- One-Dot Shopping
- The Euro Has Landed
- Information Services for Strategic Alliances
- Let Us Entertain You
- Meet the Social Science Division
- Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon Speaker
- International Reception
- Walking Tour
"One-Dot Shopping: Best International Business Websites"
Reported by Iris Anderson
Co-sponsored by the Social Science Division and the Business & Finance DivisionA sequel to last year's very successful session called One-Dot Shopping: Best International Business Websites, was held on Tuesday, June 11. The regions featured this year were the Middle East and North Africa; Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union; and Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Over 150 people attended the program and stayed to ask questions at the end. The exciting presentations were supplemented by printed handouts in the form of webliographies. Speakers had just enough time to present their favorite sites, so the handouts were an important additional resource for capturing the best authoritative, free (and a few for-a-fee) websites available for each region. All three presenters did outstanding jobs and the Social Science Division would like to thank them each again. The first two presenters have also been very active with the Business & Finance Division, who again co-sponsored this program:
1. Hal Kirkwood, Assistant Professor, Purdue University - Middle East/North Africa websites;
2. Rita Costello, Collection Development and Reference Librarian, UCLA - Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union;
3. Greta Ober-Beauchesne, Research Librarian, Joint World Bank- International Monetary Fund Library - Oceania: Australia, New Zealand and Pacific IslandsStay tuned as we plan for a third One-Dot Shopping program at next year's annual conference in New York City. Regions to be covered will be Canada, Mexico and the United States. Since these three regions are critical for all aspects of international business information, we should be prepared for another big crowd to attend this popular, resource-rich series. Any questions or comments should be addressed to Iris Anderson, Co-Program Planner for the Social Science Divisioin at ianderson@imf.org
The Social Science Division is most grateful to the Dialog Corporation for supporting this program series.
On January 1, 2002, Euro coins and banknotes serenely floated onto the world's monetary scene: no snags. In fact, the EU's single currency is now approximately at parity with the US dollar in value. At the program on the subject on Monday, June 10, from 1:30 to 3:00 pm at the SLA Annual Conference, this was apparent.
The Euro is now the official currency for 12 of the EU's 15 present member states. The 12 are: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The 3 member states yet to adopt the Euro are Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Within the next decade, the EU may induct up to 13 new member states, including countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Cyprus, Malta, and Turkey.
The 2002 conference session was a follow-up to one in 1998 entitled "The Euro Is Coming!," at which then-Deputy Head of the EU's European Commission Delegation to the US, John B. Richardson-now EU Ambassador to the United Nations-previewed the introduction of electronic Euro financial transactions then to come in 1999.
At this year's program, Moreno Bertoldi, Economic & Financial Affairs Counselor at the European Commission Delegation in Washington, DC, spoke eloquently on the EU's analysis of the way in which the Euro's launch unfolded and on the Euro's prognosis for the future. Suffice it to say that the EU is conservatively optimistic.
Angus Mackay, UK Vice Consul for Political, Press & Public Affairs in Los Angeles, then assured the audience that his country-again, not now part of the "Euro Zone"-would most probably apply the new currency within the next 3 years or so. The decision and timetable will depend on the results of 5 tests:
- Sustainable Convergence: Are business cycles and economic structures compatible so that the UK and others could live comfortably with Euro interest rates on a permanent basis?
- Flexibility: If problems emerge, is there sufficient fiscal flexibility to deal with them?
- Investment: Would joining EMU (Economic & Monetary Union) create better conditions for firms making decisions to invest in the UK?
- Financial Services: What impact would entry into EMU have on the competitive position of the UK's financial services industry?
- Employment Growth: Will joining EMU promote higher growth, stability, and a lasting increase in jobs?
Following positive responses to these questions, there would ensue a UK Government recommendation, a Parliament vote, and a national referendum. In the interim, the Blair Administration continues to lay the groundwork.
A listing of EU and non-EU Euro-related websites, a handout at the event, can be found at:
http://www.eurunion.org/infores/euroweb.htm.Ann R. Sweeney
Chair
Social Science Division
The State Department's overseas network of information resource centers (IRCs) have a very real impact on how the US is perceived abroad. This session focused on recent current events and the roles that information professionals have in promoting greater awareness and understanding of US policies.
Speaker(s): Petter Naess, US Embassy in Oslo, Norway; Jasna Kunic, US Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and Nancy Rajczak, US Embassy in Berlin, Germany.
--------------------------------------------------
Petter Naess, Information Resource Director in Oslo, Norway, provided an overview of the 50-year history of US Information Agency (USIA)/US Department of State (USDOS) libraries. Although the mission and modes of operation have been modified to meet the many challenges, including the 1999 merger with the Department of State, the underlying principles of the library programs have remained constant, according to Mr. Naess. Since 9/11 there has been a call for a "…broader kind of public diplomacy that seeks to make an impact through content and service [while] acknowledging the role of cultural as well as policy information in fostering international understanding."
Jasna Kunic and Nancy Rajczak discussed their experiences with programs in their embassies. While the US Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia was closed in 1999 during the NATO bombings, Ms. Kunic' took up temporary residence at the Department of State's Regional Program Office in Vienna, Austria. From Vienna she set up a virtual information center creating a means for Serbian nationals within Yugoslavia to keep informed of US government policy initiatives during the time of democratic opposition to the Milosevic' regime.
To accomplish this, Ms. Kunic:
1) created a database of clients (media, NGOs, think-tanks, political parties/movements and academia);
2) monitored the daily situation in Serbia with human, electronic (Internet and commercial databases) and printed sources;
3) created and maintained a listserv and Serbian-language web site on which to disseminate relevant documents (official US transcripts and statements, US legislative materials, and other US-Yugoslav official documents which explained US policies) for the Serbian audience;
4) recruited and coordinated a team of Serbian translators to readily translate documents; and
5) developed a virtual reference service on political and security issues for the Serbian clients.
As a result, the virtual IRC was instrumental in encouraging and bringing about democratic changes in Serbia. The independent Serbia media, in turn, relied on this service in their reporting, thus enabling US policy to reach "…democratic forces and individual Internet users in Serbia and Montenegro."
Nancy Rajczak, with the Information Resource Center in the US Embassy in Berlin, Germany, explained that the traditional USIS libraries, prior to 1999, were publicly accessible and took individual inquiries from the general public on a walk-in basis. In Germany, these libraries were located in Amerika Haus in cities such as Berlin, Leipzig and Munich. Today, these libraries are now called Inforamtion Resource Centers (IRCs) and their main function is research and reference. "The information process goes beyond information retrieval and analysis to synthesis," according to Ms. Rajczak. The questions that come into the IRC from target audiences are recycled into outreach services such as the embassy's internet, or into print publications, or as insight for embassy/consular officers.
In 2001, the IRC in Berlin distributed more than 25,000 CD-ROMs of the section from the embassy's website called "About the USA". Copies were sent to secondary schools, teacher training centers and libraries throughout Germany. In addition, the IRC spearheaded the embassy's efforts in the production and distribution of a German-language publication documenting events in the three months immediately following September 11, 2001.
The Library, Hollywood Style
One of the most popular DSOC sessions in Los Angeles played to the strength of the Southern California, say Hollywood, location. Linda Mehr, Director of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Library and Steve Hanson, head of the University of Southern California Cinema-Television Library, mixed practical advice on how to manage largely non-traditional library collections with anecdotes on how to work with movie stars on their biographies and how to meet the research needs of often flamboyant and heartfelt clients, often students or patrons who must or just want to watch a movie or an older television show. Ms. Mehr's slides of historical segments of her collection provided the standing room only crowd with a concept of her library's collection and the beauty of the Academy's facility. The last slide which was a "kiss" print from the Rita Hayworth archives was the perfect way to end the session as attendees rushed to the front to ask how they could find a job like theirs!!
-Hetty Barthel
Meet the Social Science Division!
Our annual Meet the Social Science Division is always a crowd-pleaser. We hear all about the careers and interests of both new and old members and in this way become familiar with our fellow Division-ers and learn about other lives and career paths in librarianship. This year, on Monday morning, following a great continental breakfast, three of our members shared their experiences with us.
Our first speaker, LAURA BENDER, a social science librarian at the University of Arizona at Tucson, told us of some terrific accomplishments in the face of budget cuts. Before she got to the University, her career took some interesting turns. She got her Masters in Latin American studies and became a social worker, working with foster families in Phoenix and later in Minneapolis. She went on to library school, taking a job tying OCLC cards -- a true test of her dedication! She ended up back in Arizona, via Hawaii.
At the University of Arizona, she became a life sciences librarian. She found the library was very departmentalized and sought ways to change that. She established cross-functional teams and established a long-range strategic planning team to set goals and decide on projects. There is an Integrated Learning Center with 250 computers and a staff of reference librarians. They're open 5 days a week for 24 hours.
Unfortunately, the University and library suffered severe budget cuts resulting in hiring gaps. The staff has had to learn new skills to fill in behind retiring librarians. Some new hires have techincal skills that are very helpful. There is no salary funding for the Learning Center and her staff is having to stretch to provide coverage.
Next MAGGIE O'BRIEN, currently of San Francisco, told us of her eclectic background. After working as a business/finance librarian for a while, she took a leave of absence for a personal sabbatical. She took several self-development courses, including a spirituality class, career assessment class, and a breaking-into-non-profits seminar. She got a job with a library placement service which familiarized her with different types of libraries. She was very impressed with how "creative" librarians were with finding solutions to tight budget problems. The Schwab Foundation, with increased funding resulting from the stock market rise, was looking for a knowledge manager to help organize two new sectors dealing with learning disabilities and the homeless. Maggie got the job herself.
She worked on establishing a new web site: Schwablearning.org. She studied the web sites of other organizations, did a needs assessment, and worked to break down barriers within the organization. She worked with current awareness programs such as a newsletter to the organization from the library, a Lunch and Learn series with speakers or videos on relevant topics, and Knowledge Exit Interviews with staff who were leaving their jobs to find out what bookmarks they recommended, who their contacts were, and what their concerns were with the organization.
At the time of her presentation, Maggie was looking for a new job. She is so bright and dedicated that we all thought she'd have no problem finding one!
Finally, we heard from our new Chair ANN SWEENEY who has also had a fascinating career encompassing all aspects of librarianship: government, public, and corporate. At her high school career night, she learned about librarianship. In college she studied Romance Languages (French, Spanish, and Italian) and went on to Columbia Library School where she majored in reference. She was very interested in computers and librarianship. Looking for a job in international affairs, she started at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency creating a thesaurus of transportation terms. She returned to New York and worked at the Port Authority library. She was tasked with automating the billing system. She also created bibliographies and did some abstracting and indexing.
She became interested in SLA and joined the Business and Finance Division and Doumentaion Division. Careerwise, she moved to a new reference business called Information for Business where she searched Dialog in the "dark ages." She moved to the National Academy of Sciences and was a solo librarian working on transportaion. She fortified and recataloged the collection, insinuated herself into all aspects of NAS operations, and coaxed the organization into seeing that librarians are valuable assets.
She took a career hiatus to have children and then jumped back into the arena working various part time jobs in public libraries. Eventually she found her "dream job" where she remains now. She works at the European Commission Delegation library where she catalogs, does reference work, and is the Web Master. She has now gone full circle back to the international field and makes use of her languages and political science background.
These inspiring stories played to a rapt audience. It was great getting to know people and learning how they got to where they are. We all look forward to next year's presentations!
Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon Speaker
Duke Blackwood, director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, was the guest speaker at the 2002 DSOC Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon. His enthusiasm for his current position and his wealth of anecdotes covering a career in politics and marketing added up to a very lively and engaging presentation. He rode on the final flight of Air Force One carrying former President Reagan to California. Now one of his major accomplishments is to bring that same Air Force One to the Reagan Library, expanding the facility in Simi Valley, California, to display the retired presidential jet. He has been quoted as saying that he will measure the success of the new pavilion by the "number of 'wows' that can be heard from visitors."
Mr. Blackwood, former fundraiser for the University of Southern California, informed us about the concept and missions of presidential libraries. The Reagan Library is one of 10 libraries operated by the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration.
-Hetty Barthel
After the SLA Annual Conference's most intensive day, what could be more refreshing than mango, lemon, and kiwi sorbet paired with a sip of the bubbly? Nothing except excellent, global conversation-or so seemed the consensus of the overflow crowd at the 2002 International Reception on Monday, June 10, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, in the Los Angeles Millennium Biltmore Hotel's dazzling Emerald Ballroom.
Sponsored by Social Science Division, European Chapter, and International Relations Committee members, the Reception extends a welcome to non-US conference attendees. SLA President-Elect Cynthia Hill of Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Sun Library graciously welcomed the assemblage. Incoming International Relations Committee Chair Nancy Stewart of the Freedom Forum Library outlined the new, activist role she's spearheading for her Committee. International Information Exchange Caucus Convenor Marcelle Saint-Arnaud described the Twinning Project that she and former DC Chapter President Sue O'Neill Johnson have created to couple SLA units with developing country librarians.
Each year at the Reception, the European Special Librarian of the Year Award (ESLY)-underwritten, as is the entire Reception, by Factiva, a Dow Jones & Reuters Company-is presented. Sylvia James of Sylvia James Consultancy represented the European Chapter-substituting for Chapter President Celia Jackson (Spencer Stuart), who was unable to attend the conference. Sylvia introduced generous sponsor Factiva's CEO Clare Hart, who made the presentation. This year's winner was Margareta Nelke of Tetra Pak in Sweden. In expressing her gratitude, Margareta recognized her mentor, 1998 Award recipient Liselotte Lindskog, head of information services at Celsius Tech Electronics (Sweden), who was in the audience.
Other international attendees and award recipients, including 1997 ESLY winner Tuula Salo, were introduced from the podium, including Twinning Project beneficiaries and Global 2000 Fellows.
Then, everyone mixed, mingled, networked, nibbled, imbibed, and luxuriated in the vibrant atmosphere of the gorgeous, gilt Spanish/Italian Renaissance Emerald Ballroom.
As a bonus, the International Relations Committee prepared a handout listing all international events at the conference.
Envious? Plan now to attend the International Reception in New York on Sunday, June 8, 4:30 to 6:30 pm!
Ann R. Sweeney
Chair
Social Science Division
On Tuesday afternoon 35 Social Science Division members and guests took a guided tour of the Downtown Los Angeles Business District. "Evolving Skylines: The New Business District" was conducted by docents from the Los Angeles Conservancy, a group dedicated to preserving historic buildings and sites in the City of Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs.
The tour departed from the Marriott Hotel, a historic landmark of sorts, noted for its unique architectural style, and the architect’s attempts to make the building a walkable space with shops, courtyards, and restaurants to attract other visitors besides hotel guests.
The New Business District, sometimes referred to as Bunker Hill, contains several modern skyscrapers which incorporate multistory plant-filled lobbies and exterior public art in an attempt to create a walkable urban space. One of the most notable Bunker Hill buildings is the Southern California Edison Company Building, the first all-electrically heated and cooled buildings constructed in the Western United States. On the entry facade of this Art Deco building appear allegorical figures representing light, power, and hydroelectric energy.
A staircase modeled after the "Spanish Steps" in Rome connects the New Business District of ultramodern skyscrapers on Bunker Hill with the square where the Los Angeles Public Library building is located. The meandering stone staircase, with a fountain/waterfall/stream flowing down the center, provides a pleasant space in a busy city. The LAPL building was the last work of the architect Bertram G. Goodhue, and integrates ornamental and symbolic artworks with the theme of the light of learning into the simple masses of its concrete walls.
Other important buildings visited included the Biltmore Hotel, which when it opened to great fanfare in 1923, was the largest hotel west of Chicago. This Beaux Arts building designed by the firm of Schultze and Weaver, is one of Los Angeles’ best examples of this type of architecture.
The tour also included a noted example of the adaptive reuse of a late-1940's office building into a high-end business hotel two blocks from the LAPL.
-Lyle Minter