President's Corner: James King What an exciting first quarter we‘ve had in DC/SLA! Just as the flowers are blooming all around, we have a lot of activity happening across our very active chapter. For two years in a row, our chapter has achieved the enviable position of 100+ volunteers working with DC/SLA. However, this year we don't have the Centennial Conference booth to cover so the positions are scattered across nearly 40 different committees and volunteer positions. We still need your help! Having an active and diverse group of volunteers is critical to our success as we move into the second century of SLA and strive towards our vision of being "the recognized model of excellence as it prepares knowledge leaders for the future." Volunteering in DC/SLA provides great networking opportunities with other professionals in the area. It also gives volunteers a chance to develop skills that can be used in various careers. Check out the latest list of DC/SLA volunteer vacancies online (http://signupgenius.com/go/chapter). Our biggest and newest committee is the January 2011 SLA Leadership Summit Local Host Committee-to prepare for hosting our first leadership summit in almost 12 years. This falls less than two years since the SLA Annual Conference was here in DC so we have experience hosting, but will need lots of hands to make this happen. If you would like to help or lead this effort, we need help with finding sponsors, planning the receptions, updating the local host wiki, planning Dine Arounds, and much more! In other news, the DC/SLA Board has also appointed a new treasurer, Hannah Sommers, to replace an unexpected vacancy. Also, after running deficit budgets over the past several years, the DC/SLA Board approved a surplus budget in 2010.
March / April 2010 Volume 71, No. 2 Inside this issue: President‘s Corner …..……………1 Chapter Events …..…….................3 Library Related Events …………..5 Chapter Speaks at SLA Annual Conference ……………………….7 Taking the Reins ……..................12 The Way Forward …...…….........13 Career Column …………….........14 DC/SLA Speakers at the Computers in Libraries Conference ………....15 Catholic Alumnus Awarded for Innovation, Collaboration, and Leadership ………………………16 SLA Recognizes Two Chapter Members as Rising Stars ………..17 Law Librarian of Congress Energizes the Profession ………..18 Apply for the DC/SLA 2010 Annual Conference Stipend by 30 April ..19 Adventurous Librarian Seeks Career "Treasure" and Finds Justice …....20 Avatars and Author Discuss Overdue Book …………………..22 Defense Professionals Learn their ABCs ……………………………23 Q & A with Recent DC/SLA Retirees …………….....................24
Chapter Notes is the newsletter of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). It is distributed six times per year (bimonthly) as follows: January/ February, March/ April, May/ June, July/ August, September/ October, November/ December. 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 are available to non-members at a rate of $10 per year. The newsletter is also available electronically at the chapter's website, www.units.sla.org/Chapter/cdc. Advertising: Advertising rates are: $95—1/4 page; $175—1/2 page; $290— full page. For information regarding advertisements, contact the DC/SLA Chapter Notes Business Manager, Charlotte White. The deadline for the May/June 2010 issue is June 1st. The issue will be distributed approximately three 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 or requests for mailing address changes should be sent to the Editor. Chapter Notes Editor: Chris Vestal, ASRC Management Services Phone: 540-227-0718 cmvlibrarian@gmail.com Chapter Notes Business Manager: Charlotte White cwhite@fmc.gov DC/SLA Webmaster: Lorette Weldon Research Director Weldon Researchers dcslacalendar@gmail.com DC/SLA Discussion List Manager: Lea Wade lea.wade[at]gmail.com Information: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/list.html
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 2
Mary Talley, our president-elect, and her team have been very busy pulling together an excellent slate of programs for the chapter focused on professional development and career enhancement. The Library Leaders Series, for example, has already featured the Law Librarian of Congress Roberta Schaffer, NPR Senior Librarian Laura Soto-Barra, and Department. of Justice Library Director Blane Dessy. All three have garnered great reviews. The series will be ongoing over the next few months–check out the next installments on the chapter‘s web site (http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/)! One special program that we‘ve gotten an early jump on is the DC/SLA Annual Meeting/Banquet. Though the Woman‘s National Democratic Club has been a wonderful and beautiful venue, we wanted to try something different this year so the board approved changing the location to the Spirit of Washington (http://tinyurl.com/yduqa52) for a lunch cruise on Saturday, 4 December from 11am - 1:30pm. Ticket prices are expected to be similar, if not lower than last year so please mark your calendars and plan on attending! As we finalize the details and line up the sponsorships, we‘ll post more details about this event. All of our committees have gone into full swing over the past couple months, building up their committee membership and starting to review and address the problems before them. The Scholarship Committee has been updating the criteria for our student scholarships to make sure the scholarships are better positioned and promoted. The Marketing and Communications Committee, which was expanded this year to oversee all of the chapter‘s communications channels including the newsletter, discussion list, and website, has been working on improving them for our membership. Some immediate changes that have already been implemented include the switch to Google Calendar for our chapter event calendar and the use of a blog (http://dcslanew.blogspot.com/) to post announcements to the homepage. Additional changes are being explored to help support a broader
engagement of our membership. The Vendor Relations Committee has built an engaged team of people focused on getting the funds that our chapter needs to offset our costs in a way that also provides opportunities that vendors are looking for. Striking that balance has taken many meetings and discussions but the 2010 sponsorship benefits tiers (http://tinyurl.com/ybpgqw8) was approved at the March board meeting. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the early successes we‘ve seen and I look forward to what lies ahead! James King can be contacted via email at james.king@nih.gov
Chapter Events DC/SLA Non Fiction Book Club, 6:308:30p.m. Wednesday, 28 April. Teaism, 400 8th St., NW, Washington, DC 20004. Books to discuss Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average.For more information and to register please see http://tinyurl.com/y43n8k4.
Japanese Tulips bloomed alongside Cherry Blossoms (Photo by Joan Goodbody) International Special Librarian‘s Day, 68:30p.m. Thursday, 29 April. Kiplinger Washington Editors Building, 1729 H St., NW, Washington, DC 20006. This year‘s theme, ― How Librarians Represent Their Cultures Abroad‖ will feature three librarians who represent their home cultures abroad through librarianship: Nadia Pazolis-Gabriel, a French librarian at Alliance Francaise in Washington, D.C., Barbara Conaty with the State Department‘s American Corners Program, and Mohammed Eliwa, the founder of Arabia Inform. Refreshments will be provided Courtesy of Arabia Inform. For payment information and to register visit http://tinyurl.com/ygpfoca. Annual Conference Stipend Award Application Deadline, Friday, 30 April. The award will reimburse the recipient for incurred expenses up to $1500. To apply complete an application form from http://tinyurl.com/yzgkk8k and submit two professional reference letters of no more than 250 words to Diane Schnurrpusch at dschnurr@dtic.mil. For more information see the article on page 19 or http://tinyurl.com/yhr8clh.
Kermit the Frog made it to this year’s Cherry Blossom Parade (Photo by Eva Giercuszkiewicz)
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 3
Cinco de Mayo - Si Se Puede! Five Jobs You Can Do (but didn't know it), 6-8p.m. Wednesday, 5 May. National Geographic Society, 1145 17th St, NW, Washington, DC 20036. For more information please see the ad on page 21 To register visit http://tinyurl.com/39q8zma.
Board meeting, 6-7:30p.m. Thursday, 6 May. National Institutes of Health Library, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814. The meeting will be held at the National Institutes of Health Library (Medical Center Metro stop on the Red line). More information on visiting the NIH campus is at http://tinyurl.com/ykmvgmp. For questions contact James King at James.King@nih.gov Society for International Development, Development Working Group brown bag lunch on the World Digital Library, 12-1:30p.m. Wednesday, 12 May. 50 F St., NW, Washington, DC 20001. Making a collection of the world's cultural riches that tell the stories and highlight the achievements of all countries and cultures internet accessible while building capacity to narrow the digital divide within and between countries. For more information and registration please see http://tinyurl.com/yyf6stf. Young Professionals and Students Happy Hour, Monday, 17 May. Vinoteca, 1940 11th St., NW, Washington, DC 20001. For more information about the restaurant please see www.vinotecadc.com. Send RSVPs to Carrie Port at Carrie.Port@turner.com.
Cherry Blossoms frame the Washington Monument (Photo by Sandi Fox)
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 4
Flowers in a variety of colors provide contrast to the Cherry Blossoms (Photo by Ken Kamppila) DCSLA Fiction Book Club, 6-7p.m. Wednesday, 19 May. Location TBA. Please RSVP Barbara Folensbee-Moore at bfolensbeemoore@morganlewis.com. New Member Reception, 6p.m.-9p.m. Tuesday, 25 May. Elizabeth‘s, 1341 L St., NW; Washington, DC 2005. SLA President, Anne Caputo, will be speaking at the New Member Reception to help celebrate our new members and to talk about new directions for our organization and our profession. Join us for drinks and heavy hors d‘oeuvres at the elegant Elizabeth's on L Street, a renovated federalist townhouse. Whether you are new to the DC Chapter or have been a member for years, the New Member Reception is the perfect occasion to meet new people and reconnect with old friends. Admission is free for first time DC/SLA members who have joined since May 2009; for DC/SLA members $25; Student, Retired, or Unemployed DC/SLA Members $10; Nonmembers $35. To RSVP email David Hemingway-Turner at dnhemingway@gmail.com DCSLA Fiction Book Club, 6-7p.m. Wednesday, 23 June. Location TBA. Please RSVP Barbara Folensbee-Moore at bfolensbeemoore@morganlewis.com.
Metadata and Digital Library Development Workshop, 9a.m.-4:30p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 1112 May. American University Library, Washington, DC 20016. In an applied, exercise-based context, the Metadata and Digital Library Development course introduces practicing catalogers to metadata implementation considerations and processes in a digital library development context. For more information please see http://tinyurl.com/y64gww4.
Anita Hardy traveled to another world with her avatar Peaches Bartlett for this issue. See page 22 for full story (Photo by Anita Bridges Hardy) Young Professionals and Students Happy Hour, Thursday, 24 June. The Green Turtle, 601 F St., NW, Washington, DC 20004. For more information about the restaurant please see www.greeneturtle.com. Send RSVPs to Carrie Port at Carrie.Port@turner.com. Creating Digital Archives, Thursday 15 July. Location and registration TBA. Meet the SLA Candidates Happy Hour, Wednesday, 28 July. Elephant and Castle, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004
Library Related Events
USAID Knowledge Services Center Open House, 9:30a.m.-1p.m. Wednesday, 28 April. Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W, Washington, DC 20004. DC Library Community Service Project, Saturday, 1 May. Volunteers will dedicate a single day to help to refresh and rebuild the collections of two DC public high school libraries. To register please see http://tinyurl.com/32placn. Trendy Topics 2010 One Day Online Conference: Ebooks and Audiobooks Online, 10a.m5p.m Tuesday, 11 May. To register please see http://tinyurl.com/ygk9daw. DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 5
Ask the Copyright Experts: What are the latest updates in the Google Books Settlement?, 2p.m. Thursday, 13 May. These informative sessions, presented quarterly in 2010, will provide an in-depth discussion of the challenges associated with using and sharing content. Free for SLA members. To register please see http://tinyurl.com/yyruf8d. Twitter for Special Libraries, SLA Sci-Tech Division Webinar, 1-2:30p.m. Wednesday, 12 May. In this session, speaker Joe Murphy will present all the basic skills for implementing and supporting cutting edge services with this emerging mobile and social technology. For cost and registration information please see http://tinyurl.com/ybu8pa2. Presentation and Instructional Design: Polishing Skills and Learning New Tricks, 5:308p.m. Thursday, 13 May. Universities at Shady Grove Conference Center, 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD 20850. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn how to improve your presentations and library instruction. Sponsored by the Maryland SLA Chapter. For cost and registration please see http://tinyurl.com/y9ybzey.
The city wasn’t the only place flowers bloomed (Photo by Ken Kamppila)
Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Proposals for Contributed Papers Deadline, Thursday, 10 June. For more information see http://tinyurl.com/yfryzx9. Introduction to MS SharePoint without Coding, 8-9p.m. Saturday, 19 June. This interactive online seminar will be presented via WebEx by Lorette Weldon. To register please see http://tinyurl.com/yyquq38.
Members gathered at Chevy’s for Reverse Mentoring in conjunction with the Young Professionals and Students Happy Hour (Photo by Cheri Widowski) Handheld Librarian Three Online Conference Proposal Deadline, Saturday 15 May. Alliance Library System and LearningTimes invite librarians, library staff, vendors, graduate students, and developers to submit program proposals related to the topic of mobile library services for the online Handheld Librarian 3 Conference. For more information see http://tinyurl.com/yfgjlfg. Preserving the History of Medicine and Science in a Modern Age: Oral History Training Seminar Continuing Education Class, 10a.m.-5p.m. Friday, 21 May. Hilton Washington, 1919 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009. Oral histories are a unique way of sharing the knowledge, experience, and motivation of individuals. They convey the life and times of those who have contributed to the history of librarianship, medicine, science, and even our personal family histories. For cost and registration information please see http://tinyurl.com/y2g7s8y. Medial Library Association Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Friday-Wednesday, 21-26 May. Hilton Washington, 1919 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009. For more information and registration please see http://tinyurl.com/ye4b29e.
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 6
Center for Intellectual Property Symposium, Tuesday-Thursday, 22-24 June. Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC 20001. Join scholars and experts to discuss today's copyright concerns. For more information and registration see http://tinyurl.com/yhhb4rq. Introduction to MS SharePoint without Coding, 8-9p.m. Saturday, 26 June. This interactive online seminar will be presented via WebEx by Lorette Weldon. To register please see http://tinyurl.com/y3masyu. Xtreme Reference, Thursday, 21 October. Kossiakoff Center at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD. A full day event devoted to the content, delivery, and skill sets for today's reference services. This professional development and networking opportunity is being presented by the Maryland Chapter of the SLA. Registration begins 1 May. For more information see http://tinyurl.com/dddnym.
Newer and experienced professionals alike attended the Reverse Mentoring event at Chevys (Photo by Cheri Widowski)
commercial and free sources that could help you get an overview, find specific data, create an industry profile, define competition, monitor the business environment, or understand frameworks to present industries. 1- 5p.m Sunday, 13 June. Paulette Hasier, ARTI, Instructor: This halfday course focuses on how information professionals can become agents for change. through a combination of role playing and exploration of different communication styles, participants will...come to understand the importance of creating a brief mission statement; to persuade stake holders; to speak to multiple groups and to better communicate the value that they add to the organization. 1-5p.m Saturday, 12 June.
The Military Librarians Group recently toured the US Army Art Collection and viewed period announcements and advertisements (Photo by M-J Oboroceanu)
Chapter Speaks at SLA Annual Conference By Mary Talley
The 2010 SLA Conference in New Orleans this June promises to provide a deep and rich professional development experience. A quick look at the many conference programs, events and positions that involve DC/SLA members shows the strong contribution our chapter will make to the richness of that experience. We are an awesome chapter with so many outstanding professionals committed to sharing their knowledge and expertise to support everyone's professional development. Do something good for your own professional development. Attend the 2010 Annual Conference and meet some of these dedicated professionals. To register see http://tinyurl.com/yyd3lss or check out the conference program at http://tinyurl.com/y5nzwsk. Several members will be teaching continuing education courses: Jennifer Boettcher, Georgetown University, Instructor: Industry Research: Tools, Frameworks and Understanding. This course will review DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 7
Barbie Keiser, Instructor: Promoting Effective Use of E-Resources. This workshop will guide participants through the process of developing realistic and flexible marketing strategies for eresources utilizing Web 2.0 technologies and 21st century approaches. 8:a.m. - 12p.m Sunday, 13 June. Mary Talley and Karen Huffman, Instructors: Embedded Librarianship: Is It For You? In this course, you will explore current thinking on embedded services as it relates to your situation and start a transition plan to an embedded services model. 8a.m.-5p.m. Saturday, 12 June. Maggie Turqman, Jennifer Wood and Alison Ince, Instructors: Training from the Trenches: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Every Budget. 1- 5p.m. Sunday, 13 June.
The Military Librarians Group was given an extensive guided tour of the US Army Art Collection and viewed period announcements and advertisements (Photo by M-J Oboroceanu)
by Sci-Tech Division: assessment tools and strategies to demonstrate use/value of library collections). Ian Galloway, APA, Panelist: Learn about best practices for gathering input on a taxonomy from subject matter experts, and for maintaining a taxonomy when you are new to the topic it covers, 12-1:30p.m. Tuesday, 15 June. Layla Heimlich, Washington Hospital Center, Moderator: Improvising Health Sciences Library Services During Disasters, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, 15 June. Janice Herd, Library of Congress: Moderator: Content Management, Portals and Taxonomies, 2:3p.m. Tuesday, 15 June.
Some of the pieces in the US Army Art Collection focus specifically on the aftermath of war (Photo by M-J Oboroceanu) A number of programs will also feature chapter members: Jessica Beauchamp and Chris Vestal, Award Winners and Speakers: SLA Stars and SLA Fellows Roundtable, 10-11:30a.m. Monday, 14 June.
Richard Huffine, USGS, Speaker: Grey Literature: Challenges and solutions of providing access to non-traditional resources. Elsevier Breakfast Program, 8- 10am Monday, 14 June. Speaker: Meet the Candidates discussion, SLA Marketplace, 11:30a.m.-12:30p.m. Monday, 14 June. Theo Jones-Quartey, W. R. Grace, Moderator: Chemistry Division Corporate Roundtable Breakfast, 7:30-9:30a.m. Wednesday, 16 June.
Anne Caputo, Dow Jones, SLA President. In her capacity as SLA President, Caputo will be presiding over many SLA functions, meetings and programs, including both the opening and closing general sessions, the Leadership Development Institute, the SLA Board meetings, the International Reception, and the Newcomer‘s Reception (sponsored by the SLA Fellows). Terri Brooks, Past-Chair, Business & Finance Division, Moderator: B&F Division Awards Reception (everyone is welcome to come, not just Division members)., Monday, 14 June. Sally Bosken, U.S. Naval Observatory, Speaker: PAM Astronomy Round Table, 12-1:30p.m. Wednesday, 16 June. Convener: PAM Book Group, 5- 7p.m. Monday, 14 June. Susan Fingerman, JHU Applied Physics Laboratory, Moderator: Collection Intelligence (Led DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 8
The chaos of battle was another theme in the US Army Art Collection (Photo by M-J Oboroceanu)
technologies within public library websites across America, 10-11:30a.m. Tuesday, 15 June.
Carol E. Ramkey, Marine Corps University, Panelist. FLICC mentoring/coaching program (how it was set up and its current status) Abigail F. E. Ross, Keller and Heckman LLP, Speaker: Cases, Codes & Content: An Introduction to Legal Research. This program will provide the basics of U.S. primary and secondary legal research for nonlaw librarians, 2 - 3:30p.m Monday, 14 June.. Mary Talley interviewed the Law Librarian of Congress, Roberta Shaffer in the first Library Leader’s session See page 18 for full story (Photo by James King) James King, NIH, Speaker: SciTech Division Contributed Paper Using Drupal to Create the Pandemic Influenza Digital Archive for the National Institutes of Health (part of the ― Future of Science Librarianship‖), 4-5:30p.m. Monday, 14 June. Speaker: Future Trends in Government Libraries, 1011:30a.m. Tuesday, 15 June. Panelist: Library of the Future: Conversations in the Round (with Rebecca Jones, Monica Ertel, and Donna Scheeder), 121:30p.m. Tuesday, 15 June. Speaker: Virtual Research Environments Using Drupal at the NIH Library, 10-11:30a.m. Wednesday, 16 June.
Lisa Sick, APA, Presenter: Lunch and Learn (demonstration of the APA databases, new features, and interdisciplinary content through search examples). Buffet lunch. Monday, June 14, 12:00 p.m. Ann R. Sweeney, DSOC, European Union— European Commission Delegation, Moderator. International Reception. Follow the band— literally…from the Convention Center to Generations Hall, just a block away. Be wined, dined, & serenaded while you network with the global crowd. See the SLA Europe Information Professional 2010 Award bestowed. Party ON!, 6 -7:30p.m. Monday, 14 June.
Catherine Kitchell, BNA, Moderator: Reality Check. We are leaving behind the 19th and 20th century news model... Concerns about the closing of news outlets and the 'dumbing down' of news abound - but new models and formats are emerging. The implications for competitive intelligence, and an informed citizenry - from experienced practitioners. Jill Lagerstrom, Space Telescope Science Institute, Moderator: Astronomy Round Table. Wednesday, 16 June. Joan P. Lussky, Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science, CUA, Panelist. Taxonomies in New Information Technologies. Presentation focuses on the implementation and use of web2.0 DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 9
Blane Dessey, director of the Department of Justice library system tells Mary Talley he tries to make it safe for his staff to take risks in the third session of the Library Leader’s Series. See page 20 for full story (Photo by Robin Pachtman)
Karen Huffman, National Geographic Society, Chair, Knowledge Management Division Janice Herd, Library of Congress: Chair, Taxonomy Division, Vendor Relations Committee. Richard Huffine, USGS: Nominee, SLA Board James King, NIH: Caucus Convener, Information Futurists; President, DC Chapter Members networked at a Dine Around following the ABCs of Military Resources session sponsored by the Military Librarians Group at the 2010 DTIC Conference in Alexandria, VA. See page 23 for full story (Photo by Chris Vestal)
Chris Vestal, ASRC MS: Caucus CoConvener, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues
Liz Wallach, BNA: Chair-Elect, ERMD
Lea Wade, Planner and Moderator: Computer Science Round Table (Boxed lunches will be provided while supplies last.), 12-1:30p.m. Tuesday, 15 June. Karen White, Fatmata McCormack and April Knepp, USAID, Speakers: Notes from a Global Agency: Leveraging a Needs Assessment to Enhance Service Delivery, 10-11:30a.m. Tuesday, 15 June. The chapter also has several members on board, division, and caucus positions Marilyn Bromley, BNA: Chair, Social Sciences Division
Anne Caputo, Dow Jones: President, SLA
Susan Fifer-Canby: SLA Board, Past Chapter Cabinet Chair; serving on the Awards Committee. Layla Heimlich, Washington Hospital Center: Chair, DBIO Division, Medical Section DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 10
Members enjoyed a night of food, networking, and learning at Karen Huffman’s presentation: Using Google Apps in the New Collaborative Environment (Photo by Chris Vestal)
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 11
of giving honest responses. But when she clearly and concisely stated this important truth about risktaking, her message lodged soundly in my mind.
Taking the Reins
By Elizabeth Ann Blake
― Do not be too timid and
squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little course, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.‖ ~Ralph Waldo Emerson On 22 February, I was fortunate enough to witness the Law Librarian of Congress, Roberta Shaffer speak at DC/SLA Leadership Lecture Series. Besides being thrilled to see--and meet--a rockstar in my profession, I knew that I would come away from the event with some of the wisdom that a great leader of her stature could impart. Although I had never met Shaffer or attended one of her speaking events, she lived up to the image that I held of her in my mind based on what I had heard of her from other law librarians. She was the quick-witted, kinetic figure that I had expected, but I was taken aback by her candor. Without a doubt, the audacity of her honesty and what she had to say on the subject of risk-taking impressed me more than anything else that night. Throughout her question and answer session, Shaffer relayed the story of how she became a librarian and recounted the risks that she took along the way to become the Law Librarian of Congress. She spoke candidly about why she entered the profession, told of her misguided career turn as the Executive Director of SLA (confessing that because she did not follow her instincts, she eventually realized that the job was not right for her), and even admitted that she has some misgivings about professional associations. Shaffer pulled a flattened Dove box out of her purse-her ― soap box‖--before she shared certain opinions. Near the end of the lecture, Shaffer emphasized the importance of taking risks, and rewarding risk-taking in others. Certainly, Shaffer had already emphasized these points through her stories and the simple action DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 12
I started thinking about the risks that I take and asked myself if I am taking enough of them and if they have paid off in my life. While I can think of many times when I have taken a misguided path, my risks have ultimately done me more good than harm-especially in my growth as a professional and a leader. I think that we all must ask ourselves if we are using our intuition and reason to the best of our abilities to take risks. Risk may not immediately seem like a major part of the information professions, but it is an ingredient that brings value to our profession and can enhance our potential as leaders. When John Cotton Dana formulated his ideas about what librarianship should be, the profession‘s reigning philosophy was quite different at the time; but because he laid out his ideas, we have unified sense of purpose and the entire concept of special libraries is more clearly understood in the context of the larger world. Similarly, we must put our ideas and sometimes our reputations on the line in order to bring about changes, no matter how large or small they may be. We may not need to embrace risk in the same way that a day trader or a racecar driver would, but we need it to bring about positive change and to keep our employees (and ourselves) motivated, productive, and striving for constant improvement in this challenging economy. If you are unemployed, submit your resume for that job that seems impossible to get anyway. Part of becoming a leader--or scoring that dream job that you do not think that you are ready for yet--is simply being up for the challenge. Although not all change is good change, we will never know what might have happened if we do not try something new every now and again and encourage our employees to take the same approach. And even if we or our employees fail in some of the risks that, we will win at least some of the time. Elizabeth Ann Blake, MLIS, is a reference librarian at a law firm in Washington, DC. Contact her at elizabethannblake [at] gmail [dot] com.
The Way Forward
By Montrese Hamilton
Warming breezes, cherry blossoms, and awestruck tourists-it's springtime in Washington. The transition provides the watchful eye with a grand-scale lesson in change management, and this year I am paying close attention. Indeed, mindfulness may be the most important tool in understanding what is happening around you. Cherry trees teach a lesson in mindfulness. In constant communication with their surroundings, budding begins only when the conditions are right for nurturing life. Free of nagging doubts and second-guessing ("Will I gain too much bark this year?" "What if my blossoms aren't pink enough?"), the trees can pour their energy into taking advantage of every opportunity they get to grow. Allen Overland, director of the Democracy Resource Center (DRC) at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), explained his way forward in challenging times. "It's about keeping yourself fresh," he stated. He does that by continuing to place emphasis on calibrating the DRC's existing product/service mix to fit NED's strategic direction. Overland also does everything possible to introduce resources that let his team extract maximum value. Once the cherry blossoms peak, the trees transition from building to sustaining life through the summer. They build upon that initial burst of growth with a steady pace of development while always prepared to respond to changing conditions. Karen Mark, librarian for the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, identifies technology and the economy as two key drivers of the change that she navigates. Mark has immersed herself in developing expertise in social networking, ebook platforms, and archival services to stay closely aligned with the Club's priorities. Mark explains that expanding her portfolio of skills is her way forward toward her top priority, which is DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 13
to always ensure that the library's physical and online spaces are "where [the members] want them to be with services they're interested in". As the cherry trees prepare for winter, they still monitor for fluctuations in their environment. Sudden weather changes may test the trees, but the hardiest specimens merely adjust their growing cycles until the stress fades. A colleague who works as senior librarian for a large labor organization is doing the same. She was just a few years away from retirement when the stock market plunged in late 2008 and wiped out one-third of her retirement savings. Her way forward is to stay in her current position until she can restore some of her savings then transition into retirement and her encore career. That choice means maintaining her already high performance standards so she is focused on staying fully engaged with her organization's strategic needs and her own professional development. In 1982, James O. Prochaska and Carlo C. DiClemente published their now-famous Stages of Change Model*. According to the current version of the model, humans transition through six phases on their way to lasting behavioral change: precontemplation (not thinking about change), contemplation (considering a change), preparation (planning for change), action (taking specific measures to change), maintenance (sustaining the new behaviors), and termination (the new behaviors are ingrained). This new economy launched me directly into action and I am grateful for the generous colleagues who allowed me to glance at their own roadmaps. What's your way forward? Send your insights, questions, comments, suggestions, and criticisms to montrese [dot] hamilton [at] gmail [dot] com. *Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C. and Norcross, J. C. 1992. American Psychologist. ― In search of how people change.‖ Montrese Hamilton, MSLS, is librarian for the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va.
Career Column
By Aimee Babcock-Ellis, James Madigan, and Kerry Mason Weeda Welcome to ―CC ,‖ our DC/SLA Career Column authored by Kerry Mason Weeda, Aimee BabcockEllis, and James Madigan. Weeda is a first year MLS graduate student and graduate assistant at the University of Maryland (UMD). She is back in school after working professionally in the social sciences for almost a decade, and is interested in helping DC/SLA members and library and information science students to think critically and learn new ways of searching and finding career opportunities in our field. Babcock-Ellis went straight from being an undergraduate at SUNY New Paltz to her current graduate school program and is in her final year of the MLS program at UMD where she also works as a graduate assistant. Babcock-Ellis has always wanted to be a librarian and is interested in promoting librarianship, as well as diversity within the field, and likes to refer to herself an informationista. James (Jim) Madigan, graduated from the UMD in general studies, focusing on music, microbiology, and speech and communication. While there he was awarded the "Spirit of Maryland" by the faculty and staff as student of the year for exceptional leadership. He then earned his first masters degree in association management from the George Washington University: half of his courses was in the business administration program and the remaining half was in the public administration program. After graduating first in his class, he started his career in association management. Madigan then earned earned his MSLS degree from the Catholic University of America where he later taught classes. He most recently earned his certification in project management, being awarded "Project Management Professional," from the Project Management Institute. He has thirty years leadership experience in associations, research, and government organizations and has lived, worked and traveled to 62 countries to date. In addition to his work with DC/SLA's newly formed "Career Column," Madigan is also member of the DC/SLA's Membership Committee, and Encore Committee. DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 14
One of the co-author James Madigan (Photo by James Madigan) We hope to build a structure over our tenure in order to make a fresh, scalable and sustainable structure for which subsequent columns can build upon. One of our goals is rather than be a well of job announcements, which can be found elsewhere, is to focus on a topic and give links to tools and resources we find along the way. We hope to integrate and implement Web 2.0 technologies along the way. However, no one is going to be ― left in the dust.‖ We hope to be good librarians and make past, present and future columns accessible, participatory and above all, useful. We will offer various communication channels to gather your feedback. We hope to gather input to improve our column and cater it more toward our readers needs. Here is a link to a quick, three question survey available online: http://tinyurl.com/ya8bn2w. We aim to solicit member input and develop conversations using several communication channels in the hope that readers can find and use tools that are right for them. Another aspect of this column we hope to implement is the concept of a faster turn-around time between survey results and eventual publication in the traditional newsletter. We promise not to preach but we are here to keep our ear on the tracks, our eyes on the horizon and we hope our intuition is on target for career development needs within our DC/SLA chapter.
DC/SLA Speakers at the Computers in Libraries Conference By Alison Raab Labonte
Out of 183 speakers, sixteen members of the DC/SLA chapter spoke at the Computers in Libraries Confrence12-14 April. Members shared their knowledge on a wide range of topics, from Drupal and digitization and to SharePoint and search trends. Members that presented: Stacy Bruss from National Institute of Standards and Technology
Anne Caputo of Dow Jones
Joan Goodbody from ASRC Management Services at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Karen Hartman from U.S. Department of State
Laura Hjerpe from Stanley Associates, Inc.
Karen Huffman from National Geographic Society
Barbie Keiser from Barbie E. Keiser, Inc.
Deborah Keller from Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity Library, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers James King from NIH Library, National Institutes of Health LaDona Kirkland from Defense Technical Information Center Lisa Mages from the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress Brent Mast from the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 15
Donna Scheeder from the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress Rita Tehan from the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress
Lorette Weldon from Weldon Researchers
Amanda Wilson from National Transportation Library, U.S. Department of Transportation
Catholic Alumnus Awarded for Innovation, Collaboration, and Leadership By Eileen Boswell
On 20 April, DC Chapter member Barbara Post of the Transportation Research Board was presented with the 2010 Raymond Von Dran Memorial Award by the School of Library and Information Science at the Catholic University of America (CUA/SLIS). The award is given once annually to a CUA/SLIS alumnus who exemplifies innovation, collaboration, and leadership. Post has been a librarian with the Transportation Research Board (TRB) for almost 30 years. She oversees the TRB library and the bibliographic database, Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS), a database of over 730,000 bibliographic records of transportation research, which makes it the largest transportation research database in the world. Post has been instrumental in innovations to keep TRIS relevant and to expand its accessibility, functionality and content from an era when all TRIS searches were done by TRB staff on a proprietary system, to an era when TRB forged relationships with commercial vendors to provide remote access, to the emergence of the World Wide Web as a platform for the delivery of the first publicly accessible version of TRIS. She has also collaborated with transportation libraries in Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia to share their records with TRIS. Post is an active member of the Transportation Division of SLA, in particular, the annual
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 16
Left to right, Jessica Fomalont, Barbara Post, Nelda Bravo, Eileen Boswell (Photo Provided by Eileen Boswell) Government Transportation Research Information Committee‘s (G-TRIC) program at SLA‘s annual conference. Her innovation, collaboration, and leadership are evidenced in the many ways she has contributed to the world of transportation research, and by the many people in transportation librarianship she has influenced, mentored, and inspired. With Post at the ceremony were three of the seven people who nominated her for this award: Jessica Fomalont of TRB, Nelda Bravo of the Federal Highway Administration, and Eileen Boswell of the Community Transportation Association of America.
For more information about the Raymond Von Dran Memorial Award please see http://tinyurl.com/26vm73p, for more information about the School of Library and Information Science at The Catholic University of America please see http://slis.cua.edu/
SLA Recognizes Two Chapter Members as Rising Stars By Shirley Loo, 2009 DC/SLA Awards Chair
Jessica Beauchamp and Chris Vestal are two of SLA's 2010 Rising Stars. In its second year, the Rising Star Award is presented to new information professionals who show exceptional promise of leadership and contribution to the association. Beauchamp and Vestal are among the five earlycareer professionals who will be honored during the Awards Ceremony and Opening General Session at the SLA Annual Conference in New Orleans. They will also participate in the SLA Rising Stars-SLA Fellows Roundtable on Monday, 14 June. Beauchamp is a project manager for the Digitization Program Office at the Smithsonian Institution. A 2007 graduate of Catholic University, she has already served as Co-Ethics Ambassador, SecondVice President, and Chair of the 2009 Strategic Planning Committee. To her credit, the strategic plan was approved by the board with very little change. She is currently Co-Chair of External/Community Relations Committee and active in the Information Technology Division and in several sections of the division. Concerning the award Beauchamp said, "I am honored to be selected by SLA as a Rising Star, especially since I have met many of my peers who
Chris Vestal
Jessica Beauchamp are equally deserving, if not more so! My involvement with DC/SLA over the last several years has provided me with wonderful opportunities to work with exceptional leaders in my field, to acquire valuable new skills, and to continue to grow professionally. I encourage anyone just starting out in their career to get involved with SLA at any level." Vestal is a supervisory patent researcher with ASRC Management Services supporting its contract with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A 2008 graduate of Drexel University, Vestal served as the 2009 Dine Around Coordinator where he organized 22 networking dinners including one hosted by President Gloria Zamora and President-elect Anne Caputo. He was an active Alignment Ambassador who responded to numerous emails, participated in the Town Hall Meeting to discuss the Alignment Project, arranged for videotaping the Town Hall Meeting, and posting it on YouTube. He is the editor of Chapter Notes, a member of the SLA Public Relations Advisory Council, and CoConvener for the SLA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues Caucus. About the award Vestal explained: "To be honest it's still a little overwhelming and exciting. I'm just really glad that SLA has an award like this to recognize people newer to the profession. It's also great that my colleagues in the chapter thought enough of some of the things I've done to nominate me and write recommendations for this. I can't wait to see what's next!" Congratulations to two members who have already made an impact. We look forward to continued contribution from both.
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 17
Law Librarian of Congress Energizes the Profession By Anne White-Olson and Mary Talley
The DC/SLA Library Leaders Series was held on 22 February, with the distinguished guest and former Lawyer, Law Librarian, Dean of Library Schools, Staff Assistant at Library of Congress, former FLICC /FEDLINK Executive Director and current Law Librarian of Congress, Roberta Shaffer. What better way to begin a series on leadership than with a leader with such deep and varied experience with and enthusiasm for law and librarianship, as well as an apparent energy and love for life? The lecture series was held at the law firm of Covington and Burling, one of the stops on Shaffer‘s career journey. Mary Talley, DC/SLA vice-president, conducted the program as an interview session. Over the course of an hour, Talley asked Shaffer questions about her career path, position as Law Librarian of Congress, management and leadership philosophy, attitudes towards educating and hiring professionals, and about what she does for fun. Shaffer, with great dramatic humor, relayed the story of how she went to Emory Library School following a serious horseback riding injury during her first year at Tulane Law School. She went to Atlanta for physical therapy and ended up in Emory‘s library program at the urging of her father who, mistakenly, thought librarianship would offer her a sedentary profession, which would improve her chances of recuperation. Judging from Shaffer‘s very lively, very energetic discussion, ― sedentary‖ is not a word in her career vocabulary. She eventually returned to Tulane to complete her law degree and practice law for a very short time. Her love for librarianship eventually drew her back to the profession, where she combined her expertise in law and librarianship to become the first assistant to a Librarian of Congress (Dr. Billington, at the time). From that moment on she was smitten with the great role of the Library of Congress in accumulating and disseminating the world‘s knowledge and dreamed of returning someday as the Law Librarian of Congress. DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 18
Mary Talley Interviews Roberta Shaffer in the first session in the Leadership Lecture Series (Photo by James King) Although she tells that dream as a sort-of joke, she kept it as a clear, if distant, goal throughout her career, from her work as director of the Covington and Burling law firm library, to Dean of the Library School at University of Texas, to Executive Director at the Federal Library and Information Center Committee. Dreaming big paid off; Shaffer did indeed reach her goal. Among the interesting things the audience heard from Shaffer: Never stay in one job for your entire career. The reason is that you become stale in one place and become bogged down in one culture. Even if you change jobs in one organization, you are still caught up in one work culture. By changing positions throughout your career, you learn new ways of thinking and working, which will make you more valuable in each new position you take. Listen to your gut. If you take a job and it doesn‘t ―f eel‖ right, don‘t do it. Shaffer gave an example of a position she accepted in Washington based primarily on family considerations, leaving a job in Texas that she loved. She took the first job that was offered to her, and it turned out not to be a fit. She said it didn‘t feel right when she accepted the position in D.C. and taking the job was something she regretted.
The evening closed with Ms. Shaffer sharing some personal information about herself and her dog, Snowflake, a West-Highland terrier, that she has raised as a ― reading dog.‖ Snowflake has worked with autistic children and currently curls up with kids with reading difficulties while they read out loud to her. When Shaffer retires sometime in the future she wants to devote more time to working with her dogs to help troubled children.
Many members attended the first in the Library Leaders Series (Photo by James King) Take risks, and as manager reward risk-taking in the people you manage. Obviously Shaffer has taken risks in her career and succeeded, always keeping her eye on the ball. She admitted to occasions when risks she took did not result in a success, particularly when she had not followed her own instincts. She also tries to make it safe for her staff to take risks, rewarding them for their efforts, even though they may sometimes fail. Hire energetic staff. The more intangible qualities Shaffer values in job candidates are a high-level of energy and enthusiasm. The positions she fills at the Law Library of Congress, she feels, are not ones that allow staff to sit quietly behind a desk or computer and wait for a request. They are all very physical, requiring movement, drive and energy. She stated with some pride that the Law Library of Congress reference staff worked through Christmas Eve during the historic Senate healthcare reform vote. In response to the question ― Where do you want to take the Law Library of Congress in the next few years?‖ Shaffer talked about how the law impacts almost every area of everyday life and how important it is to democracy to make the law readily accessible to the average citizen. She believes the Law Library of Congress has a big role to play in educating the citizenry about the law. One step the Library is taking now in that direction is to register the Law.Gov site so it can eventually host it as a one-stop shop for federal, state and international government and legal information. DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 19
As for retirement, it isn‘t going to happen anytime soon. Shaffer admitted that she works long hours, doesn‘t sleep a lot, and works weekends too. How else could she have fit so much into such a productive and successful life?
Apply for the DC/SLA 2010 Annual Conference Stipend by 30 April By Diane Schnurrpusch
DC/SLA has established the Annual Conference Stipend Award to enable a chapter member to attend the SLA Annual Conference. All chapter members as shown on official SLA records as of 1 February, 2010, are eligible to apply, including student members, retired members, and those who are simultaneously members of other chapters. Past recipients who have used their awards are not eligible. However, past recipients who have been prevented by circumstances from using the award, and have returned the funds, are eligible. Board members are not eligible. The award criteria include future professional 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 a leadership role. The award recipient shall be chosen by the board upon recommendation of the Chapter Awards Committee. The award for 2010 will reimburse the recipient for expenses incurred up to $1,500. To apply complete a form (available at http://tinyurl.com/yzgkk8k) and submit two professional references of no more than 250 words. All materials must be submitted via email or physically mailed to Diane Schnurrpusch at dschnurr@dtic.mil by Friday, 30 April. Please contact Schnurrpusch at 703.767.9069 for her address.
Adventurous Librarian Seeks Career "Treasure" and Finds Justice By Janel White and Mary Talley
Few might compare a librarian to an intrepid explorer like Indiana Jones in search of treasure, yet this description aptly fits Blane Dessey, director of the Department of Justice (DOJ) library system. Dessy was the third librarian interviewed by DC/SLA Vice-President, Mary Tally, for the DC/SLA Leadership Lecture Series on Wednesday, 14 April. With his master's degree in hand from the University of Pittsburgh, Dessy‘s very first job was in management as the director of a county public library. When his colleagues told him he was "crazy" to apply for a position for which he had no previous experience, he decided that the only thing he had to lose was the cost of the stamp to post his resume. Like any good librarian, Dessy researched everything he could about the county demographics, towns, income, history - everything. The interview committee was impressed that he seemed to know more about the county than they did and hired him. Although he had to supervise older and more experienced staff, Dessy never doubted that he
could do it. With the help of an excellent mentor, he succeeded. In fact, Dessy stated that a good mentor is key to a successful career and he has stayed in touch with his mentor over the years. Discovering that state governments control county library budgets, he continued his career-adventure by taking on increasingly responsible positions in state libraries. In Oklahoma, he worked as a consultant to the Department of Libraries and won a John Cotton Dana award for leading a state-wide 75th anniversary public relations campaign. In Ohio, he served as the Assistant State Librarian before moving into the position of Director of the Alabama State Library. Many people might have stopped there; but, Dessy's adventure took him to Washington, D.C., eventually to become the first director of the new National Library of Education and, finally, to his current position at the DOJ. Many of the interview questions were focused on management and leadership topics. Here are a few highlights from the discussion: Management is about making change  happen. A manager is charged with coordinating resources, developing a budget, coordinating the work of all departments, and responding to patrons' needs. It dives into all areas of library operations and continually challenges a manager's abilities. Being willing to make mistakes and learn from them is a necessity. A manager's job is to move the library forward - which usually requires change. Not everyone wants change, but it's the manager's charge to support them in adapting to it. At DOJ, Dessy's goal is to make it safe for all staff to take risks. In fact, he tells his staff at DOJ that he will never let them fail.  No library manager ever has enough money, books, or resources.
Mary Talley Interviews Blan Desst in the third session in the Leadership Lecture Series (Photo by Robin Pachtman)
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 20
The challenge is to deal with the situation as it is and not waste time bemoaning what's missing. Dessy recommends using creativity to go as far as possible with what the resources at a manager's disposal and then build on it. In the past, he has turned down funds when he didn't have a good use for it at the time (and let those holding the purse
strings know he would be asking for it in following years when he did have a need).
and other institutions to develop a national network of education libraries.
At the DOJ, Dessy is lucky that attorneys love libraries (and books). He has been able to get funding and technology for new projects and/or services when he has needed it, primarily because he believes his staff delivers recognized, outstanding service. Also, the DOJ division the library belongs to does not have political appointee positions and has remained stable from one administration to the next.
Graduate library programs can be deficient in providing a long-term, career perspective.
When dealing with bureaucracy, it's often easier to ask forgiveness than get permission. Otherwise, things may never get accomplished. Of course it's important to know when "to act and not ask." Working under that philosophy, the DOJ library has produced its own television series for the Department's closed-circuit T.V. The series provides research training and promotes the library's services. The videos are posted on the intranet and feature the library staff. Security restrictions at the DOJ do, however, impact the technology and services that the Library can provide.
Every library position is a "sales" position.
The intangible quality that Dessy values in his staff and job candidates is a certain spark that comes through in all of their communications and interactions. Every staff member in the DOJ Library is in a position to influence the perception of the library. It is extremely important to Dessy that the perception be one of enthusiasm, quality and professionalism on par with the DOJ staff they serve. Continually challenge yourself to go as far as you can and never stay in a job too long. Dessy believes that you should stay at a job until you've perfected it and then move on. "Being the best you can be" is the career goal he recommends. You should never stop challenging yourself in your career. In his own career, Dessy,is most proud of building the National Library of Education from the ground up. He was given a legislative directive and told to build it. He worked in tandem with Harvard DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 21
Dessy encourages everyone to realize that library education is just the beginning of a lifetime of continuing education and a wide-open field of opportunities. He feels that "communication" is an area that needs to be strengthened in graduate programs and that professionals should educate themselves in all aspects of communications. In response to the question "Where do you see the DOJ libraries in the next 5 years?" Dessy said that the expected response might be technology-related, but isn't. Instead, he wants to create an environment in which his staff is empowered to move the library as far forward as possible. Again, the conversation came around to the importance of supporting his staff in innovative thinking and risk taking and letting them know that he won't let them fail. Janel White, is a Broadcast Librarian with NPR and a DC/SLA Program Planning Committee Member.
Avatars and Author Discuss Overdue Book By Anita Bridges Hardy (Peaches Bartlett)
I arrived at the dressing room 40 minutes before the lecture so I could make sure my hair and clothes were straight. I‘m no stranger to this process-I always go to a free dressing room before I start my reference shift to make sure I look decent. Once I was satisfied with my appearance I teleported to SLA‘s space on Info Island-much faster than flying. No I hadn‘t discovered some kind of alien technology but yes I was in a different world; I was in the virtual world of Second Life (SL), a threedimensional world where users from across the world can interact with each other in real time via their digital characters-avatars My avatar (SL name Peaches Bartlett) gathered with about 20 other avatars to hear Marilyn Johnson talk about her new book, This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All on Tuesday, 23 March. Johnson‘s avatar‘s SL name is Marilena Basevi, and she was warmly received by the avatars present who were mainly virtual librarians in the Alliance Library System of Second Life. What captured my attention was the fact that Johnson devoted one chapter in her book to the virtual librarians she met in SL. She also mentioned that this particular chapter called ― The Wizards of Odd‖ took her the longest to write, was the hardest to develop, and was the chapter she had to fight her editor to include in the book. She talked about the avatars that she had interviewed for the book. I knew several of them as I had worked with them during the time I spent in SL for a class I was taking on virtual reference environments for my
Marilyn Johnson discusses her recent book about librarians while in Second Life (Photo by Patricia Alderman) MLS. I asked her when she did her research and she said between 2007 and 2008. I don‘t remember meeting Basevi. I chuckled because one person Johnson mentioned in the lecture was a wonderful avatar librarian named Lena Kjeller. Kjeller had given me the dress I was wearing that night. She also taught me how to put on a translator and take someone to the translator station so they could get outfitted for a translator. That was huge for me because most of my patrons came from Europe, Japan or India. I later found out one morning at the start of my shift on the reference desk that Kjeller had died in real life. I went to pay my respects to her at a memorial park in SL. Johnson noted that SL began to take over her life while she was doing her research. I definitely understood that. I felt like I needed more time for working my day job, going to library school and hanging out in SL. Johnson said she logged on a day or two before to check things like shoes and clothes (a big concern for me too). According to Johnson, avatars in SL are changing the face of librarianship. This breed of librarians is not afraid to change the look of libraries while still providing service to the patrons. It doesn‘t seem to matter if the patron is flying, looks like cat, or is totally tattooed. Plus in SL, a reference librarian can provide service while sitting at the kitchen table.
Avatars hover in the air during the book talk (Photo by Patricia Alderman) DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 22
Anita Bridges Hardy is the DC/SLA Second Life Ambassador.
Defense Professionals Learn Their ABCs By Chris Vestal
That military leaders and scholars have unique information needs is no bombshell. However, finding out how similar the research process is to more traditional settings was surprising. Librarians from around the country received helpful pointers in military research on 22 March, during the Defense Technical Information Center‘s 2010 Conference session, ABCs of Military Resources, co-sponsored by DC/SLA‘s Military Librarians‘ Group. Lily McGovern, a chapter member from National Defense University, and Greta Marlatt, from the Naval Postgraduate School, co-taught the session. McGovern guided attendees through the process of conducting military research, quickly pointing out how similar it was to any other research process. ― Techniques you‘d use for any reference query can work in an area not familiar to you,‖ she explained. The first stage in the research process was the reference interview. Researchers need to pay careful attention to what military service the patron is interested in as acronyms could have multiple meanings across different service organizations. The next step is thinking about where you could find the needed information. McGovern recommended thinking about what organizations might collect or generate the needed information. For military or defense information, McGovern said using specialized databases is usually the best route to take. However, she also recommended using regular search engines and limiting results to .mil or .gov domains to cut down on the number of false drops. One interesting contrast to traditional research is that military information professionals may have to consider whether or not the requested information is classified or restricted in some way. The patron‘s clearance level will affect whether or not the information professional will perform the research. If the patron has a high enough clearance the researcher may have to leave his or her regular work-station and search on a computer approved for viewing restricted information.. DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 23
Lily McGovern and Greta Marlatt co-taught ABC‘s of Military Resources (Photo by Chris Vestal) After attendees got a feel for how the process worked, Marlatt reviewed a myriad of useful specialized resources. These sources ranged from the webpages of libraries that are part of a military graduate program, to ― think tanks‖, to even ― WikiLeaks‖-a wiki that encourages and disseminates leaked information (http://wikileaks.org/). According to Marlatt, when using any of these sources, searchers should explore them as much as possible, even the ones that say they are restricted access only. Marlatt explained that while many of them do have sections that are restricted or pay-only access, if you take the time to mine through them there is often quite a bit of freely available information. For example, she cited the Rand Corporation‘s website (www.rand.org) where links to purchasing their reports were prominently displayed at the top of the page, but near the bottom of the page were links to view the same reports for free. Following the session, attendees divided up into smaller groups and had dinner and lively conversation at five Old Town Alexandria restaurants. To view the presentation with active links to all the recommended resources visit http://tinyurl.com/yzuwpe3
Q and A with Recent DC/SLA Retirees Members of Congress aren‘t the only people announcing their retirements. DC/SLA just had three well known chapter members that decided to launch their Encore years. The trio recently answered some questions for Chapter Notes highlighting their careers, discussing life after work, and the future of the profession. Susan Fifer Canby VP, Emeritus, National Geographic Society Libraries & Information Services What prompted your interest in library science? After working at the Pentagon as a researcher for a couple of years, right out of college, I realized that it was the librarians who seemed to know how to find information. I met a crack reference librarian in the Army Library, Gene Kubal, who encouraged me to earn an MLS from the University of Maryland and then mentored me on the importance of our professional organizations. What was library school like in pre-web days? With the advances in technology, how did you keep your skills current? I took my Introduction to Computers in 1974 at the University of Maryland – where we were still using punch cards to write small programs for circulation databases. At professional meetings I was first hearing discussion about the potential of shared cataloging through an organization called OCLC. Library school focused on teaching reference skills, the organization of knowledge, and the importance of listening to the patron or end user (our customers). In the early years of my career I was ahead of the Geographic technically. As time went on I made sure I hired the best people I could and we learned together. I took my first online searching class at Dialog in Rosslyn from Anne Caputo and went onto take classes as they were available in Microsoft Office, HTML, Nexis, etc. At every new technical
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 24
Susan Fifer Canby juncture, I asked questions of colleagues at professional meetings or in classes to learn what I needed next. Our colleagues are the most generous of all professions in my opinion. It looks like you worked at National Geographic for your entire professional career, what made you decide to stay there for so long? I worked for the Society for nearly 35 years, because the work was always changing, the people were excellence-oriented and mission driven, and I had autonomy and I thought I had the opportunity to make a difference. I considered other organizations at different stages, but always decided I had the most interesting job and was usually in the midst of doing something I wanted to complete. While other organizations can offer change, I found early on that there were always things in ―thewhite space‖ of the Geographic that librarians had the skills to address and improve. My goal became to help my staff and colleagues outside the library to understand how valuable we could be to the process of change management. I’m sure you must have seen quite a bit of change in the profession while at National Geographic, can you tell me how that impacted you there and how your role changed over the years? My career began at the start of the Information Age. Librarians introduced the Society‘s first online databases by converting the print card catalog and indexes. We introduced the concept of online search with Dialog and Nexis and compiled bibliographies via the early Silent 700s. We created the first webpages when we introduced the first integrated
library. As time went on, we worked with the Geographic to help its management recognize the need for competitive information and users to learn to access information from their desktops. The Society‘s librarians were there at every step – introducing, modeling, teaching, following up to ensure the editorial and business staff had the best information for publication and decision making. Our role evolved from keepers of knowledge to teachers and sharers of knowledge. We evolved from working in the libraries to working across the organization in teams that we led or participated in to solve company-wide issues. When did you first join SLA and what made you decide to join? What other professional memberships have you had? I joined ALA, DCLA, SLA, DCSLA in 1975 after graduating from the University of Maryland‘s library school in December 1974. I joined on the advice of my friend Gene Kubal after attending my first meetings with her and appreciating immediately how friendly and welcoming my new colleagues were, especially to a newcomer.
Susan Fifer Canby at the 2009 SLA Leadership Summit (Photo by Karen Huffman) Within five years I was nominated for board offices. After losing my first election to DC/SLA, I was elected to DCLA‘s board in 1980 and within ten years served as its president, after various other positions, including chair of the Joint Spring Workshop. In the same period, I was asked to serve on the Washington Council of Governments executive board from 1986-1989. I joined the DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 25
Association of American Geographers and eventually was elected to membership in the Society of Women Geographers. I began representing area special libraries on the CAPCON board in 1989, and was elected Board chair in my second term and then elected to OCLC Members Council to represent special libraries for two threeyear terms in Dublin, Ohio, where I spoke on behalf of special libraries and served as chair of the Nominating Committee. I served on the board of the Washington Literacy Council for several years while I tutored an adult to read. As I became more senior in our field, I was asked to serve in an advisory capacity to various organizations such as Computers in Libraries and the Lubuto Library Project for Zambian street kids. Meanwhile in 2006 I helped co-found a group of executive librarians, called Leveraging Library Leaders, which met for dinner and networking for four years. I was selected for a Knight Fellowship and later a Freeman Fellowship to participate in meetings of the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria, starting with one on ― Libraries of the 21st Century.‖ What was your first leadership role in SLA and what was it like? What made you decide to take on leadership positions? Within my first couple of years I was elected chair the DC G&M division and asked within the first five years to run for Secretary to the DC/SLA board. As I mentioned and as often happens, I lost that first election. I continued active in the G&M division and branched out to the News, Business and Finance, and Management divisions. I accepted leadership roles, because they gave me a chance to practice leadership skills, to get to know my colleagues by working with them, and to explore opportunities I couldn‘t in my job. For instance, being chair of the Joint Spring workshop meant influencing the development of learning I needed as well as the opportunity to choose the speakers. What other positions have you held within the chapter and within SLA? I chaired the Joint Spring Workshop for SLA, having already had that experience with DCLA a few years previously. Then in 2001, I was nominated for President-elect. I served as president 2003-2004, then past chair, then awards and
nominating chairs for DC/SLA. Within the umbrella of SLA, I am currently serving as past Chapter Cabinet Chair and on the Awards Committee. As Chapter Cabinet Chair I worked with Deb Hunt on creating the web site 23 Things. After having my library recognized as a Center for Excellence in 2004, I served on the Business & Finance division awards committee; I served on the SLA Continuing Education Committee from 20052007 as I was developing a corporate university at the Geographic. How has your work with SLA over the years helped you grow in the profession? I honed leadership skills – how to run a good meeting, how to do program development, how to connect the right person with the right job. I developed an excellent network of colleagues who whenever I needed help or advice were there for me and I hope me for them. I found ways to share knowledge and develop presentation skills by publishing in Information Outlook and speaking at conferences and local meetings. I believe I have gotten to know some of the very best people in our profession – by working with them shoulder to shoulder over the years.
What advice do you have for newer professionals? What about professionals in the midpoint of their careers? For both newer and midpoint professionals – our professional organizations and colleagues support us throughout our careers. They help us keep learning (Click U, e-biz books, local programming); they mentor us (local programming, conferencing, one-to-one access), and they position us for that next opportunity (leadership experiences). Each of us needs to find a way to engage – whether as a leader, a learner, a planner—to ensure we help ourselves and our organizations/institutions stay competitive. What made you decide to retire? What was the very first day of retirement like? There is a time that comes to each of us when you know you have contributed what you can and it is time to try other things…maybe this came to me a little early because I had spent my whole career in one organization. And I had done succession planning for several years and had an excellent future leader (Barbara Ferry) and staff in place, as well as an excellent boss who I believe I helped prepare for this change.
Can you describe the current project you’re working on involving SLA’s retired members? At the request of SLA President Anne Caputo and separately James King, DC/SLA president, I have begun recruiting people who are interested in the next stage of their lives, after their major professional work is done, to share how to approach this Encore stage. Their advice and strategies is being gathered on wiki.sla.org under Encore. The strategy is to first gather knowledge regionally to determine what could be applied for the whole organization, and to see if in the mix, there is a way to encourage SLA members to stay engaged with SLA, after they retire. Susan Fifer Canby displays SLA’s full page ad in The Wall Street Journal (Photo by Ruth Wolfish)
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I loved being a cover girl for Library Journal, when my library was featured in the July-August 2001 issue. All my friends and many of my colleagues at the Geographic thought that meant I was crowned ― librarian of the year‖ – and although I did try to set them straight, I think it made them proud our library received a kind of recognition they could understand (being publishers). So now that you’ve retired what’s next? Susan Fifer Canby at an Ischool chat (Photo by MD SLA Chapter) My first day was about not commuting three hours a day, waking up at eight and going for a 40 minute walk, starting the process of organizing what seemed liked millions of passwords into one notebook, starting to organize parts of my house that I hadn‘t been able to focus on, thinking about the lovely retirement party my colleagues gave me and just finding time to be in the moment, instead of multi-tasking.
I am doing more of what I‘ve always enjoyed – traveling, gardening, reading, entertaining, organizing, and spending time with my husband Tom. For instance, since December when I started the process of winding down, we have travelled to Antarctica, St. Louis (SLA), Tucson and Palm Springs (to be with college friends), Belgium with girlfriends (stayed with the American Ambassador) to speak on a panel in honor of International Women‘s Month, to Wilmington DE for a few days to see friends, and will soon be off to experience the fishing village of Yvoire, France, for three weeks.
Do you have any thoughts/suggestions for other members approaching retirement?
What do you do in your spare time? Have you discovered any new hobbies?
If you‘re interested, take a look at wiki.sla that your colleagues and I are building to suggest strategies on how to approach this process as well as some opportunities that await you. Join our little group and start to share what you will learn. Let‘s help each other to make the most of our encore time.
Each day feels like spare time – time to learn how to become a power Mac user; time to think of ways to be a better friend (e.g. cook and deliver a casserole to a sick friend); time to organize a friend‘s personal library; to have my girlfriends over for brunch after we exercise on the weekends. Time to drive to Baltimore to see the Cezanne exhibit and have lunch all within the window of no traffic (10 am – 3 pm). Time to hit a matinee to see a film at the AFI in Silver Spring on the spur of the moment. I have gotten as far as setting up my easel – and hope to paint a picture or two.
What’s the accomplishment in your career are you most proud of? In hindsight is there anything you would’ve done differently? I loved hiring great people and working with them to help them evolve to do their best work. I loved working with them to help the Geographic be the best it could be. Although I felt I found the best job in the world right out of library school, I wished at times that I could have had the experience of working in other organizations. Working with professional organizations did help lend variety to my experiences. You received over a dozen different awards and recognitions in your career, is there one that stands out the most you’d like to talk about? DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 27
What challenges and opportunities are ahead for libraries and librarians? The biggest challenge is to address the changing role for libraries and librarians, as we go more virtual. The second biggest challenge is the ongoing competition for resources. The biggest opportunity is that society continues to underestimate the role of librarians and information professionals to effect transformation by knowledge management.
Lynne McCay, Senior Advisor to the Director, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress What prompted your interest in library science? I have always been curious and loved learning and research, but actually, I didn‘t choose library science. I was fortunate to get a job right out of college at the Library of Congress and quickly came to appreciate the value of librarianship and the satisfaction of doing information research. What was library school like in pre-web days? With the advances in technology, how did you keep your skills current? The world in the early 70‘s was primarily analog and core courses were paper-based. For example, I started out with ―B ook Selection‖ and ― History of the Book.‖ As computers were introduced, we were very much in the forefront in CRS. For example, we had one of the first installations of the New York Times Infobank outside of the New York Times, so I was learning new technologies on the job. I also depended on SLA for learning and networking to keep my skills current. What was your first job? What was your first library related job? I had some pretty interesting summer jobs—I was a Presidential Intern stationed at the United States Information Agency (USIA) and right after I graduated from Georgetown, I did summer stock with a very small theater company in Ocean City, MD. My first real job (and library related job) was at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) at the Library of Congress, and I‘ve been at CRS for almost 40 years. What made you decide to stay there for so long? I can‘t think of a better place to work than CRS. The work has been meaningful and challenging. The atmosphere is intellectually stimulating and I have had the opportunity to advance in my career which has been rewarding. What‘s not to love!?!
Lynne McCay The CRS serves as shared staff to congressional committees and members of Congress and assist at every stage of the legislative process-can you tell me what it’s like knowing the work you do has a very real impact on the laws of the land? One of the most rewarding things about working at CRS is knowing that what we do is relevant—that we help legislators with important decision-making and that their decisions affect the lives of so many people. It‘s exciting and humbling at the same time and makes us always strive for excellence. Librarians are known for setting our personal views aside and providing unbiased, did you ever find this difficult with controversial pieces of legislation? How did you deal with that? I never had a problem with remaining objective since objectivity, non-partisanship, and confidentiality are core values at CRS that are critical for our success as an institution. I learned to embrace those values very early in my career and after 40 years, they are just part of me. Are there any memorable moments on the job at CRS you’d like to share? From an immediate gratification point of view, the day I was working on the hotline in the Congressional Reading Room and hearing quotations that I provided being used two minutes later by Members during a floor debate was really cool. The day we launched the Knowledge Services Group was a highlight. We brought all the
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came to CRS as our division chief, she encouraged me to get active in a professional association and SLA seemed to be the best fit for the work I was doing. I am also a member of ALA , DCLA, and the Library of Congress Professional Association. What was your first leadership role in SLA and what was it like? What made you decide to take on leadership positions?
Lynne McCay with former Secretary of State Colin Powell (Photo provided by Lynne McCay) information professionals together in one division and embedded many of them as consultants in the analytical divisions of CRS, so we aligned the work of the information professionals much more closely with the core mission. I’m sure you must have seen quite a bit of change in the profession while at CRS, can you tell me how that impacted you there and how your role changed over the years? Change in the information landscape and in the profession has been constant over the course of my career, and I have found that embracing change has been extremely beneficial—both for me and, I believe, for CRS. I started as a reference assistant and burned a lot of shoe leather running all over the LC buildings retrieving materials to meet short deadlines. When I moved into supervision, I encouraged my staff to take advantage of the new technologies as they came along, and as a manager with broader responsibilities, I have been able to implement organizational and resource changes to improve our ability to serve the U.S. Congress. When did you first join SLA and what made you decide to join? What other professional memberships have you had? I joined SLA in 1980. My friend and CRS colleague, Donna Scheeder, was a member and she was able to demonstrate (almost on a daily basis) the value of networking through SLA—back when relationships instead of databases were used to identify and secure information. When Cathy Jones DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 29
My first committee assignment was Hospitality Chair for the DC Chapter. It was lots of fun and a great way to meet lots of people in the chapter. I served in other chapter roles (newsletter editor and business manager) and my first elected position was DC Chapter President-Elect in the early 1990‘s. At the same time I was getting involved as a program planner for one of the ITE sections at the annual conference in San Antonio and in the association‘s Government Relations Committee. I enjoy organizing things and taking on these leadership roles was not only enjoyable but also good for my personal and professional growth. What other positions have you held within the chapter and within SLA? In addition to those noted above, I‘ve served on the Chapter awards committee and nominating committee and I organized the first chapter book club. I was Government Relations Chair for ITE and the News Division, and Business Manager for the Social Sciences Division. At the association level, I was a Director on the Board of Directors (2003 – 2006) and I served on and/or chaired several committees: Government Relations (now Public Policy AC), Professional Development, Bylaws, and Committee on Committees (now Association Governance). I chaired the Annual Conference Committee in Philadelphia (2000), and served on the Denver committee (2007). Most recently I served on the Centennial Commission as Vice-Chair for the annual conference in Washington, DC (2009) and I chaired the Nominating Committee. I am currently serving on the Finance Committee and the Diversity Leadership Development Program Committee.
How has your work with SLA over the years helped you grow in the profession? I have learned so much through SLA—not only from the programs and learning opportunities, but even more from the really talented information professionals who are SLA. How did you balance your work with CRS with your involvement in SLA and your personal life? In addition to SLA, I was active in PTA and Boy Scouts as my children were growing up. I just like being busy and I have been fortunate to have strong support both at home and at work. What advice do you have for newer professionals? What about professionals in the midpoint of their careers? I would advise both newer professionals and those at midpoint to be open always to new possibilities. Change is good and flexibility is an asset to be treasured. What made you decide to retire? Do you have any plans for your first day of retirement? My husband recently retired and I‘m looking forward to spending more time with him. I love CRS and it will be hard to leave, but I think the time is right. I recently moved to Fredericksburg and have quite a long commute now—so on my first day of retirement, I plan to sleep! What’s the accomplishment in your career are you most proud of? In hindsight is there anything you would’ve done differently? I‘ve hired a lot of people in 40 years. It has been most gratifying to see so many of them mature and to be so successful as they ― moved up the ranks.‖ Some are at the top of the librarian ladder or are supervisors; others have moved into analyst positions, and one is a senior manager. They all serve Congress admirably. They make a difference and I‘m proud to have them as my legacy. I really can‘t think of anything I would‘ve done differently—except maybe to wait until after I retired to move so far away. DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 30
Lynne McCay with then SLA President Gloria Zamora (Photo Provided by Lynne McCay) You’ve garnered numerous awards and recognitions in your career, is there one that stands out the most you’d like to talk about? Being recognized by people you really admire and respect is very special and I am grateful for that recognition. No single award stands out—they were all wonderful. I did enjoy the stipend that I received with the Professional Award since I spent it on ballroom dancing lessons with my husband! So now that you’re about to retire what’s next? I know I‘ll stay busy. I‘ll probably volunteer at a local elementary school or hospital, and I will continue to be active in SLA. I just agreed to chair the local arrangements committee for the 2011 Leadership Summit to be held in DC next January. I hope my golf game will improve! What challenges and opportunities are ahead for libraries and librarians? I‘m going to re-use the statement I made for the SLA Visions during the centennial: ― What lies ahead? Opportunities for us as information professionals--to forge new relationships and become the connectors in our communities, to harness information technologies and create new uses for them, ultimately to extend the knowledge culture. And challenges for us as information professionals--to embrace change and remain relevant within our organizations, to strengthen our commitment to continuous learning and stay ahead of the technology wave, ultimately to take our place as leaders in a new age of information.
Sharon Lenius, Strategic Planner for the NGB HQ, Joint Staff, Command, Control, Communications and Computers, CIO Division What prompted your interest in library science? When I was in high school I worked as a page for a neighborhood branch of Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. As a live-at-home college student, I worked there as a library clerk. What was library school like in pre-web days? Cataloging was the bane of my existence and the 3‖x 5‖ cards were not my friend. Neither was Ms. Baker, Cataloging Instructor, at Indiana University iSchool. With the advances in technology, how did you keep your skills current? OCLC and copy-cataloging were life-saving technologies. Cataloging is still scary! What was your first job? My first job was selling fruits and vegetables at the Indianapolis City Market. I guess you could say I have been in ―ma rketing‖ since I was 12 years old! Was your first library related job working with the National Guard? I worked for the Program Management Office of the Reserve Component Automation System (PMORCAS) a large a complicated project to automate both the US Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. It looks like you worked at National Guard for your most of your professional career, what made you decide to stay there for so long? I stayed with the National Guard doing a variety of professional information work. I also was promoted and received bonuses. As the RCAS Program changed, the library responsibilities changed and PMO morphed into a Chief Information Office (CIO) for the National Guard. For the last four years or so, I provided pertinent information for many National Guard Joint Staff Offices in Crystal City; the Surgeons Office received a lot of my attention during the H1N1 flurry the past two years. Working with the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) staff at the NGB Headquarters in Crystal City was challenging and invigorating! SPP is, as its name suggests is a Partnership Program with DC/SLA Chapter Notes | March/April 2010 | pg 31
Sharon Lenius (Photo by Karen Huffman) military and national guards of developing countries. The National Guard has over 60 such cooperative efforts. They maintain ― desks‖ in Latin America, in Africa, in East Asia, etc. Another area of continued interest is ― best practices‖ in Acquisition. Providing pertinent GAO Reports, CBO studies, etc, helped keep the whole National Guard procurement staff updated on proper procedures, especially in the area of Contingency Contracting for Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict areas. What was your favorite aspect of the job? Always, always, REFERENCE. However, I have come to really enjoy the serendipity of discovering interesting tidbits of information that may update a question I answered last month or sometime in the past. Passing this along lets the people involved know that I still follow their work and can be of further assistance. I’m sure you must have seen quite a bit of change in the profession while at the National Guard, can you tell me how that impacted you there and how your role changed over the years? I provided an Archive for the RCAS Program and maintained original policy documents that were developed for that project. There were also contractual requirements to store various contract modifications. A move from Newington to Crystal City resulted in downsizing the technical/reference collection. A further positioning of the Information Center to the CIO resulted in a difference focus
from technology per se, to more policy, congressional issues, etc. What kind of programs/projects were you able to participate in at the National Guard? An interesting program that I became part of was the support to an ongoing Air National Guard project, Communities of Practice. My focus was on overarching policy on terrorism both from a government perspective and the documents generated and quasi government groups and non governmental organizations (NGOs). How did your role change following the September 11 attacks? Things became more intense. Stress was high. The level of alertness required to protect the homeland is really ― high maintenance.‖ I felt that I could make information available from sources that a regular analyst might not consider. Sharing resources became a way of doing business. When did you first join SLA and what made you decide to join? I joined SLA in 1990 because I realized the strength of networking opportunities.
Sharon Lenius at the registration table for the Capital Celebration: SLA @ 100 (Photo by James King)
What other professional memberships have you had? Currently I am a member of DCLA and plan to assist them with the Information Booth during ALA 2010 here in Washington, DC. I have been a member of ALA, ASIS&T from time to time. SLA is my core professional organization. What was your first leadership role in SLA and what was it like? Through the DC Chapter, I became a member of the Military Libraries Group (MLG) of DC and began planning programs. At first, the meetings devolved around only Military Librarians but we all came to realize that there was interest in all of DC/SLA for our programming and we expanded. Currently the Military Libraries Group provides about five events per year. What made you decide to take on leadership positions? I found topics that interested me and thought they might be of interest to others. Besides, it is fun to see a program though and realize others are enjoying it, too. You chaired our conference planning committee for the 2009 Annual Conference, can you talk about what that entailed and what it was like? The 2009 Committee began planning approximately three years out. My first step was to recruit committee members who would be in for the long haul. We planned to attend both Annual Conferences and Leadership to spread the word DC has something for all. Working with the SLA HQ Staff and Destination DC, we acquired excellent tourism information. Developing a wiki was another way of sharing information. While recruiting DC/SLA members to staff the information booth during the conference, we realized that many of our volunteers were not true DC folks and arranged for some special training sessions for the booth volunteers. The training helped familiarize the volunteers with the tourism materials, the wiki and general booth procedures. The DC Chapter volunteers were so resourceful and informative. What other positions have you held within the chapter and within SLA? Within the DC Chapter: Hospitality, MLG Representative to the Board, Professional
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What advice do you have for newer professionals? Volunteer for something that is of interest to you. Begin with one thing; don‘t over-commit yourself. What about professionals in the midpoint of their careers? Now is the time to step forward to assist SLA, its Divisions and Chapters. You have a lot to offer and it will provide renewal for you as well as personal satisfaction. Time to step forward!
Sharon Lenius promoting the SLA Annual Confernce to take place in DC while at the Seattle SLA Conference (Photo by Karen Huffman) Development, Director, Chair of the DC 2009 Conference Committee With the Military Libraries Division of SLA: Secretary, Chair of the Division, Resources Committee Member. With the Government Information Division: Secretary, currently Director for Membership How has your work with SLA over the years helped you grow in the profession? SLA has provided great professional development opportunities at the annual conference, through the DC Chapter and via the annual Military Libraries Workshop. You received SLA’s Member Achievement award at the 2007 Annual Conference, what was that like? First, it was fun and exciting! But I have to tell you, a bust of John Cotton Dana could be improved upon as the outward sign of the award. The award from SLA was an unexpected honor. I hope that others will be inspired to become more active in the association; they will gain a lot of personal satisfaction for their efforts. What other awards did you win in your career? I have several National Guard Awards, Promotion Awards, DMIL Distinguished Member Award, several DC/SLA Awards, Outstanding Alumni Award from Marian University, Indianapolis, etc.
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What made you decide to retire? In Federal Government their certain milestones; I made it past one of them and saw that I could still be active in various organizations. I could travel and spend more time with family and friends and still share in SLA activities. What was your first day of retirement like? Out-of-town guests scheduled a visit with us to view the Cherry Blossoms and the Washington DC area, so my first days of retirement were a flurry of DC sites and events. Do you have any thoughts/suggestions for other members approaching retirement? Plan, plan, plan several years out is my first word of advice. Several members of the DC Chapter are developing ― Encore,‖ a resource for those who are thinking of retirement to help them plan for their future; to retire to the that future, happy and health with so much to look forward to doing. Please look for more on this effort soon. What’s the accomplishment in your career are you most proud of? I am most proud of getting the Military Libraries Division on a firm financial footing so that there can be an MLD presence at the Annual SLA Conference and sufficient funding for the annual Military Libraries Workshop. In hindsight is there anything you would’ve done differently? After 9/11 when the Military Libraries Workshop had to be cancelled, I should have pushed for some sort of video teleconference, even though that technology was just emerging. We needed to be together.
So now that you’ve retired what’s next? Personally, travel. I have something planned for each month for the rest of the year! This is not my ― Rivers of Europe‖ or ― Through the Panama Canal and Beyond‖ but maybe next year! What do you do in your spare time? In my copious spare time I read, read, read. Attend various DC/SLA and other library functions. My husband Harlan and I are exploring historic sites in Virginia; attending Civil War Living History Programs (he portrays Major General John Gibbon). What’s the most recent book you’ve read? Since I‘m in my ― Me‖ mode of reading, and one of my favorite genres is science fiction I‘d like to recommend a series, the Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd. First in the series is Kris Longknife: Mutineer. I just completed #7, Kris Longknife: Undaunted. And I see that Kris Longknife: Superb is due out in November 2010. Must get my order in tomorrow!
What’s your favorite book and what makes it your favorite? THE ROAD AND THE STAR by Berkely Mather, Scribner, New York, 1965. An adventure story about an English lord who escapes Cromwell‘s England for India; he returns to England via the fabled Silk Road. Lot‘s of mayhem, much of his own doing in between, but really authentic descriptions of the Silk Road and happenings along that route. Is there anything I didn’t ask already you’d like to talk about? Here a couple quotes that sort of explain my sometimes erratic approach to life: ― Happiness comes when your work and your words are of benefit to yourself and to others‖ The Buddha ― When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‗em, ‗Certainly I can.‘ Then get busy and find out how to do it.‖ Teddy Roosevelt
Is there a DC/SLA member you’d like to see Chapter Notes have a Q & A session with? Email your suggestions to the editor at cmvlibrarian@gmail.com
Sharon Lenius and Susan Fifer Canby during the 2008 SLA Annual Conference in Seattle (Photo by Karen Huffman)
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Elmo made an appearance at this year’s Cherry Blossom Parade (Photo by Eva Giercuszkiewicz)
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