President’s Corner: Thoughts on International Special Librarians' Day By Anne Caputo, DC/SLA President, anne.caputo@factiva.com Right now I am sitting in London on the evening of March 17th looking out my office window at a spectacular view of the Tower of London and London Bridge. I leave London tomorrow to attend the European Business Information Conference in Paris. As I type these words I feel anxious and sad. At 8 o'clock tonight in Washington (1 o'clock in the morning over here) President Bush will address the nation. By the time I return, and certainly by the time you read this message, we will very likely have been at war. These are big events that we as ordinary citizens feel powerless to control. There are, however, many small events where we can have control and many small actions where we can make a difference. Let me name one or two. International Special Librarians' Day (ISLD) occurs on April 10th this year and DC/SLA will join in the international focus by hosting a program on Library and Literacy Issues in Africa - Learn How to be Part of the Solution. This program will feature three speakers who know what they are talking about and part of the evening will focus on how we can work toward being part of the solution in one African and one Cuban library school who are desperate for our professional magazines. This event will be held at the Kiplinger facility at 1729 H Street NW beginning at 6:00pm and will cost the very affordable price of only $5.00. Speakers will talk about literacy and library programs in Africa and offer practical ways in which we can help library education efforts. Each of us reads and discards professional publications each month. Why don't we save them and put them in a drop box at this meeting. The magazines will be sent to a library school in Zimbabwe and another in Cuba. Something so simple can make a difference. For more information and a registration form, go to http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/yp/events/20030410.html. We have already made a difference by creating and supporting the Twinning Project which matches librarians in developing countries with SLA Chapters or Divisions. Read more about it at http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/twinning.html. This linking provides financial support for the librarian via payment of 90% of the cost of dues for two years and by simply being available to support, counsel, share and partner with the librarian. The cost is very little and the potential for reward is great. The International Projects Committee of our chapter is responsible for the project and the list of candidates. They would love additional volunteers to work in this area. Contact Barbie Keiser at barbieelene@att.net for more information. I don't know how the next few days or weeks will turn out, but I do know that individuals and small organizations can make a difference. The world can benefit from these random acts of kindness and caring. Be part of that effort.
April 2003 Volume 62 No. 4 http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc
Inside this issue: President’s Corner
1
Student Scholarships Available
1
The New Knowledge Worker
2
Information Wirelessly
2
BIF Events This Spring
2
Digitizing Le Garde-meuble 3 Local Student Chapter Exhibits Leadership and Dedication
3
Welcome New Members!
3
Research Tip of the Month 5 Licensing Resources on The World Wide Web
6-7
Newsletter Workshop
7
Member News
7
Student Scholarships Available Special points of interest: DC/SLA promotes two student scholarships each year in the spring -- one offered by DC/ SLA for $1,500 and one offered by InfoCurrent for $2,000. Please encourage students enrolled in a graduate program in librarianship/information science to participate. The deadline is April 25! More details and application forms can be found at the chapter website: http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/yp/committee.html For more information contact:
Una Hildebrandt Booz Allen Hamilton 8283 Greensboro Drive McLean, VA 22102 703-902-6912 unahildebrandt@comcast.net
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | April 2003
• •
Get informed on licensing Check out the new products and services from: Capcon Dialog EBSCO InfoCurrent Library Associates PTFS, Inc.
Check us out on the Web http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/ 1