sponsors to undertake the cost of the breakfasts. In return, the selected sponsor will be allowed a period of five minutes for a marketing presentation. Upon suggestion by the Chair, a motion to adopt this practice was made by Don Wulfinghoff, seconded by Ed Walton, and passed unanimously.

(c) Change in Exhibit Hours
Pam Weaver reported that the exhibits at the Year 2000 SLA annual convention, to occur in Philadelphia, will be scheduled on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. In past years, the exhibits had been scheduled on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

(3) Motion for Oversight Committee for the Virtual Association Plan
Pam Weaver reported the passage of a motion at the recent meeting of the Division Cabinet. The SLA is moving the in direction of becoming a "virtual" association, in which major communications functions are being shifted to the Internet. Aggressive action in this direction has led to some confusion and missteps. As a result, a motion was made and passed at the Division Cabinet encouraging the SLA Board to establish a committee to oversee the shift to a virtual mode of operation.

(f) Expanding the Membership and Interests of the PER Division Beyond Petroleum
Don Wulfinghoff raised the issue of increasing the scope of the Division beyond the interests of petroleum production. He stated that he had accepted the post of Secretary with the understanding that it was matter of interest to the leadership of the Division to expand the purview of the Division into energy conservation and energy resources, as implied by the name of the Division. He noted that presently every officer of the Division except himself is employed in the petroleum industry.

The advantages and disadvantages of a merger with another division were discussed, with no conclusion being reached. Also, there was brief discussion of the possibility of joint programs with other divisions, but no concrete proposals were put forth.

Pam Weaver reviewed the recent history that an SLA division devoted to public utilities had recently been dissolved, and that its membership had been merged into PER. However, it appears that the erstwhile members of that Division are not participating in PER.

(g) Coordination of Scheduling with ERMD and SciTech Events
Pam Weaver, as the officer responsible for scheduling PER activities, will seek to minimize the problem of schedule overlap with other Divisions that have roles in energy and the environment. This will make it possible for PER members with broader interests in the energy field to become involved with those Divisions, and it may facilitate future relationships between PER and those Divisions.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chair reminded those presently serving as officers to return their SLA Unit Officer Acknowledgment Forms to Linda Broussard, Leadership and Membership Development Senior Director, at the address indicated on the form.

ADJOURNMENT
Upon suggestion by the Chair, a motion for adjournment was made by Ed Walton, seconded by Don Wulfinghoff, and passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned.

Submitted by Pam Weaver, Chair-Elect
October 7, 1999

SLA MEETINGS 2000

The SLA Winter Meeting will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, in January 2000. Visit this web site for more information - http://www.sla.org/chapter/cstl/2000/cstl2000.htm

"Independence to Interdependence: The Next Phase in the Information Revolution " is the theme of the SLA Annual meeting scheduled for June 10-15, 2000 in Philadelphia,PA. Watch the conference web site for more information on the program and other activities. http://www.sla.org/conf/2000conf/index.html

The Nominating Committee for SLA's 2001 election needs your help. We must select 10 worthy SLA members to run for office. Your assistance is needed to assist the five Committee members to make their selection from among the many outstanding individuals within our organization. Please let us know who among your colleagues is ready and willing to serve the profession at the Association leadership level. Send us the following information on each individual you would like to be considered and indicate for which office you are nominating each individual.

• Nominee's name, address, phone number
• Length of SLA membership
• Offices held in Chapters, Divisions, or at the Association level
• Membership in Association-level Committees
• Other activities with SLA (on Chapter and Division Committees, teaching CE courses, awards received, articles published, etc.)
• Other items we should know

We would like to know what it is about this person that makes them a great nominee for the election slate? It would also be helpful, but not mandatory, if you can provide some information on their thoughts about our profession, the Association and its activities now and in the future, or any other relevant comments that distinguishes this individual among your colleagues. All information submitted will be handled confidentially.

The offices to be filled for the 2001 election are:

• President-Elect
• Treasurer
• Director
• Division Cabinet Chair-Elect
• Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect

Descriptions of these positions can be obtained at http://www.sla.org/assoc/board/main/pd.html.

Send your nominations by Monday, December 6 to:

Lois Weinstein
Executive Director
The Medical Library Center of New York
5 East 102nd Street - 7th Floor
New York, NY 10029
Tel: 1-212-427-1630 Fax: 1-212-860-3496
e-mail: mlcny@metgate.metro.org

Or e-mail any member of the committee (also by December 6)

Margaret Hentz mhentz@dowagro.com
Sylvia James 5385418@mcimail.com
Dee Magnoni dee@library.pdx.edu
Betty Eddison ebeddison@aol.com

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Sherlocking the Net

Do you find yourself becoming a Sherlock Holmes, ferreting out information on people, places and companies? The Internet is a plethora of information but how do you know what is valid and what is out of date? When do you subscribe to a Net service and when do you just pay as you go? Do free sites offer authentic information and what is their source? This course is designed to assist the information professional to efficiently and effectively use the Internet to find valuable information.

Speaker: Linda Will, Research Center Director, Greenbery Traurig Law Firm

This program will be presented on December 7, 1999 from 2:00p.m.-3:30 p.m. EST

And repeated on December 9, 1999 from 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. EST

Registration Fee: Early registration is recommended as enrollment is limited. The registration fee for is $45 for SLA members and $65 for nonmembers.

More information is available on this course at http://www.sla.org/professional/desktop.shtml

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Internet Corner - Distance Learning

By Ann Coppin 

What is distance learning in today's world. We get e-mail announcements of videoconferences, interactive online courses, web-delivered workshops, virtual universities, etc. Ads or articles mention getting your degree by only online study. Casual mention is made of the need for libraries to support distance learning and life-long education. But what does it mean really?

Once upon a time distance education meant correspondence courses via mail. Then there were courses with brief periods on campus followed or sandwiched between independent learning and instruction at home or work via correspondence. Sending videotaped class presentations as part of the correspondence package became a possibility. Both then and now a benefit used to market distance learning is the ability of the learner to complete their course work anytime, anywhere. The physical separation between instructor and some or all of the students is basic to distance learning. The claims to doing the course work at any time or anywhere are no longer valid for all distance learning. Videoconferences such as the recent SLA "Effective Negotiating Techniques for Licensing Content" was distance learning at a set time and set places. (Interestingly enough this videoconference competed against the PBS videoconference on "Libraries, Copyright, and the Internet" at the same time but different local hosts.) Now the description of a course may include "will incorporate elements of synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous communication among and between participants, facilitators and learning resources." The United States Distance Learning Association defines "distance learning as the acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and instruction, encompassing all technologies and other forms of learning at a distance." Some definitions equate 'distance education' and 'distance learning' and other descriptions place 'distance learning' as the student's role in distance education.

What does distance learning mean for you and I. From my viewpoint, the current impact of distance learning is attending locally, at a host site, a videoconference workshop. This type best meets my time and interest needs. As yet I have not tried any of the web or internet based courses. I will be glad to share your experiences with internet based courses in future columns. Please send your comments to coppin@pacbell.net.

Resources for Distance Learning

http://www.uwex.edu/disted/definition.html
Some Definitions of Distance Education
The Distance Education Clearninghouse maintained by the University of Wisconsin-Extension presents definitions from different organizations and provides links to those organizations.

http://www.otan.dni.us/cdlp/distance/whatis.html
What is Distance Education?
The California Distance Learning Project provides it's definition and lists several key features that define distance learning.

http://sunsite.Berkeley.EDU/InternetIndex/
Librarians Index to the Internet as of October 26, 199, has 11 Internet resources for "distance learning" including 3 directories.

http://www.uwex.edu/disted/
Distance Education Clearinghouse
A comprehensive, annotated, and searchable directory of resources. Main divisions include Keeping Current, Program Resources and Courses, Technologies, and New to Distance Education? (this section includes definitions, glossaries, and introductory materials).

http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~b-sloan/libdist.htm
Library Support for Distance Learning
Bernie Sloan at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides this site for librarians. There are links to general information, planning documents, selected papers on general issues, 50+ papers and reports dealing specifically with library support for distance learning, several papers on electronic reference service, and more than 60 library sites with examples of how these different libraries offer services to distance learners.

http://www.otan.dni.us/cdlp/distance/home.html
California Distance Learning Project - What is Distance Learning?
Includes information about effectiveness, research, strategies, and models.

http://www.usdla.org/
United States Distance Learning Association is a non-profit association formed in 1987. The constituents served include K through 12 education, higher education, continuing education, corporate training, and military and government training.

http://www.detc.org/
Distance Education and Training Council
The Distance Education and Training Council (formerly the National Home Study Council) is a non profit educational association located in Washington, D.C. The only nationally recognized accrediting body for distance-learning programs.

http://www.california.edu/
California Virtual University
An example of one state's approach to offering online programs and courses.

http://www.vu.org/
Virtual University
This is a nonprofit, worldwide learning community and claims to be the largest educational portal on the Internet today. Its roots extend back to the 1960s and the Free Clinic movement.

Articles

Supporting web sites for Building Earth's Largest Library, INCOLSA National Satellite Teleconference, Thursday, October 28, 1999.

http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jul/coffman.htm
The response to "Building Earth's Largest Library: Driving into the Future" [Searcher, March 1999, http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/mar/coffman.html] by Steve Coffman, Searcher, v. 7, no. 7, July/August 1999.

http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jul/dahn.htm
Earth's largest library: one librarian's plan of action by Mike Dahn, Searcher, v. 7, no. 7, (Web only feature) July 1999. Article supporting Coffman's ideas.

http://home.att.net/~wcc.libmedx/gutting.htm
Gutting America's Local Libraries: Informal Comments on "Building Earth's Largest Library" by Walt Crawford, 30 August 1999.

Jeff Rothenberg, a senior Computer Scientist at the RAND Corpoartion, was the speaker at the SLA Southern California Chapter September meeting. He spoke about digital preservation and he provided the following URLs for summaries of his ideas.

http://www.clir.org/programs/otheractiv/ensuring.pdf
"Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Information" is an expanded version (19 pages long) of his Scientific American article (which was entitled "Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Documents" and appeared in January 1995, Vol. 272, Number 1, pp. 42-7).

http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/rothenberg/contents.html or downloaded from: http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/rothenberg/pub77.pdf
"Avoiding Technological Quicksand: Finding a Viable Technical Foundation for Digital Preservation" A Report to the Council on Library & Information Resources (CLIR), Jan 1999, ISBN 1-887334-63-7

http://www.archief.nl/digiduur/final-report.4.pdf
"Carrying Authentic, Understandable and Usable Digital Records Through Time") co-authored with Tora Bikson. An initial version of an in-depth report for the Dutch National Archives and Ministry of the Interior offers a strategy and framework for preserving digital archival records, August 6, 1999.

Changed URLs

http://www.dealpilot.com/
Acses.com is now DealPilot.com!
Now the "ultimate comparison shopping engine" for any book, CD or movie. DealPilot.com checks prices, shipping costs and delivery times of the requested item from all major Internet stores.

Sites of Interest

http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/index.shtml
Liblicense: Licensing digital information, a resource for librarians
The Yale University Library's Council on Library and Information Resources provides this useful and informative website. It's Disclaimer, License Vocabulary, Licensing Terms and Descriptions, and Bibliography were the recommended reading prior to the recent SLA Videoconference "Effective Negotiating Techniques for Licensing Content."

http://www.findlaw.com/
FindLaw
It provides access to a comprehensive online library of legal resources for use by legal professionals, consumers and small businesses. It began in 1995 as a list of Internet resources compiled for a workshop of the Northern California Law Librarians.

http://home.mpinet.net/cmueller/
Antitrust Law & Economics Review
An anti-monopoly journal. This site includes selected articles from the journal.

http://www.e-choicenet.com/emp/html/index.html
e-ChoiceNet
Provides comparison shopping for electric or natural gas energy for residential, small businesses, commercial and industrial customers. Currently limited to California.

http://www.pomona.edu/visual-lit/intro/intro.html
The On-Line Visual Literacy Project from Pomona College, Claremont, California

http://www.nedcc.org/manhome.htm
Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded, Edited by Sherelyn Ogden, 1999. Provided by the Northeast Document Conservation Center.

http://www.sempra.com/dindex.html
Sempra Energy
The energy services holding company for Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric Company.

http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/RefCalculators.html
Calculators On-Line Center
Calculators for subjects such as agriculture, calendars, aviation to mathematics to statistics to science and engineering.

And for those interested in earthquakes:
http://www.lafd.org/eqindex.htm
The Earthquake Preparedness Handbook from the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

http://www-socal.wr.usgs.gov/
USGS Pasadena Earthquake Information
Includes links to information about worldwide earthquakes.

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Note from the burned-out and laid off...

By Mary Ellen Fleury

I was laid-off by Texaco last March. After taking a bit of a break from paid work (my 1st since college), I seem to have landed smack in the middle of the non-profit world.

At first I did the "cookie baking bit" (while simultaneously trying not to do the "cookie eating bit") for my child's PTA. I found that type of volunteer work unsatisfying. I even recall a conversation at SLA in Albuquerque with Leah Bartlett about her experiences with PTA moms.

Anyway, I ended up getting more involved with the local United Way's program evaluation teams, something I had started at Texaco. I then got asked to be a Boards Work intern through the Greater New Orleans Center for Nonprofit Resources. I spent one night a week for seven weeks learning how to be a good board member. Now I'll spend a year on the board of the Camp Fire Boys and Girls. I didn't even know Camp Fire still existed!?

I might have been a burned-out librarian, but I still needed to get a job. I stumbled on something that sounded intriquing and interesting, yet didn't require going back to school. I've landed a position at Loyola University in the Development Office. The current buzzword for this is Institutional Advancement and it includes PR, publications, alumni relations, as well as development or fundraising. I'm doing prospect research, which has also recently been relabeled as "advancement research." In other words, I do research on individuals, foundations, and corporations, whose giving interests might match Loyola's needs. Mostly I am on a computer all day long. I've come to appreciate and miss the benefit of shelving books - it's an excuse to get up and move around.

Actually, this is fascinating work. On occasion I can even pretend I am a private eye.

Mary Ellen Fleury
Loyola University
New Orleans, LA
mefleury@loyno.edu
504/861-5488

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PER DIVISION SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Libby Black, Awards Chair

PER has been honored to have many outstanding people as members. You may know of someone who has excelled as a PER Division member, either by service given to the Division, or by achieving outstanding professional accomplishments or by writing for professional publications. Say "well done", and honor this person by making a nomination for the PER Division Achievement Award.

Past winners are:
1995-1996 - Barbara Pearson
1997-1998 - Marie Tilson
1998-1999 - Pam Weaver

Description of PER Division Special Achievement Award:

The Petroleum and Energy Resources Special Achievement Award is an award that is conferred for any of the following contributions to the Division:

Outstanding member or group of members who have contributed in a variety of roles over a period of years exemplifying leadership and participation and ensuring the continuing success of the PER Division.
Outstanding accomplishment during a particular year, or activity completed during the award year.
Outstanding article or book or electronic information on petroleum or energy resources

The criteria for the Award:

A current PER Division member, or a former PER member for at least five consecutive years. Applicants for the Award must be nominated by a member of the Division. One award may be presented each year. It may be given to an individual or a group who have made a substantial achievement of significant importance. Current members of the Executive Board, Heads of Committees, and Award Committee members are not eligible.

The Award review process will take place annually; however, there is no requirement that the award will be given each year. Nominations do not carry over from one year to the next. All documentation from the review process will be destroyed after the recipient is selected.

The Awards Committee will call for nominations in the post conference and Fall issues of the PER Bulletin. Deadline for submission of nominations is February 1st, 2000. The committee will determine a winner(s) and on, or before, April 1st will notify the recipient and his/her employer(s) of the Division's intention to present the Award.

Press releases may be sent to appropriate professional journals.

The Award consists of an engraved bowl, cup, wooden plaque, or other appropriate keepsake for presentation by the Division Chair at the annual business meeting.

Marie Tilson, Chair Awards Committee
Mindy Klein
Marilyn Stark
13 June 1995 - -Revised further amended and subsequently approved in the PER Board Meeting, 14 June 1995.

Nomination Form

The nomination form should be sent to:
Libby Black
16 South Park Place
New Orleans, LA 70124
HOME: 504) 488-5138
libbyblack@yahoo.com
WORK (layoff pending): (504) 566-5598
Libby_Black@email.mobil.com

Send comments, corrections, and submissions to PER Bulletin editor
Linda Musser, 105 Deike Building, University Park PA, 16802; Lrm4@psu.edu.