DC/SLA Chapter Notes - December 2002

President’s Corner: The Work of a Team Player

By Anne Caputo, DC/SLA President Inspiration can come from many places. I recently sat, cooling my heels, in the outer office of a large Washington metropolitan church. Never mind why. As I waited by turn, I idly thumbed through an article by Scott Benhase in The Living Church in which he quotes a story from a 1992 issue of the Wall Street Journal by Thomas Kempner, emeritus professor of Henley College, titled “Basic Rules for Pleasing the Boss.” Benhase notes that many articles are written on how to function as a leader but few describe how to be a good team player and how to function and thrive as a subordinate. The Kemper article does just that.

While we may sometimes have leadership positions or serve in a management capacity, nearly all of us are also asked to be team players too. Nowhere is this truer than in the role of the special librarian, where we are often in teams with technical staff, business managers and many others who influence the way our working lives are run.

So with credit to Professor Kempner and Reverend Benhase, I offer up the 10 basic rules of being a good team player.

Rule 1 Don’t give your teammates any nasty surprises. Put everything on the table from the beginning of team formation.

Rule 2 If you see a problem or issue that you think is beyond your level of competency, don’t cover up. Let the team know your limits as well as your strengths Rule 3 It is not helpful to demand immediate decisions from your team. If you cannot reach consensus table the issue until you meet again. Decisions made under pressure are rarely good ones.

Rule 4 Try to see your role in the context of the larger organization. Sometimes you may need to sacrifice a piece of your particular concern for the good of the whole.

Rule 5 Don’t communicate with each other solely by written communication. Good decisions come when you can operate in a ‘real time’ environment, either face to face or in virtual space.

December 2002 Volume 61 No. 13 http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc Inside this issue: President’s Corner

1

Welcome New Members!

2

Get Listed and Get Connected

2

Warm-up the Keyboard!

3

Getting Acquainted with The Digital Millenium Copyright Act

3

A Life Well Lived

5

Community Outreach Fundraising Update

6

South African Library Association

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Recovering from Genocide 7

by Building Rwanda’s First Public Library

Special points of interest: Rule 6 When you present your ideas, don’t make them the only option, and don’t make other options so unattractive as to weight the scale in your direction only.

Rule 7 If your issue is complex, make sure your team has the details in advance and don’t expect them to make a decision the first time they meet to discuss the issue (see Rule 3).

• • •

Rule 8 Speak up and make your views known, but if the decision is not entirely your preference, offer your full support. You would expect the same from others.

A chance to see yourself in print.

Thank-you for Sousa benefactors.

Check out the new products and services from: EBSCO InfoCurrent Dialog Capcon Library Associates

Check us out on the Web http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | December 2002

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Special Libraries Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by the contributors to SLA’s publications. Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official views of SLA. Acceptance of advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product by SLA. Subscriptions: Chapter Notes is free to DC/SLA members. Subscriptions to non-members are available at $10 per year.

Advertising: Advertising rates effective September 1997 are: $95—1/4 page; $175—1/2 page; $290—full page.

For information regarding advertisements, contact the DC/SLA Chapter Notes Business Manager: Kelley Weber, Surface Transportation Board Phone: 202-565-1668 Email: weberk@stb.dot.gov EDITOR’S NOTE: Monday, December 16th is the deadline for materials which can be included in the January 2003 issue.

The issue is distributed approximately three weeks after the deadline. The preferred submission format is a Word document sent via email.

Materials for Chapter Notes should be sent to the Editor: Cynthia Holt The Gelman Library George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington, DC 20052 Phone: 202-994-1352 Email: holt@gwu.edu Event announcements should also be submitted electronically to the: Listserv Moderator: Kelley Weber, Surface Transportation Board Phone: 202-565-1668 Email: weberk@stb.dot.gov DC/SLA Internet Committee: Frederik Heller Phone: 202-383-1157 Email: fheller@realtors.org Send address changes for Chapter Notes to: SLA Headquarters ATTN: Address/Name Changes 1700 18th Street NW Washington, DC 20009-2508

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Welcome New Members!

Submitted by Alphonse Vinh, avinh@npr.org Please welcome the following new members to the SLA/DC Chapter: Shannon Bell Mary Bley Sarrah Burns Richard King

Fran Larkins Mary Mulleer Denise Nason Denise Rosenblatt

Get Listed and Get Connected – The 2003 Washington Area Library Directory Submitted by Eileen Deegan, edeegan@pd.state.gov, and Amy Pass, apass@opa.easter-seals.org One of the most memorable public-service campaigns in modern U.S. history featured Smokey the Bear who proclaimed: “Only you can prevent forest fires.” In homage to Smokey, we would like to say to our DC/SLA colleagues: “Only you can ensure that your library or information center is listed in the forthcoming edition of the Washington Area Library Directory, by either you or your director completing the online questionnaire at http:// www.arealibraries.com.”

As the October Chapter Notes (http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/ oct02.html) announced, DC/SLA, DCLA and LLSDC are producing the third edition of the Washington Area Library Directory (WALD). All of the data published in WALD is obtained directly from you and other information professionals employed in our metropolitan area’s libraries and information centers. All library and center listings appear in WALD free of charge.

Since the WALD questionnaire “went live” in October, many DC/SLA members have submitted their electronic entries. Thank you! Still, we have not received entries for several libraries and information centers at which our DC/SLA members work. To reach our goal of producing a comprehensive, accurate directory that facilitates wide-ranging research, we need DC/ SLA members’ full participation in our survey.

If you or a colleague received a letter from WALD’s publisher, Data-Matic Systems Company, explaining how to complete the questionnaire, please submit your library’s listing without delay. If no one at your organization has received the letter, please obtain your institution’s unique logon and password by sending an e-mail to the publisher at – help@arealibraries. com. You can also reach Data-Matic’s customer service via the “help” link on the WALD website at http://www.arealibraries.com.

In addition to completing the questionnaire, while you are visiting the WALD website, please consider reserving a copy of WALD’s third edition for your collection.

Thank you for your vital work to ensure that your library or information center is listed in WALD’s third edition. And remember, by submitting your questionnaire, your library or information center will be in the company of other great Washington-area institutions. True, you won’t find Smokey the Bear listed in WALD. But you will find the library that belongs to Smokey’s sponsor – the U.S. Department of the Interior.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | December 2002

Warm-up the Keyboard!

Submitted by Cynthia Holt, holt@gwu.edu Have you always yearned to write the grand epic? Ever wanted to have a monthly column? Now is your chance to get started.

With the change in format for Chapter Notes, we would like to start seeing some more articles on issues or topics. Please send all submissions to: Cynthia Holt Reference Department The Gelman Library George Washington University 2130 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20052 holt@gwu.edu The preferred formats for articles are Microsoft Word or a text file. Please attach all images in .gif, .jpg or .tif formats.

Getting Acquainted With the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Submitted by Elizabeth Knight, eknight@ups. edu An 18-page summary of the DMCA published by the U.S. Copyright Office is available at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/ legislation/dmca.pdf Educause has a nice page of resources: http:// www.educause.edu/issues/dmca.html The second article listed, Unintended Consequences: Three Years Under the DCMA, published by the Electronic Freedom Foundation, is particularly useful.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | December 2002

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | December 2002

A Life Well Lived Submitted by Mary Ellen Bates, mbates@BatesInfo.com Win Sewell, a long-time member of AIIP and SLA and one of the leaders in health sciences librarianship, passed away on October 23rd. Win worked for the University of Maryland and the National Institutes of Health and served as honorary president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

She came to Washington in the early 1960s and worked at NIH's National Library of Medicine until 1970 and then at the University of Maryland until 1992. She also had done consulting work.

Dr. Sewell, a native of Newport, Washington, was an English graduate of Washington State University. She received a master's degree in library science from Columbia University and an honorary doctorate from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

She had served on a 1958 International Federation of Pharmacy's pharmaceutical abstract commission, a 1965 National Academy of Sciences committee on modern methods of handling chemical information and a 1966 State Department library exchange program with the Soviet Union.

Survivors include two brothers and a sister.

There will be a celebration hosted by Win's sister of Win Sewell's life at her home at 6513 76th Place, Cabin John, MD on December 8th from 3-6 p.m. It's an open house; you can drop in any time from 3 until 6 p.m. Those of us who had the good fortune to have known Win feel lucky to have met such an extraordinary woman - someone who truly lived a full life.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | December 2002

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Community Outreach Fundraising Update Submitted by Kenlee Ree, KenleeR@aol.com

Congratulations to everyone who came or supported the March for Sousa, a magical evening of jazz and camaraderie at SLA Headquarters on September 27th. Kristina Lively and Sue O'Neill Johnson's renditions of muchloved torch songs and jazz favorites played by the Jazz Connection from the World Bank/IMF Jazz Society were just what we needed to soothe the soul at the end of a trying week. Special kudos to Sue O'Neill Johnson for arranging the musical entertainment and to Alphonse Vinh and his committee (Dee Clarkin, Joan Gervino, Mary Ruof and David Snyder) for their extra efforts to make the benefit a success.

Financially the event raised our total funds to over $3,000, which will be used to buy books for the Sousa Middle School Library. We would like to thank the following "Band Members" for playing their parts in the financial support of the March for Sousa. (Contributions as of October 1, 2002) Conductors $1,500 World Bank Community Outreach Program Whole Foods Market Concert Masters $500 Lutheran Brotherhood First Chairs $75 to $125 Anne Caputo Kenlee Ray Roberta Geier Section Leaders $26 to $50 Nancy Bliss Dee Clarkin Joan Gervino Betsy Harris

John Latham Lynne McCay Anna McGowan Donna Scheeder

Drum Corps to $25 Estelle Alexander Gerry Alexander Julie Allen Katarina Avnet Amy Blaine Erin Clougherty (3) Jim and Lin Clougherty Elizabeth Davis Eileen Deegan John Duvall Mary Feldman Susan Fifer-Canby Susan Fingerman Barbara Folensbee-Moore Susan Fournier

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Joan Taylor Alphonse Vinh

Mary Garvin Peggy Garvin Cassandra Harper Karen Huffman Sage Hulsebus (2) Muriel Jenkins Doug Johnson Sue Johnson Cynthia Kahn Susan Keller Robert Klassen Prashant Kothari Gene Kubal Betty Landesman Nancy McKinley

Lyle Minter Nancy Minter Allen Overland (2) Ceceile Richter Barbara Robinson Donald Ross Mary Ruof David Snyder William Turner Cheryl Zebrowski

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | December 2002

South African Library Association Submitted by Sue O. Johnson, SueOJohnson@msn.com This photo is from a visit of Sylvia Piggott to the South African Library Association, at the request of one of the Global 2000 Fellows, Godfrey Ncongwane. His request was on a Wish List organized by the DC/SLA Chapter in conjunction with the KIIE Caucus. He asked that an official of SLA visit the South African Library Association and speak on the value of political action by librarians and pulling together through associations to get results.

Ms Piggott, a former President of SLA and current Chair of the LMD Division, is pictured on the left third from the bottom. Mr. Ncongwane is two to the right of Ms. Piggott in the same row.

Recovering from Genocide by Building Rwanda's First Public Library SID Development Information Workgroup Submitted by Gail A presentation by Beth A. Payne, Secretary, American Friends of the Kigali Public Library 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm Wednesday, January 18, 2003 In September 2000, the Rotary Club of Kigali-Virunga embarked on an historic effort to create a lasting foundation for a new Rwanda -- the Kigali Public Library. Ms. Payne served as the first chair of Kigali Public Library committee in Rwanda and will describe how the nation of Rwanda rallied around this effort, soliciting support from around the world, and how Rwanda's first public library will play an important role in rebuilding Rwanda after years of warfare and the devastation of the 1994 genocide.

No reservation is required. Please bring a photo ID. The meeting will be a brown bag lunch held at the Development Information Center (DIC), 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 1425, Washington, DC. The closest Metro stop is Metro Center on the Red or Blue/Orange lines. Take the 13th Street exit from Metro Center, turn left when you get to the street and walk left to the corner of 13th and F Streets, NW. Cross F Street, and turn right to cross 13th Street. You'll see the Shops at National Place on the corner. Enter the Shops at National Place. Keep to the left, and walk to the North Office Tower access area on your left. Turn left into the elevator lobby. Walk straight to the elevators, and take the elevator to the 14th floor. On the 14th floor, walk away from the windows, turn right and at the corner, turn right again. Suite 1425 will be on the left about halfway down the corridor. To find out on the day of the event if the meeting is cancelled, contact the DIC receptionist at 202-661-5800.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | December 2002

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