DC/SLA Chapter Notes - November 2004

President’s Corner: New Members and New Digs

By Sheryl Rosenthal, srosenthal@usnews.com Hope you were among the crowd of partygoers and well-wishers at the combined SLA new headquarters and DC/SLA new members reception. It was a treat to see the new, modern facility, meet some of the candidates for national SLA office, and welcome new and prospective DC/SLA members.

Janice Lachance, in thanking the DC chapter for our support and contribution to the Open House, says the new facilities “will serve as a laboratory for the development of SLA’s learning initiatives for the information profession.” We extend our congratulations to Janice and the SLA headquarters staff.

Janice also asked me to pass along SLA’s appreciation for, as she put it, “being such a great chapter.” I couldn’t agree more and want to recognize a few of our own chapter members who went above and beyond to make this a success. Lorraine Bell, our hospitality chair, made sure that new and old members were identified and greeted and took care of all the behind the scenes coordination that makes events such as this one look easy and organized. Michael White, DC/SLA corresponding secretary, did double duty.

See page 9 for some of Michael’s candid shots. In addition, he assisted Estelle Alexander in designing our new DC/SLA “Get Out the Vote” buttons, which were distributed and worn at the party as a way of raising voting consciousness.

What Else is News?

I am delighted to report that the SLA Board of Trustees approved the creation of the Government Information Division. Richard Huffine, who put a tremendous amount of time and effort into making this a reality, has mighty hopes and plans for the new division and looks forward to working with our chapter. He thinks this new division will provide the mechanism and support for professionals within the government information community as well as those who work with government information. That pretty much means all of us. To increase the number of government librarians, the new division will strive to provide professional development and expanded networking opportunities. We look forward to increasing the membership of DC/SLA so that government librarians can be better represented among our ranks.

While we are very excited about turning out the vote for the SLA national elections, we have not forgotten that there is another national election on the more immediate horizon.

Katherine Nuss, chair of the DC/SLA news group, is organizing a post-election dinner at AV Restaurant on Nov. 9 and it’s not just for news librarians. Check the web site http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/events.html for more information on this and LOTS of other events.

November 2004 Volume 64 No. 3 http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc

Inside this issue: President’s Corner

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Awards Committee Needs Help

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Empowering Users

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Holiday Party Invite

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Government Relations Update

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Diversity Leadership Award

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“Three Pillars” Re-cap

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Letter from Bulgaria

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Pix from SLA Open House

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Read about the new products and services from: Capcon Dialog InfoCurrent Library Associates PTFS, Inc.

Special Report: THE LIBRARIES IN BULGARIA, page 8 Check us out on the Web http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/

Award Nominations It seems that once you get involved with SLA, you just gotta keep on giving. At Donna Scheeder and the Awards committee’s suggestion, the Board approved the motion for the Past Past President to formally assume the role of Awards chair. Donna, Chair of the Chapter Awards Committee is actively soliciting nominations now. See Page 2 for more information.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

Nominations for Diversity Leadership Page 7 Next Newsletter Deadline is November 29.

Email bferry@ngs.org 1

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.

Plan Ahead Start planning now to attend the annual SLA Holiday Party on December 6. This year’s event will be held at the University Club, in the spectacular Library! As a special bonus, new members will pay a reduced rate, another way of saying, “welcome.” Please encourage your friends and colleagues to join us and join in.

Alphonse Vinh, man of many connections and DC/SLA Membership chair, is waiting to hear from you.

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:

See you at a DC/SLA event!

Kelley Weber, Surface Transportation Board Phone: 202-565-1668 Email: weberk@stb.dot.gov

Greetings fellow Chapter members!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Deadlines for Chapter Notes are the third Monday of the month for the following month’s issue.

Deadline for the October issue is November 29, 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

DC/SLA Web Master-- Cassandra Shieh, Catholic News Service 202-541-3254; Fax: 202-541-3255 cshieh@catholicnews.com cassandrashieh@hotmail.com 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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[Cont’d]

DC/SLA Awards Committee Needs Your Input Submitted by Donna Scheeder, dsch@loc.gov

This year's Awards Committee seeks your input. We are gathering recommendations from the Chapter for SLA awards and we need your help.

Know any good candidates for Fellow, the Hall of Fame, John Cotton Dana, the Rose Vormelker mentoring award or any of the other honors bestowed by SLA? Check out the list and the criteria on the SLA website, http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/awardsrecognition/index.cfm and send your recommendations to me by November 1st.

Please include a brief statement as to what has impressed you about the individual you are recommending. Last year we had a number of chapter members recognized, so please help us do it again.

Thanks! Donna Scheeder, Chair, Lyle Minter, Anna McGowan, Leslie Pendley, Sharon Lenius

New Government Information Division Launches Submitted by Richard Huffine, huffine.richard@epa.gov The SLA Board of Trustees considered and approved the governing documents creating the Government Information Division of the Special Libraries Association. As SLA's 25th Division, the Government Information Division offers a new forum to network, educate, and support every information professional working with the products of government organizations.

The Government Information Division will support professionals from a wide variety of institutions in navigating the complexities of information from all levels of governmental bodies. The Division hopes to unite institutional staff, contractors, vendors, depository staff and corporate librarians that all have a stake in the successful management of this unique type of information resource.

Staff at SLA are willing to add the new government information division to your membership and can be reached at membership@sla.org. The online access to the division will follow in the coming months. If you have any questions about the new division, please feel free to contact Richard Huffine at huffine.richard@epa.gov.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

FREE SID/DIW Development Information Literacy: Empowering Users Submitted by Gail Wadsworth, gwadswor@dis.cdie.org 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 required.. **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 | November 2004

Tour of LC Business Reference Reading Room -- Nov. 10 Submitted by Jennifer Boettcher, boettcher@georgetown.edu The Business Information Finders (BIF) of DC/SLA are sponsoring a tour of the Library of Congress’s Business Reference Services Reading Room.

Date: November 10 Time: Tour starts at 6:45 pm (must have a free LC Reader Card to attend) Where: Adams Building (http://www.loc.gov/rr/business) Capital South is closest Metro stop Agenda: Tour of the Reading Room, then optional dinner in local venue RSVP for tour and/or dinner only: Carol Canada, CCANADA@crs.loc.gov LC Reader Registration Process: (http://www.loc.gov/rr/security/readerreg.html)

“How to Get Published” Nov. 4 Join the DCLA New Librarians Interest Group for a program on "How to Get Published." The talk will be held on Thursday, November 4 at the Tenley-Friendship branch of the DC Public Library (4450 Wisconsin Ave., NW at the Tenleytown-AU Metro station) at 7 p.m.

Come hear Michael White, a librarian with the Patent and Trademark Offie who is on the editorial board of Science and Technology Libraries. Michael is also the Corresponding Secretary for our chapter.

For more information, contact Laura Gonzales or Amanda Ross ( laura.gonzales@dc.gov or amanda.ross@elf.mcgill.ca).

Alexandria Gateway Parking Garage.

SLA Virtual Seminars Consider registering now for the Nov. 10 and Dec. 1 virtual seminars. Nov. 10 is Rob Cross on “Impacting Information Flows in Your Organization. “ It will be held at Factiva, 1600 K St., NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC. The Dec. 1 virtual seminar will be David Stern, Director of Science Libraries and Information Services at Yale University, which will be held at LM 316 at the Library of Congress from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

Each person must bring a photo ID for verification and complete a form. A photo is taken at the time of registration. (maybe 10-15 minute procedure, depending on how busy they are). Registration is open late on Wednesdays; the reader registration in the Madison Building stays open until 9:00 PM. (in LM 140, phone (202) 707-5278).

Read more about the Business Information Finders (BIF) at http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/bif.html.

DC/SLA Book Club Meeting on Nov. 10 Submitted by Margo Gustely, mgustely@manatt.com The next DC/SLA Book Club meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 10 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. “The New Organizational Wealth: Managing & Measuring Knowledge-Based Assets” (ISBN 1576750140) by Karl Erik Sveiby.

The meeting place will be Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, 700 12th Street, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC. The building's entrance is across the street from Metro Center's 12th and G Streetsentrance/exit. Light refreshments will be served.

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DC/SLA Holiday Party December 6, 2004

6:30-8:30 p.m.

University Club of Washington, D.C.

Sponsored by DC/SLA and Factiva™ Start the holiday season with DC/SLA’s annual holiday party at the University Club of Washington D.C., located just a few blocks north of the White House. Founded in 1904, the University Club is one of the most prestigious private clubs in the U.S. DC/SLA members, friends and guests will enjoy fine food and drinks prepared by the club’s world-class catering staff in the beautifully furnished Keefer Memorial Library. In honor of the Club’s centennial anniversary, General Manager Elbert Armstrong will give at 7:30 p.m. a brief history of the club and its stately red brick clubhouse, which is decorated with rich oak woodwork, marble fireplaces and numerous fine works of art and portraits. RSVP today and be sure to celebrate the spirit of the season with friends and colleagues in an elegant, historic atmosphere.

Date: Time: Place: Metro: Price:

Monday, December 6, 2004 6:30-8:30 p.m.

University Club, 1135 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Farragut North, Red Line and McPherson Square, Blue Line $23 for DC/SLA chapter members and members of the ASIS&T Potomac Valley Chapter $35 for non-members $11 for students (with valid ID), retirees and new DC/SLA chapter members Payment: Payment can be made via PayPal or by check made out to DC/SLA and mailed to Hospitality Chair Lorraine Bell, c/o Factiva, 1600 K Street, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 2006. For online payments via PayPal, please visit the chapter events calendar at www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/events.html.

RSVP: Please respond to Lorraine Bell at 202-289-8505 or lorraine.bell@factiva.com Deadline: Monday, November 29, 2004

Watch the DC/SLA e-mail list and web site for further details. For more information about the University Club, including directions, visit www.universityclubdc.com. For Metro area street maps visit www.stationmasters.com.

DC/SLA gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Factiva.

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

Government Relations Update Submitted by Shelia Jackson, Shelia.Jackson@baltsun.com The worlds of librarianship and government have intersected and sometimes collided over the past few months. Below is a summary of topics that impact the accessibility of information and privacy of individuals.

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The National Institutes of Health proposed that all research funded by the agency be made available to the public for free. The articles the scientific community publishes to announce their findings would be accessible six months after publication on PubMed Central. The NIH announced their open access initiative at the beginning of September. The idea is currently under a 60-day public comment period.

The Government Printing Office is exploring the concept of a back-up collection for the government’s 2.2 million titles. Dubbed the” Collection of Last Resort,” the compilation would preserve government information in both electronic and print formats. Much discussion has surrounded the idea of CLR. Questions and concerns have been raised about the future role of current federal depository libraries, where the collection would be located and the use of CLR as a safety net for depository libraries converting to a digital format. For more information on CLR see the GPO’s proposal at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/clr0604draft.pdf.

No Government Relations update would be complete without a mention of the Patriot Act. • July 8 witnessed the defeat of the Freedom to Read Amendment in Congress. The legislation would have eliminated section 215 from the Patriot Act. • Section 215 of the Patriot Act requires parties to turn over user records to federal officials who are investigating suspected terrorists. The provision also dictates that parties are not allowed to notify patrons when records are turned over.

• Another attempt to thwart section 215 came from the Campaign for Reader Privacy. The group, which is comprised of librarians, booksellers, writers and members of the publishing industry, presented petitions with more than 170,000 signatures to members of congress on September 29. The petitions called for the exemption of libraries and booksellers from complying with section 215 of the Patriot Act. • For more information on these and other issues see the Government Relations page on the DC/SLA website at: http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/committees_files/gov.html.

Any suggestions for additions to the page are greatly appreciated.

Diversity Leadership Development Program Award Submitted by Cassandra Shieh, cshieh@catholicnews.com

DEADLINE TO APPLY: December 6, 2004 Last fall I did something out of the ordinary. I applied for SLA’s Diversity Leadership Development Program Award and was fortunate enough to be selected as one of five recipients of the award. I was encouraged to apply by one of my mentors. Since I had never heard of such an award, I enthusiastically pulled up SLA’s web site to find more information. After looking over the eligibility criteria, I decided that this could be a great opportunity to write down the reasons why diversity matters in our industry. Why should we recognize other librarians who happen to be underrepresented in our industry?

The most obvious reason came to me days after I accepted my award in Nashville from then-SLA President Cindy Hill, who just so happened to be my newly assigned mentor. As I attended my very first SLA Awards ceremony, I realized how important it is to celebrate the unique qualities and experiences each of us brings to our information industry. It is only then when we really get a chance to step back and truly appreciate the skills, expertise and contributions we all have as individuals. I am certain that by celebrating our differences and unique skills, we as information professionals come away with something more than just patting each other on our backs each year for the great work we do and the contributions we have made. We come away with a sense of community, which these days is something we all need a little more of. [cont’d next page]

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[Cont’d from previous page] The Diversity Leadership Development Program (DLDP) Committee would like to invite nominations for the 2005 Diversity Leadership Development Program Award.

Goals: * Help accelerate the advancement and visibility of members who represent a diverse population of the Association by mentoring them for more leadership opportunities within SLA * Ensure that the Association remains vital, relevant, and representative of its diverse membership Eligibility requirements: 1. Applicant must have been a member of SLA for at least 2 years.

2. Applicant must be a member of a population group that is under-represented in SLA. 3. Applicant must have between 3-10 years of professional library information experience.

4. Applicant cannot be a current SLA DLDP Committee member.

If you know of someone who meets these eligibility requirements, please encourage them to apply. Up to 5 winners are chosen each year. This is a wonderful opportunity to network and gain leadership skills!

For more information, visit: http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/awardsrecognition/awardsdescriptions/dlpnomform/index.cfm

DC/SLA Program Recap – “The Three Pillars” Submitted by Eileen Deegan, deeganeg@yahoo.com Imagine if your organization’s chief executive announced a reorganization and expansion of your managerial responsibilities. In addition to supervising librarians, you were now charged with supervising archivists and records managers. How would you proceed? In the October 13 DC/SLA program held at the Library of Congress, “The Three Pillars: Managing Your Library, Archives, and Records,” two DC/SLA experts Pamela Tripp-Melby and Susan Fifer Canby, and Kevin Manion of SLA’s New York City Chapter related how they have tackled such challenges.

The evening program opened with a “happy half-hour” during which the nearly 40 attendees had an opportunity to converse and sample a wide array of hors d’oeuvres. Following DC/SLA President-Elect Shirley Loo’s welcome and opening remarks, Pamela Tripp-Melby, Division Chief of Information Services at the International Monetary Fund, presented strategic perspectives on the “three pillars.”

Pamela noted that the three pillars -- librarians, archivists and records managers -- traditionally use three different approaches in managing information, and design their services for three different communities of users. She asked whether the three pillars’ clients and their content needs are really so distinct? While recognizing that each of the three disciplines has its own expertise, Pamela urged us to consider ourselves “federated information professionals” who are capable of working across a variety of repositories and resources, and are able to link, guide, and refer.

In her presentation “Making New Music Together,” Susan Fifer Canby, Vice President of Libraries and Information Services at the National Geographic Society, detailed how she has consolidated the Library, Archives and Records Library, and Indexing divisions. This ongoing process, she noted, resembles assembling a new orchestra (LIS) from two small bands (the Library and the Archives & Records Library) and a trio (the Indexing staff). The first step, she said, was to develop trust among the different staff members and encourage them to think outside their job titles. Susan pursued staffing strategies that included eliminating redundancies, consolidating tools, developing a cross-divisional approach to tasks, and cultivating new leadership skills. She looked at different ways to manage and organize the collection, to brand and market LIS products and services, and to upgrade reporting for improved communication. As a result of the progress made in implementing these strategies and additional targeted goals, Susan concluded that the LIS staff is sounding more and more like a blended orchestra Kevin Manion, Associate Director of Information Services and Strategic Planning at Consumers Union and Consumer Reports, described his organization’s year-old merger between the Information Services and Strategic Planning Division as a “clash of cultures.” [con’d next page ] 8

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

[Cont’d from previous page] Kevin approached the merger, which united market analysts with librarians and information professionals, as a time to get creative and figure out how the research, strategic planning, business & competitive intelligence, and records & archives areas could function as one integrated service. In developing creative solutions for implementing the merger, Kevin said he learned that strengthening relationships is as important as any other part of your work, and that if you want to keep your library, “the time of the ‘wallflower’ is gone.”

The importance of building relationships was also underscored during the program’s question and answer segment. In response to a question about whether Susan’s supervisor supported her integration initiatives, Susan said yes, and advised that you must make your case, show your supervisor what’s in it for him or her, and build trust. Another audience member commented that it was remarkable how all three presenters had achieved successful consolidations and asked about any setbacks. Susan said there had been inevitable tension among her staff, and that this kind of change requires learning about each other. Pamela remarked that a facilitator worked with her group.

For the evening’s final question, the presenters were asked: If you were given $30,000 for professional development, how would you spend it? Kevin said he would earn an MBA and study organizational psychology. Both Pamela and Susan agreed they would like to enroll in an executive development program, and share their acquired business knowledge with their staff. In concluding the program, the presenters reminded the audience how important it is for information professionals to think like a business executive and get access to the board room in order to build successful “three-pillar” and other federated operations.

Note: “The Three Pillars” program was also delivered at the 2004 SLA Annual Conference. To access the program’s PowerPoint slides, please see the speakers’ links posted on the Social Science Division’s Conference webpage at: : http://www.sla.org/division/dsoc/Conference%20Archive/2004programs.html

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Report: THE LIBRARIES IN BULGARIA Fifteen years after the changes Submitted by: Toshka Borisova, Access/Reference Head American University in Bulgaria Library Blagoevgrad , Bulgaria You probably do not know anything about me but I know a lot about you. Somewhere in Southeastern Europe, in a Southern Bulgarian town, Blagoevgrad, a librarian checks her e-mail every day and reads news-groups messages from different professional discussion lists, including the SLA’s lists. Before she knows her library tasks for the day, she is already acquainted with your problems. And not noticing, in her workplace she actively discusses and implements the readings.

As a consequence of this interest in foreign library theory and practice, an invitation arrived from Washington, DC, Chapter of Special Libraries Association, in relation to their project “Twin libraries.” This is a challenge for me. I have never dreamt or thought about it. It is an accepted truth that modern libraries are facing a different situation than they were 20 years ago when I started my practice as a librarian. Sources, readers and services are different and we, librarians, work in a continually changing environment.

That is why I am not surprised that a big professional organization as SLA makes an effort to extend its activity throughout the world. Businesses, including information business confirm that paradigm. The sources that American libraries use are identical with the sources in a number of European and East-European libraries. On my toolbar, just like you, I have Google. Using databases, electronic archives and sophisticated library software products is a routine for us. The borders in thinking have no meaning.

The future of our libraries however should be pondered in the context of the situation in Bulgaria. Fifteen years after the fall of Communism, the libraries are still in a period of transition. Now, Bulgaria is a democratic country with freedom of speech, market-oriented economics, and private property. The strong and centralized library infrastructure collapsed but a model for new one did not exist. About 2,000 out of 10,000 libraries were closed. Most of them were special libraries. The real picture today -- absence of a normative base and common national strategy, lack of rules for budgeting library activities, insufficiency of sources and qualified personnel.

Budget cuts and the increase in the cost of sources are among the most severe problems. Internet brought about insecurity about the library’s future and its place in our institutions.

Coping with the situation is a serious issue. Every library makes its decisions independently. It takes a lot of effort to step on one’s feet, to surpass the others. But we have one advantage – to learn from one another, from our mistakes and experience. Partnership, collaboration and cooperation are key words in our sphere. In the past years, the processes of integration of information technologies in libraries contributed to the establishment of conditions for effective professional communication. Bulgarian librarians have their professional organization, The Union of Librarian and Informational Officers (http://www.lib.bg). The practice born and confirm existence of the first real association, based on an economic partnership – The Bulgarian Information Consortia, BIC (http://www.bic.bg). Academic and public libraries share their budgets in acquisition of sources and subscriptions for periodicals. Not only the access to technology but also the professional development of personnel is an exigent task. Conferences, workshops and technology days are among our initiatives to be updated. Bulgarian library education changes its pattern as well and implements European and world practices and methodologies. International collaboration is strengthened. A new generation of librarians, information specialists and library managers grows. They know languages and are computer literate. Library management was unprepared for the changes, but now alternative library support is being developed. Projects, donations, exchanges and self-raised incomes are an integral part of applying the management methods. Nongovernmental organizations and foundations are our friends in survival.

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

Step by step, the libraries in Bulgaria are changing – sometimes under their own initiative, sometimes under outside pressure. The reforms are irreversible.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

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SLA Open House Co-sponsored by DC/SLA

October 20, 2004!

Photos by Michael White

←Past President Anne Caputo, Guy St. Clair and Richard Huffine

Hospitality Chair Lorraine Bell →

← Diane Falk, Past President Eileen Rourke, President Sheryl Rosenthal and Sharon Lenius

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2004

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