Philadelphia played host to 7,400 SLA members (400 Social Science Division-ers) at the 91st annual SLA Convention, and what a convention it was! Although the weather turned cool and drizzly, it couldn't dampen our spirits. The convention planner Lynne McCay, and the Social Science Division planner, Hetty Barthel, outdid themselves. The Convention Center was well-organized, the programs were informative, the 300 vendors' exhibits (opened with rousing tunes from Philadelphia's famous Mummers fife and drum corps) showed their technological phenomena--everyone's on the Web--, and the parties were extravaganzas. The keynote address was unique. National Public Radio's Terry Gross interviewed David Talbot, founder and editor-in-chief of the e-magazine Salon (aka salon.com). The magazine, which originated as an artsy journal with book, movies, TV, and art reviews, has changed its emphasis to investigative news journalism. This switch was due in large part to the preferences of the magazine's readers. Mr. Talbot explained that with e-journals, unlike in the print media, editors can tell exactly which stories are read and how many people actually click to the next (jump) page of an article. for instance, movie reviews, stories about pop culture icons, and sexual scandals (such as the story broken by Salon on the affair of Representative Henry Hyde) are popular. In addition, although many readers print out stories to read later (mostly baby boomers), about 30% of Salon's readership access the magazine through their PalmPilots and cell phones. To keep their interest, the stories start with "a great lead, and then...end that first page with a great tease." The two also discussed others of the many differences between print and Web journalism. For example, Salon recently redesigned its site. The readers instantly expressed their dissatisfaction through a barrage of e-mails. Re-designing the re-design took much less work and expense than if the same effort was undertaken in the print media. Also, because Web journals are not read at the more leisurely pace of print journals, it's necessary to grab the readers. Salon strives to do this with unique, emphatic writers with varying viewpoints. When asked whether advertisers demanded more control over his work, Mr. Talbot said that most believed in the importance of an independent, credible press. He described his admiration for advertisers who stuck by him after the Hyde story in the face of boycott threats.
The Independent Sector Roundtable of the Social Science Division presented Archives in the Twentieth Century: Not Just a Time Capsule. Speakers were Kenneth Rose, assistant to the director of the Rockefeller Archives Center; Alan Divack, archivist of the Ford Foundation; and Andrew Harrison, archivist at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program explained the importance of archival records at these establishments and questioned the appropriateness of the current trend toward overall digitization. While acknowledging the need of electronic access for research, the speakers emphasized the necessity of preserving materials in their original form. The session was attended by over 50 people.
The elegant, stately Crystal Tea Room atop the Wanamaker Building was the site of the 2000 International Reception and Tea. Sponsored annually by the members of the Social Science Division, the International Relations Committee, and European Chapter, the reception serves to welcome international attendees to the conference. The Crystal Tea Room, with its rich wood paneling, dazzling chandeliers, and fresh white linen tablecloths, proved the ideal venue for the event. This year, as last, among the guests were 25 US Embassies Abroad State Department librarians from all over the world. Also present were transportation librarians from Estonia, the Czech Republic, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and South Africa -- hosted by the US Department of Transportation and the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. The formal program featured SLA President-Elect Donna Scheeder; Marydee Ojala, outgoing Chair of the International Relations Committee; Ed Murphy, Vice President for Sales at Powerize.com, which was a kind and generous sponsor of the reception; David Mort, president of the European Chapter; and Clare Hart, CEO of Factiva, gracious sponsor of the 2000 European Special Librarian of the Year Award. William Haan, founder and editor of Free Print, an e-newsletter, expressed his gratitude as he accepted the award from Ms. Hart. With that, those present continued to enjoy a luscious selection of fresh fruits and delectable pastries, and iced and hot teas. -- Ann R. Sweeney
A large crowd turned out at 9:00 a.m. in the Convention Center ballroom to hear A Conversation with Jim Lehrer. Mr. Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of PBS's NewsHour, spoke of his lesser-known talents as a writer of fiction. He told of his life-long development as a novelist and touched on the specifics that inspired his latest novel, The Special Prisoner. During the question and answer period, he shared more personal stories from his years as a journalist. For an hour or so following the program, Mr. Lehrer stayed for selling and signing copies of his book. -- Gerard Hogan
After a delicious luncheon, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, informed and amused us with a talk based on her new book Everything You Think YOu Know About Politics...And Why You're Wrong. Through an informal quiz, we learned that a number of tightly-held convictions about politics are incorrect. For example, most presidents do make an effort to keep their campaign promises (about 2/3 of the promises will be pursued); voters do distinguish between personal, untrue attacks and legitimate issues; and there is useful content in candidate debates. On the other hand, we learned that women generally know less than men in terms of issues; men talk more about politics than women. Ms. Jamieson said that although the person behind in the polls generally gets the same amount of press coverage as the frontrunner, it's a different type of coverage -- more strategy-oriented (e.g., "the struggling Bob Dole"). She said that it is the duty of the press to be the guardian of facts in a campaign, illustrating the point with the Gore/Bradley Iowa debates. Gore charged inaccurately that Bradley had not voted for flood relief in that state. The press corps didn't check the facts for their articles covering the issue. Special librarians are also custodians of fact; news librarians must work with reporters, getting the facts to them quickly and accurately. It was a wonderful talk, and Ms. Jamieson's book is a must for serious students and political junkies alike.
The inimitable Judy Schneider of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) opened our eyes as to How Congress Really Works. With hilarious stories and inside information, she walked us through the labyrinthine procedures used by each Congress ("average people asked to do a difficult job") to winnow the 10,000 introduced bills into 400 new laws. Congress, she contended, was not created to pass laws; it was created to stop bad laws from getting enacted. The complex committee system is designed to go slowly, and the membership must learn to conform to the institution. She also provided insights into the politics of Congress. The four watchwords are: Policy, Politics, Procedure, and Patience. Congressional Deskbook, her new book coauthored with CRS's Mike Koempel, will soon become a standard resource for universities and libraries.
James Howard Kunstler, author of the critically acclaimed books Geography of Nowhere and Home from Nowhere discussed the question Can American Survive Suburbia. Mr. Kunstler is considered the leading national commentator on problems associated with suburban sprawl. An animated and engaging lecturer, he spoke to a large audience for over an hour on how post-World War II sprawl development in America has created what he describes as "The National Automobile Slum." His slides depicted examples of strip shopping centers, big box stores surrounded by acres of asphalt, a dearth of sidewalks and bicycle paths, and characterless residential subdivision and unadorned, anonymous municipal buildings. He contrasted this picture with slides of meaningful streetscapes and towns that were built on the tradition of the importance of the public over the private realm, both in the US and Europe. Mr. Kunstler articulates and defines what people already feel about the loss of community in towns and cities where living conditions force social isolation upon those who cannot drive (children, the elderly, and those who cannot afford a car), because building uses are widely separated and a car is required for all trips. The impacts of suburbia on these groups, as well as the physical environment, has just begun to be realized and has spawned "smart growth" as an alternative type of development using principles of the New Urbanism. -- Lucy Rowland
International Conflict Resolution: Challenges and Strategies.
The purpose of this program was to introduce the complex subject of global
conflict management and the resources currently available in this growing
and evolving field to an audience of mostly information specialists and librarians.
The subject is broad and included peacekeeping efforts across borders and
within countries, conflict prevention measures, skills needed for intervention
and conflict resolution, as well as serious human rights issues. There could
easily have been a separate program for each of these topics. Instead, special
focus was placed on how the Internet is assisting people all over the world
in shaping peace efforts at local, regional, and international levels. The
subject umbrella under which this aspect was presented is known as Virtual
Diplomacy. This type of diplomacy is using the universal technology of
the Internet to connect communities of people and widely distribute important
information. These initiatives are playing an expanding and significant role
in international conflict management. The program included several speakers,
each addressing various aspects of the broader subject and presenting sources
of electronic subject content.
Speaker Dr. Frazier Cameron, author and political counselor at the European
Union's Washington Delegation, spoke about the UD's expanding role in the
common foreign and security policy issues, giving an excellent overview of
complex issues, including how the US and Europe are now the two remaining
superpowers with growing obligations to assist nations suffering from civil
wars and strife across borders. Policies should be coordinated better and
more consistently throughout the world, he said. Link
here to learn more about specific EU initiatives and policies.
Speaker Allen Overland, Head Librarian at the National Endowment for Democracy
(NED), spoke about several virtual communities, including the World Movement
for Democracy (www.wmd.org), sponsored by NED.
This initiative is described as an "unprecedented assembly of over 400
democracy proponents from more than 80 countries" that began in 1999.
He also showed the audience another important network called the Virtual
Diplomacy Initiative of the US Institute of Peace which started in 1997.
Its mission is to "explore the role of information and communications
technologies (ICTs) in the conduct of diplomacy, particularly their effect
upon international conflict management and resolution." Of special note,
the "institute takes credit for coining the term 'virtual diplomacy.'
It was first publicly mentioned by D.J. Dionne, Jr., in a brief article on
the use of 'virtual' and related terms, May 18, 1997, Washington Post Magazine."
We thank him also for mentioning the local Washington DC International Librarians
Group which he co-founded with Margarita Studemeister of the US Institute
of Peace.
Speaker Marci Hoffman, International and Foreign Law Librarian at Georgetown
University, presented the best websites on human rights and humanitarian law
including the major United Nations website on this topic from the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights (www.unhchr.ch/);
sites for human rights treaties; sites for major non-governmental groups such
as Amnesty International; international agencies such as the International
Labour Organization and Organization of American States. She provided a comprehensive
"webliography" for these valuable electronic resources (www.eurunion.org/legislat/Defense/MHHumRtsWebs.htm).
Ms. Hoffman is also the co-author and web developer of the University of Minnesota
Human Rights Library, a highly-respected and exhaustive website with over
6,500 electronic documents on the subject, supported by a grant from the Ford
Foundation. The site is available in English, Spanish, French, and Russian.
It also links to over 1,400 other websites on related topics. www1.umn.edu/humanrts/
In addition to our excellent and knowledgeable speakers, we were fortunate
to have with us tow librarians working for the US State Department's Embassies
ABroad program: Neven Crvenkovic from Zagreb, Croatia, and Kenba Sene from
Dakar, Senegal. They both tried to explain how they have been using the Web
to find valuable information for their respective clients in former Yugoslavia
and Western Africa. The office in Senegal serves many neighboring African
countries. Mr. Crvenkovic and Mr. Sene agreed that better coordination efforts,
especially by the US and Europe would be crucial in making a difference in
bringing further democracy to emerging economies. Widespread use of the Internet
is opening democratic ideals, communications, and markets to individuals and
groups rapidly throughout the world, but more needs to be done on political
fronts. All in all, it made for interesting presentations and discussions
afterwards.
This program was sponsored by SLA's Social Science Division and planned by
Iris W. Anderson, Chair of the Roundtable on Peace and International Conflict
Management and Ann R. Sweeney, Chair of the Roundtable on International Relations.
The division is grateful to Dessing's Worldwide LLC for financial support
and also to SLA's Legal Division for providing co-sponsorship. As a result
of the latter, the Supreme Court of South Carolina granted attendees of this
program two hours of continuing education credit for members of the South
Carolina Bar Association. We were the only SLA conference program accorded
continuing education course credit, which pleases the planners and speakers,
but more importantly, attests to the importance of the subjects covered. --Iris
W. Anderson