SLA NY Chapter News

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2012-01-24T23:40:00.002-05:00

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ChapterNews―Fall―2011

2011-09-26T02:12:00.002-04:00

Are You From Osage?
Leigh Hallingby, Tom Nielsen, and Rita Ormsby
Content Management: Celebrating a Wedding, Applauding a Promotion, and Mourning a Loss—Database Style
Tessa Blanchfield | Project Leader, Sales and Marketing, Leadership Directories
The City of Brotherly Love Welcomes SLA 2011
Lisa Chow | Scholarship Winner | http://bit.ly/lisachow
A First Time SLA Conference Attendee Gets Future Ready
Clara Cabrera | Scholarship Winner
Learning About CI at SLA
David Adler | Scholarship Winner | http://www.linkedin.com/in/adlerd
You’ve Been Served: Visiting the Legal Division's Executive Board
Alyson Clabaugh | Scholarship Winner
Focused on Becoming Future Ready in a New Career
Kelly Amabile | Scholarship Winner | http://www.linkedin.com/in/kamabile
SLA Conference: A Source of Support and Inspiration
Christina Meninger | Scholarship Winner | christinameninger@gmail.com

As this is "for members, by members" we hope you’ll share your ideas for future stories and volunteer to write an article for an upcoming issue. Please contact Toby Lyles at lylesta@gmail.com to get involved. For our vendor members, numerous advertising opportunities are available. Please contact Happy Blitt hBlitt@elliottmgmt.com for details.

The Winter 2011 issue will be published December 12, 2011. Submissions are due November 4, 2011.

Are You From Osage?

2011-09-26T02:06:00.001-04:00

Leigh Hallingby, Tom Nielsen, and Rita Ormsby

Introduction

At an early fall SLA-NY advisory committee meeting several years ago, Rita Ormsby, sitting next to Leigh Hallingby, inquired about her summer. Leigh said she had visited Iowa for the first time. Rita asked, “Oh, where did you go?” Leigh replied, “Oh, somewhere you have probably never heard of.” To which, Rita, an Iowa native replied, “Try me.” And, when Leigh said, “Osage,” Rita remarked, “I know it well. My dad grew up on a farm in Little Cedar, which is about six miles northeast of Osage.” They agreed it was a small world if two people sitting next to each other at a meeting in New York City had a connection to Osage. But, Rita knew that SLA-NY member Tom Nielsen also had a connection to this northern Iowa town of 3,460.

We thought we would share our stories with other SLA-NY members:

From Hallingby, Norway, to Osage, Iowa, by Leigh Hallingby

This the Hallingby family of Osage, Iowa, ca 1900. The boy on

the lower right is Paul Hallingby, who became Leigh's grandfather.

One of my favorite family photos is of my Hallingby ancestors right around the turn of the 20th century. There are my great grandparents, Ole Olson Hallingby and Ingeborg Johansen Hallingby and their nine children, seven girls and two boys. This large, dour-looking Victorian family lived in Osage, Iowa, to which Ole had emigrated in 1869 from Hallingby, Norway, a small village about an hour north of Oslo. One of his two young sons, Paul Hallingby, about seven at the time of the photo, eventually became my grandfather. My father, Paul Hallingby, Jr., remembered his grandfather Ole as a “grumpy old man,” who, when someone asked him how he was, would reply: “Rotten!” Fortunately, Ole’s obituary gives a more positive impression of a carpenter who helped build many familiar landmarks in Osage.

Ironically I traveled to the town of Hallingby, Norway (population 833), a decade before I managed to get to Osage thanks to a 300th anniversary family reunion in 1996. We crossed the Atlantic to celebrate the 1696 building of the Hallingby homestead, a log cabin still in the family. I longed for many years to visit Osage as well, so that I could stand on the corner of 6th and Chestnut, where the Norwegian/American Hallingbys had lived. My wish came true in 2007 when my sister Allison suggested that we take our annual summer baseball trip to Iowa to attend a Des Moines Cubs game on Friday, July 6th, and then head up to northern Iowa the next day. And so it happened that on Sunday morning July 8, 2007, I was indeed standing on the exact corner where the Hallingby family had lived. There was no way of knowing if their house was still standing. But no matter, it was still a thrill to be there.

After seeing the corner where the Hallingbys resided, Allison and I headed to the town cemetery to look for the graves of Ole and Ingeborg. To our delight, the cemetery was, like any self-respecting library, well cataloged. The broiling hot Iowa day made us appreciate this even more. A directory at the entrance told us exactly how to find the grave. In a New York minute, there we were at the Hallingby headstone which commemorated the lives of Ingeborg and Ole, as well as that of an infant son Oscar. We couldn’t get over the ease of finding the gravesite, nor over the rows of corn coming right up to the edge of the cemetery!

Imagine my surprise, after I returned home, to discover that not one, but two, other active SLA-NY members also have roots in the same small town of Osage, Iowa. It is hard to conceive of what our lives today, in the greatest city in the world, might have in common with the lives of previous generations of our families in Osage. But it is a wonderful gift to feel, and to stay, connected to our roots in “The Heart of America.”

Osage, Iowa Recollections by Tom Nielsen

My grandmother, my father’s mother, is my connection to Osage, Iowa. Before she married my Grandpa Kasper, May Gilbert lived on a farm near Osage in a typical large farm family, three girls and six boys. Two of her brothers, John and Lawrence, bought neighboring farms just outside Osage and when I was a child my family would escape the suburbs of St. Paul, Minnesota, to visit them quite often. Uncle Lawrence and his wife Sylvia had seven kids and, when my family of six came calling, you had a loud and lively bunch. As a city kid, I was not interested in the farm animals and crops so I usually stayed in the house, but there was a good reason why. Lawrence and Sylvia had one memorable toy that thrilled any visiting child. It was a multi-tiered wooden ramp for marbles. I loved dropping those marbles one at a time onto the top ramp, watching them roll into a pocket at the end and onto a second ramp, then down to another pocket to a third ramp and finally landing with a sharp clink into a tall coffee tin. The appeal of this toy was not just the novelty of watching marbles roll down each ramp, but of putting all the marbles onto the ramp and waiting for them to drop noisily into that coffee tin, a prolonged and distracting clattering that, to my delight, stopped all conversation in the room.

I recall one visit when all eleven kids, including my older sister and two brothers and I, piled into one of their old cars and drove down the dusty dirt road they lived on. To a city kid, this kind of freedom was unheard of, so when someone asked if I wanted to steer the car I jumped at the chance. I sat on my sister’s lap and steered with a white-knuckle grip, a mix of fright and abandon. But as if fate were checking our fun, one of the tires went flat ending that escapade.

Uncle John’s house could not have been more different. He was a preacher at two churches in the area and he and his wife Agnes had no children, but I recall with fascination that their home was decidedly low tech. They cooked and heated with a big cast iron wood-burning cook stove in the kitchen. They had an old pump organ in the living room where I got a leg workout practicing my piano lessons. Without a TV, they passed the time playing card games and surprisingly entertaining games with dominoes. When that got tiring, they had a badminton net set up in the front yard. The fact that this was also a sheep grazing area added an extra challenge because city kids do not want to get sheep dung on their shoes.

This past summer my partner and I drove back to the Midwest for an extended vacation and during our stay we made a bittersweet visit to the Osage cemetery. There I was able to see for the first time the graves of my Grandma May and Grandpa Kasper, my Great Uncle John and other Gilbert family members. In a new section of the cemetery I found my father’s new headstone laid in August 2009. Although it is tough to bid farewell to close relatives, it is also nice to enjoy fond recollections with those that are still alive and I was able to do that with Aunt Agnes, Uncle Lawrence and Aunt Sylvia, all in their 90’s, during that trip to Osage. So back in NYC, far from the Osage cemetery and farmsteads, having a couple colleagues to share these memories with is, well, almost as thrilling as dropping marbles into a coffee tin.

My connection to Osage by Rita Ormsby

My father’s family moved to the Little Cedar farm in the 1920s from another Iowa farm community. My grandmother, Olive, drove a Model-T with her three young sons while her husband, Thomas, traveled by rail with the livestock. My grandparents and their sons raised hogs for breeding purposes, and chickens for eggs for sale in Osage. I’ve realized over the years that my dad’s youth was during the Great Depression, and times were tough. A baseball diamond in one of their fields drew neighbor families for Sunday afternoon games. Although Little Cedar’s Main Street once had a school, bank, post office, creamery and general store, only a feed store and a welding shop remains today. My dad was proud that he was third in his Little Cedar high school class, but there were only four graduates.

My dad left the farm to become a civil engineer, serve in World II, and then married and reared his family elsewhere in Iowa. Unfortunately, his brothers were killed during World War II, and today no family resides in the area. By the early 1950s, my grandparents had retired to an acreage on Osage’s western edge. It was next to the A&W drive in, and for my sister and two brothers and me, there was not a better place for grandparents to live. I recall after a day into a week-long visit, A&W limited the free “kiddie root beer” we could have. Another time, I helped my grandfather gather eggs into a wire basket. I insisted I was big enough to put the basket on the kitchen counter for grandma. We had a very large number of scrambled eggs for breakfast that day.

Although my dad died several years ago, family members still visit Osage and Little Cedar frequently. The largest private employer in Osage is the Fox River Mills Company, which makes the Rockford red-heeled work socks, often used for monkey sock dolls. Since 30 years ago, when I made a monkey doll, at my sister’s request for my new-born nephew, I’ve made about 50 such dolls. It helps me stay connected to my Iowa roots. And, yes, I like the Kia Sorento commercials featuring the sock monkey. He made it to New York too.

Rita Ormsby, Tom Nielsen, and Leigh Hallingby

About the authors:

Leigh Hallingby, lhallingby@sorosny.org, is the Head Librarian at the Open Society Foundations/Soros Foundations

Tom Nielsen, tnielsen@metro.org, is the Member Services Manager of Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO)

Rita Ormsby, ritaormsby@baruch.cuny.edu, is an associate professor and Information Services Librarian, The William and Anita Newman Library, Baruch College

Content Management: Celebrating a Wedding, Applauding a Promotion, and Mourning a Loss—Database Style

2011-09-26T02:05:00.001-04:00

Tessa Blanchfield | Project Leader, Sales and Marketing, Leadership Directories

Tessa Blanchfield is the newest member of the sales and marketing team at Leadership Directories, Inc. In 2009, she joined the company as a Content Manager (researcher) for the Federal Yellow Book. One year later she became a lead developer for Leadership Health Focus, LDI’s health management database. Ms. Blanchfield is from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, in 2008.

"The countless bits of information that we research each day combine to make up part of a person’s identity. We are not just entering facts; we are recording a part of people’s lives."

How do you track down a government official? More importantly, how do you find out if that government official still has the same email address, last name, or is still in the workforce?

During my two years as a content manager researching information for the Federal Yellow Book at Leadership Directories (LDI), I had to ask myself this question countless times. Our company’s mission is to deliver the most up-to-date and accurate information about people working in federal and state government, Congress, corporations, nonprofits, law firms, courts, media publications, and the healthcare industry. Because LDI is over 45 years old, the company’s content managers have been able to establish long-term and mutually-beneficial relationships with points of contact in the organizations that we list in our products. This requires that my coworkers and I check in with these contacts regularly to ensure that our content is comprehensive and precise.

However, there are many personnel and organizational changes that take place in between the scheduled quarterly chats with contacts, and part of my job was to stay abreast of breaking news so that our online yellow books reflected changes immediately. To that end, I spent hours each morning reviewing various news outlets and official press releases looking for anything that might affect our content. I would read everything from the business section to the style section, along with wedding announcements, and of course, the obituaries.

But finding leads is only part of the database maintenance process. Every piece of information that reaches the content managers at Leadership Directories is confirmed, sometimes painstakingly, at the source. As relevant and well researched as they are, it does not matter to us if the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Financial Times all publish the same story about a Cabinet member leaving the White House. We still contact the staff at the relevant office to confirm the story before we even consider putting the information in our database. This is one of the most important aspects of a researcher’s job and there are times when we spend hours tracking down the right person to confirm the information.

While the information gathering process can be tedious and intense work, it has its unique moments. As part of my research, while striving to confirm a piece of news gathered elsewhere, I often got to be one of the first people to congratulate someone on a promotion or wedding announcement. And sometimes the news I had to confirm was so outrageous all I could do was shake my head in wonderment.

Just seven months after I started my researching career at LDI, I made my first of what would be many uncomfortable phone calls to a government office. Media outlets had reported that a relatively highly placed government official had used his government computer to view over 3,000 sexually explicit images over the course of two years. According to speculation, the official in question was either going to be fired or transferred to a different section in his department. It fell on me to confirm that a career change was imminent. I called the infamous official’s office and had to suppress my desire to ask about the incident. Instead, I decided to avoid mentioning the unfolding scandal and simply asked if there were any changes to the management structure. Sure enough, a very perky (and possibly relieved) executive assistant informed me that her boss had already been transferred to a different post in Washington, D.C. I thanked her and, on hanging up, took a deep breath. That call went better than I had anticipated.

Much of the time, phone calls like these are at best interesting, and at worst, extremely uncomfortable and emotionally taxing. By far, the hardest moments in the life of a LDI researcher are when we have to confirm the passing of an employee. My fellow researchers call this process confirming a “database death.”

No one likes this part of the job. From a pure database maintenance perspective, the task is simple. After we confirm that someone whom we list has died, we follow a strict set of rules to delink that person from all of their positions, save their information, and finally, check off a small checkbox beside their name that simply says, “Deceased.” We can process a death in the database fairly easily, but researching it is an altogether different matter.

In February of 2010, I came across the Washington Post obituary of a much respected director who worked at the Department of the Interior. He had died suddenly due to cardiac complications while he was on vacation, and the news came as a shock to the entire community. The onus was on me to confirm his death, and it could not have gone any worse.

The Department had yet to issue a press release about the matter, so I had no choice but to call the office. Before doing so, I consulted with my co-workers about the best method of confirming the news and finding out whom, if anyone, was slated to act in his position. I decided the best way to handle the situation was to simply call and ask if there were any management changes in the office. Unfortunately, I reached the director’s personal secretary and she was still deep in mourning. Before I could articulate my question, she burst into tears on the other side of the phone and said, “He’s not even buried yet and you want to know who will replace him?” There was nothing left for me to do but convey my condolences and hang up the phone. I had researched and confirmed the news, but I felt no satisfaction on having gotten the confirmation. When it was time for me to record the information, I recall staring at the computer screen for a long time at before I clicked on that “Deceased” button. That day, a piece of news had become a part of my reality and I, too, felt a loss.

To us in the research world, it sometimes seems that the people whose information we research and enter into neat little boxes exist solely in the dispassionate, gray world of our database. We enter phone numbers, birth dates and education records without a second thought. But then, every so often, a person comes alive to us. Like when we find out that a lawyer temporarily left her position to go on maternity leave, or that someone listed in our Federal Yellow Book married someone from our Congressional Yellow Book. Such a change serves to remind us that the countless bits of information that we enter each day actually serve to make up part of a person’s identity. We are not just entering facts; we are recording a part of people’s lives. That is why every time a researcher has to make room for a maiden name, record a promotion, or process a death, we take a deep breath and, sitting alone in our cubicles, have our own personal moment of silence or of joy.

The City of Brotherly Love Welcomes SLA 2011

2011-09-26T02:04:00.001-04:00

Lisa Chow | Scholarship Winner | http://bit.ly/lisachow

Lisa is a 2011 SLA Rising Star and blogs at People Interact about usability, user experience, unconferences, interactions, and all things people.

Philadelphia's City Hall, Photo taken by Ayinde Listhrop

SLA 2011 took place in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.

Here are my conference highlights:

Opening General Session

Thomas Friedman was the speaker for the Opening General Session.
Two takeaways from his talk:

Most ideas are not original. If you thought of it, chances are others thought of it too. Whatever can be done will be done. The question is will it be done by you or to you.
Being average is officially over. What’s your extra? Find it, develop it and exploit it.

Conference Schedule Conflicts

There are always schedule conflicts at conferences. One of many conflicts involved my responsibilities as DBIO Medical Section Chair and SLA Rising Star. I couldn’t make it to the SLA Rising Stars/SLA Fellows Roundtable where Rising Stars and Fellows were paired up for discussions, since the Medical Section business meeting and program took place at the same time. It all worked out because a SLA Fellow couldn’t make it to the roundtable either because she was one of the speakers for the Medical Section program. For other conflicts such as interest in multiple programs taking place at the same time, I would hop from one program to another, if the program wasn’t what I expected. Otherwise, I try to get a copy of the missed presentation.

SLA 2011 Philly Banner, Photo

taken by Ayinde Listhrop

DBIO Medical Section Program: It’s All Hallway!

Karen Huffman, Mary Talley Garcia and I presented It’s All Hallway! An Unconference Approach to Professional Development where we gave an overview of unconferences, talked about specific unconferences such as the SLA unconferences and HealthCampNYC and how attendees can organize their own unconference. We did a mini-unconference as a part of the program. You can also find out more about unconferences in a recently published METRO LibGuide.

Toot Your Own Horn

"Create a brag-ologue" - Mary Ellen Bates, Info Pro Guerrilla Marketing session

Mary Ellen Bates gave a talk on Info Pro Guerrilla Marketing.
Five takeaways from her talk:

Create a brag-ologue.
Strut your stuff.
Build a 3D profile.
See yourself as a brand.
Work with fear.

Speaking of tooting your own horn, I nominated myself for SLA Rising Star. Why am I telling you this? Because if you’ve done great work, don’t wait for someone else to recognize it - go ahead and nominate yourself.

A First Time SLA Conference Attendee Gets Future Ready

2011-09-26T02:03:00.000-04:00

Clara Cabrera | Scholarship Winner

Clara Cabrera is a Research and Reference Specialist for the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. Clara received her MLIS from Pratt Institute in 2009. An active member of the SLA–New York chapter, she has previously held the Library School Liaison and Joblog Coordinator positions. Clara was awarded the 2011 Rising Star award by SLA.

Collaboration to accelerate the availability of useful information. Adaptable skill set that anticipates and responds to the evolving marketplace. Alignment with the language and values of the community you serve. Community that connects stakeholders in mutually beneficial relationships.

So how does someone starting her second career and new to the library profession get to the best seat in the house of the SLA annual conference? This is how I got there along with some of my thoughts on being “Future Ready.” Prior to 2009, I was working for a small financial publishing company, having spent 2007-2009 working full time and attending graduate school to obtain my Master’s degree. Scheduling and finances being what they were for me, attending a library conference was difficult to swing. I did hear and read about friends and colleagues attending conferences and knew I was missing out on a great experience.

After being an active officer of the SLA student chapter at Pratt, I became actively involved in roles at SLA-NY. I attended local chapter events; I even organized a few events and meet many fellow information professionals along the way. I was nominated for the 2011 Rising Star award – an award that five new information professionals from across all the chapters receive. For the record, the best part of receiving this award is that I was nominated by people that I have worked alongside as a volunteer. None of the activities I have been a part of could have been successful without the parts played by so many others. The award provides entrance to the full SLA conference and an awards ceremony at the opening events of the conference, and the award winners each take part in a panel of fellow Rising Stars and newly inducted SLA Fellows.

The panel discussed the four pillars of Cindy Romaine’s concept of “Future Ready” – described on the Future Ready Blog as:

Collaboration to accelerate the availability of useful information
Adaptable skill set that anticipates and responds to the evolving marketplace
Alignment with the language and values of the community you serve
Community that connects stakeholders in mutually beneficial relationships

Working with Webb Shaw, Director of Editorial Resources of J.J. Keller – sponsor of the Rising Star Award – each of the Rising Stars were paired with a Fellow and we discussed how the elements of being “Future Ready” relate to our experiences in the profession. Leoma Dunn, of the Kentucky SLA chapter, and I paired up to discuss Collaboration.

Since we discussed how these pillars were part of our professional experience as new and veteran professionals, I’ll briefly mention the comments we made in discussing Collaboration. Since I think my biography reads of my collaboration in this field, it was fairly straightforward for me to discuss how collaboration played a part in my professional development. In my graduate years I found collaboration opportunities in both informal classmate study groups and student associations/groups. Collaboration is evident in my current work place

in intra-departmental communication and reference tracking tools, such as email and SharePoint;
in departments within the same branch of our corporate organizational structure (Technical Services, Knowledge Management, Content Management);
with other firm departments, such as Business Development, Legal Talent recruitment, and Information Technology groups;
with suppliers/vendors; and, of course,
with the End User.

In the professional arena my collaboration experience has been in professional associations (SLA and others) and within informal meet-ups of professional people who share the same information professional space, but may differ in the job titles or firm in which we work. It also extends to the professional literature which I see as the “published format of collaboration” in which we follow and find out what other professionals are doing in the field (such as blog commenting or letters to the editors for print publications).

My panel partner Leoma discussed her own unique experience as President of the Kentucky Library Association, which includes public, school media, special, and academic librarians, and how the collaboration of these varied libraries help with each library’s own issues. Leoma works in the academic setting and has found that the nature of academic culture, where you have to present and work with others as part of your job, is more open, inclusive and naturally lends itself to collaboration.

Both Leoma and I referenced a great transcript (found on the CEO’s Corner page of SLA.org) of Janice LaChance’s presentation on collaboration at the ICAL conference in Delhi, India, in 2009. I recommend everyone read this speech. LaChance provides specific examples of collaboration at work in several U.S. library environments that really informed our understanding of collaboration at the larger multi-institutional level.

I enjoyed my participation in the panel on being “Future Ready”: meeting some of the other great new professional talent in the field, and the veteran knowledge workers that I had the honor of sharing the table with. Since the panel took place fairly early on in the course of the multi-day conference, I spent the bulk of my first time conference experience popping in and out of various sessions that piqued my interest, and vendor sponsored events that highlighted some upgrades to their products. Overall, I had a wonderful learning experience, and look forward to future conferences.

I could not have had these great experiences without SLA and J.J. Keller, the award sponsor of the 2011 Rising Star award. I owe a great thanks to SLA New York Chapter for nominating me for the Rising Star award and for also awarding me with a chapter scholarship to attend the SLA Conference. Thank you.

Learning About CI at SLA

2011-09-26T02:02:00.009-04:00

David Adler | Scholarship Winner | http://www.linkedin.com/in/adlerd

David is a Senior Competitive Intelligence Librarian, Bingham McCutchen

This year with the chapter’s generosity, I was able to attend the SLA Annual Conference in Philadelphia. Listening to Thomas Friedman who was the Opening General Session Speaker was very enjoyable. Mr. Friedman spoke about globalization and the need to think about the way we do our jobs. We are living in an age where individuals can and must act globally. Mr. Friedman noted that in the future the world will be comprised of High Imagination Enabling Countries (HIE) and Low Imagination Enabling Countries (LIE). He challenged the audience to find the innovation within themselves. Mr. Friedman stated that if you do not act upon your idea, then someone else will. He noted that the days of “average” are over and that employees must reinvent themselves and their jobs to survive. Employers want employees with critical thinking and reasoning skills. Focus on these skills will help employees avoid their work being automated, outsourced or downsized. I found these points to be very relevant.

Because I do competitive intelligence (CI) in a law firm, I focused my track on legal and CI related sessions. I was not disappointed. There were discussions revolving around challenges of CI which include understanding the needs of your clients, designing and creating intelligence products and measuring the effect of your deliverables. How CI is perceived within the law firm was also discussed. Companies need to realize that their competition does not always mean their competitor. A competitor can be market change or new legislation or even an individual. When looking at the landscape that one operates in, one must keep these variables in mind to be successful. Your competitor today might not be your competitor tomorrow. I also learned that in order for a group to be effective in CI, one must understand the client and the competitive landscape that the client is in. The concept of Actionable Intelligence was discussed and the role that CI plays in the decision making progress was also mentioned.

Mary Ellen Bates, what can I say? A lot actually. She is always a pleasure to listen to and she did not disappoint. She discussed ways to describe what you do to your clients and various ways to market yourself. She recommended that when describing your work, focus on the WHY not the HOW or WHAT. Ms. Bates stated that each client interaction is a teaching moment and that speaking a client’s language is critical to explaining the services you can offer. To me these are excellent points.

There were hundreds of vendors there and I managed to stop by a majority of them. Most of them were products with which I was already familiar. However, there were a couple of vendors that seemed to focus on due diligence which was interesting.

I was able to network with around 50 people from companies that I previously did not know. I was able to make great connections. Speaking with them was very educational to me.

Overall, it was a great experience and I thank the chapter for giving me the opportunity to go.

You’ve Been Served: Visiting the Legal Division's Executive Board

2011-09-26T02:02:00.001-04:00

Alyson Clabaugh | Scholarship Winner

Alyson is an information specialist with the mergers and acquisitions practice group at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

Train doors rang in the darkness. “Philadelphia — 30th Street Station,” the conductor barked.

“Swell,” I sneered as I rubbed my palms together. I tugged my neck tie into place, adjusted my display handkerchief, clamped my felt hat on my head, and sprang into action: I would soon gumshoe my way into the SLA Legal Division Executive Board Meeting. I halted abruptly at the station’s curb. I whistled for a cab.

“Welcome to Philadelphia,” a lean, shifty-eyed hack driver tinkled.

“The Pennsylvania Convention Center — find her,” I growled. The hack pursed his lips menacingly, but I stared ahead until he threaded his way there. “Keep the engine hot. My get away may be dicey,” I commanded to a puckered forehead.

The door to Room 300 opened to admit me. Hawkish grins turned my way. “Welcome!” said John DiGilio, the SLA Legal Division’s 2011 Executive Board Chair. “I do not believe that we have met.”

Oh — these birds were cracking foxy. They knew my cut; they suspected that I was no board member. I smiled placidly, and I settled into a chair. I grunted: “Clabaugh. Alyson Clabaugh. SLA Legal Division. New York.”

“We are so glad that you could come. Can I get you something to eat? We have vegetarian and regular sandwiches.” Clearly he planned to grill me between bites. I smiled wolfishly. It would take more than tomato and mozzarella to make me squawk.

While the Executive Board Chair served me lunch, Tracy Maleeff, the SLA Legal Division’s 2011 Executive Board Chair Elect, thrust out her hand. I emptied my Diet Coke and countered her grasp. The talk was small, but her hint was big. This was her town: “I work here in Duane Morris LLP’s Philadelphia office. My Twitter account is LibrarySherpa, and I have been tweeting visitor tips all week. Feel free to contact me if you need anything.”

I proposed: “How about another drink?” I poured a terrific dose of Diet Coke and drained it.

The clock ticked towards high noon. It was time to talk turkey. Egad — if only I could figure out how they were communicating with each other — I could crack this case wide open.

“First, we want to share some surprising statistics. We have recently learned that only half of the division members have joined the SLA Legal Division’s listserv,” said DiGilio. “After the conference, we want to make a real push to get all of our members registered.”

A listserv — so that was their game. There was no more fooling around trying to be clever.

“We see the listerv as a real perk of division membership,” said Constance Ard, the SLA Legal Division’s 2011 Executive Board Past Chair. “We also think that it is a great tool for gauging what we can do for our division. Alyson, we would also love to learn what prompted you to join us today. Our board meetings are open, but general members do not often come. Are you getting what you want out of your membership?”

She had dynamited my cover. She offered a square deal, so I spilled. Then it all tied together — everything. If I wanted to be more involved SLA Legal Division outreach and programming initiatives, all I would have to do is…volunteer.

The SLA Legal Division listserv is a members-only benefit. Adding or renewing division membership is as easy as paying a visit to the SLA website.

Focused on Becoming Future Ready in a New Career

2011-09-26T02:01:00.001-04:00

Kelly Amabile | Scholarship Winner | http://www.linkedin.com/in/kamabile

Kelly Amabile is the Reference Assistant in the Legal Library at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom. She is also a graduate student in the GSLIS program at Queens College-CUNY and plans to complete her degree in May 2012.

When I originally applied for a stipend from SLA-NY to attend the 2011 National Conference, I intended to use the experience to explore different areas of the library field and network with professionals. At the time, I was working part-time in several library-related positions and taking MLIS classes at Queens College. As I stated in my stipend application, all of my previous library experience has been in special libraries, including internships at The Horticultural Society of New York and The Metropolitan Museum or Art, as well as paid positions doing archival work for the Girl Scouts and corporate research for a financial start-up firm. All signs indicated a career in special libraries was in my future.

Surprisingly, that career began quicker than I expected and through a series of fortunate events, I accepted a full time position before heading to the conference. Being accepted to receive the SLA stipend actually aided in the process of my landing a job. I attended an SLA-NY happy hour event that recognized recipients of conference stipends and, at that reception, I met a recruiter. I sent her my resume and within a week I had two interviews, followed by two job offers. A few weeks later I accepted a position as the library reference assistant at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. My story proves that membership does indeed have advantages!

Given that I studied political science as an undergraduate student, it seemed to make perfect sense that Skadden was where I wound up. And it excited me to attend the SLA Conference even more, of course with a shifted perspective. I was now fortunate to be attending the conference with two of my new colleagues from Skadden's corporate library.

About six weeks after beginning the job, I arrived in Philadelphia as part of a new team, with a revised focus to learn as much as I could about law librarianship. The best way to start things off at a conference is to talk with people – and that is exactly what the SLA Fellows and First-Timers Meeting on Sunday afternoon gave me the opportunity to do. I ran into familiar SLA-NY colleagues and was greeted by SLA Fellows with many years of experience – it was a balanced mix of new and seasoned professionals that sparked inspiration and energized the conference.

Thomas Friedman, the Opening General Session Speaker, was also very inspirational and certainly a highlight for me. He spoke about the importance of imagination in an age where gadgets do so much thinking for us. His talk was an important reminder that our minds are our most valuable assets – and that we must foster creativity and intuition in order to stay ahead of the curve in our professions and be "Future Ready," which was the theme of the conference.

The way I experienced it, the conference was a packed schedule of three main types of events: educational sessions, networking receptions and visiting with vendors. Here are a few words about each:

Educational Sessions

I attended more than ten sessions during the course of the conference that explored topics such as competitive intelligence, emerging markets, public records, corporate archives and strategies for cost-prevention and adding value in a law firm library. It was interesting to be able to hear from librarians that work at small firms as well as large organizations. I scribbled many notes and took away fantastic ideas and tips.

Networking Receptions

When I wasn't listening to others talk about the profession, I was engaged in conversations about trends and tools. The conference provided a wide variety of opportunities to chat with colleagues. I attended all the receptions for the Legal Division (as well as the BNA Breakfast and Business Meeting), but also went outside my industry group to talk with folks who work in other settings, including business/finance, museums/arts and academic. I also attended wonderful receptions at the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. I met information professionals from all over the U.S. as well as international locations. And I learned that…librarians really like to dance!

Visiting Vendors

Over the course of the conference, I walked the entire exhibit hall with my Skadden colleagues, meeting new vendors and getting introduced to those with which my law firm already has relationships. Doing this with my co-workers was an invaluable experience, since they have worked with these vendors for quite some time and were able to educate me about the work we do with these outside partners.

As usually happens with these busy conferences, I was exhausted at the end and a tad overwhelmed, but it was certainly worth it for the valuable exchange of information I received and all the lovely people I met. I thank SLA-NY for offering me the opportunity to attend and I thank the national organization for creating an excellent event that allows librarians from many backgrounds to collaborate and share ideas that prepare us all to be "Future Ready."

SLA Conference: Source of Support and Inspiration

2011-09-26T02:00:00.004-04:00

Christina Meninger | Scholarship Winner | christinameninger@gmail.com

Christina is an MSLIS candidate and will graduate in 2012 from Pratt Institute. Are areas of concentration are Archives, Digital Libraries, Moving and Still Images.

My First Conference

This year’s SLA conference was held in Philadelphia. Not only was this the first SLA conference I attended, it was the first conference I ever attended. As a result, my first session was the first-timer’s reception. I recommend this session for first-timers as well as returnees to facilitate a supportive atmosphere. It is an opportunity for to get information about the conference and suggestions about which sessions to attend, and make those first essential contacts, which make connecting with others easier throughout the conference. First-timers should leave feeling a little less overwhelmed as they embark upon the many other sessions during their first SLA conference experience.

During the reception, I met a number of first-timers, including several other graduate students, and exchanged the first of my business cards. Additionally, I met a young, energetic military librarian with quite a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. She was full of inspiration, encouragement, and positivity. She introduced me to the Solo Librarians Division, which consists of librarians who work by themselves and support each other. By interacting with each other through the division, they have an outlet for support, advice, and inspiration. In the end, they feel a little less alone.

Solo Librarians

Before the Success Stories of Solos session, I met a solo librarian who created and launched a website using Drupal in five months. A year later the site contained over 1,500 items. She had never used Drupal prior to the site’s creation. She is an inspiration to others who are unsure whether or not they can complete a project when they have little to no experience about a particular subject, technology, or skill.

During this same session, librarians who work alone in their organizations shared their stories. After hearing about their challenges and successes, they opened up the floor to other librarians and information professionals to discuss their experiences and address any concerns they have while working in their institutions. Everyone shared. In a solo librarian position, one of the attendees said the experience can be very “choose your adventure”; find out what your users need and create the opportunity to fulfill those needs. Additionally, if you need advice or assistance, reach out into your network and ask.

Ambiguity and Curiosity

The session Embracing Ambiguity and Curiosity: What your Career will Really Bring also had a conversational tone. The presentations and discussion focused on the ambiguities and uncertainties involved with being a librarian or information professional today. Librarianship is not black and white; it can be full of unanswered questions and uncertainties. Librarians need to embrace the ambiguity and practice taking risks. Finding a mentor who encourages risk-taking may lead to increased risk-taking and success. After the panel members discussed their experiences and advice, audience members did the same while addressing their concerns. The limitations and frustrations, particularly felt by information professionals in small and underfunded institutions, were diffused by the message that whatever you do to serve your users is more than what existed previously, particularly when creating something from nothing. Creating a detailed vision can help to keep you focused, particularly on days when you are doing routine tasks and feel you are not progressing with your goals. I suggested writing down your goals and posting them somewhere as a reminder when you are feeling overwhelmed or lost.

Feeling Energized

Throughout the conference, I observed a participatory, conversational, and supportive atmosphere in which attendees should be inspired and reenergized when returning to their everyday activities. I heard many people voice their frustrations and challenges, and others provide ideas and ways to overcome those frustrations and challenges.

Do you want to gain up-to-date knowledge about the field of library and information science? Are you feeling overwhelmed with your workload? Are you discouraged by everyday tasks and think that you are not achieving your goals or the goals of the institution with which you work? Do you want to meet information professionals facing these same challenges? Perhaps you just need support and inspiration? If you are faced with any of these concerns, I highly recommend attending the SLA conference next summer.

Meet the 2011 Candidates for SLA President-Elect

2011-09-06T21:20:00.004-04:00

On August 10, Deb Hunt and David Cappoli were gracious enough to chat with the SLA New York membership on the roof deck of the Hotel Giraffe in Manhattan.

David Cappoli and Deb Hunt share the stage at the August SLA New York Happy Hour.

The candidates get cozy with members of the SLA New York Advisory Council.

Realizing that not all of our would be able to attend, the candidates were also kind enough to pass along a few notes on why they feel they would be best suited to lead SLA.

Enjoy and don’t forget to vote!

First up, Deb Hunt.

Why am I running for SLA President-Elect?

I bring proven leadership skills to this position. I have prior experience as a Director on the SLA Board of Directors, as Chapter President and in many other leadership positions in the San Francisco Bay Region Chapter and in SLA divisions. I’m an innovator as the creator and team leader of SLA’s 23 Things. The 23 Things contributed to a mindset change for SLA members and enables us to embrace new technologies, new tools, get ahead of our users and to lead rather than follow. For this effort, I was awarded an SLA Presidential Citation by Stephen Abram.

I know how to get things done, grow new leaders, and create and strengthen programs for our members.

I see my colleagues struggling with layoffs and job insecurity. Yet there are vast opportunities for information professionals and I want to see us benefit from those opportunities.

I’ve demonstrated my adaptability and flexibility as my career has taken many turns. A few years ago, I was laid off from my job at the Exploratorium after 14 years of working there. I was able to ramp up my consulting firm, but it was still a big adjustment. Over the years, my consulting work has evolved in a way that I think mirrors what I see happening in the job market for us as information professionals. When I started consulting many years ago, I mostly did value-added research and library design and automation. Soon my library automation clients asked me how they could organize their internally created content so it would be as easily accessible as the library collection. That is how I added document and enterprise content management to the services I offer. Most of my clients are not libraries.

My candidacy theme is career sustainability, which is about growing in our jobs now and in future jobs as we continue to deepen and broaden our expertise and experience. We need to be resilient taking our skills with us no matter where we go.

How can SLA support this?

by identifying career and professional growth areas
by providing opportunities to grow our skillsets, whether we are new to the profession or in our mid or post-mid-career years
by continuing to lead the way with member benefits such as the 23 Things, the Futureready blog and ClickU
by reaching out more to our international members

Deb Hunt addresses member questions.

We can build on our past, but we must look ahead to the future. Like other professional associations, SLA is experiencing a downturn in member numbers but people will join and stay if it’s a sustainable and valuable professional association. Everything, from the annual conference to continuing education, must be on the table for review. It won’t be easy, but we must make tough decisions to survive and even thrive.

I’m passionate about what I do and what we can do as a profession. Together we can create a more healthy and sustainable future as we grow our skill-set and shout from the rooftops the value that we bring to our employers, potential employers and clients. I would appreciate your vote for me as SLA President-Elect. Will you join me in this endeavor of association and career sustainability?

Thank you very much!

Members of SLA New York listen intently as the candidates present their platforms and vision for the future of SLA.

And now, a few words from David Cappoli.

When Deb and I were corresponding with Pam Rollo about the format for our visit, Pam wrote that “we will introduce you around informally among the members for a while (one on one) and then we will give you both center stage to sing for your supper” – now the image that appeared in my head was right out of Gunsmoke with Pam as Miss Kitty sitting off to the side making sure that the bar folk were being entertained. Pam went on, “This usually results in plenty of time for questions from the floor. (They often ask alot, but one usually walks away unscathed).”

So while you think you may see fear in our eyes, it’s really exhaustion from our whistle stop tour. And if you saw us in Philadelphia at conference, it’s a similar look.

Philly was exhausting because Deb and I seem to have been in multiple places from the early morning until late at night, introducing ourselves and chatting about the association. But also energizing because of everyone’s enthusiasm and willingness to share their stories and experiences. And I realized that just like my first SLA conference in Denver during the 1980s, it was about the people. The people who continue to offer guidance and support.

And this is why, since being asked to run for President-Elect, I have focused on the terms renewal and engagement. From students, to those new to the profession, to established professionals, to those near or in retirement, we need to connect with these people and engage their participation in SLA. We can learn and benefit from all of their knowledge.

SLA has been at the center of my professional growth providing me with the network that has supported me throughout all of my positions, and giving me more opportunities to lead than any of the jobs I have held professionally. And SLA members are the ones I turn to when I am confronted with difficult tasks. Fellow members have offered input during tough budget times – times which happen all too frequently when working at a public institution in the state of California. In fact, after being asked to document the potential impact of the loss of my position a few of years ago, SLA colleagues provided direction to me as I began to look elsewhere for job opportunities. This network convinced me of the value of my experiences that I could bring to another organization.

I hope to bring to SLA my experience with students whom I have advised for some time, as well as my work with continuing education for information professionals. With students, I have the opportunity to counsel them in their pursuits as well as to be infected by their excitement as they look towards the future, even if they are troubled by the job market. In delivering continuing education to professionals, I hear about their needs for opportunities that will help them succeed in their organizations, whether they are in public libraries, academic settings, or specialized environments.

Now I am very honored to have been asked to run for President-Elect, but I am also keenly aware of the challenges facing SLA now and in the near future.

In taking on SLA’s challenges, I will look at ways in which the association can engender a sense of belonging and inclusion through more transparent and clear communication; how it can be a bridge for students and new information professionals connecting their education to their professional lives; and, I will look at how to determine if the conference revenue model is sustainable and what the alternatives might be, such as regional meetings. Additionally, I want to focus on developing a more coordinated and robust virtual presence for SLA.

Thank you.

All members* eligible to vote and in good standing as of 24 August 2011 may participate in the election.

Members with a current e-mail address in the SLA database will receive an e-notification when the polls open. Members without an e-mail address on file may still log in to vote using their SLA Web UserId and Password. If you would prefer to cast your vote by paper ballot, contact evote@sla.org. Requests for a paper ballot must be received by 6 September 2011.

*Excludes organizational and honorary members of SLA.

ChapterNews―Summer―2011

2011-06-27T14:16:00.003-04:00

Announcements: Chapter Member Maria Astifidis Weds
SLA 2011 Conference in Philadelphia
Leigh Hallingby, SLA-NY Chapter Past-President 2011 | lhallingby@sorosny.org
Volunteering Can Change Lives - Yours
Jackie Kilberg | jackie_kilberg@mcgraw-hill.com | http://ww.linkedin.com/in/jackiekilberg
Life After New York Library Land
Steve Johnson | stevejzoo@gmail.com
Members Learn About the Lubuto Library Project's Programs for Zambian Children and Youth
Rita Ormsby | SLA-NY Global Outreach Committee Chair | rjormsby@verizon.net
The Business of Being a Librarian
Zehava Brickner | zbrickner@vera.org

The fall 2011 issue will be published September 26, 2011. Submissions are due August 22, 2011.

SLA 2011 Conference in Philadelphia

2011-06-27T14:14:00.000-04:00

Leigh Hallingby | SLA-NY Chapter Past-President | lhallingby@sorosny.org

Center City Philadelphia is an attractive, historic, energetic, and interesting place that proved to be a perfect setting for the SLA 2011 Annual Conference. It opened on Sunday evening, June 12, 2011, with the awards ceremony and the keynote address. As a member of SLA-NY, I was thrilled and proud to watch two of our young New York Chapter activists walk across the stage to receive Rising Star Awards: Clara Cabrera and Lisa Chow.

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman (TF) was the excellent opening keynoter. A few take-aways from his talk:

His NYT predecessor James Reston had about 7 "competitors" for his opinion columns, whereas TF has millions, given the number of bloggers who are also writing the equivalent of opinion columns
TF believes that the single most important competition today is between you and your imagination and that the future world will divide between high imagining and low imagining countries.
The 19th century belonged to England and the 20th to the USA, but TF is not yet willing to cede 21st century to any country that censors Google. This is not a winning strategy. China, take note!
In a "flat world," the basics of behavior and judgment matter more than ever. Communication is so easy that bad behavior spreads instantly around the world. There is no such thing as a local story any more.

Community Is Collaboration Does

On Monday morning there was a roundtable pairing SLA Rising Stars with SLA Fellows to answer questions from the moderator. Lisa was involved in another presentation at this time, but I was pleased to hear thoughts from Clara, a law librarian, who was paired with Leoma Dunn, library director at the Thomas More College Library in KY. My main take-away from them was something I had never thought about: the difference between collaboration and community. Their clever take on this: Community is part of everyday life. Collaboration is purpose driven. Community is. Collaboration does.

Other sessions I selected to attend from the vast array, but provided too many details to elaborate on, were: Tracking Public Opinion around the World; Capitalizing on Content to Grow Competencies; Health Care Reform; and The Power of Perception: Dealing with Change.

As a way to get to know the host city better, I always attend some events in the most appealing venues in town. Fortunately, there was an embarrassment of riches on Monday evening. First the Museums, Arts and Humanities Division (MAHD) of SLA sponsored an opportunity to visit the Print Room at the famous and fabulous Philadelphia Free Library, where we were treated to wonderful prints of old world Philadelphia. Following that was the International Reception at the nearby Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which is the oldest museum in America and also a landmarked building. My terrific trifecta ended at a reception that the Financial Times sponsored at the glorious Union League Club, which was founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln.

Of course the Info Expo was a feast unto itself, including exhibits from a vast array of vendors displaying their latest products and services. One theme I noticed on the stops in the exhibit hall is that content and database vendors are increasingly offering easy templates for creating newsletters to create attractive ways to display and update information for end users.

The SLA conference ended on Wednesday afternoon with the annual membership meeting. The Treasurer Dan Trefethen delivered some sobering information about SLA, like many organizations, having a smaller membership, budget, and staff. The good news is that SLA is adjusting in a responsible way to the financial realities of the 21st century. And the other good news is that the Philadelphia conference was a big success, with a significant jump in attendance over 2010 in New Orleans, and met its financial goals. I think it can also be said that the conference met the attendees’ goals for stimulating sessions, vendor product updates, and professional networking, along with some good food and fun!

Stay tuned for much more reporting on the Philadelphia conference in the September 2011 issue of this newsletter. Our six conference scholarship recipients―Clara and Lisa, along with David Adler, Kelly Amabile, Alyson Clabaugh, and Christina Meninger―will all be providing articles on their experiences there.

Volunteering Can Change Lives - Yours

2011-06-27T14:13:00.000-04:00

Jackie Kilberg | jackie_kilberg@mcgraw-hill.com | www.linkedin.com/in/jackiekilberg

Jackie Kilberg has been information professional for over 25 years. She has worked for PWC and is currently a research associate and corporate archivist for The McGraw-Hill Companies. You can contact Jackie through LinkedIn

Every May is global volunteer day at The McGraw-Hill Companies. Everyone in my office is gets excited about what project they are going to work on. What excites me is to watch the videos of the outcomes of these projects. Each video tells a wonderful story about a group of employees who have made a difference in people’s lives.

One of the projects I work on is assisting students at the Grace Institute. The Grace Institute provides tuition-free, practical job training for underserved New York area women. Several of the students attend a one day seminar at McGraw-Hill headquarters where they receive training on interviewing, resume writing, and job search techniques. I direct a group of those students to help them with assignments given out by the moderator during the day.

After the seminar held at McGraw-Hill last year, I went to Grace an hosted a session teaching students how to use business databases at the New York Public Library. Many students already had a library card and were eager to learn how to research companies, industries and fields of employment where they can use their skills. The director was so please that she asked if I could teach a course on business etiquette. I said no but my sister-in-law could which is now leading to a paid contractor position.

Another program I am involved with is my local preservation council. There I am collecting and digitizing historical material and oral histories for the council’s website. One of my most favorite volunteer stints was working my neighborhood school’s media center. I never worked in a school library before and enjoyed it thoroughly. So did my daughter who saw me shelve books every week.

The rewards in volunteering go beyond helping others, it can help us feel better as professionals. All of the projects I mentioned allowed me to use my skills for the good of others but it also forced me to work out of my comfort zone. For most of my career, I have worked in corporations. By volunteering, I gained experience in working in a non-profit environment. Another benefit to volunteering is gaining a new set of skills. When I volunteered at the school library, I learned to work with children which I thought I could never do.

So what is your story? I like to hear them and I know there rest of our chapter would too. Join in the discussion on LinkedIn, SLA NY Chapter. I know the SLA NY Chapter is always in need of volunteers so start today.

Life After New York Library Land

2011-06-27T14:12:00.000-04:00

Steve Johnson | stevejzoo@gmail.com

Steve Johnson managed the library at the Wildlife Conservation Society, formerly New York Zoological Society, from 1982 to 2007. Since then he has been Systems Coordinator/Management team at Alaska Resources Library and Information Sources.

Three years ago, at the 2007 New York Chapter holiday party, I said good-bye to Library Land as I had known it since moving from Madison, Wisconsin, in 1979. I was getting ready to move to Anchorage, Alaska, and a new job, after working for one employer in one city for more than 28 years. At that party, someone suggested that, after I got settled, I write something about the move for the SLA-NY newsletter. Hence, I finally wrote this note about the move and the comparable elements of Library Land in New York and in Alaska. I also have some suggestions for others who may be making similar moves. These notes are based on my experiences related to moving to Alaska.

In 1988, I joined SLA. Like many members, it took me several years to become active in chapter activities, first as a regular at meetings, then as a volunteer and officer. Once I started coming to meetings, most every month brought occasions when I met with other SLA members at trainings, Executive Board or Advisory Committee meetings, and social events ranging from the annual holiday party to more frequent breakfasts, luncheons, and mixers. And when I was not at an SLA event, I often encountered SLA members at meetings of other organizations, such as The Metropolitan New York Library Council (Metro).

To summarize, in the New York metropolitan area, I was never far from an instance of SLA Library Land. Opportunities to meet and to learn were abundant.

Is There Life in Library Land in Alaska?

In February 2011, The SLA membership directory listed just 13 members for the state of Alaska. Three of us work in one building in Anchorage. I've known a fourth, in Fairbanks, for more than twenty years, from former work in the zoo world. But that’s another story. The SLA membership database listed more than 850 members for the New York chapter. That’s a big difference even when you take into account members who opt-out from being listed.

In Alaska, the corporate library sector barely exists. The Alaskan business libraries of twenty years ago have largely disappeared. Government libraries have contracted out as well. Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (ARLIS), where I work, was founded by merging the collections, but not all of the staff, of five federal libraries, two state-of-Alaska affiliated libraries and one university institute library. Since the founding, ARLIS has absorbed the collections of several other closed libraries in the government and private sectors.

If one wishes to meet in person with library colleagues in Alaska, one has to pay attention to all the possibilities, from the annual meeting of the Alaska Library Association to the committee meetings of local consortia. Discussion lists, webinars, and instant messaging can bring one closer to colleagues worldwide, but with far less of the candor and engagement found in face to face meetings at the mixers, luncheons, breakfasts, and other library-related functions so commonplace in New York City.

Library Cooperation

When comparing Library Land in New York and Alaska, library cooperation stands out as a strong strain of continuity. In New York, my library was active for decades in METRO. An OCLC Online Computer Library Center affiliation was core to metadata creation and sharing, document delivery and interlibrary loan activities. In Anchorage, my library represents a cooperative effort of five federal bureaus, two state agencies, and one state university. My library shares a catalog with a university system and a public library. Again, OCLC remains a core tool for interlibrary sharing of resources.

Journey to Work

For me, comparing journey to work in New York and in Alaska shows both continuity and change. In New York City, I bicycled to work several days a week, from March to November. It was often a one-way bike ride, in the morning or evening alone. In the other direction, my bike and I would catch a ride with my wife, who worked for the same organization. My route from home in Yonkers to work in the Bronx was nine miles in each direction. The ride took about one hour.

In Anchorage, I bicycle both directions, five days per week, twelve months per year. The duration of my ride ranges depends on route. I live two miles and change from my workplace. From November through April, when the temperature ranges from -20 to +30 Fahrenheit, I take the most direct, route to work, which takes about twenty minutes, depending on traffic and condition of the roads and sidewalks. From May through October, I usually take longer, more pleasant routes, mainly via the trail system which connects much of Anchorage.

Winter weather in Anchorage is more stable and generally more bike friendly than winter weather in the New York City metropolitan area. Once the ground freezes and a layer of snow and ice are in place, riding is not difficult. On those occasions when the winter temperature rises above freezing, the results are a dangerous mess, disliked by bicyclist, pedestrian, and automobile drivers.

After my first winter in Anchorage, I switched to a bicycle with studded tires, which provided more stable acceleration and stopping on ice or snow covered surfaces. All year long, I ride road bikes with leather saddles and dropped handlebars. I don't ride mountain bikes or snow bikes (“twenty-niners”).

During the dark months in Anchorage—roughly the same as winter months—my headlight is an LED lamp driven by a generator in the bike's front wheel. It is wonderful not to deal with batteries (except for tail light and the back-up, battery-driven headlight).

If the weather in Anchorage is too absolutely awful to consider riding the bike—perhaps three or four days per year--I can easily walk to work in forty minutes. In New York, I walked to work only when I lived in the Bronx, near the New York Botanical Garden, before moving to Yonkers.

A walkable and bike-friendly journey to work was a key requirement when my wife and I selected housing in Anchorage. My wife identified our new home via the Internet before we ever visited Alaska. A visit confirmed the intersection of location, features, and price.

Working Environment

In New York, I managed a library staffed by two professional librarians, including me, and one or two student assistants and the occasional volunteer. My work included management of the library web page, e-journals, databases, computer systems and archives, as well as reference. My library was located in an administration building within the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. The users of the library were dispersed throughout the world.

In Alaska, I am one of four full-time professional librarians at my library. Other colleagues include a full time network administrator/computer manager, three part-time professional librarians, several full-time and part-time paraprofessionals, and a half-dozen student workers. My responsibilities focus on management of a website, remote authentication for computers, ejournals and databases, and database development. Monday and Friday afternoons I work a three hour shift on a reference desk. Users of the library in Alaska are scatted through the state, making for strong continuity with my New York experience. My library occupies 20,000 square feet on the first floor of the three story Consortium Library on the grounds of the University of Alaska-Anchorage campus.

On rare occasions, I miss the variety of my work in the much smaller library, particularly the archival work. In general, I appreciate and enjoy the opportunities to focus on a narrower range of responsibilities in my new position.

Conference and Other Travel

I recently attended a conference in Sitka, Alaska. From another attendee, I learned that my round trip fare from Anchorage to Sitka was higher than the round trip fare paid for travel to Sitka from Washington, D.C., via Anchorage, on the same airline. This pricing reminds me of in-state/out of state long distance pricing back in the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties. Getting anywhere outside Alaska from Anchorage usually requires an expensive air ticket with a departure time between midnight and two thirty in the morning.

A highlight of my move to Alaska was taking the Alaska Marine Highway from Bellingham, Washington to Skagway, Alaska. I recommend this two-day trip to anyone who enjoys rail travel. The scenery is wonderful and the journey relaxing. The Alaska Marine Highway carries cars as well as people, and rooms are available. Pets are permitted in vehicles only except when in port. With Jenny, our long suffering Airedale terrier in mind, I recommend against taking a dog on the Alaska Marine Highway.

What Would I Do Differently?

Hindsight is 20-20. Most advice seems as relevant as life lessons related to teenagers by grandparents. Nonetheless, I do have suggestions for anyone contemplating a career and geographic move comparable to mine.

Take some time between jobs. (I didn't.) If there are local museums or parks you haven't visited—take an extra week to visit at least some of them before you move. Freely substitute other venues for “museums” or “parks.” After you start your new job, you probably won't take much time off.

Before you move across the country, take time to slim down your possessions. Moving is expensive. Look at the goods you have accumulated in past decades. If you want to give anything away, do that before moving. If anything is worth selling, it is probably easier to sell and worth more in New York than in Alaska or another remote location. (Who in Alaska wants all my old science fiction books and magazines?) That is advice best taken months in advance of a move. It is tough advice for those who accumulate books, magazines, bicycles, computers, radios.... My wife and I managed to find a computer museum in New Jersey which would accept a closet full of computers, computer books, and software dating from the days of CP/M and eight inch disk drives.

Before setting dates for a move, get professional advice on taxes, even if you or your partner has done them for years without difficulty. At the very least do some serious dry runs on current and next year tax bills to minimize surprises. Be aware of the tax year in which termination payments occur, especially if subsequent pension payments may also come into play. Lack of planning may be as expensive as moving that book collection.

If you have a partner in life, consider whether you really want to leave that partner at the old home for weeks or months, to handle all the details of moving, while you get started on the new job in the new location. That division of labor and location is common, and it certainly worked for my wife and me. (She sold the house, did the move, and we are still together.) However, more equal sharing of the move would probably benefit both partners.

If you move to Alaska, move in December, not January. A move the first week of January will cost you a first year's eligibility for the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). The PDF is Alaska’s annual payment to eligible residents. In recent years the payment has been $1200 or more.

The Last Word

Early in my career in New York, I occasionally heard the saying “No one's career ever suffered because they left [insert name of well known employer here].” Although the statement seemed intended to buck up the feelings of those who were let go, as well as those left behind, I kept that phrase in mind as I contemplated and then made the move from New York to Alaska. The statement may not be true for everyone and every institution, but such sentiments can reinforce the will to make a move.

Members Learn About the Lubuto Library Project’s Programs for Zambian Children and Youth

2011-06-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

Rita Ormsby | SLA-NY Global Outreach Committee Chair | rjormsby@verizon.net

"The Lubuto Library Project, Sharing Books and Hope with Africa's Most Vulnerable Youth," hosted by Baruch College’s Digital Media Collection.

Two things were accomplished when the Lubuto Library Project founder and president, Jane Kinney Meyers, (SLA-DC) visited with New York Chapter members on May 14—she was able to thank members for supporting the project and New York members were able to learn more about the libraries and their programs being built and operated for vulnerable street children and youth in Zambia.

In recent years, proceeds from the SLA-NY Global Outreach Committee's raffles have been contributed to the non-profit, incorporated in 2005. In her introduction and throughout her talk, Kinney showed how the skills of special librarians—bringing information, expertise, transparency, accountability and a measurable impact—apply also to some of the "most marginal people on the face of the earth." "Lubuto" in Bemba, a language of Zambia, means knowledge, enlightenment and light. The Lubuto Library Project is showing that a library is one door that is open to all children, she said.

Kinney’s talk began with scenes from the November, 2010, dedication of the second Lubuto Library in Lusaka, Zambia. Construction was financed by Dow Jones & Company. Among the dignitaries attending were the first Republican President of Zambia, Kenneth D. Kaunda, and the U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, Mark C. Storella. Kinney said this is the first Lubuto Library built in partnership with Zambia’s Ministry of Education. The library is operated by the Ngywerere Basic School, located where many street children and youth are found. Kinney said that many of the children and youth, orphaned from AIDS or other events, or young girls who are mothers lack money for school fees and, in the past, have not been welcomed at existing libraries. When she lived in Zambia, she began reading books to street children, through the Fountain of Hope and started a small library there. After returning to the United States, she started the Lubuto Library Project, which led to the construction of the first library, which is operated by the Fountain of Hope, a shelter for boys.

The three buildings of the libraries follow traditional Zambia architecture and have thatched roofs. One building has space for outside gatherings and performances and a sink for washing hands before using a computer; the second holds the 4,000 book collection and also has a reading room with a talking circle, for group storytelling, carrying on the village tradition; the third holds rooms and desks for computer use, literacy, drama and art programs. The computers have been donated by the One Laptop Per Child Program. Kinney spoke of the importance of these outreach efforts in helping the children to express themselves and to build up their confidence. She mentioned that one teen, who led everyone in dancing at the November, 2010, library dedication, had originally been very shy and withdrawn. Some of the artists have been able to sell their work. The Stella Jones Art Gallery in New Orleans will display their work during the upcoming ALA Conference.

Although English is the official language in Zambia, the Lubuto Literacy project, with support from the Zambia Ministry of Education, has teachers and students working together to create programs on the One Laptop Per Child computers using open source software and Etoys that will teach Zambia’s children to read in the country’s seven major languages. This is being funded by an EIFL grant. Another example of a public-private partnership is Lubuto’s work with the Zambia Library Association, to found a Zambian chapter of IBBY, the Zambia Board on Books for Young People (ZBBY). They will work together in future years to promote the creation of illustrated bilingual Zambian children’s books. Some existing Zambian children’s books, long hard to locate, have been digitalized and made available by librarians of the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room of the Library of Congress. This contribution to the preservation of Zambia’s culture has been recognized by many, including Mulenga Kapwepwe, author and playwright, who has been the chair of the Zambian National Arts Council and Minister of Sports, Youth and Child Development in Zambia. She and actor Danny Glover, who was educated as an economist and began acting at age 30 were among those who attended a Lubuto Library fundraiser at the Zambian embassy in Washington, D.C. in 2010.

What’s ahead for the Lubuto Library Project? Continuing the projects and services already mentioned and discussions are underway, with the Zambia Ministry of Education, to build three libraries in the southern province of the country. The possibility of televised reading of stories is being investigated as well. Other African countries have expressed interest in starting projects similar to the Lubuto Library Project. So, this small nonprofit has big plans.

To follow the Lubuto Library Project, visit its website: http://www.lubuto.org

The Business of Being a Librarian

2011-06-27T14:10:00.000-04:00

Zehava Brickner | zbrickner@vera.org

As librarians, we’re not expected to know the answers, but we do know where and how to find the answers.

On Thursday, May 5, I attended an event at the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) called “Suddenly Solo,” cosponsored by SLA-NY. The event was composed of a panel of solo librarians who spoke about their jobs as solos, the challenges that might arise and the pride they take in their work. As a solo librarian at the Vera Institute of Justice, I was particularly interested in hearing about the experiences of other solos and meeting other librarians in similar jobs. It’s sometimes difficult for us solo librarians to explain what we do because our jobs are without boundaries. Beyond performing all the tasks necessary to make our libraries function—which could normally take a staff of five or more to accomplish—staff often ask for our expertise on a variety of projects. And because we stand alone in our job title—and maybe even within our departments—we must establish a vision and set all the priorities for our libraries.

Given the near endless possibilities for our position, solo librarians are often natural born leaders and, in a sense, entrepreneurs. We must treat specific aspects of the day-to-day operations like a business. The following are strategies that I enforce daily to effectively run Vera’s Louis Schweitzer Library:

Communicate: As the only librarian or information management professional on staff, I am often inundated with requests from staff members. These requests are made in person and via e-mail and telephone. Sometimes they are quick reference style questions that can be answered on the spot and checked off my to-do list. Other times, they are more in-depth queries requiring some digging, searching, and research by me. I try to be open about my schedule. When I have a lot of requests (on top of the regular library work), I ask staff for a deadline or time to fulfill the request. Surprisingly often, the request is not an urgent matter and it can be done a few days after the request is made. Depending on the nature of your work, not everything needs an immediate turnaround. Instead, try to keep the lines of communication open so you can meet staff requests while balancing your regular workload.
Be honest: Sometimes staff members will request something that I have never handled or that I don’t know how to answer. Personally, I like the challenge and it makes me even more eager to help, but even librarians get stumped. If I don’t know the answer, I usually say, “I don’t know but I will find out for you.” As librarians, we’re not expected to know the answers, but we do know where and how to find the answers. Staff members appreciate the honesty and no doubt appreciate the dedication to helping them.
Take initiative: Librarians have specific job requirements, but the nature of the work is limitless. Encourage people to seek assistance from you, keep your door open, and promote your resources by reminding staff that you are available. I try to always make myself available to the entire staff of the Vera Institute, especially by orienting new staff members. I arrange a meeting with new staff members, which often happens after I meet them in the elevator or am introduced to them as they get a tour of the facility. If you are aware of a specific project, offer your expertise. Whether it’s suggesting a bibliographic training to staff working on literature reviews or directing staff to proper resources, the objective is the same: market yourself.
Make yourself invaluable: By taking initiative and marketing yourself, staff will view you as an essential staff member. By completing assignments on time and answering questions with relevant and useful results, you make your role significant and solidify your position. Not only will staff consult with you more often, but “returning customers” are a good way to gauge how vital you are within your organization or company. I take advantage of our Institute’s Intranet blog to remind staff of the library resources that are available and post links to webinars and free limited access sources.
Know your resources: Resources, of course, include useful databases and websites, but resources may also be people. Get to know everyone in your organization and the roles they play. Because our jobs are without boundaries, people often think that everything falls on the library! By staying in touch with everyone on staff, you’ll know when to tackle a request yourself and when to refer staff to others within your organization. A staff member might ask me something to which I respond, “Ask so-and-so in communications,” and I’m still directing staff to the appropriate resource.

If you are interested in becoming a member of a local interest group for solo librarians, please contact Tom Nielson (tnielson@metro.org).

Zehava Brickner is a solo librarian at the Vera Institute of Justice. She holds an MLS from the Graduate School for Library and Information Studies at Queens College and is interested in folksonomies and exploring issues of copyright, user rights, and access to information. She continues to be fascinated by bibliographic citation managers and enjoys teaching people how to use them.

ChapterNews―Spring―2011

2011-03-21T22:51:00.002-04:00

Message From the President: What SLA-NY Projects for 2011
Pamela Rollo, SLA-NY Chapter President 2011 | pamela_rollo@standardandpoors.com
Report on the 2010 LITA and Charleston Conferences
Leigh Hallingby, SLA-NY Chapter Past-President 2011 | lhallingby@sorosny.org
Making the Business Case for Taxonomy
Seth Maislin, Senior Consulting Taxonomist | sethm@earley.com | Earley & Associates, Inc.
Best of 2010: Tracking Down the Contents of the Port Authority Library
Anthony W. Robins | http://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyrobins
Best of 2010: An Enforceable Code of Ethics: Why Archivists Should Be Demanding One
Paul Morris | p.morris54@gmail.com
Best of 2010: The American Numismatic Society Library
Elizabeth Hahn | hahn@numismatics.org | http://www.numismatics.org/Library
Best of 2010: Queering Artists' Books: A Queer Critical Analysis of Artists' Books
Michael Carosone l michael@michaelcarosone.com

The summer 2011 issue will be published June 20, 2011. Submissions are due May 20, 2011.

Message From the President: What SLA NY Projects for 2011

2011-03-21T22:45:00.000-04:00

Pamela Rollo, SLA-NY Chapter President 2011 | pamela_rollo@standardandpoors.com

SLA-NY created the blueprint for its 2011 activity with a huge strategic effort executed in 2010 under Leigh Hallingby’s leadership. One of the ways that we seek to execute those goals is to recruit more members to the Advisory Board’s new committee structure that we are building. We have built two super committees: Career Development and Programs & Events which now help to coordinate all the activities in the two most important services that SLA-NY provides to members. This committee structure does not replace any previous roles, but tries to help us “connect the dots” as we serve students, new professionals, mid-career members and experienced members. The committee structure will also provide more roles for members to influence the board’s decisions and also relieve the stress of only a few people pulling off a string of events.

Agnes Mattis has graciously accepted the chair of the Career Development Committee as it continues under Steve Essig’s leadership to offer our very popular Professional Development series enabling members to secure training on applications and databases. We also hope to expand training in topics of interest to aspiring and current managers. This committee will continue to experiment with providing formal instruction as we did this last October with our Introduction to Taxonomy course which was well received. If you would like to volunteer with the Career Development Committee, please contact Agnes at Agnes.Mattis@Skadden.com

The Program & Events Committee will continue to create programs of interest to the whole chapter but also will provide niche events for students and new professionals.

Members of these committees plan and launch events and there is enough planning, follow-up, funding and hosting to take on the interests of our members. This committee reports to the President–elect, Donna Severino, who can be reached at Donna.Severino@Credit-Suisse.com. Hospitality still has room for more volunteers and Vida Cohen could certainly put more members to work. Please contact Vida at Vidacohen70@gmail.com. You will also notice our efforts to work more effectively with other professional associations such at LLAGNY and ARMA to provide more programming of interest to the greater community.

We are still looking for members who want to lead special interests group such as Business Finance. New York Chapter has always had the right to create and support division interests within the Chapter. We would welcome a KM, taxonomy or any other interest group that members would like to form. Interest groups may create specific programs of interest to their niche group.

The New Year has already brought us a chapter visit from Cindy Romaine, our current SLA President and a book talk with Joseph P. Quinlan, author of The Last Economic Superpower: The Retreat of Globalization, the End of American Dominance, and What We Can Do About It and Professional Development has begun an instructional series with Westlaw.

The Leadership Summit in January featured the new template for chapter and division websites and New York Chapter has volunteered to be a beta site. The new template is from WordPress and we look forward to providing the chapter a new web presence in 2011. Our old web presence is still viable and we continue to have several programs and lunches available for members over the next 60 days, so do check it out.

I would also like to extend congratulations to our own Clara Cabrera who has been recognized by the association as a 2011 "Rising Star."

Suggestions for programs can be sent to Donna Severino. Any other comments or suggests can come to me Pam Rollo at Pamela_rollo@sandp.com

Report on the 2010 LITA and Charleston Conferences

2011-03-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

Leigh Hallingby, SLA-NY Chapter Past-President | lhallingby@sorosny.org

In the last quarter of 2010, I had the pleasure of attending two excellent relatively small-sized library conferences from which I gained a great deal of useful information.

The first, in Atlanta, was the LITA (Library and Information Technology Association) National Forum, from September 30th to October 3rd, exploring leading-edge technologies and their applications, mainly in academic libraries. Most of the presenters were IT people who work in libraries, but the audience was much more skewed toward librarians. With its clever theme, “The Crowd and the Cloud,” this conference introduced me to cloud computing, which is basically Internet computing where the programs, data, and storage space, for instance, are available on the Internet, rather than on local servers.

At a pre-conference workshop on website redesign (inspired in part by SLA-NY’s website redesign project), the instructor gave such advice as: cut two-thirds of the verbiage from your website; blocks of text are bad; bullets are good; have simple navigation on every page; allow visitors to perform an action right away on the home page; have contact information on every page; ease of finding is more important than multiple ways of finding information; and links must be descriptive of content to which they connect.

A session on Wikipedia included this new maxim: “Wikipedia could only work in reality. It could never work in theory.” The presenter, an academic, said that the articles range from trash to better than any peer-reviewed journal, pointing out that even peer-reviewed journal articles are instantly out of date, whereas Wikipedia entries can be updated constantly. The more people there are editing and watching Wikipedia articles, the better the articles tend to be. Generally she was amazed at how well the process works and at the high quality of Wikipedia articles.

Three library IT professionals from Wake Forest University in North Carolina spoke about making the actual transfer from relying on the university’s IT department to becoming self-reliant via cloud computing. When it was time for their servers to be replaced, they decided instead to move to the cloud. Two advantages were low start-up costs and moving from the standardization required by the IT department to the customization which the cloud allows. But as they have gained much more control now over their technology, they also now need to know a lot more about their programs and data, as there is no one from the university to assist them when they run into problems.

One major drawback to cloud computing is security since the information is no longer stored locally. The cloud is not appropriate, for instance, for confidential health care records. There is also the possibility of needed websites being down. Nonetheless, the advantages are huge: With the cloud, one gets resources like software, data and storage space on demand, as with electricity. If files exist in the cloud, the information in them is always accessible from multiple devices. When platforms for software development are in the cloud, the cost of innovation is lowered and innovation is speeded up. In other words, computer power of all kinds becomes a commodity to be purchased as needed for reasonable sums of money.

The Charleston Conference, subtitled Issues in Book and Serials Acquisition, took place from November 3 to 6. An annual event bringing together librarians, publishers and vendors, it is always held in Charleston, S.C., and now draws about 2,000 attendees. This was the 30th anniversary of the conference! Below is a sampling of wisdom gained from various plenary and concurrent sessions:

The Wikipedia speaker, like the one at the Atlanta conference, feels that Wikipedia entries have gotten to be impressively high quality. Also, he thinks that students are using them correctly – which is not for in depth academic research, but for defining a topic and looking up initial citations. An unintended consequence of Wikipedia is that it is evolving into a kind of search engine.
There was emphasis by several speakers on the fact that patrons need smaller rather than larger “chunks” of information. For instance, they need articles rather than journals and chapters rather than books. “Reading a journal” now frequently refers to reading the Table of Contents.
Finding content is easy. Reading it is hard.
There are too many catalog records for books. As catalog records that used to be available only to librarians become available to patrons, such as through Worldcat, it is important to have fewer records for each item. And creating multiple records is ultimately a waste of time.
Regarding academic journal articles, social networking is impacting academic research by extending it, through wikis and blogs, to new audiences who are not necessarily academic and also by making international communication easier. The research life cycle speeds up when study results move around more rapidly. Also, a phenomenon that might be called post-publication peer review is developing via online opportunities to comment on published articles.
Google has now scanned over 15 million books in 483 languages. Within the next 20 years, the vast majority of books in the world will have been scanned. Google can enhance a book by, for instance, adding a map pointing to all the places mentioned in the book. Metadata remains challenging. For instance, there is one ISBN that is shared by 1,413 books, and there are 6,000 ISBNs that match at least 20 titles.
With Google-scanned books and print-on-demand increasingly available, libraries may have to realign their missions and aim for something much greater than giving access to a limited set of materials. They may have to strive to give access to every book that has ever been published and make that access available immediately.
E-books are being enhanced, similar to DVDs, with extras, often in audiovisual format, such as author interviews.
E-journals now may include videos, such as of how to perform an experiment.
Twenty years of relative “calm” of “The PC Era” is ending and being replaced by mobile computing and cloud computing.

The 2011 LITA Forum will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, from Thursday, September 29th to Sunday, October 2nd, 2011, with the theme of, “Rivers of Data, Currents of Change.”

The 31st Annual Charleston Conference will take place from Wednesday, November 2nd to Saturday, November 5th, 2011.

Making the Business Case for Taxonomy

2011-03-21T22:43:00.001-04:00

Seth Maislin, Senior Consulting Taxonomist | seth.maislin@earley.com | Earley & Associates, Inc.

Research librarians know well the value of their work: improving retrieval of documents and other assets, encouraging business units and roles to share ideas and coordinate processes, integrating multiple sources of information, not losing assets, not making errors in intelligence, pushing for greater efficiencies, not letting your competition get the better of you. And yet there is just no way to say the word “taxonomy” and inspire passion in a CEO. Or convincingly provide a cost-benefit estimate.

After all the taxidermy jokes, there still remain two major obstacles to making a business case for taxonomy and controlled vocabularies (CVs):

Translate trivial-sounding, content-level processes into the language of business strategy.
Translate proposed taxonomy initiatives into realistic dollar amounts—and afterwards, prove that you were right.

Librarians and taxonomists need an approach for speaking with their managers about the value-add of taxonomy. We need to speak using the same business and strategic language that managers use to make decisions.

Linking Taxonomy and Organizational Strategy

Taxonomy efforts happen at a words level: preferred and nonpreferred terms, asset naming, conceptual representations, and content relationships. Organizational strategy, however, gets practiced at a much higher plane than semantics; organizational strategists concern themselves with revenue growth, competitive edge, and brand recognition. Between the two are additional management levels: business processes, and business unit objectives (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Four levels of organizational thinking and activity.

Taxonomy lives and breathes at the level of content processes, where the content repositories and archives reside. This is the world of the taxonomy worker, who concerns himself with search and keywording and IA; this is also the world of IT, which focuses on databases, interoperability, and reliability. This is a world of words and lines and records.

Content exists to support business processes: customer support, web sales, customer acquisition, document aggregation, and basic analytics. Here live team leaders, who are focused on all things easily measured: time expenditures, customers, transactions, clicks and views.

Business processes aggregate into business unit objectives, which are all about outcomes that are too complex to measure easily: satisfaction, branding, opportunities, policy. Managers may be less interested in money than in the possibilities that having more money can create.

Finally, at the highest level, company leaders concern themselves with the organizational strategy, which is usually about growth. The development of new offerings and the investment into new markets must operate in tandem, so that the company is investing its resources as profitably as possible.

So how we do translate a seemingly mundane discussion about terminology, CVs, hierarchies, and content models into one about corporate growth? The key is in our ability to anticipate the business gains at each level up the pyramid, and then to articulate those gains.

Consider a research librarian who researches lawn mowers as part of her job, which is to help her company observe human behavior. She recognizes numerous kinds of documents just about lawn mowers, with only half coming from lawn mower companies: product operation documents, spec sheets, pricing sheets, marketing materials, consumer opinions, video blogs, environmental impact statements, market performance analyses, mower hacks, accident reports, videos, political cartoons, and correlation studies with everything from rainfall to household income. She believes identifying and categorizing all of these lawn mower documents will be useful to the business, leading ultimately to huge payoffs.

Not surprisingly, the CEO thinks she’s a little bit wacko, or at least naïve to business practicalities. Seriously, keyword search should be good enough. It’s not like we’re in the lawn mower business. But the librarian in this story has a deeper understanding than the CEO suspects:

Content level. New mower-related documents are appearing daily, from numerous sources and feeds. Some of these documents aren’t even about mowers as much as about golf courses, noise pollution, and portable fuel cans. The librarian wants to institute a tagging policy into the workflow, building a CV and putting the right keywords in place to validate the CEO’s “keyword search” idea. Thanks to this new approach, researchers will sift data faster and identify critical and viral ideas sooner, including some she's likely missing today. Bogus opinions and manufacturer bias are swiftly discarded—or emphasized, if that’s what someone wants.
Process level. Thanks to some quality tagging, librarians can provide up-to-the-minute answers (about lawn mowers) in less time and with greater accuracy. Writers can trust the results; presenters can trust the analysis they’ve asked for. Delays are gone, costs drop, and the wasteful back-and-forth game has been replaced with intelligent dialog and an opportunity for deeper analysis. The backlog is reduced. Knowing about lawn mowers morphs into intelligence gathering about gardening, about summer, about motors, all of which depend (at least in part) on knowing about lawn mowers.
Business level. The business unit starts to recognize a consumer upswing: clients wait less, customers pay more, and there are more customers out there (including internal users) than before. Empowerment leads to stronger engagement, so more people are visiting the website and existing companies further open their doors to better content. Third-party ratings improve, as does loyalty. Content providers are starting to adopt the librarian’s tagging approach; new standards are in their infancy. Vendors and partners are upping the stakes on collaborative initiatives, sharing more (and more often, now that there’s no backlog), and incentive programs are being born. And when it matters, the company can guarantee compliance, with actual guarantees.
Organizational level. In addition to increases in sales and market share, the company’s well-organized portfolio (of intelligence) and effective self-awareness opens the door to acquisition and new vendor partnerships. The company has become a stronger influence in the marketplace.

This may sound too good to be true, but it’s definitely not false. Remember that organizing content about lawn mowers was just a piece of the puzzle, a single tangible example for a pilot program. The logic is sound; taxonomy is a proven tool for bettering sales, customer loyalty, efficiency, compliance, and market share, all while reducing costs. No, what’s missing from this analysis are actual numbers. Using a vocabulary for document types (about lawn mowers!) to improve the likelihood of acquisition? What’s the reality?

Concretizing the Value of Taxonomy to Managers

Some decision-makers think in terms of ROI, or return on investment. ROI is a simple ratio between the cost of an initiative and the savings or revenues that result from that initiative. For example, if implementing a CV costs $10k but saves you $25k, then your ROI is 2.5. When there are clear cause-and-effect outcomes to a new project, ROI is a fantastic and even illustrative way to quantify value. Unfortunately, many people see ROI estimates as good in theory but requiring leaps of faith. For this reason, ROI really only works when it’s not an estimate, such as after a project is complete. Yet, librarians need a tool that works before the start of a project.

One solution is to use a pilot project, something inexpensive and small in scope. Find your “lawn mowers,” the low-hanging fruit that’s contained, tangible, and easy. Get a baseline value before the pilot, measure results after the pilot, and then calculate a honest-to-goodness real-life ROI. For example, how does query response time, measured in librarian-minutes, change once your taxonomy in place? Or perform a search audit and measure the quality of the top 20 search results (i.e., accuracy and relevance) before and after taxonomy application? When your customers are internal to the company, you can count certain kinds of transactions. An increase in requests or other transactions can be an indirect way to measure satisfaction or confidence. Measure knowledge reuse, perhaps by measuring download frequency, checkout length, or number of items printed. You can measure satisfaction now and later by asking your customers to provide scores and also explain their thinking behind them. Put all of these numbers into a spreadsheet; draw pretty charts. Get your managers to scratch their heads and think, “You did all that just by changing the words?” Search and SEO projects are ideal in this regard, because you can focus on just a few terms, and measurements of accuracy, efficiency, comprehensiveness, and rank are easily obtained. If you are clever in your keyword choices, you should have no trouble demonstrating what’s possible if someone would authorize some spending.

A completely different approach is estimating cost of doing business, or CBD. This is a way to recognize that certain expenses and investments are no-brainer preconditions to conducting business. Do you really want to be part of a company that makes your customers angry? Are you comfortable letting your competitors provide a better user experience? Do you like losing business? Do you want to be distrusted by the very people who should be engaging your services? In a nutshell, growth is essentially impossible without a proper foundation, and if your company runs on information (and whose don’t these days?), that information needs to be solid. CBD means taking a good look at the “Before” condition and adding up its costs: delays, inefficiencies, risk, mistakes. A single compliance failure can cause irreparable damage to both your finances and your reputation. So can a believed lie. If all you need is a little more oversight of your incoming metadata, why wouldn’t you do it? It’s like checking your email for viruses.

Which brings us again to the idea of translating your ideas to the top. This is a skill that requires practice; many librarians, information architects, and taxonomists can speak intelligently about schemas and synonym rings and user experience but still need help communicating to upper management. Thankfully, it’s not that hard.

After all, if anyone can trace an idea up a hierarchy, it’s people who build hierarchies.

ChapterNews―Winter―2010

2010-12-14T21:44:00.002-05:00

Year-End Message From the President
Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President 2010 | lhallingby@sorosny.org
2010 Holiday Party Pictures
Shirley Wong | shirleywong97@gmail.com
Increasing Awareness and Use of an Institutional Repository: The Power of an Intranet and a Starbucks Gift Card
Zehava Brickner | brickner@vera.org
Author Bruce Rosenstein Speaks to Joint SLA-NY and METRO program
Rita Ormsby, Co-chair SLA-NY Business & Finance Group
The Rise of Taxonomies and Where You Can Learn More
Ashley K. Marty | http://www.twitter.com/ashleykmarty | http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleykmarty
Tracking Down the Contents of the Port Authority Library
Anthony W. Robins | http://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyrobins
Spiritual Centers and Job Search Support
Jackie Kilberg | jackie_kilberg@mcgraw-hill.com | http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiekilberg
10 Tips about Teaching Graduate Students
David Adler | David.Adler@gmail.com

Chapter News reports on the upcoming activities of our many groups and committees, announces upcoming events, and highlights the extraordinary work being done by members of the New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association.

Editorial assistance for this issue was provided by Richard Reid, Tatiana Bryant and Kristin Charles-Scaringi.

As this is "for members, by members" we hope you’ll share your ideas for future stories and volunteer to write an article for an upcoming issue. Please contact Toby Lyles at lylesta@gmail.com to get involved. For our vendor members, numerous advertising opportunities are available. Please contact Happy Blitt hBlitt@elliottmgmt.com for details.

The spring 2011 issue will be published on March 22, 2011. Submissions are due February 5, 2011.

Year-End Message From the President

2010-12-14T21:43:00.000-05:00

Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President 2010 | lhallingby@sorosny.org

First, many thanks for giving me the honor of being SLA-NY President for 2010. My theme of “Forging a New Identity” seems like a good lens through which to view the work and activities of the Chapter this year. When I introduced this theme at the SLA-NY Annual Meeting in 2009, I was referring to our individual members needing to forge new identities in the workplace as our traditional library jobs change and vanish. Also our Chapter was about to launch into the Strategic Planning Process to forge our Chapter identity for the next 3 years. And finally our Association was in the midst of the Alignment Project to forge its own new identity for the 21st century.

I am pleased to report that SLA-NY, through the hard work of many members, has fulfilled this theme of Forging a New Identity on multiple fronts during 2010. At the individual member level, we have presented many professional and career development programs focused on helping our members who are in transition in the workplace and our members who are rethinking their careers in light of technological and other changes. Special thanks go to all of our program planners for providing us with so many programmatic opportunities for professional growth and development.

At the Chapter level we made great strides this year, starting with creating and introducing a new Strategic Plan including vision, mission and goals. Coming up with the new Plan was a long journey by a dedicated committee initiated by Steve Kochoff and brought to completion by Pam Rollo. The Plan is posted on the SLA-NY website. Its bold vision says:

Situated in a global center of knowledge and knowledge professionals, the SLA New York Chapter identifies, defines, and communicates the value of its members. The Chapter anticipates and evaluates trends with the intention of exploring and creating opportunities to influence the knowledge industry.

There are several associated calls to action including:

Membership
Fundraising
Updating of Library and Information Science Schools Curricula
Information Policy

I am happy to report that the Chapter has already mobilized to tackle the first three areas, and is also hard at work on another, not on this list, but underpinning of all of these, which is the redesign of the SLA-NY website.

Regarding Membership, the SLA-NY Board has passed a proposal for implementation in 2011 to engage more fully the several hundred people who are on our discussion list but are not actually members. They are our most obvious source of potential new members and we want to recruit as many of them as we can to be full participants in SLA for their benefit and for ours.

In the Fundraising arena, Bill Noorlander is chairing the new Vendor Partnership Committee to strategize about the Chapter’s relationship with vendors so that it is mutually beneficial to both them and us. This committee has come up with recommendations for a new way to approach vendors, asking for support for the year rather than event by event. There will be various levels of sponsorship, each with special benefits. The Committee is also coming up with suggested lists of vendors to approach for support in 2011. Letters will go out in late 2010.

A Library and Information School Curriculum (LISC) Committee has also begun working. A terrific group of volunteers came forth in response to an email requesting committee members to look at the relevance of library school curricula to the realities of today’s job market. The Committee is now working on a literature search on the topic at hand. Also, the individual members are looking at all the ALA Library School websites for evidence of such activities as surveying alums re their job experiences and opinions, holding job fairs, etc.

Underlying the Chapter’s ability to market itself to potential new members and to work more effectively with our vendor partners is our website which has gotten seriously out of date technologically. So I am truly delighted that we have a terrific committee which met in person a number of times this summer and fall to come up with a new plan for the site. The Committee has decided on all the information that needs to be included in the site and how it should be organized. At the same time, SLA global headquarters has selected a WordPress template theme for all the chapters to use which happily seems to work well with the Committee’s plan for the site. SLA-NY has been selected as a test site and thus now has access to the template. At this moment, members of the Website Redesign Committee members are writing text for pages which are being created by a Web Development Subcommittee. Committee members are committed to having the test version of the new site up before the end of 2010. This is a Great Leap Forward for the New York Chapter!

So those are the highlights at the Chapter level for 2010 in terms of carrying out my theme of “Forging a New Identity.” The SLA global level embodiment of this theme, the Alignment Project, has unfortunately gotten bogged down in the Association’s financial woes. Happily the New York Chapter has been on sound financial footing all year thanks to the great fundraising done by John Ganly and Bill Noorlander for the SLA 2009 Centennial.

I want to mention three other notable 2010 SLA-NY accomplishments:

The Chapter will have had an amazing total of 36 programs and events by the time that 2010 is over. Three activities per month for our members is an impressive level of activity and, most important, of service to our members and value for their investment in membership. Please do spread the word to the information professionals you know who are not current Chapter members.
The Chapter gave six scholarships to information professionals and students to attend the Annual Conference in New Orleans. All of them have written impressively about their experiences there for the current September issue of the chapter newsletter. If you have not read these reports yet, please do take the time to do so.
And speaking of the newsletter, Toby Lyles, the editor, has revived it in blog format with issues coming out in March, June, September, and December this year. Many people told me last year how much they missed the SLA-NY newsletter, so it is wonderful to have it reborn and thanks also to everyone who has written for it.

SLA-NY is fortunate in the extreme to have Pam Rollo, the current President Elect as incoming President for 2011. She is so bright, enthusiastic, energetic, visionary, and dedicated to our profession and has already been President in 2005 of the global Association. Please do get in touch with Pam if you would like to work on one of the Chapter’s many worthwhile projects and committees in the coming year. I can promise you a rewarding experience working with a terrific group of information professionals!

2010 Holiday Party Pictures

2010-12-14T21:42:00.001-05:00

Shirley Wong | shirleywong97@gmail.com

Author Bruce Rosenstein Speaks to Joint SLA-NY and METRO program

2010-12-14T21:41:00.002-05:00

Rita Ormsby, Co-chair SLA-NY Business & Finance Group | rjormsby@verizon.net

METRO Executive Director Dottie Hiebing;

Tom Nielsen, METRO membership;

Leigh Hallingby¸ SLA-NY President;

and author/librarian Bruce Rosenstein

Author and librarian Bruce Rosenstein spoke November 10, 2010, to members of SLA-NY and the New York Metropolitan Library Council (METRO), about applying Peter Drucker’s advice to one’s own life.

Rosenstein, author of Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life (Berrett-Koehler, 2009), was introduced to the writings of the “father of modern management” through an assigned reading for a library management class while a student in The Catholic University of America School of Library and Information Science program.

After graduation, Rosenstein, (SLA-DC) joined USA Today’s information Center, where he worked for more than 20 years. After a few years, he also started writing about business and management books and interviewing business leaders, including, on several occasions, Drucker, for their Money section. He videotaped an interview with Drucker in 2005, seven months before Drucker died at age 95. An edited version was shown to meeting attendees. He also began writing a book incorporating Drucker’s thoughts about personal development. Drucker had a wide range of interests and throughout his life took on new interests to study.

Like many, in late 2008, Rosenstein learned that his position was being eliminated. Describing his book as the “self-help” book Drucker never wrote, Rosenstein suggested that by following Drucker’s advice of “living in more than one world,” to develop interests and pursue roles in volunteer and other activities, can be rewarding and also can cushion the impact of setbacks in other areas of one’s life. In Rosenstein’s case, the deadline for his book was in early 2009. He also suggested teaching or guest lecturing as other possibilities.

While Rosenstein’s presentation at METRO was not recorded, one that he gave earlier the same day at Baruch College is available online: Bruce Rosenstein Talks on Peter Drucker. On Rosenstein’s web site, http://brucerosenstein.com/, there’s an excerpt of his videotaped interview with Drucker.

I planned this program after meeting Rosenstein at the SLA annual conference last year, after being introduced to him by e-mail by SLA-NY member Donna Slawsky, a Baruch colleague. I hope it was, and will be helpful to members who are in transitions, and also to those who are new graduates. It was timed in part to be among the events in two-year span celebrating the centennial of Drucker’s birth, which was November 19, 2009. It’s good to be reminded, by no less than Peter Drucker, that there’s more to life than work. At the same time, it was an opportunity to show a librarian in transition, Rosenstein, who followed an interest and continues to develop it. Rosenstein said it is not easy and takes time. He has thanked me for arranging the New York programs as he found the attendees to be interested and supportive.

It’s also good to be reminded we can help each other. Connections made through SLA can be valuable --as Rosenstein had once interviewed Slawsky while she was an MLS student, who prepared book exhibits at Harper Collins. That’s how I met her, as she wrote descriptions of the exhibits for Chapter News, which I, then new to the chapter, edited, in part to get to know more members. Rosenstein now teaches the special libraries course at The Catholic University of America, previously taught by SLA-NY member Guy St. Clair. At earlier moments in our careers, Tom Nielsen, from METRO, and I did part-time evening reference work at Polytechnical University’s library. We hope to do more joint programs in the future.

Increasing Awareness and Use of an Institutional Repository: The Power of an Intranet and a Starbucks Gift Card

2010-12-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

Zehava Brickner | brickner@vera.org

Zehava Brickner is a solo librarian at the Vera Institute of Justice. She holds an MLS from the Graduate School for Library and Information Studies at Queens College and is interested in taxonomies and exploring issues of copyright, user rights, and access to information. She continues to be fascinated by bibliographic citation managers and enjoys teaching people how to use them.

DORC is a commonly used word around the halls of the Vera Institute of Justice. The Vera Institute combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety. The Institute’s Louis Schweitzer Library supports the information needs of the Institute and demonstration project staff. DORC, an acronym for Digital Organizing Research Collection, is Vera’s private institutional repository that preserves and stores all of Vera’s work product in electronic format. This includes all reports published by Vera, newsletters, grant proposals, and scholarly articles published by Vera employees. It’s not the name of the repository that matters (or that it doesn’t even use proper English!), it’s the fact that all employees know and use this resource.

Vera has had an archive for the past several years, but it was only ever known by the name DSpace, which is the open source software the repository was built in. Until a little more than a year ago, most Vera staff didn’t even know there was an institutional archive, let alone know what it contained. Even when it was accessed, it did not look like a Vera resource—instead of Vera’s name or logo, there was a big DSpace logo on the upper left-hand corner. It was clear that we needed to rebrand and re-launch this resource if we were ever going to expect employees to use it on a regular basis.

Here’s a glimpse of our archive before the re-launch:

This publication is available on our website at http://www.vera.org/content/adolescent-portable-therapy-apt-juvenile-justice-system.

When the Institute was rolling out its new intranet platform, we decided to use the intranet’s blog to get employees involved in the archive reboot and upgrade. Our goals were twofold: publicize the library and its resources and promote the intranet itself, which, as the librarian, I co-administer. We held a contest to name the archive, and we used the intranet blog to solicit entries from staff. (We also offered a Starbucks gift card as a prize, which probably contributed to staff participation!) By running the contest through the blog, we cut back on e-mail correspondence and were able to get a sense of how people were using of the intranet.

We received more than twenty-five name suggestions, including several from employees based in our Washington DC office. This was particularly pleasing because one of our intranet goals was to connect with staff who did not primarily work at Vera’s New York City headquarters. We narrowed the list down to five names and posted them on the intranet, asking staff to vote for their favorite. In the end, “DORC” won, and in the process we were able to publicize the archive as a resource for staff.

Along with the renaming, we gave the archive interface a facelift. The DSpace logo was replaced with Vera’s logo, and the new name DORC was proudly displayed on the left-hand side. We also changed all colors in the repository to reflect the Vera-brand, purple. Now, when the archive is accessed, it’s clear that is it a Vera resource.

Here is what our upgraded, rebranded repository looks like:

An example of a publication in DORC. This publication is available on our website at http://www.vera.org/content/continuing-fiscal-crisis-in-corrections.

Since the renaming and re-launch, DORC has become an essential tool for employees doing research and looking for past publications. Our intranet, which includes a link to DORC on its homepage, continues to play a key role in publicizing the archive to current and new staff. We also designated specific Vera staff as archive administrators so that knowledge of DORC was spread across the Institute. The Communications Department is vital in uploading new publications, and other key staff members are responsible for uploading grant proposals and other documents. As the librarian, I continue to be the main archive administrator, liaising with The Longsight Group (the consulting firm that supports the archive) and assigning subject terms for each record.

The Rise of Taxonomies and Where You Can Learn More

2010-12-14T21:39:00.001-05:00

Ashley K. Marty | http://www.twitter.com/ashleykmarty | http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleykmarty

Ashley will receive her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the Pratt Institute’s School of Library Science (SILS) in Brooklyn this December. In addition to being a student, she is an ontologist at AOL. After graduation, Ashley hopes to continue working with ontologies and is vaguely obsessed with the semantic web and linked data.

In her recent New York Times Magazine article, "Prize Descriptions" about Wikipedia as a medium, Virginia Heffernan writes, “Every new symbolic order requires a taxonomist to make sense of it.” Be it strictly hierarchical structures that classify the animal kingdom or more ontological structures that classify and relate products on Amazon.com, taxonomies and taxonomists have make sense of things for users. Due to the growth of both content and commerce on the internet in recent years, the role of taxonomists as sense-makers seems to be becoming more prominent.

In the past year or so, the term "taxonomy" has gained popularity. This time last year when I told people I was a "taxonomist," many jumped to the conclusion that I stuffed dead animals for a living. Lately, though, it seems that people not only have an idea of what the term means, but also want to know more about it. It has certainly come up a lot more in the discussions I’ve had with other library and information sciences (LIS) students and professionals. I’ve also spoken with some non-LIS and non-tech people about the topic. To top it off, many of the blogs and publications, such as Slate and New York Magazine, I read have been using “taxonomies” (in quotations because the term is used quite loosely) in their content on a semi-regular basis. Admittedly, most of these are simple tongue-in-cheek classifications, but they get the basic gist.

As an almost-graduate of an LIS program and a working taxonomist/ontologist/content strategist/information architect/maker-of-sense, I can’t help but be excited that classification is becoming cool (not that it was ever uncool in my eyes or probably the eyes of anyone reading this). There is nothing more exciting than being able to organize things in groups and creating relationships that help end-users find related content. In the course of any given day at work, I get to work (read: play) with words; research how end-users classify; and search for content and try to create the best possible scenario for navigating, classifying and relating it. Occasionally, when I’m in meetings with non-taxonomist, non-librarian, non-tech businesspeople and I explain the benefits of classification, they get as excited (sometimes more excited) as I am about it.

That said, as a student and taxonomist I’ve found a lot of great resources and groups to help me out on the theory and practice of creating, managing, testing and editing taxonomies. So if you’re interested, here are some books, blogs and groups worth checking out:

Books/Print

"The Accidental Taxonomist" by Heather Hedden
This is a fantastic book for new taxonomists. It provides basic, practical information and resources without over simplifying things. Hedden also teaches an online course at Williams that I haven’t yet taken, but have heard great things about.

"Semantic Web for the Working Ontologist by Dean Allemang and James Hendler
This book provides an in-depth look at how ontologists can model data to work with the semantic web. While it is not a basic introduction to taxonomy, it’s a must-have if you’re interested in both taxonomies and the semantic web.

ANSI/NISO 239.19-2005 Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies
This is a structured thesauri bible of sorts. It provides guidelines and rules for everything from term selection to testing.

Blogs

The Taxonomy Blog
This blog focuses on practical skills and resources for taxonomists, as well as information aboutnew tools on the web.

VocabControl
Fran Alexander is the taxonomy manager at the BBC. She writes about such topics as taxonomy and content on her blog. It’s slightly more theoretical than The Taxonomy Blog above, but definitely one of my favorites.

Groups/Meetings

Taxonomy Community of Practice
I love the daily digest e-mail I get from this group. For starters, I’ve yet to see anyone fail to get a reply for inquiries they’ve posted. Additionally, it keeps me abreast of questions and issues people have. It’s an incredibly informative andsupportive group.

Taxonomy Meetup NY
Admittedly, I’ve yet to attend one of these meetups. But they’ve just been restarted and look like a great place to catch up with local taxonomists, discuss taxonomy issues and network.

These are just a few basic resources and there is definitely more information out there to be found. It’s worth noting that every person I’ve interacted with in this field has been more than willing to answer questions, share information and generally provide guidance to aspiring or new taxonomists such as myself.

Tracking Down the Contents of the Port Authority Library

2010-12-14T21:38:00.000-05:00

Anthony W. Robins | http://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyrobins

Anthony W. Robins, who spent 20 years on the staff of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (Deputy Director of Research, then Director of Survey), is an historian specializing in New York City history and architecture. Today he writes, lectures, teaches (Columbia and NYU) and leads walking tours – always on the subject of the city’s buildings and neighborhoods. He is currently preparing a new edition of his 1987 book about the architecture and planning of the World Trade Center.

Back in the 1980s, I wrote a short book on the architecture and planning of the World Trade Center. Fortunately for me, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the quasi-governmental agency that built and operated the Trade Center, had organized and catalogued an enormous amount of printed material about the Center’s construction. I spent many months in the Authority’s library, poring over documents.

The library occupied space on the 55th floor of Tower One, reached by the Trade Center’s extraordinary local and express elevator system. I can still remember what it felt like to zoom up in the express elevator – it could be an ear-popping experience. The library was a lovely space, well lit, comfortable, with spectacular views. Its only discomfiting aspect was the creaking of the walls, perhaps caused by the tower’s swaying slightly in the wind. The librarians – lovely and extremely helpful – made available all kinds of material, from promotional brochures to press releases to telegrams to internal discussion documents to endless newspaper and periodical clippings. They also permitted me (though I suspect this had to be cleared at higher levels) to make copies of much of the material. I couldn’t have written the book without their help.

In 1995, the Port Authority’s leadership changed, and the new executive director, in cost-cutting mode, closed the library. Not long afterward, I spoke with a couple of people at the Port Authority – all of them uniformly dismayed at the library’s closing – and they suggested that perhaps I now had the only set of copies of archival material regarding the Trade Center’s construction. That seemed unlikely – how could such an archive just be thrown out? If the library had been disbanded, perhaps it had been acquired by another library, or perhaps it was in deep storage somewhere. So when, earlier this year, I began planning a new edition of the book, I tried to learn the collection’s fate. It took some doing, but thanks to the members of the SLA I did eventually find the answer.

Turning first to the web, I came across an article by a library student at Kent State University, according to which nobody knew what happened to the Port Authority library. That sounded distinctly unlikely – given the thousands of people working at the Port Authority, somebody must have known. I’d heard that some of the papers of the World Trade Institute had been acquired from the Port Authority by Pace University. So I called the Pace library to inquire if by chance they had also acquired the Port Authority library. Unfortunately – as Michelle Fanelli, part-time reference librarian at Pace, explained – while the university had indeed acquired the Institute (which remained on-site at the Trade Center), it hadn’t also acquired the library. She then suggested that I try the discussion list of the New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. And that’s when I discovered the power of networking within the library community.

After joining the SLA discussion list and posting a question, I received close to two dozen responses. These included the names of former staff of the Port Authority library; accounts of people who'd tried to find the library and been unsuccessful; suggestions for other libraries that might have acquired the material; and even a request from an employee of a law firm involved in WTC-related litigation to pass on the information if I found it.

One SLA member passed on the request to an engineer who had worked at the Port Authority for 20 years. The engineer wrote:

I can ask around, but from what I recall all the material was basically up for grabs for whoever wanted it. I know in Engineering we grabbed some stuff. The Planning Department and some of the other Line Departments may also have some stuff. It was a sad day when they disbanded the library.

Melinda Gottlieb, Chief Librarian of the Staten Island Advance, sent the following:

According to a 2002 article from Archaeology, "Cultural Loss in Lower Manhattan" by Colleen P. Popson, the Port Authority archives were still housed at the World Trade Center and were lost in the 9/11 attacks. The good news: “Found beneath Tower One were portions of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's historical pictorial archive, which documents the last 80 years of the metropolitan transportation system."

Another member asked a friend, formerly an employee of the Port Authority library, who sent this response:

If memory serves, the Port Authority attempted to sell the collection to many places but was unsuccessful. The library was quite large, 75,000 volumes, with three full-time reference librarians. I believe we had a total staff of 10 or 12. Our transportation and world trade subject concentrations were impressive. We also held most of the original blueprints and other materials related to the building of the New York-New Jersey bridges and tunnels, and the Trade Center itself. In addition, we had the original Compact [creating the Port Authority] signed by New York and New Jersey in 1921.

Jane Minotti, librarian at the Research Library of the New York State Department of Transportation, passed on the request to Carol Paszamant, librarian at the Research Library of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (both are members of the SLA Transportation Division). Ms. Paszamant reported this remarkable story:

In 2001 the Port Authority invited a bunch of libraries, including Rutgers, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, SUNY-Maritime, and New Jersey DOT, to meet to discuss the splitting up and sharing of the Port Authority Library's collection [which] had previously been packed up and [stored] in the fourth sub-basement of the World Trade Center. Some of their most important documents had gone to an office in Queens instead of to the sub-basement. We had all met a couple of times at the Port Authority's offices in Newark, NJ to discuss how we would split up the collection, and at one point, they supplied each of us with a CD containing the metadata of the library's holdings. We had been scheduled to return on September 11th, but the meeting was postponed ahead of time. Needless to say, we all know what happened that day, and the collection was destroyed with the rest of the WTC.

Finally, a former librarian at the Port Authority passed on my request to the PR folks there, who sent the official response:

The Port Authority Library was closed in 1995 by Executive Director George Marlin as part of a broader focus on the agency's transportation mission that resulted in a downsizing of the agency. As to the collection, the short answer is much of the collection was a victim of September 11. Some items in the collection went to individual libraries -- but not in bulk -- and the balance was being stored in a cage on the B-4 subgrade.

In summary, the library once held some 75,000 volumes, tended by three full-time reference librarians, with extensive holdings on transportation and world trade, as well as original blueprints of bridges and tunnels and, of course, documents about the history of the Trade Center itself. In 1995, under a new administration, the Port Authority closed the library as a cost-saving measure. It was packed up and stored in a basement area at the site. Some parts of the collection were rescued by interested Port Authority employees, and if those documents were taken off-site, perhaps they still exist somewhere. An effort in 2001 to split up the collection among other libraries would have secured the rest of the collection, but that, unfortunately, hadn't yet happened by September 11 of that year. So the bulk of the collection, in the basement area, was destroyed during the disaster.

The account of the hunt, as it originally appeared on the SLA discussion list, has been picked up in several blogs, including an entry – posted by a student at Pratt Institute’s School of Information and Library Science – in a blog called “Free Government Information (FHI).” That blog entry has in turn been picked up by several other sites.

It appears that my file drawer full of copies of documents from the library may, after all, really be the only surviving set of World Trade Center documents from the Port Authority archives. I’m planning to scan and include as many of them as possible in an appendix in the new edition of the book. Because this is a self-publishing venture in the brave new world of POD and e-books, I have more latitude to include such things than might have been possible with a traditional publisher. With luck, the book will come out sometime in 2011.

Thanks, again, to all the members of the SLA who sent suggestions and information!

Spiritual Centers and Job Search Support

2010-12-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

Jackie Kilberg | jackie_kilberg@mcgraw-hill.com | http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiekilberg

Jackie Kilberg has been information professional for over 25 years. She has worked for PWC and is currently a research associate and corporate archivist for The McGraw-Hill Companies. You can contact Jackie through LinkedIn

If you attend a local spiritual center in your community, inquire if they offer a faith-based job support group or locate one from the list below and remember that any venue you attend, even a spiritual one, can lead to potential employment.

Career Transition Partnership
An interfaith community, business and industry partnership created to provide free services to the unemployed and under-employed of South Jersey and Philadelphia Areas http://ctpnj.org/

Crossroads Career Network
A national coalition of some 100 Christian-denomination and independent churches, offers job search and career transition programs. http://www.crossroadscareer.org/

Jewish Vocational Service
A nonprofit network of 28 national and international human service agencies in major metropolitan areas in the United States, Canada, and Israel. http://www.iajvs.org/

St. Bart’s in Manhattan Career Assistance Center
Provides networking with professional career-coaches http://www.stbarts.org/

Work Ministry
A private firm that helps faith-based organizations develop job support groups. It includes 170 groups in 29 states http://www.workministry.com/

Let's keep this this growing. Add your ideas below.

10 Tips about Teaching Graduate Students

2010-12-14T21:36:00.000-05:00

David Adler | David.Adler@gmail.com

For the past couple of years, I taught Introduction to Library Science at St. John’s University School of Information and Library Science. Reflecting on my experience, I thought that I would list some pointers that will be helpful for those teaching graduate students for the first time.

Always respect the students
If the class is two hours long, make sure you have three hours worth of material
Communicate in the first class what the students can expect in terms of coursework, your grading rubric and assignments
Teach the class from an academic and work point of review. I did that and the students got a lot out of it. (Bring in professionals who work in the field that you are teaching about. For ex: Teaching about Taxonomy, bring in a Taxonomist)
Expect some students to be unhappy about their grade. When they complain, listen to them and make the decision accordingly
Make the assignments fun and interesting. If there are group assignments, make the groups have catchy names. (It does work)
Do not be afraid to say the following

I do not know
That is a great question and I will have an answer for you in the next class

When a question is asked, instead of you answering the question, punt the question to the class and have them answer the question. This fosters class participation
For each class, try to see if there is an article or some event that happened in the past week that can be used as an example for what you are trying to teach
Any time that a projector or laptop is needed, make sure that IT knows and there are no technology issues. Nothing bores a class more when the professor is trying to use a laptop and it does not work

ChapterNews―Fall―2010

2010-09-20T09:08:00.009-04:00

Top Tips for SLA-NY Job/Career Changers
Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President 2010 | lhallingby@sorosny.org
An Enforceable Code of Ethics: Why Archivists Should Be Demanding One
Paul Morris | p.morris54@gmail.com
Information Overload
Jackie Kilberg | jackie_kilberg@mcgraw-hill.com | http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiekilberg
The New Orleans Public Library Five Years after Katrina: Progress and Perspective
Charles J. Lowry | clowry@fastcase.com

SLA-NY Scholarship Winners Write about Their Experience at the Annual Conference in New Orleans, 2010:

Networking, When You're Not Working
Seth J. Bookey | sbookey@gmail.com
SLA Conference 2010: A Blueprint for Success!
Crystal M. Cutler | cutlerc1@gmail.com
Four Days of Wall-to-Wall Knowledge Sharing
Robert Drzewicki | rdrzewicki@gmail.com
Rebuild, Restore, Renew
Moy H. McIntosh | Moy_McIntosh@yahoo.com
Notes on New Orleans
Kerry Prendergast | kprendergast@wcs.org
Mingling with Professionals in the Crescent City
Shirley Zhao | shirl0207@yahoo.com

Chapter News reports on the upcoming activities of our many groups and committees, announces upcoming events, and highlights the extraordinary work being done by members of the New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association.

Editorial assistance for this issue was provided by Tatiana Bryant, Kristin Charles-Scaringi, Lynn Chon, and Richard Reid.

As this is "for members, by members" we hope you’ll share your ideas for future stories and volunteer to write an article for an upcoming issue. Please contact Toby Lyles at lylesta@gmail.com to get involved. For our vendor members, numerous advertising opportunities are available. Please contact Happy Blitt hBlitt@elliottmgmt.com for details.

The winter issue will be published on December 13, 2010. Submissions are due November 1, 2010.

The New Orleans Public Library Five Years After Katrina: Progress and Perspective

2010-09-20T09:07:00.000-04:00

Charles J. Lowry | clowry@fastcase.com

Five years ago, when the winds of Hurricane Katrina sent the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Industrial Canal overtopping the levees, all areas and segments of New Orleans suffered. In a city where the educational and cultural milieu traditionally had several distinct layers, it is not surprising that the New Orleans Public Library suffered in various ways and in varying degrees. The immediate effect on the library was difficult enough. Of the thirteen branches, eight were rendered completely unusable and unable to reopen. Books were destroyed, facilities under water, surrounding communities scattered and devastated. More than 300,000 books, CDs and other items were destroyed, almost half of the total collection. In a city chronically short of money, the prospects were not good for the library. The tax base was so thoroughly undermined by the destruction that by the time the Loyola Avenue main library reopened, two months after Katrina, the city had already laid off 196 of the library’s 217 employees.

The news was not all terrible, by the way: the library’s archives and rare documents were held in below-ground storage, eighteen feet below the main library. Incredibly, the anti-flood works held, and the priceless collection was unharmed. These materials included slave ship manifests and logs, the official records of the City of New Orleans from 1769 onward and special music and Mardi Gras collections dealing with New Orleans history and culture.

It was a particularly joyless Halloween which saw the reopening of the library in 2005, just about two months after Katrina. Most of the population of New Orleans was still scattered. Nurses, firefighters and police officers were living in houseboats on the River. Restaurants, museums, movie theaters, hospitals, dental clinics, dry cleaners and retail outlets were closed. City services were spotty in some neighborhoods, non-existent in others, public utilities were being restored only block by block, and there was no local telephone service—not a big deal, you might say, until you stop to think of the impact on credit card acceptance. It was in such a city that the library reopened, with a small staff and a precious gift to New Orleans: wireless! Because of staffing, safety and logistical concerns, only the main library on Loyola Avenue was open, with very limited hours, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

During that first week, there were very few traditional research and borrowing users for the library. A few books were returned from borrowers who had been able to get back to New Orleans after the storm. By far the greatest and most practical use of the library was computer-related. Lines formed before the library opened and continued all day for the terminals in the computer room, about twenty computers available for e-mail and web surfing. The much-reduced professional staff was engaged largely in damage assessment and strategic planning, very much impeded by financial uncertainty.

How much progress has been made in five years? Much is evident, and much remains to be done. Employee count in five years has crept up to approximately 170, about 20% less than pre-Katrina levels, though for a city with a population about 35% smaller than in 2005. The general recovery in New Orleans has continued, slowly but demonstrably. Population has inched back up over 350,000, from a total of just under 500,000 before the storm (see the excellent summary in the New Orleans Master Plan. Thirteen branches are open again and serving their communities. Five temporary facilities exist, generally in trailers, at various locations throughout city neighborhoods. These five temporary locations will soon be served by new facilities, underwritten by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and expedited under the Design-Build program, which shortens the time period for planning, review and construction in post-Katrina New Orleans. Parenthetically, a simply search of the Gates Foundation site will offer impressive and welcome testimony of what the Foundation has done for the Gulf Coast in general and New Orleans in particular after Katrina.

Library funding proved to be difficult during the post-Katrina years. The library operating budget was just over $7,500,000 in 2004, pre-Katrina. The city spent $6,000,000 on the library in 2005, the year in which Katrina could almost be said to have knocked a third of the city’s year away. The worst year was 2006, where the library operating budget fell to under $2,500,000. The budget has incrementally been restored to pre-Katrina levels in the subsequent years, equaling the 2004 budget in 2009 and actually slightly surpassing it in 2010.

The library, under the imaginative and dedicated lead of chairman—and well-known New Orleans musician—Irvin Mayfield, has a twenty-year master plan. By 2030, the library hopes to have upgraded or rebuilt all the branches damaged by Katrina, at a cost of $200,000,000. The library board imagines an operating budget of approximately $16,000,000 per year, about twice the current operating budget. To do that will require a combination of public and private resources that extends beyond what has up to now ever been available. Still, the library board is hopeful. The outpouring of support from both foundations and individuals—including thousands of librarians—has convinced the board that its goals are possible and has energized the board to pursue them. And all of us can help, in various ways. Here is the link to the donation site that can make us all part of one of the greatest recovery projects in library history: http://www.noplf.org/Donate.html

Let us close with two thoughts. One is from a Valerie Martin novel which well expresses the views of many who love New Orleans, especially poignant sentiments in the aftermath of Katrina. The other expresses the feelings at this time of year of all decent people:

* It is an odd sensation to recognize in oneself the need to be in a particular physical environment, when one longs for the home ground no matter how terrible the memories it holds, no matter how great the efforts to leave it behind. So I have left this city again and again and thought myself lucky to escape its allure… Where else could I find these hateful, humid, murderously hot afternoons when I know that the past was a series of great mistakes, the greatest being the inability to live anywhere besides this swamp?... I don't think I will leave the city again.

…[L]ife is not intolerable. Our city is an island, physically and psychologically; we are tied to the rest of the country only by our own endeavor. The river from which we drink drains a continent; it has to be purified for days before we can stomach it. We smile to ourselves when people from more fashionable centers find us provincial, for if we are free of one thing, it's fashion. The future holds a simple promise. We are well below sea level, and inundation is inevitable. We are content, now, to have our heads above water.

* Geaux Saints!

Chuck Lowry is a sales representative for Fastcase and a long-time SLA member. Even when he is daydreaming in his beloved New Orleans, he can be reached at clowry@fastcase.com.

Networking, When You're Not Working

2010-09-20T09:06:00.000-04:00

Seth J. Bookey | sbookey@gmail.com

As an SLA New York chapter member for several years now, I have gone to the annual SLA meetings every year since 2006. Usually, I paid my own way, since I was either working in publishing, or working for a library that didn't appreciate the value of my involvement in a professional organization.

This year, I found myself unemployed since January 2009, and I just couldn't afford to go to New Orleans, pay for my share of a hotel stay, and also pay for the conference registration fee. Fortunately, I applied for our Chapter's scholarship and received one of the three being offered to professionals. Another three went to student members of the chapter.
Having a little exposure or knowledge about a new product or database sometimes comes in handy on a job interview

When you are a student or not working, finding the right mixes of conference sessions is not always easy. My first and last full-time librarian position was for a genealogical society, which was nice, since my first love is family history. Unfortunately, the many times I have gone to SLA, only once did a session involve genealogy databases--it was geared toward news librarianship (my second love). Many sessions are geared toward very specific types of special libraries, and unless you really want to break into chemistry libraries, for example, the challenge for me this year, and every year, has been finding classes that are more general in nature. Also, being the Chapter's Webmaster this year, I also sought out more classes involving technology.

To that end, I heartily enjoyed Nicole Engard's discussion of open-source software, in which she explained what it is, what it is not, and gave a lot of great examples of what's available out there. I also went to a session on Drupal, an open-source content-management system that's getting a lot of use in libraries, which featured an example of how it is used in a federal library.

I also got a lot out of "Your Personal Brand and Social Media" as well as a business reference session, which was helpful since I took my business reference course at Queens College in 1995.

One thing I did this year that was a departure from previous conferences I attended. I spent quality time visiting vendors at the INFO-EXPO Hall. Of course, I have always visited the show floor, but this year, I devoted more time to talking with the vendors, asking more questions, and watching more demos. Of course, I wanted to win an iPad like everyone else, but past experience has shown that having a little exposure or knowledge about a new product or database sometimes comes in handy on a job interview, as it did for me two days after returning from New Orleans and getting an interview (but not the job).

As always, networking is a big part of the annual SLA conference experience. Every year, my partner Eric Schwarz (past president of the SLA New Jersey Chapter) and I have gone to both the business meetings and the no-host dinners for the GLBT Issue Caucus. This year, an archivist recording the events of New Orleans' drag king acts gave us a look at how information gets disseminated informally in underserved groups. And dinner was at New Orleans' second-oldest restaurant.

I also had a chance to run into and talk with other SLA members who are working on their chapters' Websites. This year, it turns out that our Chapter is not the only one looking to change its Website, so I had a chance to discuss informally what other divisions and chapters are examining in terms of platform and software changes.

Networking is not just relegated to seeing the people you see only once a year. I also got to spend more quality time with some of the New York Chapter members I see regularly. Like many New Yorkers, our Chapter's more involved members are often too busy to see each other outside of meetings and events. Meeting in the Big Easy facilitated a lot more unstructured, unscheduled chances to catch up and get to know each other better, which is certainly part of the glue that helps things work better while we're running around busy back in the Big Apple.

SLA Conference 2010: A Blueprint for Success!

2010-09-20T09:05:00.002-04:00

Crystal M. Cutler | cutlerc1@gmail.com

Crystal Cutler works in a corporate library and is completing her MS LIS degree. She can be reached at cutlerc1@gmail.com.

More than a call to a series of do-able actions, it was a blueprint for personal and professional success in these changing times.The Opening Keynotes set the tone; Mary Matalin on aggregate tools, order versus random organization and accountabilities even for 3rd graders. Followed by husband James Carville, "Today, the availability of information is unlike anything we've ever known. What then, happens to knowledge?" SLA Conference 2010 was an important discussion about value, service and the future of things. But for a graduate student/first-time attendee/mid-career changer like me, it was pure gold; focusing me for the career ahead. More than a call to a series of do-able actions, it was a blueprint for personal and professional success in these changing times.

New Orleans was the perfect backdrop, with its tenacity and timeless beauty. Carville surmised it this way, as a boy in New Orleans, they'd each get a bag of clams then go on a mission to see how many different ways they could cook them. Variety, creativity; these were the N’Orleans way. Another presenter asserted, "There are an infinite number of things you can do with your degree. Throw away your resume. Think skills not roles. Don't talk to HR. Go out and find the manager or leader that's going to hire you." Each enthralling session encouraged attendees to focus on their service. Whether employed or not, envision yourselves as Consultants with employers and patrons as clients of our services. Think of their needs. Help others. Find others to help you. Promote yourself and your team.

Ask yourselves, why do you do what you do? What value do you have? Then demonstrate it.Continue to develop professionally. Improve knowledge. Stay current and on the leading edge of trends. Then go forth and market, brand, blog! Show up confident, competent and credible. Manage. Collaborate. Expand beyond your comfort zone. Be thought leaders. Innovate. Leverage social networks, media, technologies, even research to be positioned as players at the table when problems are defined. Ask yourselves, why do you do what you do? What value do you have? Then demonstrate it. Show that you can help solve problems. Know where your organization is going to be in three years and help them get there. Identify a gap and fill it. Then, mentor! It feeds back into this industry.

We have so many resources at our fingertips we really shouldn’t save them all for our client’s use. Utilize them to build backroom conversations, talking points and relationships. Make relationship deposits before attempting any withdrawals. As our own best resource we should all talk to friends and peers, then read-watch-do. Utilize Universal Principles of Reciprocation to return favors over and over again. And of Scarcity; the less something is available, the more it is wanted. We must increase our value. Be leaders, influencers, advocates for libraries, librarians/information professionals and the profession. Measure, evaluate and assess your achievements, time spent, costs and results. Change isn't all bad. Often, it comes bearing opportunities and career agility. This conference was just what I needed to complete my study and transformation. I returned home and like Nicholas Carr suggested in his closing address, continued to deeply absorb. Think I’ll start planning for 2011.

Four Days of Wall-to-Wall Knowledge Sharing

2010-09-20T09:04:00.001-04:00

Robert Drzewicki | rdrzewicki@gmail.com

Robert Drzewicki is currently a graduate student in the MLS program at St. Johns University.

"Branding happens whether you want it or not," so best address it head on and actively take control and manage how you want to be seen by others.The SLA annual convention is officially over—WOW!—however, four days of wall-to-wall knowledge sharing sessions, outside networking events, vendor demos and the hospitality of New Orleans (along with the intense heat!) have made it difficult to get back to my regular daily schedule—what a great and memorable experience!

To provide some background, I am currently working on an MLS degree and trying to determine which career path I should focus on come graduation. Prior to the convention, I took advantage of the convention online planner and scheduled a few knowledge management, competitive intelligence, taxonomy and digital library sessions. These are of most interest to me as they are school courses I have recently completed or school courses I will be taking in the upcoming months. Besides scheduled sessions, I planned to attend some Business and Finance Division events along with Information Technology Division open houses. Fortunately, there were plenty of sessions, events and open houses offered to choose from!

All of the sessions I attended were excellent. Some of the sessions I found most memorable were as follows:

Social media is a hot topic and was well represented. I was able to catch 2 notable sessions: "Your Personal Brand and Social Media" and "Social Media for Business Intelligence." "Your Personal Brand and Social Media" was presented by Kim Dority and Scott Brown. They shared numerous tips for managing your online professional presence. Kim provided a few catch phrases which registered with me and drove home some main points. Concerning how to approach personal branding, she relayed, "market yourself as an undervalued asset about to go public." You are the authority on you, so present yourself in the best and most professional light possible. "You cannot talk your way out of something you worked your way into," in other words, lead by example. When sharing content, it is important to build your brand with your everyday actions. Finally, "branding happens whether you want it or not," so best address it head on and actively take control and manage how you want to be seen by others. Scott than followed up on some of the concepts and shared a number of examples with the audience.

"Social Media for Business Intelligence" was given by Ken Sickles from the Pharma Division. It was one of the most popular sessions I had attended. The room could not hold all the participants and the crowd spilled into the hallways. It involved using Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook and other popular social media sites to legally obtain competitive intelligence. Forty-five percent of small and private businesses use Facebook or Twitter—which is more than have a website! You can see company information on Facebook and Twitter ethically without exposing yourself. What are companies, suppliers, customers, partners and employees saying? The answer, as Ken relayed, "it can be as simple as putting out a tweet" instead of undertaking a massive Google search for information pertaining to company, people and products.

Knowledge Management was also well represented. Patrick Lambe hosted two intriguing sessions: "The Future of Knowledge Managers" and "Knowledge Management and Taxonomy." In "The Future of Knowledge Managers," Patrick kicked off the session by stating that Knowledge Management was "a fad that just will not go away." But the question is "WHY?" Simply, because—quality corporate knowledge will always be needed! He spoke about current problems and misconceptions that permeate the profession giving rise to detractors such as different mental models and lack of agreement on terms, needs and expectations. He also shared some insights on new roles and competencies that are relevant.

"Knowledge Management and Taxonomy" covered how taxonomy should be integrated into a successful Knowledge Management strategy. Emphasis was placed on taxonomy roles and responsibilities not taxonomy structures. He illustrated using a case study and the CYNEFIN sense making framework developed by David Snowden where you can identify four quadrants and progression of knowledge taxonomies progressing from chaotic (information overload, putting out fires), to known (developing docs and templates), to knowable (best practices and tacit), to complex (discovering patterns and trends, building wisdom).

Speaking of taxonomy, Heather Hedden presented “Taxonomy Made Easy,” based on her book The Accidental Taxonomist. I first met Heather at an SLA convention first timers networking event. The session provided an introduction to taxonomy, covering terminology and application. It was a thorough primer on the topic.

I also attended a few Business and Finance events with the Business and Finance Award Ceremony and Reception being the most memorable. This was a valuable opportunity to learn about and meet award winners and leaders in my division in a casual environment.

Finally, the convention closing presentation given by Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains, painted a cautious picture of the future of the internet and its effects on the human ability to read deeply, absorb knowledge and how it will ultimately transform our lives in the future. Certainly food for thought....

Thanks again SLA-NY for providing this wonderful opportunity!

Rebuild, Restore, Renew

2010-09-20T09:03:00.000-04:00

Moy H. McIntosh | Moy_McIntosh@yahoo.com

Moy McIntosh is the Librarian at Fitch Ratings in New York. She is on the SLA New York Nominating and Program Committees. She attended Pratt’s MLIS program where she was a former President of SLA@Pratt. She has an undergraduate degree in Art History and Anthropology. She worked in the museum field prior to changing her focus to business librarianship.
Like the city we have to rebuild with training
For me this trip to New Orleans was very special. Not only was this my first SLA Conference, an opportunity to meet and be inspired by our best, but this city has held a mythical image in my mind since childhood. In 1969, my mother traveled from Sweden to visit a small town in Kansas to see her kindergarten classmate from Germany. My father lived next door and they met over coffee. Two weeks later for their fourth date, he flew to New Orleans. They met at the famous Two Sisters Restaurant for dinner and he proposed with a simple gold band "in case she said yes." As if New Orleans didn’t have enough of a romantic mysterious image. To a child this glorious city could entrance my level-headed mother to marry a man she’d only met three times. What treasures could it teach me?

Recently I realized that our conference in New Orleans was near the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. While I was there the sentiment of fight and resilience was quite evident with the city and its citizens. With the recent oil spill, variations of the Katrina theme of "Rebuild, Restore, Renew" could be spotted everywhere, from tourist shop t-shirts and shot glasses, to elegant prints in art gallery windows. As I took a photo of one of these window displays it occurred to me that with my career I should always try to rebuild, retrain, and renew.

The similarities between NOLA and SLA kept hitting me in the head like beignets I couldn’t resist that I ate again and again. While on the Degas tour, our guide mentioned the city was spared the burning and destruction that befell Charleston during the Civil War due to the new importance of railroads in the country. The city’s port and businesses failed, yet with time the Crescent City rebounded. We, like New Orleans, have retained a great history and an image to which we are connected, but like the city we have to rebuild with training. Just as the city has shown through the press that the tourists are back, the number of small businesses are at a record high, and the gumbo is still grand. We have to prove with our own press that we are as vital and needed as before.

I can’t express how honored I felt to be a part of SLA-NY during the awards presentation. To see Guy St. Claire and John Ganly be honored and the many New York members speaking their praises was very inspiring. We are a very strong group with many having the drive to lead great careers and the desire to give back to their community. The evening filled me with enthusiasm and made me wonder of all I could learn from these fantastic careers. The next day with this new exhilaration still coursing through my mind, I attended the Rising Star and SLA Fellows Roundtable. I was eager to hear the panel’s thoughts. It was a well planned event with each award-winning Fellow paired with a Rising Star winner from the previous night and given a subject to discuss. To have each topic viewed through the enthusiastic eyes of the Rising Star and then counterbalanced by the insight of the Fellow was a fascinating approach and well worth repeating next year. I thought how could we bring this to SLA-NY and then realized that I have already seen this at work, from wonderful mentors and fellow members that have always been very willing to give advice, to the constant push to get recent members involved on boards and committees.

I would like to thank SLA for giving me the opportunity to attend my first SLA Conference in New Orleans. Without the scholarship I would not have been able to afford the venture. New Orleans was amazing and I can’t wait to go back. She taught me a lot about strength, courage, and originality. The conference and the city will forever be a source of inspiration on how I want my career to be, how I will achieve it, and the courage it will take to always rebuild, restore, and renew.

Notes on New Orleans

2010-09-20T09:01:00.001-04:00

Kerry Prendergast | kprendergast@wcs.org

Kerry Prendergast is the Director of Wildlife Conservation Society Library, Bronx, New York

This was a good opportunity for me to learn about what they offer and how their products might be beneficial to our scientists.Attending the SLA conference in New Orleans this year felt very much like the first time I went to one back in the 1980s. Even though I have attended several conferences in between, this one had a different feel for me because of my new position as Library Director at the Wildlife Conservation Society (you might know us as the Bronx Zoo). I was attending as a new librarian because I had not worked in science library before, nor had I ever worked for a non-profit.

I figured I had a lot to learn and attending the conference would be a good place to start. SLA-NY’s generosity made that possible.

My game plan was simple: attend as many science-related sessions as possible, talk to our most important vendors, and network with as many science librarians as possible. I diverged from the plan on a couple of occasions to attend sessions that might not be specifically applicable to my new field or because I ran into old friends and got distracted (that happens a lot at these conferences).

Here are a few of the sessions I attended: Scientific Publishing & the Mobile Revolution, Future of Science Librarianship, Data Curation: Reinventing Science Librarianship, Drupal Use in Libraries, and Nuts & Bolts of Contract Management
Some of the vendor events included: Publish Accurately & Collaborate Easily with EndNote & Researcher ID (Thomson), Gale Cengage Overview, and OCLC Update

Because the Archives at WCS are such an important part of what we do at the WCS Library, I also attended the Archives & Preservation Caucus. It was a good opportunity to meet a few people doing what we are doing. Although it was not heavily attended, I think SLA should consider beefing up this important special library function. More and more students in library schools seem to be interested in archives management as a career and I keep seeing articles about the growth of the profession. One could say that the Society of American Archivists (SAA) already covers archives management but more special librarians are faced with this important task as well.

I also attended the Taxonomy Roundtable and Taxonomy 101. This is another facet of the profession that is becoming more important to my everyday work. I am currently working with our Photo Services department on a digital asset management system they are instituting. I have been guiding them through what taxonomy is and how it is used to ensure maximum access to the digital material. The roundtable was very interesting but perhaps a bit too sophisticated for our needs here at WCS.

In the Exhibit Hall, I had a chance to meet several of our vendors face to face. Because I have not worked with some of these companies before, Elsevier, Springer, etc., this was a good opportunity for me to learn about what they offer and how their products might be beneficial to our scientists. I also spent some time looking at digitizing equipment. Because we have so many older documents and other material that are delicate or brittle, digitizing will be a major component to handling our archives.

It was not all work at the conference. I had a lot of fun meeting lots of other librarians in the science field at the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division 75th anniversary party. EBSCO had a nice cruise on the Mississippi River and the Baseball Caucus had Ron Swoboda of the 1969 World Series Champion New York Mets as its speaker (I am a Yankees fan, but still…). I also got the chance to catch up with old friends and former colleagues.

New Orleans itself was hot and steamy. But it is a great town with lots to do and fabulous restaurants. Do not wait for the next SLA conference there to go.

Mingling with Professionals in the Crescent City

2010-09-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

Shirley Zhao | shirl0207@yahoo.com

Shirley is currently enrolled in a dual degree program for an MS in Mathematics at New York University and for an MSLIS at Long Island University's Palmer School, while planning to work part-time in three positions: student assistant in the Manhattan Palmer School office, student assistant in Courant Library, and teaching assistant in NYU's Math Department.

It was eye-opening to learn about different technologies used in libraries and about issues that affect our profession.I quickly discovered that the SLA Annual Conference was both a very exciting and a very tiring experience. There were so many talks to attend, so many vendors to visit, so many people to meet, and so very little time to accomplish everything! At times I wished there were several copies of me so I could attend more events.

Upon arrival, I was warmly welcomed by the Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics (PAM) Division and invited to their Newcomer's Luncheon on Sunday where I met my conference buddy, Ruth Kneale, and other first-timers. I was amazed by the stories that each person told about their lives and work. This was where I met Pavlinka Kovatcheva who quickly became another conference buddy. She flew in from South Africa on a PAM scholarship to attend the conference and does amazing work at her library. Along the way, I bumped into some familiar faces and also made some new acquaintanceships. This was the first time I have ever talked to so many people about pursuing dual master's degrees and my future plans.

I attended several talks and PAM-sponsored roundtables. It was eye-opening to learn about different technologies used in libraries and about issues that affect our profession. One interesting talk I attended was titled “Drupal Use in Libraries.” I have since done much research on Drupal and can't wait to try building a website with it. The best part of this conference was that it wasn't purely professional. It had a networking and social side to it, too. The Academic Division held an open house and dance party on Sunday and the Divisions of Information Technology, Leadership and Management, and PAM together held a fantastic dance party on Tuesday.

The INFO-EXPO was the most awe-inspiring event of the conference. I walked into the hall and was astounded by the number of booths set up and the number of professionals gathered in one place. It took me all three days to fully explore the scene. Every vendor wanted to talk to me and introduce me to their product. Participating in the passport game was a great way to motivate people like myself to approach some booths. At the end of the day, I accumulated so many free giveaways that I could barely carry everything!

After making some new friends, I had a chance to explore the city of New Orleans with company. New Orleans is a beautiful and historic city. The people are friendly and the food is great, especially the gumbo and jambalaya at Mother's Restaurant and charboiled oysters at Drago's Seafood Restaurant. I even rode a streetcar along Canal Street for the first time.

All my experiences would not have been possible without the aid of the SLA-NY scholarship. Thank you to everyone on the scholarship committee. I would also like to thank those who gave me invaluable advice and guidance prior to the trip: Pauline Rothstein, Alice Flynn, Carol Hutchins, Marlene Wong, Janet Spongberg, Margaret Smith, James Callahan, and Pau Atela.

Top Tips for SLA-NY Job/Career Changers

2010-09-20T08:59:00.000-04:00

Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President 2010 | lhallingby@sorosny.org

SLA-NY has sponsored many terrific large and small programs during the great recession for job seekers, career changers, and colleagues in transition. This is thanks to the hard work of the SLA-NY President Elect/Program Chair Pam Rollo, the Professional Development Chair Janet Peros, and the Employment Task Force, chaired by Donna Severino. From these sessions I have picked up some great tips that were actually new to me. I wanted to make sure that all our SLA-NY members have access to these, whether or not they attended the events in person. So here are the "top tips" that I have compiled from a variety of SLA-NY programs:

1. Wear a clearly-written name badge at both large and small meetings and conferences. Wear it on or near your right shoulder, so that it will be easily visible when people shake your hand.

2. Be ready with a story for every line of your resume.

3. In the environment of electronic applications a great cover letter can make you stand out from the crowd. If you are so inclined, start your cover letter with an attention-grabbing sentence.

4. A potential employer may use your cover letter to see if you can follow directions as to what was requested in the cover letter. If you do not follow directions, you may be eliminated from consideration.

5. Consider following up your electronic resume submission with a paper submission of your cover letter, resume, and business card to the hiring manager for the job in which you are interested.

6. If you can, invest in attendance at the right conference in the field in which you wish to be employed. The higher the conference registration fee, the higher the level of people in the organizational hierarchy you will have access to.

7. Keep your professional network up to date in person and online at all times, even when you are employed, as you never know when you might need it.

8. And, of course, keep an eye on the SLA-NY Joblog http://slanyjobs.blogspot.com/. It may lead to the right job for you. Or it may lead you to recruiters with whom you have not previously been in touch.

Information Overload

2010-09-20T08:58:00.000-04:00

Jackie Kilberg | jackie_kilberg@mcgraw-hill.com | http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiekilberg

Jackie Kilberg has been information professional for over 25 years. She has worked for PWC and is currently a research associate and corporate archivist for The McGraw-Hill Companies. You can contact Jackie through LinkedIn

As I have gotten older, it is more of a challenge to concentrate especially on long term projects. Constant interruptions with email, RSS alerts, instant messages and phone calls not only break my concentration but it is getting more difficult to resume the task at after these interruptions. I thought to myself, it's not my age, it's all this technology. The more technology invades my life the more distracted I become. I believed this line of reasoning until I read a recent article by Katy Read on attention deficit disorder in my husband's AARP Magazine.

As professional librarians we are masters in managing information overload but how good are we in handling information fatigue syndrome? (That's a term that psychologist David Lewis coined in 1996 to capture the detrimental effects to mental and physical health caused by information overload.) The more we age the more we are vulnerable to this problem, Read notes, observing that "small blockages to the blood supply increase in the brain which causes a drop in nerve signaling chemicals" just make it harder to ignore distractions.

She goes on to discuss the work of Swedish neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg, M.D., Ph.D. "For older people, a natural decline in working memory—where events are recorded temporarily before being filed or discarded—may aggravate the situation . . . . When working memory shrinks, you can find yourself shifting from chore to chore (without finishing any of them)."

Other conditions can develop from information fatigue syndrome such as continuous partial attention. This occurs, according to Linda Stone, blogger of The Attention Project, when we are motivated by a desire to connect and be connected. Nicholas Carr argues that we are sabotaging ourselves, trading away the seriousness of sustained attention for the frantic superficiality of the Internet. Carr, who wrote, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” claims the mere existence of the online world has made it much harder (at least for him) to engage with difficult texts and complex ideas. "Once I was a scuba diver in a sea of words," Carr writes. "What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski."

Symptoms of information fatigue syndrome according to Dr. Lewis include the following:

increased anxiety
increased stress
sleeplessness
"analysis paralysis”—increased self-doubt in decision making
elevated blood pressure
cardiovascular stress
digestive disorders
lethargy

So how does one handle information fatigue syndrome? I really don’t think anyone can but I have found the following coping mechanisms to help me try to keep it at bay:

Do not check email at home in the morning (or at night for that matter). You need to wake up, drink some coffee, and get yourself ready for the day. If you can not get yourself in order at home, you will not be able to at work either.
Do not check email going to work. I have seen too many people almost get hit by a car walking when using their Blackberrys or almost hit when using them in their car. Distraction should not cause the loss of life or limb.
Don’t check email in the elevator. You are going to see all your tweets and instant messages at your desk in 60 seconds. Do you really need to demonstrate how addicted you are to your iPhone?
Follow your to-do list which you wrote the night before leaving the office. The list should include checking email, RSS feeds, blogs, LinkedIn posts, tweets etc. I strictly follow mine when I first fire up the PC. For me, the process takes about 45 minutes and I respond to what I deem as a priority. The rest I leave for 30 minutes in the afternoon. If I don’t have the time, I ignore them permanently.
Focus on a project for one hour without interruptions. Do not answer the phone. Shutdown email and close the browser unless you are doing online research. Make sure you avoid chasing links. Stay focused on your main objective, completing the project.
At night, work on a project or hobby that is not business related, whether it is joining a book club, doing crossword puzzles, reading novels or blogging. Focusing on one project increases concentration. Try to keep outside noise at a minimum.
Do not work on vacation unless your boss threatens dismissal or you have no back-up at the office. Do your best to limit your access to once every few days.

Sources for this blog post and recommended readings:

Carr, Nicholas G. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic. Jul-Aug. 2008. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868

Carr, Nicholas G. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

Ellington, Virginia Beth. "An Analysis of Information Overload Components, Sources, Frequency, Effect on Performance and Coping Strategies Utilized by Full-Time Undergraduate University Students." Thesis. School of Library Information Science of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, 2005. Dec. 2005. http://etd.ils.unc.edu:8080/dspace/bitstream/1901/231/1/Masters+paper+final+version+II.pdf

Jackson, Maggie. Distracted: the Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2008.

Klingberg, Torkel. The Overflowing Brain Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.

Read, Katy. "May I Have My Attention Please?" AARP Magazine. July-Aug. 2010. http://www.aarp.org/technology/innovations/info-06-2010/my-attention-please.html.

An Enforceable Code Of Ethics: Why Archivists Should Be Demanding One

2010-09-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

Paul Morris | p.morris54@gmail.com

Greetings fellow SLAers. I am a corporate attorney who practiced in the Structured Finance arena. I enrolled in Queens College's MLIS program in 2009, when my legal career was interrupted, with the thought of pursuing Knowledge Management as a new career path. As I learned more about Library Science, my interests expanded to include Archives and Archivists, as well as law and business librarianship as possible career paths. It has generally been an eye opening experience, and I have been exposed to many areas of knowledge, particularly Archives, of which I was only peripherally aware. In my introduction to my new professional community, I am hoping to provoke a conversation regarding what I feel is a critical issue for our future. I am a student member of SLA ALA,and SAA.

In this paper, I am stating the case for archivists to clamor for an enforceable code of ethics. I first try to set forth the scope of what archives are and what archivists do, including the task they are claiming as the guardian of social memory. I then briefly examine what ethics are and the functions served by codes of ethics. I next explore the development of archival codes of ethics. I then state the case for archivists as a profession to clamor for an enforceable code of ethics. The thrust of my argument is that given archivists' desire to be the guardian, and perforce the shaper, of society's memory, an enforceable code of ethics is a required both for archivists recognition and relations among themselves of their identity as a profession and for the general public's entrusting archivists with the responsibilities they are claiming.

Background

Archives and Archivists
What are archives and what roles do archivists fulfill are questions that are at best poorly understood by the general public, and may even receive murky and conflicting answers within the profession. Part of the confusion arises from the overlap of functions archivists perform with the roles of other professionals who provide access to, and understanding of information: librarians, curators, historians and even records managers. One of the ways of differentiating between the work of archivists and that of librarians has been the notion that archivists deal with unpublished works and librarians handle published works. While this might have been a practical starting point in the past, there are unavoidable weaknesses in this method of distinguishing the two fields. First, archival collections encompass more than the writings of an individual or organization; they include items which have been acquired in the course of daily activity including books and other published materials. Second, as examined further below, technology has advanced and the definition of publishing in a world of personal computers, the internet, email, blogs, wikis, tweeting and digitization has ballooned far beyond the traditional notions of books and periodicals. There also are no bright line delineations distinguishing the materials each of these groups handles – when is a group of materials an "archives" and when is it a "special collection"? Adding to the ambiguity is the fact that in addition to facilities called archives and repositories, libraries, museums and research centers also frequently maintain some of their materials in what are identified as "archives."

Cox and O'Toole (2006) attempt to bring some clarity to the conception of what archives are, putting forward the notion that, contrary to the popular perception that archives refers to "old stuff," they are valuable records that have "content, meaning and enduring usefulness." This provides a basis for understanding, but requires a further look at what records are. Records, recorded information, which originally referred to written records, has expanded with our technology to incorporate typewritten materials, audio recordings, computer printouts and today might include images on computer screens and information which exists ephemerally as electrical impulses stored in digital formats, lacking the physical characteristics one normally associates with records. As noted above, a further layer of complexity is added since archives, in addition to writings, also include artifacts which, although not records in the ordinary usage of the term, should be viewed as records for archival purposes. All of these different forms can be a part of the materials today referred to as archives. Summing up, an archives can be thought of as a collection of the records of a person or group "with an array of values that mandate their continuing maintenance." (Cox & O'Toole, p. xii)

Archivists work with archives. According to Cox and O'Toole (2006), archivists use their talents first to save the permanently valuable records of individuals and groups, then to organize those records in a systematic and coherent way and finally (and most importantly) to make those records and the information they contain available. This description oversimplifies the role archivists play in today's world, but perhaps is a place to begin looking at the historical duties performed by archivists. Until relatively recently, the prevailing idea was to save everything. With the explosion in growth of records, it is now widely recognized that not everything can be saved, leading to selection as an essential element of the archivist's job.

The archival profession emerged from the growth of the historical profession at the end of the nineteenth century and the concurrent emergence of a concern for taking care of the sources of history. (Cox & O'Toole, 2006) Another surge of growth occurred in the 1930s with the establishment of the National Archives and the creation of the Society of American Archivists. There was also increased interest in archiving in the library world, primarily in the areas of preservation and conservation.

Today, archivists select, arrange, preserve and provide access to materials. Archivists are increasingly claiming the role of protector of society's memory. As the body of professionals selecting what materials get saved, archivists are inescapably shifting their role from neutral presenters of information for others to interpret to being inextricably involved in the shaping of society's knowledge and understanding of itself. This is a responsibility which is growing in difficulty as new technologies speed the pace at which decisions must be made, eliminating time to develop perspective and evaluate context. To successfully take on these self-appointed tasks will require the trust and confidence of the public.

Ethics
Ethics and morals are terms which are often used interchangeably; however, they have distinct, if subtle and related, meanings. Morals define personal character, while ethics refer to the social system in which morals are applied. In other words, ethics point to standards or codes of behavior expected to be observed by members of a group. (Kayne, R. 2010) For purposes of this paper, the two relevant groups are archivists and the general public, each of which has expectations for how an individual archivist performs his duties.

Ethics have been variously defined as "the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession," for example, medical ethics (American Heritage Dictionary, 2003) or "the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.," such as medical ethics or Christian ethics (Dictionary.com, 2010). Dingwall (2004), pointing out that ethics is a field of philosophy, divides the subject into three branches, metaethics, normative ethics and applied ethics, with professional ethics focused on the latter two branches. Cyprus (2010, ¶1) clarifies this, using everyday language to note:

Business or professional ethics are standards or codes of conduct set by people in a specific profession. . . . People in a profession don't want to condone bad, dishonest or responsible behavior if it does occur by someone in their field. By setting out expected behaviors in the form of professional ethics, professionals work together to try to uphold a good reputation.

I will examine later in this paper where on the continuum of "profession" archivists fall, and the bearing a code of ethics plays in such placement. I also will explore how a code of ethics provides a foundation for a relationship with the general public, an essential requirement if we are to successfully take on our self-chosen task of preserving our society's collective memory and understanding of itself.

Code of Ethics
Ethics are co-extensive with the full range of human behavior. In order to establish the parameters of acceptable behavior for its members, a given group or organization will often codify the ethics applicable to its membership. A code of ethics is often defined as "a set of guidelines which are designed to set out acceptable behaviors for members of a particular group, association, or profession." (Smith, 2010, ¶1) Horn (1989) put it somewhat differently, pointing out that a code addresses the responsibilities unique to a profession. Organizations often chose to govern themselves with a code of ethics when handling sensitive issues such as investments or health care. A code of ethics can set a professional standard and increase confidence in an organization by providing outsiders with the framework of ethical guidelines that members of the organization commit to following in the course of doing their work. (Smith)

Codes of ethics perform an important function within a profession, allowing professionals to know what is expected of them and what standards they can rely on their peers to observe. Even more crucial, however, is the role a code of ethics has in providing a public face for a profession. Offering a glimpse of how professionals do their jobs, particularly when difficult choices must be made, codes of ethics are the foundation for establishing the necessary public trust for a profession to have its work the usefulness and necessity for the public good to be accepted, recognized and appreciated. This may be especially important for archivists, as the public is relatively unfamiliar with what archivists do and value provided to society by those activities.

Not all codes of ethics are the same. One way of dividing codes is by looking at whether they are prescriptive or aspirational. Prescriptive codes provide do's and don'ts, generally written as imperatives. Aspirational codes suggest the ideal results which should be targeted. Codes of ethics tend to be weighed in favor of one or approach or the other, rather than falling strictly within one camp or the other. In either case, a code of ethics is best viewed, and its value is enhanced, if it is viewed as a set of guidelines for dealing with difficult situations, rather than as a set of rules to be rigidly applied, as ethical issues are rarely black and white.

Another way to examine codes is to ask whether they are enforceable. The legal and medical professions are governed by codes of ethics which carry the force of law. Violations are subject to sanctions including loss of license and civil and criminal liabilities. Other professions and groups have codes which have varying degrees of penalties for violation. By way of example, there are a number of codes of ethics which have been promulgated for archivists but there is no legal requirement to adhere to any of them or punishment for violation. However, there can be financial or reputational consequences for failure to follow the principles contained within a code if it is required as a condition of employment or membership in a professional association.

Archival Codes of Ethics
The first formal code of ethics for the archival profession, "The Archivist's Code." was developed by the National Archives for use in the National Archives Inservice Training Program and printed in the American Archivist in 1955. (Horn, D.E., 1989) This served as the only written guidance for archivists in the United States for many years. Horn points out a number of weaknesses in The Archivist's Code. Noting that a professional code of ethics is not a collection of moral or legal requirements, he objects to the preachy tone, beginning with the introductory statement "The archivist has a moral obligation to society . . . ." He also objects to the number of negative strictures in the document, while admitting it does provide some guidance on professional judgments of archivists and touches all principal areas of archival work.

The Society for American Archivists (SAA) approved its first official code of ethics in 1980. Comparing the SAA Code with "The Archivist's Code," Horn (1989) concluded that the new code did not reject the older code, but expanded it and extended its coverage into additional areas such as collecting policies.

The SAA Code was first revised in 1992, when an ample commentary was added, then again in 2005, when the commentary was removed. (Cox, R.J., 2008) Citing Benedict (2004) Cox states that the reason the commentary was removed was the SAA leadership's conviction that the code was not enforceable, that the usefulness of the code was diminished by the commentary and that the SAA might be subject to legal liability.

Other codes exist, such as the Code of Ethics adopted by the International Council on Archives in 1996. All of these codes try with varying degrees of emphasis to establish guidelines for resolving conflicts which arise from duties owed to the different parties concerned with archives: records creators, donors, researchers and the archivist's institution. (Dingwall, G., 2004; Jimerson, R.C., 2006) In addition, there is need to consider the interest of parties mentioned in the records whose privacy rights might be compromised resulting in embarrassment or more severe consequences from revelation of information contained within such records. The codes also refer to an archivist's need to obey the law, which in these days of terrorism and increased demands for and requirements by the government for secrecy for security, create more and heightened tensions with the principle of providing wide-spread access to materials.

Why Archivist's must Demand an Enforceable Code of Ethics

There are two rationales I will raise in arguing the merits of an enforceable code of ethics for archivists, both of which archivists should rally behind for reasons of self preservation. Although interrelated and overlapping, my first contention is that archivists need a code to establish recognition among themselves of who they are; my second line of reasoning is the more familiar theme of providing a footing for the public confidence indispensible for the pivotal role archivists are claiming in understanding ourselves as a culture.

Archivist's Self Identification and Professionalism
Archivists consider themselves professionals, but is archiving as currently practiced and understood a profession or merely an occupation or vocation? Harvey (2009) brings together a variety of definitions and understandings of what the characteristics of a profession are. The commonalities are a specialized body of knowledge, derived from research, education and training, public service or working for the public good, governance by a professional or regulatory body, and professional ethics. Language from the Australian Council of Professions (2004) definition of "profession" cited by Harvey highlights the importance of an enforceable code of ethics to a profession:

It is inherent in the definition of a profession that a code of ethics govern the activities of each profession[al]. Such codes require behaviour and practice beyond the personal moral obligations of an individual. They define and demand high standards of behaviour in respect to the services provided to the public and in dealing with professional colleagues. Further, these codes are enforced by the profession and are acknowledged and accepted by the community.

Measured against these criteria, archiving would appear to fall short of qualifying as a profession.

Today, although there is general understanding among the people who practice in the field of what is entailed in archiving, there is no consensus of what qualifies someone to be an archivist. There are no accepted educational requirements; while there are college curriculums and commercial programs which issue certificates in archiving, there is no industry standard or agreement on what the content of such programs should be. Different viewpoints exist not only as to the value of any such certificate, but where the focus of an archivist's education should lie – within a history department to provide a greater historical understanding of and perspective for creating context for a particular set of materials or the more modern approach of placing archival programs within schools of library and information science.

A code of ethics is obviously not a panacea for all the difficulties confronting archivists in establishing themselves as a fully fledged member in the ranks of professions, but can be a starting point to achieve that status. A code of ethics is a place where standards and norms can be established. It can serve as a centerpiece for identifying core requirements for a professional around which archivists could coalesce. A code of ethics could serve as the basis for archivists to recognize and appreciate themselves as a body engaged in supporting our society to know, understand and appreciate its culture.

An enforceable code of ethics would also have impact on another area related to professionalism. Archivists are employed in all sectors of our economy -- government, not-for-profit and private business. Each of these sectors potentially exposes the archivist to different pressures on how to perform his duties. Government archivists may be subject to political pressure or whims arising from changes in the ruling party; archivists in the non-for-private sector may feel pressured by the vagaries of donors and the impact on an institution of threatened or actual loss of donations; in the corporate world, loss of employment is a risk if one fails to follow the dictates of a superior. An enforceable code of ethics could help alleviate the pressure to perform in a less than professional manner – the threat to one's livelihood is lessened if potential replacements are bound by the same ethical concerns, and subject to the same guidelines.

To restate, my first argument for archivists to call for an enforceable code of ethics is for to be recognized by, and recognize their peers as, members of a fully fledged profession, and gain the respect and an enhanced opportunity to demand the respect and emoluments consistent with such professionalism. Bolstering this argument is the support a code can provide for carrying out one's duties in a professional manner and withstanding undue pressure.

Establishing Trust with the Public

My second contention is that an enforceable code of ethics is a requisite for the place archivists are carving out for themselves in our society. Archivists have always played a role in shaping our understanding of ourselves and our history. Even with the best intentions and efforts to present records and information without bias or interpretation, the acts of arranging, describing and creating context has imposed choices on records worked on by archivists. The need to restrict or deny access also can change the picture presented and with the quantity of records being generated causing a greater need for selection, archivists literally determine to a greater or lesser extent what we can know. New technologies present additional barriers to presenting records without coloration by the archivist's experiences – any order applied to "tweets" might be a misrepresentation of events which may have occurred simultaneously.

The archives of a society tell the story represent the collective memory of that society, offering a chance for society to study itself, reflect on where it has been and where it is going. It is a guide which a society can use to correct its course if the contents of that guide are accurate and complete. Archives have the potential to great good if used properly or tremendous harm if used improperly or neglected. (Dingwall, 2004)

Archivists lay claim to be guardian of the archives. What assurance can they provide of their integrity and good faith in protecting this vital resource? Particularly in today's world, where institutions bid against each other for collections and donors offer papers and files only upon conditions that they be "sanitized," often by archivists specified by the donor, before access is offered to the public, what comfort can archivists provide that they realize they are undertaking a sacred trust?

A code of ethics can provide that comfort; is the public face of a profession. It offers a way for the public to understand how a professional weighs competing rights and claims of different parties and balances those interests in making decisions. One of the defining traits of a profession is that its members in practicing the profession work for the public good. A code of ethics, either explicitly or in the strictures embodied in its guidelines, reveals how the public interest is taken into account when conflicts arise.

Dingwall (2004) cites Terry Eastwood for the proposition that archives are "arsenals of democratic accountability and continuity." Dingwall makes the case that although archivists believe they are motivated by concern for the public good, the general public does not necessarily share that. The explanation for the uncertainty about archivists' motives is attributed to a lack of knowledge about archives and the role they can play in defending democratic rights. The turbulent times we live in require archivists to "buoy the public faith" in the trustworthiness of archivists and archival institutions; for archivists to successfully educate the public in this fashion depends on being able to make reference to codified ethics as a justification for that faith.

Conclusions

As already noted, there already exist codes of ethics for archivists and archival institutions. What is lacking is general acceptance of any one code as the standard, and any means of enforcement. Archivists, both to develop a framework for professional relationships amongst themselves and to create a bond of trust with the public, need to devise a code of ethics which will have support and acceptance across the profession. Indeed it is necessary in order to be able to claim the status of a profession. Agreeing on a code is, however, only the first step; implementing a way to enforce the code is equally critical. Unless there are penalties and costs to violation of a code, it is merely a fanciful statement of how we wish the world to be. Unfortunately, the public trust which is needed now, and will only become more essential as time moves forward, will not develop unless the code of ethics truly serves as a governing document for the profession.

A key point that still needs addressing is that the code of ethics must be enforceable. To be enforceable, some governing or regulatory body must have authority to impose sanctions. This would require some type of licensing or certification to practice in the field, as well as a governing body. The changes required to implement a shift of that scale are beyond the scope of this paper and my argument; I am, however, arguing that the demand by archivists for an enforceable code would lead to the necessary changes. One possibility for moving forward would be for the SAA, the leading professional organization for archivists in this country, to take the lead in moving in this direction; this would require a reversal in some respects of positions previously taken. Rather than dreading the risk of litigation, the SAA should restore and expand commentary on its code, positioning itself to be the governing body of the profession. One approach might be to adapt the model the legal profession uses, providing not only commentary, but also offering advisory opinions upon request for specific circumstances and sponsoring ethics classes.

This paper is intended as a wakeup call, to have archivists start clamoring for an enforceable code of ethics as indispensable for the advancement, perhaps even the continued viability of archives as a profession. I recognize that effecting the changes needed, and implementing the conditions required for an enforceable code, will undoubtedly be a long and difficult process. But this will surely be easier and more to the liking of practitioners if archivists provide the impetus for change rather than waiting until rules and regulations are imposed on the field. I believe this is a chance for archivists to be proactive and take the first step to determining the future direction of the profession.

References

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved June 13, 2010 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ethics.
Benedict, K. (2004). An evolution in a code of ethics. The Society of American Archivists. International Congress on Archives.
Cox, R.J. (2008) Archival ethics: The truth of the matter. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(7), 1128-1133.
Cox, R.J., & O'Toole, J.M (2006). Understanding Archives and Manuscripts. Chicago: Society of American Archivists.
Cyprus, S. (2010). What Are Professional Ethics? Retrieved June 13, 2010 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-professional-ethics.htm.
Dictionary.com (2010). What Are Professional Ethics? Retrieved June 13, 2010 from http://dictionary.reference.com/%20browse/ethics.
Dingwall, G. (2004). Trusting archivists: The role of archival ethics in establishing public faith. American Archivist, 67, 11–30.
Harvey, L. (2009). Analytic Quality Glossary. Retrieved June 21, 2010 from http://www.quality%20researchinternational.com/glossary/.
Horn, D.E. (1989). The Development of Ethics in Archival Practice. The American Archivist, 52(1), 64-71.
Jimerson, R.C. (2006). Ethical Concerns for Archivists. The Public Historian, 28(1), 87-92.
Kayne, R. (2010). What is the Difference Between Ethics and Morals? Retrieved June 13, 2010 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-ethics-and-morals.htm.
Smith, S.E. (2010). What is a Code of Ethics? Retrieved June 13, 2010 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-code-of-ethics.htm.

ChapterNews - Summer 2010

2010-08-02T23:41:00.000-04:00

2010 SLA-NY Career Kick Off
Photos: Bacilio Mendez II - bacilio.com
Gloria Cohan Dinerman
Maggie Smith
Carol Ginsburg Receives 2010 B&F Distinguished Leadership & Service Award
Richard Reid l richard1977@optimum.net
Message from the President: The News from New Orleans
Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President 2010 l lhallingby@sorosny.org
SLA-NY Archive: Inheriting Something Old and Gaining Something New
Winter Shanck SLA-NY Archivist l shanck@thirteen.org
Ways to Market Your Services
Jackie Kilberg l http://www.toastmasters.org/
Time Management Techniques for Success with Stacey Jerrold: An SLA-NY program at METRO
Janet Peros SLA-NY Professional Development l JPeros@wlrk.com
Gearing Up for Your Clever Internship Experience Or, What You Need to Know About SLA NY's Internship Program
Kaura Gale Student Internships Chair l kgale@chpnet.org - Internships Blog
Queering Artists' Books: A Queer Critical Analysis of Artists' Books
Michael Carosone l michael@michaelcarosone.com

2010 SLA-NY Career Kick Off

2010-08-02T23:40:00.000-04:00

Photos by Bacilio Mendez II - bacilio.com

Gloria Cohan Dinerman

2010-07-28T23:33:00.000-04:00

Gloria Cohan Dinerman, 82, passed away in New Providence, N.J., on Sunday, July 18, 2010, after a long battle with pulmonary hypertension. She earned a master's in library science and started her own library services company, The Library Co-op, which she owned until 2008. She became active in several library-related organizations, including the Special Library Association, from which she received a special Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Read the obituary on NJ.com.

The Board of SLA-NY feels that the best way The SLANY Chapter can honor Gloria's memory is to remind the members of our listserv that Gloria's family asked that anyone wishing to make a donation in her name please give to St Jude's Research Hospital in Memphis. The SLA Board has decided to start this giving process off by making a donation from the Chapter.

SLA-NY can serve as a central repository for people to send in their contributions by Saturday August 21st, 2010 (1 month after her memorial service) and then we can send the donations as a group to St Jude's.

I will be glad to receive your donation checks addressed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at my work address provided below.

I will gather the checks that are sent in and forward them by Wednesday, August 25th.

If you would prefer to donate directly to St. Jude’s –

Please see the following donation options,

Donate Online: https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/express-donation.do

Donate By Mail:
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
501 St. Jude Place
Memphis, TN 38105
Donate By Phone:
800-805-5856

Also, please realize that if you prefer to give to your own personal favorite charity in Gloria’s honor this is perfectly understandable – though I would still like to know that you did so – and which charity if you don’t mind disclosing this as well.

Or, if you have already donated, I ask that you please let me know if you take any of the alternative donation options so that we can include the total number of individuals who contributed in our next SLANY Chapter publication. (No need to disclose the amount of your donation)

Further, we then can include these numbers in our correspondence to her family at the conclusion of this collection period.

These donations would be a very effective way of demonstrating how much Gloria Dinerman impacted us both individually and as a Networking Organization.

I thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Any questions or concerns please let me know.

Maggie Smith
Research Director

D. F. King & co., Inc.
(212) 493-6998

Carol Ginsburg Receives 2010 B&F Distinguished Leadership & Service Award

2010-07-26T21:18:00.002-04:00

On June 14, Carol Ginsburg, currently the Fund Raiser and Finance Director of the New York Chapter of SLA for 2009-2010, was honored at the SLA Business & Finance Awards as the 2010 recipient of the B&F Distinguished Leadership & Service Award during the SLA Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since its 2009 inception, which was birthed by Frances Hesselbein’s inspirational B&F keynote speech at the 2008 Annual Conference in Seattle, the Award has been presented in partnership with Evaluate Pharma USA, Inc. Carol was recently interviewed on the telephone by SLA NYC chapter member Richard Reid.

Richard: Congratulations, Carol, although I know that part of the circumstance surrounding the reason for the award is painful. You’ve been honored by the SLA before, such as in 1995 as an SLA Fellow, and in 2009 by the SLA New York Chapter with its Distinguished Service Award. Can you tell us why this award different from those?

Carol: Thank you, I appreciate your sympathy. Yes, the award is different for two reasons. First, this award is given for service to the larger community in which one lives and not for any specific accomplishment in librarianship. In my case, it acknowledges my involvement over the last 15 years with the Brotherhood Synagogue in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan, as a member of various committees, President, and Chair of the Board of Trustees, and particularly for leading its annual blood drive for the last seven years. Second, and more importantly, it’s personal. The blood drive is named in honor of my late son, Chuck, who succumbed to a rare form of cancer at age 33.

R: It’s horrible to lose a child at any age like that. Why did you decide to memorialize him in this way?

C: After his passing in 2002, my family and I talked about the importance to us of keeping his name alive. While Chuck’s wife was working during the day and he was home receiving treatments, people from the synagogue would volunteer to keep him company during the day. Blood plasma helped give him energy and some feeling of normalcy during his battle with cancer. My husband and I wanted to find a way to repay all that help. We realized that sponsoring a blood drive at our synagogue seemed like a fitting way to memorialize him. We also found a personal way to remember as well. When our other child, Marge, was expecting our first grandchild nearly five years ago, she and her husband named their daughter, “Charley,” for her Uncle Charles.

R: That’s very sweet. How has the blood drive been doing?

C: It has grown wonderfully over the years, from about 40 pints the first time we did it to over 70 pints in 2009. We hold it annually in November because that’s a time of year when shortages often develop. Chuck’s family and friends remember him with love each and every day. Collecting blood so others can be helped the way Chuck was does lessen the pain a little. Jewish faith tells us that we all have an obligation to leave the world a better place than we found it. This is one step towards that goal. If any SLA members would like to participate in the 2010 drive later this year, please contact me for details.

R: The B&F Award was not just a certificate, correct?

C: Yes, it also came with a donation of $500, to be presented to the recipient’s charity of choice. I assigned it to the Brotherhood Synagogue to continue its community outreach work.

R: Thank you, Carol, for sharing your experience with us. Perhaps it may inspire other SLA members to look at ways they may either begin to help their community or to extend existing efforts even further.

C: Yes, that would be wonderful. And thank you for the opportunity to talk about the Chuck Ginsburg Memorial Blood Drive.

Announcements

2010-07-26T21:04:00.002-04:00

A new job for Jim Oberman, an interview with B&F Distinguished Leadership & Service Award winner Carol Ginsburg and the passing of Gloria Dinerman.

Message from the President: The News from New Orleans

2010-06-22T01:05:00.019-04:00

Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President 2010 | lhallingby@sorosny.org

The official "conference issue" of the SLA-NY newsletter will come out in September 2010 at which time we will hear from our six New York Chapter scholarship recipients and, we hope, from many others who are inspired to write about their experiences in the Big Easy. Of course, our newsletter editor Toby Lyles would be delighted to be overwhelmed by articles from attendees.

Since New Orleans is so fresh in my mind I thought I might use this June newsletter as an opportunity to provide a general overview from the conference as context for the articles to come in September.

Of course, we can all be so proud that SLA chose to go to New Orleans after Katrina as a way to help the city’s crucial tourist and convention industry, just as we met in New York in 2003 after 9/11. And help the city we did, as the Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated that SLA spent about $5 million in the Big Easy.

And speaking of feeling proud, on opening night, when the SLA awards are presented, not one, but TWO, esteemed members of the New York Chapter were inducted into the SLA Hall of Fame: John Ganly and Guy St. Clair. As soon as the Association posts their 2010 awards bios on the website, I will be sure to let the membership know. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating Guy and John on their achievement, which represents a huge amount of dedication to and work on behalf of all levels of the Association over many, many years.

I counted about 50 members of the NY Chapter whom I ran into over the course of the four conference days. Hopefully there were many more whom I do not know to recognize or with whom I just did not cross paths. Despite this substantial representation from the New York Chapter, attendance of about 3,500 in New Orleans was down substantially from Washington, DC, where it was over 5,000. This was not a surprise, given the economy and a venue that is relatively expensive for most members to get to. The vendor numbers were positive, with 243 exhibitors (23 of whom were new) occupying about 400 booths. Of course, 2009 attendance was boosted by the once-in-a-lifetime SLA Centennial.

On the brighter side, the conference numbers should bounce back up next year when SLA is in Philadelphia, conveniently situated in between the two largest U.S. chapters of DC and NY, and also home to a substantial chapter in and of itself. So if you have not yet done so, please be sure to mark your calendars for the "City of Brotherly [and Sisterly] Love" from Sunday, June 12 – Wednesday, June 15, 2011. The keynote speaker on opening night will be the eminent New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, who is certainly one of the most impressive thinkers about our present and future worlds. His speech should be a rousing start to a terrific conference.

Another major speaker in Philadelphia will be Jim Kane, a "loyalty strategist" who was so well received by the SLA audience at the Leadership Summit this past January in St. Louis. Our own SLA-NY Board member and Communications Director Lynn Schlesinger is on the Philadelphia Conference Planning Committee. So if you have any thoughts or suggestions, please forward them to her.

During the closing session in New Orleans, Executive Director Janice LaChance and Treasurer Dan Trefethen, presented information about the current status of SLA. Unfortunately, financially it is not a pretty picture. Of course, this puts us into a "club" to which we do not want to belong, despite some great company in there with us. Here are some of our own details: SLA set its 2010 revenue goal to the same level as 2009. But revenue is down. As the number of traditional jobs for information professionals, SLA membership has dropped, and revenue has dropped along with it, because of a new dues structure where those earning more modest incomes may pay lower dues. Since there has already been a 30% reduction in the size of the SLA staff, the organization will now need to “put everything on the table” in terms of other ways to balance the budget.

CEO Janice LaChance also pointed out that even when the economy improves, the previous model of the annual conference being a revenue generator that could carry the Association through the whole fiscal year, is, alas, not likely to return for professional associations such as SLA. In this high tech age, vendors have many new options for promoting their products and will probably have smaller budgets for trade shows. As Janice said, "this is not just an era of change, but the change of an era." The good news is that SLA’s goal is to live within its reduced means and not to dip further into reserves, and the Association also plans to develop new business models for the realities of the new millennium. Additional good news is that there is a terrific group of dedicated current Board members and Board candidates for 2011 who will do everything in their power to make SLA a strong 21st century organization. (Please attend our Happy Hours at MEC on Wednesday July 21st and Thursday August 19th to meet the two President Elect candidates.)

Happily, our own local New York Chapter is in much better financial condition than the global SLA, and we do not need to contemplate any cutbacks in our local services and programming. We have just released our Strategic Plan for 2010 – 2012, and I have just appointed a Vendor Partnership Committee, the first of several committees to deal with implementation of the planks.

Like all SLA conferences, the one in New Orleans featured terrific sessions of all types on all aspects of the information profession, as well as wonderful bus and walking tours of New Orleans. Since, of course, like all conference attendees, I had to choose from an embarrassment of riches, I am SO looking forward to the September issue of the SLA-NY newsletter where I can vicariously experience many of the sessions that I was not able to attend. I hope you will please stay tuned along with me for much more news from New Orleans.

SLA-NY Archive: Inheriting Something Old and Gaining Something New

2010-06-22T01:04:00.001-04:00

Winter Shanck | SLA-NY Archivist shanck@thirteen.org

In 2008, a call went out from Stephen Kochoff, the President of the SLA New York Chapter at the time, for a replacement Archivist for the Chapter Archive; the former Chapter Archivist wanted to retire from her long-standing position as Chapter Archivist. Since I am fascinated with historical documents and my position at work was Archivist of an audio-visual collection, I thought, This sounds like a good fit." It also helped that I enjoy working with old documents and I LOVE the smell of old moldy paper. I know, this sounds weird, but to this day I find joy in working with the materials in this kind of environment. Therefore, in 2008, I inherited something very valuable: stewardship of the Chapter Archive.

In taking over the responsibility of the Archive, I was informed by the former Archivist that working with the collection was a pretty tame job. She also shared with me that she created a basic "finding aid" which listed the contents of each box. I thought to myself, "That is great. I could take my time exploring the Archive and expanding on what she has done." This was the calm before the storm.

As most members know, 2009 was the centennial year of SLA. Even with this being know by all parties, I was assured that most of the work for the 2009 centennial was all ready taken care of. Well, imagine my surprise when I was asked constantly by SLA-HQ for materials and research from the Archive. I thought to myself, "You’ve been duped." This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

In spending hours pouring over the collection in 2009, I learned that special librarians ROCK! We rocked in 1909. We rocked in 2009. And, we will rock in 2109. We are part of a special brother/sisterhood of knowledge keepers.

Did you know the following fun facts about the Chapter?

In 1928, the Chapter Newsletter was established to document meetings held by the Chapter and for use as a publicity tool;
In 1940, SLA took over an entire playhouse to preview the performance of Ruth Chatterton in "Leave Her to Heaven" by John van Druten;
In 1942, the Chapter raffled off a trip to Havana (total cost: $75);
In 1948, the Chapter was asked by the American Statistical Association to assist in the compilation of a bibliogrphy on statistics about New York City;

And finally, what I think are the coolest facts about the Chapter so far:

In 1929, Amelia Earhart spoke at the Chapter's Friendship Dinner hosted at the Hotel Roosevelt; and
In 1939, six librarians challenged and beat six authors on NBC’s radio program, "True or False."

I would have never known these facts without taking the time to respond to SLA-HQ and without continuing the organization work started by the former Archivist.

As I re-house and organize the loose paper collection into acid-free folders, I am learning more and more about how amazing special librarians were in the past and how more so we can be in the future. In working on this project, I inherited something old and I am gaining a new perspective on what it means to be a "special librarian."

Do you have questions for Winter about the archive? Contact her at shanck@thirteen.org

Ways to Market Your Services

2010-06-22T01:03:00.011-04:00

Jackie Kilberg | http://www.toastmasters.org/

Jackie Kilberg, Research Associate for the McGraw-Hill Companies, calls our attention to a secondary benefit to our companies in-house clubs and group activities – informal networking at its best.

I have been working at The McGraw-Hill Companies for fifteen years and thought I tried everything to market research services. Never could I have dreamed of receiving such wonderful results as when I joined one of my company's three Toastmasters' clubs.

Bring Toastmasters into your...
*Company
*Community
Toastmasters International is non-profit organization which assists people to become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. Its humble origins starting in a YMCA 80 years ago has evolved into 12,500 clubs with 250,000 members worldwide.

I decided to join Toastmasters at a time when I needed to look for new ways of professional development. Since the meeting was conducted during lunch hour, it was a good way to "get out of the cube" and doing something productive.

Right at the first meeting, I felt so welcome. I was introduced to the entire group and was asked to come up and answer a "Table Topic". Table Topics allows anyone to comment on a topic provided by a Table Topic Master. I honestly cannot remember what I said but I was so encouraged when everyone clapped after my response. Anyone who speaks during the meeting receives a warm applause afterwards. It is so uplifting.

In order to become a competent toastmaster, one must complete 10 speeches. The first one is the "ice breaker" which requires the toastmaster to give a speech about him or herself. I spoke about my life long career volunteering and working in libraries since I was 6 year years old. For the first time my colleagues learned about my passion to do research and as I moved on to speech number two, three and so on, they learned about the importance of libraries and archives.

My best speech was on the history of my company. As the corporate archivist, I am asked to conduct research on the firm's history but to convert dry facts and dates into an intriguing story was a challenge and delight. Fortunately, the executive assistant to the CEO of our company attended the meeting and was so pleased; I was requested to do an archival exhibit for the annual administrative professional's conference. There I was able to tell hundreds of administrative professionals about our rich heritage. Other members of my Toastmaster's club are now contacting me to conduct research projects or are referring me to others with requests for research.

Not only have I promoted my services, I have improved my speaking and presentation skills and best of all, I have met new colleagues from all three McGraw-Hill offices in the New York area. Last month, I finished my tenth speech and received my Competent Toastmaster distinction. It doesn't end there. As secretary of my club, I attend District meetings which enable me to network with people from all over the New York City area.

Looking for new ways to market your research services within the company? I strongly encourage everyone in SLA-NY to seriously look into joining a Toastmasters club. There could be a club meeting in your company or in your neighborhood. To look for a club nearest you and find out more about this wonderful organization, go to the Toastmasters International’s website http://www.toastmasters.org/

Jackie Kilberg manages the corporate archives for The McGraw-Hill Companies. She has worked on a number of corporate historical projects including the recent tribute to the late Chairman Emeritus Harold W. McGraw, Jr. which is available for viewing at websites of The McGraw-Hill Companies and ABC News. Excerpts of Jackie’s Toastmaster's Ice Breaker speech has been incorporated into an interview which will be published in an upcoming spring issue of Metropolitan Archivist.

Time Management Techniques for Success with Stacey Jerrold: An SLA-NY program at METRO

2010-06-22T01:02:00.006-04:00

Janet Peros | SLA-NY Professional Development | JPeros@wlrk.com

On an unseasonably hot and humid Wednesday in late May, about thirty information professionals came to METRO for a free program on time management, or as Stacey Jerrold told us, “time strategies,” since time cannot be managed. Although all of us have the same amount of hours and minutes in a day, we need to learn how to clarify and prioritize our goals. Stacey is the founder and head of Jerrold HR Solutions, LLC. She also publishes the blog, What’s Keeping You Up At Night.

By administering exercises to the group, Stacey revealed common misconceptions we all have. She helped us discover how open-minded we are -- enabling us to realize how much our attitudes affect our behavior and our results. We did exercises to balance our “life wheels” so that they were not lop-sided but able to roll along. This included looking at how we spend time in a broad spectrum of ways from both the personal and professional realm.

We all try to set goals for ourselves but it is critical that we make these “smart goals”. Stacey gave us the example of losing weight. That is a goal. The smart goal would be to “lose 10 pounds by July 31st”. The smart goal is specific, measurable and bound by a time and date and thus makes it more reasonable to achieve. Stacey helped us to experience this by allowing someone in the group to share a goal, make it a smart goal, and then take us through the process of how that goal could be achieved by outlining its obstacles and options are.

In setting your time goals, she noted, it is important to use a system that works for you. Use a time of day when you are most productive. Use Excel or your Blackberry or a notepad or whatever works for you personally as it will assist you in being personally accountable for what you accomplish. Stacey also suggested breaking up your to-do list into “must do” and “should do” categories to avoid letting items linger on your list for too long. Identify the most important item on your list because frequently something on the list has got to give. Other tips Stacey suggested were to own your goals and make them your own; not your neighbor’s, sister’s or spouse’s. And at the office treat each day as though you were going on vacation the next day. That will ensure that you leave work with a smile on your face.

Top Takeaways from Stacey Jerrold’s Time Management program:

Own your goals.
Make sure your goals are “smart.”
Break your “To-do” list down into “Must-dos” and “Should-dos.”
Be proactive, not reactive.
Know your vision and sell your value with confidence.
Treat each day at work as if you were going on vacation the next day.

Gearing Up for Your Clever Internship Experience

2010-06-22T01:01:00.005-04:00

Or, What You Need to Know About SLA NY's Internship Program
Kaura Gale | Student Internships Chair | kgale@chpnet.org | Internships Blog

Our members sometimes forget the benefits to be gained from internships. There are important aspects to be reviewed long before considering one. The problem rests in the best way to emphasize these hidden benefits to the prospective interns and intern hosts. Like New York Times technology reviewer David Pogue writes in his review of the iPad, “no single write-up can serve both readerships adequately.” What is the solution? “Write separate reviews for these two audiences,” in this case the employer and the student.

Let’s start with those who haven’t yet hosted interns, but should (also a good refresher for those who have hosted interns, and should again)

You’re the harried librarian pushed and pulled in at least 18 directions every day. Or maybe you’re the lucky one among us who has time to concentrate on individual projects, but could still use some help or a certain expertise. Whichever you are, or even if you’re somewhere in between, an intern is for you. As interns tend to work for free, or are at least low-cost, you get added value for your time and/or money. Yes, you need to invest some of your time finding one.

As a concrete example, I’m a hospital librarian, and our surgery department has its own small collection that is in a different location than the main library. I don’t have time to look after it to the extent I’d like. So, I invested some of my time in an intern for that specific smaller collection and oversaw her work with collection development, weeding and cataloging, among other things. It was really rewarding to not only help a student learner, but to watch her learn and grow. And the surgery department was very thankful; I was able to make a big impact with less time and effort than performing the tasks myself, at no cost.

SLA NY’s internships blog is available to help you acquire an intern. I suggest you contact me to advertise an internship or practicum a month or so before the beginning of each semester, summer included. Please include specifics such as company name, location and a short description of your company and its background. Include what days and hours you desire, and whether or not there is flexibility or telecommuting available. Keep in mind that a lot of MLS students work full-time and are attracted to hours other than normal business hours. A straight-forward description of the work you expect will help you attract the right person for the position. Again, I’m here to help - kgale@chpnet.org, 212.420.2855.

Now let’s talk about why you, the MLS student, should really consider an internship or practicum

An internship is a chance for you to get real world professional experience and skills while you’re still in school. This is really useful if you are changing professions or want to gain professional experience to augment your resume for a variety of reasons. Maybe you already have a lot of cataloging experience but want a position in reference, or if this is a career change, you need library experience; an internship is a way to get it. The tasks you perform should ground your theoretical school work in real life experience, translating into a stronger resume and giving you a leg-up on the competition. By the time you finish your internship you will have demonstrated interest and experience in the tasks you’ve completed. A practicum is the same idea, is overseen by your MLS program, earns you school credit and will appear on your transcript.

You may not relish the idea of little or no pay, and that is why you need to work hard to get the most out of your internship. If you’re in a MLS program, you probably already have a good idea of your career goals, so take a long, hard look at your resume. Is it in line with your career goals? Identify the gaps and use an internship or practicum to fill or strengthen them. Let’s go back to the examples I gave earlier - you have cataloging experience but aim to transition to reference, or need to get experience in a library or information center environment. Great! Now think about the setting you’d like to perform in; academic, business, medical, etc. and specifically target your internship environment to match your career goals. Research which libraries may be a good fit for you and get in touch with them. Give them a clear idea of how you can benefit them in exchange for their time and effort in overseeing your work. You’ll also want to listen to what they need; maybe they’ll give you time at the reference desk in exchange for your cataloging. And don’t forget, as exciting as it is to put your newly acquired library knowledge to work, you’ll probably still be asked to do some clerical work. Comes with the territory.

Make the most of your time at your internship. Be clear when setting your goals and structuring the internship. If you’re doing this as a practicum, know what your school requires of you and of your host, and clearly communicate those requirements to your host. You’re not just gaining experience, you’re networking with your future colleagues. Use your time there to learn as much as possible, and be sure you’re getting adequate feedback and mentoring. Document what you’ve done, both so your host knows the details of how you performed tasks or how far along a project is, and so you have a clear recollection of your work should you needs specifics later.

I’m here to help. Check out SLA NY’s Internships blog A RSS feed is available. Or, feel free to contact me directly at kgale@chpnet.org or 212.420.2855.

Queering Artists' Books: A Queer Critical Analysis of Artists' Books

2010-06-22T01:00:00.010-04:00

Michael Carosone | michael@michaelcarosone.com

Introduction for ChapterNews:

I withdrew from a doctoral program in English to enroll in the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University, to earn a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science (MSLIS). My dissertation was going to be on queer literature. However, I realized that I could do more for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (GLBTQ) Community and population—my own community—as a librarian or archivist of queer literature, history, and culture. So, I enrolled in the MSLIS degree program with only one goal in mind: to collect, preserve, and make accessible to the public the literature, history, and culture of the GLBTQ Community and population—a minority that is still marginalized, ignored, silenced, oppressed, discriminated against, and misunderstood. This essay is a product of my time spent in the program, and a tangible result of my initial purpose for entering library school. Recently, I graduated from the Palmer School. I am now qualified to become the passionate librarian or archivist who will do whatever possible to bring attention to the queer community.

This essay was published in The Blue Notebook: A Journal for Artists' Books, April 2010

Read the entire essay

ChapterNews - Spring 2010

2010-06-03T20:53:00.000-04:00

SLA-NY Midtown Lunch @Thalia (April 27, 2010): Great Eats with Extraordinary Company
Winter Shanck SLA-NY Midtown Lunch Chair l shanck@thirteen.org
2010 Skill Share Fair at Pratt
Jaclyn Morales l Slideshow on Flickr
1st Spring Happy Hour Held on April 1st: Six SLA-NY Members Receive Scholarships To Attend Annual Conference in New Orleans
Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President l lhallingby@sorosny.org
Clare Hart on Navigating Transition
Will Bottinick l http://twitter.com/willbottinick
LGBT@NYPL: Raising Funds for Your Collections in Hard Times
Bacilio Mendez II, SLA-NY Diversity Chair
April Happy Hour
Toby Lyles
Message from the President: Theme and Goals for a New Year, a New Decade, and a New Century
Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President l lhallingby@sorosny.org
Report to Members - 2009
Michelle Dollinger, SLA NY Chapter Past-President l md@michelledollinger.com
The American Numismatic Society Library
Elizabeth Hahn l hahn@numismatics.org l http://www.numismatics.org/Library
Metro's Career Transition Sig Moves Ahead
Richard Reid l richard1977@optimum.net
Midtown Executive Club NewsSarah Warner l swarner@wontawk.com l http://www.midtownexecutiveclub.com/
SLA Employment Task Force, Factset and Capital IQ
Richard Reid l richard1977@optimum.net
Employment Task Force Responds to Member Needs with Programs and Training
Seth J. Bookey SLA-NY Webmaster l sbookey@gmail.com
Summer Study Programs for Info Pros & Library Students
Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President l lhallingby@sorosny.org

SLA-NY Midtown Lunch @Thalia (April 27, 2010): Great Eats with Extraordinary Company

2010-06-03T20:52:00.000-04:00

Winter Shanck | SLA-NY Midtown Lunch Chair | shanck@thirteen.org

I enjoy entertaining people in my home, at my office, and just about anywhere a small or large group can be gathered. That’s why in 2008, when I learned that the President of the New York Chapter was looking for a midtown lunch planner to complement the downtown lunches being planned by Maggie Smith, I jumped at the opportunity to fill the position. I’ve been planning the midtown lunches ever sense then.

The last midtown lunch was held on April 27th, 2010 at Thalia’s on 8th Ave and 50th Street. This was the fourth lunch that I successfully planned and executed since taking over in 2008. Twenty-four people attended the noon time meal and based on popular opinion, this was the most well received lunch. In speaking to each person at the lunch I learned that the food and service was outstanding and several people alluded to the fact that they wouldn’t mind attending a future lunch hosted at Thalia.

So, what goes into planning a SLA-NY lunch?

The first decision that needs to be made when planning a lunch is deciding where to host the noon time meal. The host location should have a nice ambience and should be able to accommodate a group (usually about 15-25 people). If possible, the space where the lunch is set up should allow for easy conversation amongst attendees. After all, the goal of the lunch is to allow for networking with colleagues in the field.

The next step involves communicating with your location of choice to pick a suitable date for the restaurant and the Chapter. The best way to communicate with the restaurant is to speak to the manager or the private/group dining coordinator of the restaurant, if applicable. You want to make sure that the event date doesn’t conflict with any other happenings in either organization.

Now the fun part: planning the meal. If possible, try to choose a restaurant where you have all ready enjoyed a meal. If this is not possible, then start by looking at the restaurant’s website to see if they have any pre-fixe menus that are cost effective. If a selection of pre-fixe menus are available, then work with the restaurant to choose the menu that you think will appeal to the most people. If no pre-fixe is available, then you will have the opportunity to work with the manager or private dining coordinator to set a three-course menu at a price point that would work for a majority of the potential attendees.

Once the date, menu and price is establish, you can publish an invitation notice to the SLA-NY Chapter listserv. The notification should be sent at least three weeks prior to the date of the lunch. Your invitation should include a way for people to RSVP and an end date that the last RSVP will be accepted. Also, a reminder invitation to RSVP should be posted to the listserv at least one week prior to the date of the lunch.

Finally, a few days before the lunch date, you should finalize the reservation with the host location and send a personal reminder to the people who RSVP’d to attend the lunch. This will give people a chance to cancel if their schedule no longer permits them to attend the event.

What do I get out of it?

Each host location has offered the opportunity to try new food and to meet new and interesting people. Over the past two years, I have consume great food with extraordinary company. If planning a lunch sounds like something you would be interested in doing, please don’t hesitate to take these tips and plan your own lunch on a smaller scale.

2010 Skill Share Fair at Pratt

2010-05-30T22:57:00.001-04:00

Jaclyn Morales | Slideshow on Flickr

Graduates, library professionals, and master degree candidates filled the halls and classrooms at the School of Information and Library Science at the Pratt Institute, in lower Manhattan, on April 23, 2010, to attend the 2010 Skill Share Fair.

Presenters ranged from recent Pratt Institute graduates to multiple professionals who are members of the Special Library Association, New York Chapter.

Highlights included a resume workshop led by Tom Nielson of the Metropolitan New York Library Council and an introduction to federal librarianship and USAJobs.com by long time participant and presenter Carol Jacobson, Deputy Director of Information Science and Technology of DTIC. Other lectures discussed the process of digitalization and consortia and the role of librarianship in correctional facilities.

The talk of the evening, however, was the speed mentoring sessions, which were arranged by appointment by the SLA student members of Pratt. Attendees lined up one by one to meet with presenters in their areas of interest, while recruiters walked the floors meeting job seekers face to face and critiquing resumes.

Serving up the best ways to network and gain access to jobs in the field, the 15 minute speed meeting enlightened attendees to what is available in their particular areas of interest, as well as opened their eyes to new areas of librarianship.

"I loved the event. It provided everything a new graduate or job seeker would need," Keisha Manning, a recent graduate of the Palmer School of Library & Information Science said. "The most valuable information was validation that I am on the right track and that there are opportunities in the areas I am
considering."

1st Spring Happy Hour Held on April 1st: Six SLA-NY Members Receive Scholarships To Attend Annual Conference in New Orleans

2010-05-18T21:11:00.011-04:00

Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President | lhallingby@sorosny.org

SLA-NY 2010 Conference Scholarship
Winners with Leigh Hallingby, Chapter
President: Robert Drzewicki, Seth
Bookey, Leigh, Kerry Prendergast, and
Moy McIntosh.

Leadership Directories Sponsors Jim Marcus
and Adam Bernacki with Leigh Hallingby,
SLA-NY President, and Pam Rollo, SLA-NY
President Elect.

The Spring Happy Hour on Thursday, April 1, 2010, was the perfect occasion for presenting the SLA-NY scholarships for attending the New Orleans conference to the four recipients who were able to be present. Sponsored by Leadership Directories, this was already a special Happy Hour with an open bar, lots of appetizers, and, in honor of April Fool's Day, a tarot card reader! Actually the Happy Hour also fell on National Census Day, when all Americans were supposed to mail in our census forms. What could be a more auspicious day for a group of information professionals to get together than this most important of all days for gathering information?

After a brief introduction by President Elect Pam Rollo and a short presentation by Leadership Directories, SLA-NY President Leigh Hallingby presented four Chapter members with checks to cover most of their conference-related expenses. As far as anyone currently active in SLA-NY can remember, the Chapter has not previously awarded scholarships for attendance at any of the annual conferences. SLA-NY’s ability to do this at this time is due to the grand job of fundraising that John Ganly and Bill Noorlander did in honor ofthe SLA Centennial in 2009. Many thanks are due to them.

Each recipient was asked to say a few words about what s/he is doing in the information profession now and what s/he hopes to get out of the conference:

Seth Bookey, former librarian with the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Library, is the Chapter’s current Webmaster. He has also worked with the Employment Task Force during the past year, helping develop surveys, and suggesting ideas for programming. Of his reasons for wanting to attend the annual conference, he says: "One thing that I hope to get out of this year's conference is more information about using the Web as a way of communicating, for both a future employment opportunity, but more immediately for our Chapter. Every year that I have gone to SLA, I have heard about new technologies and Websites well ahead of them becoming popular. . . . Being able to learn about new technological advances, and sharing ideas in person with colleagues at SLA, are probably my highest expectations of going again, along with maintaining my existing relationships with out-of-state colleagues in different chapters, and meeting new people as well."

Robert Drzewicki is currently enrolled in the St. John’s University MLS program, following 20 years as a financial services technology manager. He says that "attending the annual conference will greatly expand my network globally, way beyond the New York border. In addition, the conference will certainly provide incredible opportunities for learning and information sharing. However, the greatest benefit of attendance will be as follows: having the opportunity to understand and internalize first-hand the results of the Alignment Project. Libraries are going through unprecedented change brought on by the promise of technology and the changing needs of clients. Hiring executives do not understand how and what 'value added' services special librarians can contribute. SLA has studied these trends and as a result of the Alignment Project, has adapted a powerful platform to refine the positioning of the information profession in the marketplace."

Moy McIntosh is a former President of SLA@Pratt and graduated from there in 2008. Currently employed by Fitch Ratings in New York, Moy is on the Nominating and Program Committees of the SLA New York Chapter. This will be Moy’s first SLA conference, and she is eager to experience SLA on the global level. Happily, since she has received this scholarship to attend the conference, Moy has also been able to garner her employer’s support to take two courses ("Understanding Copyright in a Web 2.0 Culture" and "Developing an Effective Strategic Plan for Your Library") that SLA offers right before the conference begins.

Kerry Prendergast has been to half a dozen SLA conferences since 1994. This one will be different for her because of her new position with the Wildlife Conservation Society. She said: "As a 20+ year library professional, I understand and value the benefits of attending the SLA annual conference. This year is particularly important for me in that I have only recently joined the Wildlife Conservation Society as its new Library Director. This will be an excellent opportunity for me to meet colleagues in my new field. I have worked in several industries; but working at the WCS means learning a whole new industry, new resources and new technologies. It is also my first experience working with a non-profit. So I have a great deal to learn and I believe that attending the SLA annual conference will help me gain the professional knowledge I need to succeed here at the WCS."

Unable to attend were Crystal Cutler and Shirley Zhao. They each wrote statements about their attendance at the conference:

Crystal Cutler is currently enrolled in the Palmer School, as well as working as Records Coordinator at Consumers Union/Consumer Reports Magazine. She said in her application that attending the SLA Annual Conference would give her the opportunity to become engaged in the Association, to meet librarians working in different roles and organizations across the U.S. and other regions. "As an active member of ARMA (records management association), I know well the value of being active in a professional association. The greatest benefit of attending the Conference will come from my colleagues - hearing generally about their experiences, careers and organizations; specifically how others are maintaining quality services (even thriving) given less staff and budgets in this difficult economy."

Shirley Zhao is currently a dual degree masters student at NYU and LIU, and works part-time at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences Library and part-time for the Dual Degree Administrator. She sent this statement in her absence: This will be my first national conference! I hope to network and learn from other professionals, while exploring the current issues and innovations in the field.

I graduated from Smith College in May 2009 with high hopes of pursing a career in special libraries. I worked at Smith's Performing Arts Library for three years as a student assistant in circulation, acquisitions, and basic cataloging. In Summer 2008, I interned at New York University's Courant Library, which specializes in the mathematical sciences. Because of the inspirational professionals and paraprofessionals I worked with, I am convinced that this is the career path I want to pursue.

Today, I am a graduate student at Long Island University, studying library and information science, and at New York University, studying mathematics. I hope to graduate in May 2011 with both degrees. My next goal is to intern at a medical library because medicine is another interest of mine.

For getting me one step closer to my dreams and giving me this wonderful opportunity to expand my horizons and become part of an active group of information specialists, thank you.”

Each of these six conference attendees will be writing an article after the New Orleans conference about the experience. Please stay tuned to hear much more from each of them in the September 2010 issue of the SLA-NY Chapter Newsletter.

SLA@Pratt 2010 Skill Share Fair at Pratt Manhattan Center

2010-04-25T21:23:00.001-04:00

Clare Hart on Navigating Transition

2010-04-21T22:26:00.002-04:00

Will Bottinick | http://twitter.com/willbottinick

Clare Hart spoke of personal and professional transitions Wednesday, April 15, at the SLA-NY event hosted by Thompson Reuters in lower Manhattan.

The professional focused on the changes taking place in how we obtain and view information, from millennials who share links to news sources on Facebook to baby boomers who are more comfortable using traditional media. In illustrating user media preferences and attitudes, Hart referenced Deloitte’s December 2009 study, "State of the Media Democracy Survey," now in its fourth edition of gauging user media attitudes and preferences.

Hart was also able to provide personal perspective on an all-too-common transition occurring to information professionals these days: the transition that takes place when looking for a new position. In her address, "Transitions – The Market, The Professional and the Personal," Hart gave advice and offered her thoughts on all of these changes.

Hart, who left her role as CEO of Factiva in January and is set to take the same position at Infogroup after the deal of its sale to CCMP Capital Advisors is approved, urged attendees to create a resume that has a story behind every line in the document. Besides creating a stronger online network, Hart also stressed the importance of knowing what you want and don’t want to do as information professional. It is important that job seekers make sure to take advantage of any employer-provided outplacement services. These services will help a job candidate tighten up the way they present themselves externally to prospective employers. Familiarity of social networks and comfort using mobile computing is also vital. If you are not comfortable navigating these worlds then seek guidance from friends or relatives who are more savvy.

To gather information for its study, Deloitte's Media and Entertainment practice commissioned the study across seven international markets. An independent research firm surveyed consumers between the ages of 14 and 75 from September 11 to October 13, 2009. The study examined the types of technology consumers cherish, the impact of online advertising, methods to gather information and adoption of social networking.

Although it is no surprise that Boomers (ages 44-62) and Matures (63-75) read newspaper much more than younger demographic groups, they are also increasing their presence on social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook. The use of text messaging, accessing the Internet and GPS has increased for all respondents since last year. Almost 70% of millennials – ages 14-26 – believe strongly or somewhat strongly that online consumer reviews and ratings play a larger role in their decision making process than any type of online advertising.

Will Bottinick is a Senior Researcher at eMarketer. Prior to joining eMarketer, Will worked in research positions at Converseon, a digital consultancy, and Entertainment Weekly magazine. He earned a Master’s of Science in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute. You can follow him on Twitter, @willbottinick.

LGBT@NYPL: Raising Funds for Your Collections in Hard Times

2010-04-18T18:52:00.002-04:00

Bacilio Mendez II, SLA-NY Diversity Chair

Many may have thought that having Jason Baumann, Coordinator of Collection Assessment & LGBT Collections at The New York Public Library, speak to the membership was a bit outside of the scope of the Special Libraries Association, given his affiliation with the behemoth NYPL, but, as he stated at the March 22nd SLA-NY Diversity Committee event, his work is "more like that of a special library or special collection than you would think."

"When it comes to fundraising," Baumann affirmed, "we're essentially all in the same uncomfortable boat of convincing people with money, in a recession, that what we do is great and posing the question 'Don't you want to be a part of something great?' We are all in the business of no less than making history and, while it seems daunting, convincing people that they want to make history right along with you, isn't all that hard. Recession or not."

The crowd of SLA-NY members that gathered at the historic Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Greenwich Village were all looking to hear how they could secure funding for their own niche collections in uncertain economic times, so it was no wonder that Baumann was met with a slew of questions. Most notable was that of Diversity Committee member Clara Cabrera who asked: "What would you say is the worst enemy of those looking to start a fundraising venture?"

"Embarrassment," Baumann deftly noted. "Look, you can't be afraid to ask rich people for money. Period. They have what you want and, when it comes down to it, you have what they need -- an opportunity for them to look good while spending their money. We at NYPL never thought that we'd have any business asking The Getty Foundation or Estée Lauder for money, but here we are with them as two of our biggest sponsors. The second most important step in your fundraising plan is to resolve to not be embarrassed to ask for money."

Cabrera, jumped in with, "And the most important step would be?"

After a bit of a shared laugh from the room and Baumann, he came back with, "Getting a list together of all the people you know with money and combining it with the lists of names everyone else on your board or committee has to offer. Think of it as a six degrees type of situation. Don't underestimate who you know or who you are only a few people removed from. What you may think of as flimsy connections could end up being your biggest donors."

Sage advice.

The SLA-NY Diversity Committee is dedicated to bringing the membership programming that highlights how embracing our differences can strengthen our profession, as well as the populations we serve. All are welcome and we hope that you will consider attending the next SLA-NY Diversity Committee event. Keep your eyes peeled to the listserv and the Chapter News Blog for updates on future program dates and details.

http://www.slideshare.net/talyles/lgbtnypl

View more presentations from Toby Lyles.

April Happy Hour

2010-04-18T14:11:00.001-04:00

SLA-NY April Happy Hour

View more presentations from Toby Lyles.

Message from the President: Theme and Goals for a New Year, a New Decade, and a New Century

2010-03-15T01:08:00.004-04:00

Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President | lhallingby@sorosny.org

Thank you so much for entrusting me with the office of President of SLA-NY for 2010. I am especially honored to be the first Chapter President of a new decade (2010) and even a new century (SLA’s 101st year).

Each President usually selects a theme for the year, and mine for 2010 is "Forging a New Identity." I was actually originally inspired to choose this theme by our 2009 Centennial Year program meetings, so capably planned by Carol Ginsberg. The programs focused on various aspects of New York.

Opportunities: Diversity in a challenging job environment
Psyche: Managing change.
Legal: Prosecuting the Gottis.
Economic: Layoffs and their consequences

As varied as these programs were, there was actually a theme that I thought emerged. At the February program, Professor Michael Tushman spoke about change and resistance to change by corporations. He gave the wonderful example of how the Swiss watch manufacturers resisted the introduction of quartz crystal watch technology when it arrived in the 1960’s even though it was fantastically accurate and amazingly inexpensive. Why did they resist it? Because Omega and other Swiss companies made elegant gold watches for high end customers. In other words, low-priced quartz crystal watches did not fit in with their identity.

For the May program the speaker was Louis Uchitelle of The New York Times, who shared insights from his 2006 book, The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences. One of his main points is that layoffs can be devastating for many workers because people’s identity is so tied up in their jobs and careers. So there was the all-important word I-word again, this time in reference to individuals, rather than to corporations.

So the theme of Identity seems to me to fit perfectly with where we have just been in our Centennial year 2009. And it also fits perfectly with where our profession in general and SLA in particular are going – in three ways.

First, with so many information professionals laid off and so many libraries closed down, I think it is safe to say that our profession is undergoing an identity crisis and transformation. These have been provoked in large part by the technological revolution and then exacerbated significantly by the Great Recession. Employment opportunities that have existed for librarians and information professionals for decades have now too often vanished. Fortunately new opportunities have emerged in areas such as information architecture and content management, but not necessarily as many and as quickly as needed, and we are not necessarily all prepared to transition into these kinds of positions.

Second, on the Association level, SLA has invested in the Alignment Project and is building a new identity for the 21st Century. Even without a name change, SLA will have a game change.

Finally on the local level, SLA-NY is rethinking its identity by developing a new Strategic Plan for the next three years and is planning to roll that out this year. Thanks to Winter Shanck and Steve Kochoff for chairing this effort. Chapter members are invited on the website to add their ideas for the Strategic Plan.

As I have thought about my specific goals for the year, I have come up with quite an ambitious list.

To keep the momentum from our Centennial Year 2009 going
To offer as much support and assistance as possible to our members in transition
To re-energize some of our divisions and create some new ones such as Academics, Competitive Intelligence, and Knowledge.
To offer a series of sessions on parallel careers that information professionals can pursue in areas that we might not have thought of previously.
Provide support from SLA-NY for members who could not otherwise do so to attend the Annual Conference.
Increase SLA-NY scholarship support to students at library and information science schools in the NY metropolitan area.
Re-establish the SLA-NY newsletter as a regular online publication of the Chapter.
Complete a new SLA-NY Strategic Plan, including Mission and Vision statements.
Redesign the SLA-NY website.

Finally, President Elect Pam Rollo is interested in ways to help us be bolder information professionals who will explore new ideas and then test, propose, and sell them to our employers.

Although this list sets a high bar for 2010, I am hardly alone in working my way through the list. SLA-NY has a great Board (Pam Rollo, Nancy Baldwin, Carol Ginsberg, Michelle Dollinger, Janet Peros, Winter Shanck, and Lynn Schlesinger). Also, the Chapter has a terrific Advisory Committee of volunteers to fill all the Chair positions. I look forward to working with the Board and Advisory Committee as well as with many of our individual members to make 2010 a productive and rewarding year and to check off as many of the above items as possible. We on the Board always welcome input and feedback from our members along the way to fulfilling our goals.

I look forward to getting to know as many of you as possible in the process.

Report to Members - 2009

2010-03-15T01:06:00.005-04:00

Michelle Dollinger, SLA NY Chapter Past-President | md@michelledollinger.com

2009 was a tough year for many of our members who saw their libraries closed, colleagues laid off and perhaps questioned their future. Those of us who kept our jobs often have taken on additional roles and responsibilities. The recession has forced us all to be savvy and innovative and many members find themselves on entirely new career paths.

Though the association members did not vote to change the name to "Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals," the Chapter has been hard at work to deliver the messages of the alignment study and provide members the tools to apply those messages to their work.

It is now as critical as ever to take full advantage of the benefits your SLA and chapter membership provide. This includes attending programs, networking events and leveraging volunteer opportunities to get leadership experience. I thought it was important to remind members of the immense value that can be gained from membership and I've listed several of the past year's Chapter offerings. (Not to mention the association benefits such as ClickU, discounts, ExecuBooks and job listings to name a few.)

Chapter Activities

In 2009 the Chapter created the SLA NY Employment Task Force which has been hard at work with our Professional Development chair to bring you targeted programming to advance your career and offer networking specifically for people searching for new jobs.
We enhanced the website to provide job and career links, a Google calendar for events, feedback module, SLA and blog headlines, twitter feeds and a special centennial celebration microsite. In addition, we've turned many pages into blogs so members can subscribe to receive automatic updates of new jobs, internships, etc.
The Chapter has a social networking presence on LinkedIn and Facebook. Check these sites for announcements, relevant discussions, articles of interest and photos.
We renewed our contract with Club Quarters/Midtown Executive Club which allows SLA members to join for as little as $25 and receive full privileges at MEC including use of its private dining room, meeting and conference room, invitations to members-only events such as wine dinners, reserving private, full service hotels designed for the business traveler, subsidized for family and friends’ use anytime and much more.
A committee was formed to create a 3-year strategic plan which emphasizes the Chapter’s desire to develop and become a real agent for advocating on behalf of our members and looks to place a greater emphasis on communicating our value to employers and fellow professionals. The plan is available for members to see on the website and a survey will be sent out to see what kind of activities you want to see executed on your behalf as a member.
About eight happy hours were planned last year where new, old and prospective members had the chance to network.

Centennial Events

Four Leaders Discuss SLA's Past, Present, and Future
Opportunities of New York: Diversity in a Challenging Environment
Book Event with Guy St. Clair: SLA at 100: From Putting Knowledge to Work to Building the Knowledge Culture
Psyche of NY: Managing Change
Legal of NY: Prosecuting the Gottis
Economics of NY: Louis Uchitelle of The New York Times on Layoffs
Centennial Celebration Dinner at the University Club
Information and Intelligence Forum
Holiday and Association's 100th Birthday Party at McGraw-Hill
Professional Development, Business & Finance Sessions and Employment Task Force
Ten Trends in Technology for 2009
Basics of Web Site Management, Part I
90 Minutes to a Great Taxonomy, Part 2
Back to Basics: Business Research
Information Architecture Program with David Walczyk of Pratt SILS
XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) and its Upcoming Use in Financial Reporting
LexisNexis Refresher Training
Job Search Techniques: Best Practices for Today’s Market
LinkedIn: Why You Need to Be LinkedIn and How to Develop a Powerful Profile
Westlaw Refresher Training

Other Chapter Activities

Students & Information Professionals Mixer
Midtown Networking Luncheon
Annual Meeting and Alignment Report
Name Change Discussion

This extraordinary list of programs and benefits would not have happened without an amazing group of volunteers who were willing to spend their time and energy to plan, organize and coordinate the resources to make it all possible. Please make sure to thank them when see them at events. And ask how you can get involved. It's not only a chance to work with colleagues and give back to the chapter, but it's a way to develop skills you may not have the chance to practice at work: leadership, social media, technology, planning, and writing.

It has been my pleasure to be a chapter leader and I hope to continue to contribute to the chapter and the association (whatever name they choose to use!) in the future.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss any aspect of volunteering.

The American Numismatic Society Library

2010-03-15T01:05:00.003-04:00

Elizabeth Hahn | hahn@numismatics.org | http://www.numismatics.org/Library

"How much is this coin I found worth?" "What is the oldest/most valuable coin in your collections?" "How can I find out more about ancient Greek coinage?" "Does your collection also have stamps?" "What exactly is 'numismatics'?"

These are some of the many reference questions that arrive daily in the inbox and voicemail of the American Numismatic Society Library. Located in a large building on the corner of Varick and Canal Streets, the American Numismatic Society (ANS) is home to a collection of some 800,000 coins and related objects and more than 100,000 library items. The word "numismatic" is best described in the Society's mission, which is to create and maintain "the preeminent national institution advancing the study and public appreciation of coins, currency, medals, orders and decorations, and related objects of all cultures as historical and artistic documents and artifacts; by maintaining the foremost numismatic collection, museum, and library…" (And as a result, this does not include stamps, which is left to the world of philately).

Founded more than 150 years ago, the ANS is generally recognized as one of the foremost centers for numismatic research in the world. On any given day during the week, scholars, staff, and students, can be found actively using the non-circulating collections. At the same time, the library staff--which consist of a full-time librarian, a part-time cataloger, and a part-time archivist--can be found responding to an abundance of reference questions that come from all over the world. There are no geographical or chronological limitations to either the numismatic or library collections, making both a rich resource for any scholar.

The library maintains a strong collection of books, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, auction catalogs, and microforms, all of which are cataloged and available in the online library catalog. In addition to numismatic works, the library includes a strong reference collection and a wide selection of non-numismatic periodicals in the areas of archaeology, art history, economic history and other disciplines. The library also maintains a separate collection of rare books and uses a small exhibition space to display highlights from the collections, both in physical format and online.

An additional strength of the library and asset to all users is the active indexing of numismatic articles from journals and various chapters in multi-authored works. As a result, a simple search on any numismatic topic will elicit not just a record of the library holdings but a survey of numismatic research on the topic in question. Users who are unable to visit the library can take advantage of the various library services, including use of the online library catalog, as well as requesting article photocopies or scans, and research services conducted on the user's behalf.

From the first acquisition in 1859, the ANS Library has developed into the widely important resource that it is today. It has survived two major moves in less than a decade and has been in the care of 21 different librarians over its 150 year existence. More than a century ago, the librarians were addressing similar issues on cataloging that we face today. A librarian's report from 1880 helps to illustrate the state of the library at the turn of the 19th century and, in particular, the need for a catalog. Mr. Richard Hoe Lawrence, who served as the ANS Librarian from 1880-1886, reports that: "Our books are not catalogued, and a library without a cataloguer is, as Carlyle says, a Polyphemus without an eye in his head. It is hoped that our infant Cyclops will soon have this important member placed in his forehead..." This observation resulted in the single, thirty-page index listing items in the collection in 1883. Since that time, the collection has grown to encompass some 100,000 items.

The active involvement of the ANS librarians has ultimately helped shape the collections, but it is the users that make these efforts worthwhile. With the library and numismatic collections coupled with the other events, lectures, exhibitions, and publications, there is much to be gained by utilizing the resources of the American Numismatic Society.

The ANS Library maintains non-circulating collections and is open to the public. Visiting hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m. Additional information, including monthly new acquisitions, can be found at http://www.numismatics.org/Library/Library or by sending an email to the librarian at hahn@numismatics.org.

Elizabeth Hahn is the head librarian of the American Numismatic Society. She has professional training as an archaeologist, a numismatist, and a librarian and holds an MSLIS degree with training in archives and rare books, as well as two Master of Arts degrees in maritime and classical archaeology. She has worked on various excavations both on land and underwater in Sicily, Israel, Bermuda and North America. Ms. Hahn is fluent in Italian and has reading proficiency in French, German, Latin and Ancient Greek. She is a certified Advanced Open Water PADI Scuba diver and outside of academia, has received a number of awards in rowing. She is an avid cyclist and also has training as a classical violinist.

Metro's Career Transition Sig Moves Ahead

2010-03-15T01:03:00.008-04:00

Richard Reid | richard1977@optimum.net

In this continuing period of economic downturn and limited opportunities, it's nice to have support from one's professional colleagues. Last fall, METRO, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, formed a Career Transition Special Interest Group (SIG) which met just before Thanksgiving. Its second meeting was February 18, but thanks to the interest of the 24 participants, the next meeting will be much sooner later this spring.

I was one of the attendees at the February 18th session, which was held at METRO’s office on 57 East 11th Street from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Here's a short summary about the SIG and the program. Sure, it's one more meeting to go to and we've got so much going on in our lives now, but perhaps this group is too important for you not to consider participating.

Susan Gormley is the convener for the METRO Career Transition SIG. Formerly at McGraw-Hill where she managed their business intelligence center, she knows what being between jobs is like. But this is not just a support group for people out of work -- it's also geared for anyone considering future career needs which means it should be of some interest to nearly all of us.

The stated purpose of the SIG’s second meeting was to bring your resume and have it critiqued by your colleagues in a free exchange of ideas and suggestions. That never happened. In introducing ourselves, so many people had tips, suggestions and questions to share that we just happily chattered away oblivious of the time until it was too late to start.

Among some of the bits shared: it is thought that the word, "coordinator" is the new buzz word for an "assistant"; Richard Bolles' book, The Job-Hunter's Survival Guide, was highly touted; the website, LinkedIn, is a great tool for networking; indexing may be a good source of temporary work; and lots of opinions on functional versus chronological resumes with the concluding observation that there probably isn’t a single perfect resume, just whatever one bests reflects your skills and experience.

Some participants were recent library graduates, but some were young while others were embarking on a second career, trying to leverage their previous experiences with graphic design or art archives. There were some with experience at professional service firms like accounting and law while others had come from technology or academic backgrounds. The attendees were a typical mix of men and women and a diversity of ages although with an obvious majority sprouting ages from about 40 on up. In other words, you will fit right in, no matter who you are.

Come and share your knowledge, concerns and questions. After all, if we don't manage our careers, who will?

Richard Reid. A Business Researcher and Reference Librarian, he has previously worked at Ernst & Young LLP, in Manhattan, specializing in the retail and consumer products industries, and at the C.W. Post College campus of Long Island University in its Center for Business Research. He holds Master degrees in Library Science from Queens College and Business Administration (Management) from Bernard Baruch College. He is an enthusiastic organizer of fund-raising on behalf of the Salvation Army’s Christmas Bell Ringing campaigns. In his quiet moments, he enjoys walking, writing, reading, theater and movies.

Midtown Executive Club News

2010-03-15T01:02:00.002-04:00

Sarah Warner | swarner@wontawk.com | http://www.midtownexecutiveclub.com/

It is now March and in just a short time it will be time to renew the Chapter’s membership in the Midtown Executive Club (MEC) located at 40 West 45th Street for April 2010/ May 2011. Your invitation to join or renew will go out in a couple of weeks. This is a unique opportunity to join a private New York Club and enjoy all its benefits. The New York Chapter has been a member of the MEC since 2002. Our members have taken advantage of a variety of activities. One of the most popular is the Chapter Happy Hours networking event. Locally the club is popular for delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners. MEC is great to enjoy a drink after work with a colleague. There is use of reciprocal clubs worldwide including low cost hotel rooms at the Club Quarters network of private, full service hotels at 12 additional prime locations in New York City, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, London, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Houston.

Centered between Grand Central and Times Square, and near Rockefeller Center, it is available to easy transportation.

One of the best ways to see the New York MEC is to come to the popular chapter Happy Hour monthly networking event arranged by Leigh Hallingby, our chapter President, in the Club Living Room. This is an opportunity with prearrangements to visit the hotel rooms. Leigh best describes the Happy Hour as a place where prospective SLA members, students, colleagues, and friends are also welcome. There is no charge to attend, and the main agenda is to network in a pleasant quiet space. You will have an opportunity to introduce yourself to the group and make any brief announcement (such as a new position, job search or job availability). Please come and tell us who you are and, if you are looking for something, whatever it is.

Our members have found MEC an ideal place to join clients, out of town family members, candidates, and colleagues for regular lunches, occasional breakfast or a drink after work. The breakfast is an elegant way to begin the day. Members who live out of state come to New York City for theatre weekends and take pleasure in staying at the MEC. One of our members lives in California and whenever she comes to New York on business and pleasure, she stays at the MEC.

What better way to tell you about the Club than a testimonial from one of our chapter members. Carol Ginsburg is a Managing Director at BST America and is currently on the Chapter Executive Board:.

One of the great benefits of joining MEC is the access you gain to other Club Quarters Hotels throughout the USA and Europe (UK).I have stayed at both the Club Quarters in Philadelphia and in Washington DC. In both cases the hotels were in great neighborhoods and were reasonably priced. The restaurant is such a convenient place to meet friends (or business associates) for a delicious lunch. The lobby offers a relaxing haven for a break when I am in midtown between appointments. There is free wireless as well as computers available for members' use. What could be better!!

Marlene Farley is Membership Manager of the MEC and our key contact and she keeps us informed about any new happenings as well as on-going events. Maureen joined Club Quarters in June 2009 as Club Membership Manager of the Midtown Executive Club and the sister Terrace Club. Maureen brings us 15 years of experience in hospitality management from her previous positions at The Water Club, Café Gray, the Four Seasons Hotel and most recently, the Lotos Club. Here are the latest news and happenings update from Maureen:

News:

New 400 room hotel just opened across from the WTC site (members have access to the hotel, but not the club)
New hotel being built on 51st Street off 5th avenue to open this fall (members have access to the hotel, but not the club)
Great weekend and holiday rates as low as $116 available on select weekends at the midtown location (subject to availability)
Prix Fixe three course lunch menu for $25 available Monday through Friday in the pleasant Catch 45 restaurant
Happy Hour drink specials and complimentary hors d’oeuvres in our club room Monday-Friday
And as always….their signature warm chocolate chip cookies served at 3:00 p.m. in the club room

Regular Happenings:

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and bar service in Catch 45
State-of-the-art meeting rooms for business meetings, social occasions and special events
Use of complimentary, fully equipped workstations along with free Internet access throughout the Club
Onsite fitness room and preferred corporate rate at Sports Club/LA
Free coffee, newspapers, games and amenities in the Club Room. A good place to be between meetings
Inquire about use of the Priestly Room for state of the art meeting or receptions
Use of reciprocal clubs worldwide including low cost hotel rooms at the Club Quarters network of private, full service hotels at 12 additional prime locations in New York City, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, London, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Houston. Worldwide privileges at 150 affiliated reciprocal private clubs in our network.
Concierge service 24/7 for guests in Club Quarter Hotels

You will be hearing from me in the near future with membership details.

SLA Employment Task Force, Factset and Capital IQ

2010-03-15T01:01:00.012-04:00

Richard Reid| richard1977@optimum.net

Although there is ample evidence of the beginnings of economic recovery in much of the country, recovering jobs lost in the Great Recession continues to prove challenging for many industries. The SLA’s New York Chapter, through its Employment Task Force, is doing its part towards that end with a free series of professional training programs focusing on essential electronic information resources.

On Tuesday, March 23, the Task Force will be sponsoring a training session on Factset, which will complement its Capital IQ session that was held on Tuesday, March 3, 2010 at Capital IQ’s offices at 55 Water Street in lower Manhattan. That training was held in two parts: a basics session from 9:45 to 11:00 a.m. and an intermediate offering from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Both programs were ably presented by Christopher Magalhaes, Vice President of Client Development at Capital IQ. Bagels and coffee flowed aplenty at each session as over two dozen attendees at each were treated to a brisk but highly informative overview of the capabilities of the database. This was no simple sales pitch but a chance to interact with Chris, asking questions and discover nuances about this tool that covers financial information about public and some major private companies, as well as their key leaders, securities and markets.

Some people were there to add to their existing knowledge of the resource while for others in attendance this was a chance to get an in-depth look at something about which they had only read. Regardless of the reason for being there, all left with an increased awareness of the database, knowledge which could be helpful in securing one’s next job.

Janet Peros, reference librarian at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, is to be commended for her efforts in organizing this series of training programs, essential for anyone presently out of a job or looking to trade up to a better one. I’m sure that Janet would love to hear from you with suggestions for other databases of interest to SLA members that might, with the cooperation of the vendors, receive a similar treatment.

Richard Reid. A Business Researcher and Reference Librarian, he has previously worked at Ernst & Young LLP, in Manhattan, specializing in the retail and consumer products industries, and at the C.W. Post College campus of Long Island University in its Center for Business Research. He holds Master degrees in Library Science from Queens College and Business Administration (Management) from Bernard Baruch College. He is an enthusiastic organizer of fund-raising on behalf of the Salvation Army’s Christmas Bell Ringing campaigns. In his quiet moments, he enjoys walking, writing, reading, theater and movies.