DC/SLA Chapter Notes - October 2004

President’s Corner: The Elevator Talk Without the Elevator

By Sheryl Rosenthal, srosenthal@usnews.com

The winds of Charley, Frances, and Ivan together could not rival the energy emanating from DC/SLA. Of course, we put our efforts to good use. No wasted energy here.

Attendance and enthusiasm keep climbing at all of the terrific events around town.

If you don’t check the web site regularly (http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/events.html), you could be missing out!

At the end of Anne Caputo’s terrific “Perception is Reality…” talk, she gave us an assignment. We were to try out our “elevator talk” before the week was over [see Michael White’s article on page 2]. Thinking back on a talk I once gave with Sheila Thalhimer at SLA Technology Day 2000 titled, “How to Build an Intranet When You Don’t Have an Intranet,” I decided to open this column with my elevator talk, (“How to Have an Elevator Talk When You Don’t Have an Elevator”) hoping it would also qualify as “thinking outside the box,” another part of the assignment. I’ll be checking the web site events page statistics to see if it worked. If not, I know I can always count on Anne for more advice.

Now Down to Business It’s back to the Board Room for the DC/SLA board and committee chairs and I promise you, no one will be fired! In fact, we’ll be welcoming Katherine Nuss to her new post as chair of the DC/SLA News Group. And we’re grateful to Estelle Alexander who surprised herself a bit by volunteering to head up the “Get Out the Vote” effort. No, we’re not talking about the November elections although we certainly encourage all of our members to vote. This is all about the national SLA elections. We’ll keep you posted on how you can help.

This month we will hear from Richard Huffine who will discuss the status of the proposed SLA Government Information Division. Richard has collected enough signatures to petition the SLA Board and thinks they may vote at an upcoming Board teleconference.

He is also assembling a slate of officers to guide the Division's formation in its first year.

With the large number of government librarians in the DC area, Eileen Deegan, as second vice-president of DC/SLA, has made it one of her goals to increase the membership of government librarians in our chapter. She will be working closely with our Government Relations Chair, Shelia Jackson, to accomplish that goal while Shelia keeps a careful eye on the Patriot Act legislation.

We’ll also talk about scholarships, the possibility and feasibility of electronic voting, volunteer opportunities, and first steps in implementing the strategic plan.

I look forward to seeing you at a DC/SLA event!

October 2004 Volume 64 No. 2 http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc

Inside this issue: President’s Corner

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Doing an the “Elevator Talk”

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YP’s plan food event

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Sharpen Your Skills – Free Upcoming Workshops

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SLA Open House Oct. 20

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Managing Your Library, Archives and Records 5 Submit a community project for consideration 6 Career Development Seminar Oct. 6

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Read about 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/

Wrap-up Report on DC/SLA’s first Community Project See page 7 Next Newsletter Deadline is October 25.

Email bferry@ngs.org

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | October 2004

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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.

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Deadline for the October issue is October 25, 2004. The issue is distributed approximately two weeks after the deadline.

The preferred submission format is a Word document sent via email. You should receive an email acknowledgement of your submission. Materials for Chapter Notes should be sent to the Editor: Barbara Ferry Libraries & Information Services National Geographic Society 1145 17th St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Phone: 202-857-7051 Email: bferry@ngs.org 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

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Creating Your Elevator Talk: Anne Caputo Discusses Marketing Ideas for Turning Perceptions into Reality Submitted by Michael J. White, mjwhite@rocketmail.com Successful marketing turns perceptions into reality: if you look like you know what you’re doing, you will know what you’re doing. We are our own public relations machines. With a little preparation and quick thinking, even a brief encounter with a manager or colleague in an elevator can become an opportunity to enhance the image of yourself and your department, and to promote the value of your services.

Those were the ideas presented by Anne Caputo, Director of Knowledge and Learning Programs at Factiva, in an engaging and lively presentation to more than forty-five librarians, information professionals and guests at the DC headquarters of National Public Radio on September 14. The event was sponsored by DC/SLA with support from Factiva and NPR. NPR reference librarian Alphonse Vinh coordinated the use of the room and refreshments, which included an assortment of delicious hors d’oeuvres and beverages.

Anne discussed several image-making activities, but focused on the effective use of the “elevator talk” technique. The elevator talk is a brief, focused message that creates a positive impression and leads to further action. It can be used in almost any situation, from establishing a relationship with a potential customer to generating goodwill with senior management or when asking for help with a problem or approval for a new service. After explaining the concept, Anne asked the audience to divide into small groups and develop elevator talk strategies for several scenarios. Groups then discussed their strategies and offered additional marketing ideas. Anne’s final message was to “work hard to make a consistent, branded and positive image of yourself and your department to everyone in your organization.”

Anne is a long-time member of SLA and a nationally-recognized leader in training and mentoring. Anne is well known to the local membership. She has served as President of the Washington, D.C. chapter and as a Director for the chapter, in addition to serving on numerous SLA Chapter and National committees. Anne is currently a candidate for Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect on the 2004/05 SLA Board of Directors.

Meine Damen und Herren (Ladies and Gentlemen) Join the DC/SLA Young Professionals for ein Bier und eine Wurst at Cafe Berlin on Capitol Hill!

Freitag 1. Oktober; 6:00 p.m.

322 Massachusetts Ave, NE Washington, DC http://www.cafeberlindc.com/ Bitte RSVP by Wednesday, September 29 to Elena Howell.

Questions? Email Elena Howell (ehowell@cov.com) or Allegra Moothart (amoothart@usnews.com) Auf Wiedersehen!

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | October 2004

FREE SID/DIW Development Information Workgroup Meetings Submitted by Gail Wadsworth, gwadswor@dis.cdie.org Date: October 20; noon-2pm Topic: “Use of Internet Technology for VideoConferencing Across Cultures” Robin Yeager, U. S. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs, will talk about a University of The Gambia and East Carolina University joint project using videoconferencing. Other projects will also be highlighted. An open discussion will follow.

Date: November 17, noon-2pm Topic: “Information Literacy: Empowering Users” Teaching users how to define information needs and work cooperatively to share knowledge can greatly assist them in coping with an environment increasingly characterized by too much irrelevant and notvery-timely information. Especially important is enabling users to evaluate information found on web sites.

Patricia Hardesty, Liaison Librarian for History and Political Science at James Madison University, will review and discuss JMU's innovative "Go for the Gold" program, a set of Web-based instructional modules designed by the Carrier Library reference staff to introduce students to the services and collections in Carrier Library and to teach students basic information-seeking skills. **No reservations require for either session. **Bring a brown bag lunch and a photo ID. Location: Both sessions will be held at the Development Information Center (DIC), 1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 300 South, Washington, DC. Metro Center on either the Red or the Blue/Orange lines, take the exit at 11th and G Streets To find out on the day of the event if the meeting is cancelled, contact the DIC receptionist at 202-661-5800.

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | October 2004

The Three Pillars: Managing Your Library, Archives, and Records October 13 – 6pm Submitted by Shirley Loo, sloo@crs.loc.gov You started as the librarian and were asked to organize your company's records. Or you began in archives and now are managing the library as well. If your responsibilities have or will expand beyond the library, come and hear three information managers talk about how they made the transition, how they delegate and structure their work teams, what to expect, and pitfalls to avoid.

Join us for interesting and timely presentations by Pamela Tripp-Melby, Chief of Information Services at the International Monetary Fund; Susan Fifer Canby, Vice President at the National Geographic Society; and Kevin Manion, Associate Director at Consumers Union. These experienced and innovative information managers will present key strategies at the Library of Congress (Capitol South Metro stop). Come at 6 p.m. to LM 316 in the Madison Building at First and Independence Ave. SE. You may enter from the C St. entrance if you are taking the Metro.

Celebrate SLA’s New Global Headquarters on October 20 Submitted by Shirley Loo, SLOO@crs.loc.gov On Wednesday, October 20, 2004, you are invited to see SLA’s new offices in an Open House co-sponsored by our Chapter.

Witness demonstrations of some of the latest member services from SLA, and get a glimpse of the information profession. Meet members of the SLA Board and SLA staff.

The open house at 331 South Patrick St. in Alexandria begins at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. Celebrate the public opening of SLA headquarters with complimentary drinks and refreshments.

By October 15, please RSVP at OpenHouse@sla.org or call (703) 647-4950.

Take the blue or yellow Metro line to the King Street Metro Stop. Exit to the right towards Daingerfield Street. Follow Daingerfield to Duke, then turn left. Walk 5 blocks, then cross Patrick Street and turn right. At the curved handicapped access ramp, turn left and walk into the Alexandria Gateway Complex. SLA Headquarters is on the right in the courtyard. If you drive, you may park in the

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | October 2004

Refreshments and networking at 6 p.m. with the program beginning at 6:30 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m. Register by Thursday, October 7 with Hospitality Chair Lorraine Bell at lorraine.bell@factiva.com or 202-289-8505. The cost is $14 for members, $18 for non-members, and $7.00 for students and retired members. You may reserve your spot using Paypal on our website or send a check made out to DC/SLA to Lorraine Bell at 1600 K St. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006.

DC/SLA BOOK CLUB CALENDAR 2004-2005 Season Submitted by Margo Gustely, mgustely@manatt.com All book discussions will be held on Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Thursday, November 11, 2004 suggested selection is The New Organizational Wealth: Managing & Measuring Knowledge-Based Assets (ISBN 1576750140) by Karl Erik Sveiby. Location will be announced.

January 13, 2004 suggested selection is: The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations (ISBN 1591392705), by Rob Cross and Andrew Parker.

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DCSLA Community Project 2004-2005 Time To Give Back To The Community!

Our next community project aims to tap the resources and skills of DC/SLA members to enrich and provide support for a library or media center that serves a local school or neighborhood. We need your help in finding worthy recipients for this project!

Minimum requirements for nomination are: • The recipient must be a library, community center, or information center serving a school, community, or neighborhood group.

• Someone at the location must currently be providing library services, whether as a professional or paraprofessional.

• Nominated locations need to show evidence of user support and involvement from the community.

• The lead manager, executive director or principal of the parent organization must actively support the library and be committed to its success.

• There must be a high likelihood for continuation of service by both DC/SLA and the community being served.

For more details and/or to nominate an information center, please contact one of the following: Kenlee Ray, 202-483-2423, kenleer@aol.com David Snyder, 703-575-5745, DSnyder@ascd.org

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | October 2004

Wrap-up Report on the Chapter's First Community Outreach Project Wrap-up Report on the Chapter's first community outreach project 1. Background In spring of 2002, the Chapter launched a community outreach project that aimed to tap the resources and skills of our members to enrich and provide support for a library or media center serving a local school or neighborhood.

The Chapter's outreach project was the Sousa Middle School, located at 3650 Ely Place SE, in a low-income area of southeast Washington, DC. It has 400 students in grades 6 through 8. Ninety-nine percent of the students are African American. The Sousa Library is a very old library with very old books and periodicals. When we selected the library, most of the books were old with copyright dates ranging from 1967 to 1975. It had one computer and one printer. The Sousa library received from zero to $500 from the local school budget each year. Due to budgetary constraints, the school had opted to have a part-time librarian.

Our activities focussed on soliciting funds and book donations, weeding and cataloging the collection and providing technical assistance.

2. Changes in the Sousa Library since Project Inception Unfortunately, Sousa lost its very professional, part-time librarian in the 2003 mid-year round of DC PS budget cuts made in order to finance the already approved increase in teachers' pay. Nonetheless, in eighteen months we made several promising changes in the state of the library.

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Several new titles were added to the collection. These included a few new sets of reference materials and new books in the subject areas of science, geography, sports, political science and fiction. In addition, several "gently" read fiction books were donated to the Library.

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The collection was weeded (albeit very conservatively) and looks more like a library and less like a storage area for old textbooks.

The new books were processed and shelved.

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We worked with the librarian to get the Follet Library Automation program operational. Information on the students and faculty was loaded into the circulation module. The collection is partially cataloged online including all new books whether purchased or donated, and much of the existing fiction and biography collections.

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There were 7 working computers available for student and teacher use including 5 new computers with Windows 2000.

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We leveraged our money. While we spent close to $1500 of our project funds for new reference materials, another approximately $5000 worth of new books were donated.

3. Lessons Learned On Site, we ran into surprises that reinforced the need for flexibility. The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) automation infrastructure is tenuous -- computers were frequently down and it could take as long as two weeks to get a technician to the school.

Recommendations: • Go to the project site prepared to do more than one task.

• Be prepared to cancel because of last minute meetings, school closings, etc.

A lot of our members volunteered some very good ideas that didn't resonate well with the staff at Sousa -- which doesn't mean they won't be a hit with the next project and sometimes it's just a question of planting the seed.

Recommendations: • Doing "with" vs. Doing "for" needs to be the motto. Remember that it is their library and their community and we are there to work with them -- not to tell them what they should be doing.

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As suggested by one of the local library activists, we will put bookplates in all books we donate stating that the book was donated by DC Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (DC/SLA) to increase the visibility of the Chapter's efforts.

The protests during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual meetings scared folks away from attending our Sept. 27, 2003 "March for Sousa" reception and increased the anxiety of the Board and the planners. Nonetheless, the fundraiser was attended by 43 and netted $1090.65.

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Recommendation: • Never hold any SLA function downtown when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are having their Annual or Spring meetings.

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Project Sustainability -- Where do we go from here?

Decisions regarding funding and staffing of DC school libraries are currently left to the local school restructuring committees who each year have less and less money to divide among competing priorities. There is no central policy dictating that each school must have a library with a trained librarian, an adequate collection and appropriate automation.

Although there are some individual teachers and principals, administrators and community advocates who recognize the importance of libraries in promoting academic success, there are no powerful voices within the school system championing libraries.

As information professionals we know how to network and find others that would be supportive of good DC school libraries. We also know how to sort through and present any relevant research to stakeholders in an understandable fashion so that they can be persuaded that good school libraries are crucial to improving student performance. To be credible advocate, we must be seen as a stakeholder and that means that we must have a role in a project that benefits a DC school in some manner -- whether that means working in a school directly, or through a public library branch or a community group. Given the current environment, if our next project is in a DC school, we feel that it should be one that has additional supportive ties to other strong sponsors to help insure its longer-term viability.

Recommendations: •

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At this era of shrinking funds, no administrator -- whether with a public school or public library system -- will be able to give a 100 % guarantee that the librarian and library budget will survive intact. However, in picking the next project, we must be satisfied that the lead manager, executive director or principal of the parent organization actively supports the library, is committed to its success, and will do his/her best to insure the library's survival.

Once the major governance questions are answered, we should consider advocating for school libraries in very targeted venues.

We should align our efforts with the other school and/or community advocacy groups such as Parents United, and DC Voice. In the first instance, we need to determine what they know about linkages between student achievement and the presence of school libraries. If they need more information about the linkages, we should help them get it. In the second instance, we need to encourage them to speak up for school libraries. A critical mass of advocates will be noticed.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | October 2004

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | October 2004

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