DC/SLA Chapter Notes - June/July 2008

President's Corner: Westward Ho! To 2008 Annual Conference and Beyond!

By Diane R. Schnurrpusch, dschnurr@dtic.mil

June/ July 2008 Volume 69, No. 5

It has been a hectic month for me, but I’ve finally started planning in earnest for the SLA Annual Conference in June. The Seattle area holds special memories for me, being our home for a time during my family’s Navy years. We lived on the Bremerton side of Puget Sound and enjoyed numerous ferry rides over to the city to visit Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, the salmon ladders, tasty seafood restaurants, and much more.

I know those of you who are going to conference will enjoy yourselves. Check out the Pacific Northwest Chapter’s Conference Wiki http://wiki.sla.org/display/SEATTLEATTEND/Home for more details.

And, please know that Seattle’s reputation for all that rain is highly exaggerated. It does rain often, but usually for a very short period of time.

It shouldn’t impede your conference enjoyment.

Inside this issue:

For several years now, I have used the SLA Online Conference Planner http://www.sla.org/rcm20/sla_ac08_seattle/attendee/confplan_attendee.cf m and found it a blessing for managing my time during that busy week.

As I was selecting the sessions I want to attend, I compiled a list of DC/SLA members who will speak. At least 22 of our members are presenting for either a continuing education course or a regular session.

See the list on pages 10 and 11. Besides those members, numerous other chapter colleagues will be moderating sessions or guiding the way through SLA leadership meetings. One of DC/SLA’s 2008 Conference Stipend winners, Larry Guthrie, will moderate a session for the Social Science Division. To see more session details, refer to the Conference Planner where you can browse by speaker, moderator, day, sponsor, SLA unit, and more.

Chapter Book Club………..13

As President of DC/SLA, I will offer a few words of welcome at the International Reception on Monday, June 16 at 6:00 at the Sheraton Hotel, Cirrus Ballroom, 35th Floor. This annual event is co-hosted by the International Information Exchange Caucus, the International Relations

President’s Corner …..……..1 Joint Spring Workshop...…...4 Board Nominations………...7 Ethics Town Hall……..…….8 Conference Stipend Recipients ......……………...9 Chapter Members at SLA Conference ...…..………....10 Student Scholarships…...…11

Military Librarians’ Group..13 Member Notes………….....13

Read about products and services from: • • • • •

Library Associates TRAK Records and Library Research Solutions Gale Digital Collections EOS International

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Chapter Notes is the newsletter of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). It is distributed ten times per year—monthly, except for combined issues in June/ July and November/ December.

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 2

Section of DSOC, the Social Science Division, SLA Europe Chapter, and the DC Chapter. Dow Jones & Company is sponsoring the reception. Our association is becoming more international each year.

I urge you to spend an hour chatting with some of our global colleagues before going off to your other evening activities. If you have never attended an SLA Conference before, you should know it is very common to attend two or more events in one evening.

Here’s to having the energy to keep up with all the invitations!

One other event you should add to your conference calendar is the Opening General Session and Awards Presentation on Sunday, June 15, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. In addition to hearing from Dr. Vint Cerf from Google and well-known interviewer, Charlie Rose, you will see a very respectable number of DC/SLA members honored. Join us to congratulate those deserving individuals whose awards will be officially announced on our listserv after June 15 and in the August issue of Chapter Notes.

As I mentioned above, it has been a frantic month for me. I attended three DC/SLA events. The sold-out Joint Spring Workshop (JSW) on the topic of Knowledge Management at the Library of Congress was a hit again this year. DC/SLA was the lead organization, with Anne Linton and Terri Wheeler at the helm. The morning keynote speaker, Susan Fifer Canby, the panel discussion, the delicious lunch, the organization exhibit area, and the afternoon breakout sessions were all smoothly executed. Thanks to Julia Leggett, Sharon Lenius, and Anne Caputo for helping market to potential members at our exhibit table during lunch. I hope you enjoy Eileen Deegan’s article on the JSW in this issue (page 4).

On May 8, I was one of several dozen attendees at the Ethics Town Hall meeting at the Sumner School.

Our Ethics Ambassadors, Anne Caputo and Jessica Beauchamp, organized the meeting to include Barbie Keiser as speaker and discussion leader. There was much interaction between Barbie and the attendees, providing good feedback for discussing a SLA Code of Ethics at annual conference. Unlike far-flung SLA units holding their Town Hall meetings virtually, ours was live for the best information sharing

atmosphere. One added benefit of meeting in person was the networking time over refreshments before the session. If you want to know more about the discussion see Keiser’s presentation, “Ethics, SLA and You,” (http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/presentations/EthicsS LAandYou0508.ppt) on our Web site. You can also read Jess Beauchamp’s article about the Town Hall Meeting on page 8 of this issue.

On May 15, the New Member Reception did not fail to please. One of our new, honored members stepped up as hospitality chair for this event. Michelle Worthington deserves a round of applause for so ably coordinating the event at the restaurant Elizabeth’s on L. Many new members attended, and appeared to have a good time-- as evidenced by some of them being in the last group to leave at 9 p.m.

Guests at the New Members’ Reception enjoyed delicious food at the restaurant Elizabeth’s on L.

Since January, Greta Ober-Beauchesne has arranged twice-monthly Click U sessions for chapter members and guests. She plans to offer several evening replays again this summer. Please watch the chapter's online calendar for the most up-to-date details.

It is hard to believe my term as President is half over.

As we head into the second part SLA’s calendar year and immerse ourselves even more completely in planning for the 2009 Conference in DC, I want all members to know how important our wonderful volunteers are. As I said at the New Member Reception, we can’t exist without Work, Wealth, and Wisdom. Our volunteers definitely provide the Work and Wisdom that keeps things rolling along. Thank you to all current and future volunteers who make it all possible.

Traditional and Cutting-Edge Positions for Information Professionals Contract and Interim Staffing Executive Recruitment Outsourcing Solutions for Information & Knowledge Management Projects Global Information Solutions Contact us today: West Coast 800-987-6794

East Coast 800-775-0388

www.libraryassociates.com

DC/SLA members get to know each other at the New Members’ Reception.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 3

2008 Joint Spring Workshop Explores Librarians' Multifaceted Role in Knowledge Management

By Eileen Deegan U.S. Department of State In welcoming attendees to the 2008 Joint Spring Workshop (JSW), Committee Chair Anne Linton remarked that organizing this year’s Workshop made her realize that the Washington DC area is a “hotbed of knowledge management.” Formidable, “local” KM expertise was pervasive in the JSW presentations delivered by keynote speaker Susan Fifer Canby, and panelists Denise Bedford, Julie Bozzell, Peter Hobby, Jay Liebowitz, and Michael Novak.

The April 29 JSW -- “Knowledge Management: What is the Librarian’s Role?” – was held at the Library of Congress Mumford Room, and brought together scores of librarians from a variety of settings. Jointly sponsored by DC/SLA, LLSDC, DCLA, FLICC/FEDLINK, and OCLC Eastern, the Workshop afforded participants an excellent opportunity to learn about KM principles and applications and to network with colleagues.

Keynote: Introduction to Knowledge Management Susan Fifer Canby’s work applying KM at National Geographic Society (NGS), where she is a Vice President, made her an ideal Keynote Speaker for this year’s JSW. In her hour-long presentation, Fifer Canby gave an exceptional overview of our information-saturated society and work environments, KM initiatives’ value to organizations and to NGS in particular, and lessons learned and future directions.

Early in her PowerPoint presentation, Fifer Canby explained that KM has been part of our parlance for a long time. In 1996, for instance, the Gartner Group described KM as “a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, managing, and sharing all of an enterprise’s information assets.” In addition to these elements, she observed that two DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 4

newer aspects of KM have emerged – creating new knowledge, and analyzing and applying knowledge.

Noting that she and her staff of 26 knowledge workers in Library & Information Services (LIS) “make KM happen at the Geographic,” Fifer Canby detailed the numerous, innovative ways they identify, manage, share, create, and apply knowledge. These concrete examples, she suggested, could help us apply KM in our libraries and organizations.

Fifer Canby’s examples of KM’s first element -identifying and aggregating knowledge -- ranged from compiling subject bibliographies, to creating a spreadsheet listing all conferences NGS staff attend, to aggregating the best RSS feeds for use by editorial and business staff. Fifer Canby observed that the first element can be done by simply paying attention to questions you or your customers have about your organization, gathering the answers, and sharing them.

KM’s second element – managing information – implies applying standards so that content is both logically searchable and browseable. The LIS manages information via its online catalog, publications index, database of services available to all NGS staff (“AskGeo”), and digital gazetteer taxonomy project. In discussing this element, Fifer Canby cautioned, “we can build databases, but it takes constant education and marketing to get people to use the tools on their desktop.”

The NGS corporate intranet, with it links to the LIS website, daily reports, and learning opportunities, provides an essential way to share knowledge – the third element of KM. Other tools LIS has developed for knowledge sharing include mash-ups, mind mapping, podcasting, and a wiki. Fifer Canby said LIS also looks for face-to-face ways to share information with staff throughout NGS, and frequently convenes briefings, quick learning opportunities, and project-team meetings.

Among the new content LIS has created, Fifer Canby highlighted its KM products “Business Intelligence Report (BIR) Today,” “NG in the News,” “Earth Current,” “Environmental News,” special reports, NG “Timeline,” and a wiki about woman explorers.

She noted that while it is difficult to convince nonLIS staff to contribute content to the wiki and the timeline, the lack of collaboration has not been

detrimental. Rather, LIS has found that it’s better for the archivist to write the timeline articles, as the latter can provide the articles’ context.

A primary way LIS facilitates the fifth KM element – analyze and apply knowledge – is by hosting the internal university, “National Geographic Learning Systems.” Fifer Canby said the premise of NGLS, which features classes taught by LIS’ and other Divisions’ staff, is that “we all teach each other and share our expertise.” LIS also analyses and applies its knowledge via the “Trends Analysis Group,” “Gen Y Team, and “Think Tank.”

Fifer Canby imparted many of the lessons LIS has learned from its KM activities. She advised us to align our KM vision with our business goals and strategies, and to start by aggregating significant knowledge that has a “so what” factor. She said we must discover what we don’t know, so we can imagine the possibilities. We should learn as we go, and involve others, to create a stronger culture of sharing. We should embed knowledge principles into everyday business practices, leverage the pockets of excellence, and generate benefits to demonstrate why change is positive. Finally, she urged us to model knowledge-related behaviors by creating and using communities, virtual teams, and resources; and to convey our knowledge by telling stories.

In concluding, Fifer Canby said that KM is evolutionary and must be done within the context of libraries’ other core services. She added that her LIS staff asked her to remind the JSW audience that, “We don’t JUST do KM!” Looking ahead, Fifer Canby said LIS will work to extend its support and training to NGS’ global partners. LIS is also evolving its staffing structure “to prepare for the next evolutionary changes” – away from traditional public and technical services to that of research and knowledge management.

Following her presentation, Fifer Canby fielded numerous questions from the audience. One person asked her how to bring about a shift from a culture of hoarding, to one of sharing. Fifer Canby recommended convening people to meetings where they can identify their common assets. Because the next generation of information professionals is more accustomed to working in team settings, she predicted that the shift will become easier.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 5

Another audience member complimented Fifer Canby on her enviable KM achievements at NGS, and asked what role her leadership has played in this success. Fifer Canby replied that she is fortunate to work with great colleagues and “KMers,” and that she, herself, is a natural collaborator. Moreover, she said she chooses to work with smart people, and wants to encourage everyone to contribute their best to their organizations.

In reply to a question about any KM failures she has experienced, Fifer Canby described two unsuccessful initiatives – a federated search tool that was plagued with inconsistent data, and an integrated library system that did not meet their users’ expectations. In reply to a question about whether KM technology, such as a Community of Practice tool, is best used when it’s part of an organic process, Fifer Canby remarked that people won’t collaborate unless it’s built into how they do business. You must align KM with the “So what?” or “What’s in it for them?” factors, or it won’t work, she emphasized.

Panel: Knowledge Management within the Organization In the mid-morning panel session, each of the five speakers briefly presented his or her perspectives on KM and its applications. Michael Novak, a Senior Business Operations Specialist with the Internal Revenue Service, described his initial struggle to comprehend KM theory, and his “a-ha experience” when he read Liebowitz and Beckman’s Knowledge Organizations: What Every Manager Should Know.

Michael presented several working definitions of KM, and recommended that if a particular definition makes sense to us, we should adopt it. He emphasized that KM is primarily “about people.” It’s also important, he said, to know what KM is NOT, and to strip away KM myths. For instance, KM is not data processing, information management, information technology, e-learning, e-business, something new, or the latest management fad.

Michael explained that KM is important because we are losing institutional knowledge as baby-boomers retire; stovepipe systems prevent knowledge sharing,

learning, and integration; and we are drowning in data.

Dr. Denise Bedford -- a faculty member of Kent State University and the University of Tennessee, and a Senior Information Officer at the World Bank Group – asked the audience to take away two thoughts from her brief presentation: 1) Information management and knowledge management are complementary, but speak to two different sources and leverage two sets of tools; 2) Our professional body of knowledge is critical to the knowledge economy.

She observed that while KM is not new, and there is no universally accepted definition of KM, there is a universally accepted goal. That goal, as articulated by Bollinger and Smith in the Journal of Knowledge Management, is to make the organization act as intelligently as possible and realize the best value from its knowledge assets.

KM, Bedford elaborated, is all about managing and growing an organization’s intellectual capital. A library’s intellectual capital includes its employees’ brainpower, know-how, and processes, as well as the employees’ ability to continuously improve those processes. She urged us to do a better job of publishing what we know, and to think of ourselves as valuable assets in the knowledge economy.

Law librarian Julie Bozzell, Deputy Chief Knowledge Officer at Hogan & Hartson, outlined the challenges of pursuing KM initiatives in law-firm environments. She noted that a firm’s KM “owners” and projects vary – some have robust KM programs and others do not. For example, her Information Resource Center is her firm’s KM owner, and one of her primary projects is managing the “West km” tool.

Bozzell pointed out that while there are obstacles facing law librarians who pursue KM, including a lack of technical skill and inadequate budgets for new staff and KM products, these “can be overcome.” In addition to offering such assets as a passion for knowledge, searching and usability expertise, and taxonomy skills, law librarians, she asserted, are major change agents in promoting KM initiatives.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 6

“Selling KM” to the firm’s attorneys can, likewise, be challenging. She observed that information sharing is not always rewarded in law firms, and the “successful lawyers we seek to assist with KM tools are by nature skeptical, argumentative and pessimistic.” Bozzell suggested that law librarians can achieve KM success by keeping their “adoption expectations reasonable.” It’s unlikely that KM tools will be adopted immediately – it may even take 7 to 15 years! She also recommended that librarians regularly monitor usage to determine why attorneys are not, or are, utilizing the KM tools they were trained to use.

Panelist Peter Hobby told the audience that, as a social anthropologist, he brings a slightly different perspective about KM. A Senior Program Officer for the Academy for Educational Development, Hobby provides KM support for the U.S. Agency for International Development in areas that include natural resource management, civil society, and HIV/AIDS. Hobby shared some lessons he has learned, including: When working in KM operations that experience a rocky start or undergo funding cuts, be pragmatic and persistent.

As information professionals, we should exert a strong voice about how our organizations use their information resources.

We should make it clear to people that sharing knowledge does not hurt.

We should get out and mingle, build networks, and show up in places where we are unexpected.

The final panelist, Dr. Jay Liebowitz, is a professor of information technology at Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School. He has written numerous articles and books, including Making Cents out of Knowledge Management, and Knowledge Retention Strategies and Solutions.

The key to KM, he stressed, is “building bridges across isolated islands.” To facilitate such bridge building, he identified several “knowledge sharing tenets for success.” These include integrating knowledge sharing into everyone’s job and making sure the technology works for people – not vice versa. Another memorable tenet he proffered was:

“Share the message that with creativity comes failure, and we all benefit from talking about our successes and our failures.”

Like the JSW’s other speakers, Liebowitz also offered some lessons learned, including: It’s easier to apply KM strategies that fit an organization’s culture, than to first change the culture and then apply KM. Don’t try to do everything at once.

There will always be skeptics of anything.

Breakout Sessions The tone of the Workshop’s activities shifted as attendees enjoyed lunch, and then broke into small groups to do an exercise involving applying the KM principles and ideas from the morning’s presentations to our own organizations. Within each group, each member was asked to read the article, “Steps for Managing the Transition from Corporate Librarian to Knowledge Manager” by Mary Corcoran and Cheri Robison. We were also asked to describe what, if any, KM practices are operating at our organization.

Next, each group selected one of its members’ KM examples, and determined what steps the group would take to transform the example into a comprehensive, successful KM initiative.

During the Workshop’s final segment, spokespersons delivered brief reports to the reassembled JSW audience about their group’s KM initiative. They described how they would implement initiatives such as improving an internal document management system at the Government Accountability Office; building an intranet at the National Endowment for Democracy, and launching a high-profile reference wiki at the Department of State.

The 2008 JSW Committee’s goal was to energize the attendees and prepare us to participate in – and possibly lead – the KM process at our institutions.

Given the wealth of information and knowledge about KM imparted by the keynote speaker, the panelists, and our colleagues, it’s a safe bet that our DC-area KM “hotbed” will grow even hotter in the months and years ahead.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 7

Twelve Candidates Sought for Six Board Positions The 2008 Nominations Committee is looking for 12 members to run for six Board positions in the fall.

The term of office will begin January 2009, and last for one or more years. Duties of each position are on the DC/SLA website at http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/board.html.

If you would like to suggest someone to the committee, please contact Chair Shirley Loo via email (sloo@crs.loc.gov).

Second Vice President one year Communications Secretary one year Recording Secretary two years Director two years Assistant Treasurer one year (then, two years as Treasurer) First Vice-President/ one year (then, second President-elect year as President and third year as Immediate Past President)

Crafting the SLA Code of Ethics: What's Next?

By Jessica Beauchamp Co-chair, DC/SLA Ethics Committee and Ethics Ambassador

•

An institution has its own code of ethics which all employees sign when they are hired, but breaches of that code are not equally enforced.

Keiser emphasized to the group the importance of staying informed and educating decision-makers to think about the long-term and big picture ramifications of such actions, which can have devastating results-- including deeper budget cuts or harm to the organization's reputation.

If you were not able to attend the town hall discussion, you can view Keiser's PowerPoint presentation, Ethics, SLA, and You, online from a link on the DC/SLA homepage: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/presentations/EthicsS LAandYou0508.ppt.

Contact your DC/SLA Ethics co-chairs, Anne Caputo and Jessica Beauchamp, to offer your input as SLA crafts a new code of professional ethics.

On Thursday May 8th, over twenty-five people attended a lively town hall presentation and discussion on information ethics facilitated by Barbie Keiser, an internationally recognized expert in the field. She presented an overview of the topic, explained why SLA is taking on the challenge of developing its own code of ethics, and described how we can help create that code. The highlight of the evening came when many of those who attended shared their own professional experiences when ethical issues came into play. Just a few examples include: •

•

•

An organization encouraged its staff to use the local public library's databases instead of paying for its own corporate database subscriptions.

A journalist or researcher asked the library staff to provide information to support and strengthen a particular point of view, while ignoring any contradictory data.

A boss asked the librarian if she could provide him with detailed information about calls someone was making from home.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 8

Your continued input is crucial as SLA crafts a code of ethics that we can all call our own. You can get involved in several ways: •

•

•

Contact your Ethics Ambassadors, Anne Caputo (anne.caputo@dowjones.com) and Jessica Beauchamp (jessicabeau@yahoo.com) with questions, comments, or to share your own stories.

Attend the Ethics Summit in Seattle on Saturday, June 14th from 1-5pm.

Participate in future Ethics events.

Barbie Keiser was the moderator for the DC/SLA Ethics Town Hall meeting in May.

2008 Conference Stipend Award Winners Announced

By Sheryl Rosenthal, Awards Chair The DC/SLA Board of Directors got a jump on this year’s theme for the SLA Annual Conference, “Breaking Rules, Building Bridges” by approving not one but three conference stipend awards and building a bridge to Seattle for three very deserving chapter members.

The Annual Conference Stipend award goes to a chapter member, including student members, who has exhibited future leadership potential in SLA and the profession, contributions to SLA and the Chapter and financial need. Preference is given to newer members who have already begun to take on a leadership role. After carefully reading and discussing the candidate applications and letters of recommendation, the Awards Committee made a compelling case for the multiple awards. Two of the awardees are seasoned leaders with proven contributions and an enduring commitment to the Chapter and to the profession. The third awardee is on a straight path to future leadership and professional growth.

And the winners are: Larry Guthrie – A librarian with Covington & Burling, Larry is a long-time active member of SLA. His previous service to SLA includes Chair of the Copyright Committee, Chair of the Legal Division; International Relations Chair of the Legal Division; and SLA Board Candidate. In addition, Larry has organized and hosted numerous programs. While talking to Larry at last year’s SLA conference in Denver, current DC/SLA President-Elect Greta OberBeauchesne was so impressed with his strong interest in labor issues, she immediately recruited him to chair the Labor Issues Section of the Social Sciences Division. This award will ease the way for Larry to moderate the WTO, Seattle & Global Trade/Labor Issues program, scheduled for Monday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. As soon as the conference ends, Larry will start planning the Labor Issues Section program for SLA 2009 in DC.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 9

Eileen Rourke – Eileen, a librarian at the DC Public Library, has demonstrated her commitment to the DC/SLA Chapter for many years and in many ways.

In addition to serving on a multitude of committees including Career Day, Professional Enhancement Day, the Finance Committee and the International Relations Committee (which she has chaired since 2005), Eileen served as DC/SLA Chapter President from 1995-1996. In her application, Eileen rightfully points out her role in supporting and encouraging the development of new leaders in our profession.

Eileen plans to maximize the stipend resources to benefit the Chapter and the Association by volunteering at the DC/SLA 2009 conference booth, promoting the 2009 DC Conference during conference events, contributing to Chapter Notes, and organizing a DC/SLA post-conference meeting to share conference highlights with local members.

Kendra Armwood – Kendra has pursued her passion for news librarianship as a Reader and Editorial Services intern at U.S. News & World Report. This follows a successful internship in the magazine’s library. As a library school student at the University of Maryland, Kendra has taken a leadership role by working to, as she says, “rebuild interest in the UMD student chapter as we explore options such as a virtual community and collaborating on events with other student chapters.” Kendra is looking forward to networking with other students and professionals at SLA, and learning as much as possible at programs and exhibits. We also know she will have a great time.

Many thanks to my fellow Awards Committee members, Lorraine Bell, Anne Caputo, Susan Fifer Canby, and Richard Huffine and to the DC/SLA Board Members for demonstrating, yet again, the Chapter’s generosity and commitment to our membership.

DC/SLA Chapter Members Scheduled to Speak at the SLA Conference in Seattle Mark your conference planner for these presentations, to be given by your DC/SLA colleagues at the 2008 SLA Conference!

Jennifer Boettcher (Georgetown University) • Industry Research Using U.S. Government Sources Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 12:00PM Ellen Callinan (Axelroth & Associates) • Knowledge Management Staffing Structures in Law Firms Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:15PM – 4:45PM Christina Dunn (U.S. Department of Education) • ERIC Users Kaffee Klatch Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:00AM – 12:30PM

At the New Members’ Reception, Sharon Lenius encouraged members to get involved with planning for the 2009 SLA Conference, which will be held here in Washington, D.C.

Paulette Hasier-Koontz (OCLC CAPCON Service Center) • Managing Up: Becoming an Agent for Change at Your Organization Saturday, June 14, 2008 1:00PM – 5:00PM Wendy Hill (Defense Technical Information Center) • Government Mapping and Information Update Monday, June 16, 2008 1:30PM – 3:00PM Ellen Herbst (National Technical Information Service) • Building Global Bridges across Science Databases Monday, June 16, 2008 3:30PM – 5:00Pm Karen Huffman (National Geographic Society) • Toolboxes for InfoPros Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 5:00PM • What’s All the Buzz about Social Networking Applications?

Monday, June 16, 2008 1:30PM – 3:30PM Marie Kadell (LexisNexis) • Toolboxes for InfoPros Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 5:00PM Barbie Keiser (BEK Inc.) • Global Information Ethics Summit Saturday, June 14, 2008 1:00PM – 5:00PM Alicia Koundakjian (LexisNexis) • Training from the Trenches: Tips, Tools and Techniques for Every Budget Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 12:00PM Candace Parker (Defense Technical Information Center) • Defense Information for the Research Community Saturday, June 14, 2008 8:00AM – 12:00PM

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 10

Gary Price (Ask.com) • Tools You Can Use in Two Parts – Part 2: Web Tools for Legal Researchers Monday, June 16, 2008 1:30PM – 3:30PM • Transformational Roles: Breaking Rules Wednesday, June 18, 2008 8:00AM – 9:30AM Donna Scheeder (Library of Congress) • Senior Management Perspectives: Discovery Roundtable Tuesday, June 17, 2008 9:00AM – 10:30AM • Government Information Division Business Meeting, and Presentation – From USA to Deutschland Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:15PM – 4:45PM Helen Sherman (Defense Technical Information Center) • Government Mapping and Information Update Monday, June 16, 2008 1:30PM – 3:00PM David Shumaker (School of Library and Information Science, Catholic University of America) • Embedded Librarianship: Background and Overview Monday, June 16, 2008 3:30PM – 5:00PM • Educating the Next Generation of Knowledge Managers: How Library Schools, I-Schools, and the Profession Are Meeting the Challenge Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:15PM – 4:45PM

More presenters listed on page 11…

More DC/SLA members who will be presenting in Seattle…

Guy St. Clair (SMR International) • The KM/Enterprise Content Management Connection Saturday, June 14, 2008 8:00AM – 5:00PM • The Knowledge Culture: Leadership and Knowledge Services Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 5:00PM • Educating the Next Generation of Knowledge Managers: How Library Schools, I-Schools, and the Profession Are Meeting the Challenge Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:15PM – 4:45PM Maggie Turqman (National Geographic Society) • Training from the Trenches: Tips, Tools and Techniques for Every Budget Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 12:00PM Susan Whitmore (NIH Library, U.S. National Institutes of Health) • Embedded Librarianship: Background and Overview Monday, June 16, 2008 3:30PM – 5:00PM Amanda Wilson (National Transportation Library) • Where Government Information and Transportation Information Meet Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 3:00PM

Jenny Wood (Corporate Executive Board) • Training from the Trenches: Tips, Tools and Techniques for Every Budget Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:00AM – 12:00PM Christopher Zammarelli (The Brookings Institution) • Government Information Division Business Meeting, and Presentation – From USA to Deutschland Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:15PM – 4:45PM Gloria Zamora (Office of U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman) • Transformational Roles: Breaking Rules Wednesday, June 18, 2008 8:00AM – 9:30AM

2008 Student Scholarships are Underway

By Michael Kolakowski The Washington, D.C. chapter student scholarship program – 2008 Edition – is underway.

To recognize the accomplishments of our best students, and to encourage talented men and women to join us with a career in special libraries, two scholarships of $2,000 each will be awarded by the Washington, D.C. chapter for studies leading to a Masters Degree from an ALA accredited graduate Library Science program.

InfoCurrent Scholarship, $2,000 Catherine A. Jones Memorial Scholarship, $2,000 Winners will be selected based on a short (1-2 page) essay describing their professional goals and their interest in special librarianship. Only one application is necessary to be considered for both awards. Applicants must be members of the Washington, D.C. chapter of Special Libraries Association and enrolled in an ALA accredited Library Science program.

If you aren’t a DC/SLA member yet, SLA student dues are only $35 per year. Join today at www.sla.org. Remember to choose the Washington, D.C. chapter on your membership form.

The scholarship application form and additional details are available on the DC/SLA website: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/yp/scholarship.html.

The application deadline is July 21, 2008. Don’t delay!

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 11

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 12

DC/SLA Book Club Layla Voll DC/SLA Book Club Chair

Twilight Tattoo with the Military Librarians Group

By Deborah Keller Coordinator, Military Librarians' Group

All are welcome to come to the next DC/SLA Book Club meeting on Tuesday, July 15th, at 6:30 PM at Minh's Restaurant, conveniently located about a 10 minute walk up Wilson Boulevard from the Courthouse (Arlington) Metro station on the Orange Line at 2500 Wilson Boulevard (http://minhrestaurant.com/).

Join the Military Librarians' Group of DC/SLA on Wednesday, June 25 at 7:30 pm for the Twilight Tattoo on the parade grounds of Fort McNair. This tradition showcases the pageantry, drill, and musical talent of the U.S. Army and its soldiers.

We will be discussing Tagging: People-powered Metadata for the Social Web (Voices that Matter), by Gene Smith, an interesting and insightful book about why people tag, how people tag, and what tagging can do for you and your users.

For more information about this event, please visit http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/events_files/Jun2008 MLG.html. The event is free, so bring family and friends to enjoy this performance with you! You may want to arrive about half an hour before the scheduled start time to find the group and get seated.

From the LibraryThing blog: “How about that: a book about new developments in social media starts by talking about new things going on in a library?

Not a social networking site, not a photo sharing site.

A dream come true.”

Please let Layla Voll (Layla_Voll@hotmail.com) know if you plan on coming. We look forward to seeing you!

Please contact Deborah Keller at deborah.eb.keller@us.army.mil or 703-428-7432 with questions or to RSVP.

Member Notes •

The Geospatial Information Library (GIL) of the Engineer Research and Development Center's Topographic Engineering Center (ERDC-TEC) prepared a web page to support Myanmar relief efforts. The site, at http://www.tec.army.mil/Burma/index.html, supports the U.S. Navy/ U.S. Marines/ U.S. Department of State relief efforts following the cyclone in Myanmar.

The engineers and planners will use this geospatial data to help establish hospital locations, supply dumps, landing zones for helicopters, prevent transportation bottlenecks, and to protect the aid workers in the country.

•

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/ July 2008 | pg 13

DC/SLA member Eva Giercuszkiewicz, of ASIS International, assisted the ASIS Council on Academic Programs in Security with the recently published booklet "Career Opportunities in Security." Back in print, this publication offers practical career information for those interested in security. The booklet is available through ASIS International, and online at http://www.asisonline.org.