President's Corner: Membership Incentives Submitted by Shirley Loo, sloo@crs.loc.gov
Enticing membership incentives are being offered to new members. At the October meeting, the Board voted to extend an invitation to new student members to be our guests at the annual banquet and meeting on December 5. To enjoy this offer, these new student members must have joined SLA and the DC Chapter between October 1 and November 29. The Board also voted to have new members who join during the same time period pay 50% of the member price. Spread the word and invite your colleagues, friends, and students to take us up on this offer. Current members and new members come for free to the November 16 program on "Mining Blogs and RSS for Research". The speaker will be Sabrina Pacifici, Editor/Publisher of LLRX.com and beSpacific.com. This is the latest program this year where members are not charged. In addition, all Click University Live! programs are free to chapter members. Where members are charged, it is always less than what nonmembers are charged. The chapter uses the allocation from SLA to offset the costs of some programs. Vendor support has also aided programming. Remember the support we received from Factiva for the February "Strengthening SLA's Global Visibility: Substance and Culture in Tunisia" with SLA Chief Executive Officer Janice LaChance? We will also have LexisNexis support for our annual banquet and meeting on December 5. The Board accepted the membership challenge extended by the NYC Chapter. You may be interested in reading President Kevin Manion's column in the autumn issue of the NYC newsletter http://units.sla.org/chapter/cny/ChapterNews/78_2.pdf . He mentions that the NYC Chapter at one time had 3,000 members and now has about one third that number. The NYC Chapter has a larger pool but we have active recruitment efforts and Kristina Lively as Membership Chair. With your help in recruiting members, we'll remain on top in terms of membership statistics at the Denver annual conference. Go DC/SLA!
November 2006 Volume 67 Number 3 http://www.sla.org/Chapter/cdc
Inside this issue: President’s Corner ………1 NPR’s Susan Stamberg …3 Access to Government Information ……………..4 Membership Incentive …. 5 Advice for Young Professionals ……………6 Click U Live! …………..7 Enterprise RSS …………9 Last Dine Arounds for the Year ……….…………. 10 Mining Blogs & RSS for Research ……………… 12
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President’s Corner [cont’d from page 1]
Come to the annual banquet and meeting on December 5. We'd like to have a high number of interested members for Susan Stamberg, our featured banquet speaker. You'll hear highlights of the past 18 months of my presidency. We will introduce the chapter awards recipients and the recipients of the student scholarships. We will announce the chapter elections results and begin the transition to the 2007 officers. Vice President/President-elect Susan Fournier is considering appointments for her 2007 term. If you'd like to be considered for a committee, let her know. If you have suggestions for 2007 programs, contact her and she will pass them on to whoever is elected Vice President/President-elect. As Thanksgiving approaches in a few weeks, I am thankful for the many volunteers who keep our chapter active and vibrant. We couldn't do what we do without volunteers like Newsletter Editor Lea Wade and Business Manager Julia Leggett. I am pleased to announce the newest appointment. David Shumaker is our Student Liaison and Mentoring Chair. David is currently a professor at the Catholic University School of Library and Information Science. As a Past President of DC/SLA, David knows the benefits of membership and the value of having student members. He also has ideas for mentoring that he can implement. Thanks for volunteering! You can do your part for the chapter by offering to report on a program, taking registrations, serving on a committee, speaking on a topic, hosting a program, recruiting a new member, and voting. Note that the deadline for chapter elections has been extended to November 7. Have you voted? We need you to vote for your choice of leaders in 2007.
DC/SLA Listerv Manager: Gulnar Nagashybayeva Government Documents Librarian NOAA Central Library SSMC-3, 2nd fl., E/OC4 1315 East-West Hwy. Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: 301-713-2607, ext. 143 gulnar.nagashybayeva@noaa.gov Send address changes for Chapter Notes to: Chapter Notes Editor ATTN: Address/Name Changes 617 Edmondson Ave., Catonsville MD 21228
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 2
NPR Favorite to be Guest of Honor at Chapter Annual Meeting/Banquet Submitted by Susan Fournier, Susan.Fournier@icba.org
Susan Stamberg, Special Correspondent on NPR’s Morning Edition will be our guest of honor and speaker at the Chapter’s Annual Meeting and Banquet/Holiday Party in December. A nationally renowned journalist, she is one of the most popular broadcasters on public radio. Ms. Stamberg was the first woman to anchor a national nightly news program when she served as co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered; a position she held for fourteen years. She also hosted NPR’s Weekend Edition— Sunday from its premiere in January 1987 through October 1989. Her local roots go deep; prior to NPR she was a producer, program director and general manager at WAMU a public radio station licensed to American University. A pioneer in public radio, Ms. Stamberg is a member of the Radio Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting Hall of Fame and has received numerous other awards and recognition. She is also the author of two books, her first Every Night at Five: Susan Stamberg’s All Things Considered Book and TALK: NPR’s Susan Stamberg Considers All Things. She also co-edited The Wedding Cake in the Middle of the Road. If you have ever heard one of her broadcasts, you will certainly want to hear her “live and in person” on December 5, at the Hilton Old Town in Alexandria. And if you have had the misfortune to have missed her, here is your opportunity to see and hear “the closest thing to an enlightened humanist on the radio,” according to novelist E.L. Doctorow. Date: Tuesday, December 5th Time: Reception from 6:00pm - 7:00pm 7:00pm - 9:30pm; Dinner, Business Meeting and Presentation
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 3
Location: Hilton Alexandria Old Town Hotel 1767 King Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Closest subway stop: King Street Metro (Blue or Yellow Lines) Cost: $25.00 members; $35.00 nonmembers; $15.00 students/retirees Electronic payments may be made via PayPal at: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/events_files/Dec050 6.html RSVP to Lorraine Bell at lorraine.bell@factiva.com, regardless of form of payment. Checks should be made payable to "DC/SLA" and mailed to: Lorraine Bell Factiva, Suite 300 1600 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 Payment must be received by Wednesday, November 29th. The chapter thanks LexisNexis for sponsoring the event.
Government Information Professionals Gather in DC for an Enlightening Evening on Information Access Submitted by Richard Huffine, richardhuffine@yahoo.com
The evening of October 23 saw something of an historic event for government information professionals. In conjunction with the annual meeting of the Government Printing Office's Depository Library Council, two distinguished groups came together for the very first time. The American Library Association's Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) and the Special Library Association's Government Information Division (DGI) co-hosted an evening of networking and education. The topic, "Current Issues with Access to Government Information," is a topic of importance to both groups and to the profession in general. With the support of Swets Information Services, GODORT, DGI, and DC/SLA members shared a dessert buffet that included flavored coffees, chocolate fondue and flavorful cheeses. Members of all three organizations gathered after many had attended a full day of programs and meetings. The Depository Library Conference is primarily focused on the important connections between academic and public libraries and the federal government that is fostered through the GPO's Depository Library Program. Attendees from the conference shared information with the local attendees from the Washington, DC area about the events including a new partnership that was announced between the Government Printing Office and the National Technical Information Service. The conference continued through the week with training sessions and opportunities for federal agency representatives to connect with a variety of intermediaries that support use of government information in communities across the United States. The networking reception was just the beginning of the historic meeting. A world-class pair of speakers joined the assembly to educate and engage the audience on access to government information and the current state of affairs within the United States government. Our first speaker, Dr. Louis Fisher, has written some 17 books about how government works and the historic implications government actions have had in the United States. Dr. Fisher spent more than 30 years in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) as an analyst. CRS DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 4
analysts work hand-in hand with librarians to provide the Congress with in depth analysis about issues facing the Congress. Mr. Fisher spoke briefly of his recent decision to leave CRS because of limits the service tried to place on his external writing. The focus of Dr. Fisher's presentation however was the use of the State Secrets Act to keep important facts out of the public eye. The highlight of his examples was the Reynolds case that focused on a mid-air accident in the late 1940's and the deaths of three civilian researchers whose families sued the government for negligence. The case was unsuccessful because of the court's acceptance of the State Secrets Act as a reason to withhold information about the government's role in the accident. Some fifty years later, the courts upheld the original decision despite declassification that proved there were no state secrets in the documents that had been withheld from the courts. The implications are chilling in light of the current situation with Guantanamo detainees and warrantless surveillance being conducted in the war on terror. Dr. Fisher was followed by Patrice McDermott, an expert and advocate in the issues surrounding access to government information. Mrs. McDermott recently left a position in the American Library Association's Washington Office to become Director of a new organization, openthegovernment.org. She is also the author of an upcoming book about access to government information. Mrs. McDermott looked at the issues raised by Dr. Fisher in a broader context; detailing limits to access that are both explicit and implicit in the laws and regulations that govern U.S. federal actions. Her examples included broader interpretations for excluding information from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the emergence of a new category of classification, "sensitive but unclassified" that has emerged in recent years. Mrs. McDermott spoke of the impacts these limits have on the ability of the public, Congress, and the courts to provide oversight for government
operations. She also spoke of how a culture of limited access can hinder the ability of government agencies to work together effectively. Both speakers continued to provide insights in their responses to questions from the audience after their presentations. Members of the audience asked about how changes in political leadership might affect the situation as well as how the closure of federal libraries contributes to limiting what government workers know as well as the public's access to government information. As the founding chair of the SLA's Government Information Division, I feel the evening was a huge success. In partnering with the ALA's Government Document's Round Table, we demonstrated the value of SLA's commitment to government information professionals. We also demonstrated the values that drive SLA as an organization, networking and professional development. Aimee Quinn, the current GODORT chair, has committed to continuing to work with SLA DGI and both groups are considering a similar program at the next Depository Library Council meeting scheduled for April, 2007 in Denver. All the attendees at the October 23 event were encouraged to consider joining SLA at our Annual Conference coming up in June, 2007. With former Vice President Al Gore providing the keynote address and SLA DGI planning an exciting set of programs at the Denver Conference, government information professionals from across the globe will hopefully consider the Denver Conference a great opportunity to network and learn.
Membership Incentive Win Fabulous Prizes! Make New Friends and Increase Your Network Submitted by Kristina Lively, Kristina@ned.org
The DC/SLA Chapter Board has created a new incentive to entice our colleagues to join SLA as well as become a member our thriving DC Chapter. * Students: Any student who joins SLA, and selects the DC Chapter, between Oct. 1 and Nov. 29 will be our guest at the Dec. 5 DC/SLA Annual Banquet and Holiday Party. * All Others: Any new member who joins SLA, and selects the DC Chapter, between Oct. 1 and Nov. 29 will pay 50% off the member price for the DC/SLA Annual Banquet and Holiday Party. Further details on the DC/SLA Annual Banquet and Holiday Party can be found at http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/events_files/Dec050 6.html. Our keynote speaker for this event will be Susan Stamberg, noted Special Correspondent for National Public Radio. Information on how to join SLA can be found at http://www.sla.org/content/membership/joinsla/inde x.cfm This special "DC/SLA Annual Banquet" incentive ends Nov. 29, so spread the word! Also, current members, if you tell a non-member about this offer and they then join SLA listing you as the referring member, you will become a member of the President's Club and in the running for a number of prizes from SLA. More information about SLA's "Recruit-A-Member Campaign," as well as a listing of possible prizes, can be found at http://www.sla.org/content/membership/getamembe r/index.cfm.
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 5
Advice to Young Professionals Submitted by Sage Hulsebus, shulsebus@freedomforum.org
The rain on October 17th did not dampen the enthusiasm of the panelists and audience at the DC/SLA Young Professionals panel: The Future of Special Librarianship. The event, hosted by the DC/SLA Young Professionals and sponsored by LexisNexis, gathered more than 30 young professionals and students at National Public Radio. The panelists were: Regina Oliver, Senior Reference Librarian, Urban Institute; Maggie Turqman, Senior Librarian, National Geographic; James Melzer, Senior Information Architect, SRA International, Inc.; Maureen Clements, Librarian, National Public Radio; Ryan Shepard, Reference and Instruction Librarian, University of Maryland University College; and Stephanie Salmon, Librarian, U.S. News & World Report. The six panelists spoke and fielded questions about their careers, their challenges and how they innovate. Wisdom from the panelists • Some innovation is low tech – such as creating an A to Z list for journals or creating a policy and procedures manual so people know what we do • Digital natives and digital immigrants both need us • Constantly try to figure out how to reach staff and how to get information to them • Be a user advocate with a user focus • We don’t need to be IT specialists but rather information and technology specialists • Have a philosophy of support and say yes to everything so that everyone thinks of the library first when they have a need • Document that you make a difference • Talk to people making decisions about the budget in their own language • Marketing is the key to making known what the library can do for them • Keep learning about technology as it is constantly changing – take classes, learn on the job by doing and stay abreast by reading
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 6
Innovation at work Panelists are Podcasting, doing reference interviews via Instant Messaging and text messaging, creating Flash videos for library instruction, creating Wikis, designing web sites, working with sound files, building databases and coding in XML. Each panelist brought something different to the table but a common thread was embracing and initiating change in order to stay vital to their clients and patrons. After the panel, some stayed to network with their colleagues, while others took a private tour behind the scenes of NPR with Broadcast Librarian, Hannah Sommers. In addition to young professionals and students in attendance, there was at least one prospective student in the audience. We hope the message came across that special librarianship is a challenging and dynamic profession with a great future! The DC/SLA Young Professionals co-chairs would like to thank the panelists, National Public Radio, LexisNexis, Alicia Koundakjian, Mary Glendinning and Hannah Sommers for helping make this event possible and successful.
DC/SLA Young Professionals Election Day Happy Hour Who: Students and anyone who considers themselves a young professional What: A happy hour When: Tuesday, November 7 (Election Day) Time: 6 p.m. Where: Austin Grill, 750 E St. NW (Gallery Place metro stop) www: http://tinyurl.com/y223wo RSVP to Sage Hulsebus at shulsebus@freedomforum.org
publication in the library environment. Writing for Publication covers the main steps involved in writing and preparing your work for publication, including; finding an idea, actually doing the work, and submitting work and getting it published. Along the way, find tips on building self-confidence as a writer, handling rejection, figuring out where to start, and integrating writing with a career and other professional development activities. Writing for Publication also addresses common questions, such as: “Do I have anything to say to the profession?” “Where will I find the time to write?” and “Why should I write if I’m not required to for tenure?” We all have the ability to add our voices to the ongoing conversation that comprises our professional literature; find some ways to get started.
Learn to Get the Word Out at Click U Live! Seminars Submitted by Susan Fournier, Susan.Fournier@icba.org
DC/SLA offers Chapter members the opportunity to participate at no charge in SLA's popular Click U Live! Seminars. The Chapter purchases a site license and members may participate in the seminar at the given site. This does not allow individuals to participate from their own offices. Non-DC/SLA members must pay a $10 fee, payable via PayPal on the DC Chapter Web site. We will not accept checks on site. The seminars start PROMPTLY, it is best to arrive at least 10 minutes early to sign in, get seated and obtain handouts. PLEASE NOTE TIME FOR THE 11/22 PROGRAM IS 1:303:00PM (this is a change from the usual time). PLEASE RSVP TO ATTEND THESE SESSIONS. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 Writing for Publication Presented by Rachel Singer Gordon, Consulting Editor, Information Today, Inc As both an author and an editor, Rachel Singer Gordon has a unique perspective on writing for DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 7
DATE: Tuesday, November 7, 2006 TIME: 2:00 - 3:30 pm (Plan to arrive a few minutes early) LOCATION: American Council on Education (Pick up visitor id at front desk) One Dupont Circle Metro Red Line-Dupont Circle, South exit RSVP: Laurie Calhoun, lcalhoun@icrw.org or 202797-0007 x 126 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 The Value of Corporate Libraries Presented by James M. Matarazzo, Simmons College Our research indicates that corporate managers are not aware of the value of the library in their organization. When pressed, fully two-thirds of the managers we interviewed could not cite the value of this service. This seminar will explore various ideas about and methods of evaluation. From this array of options, you will have to select the one, which best fit, your organization and your management’s expectations. DATE: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 TIME: 1:30- 3:00 pm (Plan to arrive a few minutes early) LOCATION: George Washington University (Picture ID required) Himmelfarb Library, Ross Hall, Rm B103 Corner of 23rd & Eye Sts, NW Metro: Blue Line/Foggy Bottom RSVP: Laurie Calhoun, lcalhoun@icrw.org
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 8
Enterprise RSS: Relevant, Flexible, and Timely Submitted by Ana Echerman, aecherman@morganlewis.com
Todd Berkowitz, the Director of Marketing for NewsGator Technologies, discussed Enterprise RSS: the Future of Information Delivery on October 12 at the Corporate Executive Board. He started by acknowledging that users want access to critical information. They want to be assured that relevant content will be delivered when and where they want it. This information should be accessed in a timely fashion while remaining relevant, personalized, and flexible. Understandably, they want to avoid information overload. This includes corporate email spam regularly sent to employees, confusing applications, siloed content repositories, and content recreation. Any new information product should avoid these drawbacks. RSS can be used to give users the type of access to information they seek. It gives the user control of the information received and delivers only relevant information. With RSS feeds, information is automatically pushed, it may be delivered to multiple devices or readers, and it does not allow spam. Todd discussed the value of an enterprise RSS structure over an individual system. The administrator of the RSS project can subscribe users according to their interests. Instead of having each user find content on their own with no central index of RSS, enterprise RSS users and groups may be subscribed to content from a searchable index of feeds. In addition, a customized taxonomy to categorize existing feeds can be implemented. The centralization of the content also permits the production of usage reports. Instead of relying on a single platform, multiple interfaces may be synchronized to present the content. Therefore, a user viewing feeds with a web browser does not have to see it again while reading the feeds with a cell phone or using software. Todd also stressed the importance of doing a pilot project and gave some important pointers. To implement RSS successfully an action plan should be put in place; it is important to decide which are the metrics for success. The pilot users must be DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 9
handpicked to include the people that will benefit most from its use and must extend beyond the library staff. In addition, the most difficult stakeholder should not be included in the pilot. If possible, a hosted version should be used in order to deploy the program faster and avoid burdening the IT staff with the installation of software. Finally, it is important to get detailed feedback from users including access, finding content, relevancy, etc. After a pilot there are a few steps to follow to achieve a successful RSS project. It is important to learn from the feedback received. One of the advantages of enterprise RSS is the possibility of creating taxonomy that will organize the existing feeds into a usable project. This may also be an opportunity to direct users to the library portal and even to update a little-used portal into a more useful gateway. Potential users may be trained through live or recorded training sessions. Again it is important to pay attention to reports, rollout the project in stages and make modifications after each rollout. Todd extended his presentation by noting that most vendors will usually give a free-trial period in which it is possible to try RSS products and review them. He also pointed out that the fact that a vendor has not offered an RSS product does not mean that they don’t have it; many are willing to accommodate clients with specific needs, if the client asks for this service. The handouts from the presentation are available at: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/documents/enterprise _rss.ppt
Mark your calendars for the next DC/SLA Board Meeting Monday, November 20, 2006 - 6:00 pm Library of Congress Madison Building LM 215 First and Independence Ave. SE Washington, DC Contact Shirley Loo with questions: sloo@crs.loc.gov
Don’t Miss the Final Dine-Arounds! NOVEMBER 7 (Tuesday) OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA La Porta Restaurant 1600 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA (near the King Street Metro station) RSVP to: Kristine Hensle kihens2000@aol.com NOVEMBER 9 (Thursday) HYATTSVILLE (UMD) 5121 Baltimore Avenue RSVP to: Ryan Shepard ryanshepard@gmail.com (240) 582-2969
Franklin's Restaurant
Dinners begin at 6:00 PM unless otherwise stated.
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 10
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 11
Mining Blogs & RSS for Research: Save the Date, November 16 Submitted by Lorraine Bell, lorraine.bell@factiva.com
Join the DC/SLA Chapter on Thursday, November 16th for a presentation by Sabrina Pacifici, Editor/Publisher of LLRX.com and beSpacific.com on Mining Blogs & RSS for Research. This presentation will focus on leveraging the best of the free and low-fee Web sites as well as Web-related services to support research services. It includes the “best of the Web” for CI (competitive intelligence), legislation, news, public services, government documents and information. So please join us as Ms. Pacifici discusses the sites that you really need to know about and incorporate in your daily work routine. Date: Thursday, November 16, 2006 Time: 6:00 – 8:00pm (light refreshments 6:00 - 6:30pm; program 6:30 – 8:00pm)
Price: Free for DC/SLA Chapter members $10.00 for nonmembers and $5 for student nonmembers
Electronic payments can be made via PayPal at: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/events_files/Nov160 6.html
Checks should be made payable to DC/SLA and mailed to: Lorraine Bell Factiva 1600 K Street, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006
Location: The Library of Congress Madison Bldg., Room LM 316 Independence Ave. SE (between 1st & 2nd Streets) Washington DC 20540 Capitol South Metro Stop (Orange and Blue Lines)
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 12
Payments must be made by November 14. RSVP to Lorraine Bell at lorraine.bell@factiva.com, regardless of form of payment.
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | November 2006 | pg 13