DC/SLA Chapter Notes - July/August 2010

President's Corner: James King Welcome to our special SLA Annual Conference Wrap-Up & Election issue!

I must start off by saying how proud I am of our chapter! Our chapter was well represented at the SLA Annual Conference in New Orleans this year, with several of our members winning awards, running for board positions, and speaking/presenting all across the conference! New Orleans was a hot but wonderful host so I hope that many of you were able to take advantage of the fun, learning, and networking opportunities that were throughout the conference!

This issue first looks back at the SLA Annual Conference with several front-line reports from conference attendees on their experiences in New Orleans, including our DC/SLA Chapter Conference Stipend Award winner Michael Chesnes!

This issue also looks forward to 2011! First, the 2011 DC/SLA Board of Directors candidates are officially unveiled in this issue! I’m sure you’ll agree that all of them would be wonderful leaders of our chapter and I encourage you to read more about each of them online and plan to vote in September. We’ve also pulled together all the information we can on the international SLA Board of Director election, including a special Q&A session with the President-Elect candidates Brent Mai and David Stern.

Finally, we have a brief preview of the latest plans for SLA Leadership Summit that we’re hosting at the Renaissance Washington in January 2011 and the SLA Annual Conference being held in Philadelphia, PA

July/August 2010 Volume 71, No. 4 Inside this issue: President’s Corner ............................. 1 Career Column .................................. 4 Transferring Real World Collections to the Digital World Requires Planning ............................................ 5 SLA Annual Conference was Jammed Packed with Activities .................... 8 Conference Pictures Say a Thousand Words ...............................................10 Conference Filled with Nuggets of Information ..................................... 15 The Way Forward ........................... 17 Conference Attendees Augment their Reality During the Computer Science Round Table .................................... 19 SLA Rising Stars and Fellows: How to Make Yourself More Valuable in the Marketplace .................................... 20 DC/SLA Conference Stipend Winner Presents as Poster Librarian for Mobile Reference ........................................ 22 Unconference means Win-Win for All ................................................... 23 Conference Attendees Take a RedLight Look at History ..................... 24 New Division Rocks the Conference .......................................25 Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect ........................ 27 Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates ................... 35

Chapter Notes is the newsletter for 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.

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 September 2010 issue is 1 September. 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

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 2

I’d be remiss if I didn’t put in a plug for our DC/ SLA Annual Meeting. On Saturday, December 4th, join your fellow DC/SLA members for a lunch cruise on the Potomac River on-board the Spirit of Washington (http://tinyurl.com/ 34nnd9f)! Our cruise on a private deck will feature SLA President Anne Caputo and SLA President-Elect Cindy Romaine who will give their perspectives on the future of the profession. Thanks to generous sponsorship and focused cost cutting on this event, we’ve been able to make this event both more exciting and less expensive! Please plan on joining us for what is expected to be a great time!

BTW, thanks for making our revamped newsletter a huge success! A quick look at the statistics shows that we have a 400 percent increase in readership/downloads from 2009 to 2010 – thanks to Chris Vestal, our regular columnists, and to you, our readers!

Editor’s Note Starting in 2011 to better coincide with DC/SLA events Chapter Notes will shift it’s publication schedule forward one month. The new schedule will be: January, February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, and October/November To transition to this schedule the next 2010 issue of Chapter Notes will be published in September (deadline for submissions 10 September ) with the final 2010 issue being published in November (deadline for submissions 1 November).

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 3

Career Column

By Aimee Babcock-Ellis, James Madigan, and Kerry Mason Weeda

What librarian doesn’t like the challenge of a good hunt for information online? Well, it might be one who has spent a great deal of time with little result on any number of job websites searching for library jobs. For example, have you ever searched for a job in the Washington Post online jobs database using the search term librarian, and jobs that result have nothing to do with being a librarian? Of course you have. And if not Washington Post, you’ve searched for jobs in other online job databases or on websites and have had similar experiences, right?

search terms are categorized by industry and job function.

Library is listed as a Job Industry category but Librarian is not listed as a Job Function category. The closest Job Function category is Education – Administrator or Help Desk Staff.

However, when we conducted a keyword search for the term Librarian, eight jobs with the title Librarian resulted. Say for instance you’re interested in academic librarian positions. You may want to search one of the organizations of someone you exchanged cards with as well as another key term of your choice, using Boolean search strategies. Another way to develop your OK, so for those of us who’ve had that experience, we thought in search strategy would be to choose a category that is used in the database and combine it with one of your own key terms from this article we would experiment with some of the search terms your list. For example: reference AND education – administrator. that are frequently used by librarians when searching for jobs We conducted this search and found nothing. We then tried online, as well as incorporating some creative strategies for compiling and arranging search terms based on information you several different combinations and tracked the results. likely already have in hand. Below are the items you will need to So, we are proposing that our readers design your own conduct this experiment: experiment and then share the experience with us at the Career • The following list of common search terms used by librarians Column, so that we can learn from one another. If you’ve developed a good strategy for finding jobs in specific databases to find jobs when searching databases and websites: library; online, please do share it with your fellow librarians and library wisdom; data; information; informatics; knowledge; students by sending your strategy to our Chapter Notes editor, professional; officer; architect; technician; technical; specialist; Chris Vestal. We will be happy to share your experience and generalist; librarian. strategy with our readers.

• The business cards that you received when networking at the SLA, ALA, and/or MLA conferences.

Lastly, we have a few announcements: Aimee Babcock-Ellis • Your most recent resume.

• The name and website address of at least one database that you graduated with her MLS from the University of Maryland, College Park this summer. James Madigan recently began a have searched looking for job opportunities. creative venture becoming a developer for iPhone and iPad applications for reference. Kerry Mason Weeda was selected to In the May/June Career Column we provided step-by-step intern at the Suburban Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medicine guidance on networking at conferences. Meeting five people a Medical Library in July 2010. day and exchanging business cards or contact information were the first two steps suggested in the column. If you took these steps to network with people at the conference(s) you attended, you likely still have those business cards and remember some “key” information about the people you met. Pull out those References business cards and take a moment to review the information on •Choi, Youngok, and Edie Rasmussen. "What them. What is the job title of the person on the card? Where do Qualifications and Skills are Important for Digital they work? What organization? What type of organization do Librarian Positions in Academic Libraries? A Job they work for? What other information can you remember about Advertisement Analysis." The Journal of Academic what each person said when you met them about what they do?

Librarianship 35.5 (2009): 457-67. Library Lit & Inf Once you have that information from your memory and from the business cards, write down all the key terms and/or concepts in a Full Text. Web. 12 Aug. 2010. list.

Next take your resume and highlight key terms from your own job descriptions that you currently or previously have held. Then add those key terms or phrases to the list of key terms from the business cards. Keep that list of key terms in view when searching online to use as potential search terms.

At this point, you will want to go to a jobs database or website that you are familiar with and see if you can find a job that you are interested in using the key terms from the list that you’ve compiled as well as the list that we included above.

For example, when we chose to conduct an advanced search for job opportunities on www.washingtonpost.com , the major

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 4

• McDermott, Irene E. "New Improved Internet Job Search: Now With Social Networking."

Searcher 17.4 (2009): 8-12. Library Lit & Inf Full Text. Web. 12 Aug. 2010.

• The Washington Post (online): http:// www.washingtonpost.com/wl/jobs/home • Internet Public Library: www.ipl.org • Web Search Strategies: http:// www.learnwebskills.com/search/ • Job-Hunt: http://www.job-hunt.org/index.html

Transferring Real World Collections to the Digital World Requires Planning

By Janel White Vendor and librarians gathered to talk survival--of digitization projects on 13 July in a program organized

by DC/SLA member Karen Tate.

First up was Patrick Jones from LibLime/PTFS. Jones walked us through the basics of digitization - defining terms and setting the backdrop for the night. He explained the steps that normally occur in the process, the requirements (i.e. output file format, metadata to capture, delivery methods, derivative file formats, etc) that should be considered prior to starting and the metadata standards that can be applied to a digitization process. He stressed that having a policy to guide your project is key.

From 1971 to 1999, the NPR audio collection is on reel-to-reel tape, which is the preferred method for preservation but not the preferred medium for every day production needs. It took ten years to convert the 1984 to 1999 NPR programming from reel-to-reels to CDs. The next step in the project will be to convert the CDs into digital files and link those files to the corresponding metadata. For audio digitization projects,

Jones referenced work done by the Digital Library Federation or the National Archives or the Library of Congress is a good starting point for any project.

Finally, after creating the requirements, picking a metadata standard and defining a policy, you need to find a tool that will help disseminate and maintain the digital collection.

The next speaker was Lynn Dudinsky from SNTK Document Conversions, a company that specializes in digitizing paper collections. Dudinsky noted that he tackles every digitization project from the end user perspective. He provided information on document retrieval, creation and filing costs and discussed the benefits of digitization, including increased productivity, improved access to documents and reduced costs surrounding documents.

Dudinsky highlighted some factors (i.e. volume, number of sides, color vs. grayscale, etc) to consider when pricing out a digitization project. He illustrated his presentation with examples from the real-life situations and digitization projects he has facilitated.

Maureen Clements, from National Public Radio, shifted the focus from the vendor’s perspective on digitization to that of the librarian. At NPR, Clements is involved in digitizing NPR’s audio collection, from 1971 to the present, to provide NPR staff with desktop access.

Another goal of the project is to preserve the more than 40-year-old audio collection. She stated that this project had many ups and downs due to changes in leadership and budget.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 5

Lynn Dudinsky, SNTK Document Conversions, shares his experience with working on client’s digitization needs.(Photo by Janel White)

Transferring Real World Collections to the Digital World Requires Planning request to digitize materials that were recently used in the training of American and Iraqi soldiers in Iraq and to complete it within a short timeframe. Before Barrett’s team could start the project, they had to deal with cumbersome digitization procedures that threatened to keep the team from finishing the project on time. They responded by preparing and submitting an exception request to exiting policy. But other issues continued to crop up, including copyright questions concerning content within the documents, how to deal with Arabic documents, and the need to separate classified, unclassified/controlled and publicly releasable materials content.

To keep the project on track, Barrett established the position of Workflow Manager and gave the position authority to standardize and oversee the various workflows. An unanticipated benefit from modifying the existing digitization policy was that newer technicians were able to pick up the digitization procedures much faster than they would have been able to do under the old policy. As a result, Barrett’s team completed this digitization project within three months.

Christine Barrett, DTIC, shares how CALM was able to digitize two DVDs full of sensitive material within three months.(Photo by Janel White)

Clements recommends referencing the CARLI Digitization Guidelines for Audio, the European Broadcasting Union guidelines and the National Digital Information Infrastructure & Preservation Program (NDIIPP).

Past experience has shown that the most effective approach to digitizing large collections is to break the project into discreet parts and design specific policies and procedures for these parts, rather than tackling the whole project at once. NPR began digitizing its commercial music collection first and will use its experience to inform digitization of its programming material.

Christine Barrett from the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) was the last person to present. Her presentation focused on a digitization project she undertook while she was working for the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) in 2009. Barrett and her team were faced with an urgent DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 6

Resource List Digital Library Federation http://www.diglib.org/ *this site is no longer being updated, but the relevant documents still live here Digitization at the National Archives http://www.archives.gov/digitization/ Library of Congress Digitization Resources http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/about/ techIn.html CARLI ContentDM Sytem Documentation http://www.carli.illinois.edu/mem-prod/ contentdm/cdm-sysdocs.html EBU Technical Publications http://tech.ebu.ch/publications National Digital Information Infrastructure & Preservation Program http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/

Encore Synergy Does Articles Encore Synergy is the only discovery platform with Deep Article Integration that offers timely results, advanced relevancy handling, and balanced findability resulting in a superior search experience.

synergy www.encoreforlibraries.com DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 7

SLA Annual Conference was Jammed Packed with Activities

By James King, DC/SLA President Despite being an active member of the social networking world, I still enjoy PHYSICALLY attending the SLA Annual Conference. Being able to network with the friends that I’ve developed in the library and vendor communities is worth the time away from home, southern heat, long days, and tons of e-mails that awaited my return. Of course, on a personal level it was also fun to introduce my wife and little girl to New Orleans for the first time. Touring Jackson Square, riding the Mississippi on a paddleboat, and experiencing Bourbon St. (aka “Sin City”, southern edition) are memories that my family and I will long cherish.

At the same time, floating past the Lower Ninth Ward and past portions of broken levees while on a Closing Keynote Speaker, Nicholas Carr signing autographs. lunch cruise are more sobering memories that will (Photo by James King) not be soon forgotten. felt a bit ironic – “read more print on paper From the flight in to the flight home, my entire books”. I will leave my own conclusions to another week was jammed packed with activities! The forum but the opening and closing keynote opening keynote brought nationally known speakers achieved the organizer’s goals – to get political consultants James Carville and Mary people thinking.

Matalin who brought us their local perspective on national happenings, including Katrina and the What may have received more attention during the Gulf Oil Spill. Between my own presentations on conference was the treasurer’s report. Dan the Drupal open access CMS and on the Future of Trefethen, who has an incredibly tough job as a Libraries, I was able to take advantage of the great volunteer treasurer during this time, (full remarks slate of programs available, enjoy the incredible are here - http://tinyurl.com/2uravxm) reported that and late-running parties, and enjoy our host city. the Centennial Conference in Washington DC was The conference was wrapped up with a closing a big success in many ways but brought lower keynote by Nicholas Carr who wrote IT Doesn’t revenue to the association at a time that Matter. Carr argued that Web-style reading is sponsorships were being reduced and everyone was actually changing our brains so that we can no tightening their belts because of the Great longer concentrate for long periods of time. If this Recession. Reduced conference revenues and is true, you’re probably going to stop reading this declining sponsorships resulted in the need to make any minute now. In light of the future trends I serious cuts at SLA HQ. In 2009, SLA cut their spoke about in the conference and the fact that a staff by 30% (8 positions) and had to draw from portion of conference attendees were connecting to their reserves at a time when the markets were the closing virtually for the first time, his solution down. The 2010 budget has been set at 2009 actual DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 8

SLA Annual Conference was Jammed Packed with Activities revenue levels but further cuts or tightening is expected over the next couple years.

SLA CEO Janice LaChance continued the focus on finances during her remarks (http://tinyurl.com/ 35b8ewh) stating “Even when the economy improves, it will be a new era . . . things will have changed permanently and we certainly will not go back to the way things were. This isn't an era of change; it is the change of an era.” Janice also clarified that SLA relies upon three sources of revenue to support its operations: sponsorships and advertising; conference revenue; and membership fees. Since membership fees don’t come close to covering the estimated $600 per member in benefits, SLA relies heavily on annual conference attendance (which was lower this year) and vendor sponsorships (which has been cut back along with the rest of the economy).

Broken levee in foreground and replacement levee in background (Photo by James King)

SLA President Anne Caputo wrapped up the segment by highlighting the findings of the Alignment Project and focusing on transforming those findings into actionable pieces in a toolkit. At a time like this, it is critical that information professionals clearly show their value and relevance to their organizations! In light of the lessons learned in the alignment, SLA is also reviewing their vision, mission, and core value statements to ensure that they take advantage of highly-valued words from the report. Finally, the board is simultaneously “conscious of our expenditures, staff costs, travel and other discretionary spending” while also looking for ways to expand the Association’s revenue streams now and in the future.

Thanks to everyone for allowing me to represent our great chapter in New Orleans!

SLA President and DC/SLA member Anne Caputo pose with King’s wife and daughter during the Awards Reception at Mardi Gras World. (Photo by James King)

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 9

Conference Pictures Say a Thousand Words

Lorraine Bell poses with the Wizard of Oz float in Mardi Gras World. (Photo by Kristin Foldvik)

An artist draws a caricature of Lily McGovern with an electronic sketch pad at Inspec’s booth at the Info Expo. (Photo provided by Lily McGovern)

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 10

A packed crowd gathers for 60 Sites in 60 Minutes. (Photo by Lily McGovern)

DC/SLA members got together in July to share their experiences at the SLA conference with other chapter members. (Photo by Catherine Kitchell)

Conference Pictures Say a Thousand Words

A NOLA band plays during the International Reception. (Photo by James King)

New Orleans was filled with musical talent! (Photo by Margaret Hawes)

All That Jazz, Maison Bourbon is dedicated to the preservation of Jazz. (Photo by Zeinab Mansour)

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 11

Conference Pictures Say a Thousand Words

Crab Cake NOLA style . (Photo by Karen Huffman)

Cafe Du Monde’s beignet’s were a popular treat. (Photo byLydia Hellrich-Dawson) DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 12

Zeinab Mansour has an interaction with Emeril’s Chefs at Emeril’s Restaurant . (Photo by Maureen Booth)

Conference Pictures Say a Thousand Words

After the conference,members did a service project connected with the damage Katrina did. (Photo by Karen Huffman)

Bourbon Street was interesting to explore. (Photo by Marie Kaddell)

Anne Capputo enjoys the International Reception. (c) The Photo Group 2010 - All rights reserved.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 13

Conference Pictures Say a Thousand Words

The IT Party was filled with fun. (c) The Photo Group 2010 - All rights reserved.

Opening Keynote Speakers James Carville and Mary Matalin pose with Past President Gloria Zamora (c) The Photo Group 2010 - All rights reserved.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 14

Cherine Whitney recieved a lot of attention for her hats. (Photo by Karen Huffman)

Conference Filled with Nuggets of Information

By Marie Kaddell Attending the SLA annual conference is always a hectic and knowledge-packed experience. Moving through so many sessions during the conference, I have found that I always walk away with many practical and thought-provoking nuggets of information. Here’s a few of my SLA 2010 takeaways: Disaster Planning • Some

interesting statistics from early postKatrina studies: 269 libraries; 30 percent added new info services; 15 percent had disaster plan but only 5 percent reported using it. McKnight pointed to this quote made after the 1999 tornadoes in Oklahoma: All disasters are chaos – but you always have choices. - K Moore, Director, Emergency Services, Norman Reg. Hospital, OK. (Program: Hurricane Katrina and Libraries, Michelynn McKnight, Louisiana State University) Future Trends From the Future Trends in Government Libraries program:

• We

tend to be risk averse but we need to start taking lots of lots of risks. It's hard and there is a high chance of failure. And who likes to fail? We need to become risk takers and get out of comfort zones. Whatever we do holds a risk of failure but doing nothing means failure is guaranteed. Trying means becoming more fluid. (Richard PearceMoses, Arizona State University)

• Key

concept: the library as a place. The NIH library staff found a way to take this concept and turn the library into a trendsetter at NIH. Read more about the green space James referenced during the Future Trends in Government Libraries program in this article: The NIH Library’s Information Commons – Turning Less into More in the 2010 Best Practices for Government Libraries

by James King, Mary Hash, Bradley Otterson & Ben Hope, National Institutes of Health Library.

You’ll find it on page 123. To view the 2010 Best Practices for Government Libraries see http:// tinyurl.com/2e3ato2.

Mentoring and Coaching • Mentoring

and coaching can be very different behaviors although we often use the words interchangeable. Mentors are strategic and coaches are tactical. Mentors are looking at your entire life or larger chunks of it, while coaches may be looking more short terms. Mentoring can be part of succession planning. Check out the FLICC mentoring resources - http://tinyurl.com/23xjusz (Program: Coaching and Mentoring Federal Libraries - Carole Ramkey, Library of the Marine Corps; Susan Westenbarger, ASRC Management EPA Headquarters Library)

• Some

of the best mentoring comes from the bottom up. (Program: Coaching and Mentoring Federal Libraries - Attendee during Q&A)

• Think

about making localized focused research spaces for researchers --virtual research environments around a corpus of work so that users can dig in and utilize that info that information professionals are making as accessible as possible.

(James King, National Institutes of Health Library) Panelists from Future Trends in Government Libraries (Photo by Marie Kadell)

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 15

Conference Filled with Nuggets of Information • Who are innovators? - experimenters, risk-takers,

positive thinkers, fun lovers, students of information, survivors.

• A question: When you look back on the old school

library - do you think it used to be simpler?

• MLS is an immigration visa, not passport restriction.

Elizabeth Moore, Library of Congress Law Library, shared LC Law’s perspective on strategic planning as part of her presentation in the Future Trends in Government Libraries program: •As part of their strategic planning, the Law Library of

Patrick Lambe spoke duringTaxonomies and Knowledge Management. (Photo by Marie Kaddell) Social Media From one of my favorite programs at SLA 2010, Mary Ellen Bates pulls no punches with her session: Brand You and Web 2.0: • With regard to social media and your personal brand:

“Dress” for the job you want, not the job you have.

How do you want to be seen? Focus on this when you create your social networking profiles.

• In all your communications give them a reason to pay

you attention. Attention is very scarce right now.

• Don't be uni-dimensional online. All professional, all

the time – boring. Things you say in Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are a bit different and help you create a more 3-D image.

• Privacy through obscurity is dead.

• If you are on Twitter for professional reasons and you

are protecting your tweets, you are wasting your time.

Strategic Planning Roger Strouse, Outsell, shares his perspective on strategic planning at the DGI Annual Business Meeting in his program: Strategic Planning and Next Gen Library Services: • Imperatives for information managers: have fun,

consider what today's decisions mean for the future, assume rapid change, embrace innovation to survive and grow, be open-minded about new and different roles, measure and communicate value in terms of outcomes.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 16

Congress wants to think about what a law library will look like in 10 years including: collection policy, staffing needs, authentication and authority issues.

•Read more about the access, authority, & authenticity concepts discussed by Elizabeth Moore during the Future Trends in Government Libraries program in the article: Authenticity, Authority, Accuracy, and Accessibility by Roberta Shaffer, Law Librarian of Congress. You’ll find it on page 55 of the 2010 Best Practices for Government Libraries. To view the 2010 Best Practices for Government Libraries see http:// tinyurl.com/2e3ato2.

Taxonomies Patrick Lambe, Straits Knowledge, shares his taxonomy expertise in his program: Taxonomies and Knowledge Management: • A taxonomy acts as an enabler because it helps people

speak in the same language.

• Here’s what taxonomies do: structure & organize,

establish common ground, span boundaries, sensemaking, discovery & visibility.

• The future: Will taxonomists be a primary role

supporting things like KM or knowledge managers w/ taxonomy skills?

Marie Kaddell regularly blogs her library conference takeaways on the Government Info Pro @ http:// www.governmentinfopro.com. Most recently, she has covered the following national conferences: Computers in Libraries, SLA, ALA, AALL, Internet Librarian, and the Military Librarians Workshop. You can also follow her conference tweets @ http://www.twitter.com/ libraryfocus.

The Way Forward

By Montrese Hamilton Whilst many colleagues packed their bags for the SLA 2010 Annual Conference in New Orleans, I traded my spot in the Big Easy for login credentials to the virtual conference offerings. To be sure, live attendance was first choice but this year’s travel budget made online participation a great compromise.

For my first test of the virtual conference, I joined Mary Ellen Bates’ presentation, Negotiating Up. Although the word ‘negotiation’ evokes thoughts of the back-and-forth between two parties seeking their own preferred outcome, it can also refer to navigating Mary Ellen Bates presented at the 2010 Conference.

(Photo by Ruth Wolfish) around or through an obstacle or difficult passage.

Blame it on a restlessness born of this summer’s remarkable heat and humidity but I had an idea on After a brief, thoughtful silence the insights began to which careful negotiation would be critical. flow. The organization would always need someone to provide timely, relevant, and actionable In preparing for my employer’s 2011 goal-setting process, I asked my boss for a 30-minute “daydream” information; keep the organization’s history; and help other knowledge workers find quality content for meeting to consider how the information and their own work. A physical collection may be a knowledge function would operate if none were already in place. Before I could establish key goals, I necessary by-product but not a priority in itself. Forty minutes later, I was relieved by how well our had to calibrate my perspective on the library with thoughts converged around a core mission that that of senior management so I identified three key reinforced current direction and laid-to-rest outdated points to discuss: What current information needs expectations. Also, my boss expressed appreciation would you address by hiring a knowledge professional? 2) Which skills/experience would you for the invitation to set aside time and think deeply recruit for? 3) How would the function inhabit virtual about the library. and/or physical space?

Looking back at my effort to negotiate a challenge of my own making, I think Bates’ best advice was to To prepare myself for the meeting, I recalled Bates’ take a Zen approach: Focus on the moment; tackle first point on negotiating: One must accept the problem, not the person; operate from a sense of responsibility for one’s own actions and the subsequent outcomes. I controlled only the questions abundance; and take responsibility only for yourself I asked, my openness to hearing the answers, and my rather than the other party. reaction to my manager’s comments.

Montrese Hamilton, MSLS, is librarian for the Bates gave additional counsel about the negotiation Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va. Contact her at montrese [dot] conversation: focus on joint interests; don’t make assumptions; and listen to what the other person says. hamilton [at] gmail [dot] com.

I held those points in mind as the meeting began. I opened by thanking my manager for taking the time to meet and consider my questions. I then encouraged her to turn her gaze away from me and out the window so she could shift her imagination from “what is” to “what could be”.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 17

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 18

Conference Attendees Augment their Reality During the Computer Science Round Table

By Lea Wade

Quick response (QR) codes are a very common example of AR. QR codes can be found on During the annual conference some attendees advertisements, in articles, art, and videos. When experienced Augmented Reality--not, as you might scanned by mobile devices, the code links to expect, due to New Orleans’ famed humidity or further information or networks. In libraries, QR one too many visits to Bourbon Street, but as an codes could be used to provide historical or aspect of how libraries and museums could utilize background information, or to associate augmented reality codes in their web presence. instructional tips with locations.

Alex Grigg, manager of Lexmark Library, University of Kentucky, gave an introduction to Augmented Reality (AR) to the 25 attendees of the Computer Science Round Table session on 15 June, who enjoyed a selection of box lunches during the presentation.

The session began with an introduction to augmented reality as used in videos. Examples were a Star Wars software app, in which the user interacted and manipulated video images although there was nothing in the room with him, and a US Postal Service youtube video demonstrating how to select appropriate packaging for mailing http:// tinyurl.com/l2bhoh.

Following the presentation on AR, the audience gathered for a moderated discussion on e-reader loan programs. Several attendees were experimenting with loan programs, but were in the beginning stages. Also discussed was moving to all-or-mostly-all-electronic collections, and the challenges of such a move.

Thanks to the sponsors of the Computer Science Round Table – IEEE, ACM, and H.W. Wilson – who made possible the box lunches. Thanks also to Sue Smith for coordinating Grigg’s presentation, and to Hilary Davis for organizing the Sci-Tech sessions.

Grigg’s presentation on AR is available at http:// Mobile usage for augmented reality might be more tinyurl.com/36vs7o7 relevant for libraries. Some suggested examples for mobile use are providing the stacks location of Non-Mobile Usage specific material, such as special collections or a new books shelf. AR could also be used to provide location description for upcoming events, !"#$%&'(& )#*%+,'' conference room sign-up, or provide support to a closed reference desk.

AR is more familiarly used in social applications such as Foursquare, which allows users to tell friends where they are located by “checking in” using a mobile device.

Slide from Grigg’s presentation.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 19

SLA Rising Stars and Fellows: How to Make Yourself More Valuable in the Marketplace

By Mary Talley, DCSLA President-Elect SLA launched a new program at the New Orleans Conference – Rising Stars and SLA Fellows Roundtable - featuring the recipients of its Rising Stars award and its newly elected Fellows. I attended the program not knowing exactly what to expect but wanting to support DC/SLA’s two Rising Stars, Jessica Beauchamp and Chris Vestal.

As it turned out, the program was a lively and informative discussion on what it takes to make it in today’s challenging environment, provided by the five Rising Stars (Beauchamp, Vestal, Reece Dano, Bethan Ruddock, and Amy Buckland) and the five Fellows (Jill Strand, Libby Trudell, Rebecca Jones, Dee Magnoni, and James Manasco). Webb Shaw of J.J. Keller and Associates (the sponsor of the session and for the Rising Star Award) did an excellent job as moderator.

Vestal spoke about building relationships with your users to create library champions. (c) The Photo Group 2010 - All rights reserved.

organization? What should be the role of the library in the organization’s strategy?

Each roundtable member contributed something unique to the discussion. On important attributes for information professionals, Strand advised professionals to be bold, but with balance, and to Although not advertised as such, the Roundtable not fear failure or rocking the boat some. focused on a much-discussed topic these days: Beauchamp believed being strategic in your value – producing it, proving it and adding it. thinking is important as well as being able to think Rather than each participant delivering a ahead and to seek out organizational problems you monologue on the topic, roundtable members were might be able to solve. effectively organized into pairs, with one Rising Star and Fellow in each. Shaw then posed a unique Vestal and Trudell discussed ROI and question to each pair on an aspect of increasing communicating value and both noted the value in the workplace. What followed was an importance of building relationships and internal engaging give and take between the Rising Star and external networks. Vestal noted the importance and Fellow in each pair. of knowing your clients well in order to go a step Here is a sampling of the questions asked: What are the most important attributes an information professional can have in this competitive job market? How do you stay engaged and keep up your skills? How do you measure Return on Investment (ROI) and communicate value to your

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 20

beyond in supporting them and of building champions. He gave an effective example in which a supervisor worked to build a relationship with a new library user when she was first hired by the organization. Over time the library supervisor and user developed such a strong positive relationship that when the user began supervising other employees she required them all to make regular use of the library.

SLA Rising Stars and Fellows: How to Make Yourself More Valuable in the Marketplace Magnoni also provided another excellent example of building value through relationships. Based on early morning conversations with a group of engineers she breakfasted with daily, she learned about their work and discovered a hidden problem. As a result, she took on a non-traditional role and brought in an author to conduct creative writing workshops, solving a long-standing problem for this small engineering company.

Jones gave a spirited response to the question of the library’s role in organizational strategy.

She firmly stated that the library’s primary purpose should be to inform or participate in implementing strategy and not to support, assist or help, arguing for removal of these words from our professional lexicon. She suggested we look to our CEOs for direction.

Dano agreed and suggested that information professionals need to move from being tactical to being strategic and become resources for strategy creation in their organizations. He also noted that as an embedded librarian his title is “advisor-at-large.”

volunteering with DC/SLA actually helped her hone her strategic skills: during her tenure as DC/SLA’s Second Vice-President, she worked on DC/SLA’s Strategic Plan and gained knowledge.

I was “wowed” by the insights shared by these ten highly successful individuals on working more effectively and increasing value and heartened by their overarching message.

Increasing value in the workplace is within every information professional’s reach and depends on how we see and build our positions.

Learn more about the 2010 Rising Stars at this link http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/ awardsrecognition/risingstar/; and about the SLA Fellows at this link: http://www.sla.org/ content/SLA/awardsrecognition/fellows/ index.cfm

Despite the uniqueness of the questions and many of the responses, what came through in all of the discussions was a surprising amount of consensus on how to increase value.

Thinking and being strategic, building relationships and networks, and taking advantage of what SLA has to offer to improve Beauchamp noted that volunteering with DC/SLA and strengthen skills and network with actually helped her hone her strategic skills. (Photo by colleagues were dominant, recurring themes.

Mary Talley) On the last point, Beauchamp noted that DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 21

DC/SLA Conference Stipend Winner Presents as Poster Librarian for Mobile Reference

By Michael Chesnes !"#$%&"'()*+%&",#$-.("&/(01"-*()/2$&$.#+"#$%&

At the All-Sciences Poster Session on Tuesday, 15 June,

A Year of Mobile Librarianship at NASA Goddard

I presented the poster A Year of Mobile Librarianship at NASA Goddard. I set up early, but the crowd came

The Goddard Library Greenbelt, Md Library Associates Companies (LAC) Zimmerman Associates, Inc. (ZAI)

early as well, so I hardly had time to meet most of the other presenters and compare our posters. Since there was also a Mobile Librarian from a nursing college at

The Mobile Librarian Project placed Reference Librarians at strategic locations throughout the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center campus to maximize customer usage.

the session, we were placed next to each other. I answered an eager flurry of questions, explaining that Michael Chesnes (LAC)

we conducted a mobile reference service that is different from embedded librarianship, and that we used a laptop instead of a smartphone.

Most of the posters had a 4 x8 foot horizontal layout, although some were 3 x6. I considered these larger sizes, but opted for a 2 x4 foot vertical layout, which is easier to transport. If you opt for a smaller format, make sure the wording on your poster is easily visible from a

A Year of Mobile Librarianship at NASA Goddard The NASA Goddard Library began its Mobile Librarian Project in February 2009 to serve a population of over 7000 scientists, engineers, and support staff in more than 30 buildings across a two square mile campus.

The Project was conceived as a way of bringing customers separated from the physical Library into contact with Reference Librarians. The Project began with a three month pilot phase, and since the spring of 2009 has been a regular Library service. For eight hours per week, two Reference Librarians, and occasionally other Library staff, sit at a table with a laptop and Library literature near a building entrance with concentrated foot traffic.

The buildings chosen for Mobile Librarian service rotated on a monthly basis, with each Reference Librarian serving a different building on alternating days. The Reference Librarians provided the customers with a mixture of ready reference, library instruction, interlibrary loan, circulation, and interviews for extensive reference research. In some buildings the Library staff and services were already well known, while in others most customers were only familiar with the Library’s electronic resources, not realizing everything that Reference Librarians could do for them. In the first year of the Mobile Librarian Project, the number of questions contributed by the Project to the total number of reference questions increased by 11% and included two large reference projects. The Mobile Librarian Project has been a successful extension of the Goddard Library to reach out to our customers that otherwise would not have visited the Library.

Face-to-face contact with our Reference Librarians added a personal touch for scientists and engineers accustomed to automated library services.

distance. I worked with a professional graphic designer

Tonia Reynolds-Pope (ZAI)

Our improved visibility increased the number of routine reference questions and large research projects we received.

in my workplace to design a beautiful poster, which is laminated to withstand years of rough use, but my visitors at the poster session gathered in a close huddle to read it.

Charles Early (LAC)

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Chesnes’ poster from the SLA Conference (Photo by Michael Chesnes)

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 22

Unconference means Win-Win for All

By Karen Huffman Doesn't the term "unconference" during the 2010 SLA Annual Conference strike you as a a contradiction of ideas? It's like when people ask me why do I sail during thunder and lightening storms? I sail because I've made a commitment to crew (and hopefully win!) for my friend every Wednesday night (unless, of course, I'm attending SLA's annual conference).

Like my commitment to sailing, SLA and its members are committed to us through all the ups and downs in our profession. SLA and its member-led leadership are constantly looking for new ways to grow each others competencies, creatively motivate us within our profession, and engage each other in conversations.

During this year's conference in New Orleans, we had an exciting line-up of facilitators and some great ideas brewing during our unconference sessions (topics included Culture of Social Media, Mary Talley on Embedded Librarianship, and Marie Kaddell on Value 2.0+). I think what I liked best about the 2010 unconference sessions is that there is no right answer!

The people that come are the right people, the topics discussed are the right topics. It's a WIN-WIN situation and all have an opportunity to share their ideas.

Mind Map from the Value 2.0+ unconference session facilitated by Marie Kaddell and Karen Huffman. (Photo provided by Karen Huffman)

An unconference is a loosely-facilitated, primarily participant driven session that encourages discussion around a theme or purpose determined by attendees.

This model is used to foster and engage better professional communication and engagement. There are a handful of ways unconferences are arranged.

Organizations may include unconferences within traditional conferences. SLA started exploring the unconference model in 2009.

Mary Talley, Karen Huffman, and Marie Kaddell stop for refreshments with Sam Kaddell after facilitating unconference sessions (Photo provided by Karen Huffman)

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 23

For more information on unconferences see the SLA Unconference wiki at http://tinyurl.com/3alj7cz

Conference Attendees Take a Red-Light Look at History

By Marilyn Bromley, BNA Library On Wednesday morning 16 June at the Williams Research Center, part of the Historic New Orleans Collection, SLA conference attendees were treated to a lively presentation by librarian Pamela Arceneaux on the history of prostitution in New

man, usually when he got married. In many cases, however, the man continued to support his mistress after his marriage.

During the Union occupation of New Orleans during the Civil War, any local woman who insulted a Union soldier was declared a prostitute, under the orders of the commanding Union general General Butler. He was soon replaced!

After the war, “Smokey Row” along Burgundy and Dauphine Streets (near Canal) became the new district.

After the police swept the area in1885, the public demanded a restricted red light district. So, in 1897, a Orleans. district was created and named Storyville after politician who proposed it, Sidney Story. It was located She got our attention and made us laugh when she at Basin and Iberville, and boasted many elegant began her talk by saying that all her research was mansions run by madams like Lulu White and Miss secondhand and entirely of academic interest! She Willie V. Piazza. During this time, “blue books” were continued with a brief history of the founding of New published, listing the establishments of the district and Orleans by explaining that the city was founded in 1718 containing ads for houses of ill repute, legal services, by settlers from France. From the beginning New piano tuners and other necessary services. The books Orleans had a reputation as a wicked city. The pères were distributed widely, and as Arceneaux writes: fondateurs sent back to France for women to make [those] exploring …the playground of vice … knew the proper wives for the men of the city, but of the women value of the adage: “you can’t tell the players without a who came, many were “correctional” girls (from program.” Her article Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue prisons) and others “casket” girls, who had received a Books of Storyville is available on JSTOR at http:// tinyurl.com/28d6544. small box from the government with a few household goods.

Storyville was closed by city ordinance in 1917, with After a few years under Spanish rule, the United States demolition of the district from 1939-1949. The ladies acquired New Orleans in 1803, as part of the Louisiana moved to the French Quarter and other areas of town.

Purchase. According to Arceneaux, the U.S. wanted the As New Orleans Mayor Martin Behrman once remarked: “You can make it illegal but you can’t make city, and took the rest of the territory as a bonus. it unpopular.”

Yankees arrived, and as one might expect, prostitution did not decrease.

Sponsoring divisions: Social Science Geography & Map section; Museum, Arts and Humanities; Education The red light district began on Basin Street, an area of cheap dance halls, brothels, gambling joints and flop houses. For a picayune (a coin), men could get whiskey, a bed and female attention. The women often made more money as pickpockets than at other endeavors.

Later, the district moved to Gallatin Street near the French Market.

In 1805, the first ball was held for white men and women of color, as a way for both groups to meet in an elegant setting. After liaisons were made, some women were kept by their lovers in a separate establishment, where she had to remain faithful until released by the

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 24

New Division Rocks the Conference

• Suzanne BeDell from Dialog said that to go beyond simple recovery, a controlled vocabulary is necessary.

• Tim Mohler at Lexalytics said we can make search better through taxonomies. He also talked about the pros and cons of human indexing and how machines can be used to assist humans with indexing.

• Tyron Stading of Innography spoke about the importance of taxonomy to analytics. He said that keywords don’t always help to identify causality or relationships.

Taxonomies, however, can help merge structured and unstructured data and that they create links between data sources and different subject areas.

By Lydia Hellrich-Dawson

That afternoon, the Taxonomy Division presented Taxonomy Development and Subject Expertise. This program featured one speaker who talked about the topic in general and two speakers gave some real-world examples.

• Ian Galloway from APA shared his process for new term development and how he seeks out subject matter expertise through the editors of journals indexed by PsychInfo. He A slide from the Business Cases for Taxonomy Session said that the editors were a good resource and that researchers and faculty can’t wait to help improve the PsychInfo database.

The Taxonomy Division is brand new to SLA and the Division’s board members worked hard to put together a very • Next was Gail Rayburn from the Applied Physics Lab. rich schedule of programming for the conference. There was Unlike Galloway, all of her subject matter experts are within her organization but she needed a method for engaging these something taxonomy-related to do every day during the experts in the taxonomy review process. When she didn’t conference. find any off-the-shelf products available, she worked with a developer to design her own software that allows the experts Presenting a Business Case for Taxonomies was a how-to session and attendees came away with a long list of things to to contribute to the taxonomy in a quick and easy way.

• Margie Hlava presented the general view and gave us do, things to consider, and things to avoid when building a examples of when to use and when not to use subject matter business case for taxonomies. Some suggestions included: experts and when it is okay to disagree with subject matter • Answer the question “why do we need a taxonomy” before experts. going to your senior management On the last day of the conference, attendees at the Taxonomy • Use terms and parameters that management will Software Roundtable discussed various issues related to understand selecting and using taxonomy software. This roundtable gave • Map your business case to the business objectives novice taxonomists the opportunity to share their questions • Senior management is not your only audience – and challenges with more experienced professionals. There taxonomies have multiple stakeholders are a lot of products available so there were questions about Tuesday 15 June was a busy day. In the morning, there were the differences between different systems, what to look for, and what questions to ask the vendors. three taxonomy-related programs that ran simultaneously.

The Taxonomy Division co-sponsored Adding Spice to your The final Taxonomy Division program of the conference was Content and sponsored Taxonomies in New Information Heather Hedden’s presentation Taxonomy Made Easy: An Technologies. The third program was an SLA Hot Topic: Introduction to Taxonomies for the Accidental Taxonomist.

Does Taxonomy Matter in A New World of Search and Hedden has just published a book called The Accidental Discovery? Thankfully, the unanimous answer was “Yes!” Taxonomist and she gave a great introduction to the nuts and • Jabe Wilson at Elsevier said “taxonomy is more important bolts of taxonomy development. today than ever – it provides a foundation and a way forward All of the Taxonomy Division’s presentations are available at for the new technologies.” http://tinyurl.com/32ga8a9 WeSearchIt

Research You Can Count on!

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 25

21

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 26

Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect Election time for the 2011 SLA Board of Directors is on the horizon. Each year members vote for a new President-Elect, who impacts the Board for three years first as PresidentElect, then President, and finally as Past-President. To help DC/SLA members make informed decision Chapter Notes asked both candidates about their evolution as a librarian, their involvement with SLA, and where they see the profession heading in the future. Here’s what each had to say.

Brent Mai,University Librarian and Director of the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University It looks like your early background is in economics. What prompted your interest in library science?

After getting a Masters in international finance/economics from George Washington University, I worked as a consultant for about a year. I realized that what I liked best about what I was doing was the research process, and one of my clients suggested that I might like corporate librarianship.

The rest is history!

What do you think was the most important lesson you learned from library school? What’s the most important thing library programs can impart on graduates today?

I attended Library School at the University of Texas at Austin. Unlike many of my class mates, I had never worked in a library before going to Library School, and while I learned a great deal from the excellent faculty there, the most important thing that I learned was the value of experience. I took advantage of courses that offered opportunities for hands-on experience and began an internship at Semitech, a semi-conductor research consortium. I followed the classroom education with a year-long practicum at BellNorthern Research (the R&D division of what’s now NorTel). This experience improved my marketability as an information professional in the corporate library environment.In general, the Library School programs with which I am familiar do a good job of educating students in historical practices and to some degree emerging technologies in discipline-specific fields. However, the practice of librarianship is also a business function in our economy, and adding some classes on human interaction would be useful. These should include learning about everything from customer service to personnel management to public relations. And, as budgeting for those working in more traditional librarianship environments continues to be restricted, a couple of courses on fund raising and marketing wouldn’t hurt. I would like to see SLA become more involved in influencing what is being taught in contemporary Library School programs so that new grads are appropriately prepared for a career as an information professional.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 27

Brent Mai What sort of advice would you give to professionals in their first library related position who might be interested in nontraditional career paths?

Keep your options open. One can apply our skill set in an increasingly wide range of work environments. SLA’s Information Outlook routinely spotlights members with nontraditional applications of what we do, often in non-traditional work environments.

What advice do you have for members in the midpoint of their careers?

Again - keep your options open with your eye on what’s ahead in librarianship – of all kinds! Don’t burn your bridges – you never know when you might need to go back over one of them to get to someplace else! I started out in corporate libraries and then moved over to subject-specific academic librarianship. Being affiliated with SLA also provides a wonderful opportunity to keep an eye on the latest in technological developments as our profession morphs.

You’re currently University Librarian and Director of the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University. Did you know from the outset of your career that you wanted to be in library administration? How did you transition over the years from your first library position to senior administration?

Throughout my life, I seem to migrate to leadership positions: church youth groups – local, state, national, and international roles; high school class president; college student senate, clubs, and organizations; leadership positions in choirs and oratorio societies; local congregational leadership; campus faculty leadership; and of course SLA leadership. It all happened kind of gradually in each case, but now in

Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect

Mai speaking at the Leadership Development Institute at the 2010 SLA Conference. (c) The Photo Group 2010 - All rights reserved. retrospect it seems natural that I would have gone into library administration! The steps in transition to senior management have also been gradual – but purposeful all the same. It is important to spend one’s time on improving skills what would lead to being prepared when advancement opportunities arise. There are some things that are learned through the challenges that are encountered on the job, and it’s how you respond to those challenges that prepares you for leadership positions.My personal career path was as a business analyst in a corporate library, to coordinator for project research, to supervisor of technical services, to instruction librarian, to acting director of a branch library, to director of a departmental library, to university librarian.

Having been involved in two significant library renovations also prepared me for my current position in which I was responsible for the planning of a new library that opened last fall.

Most people conclude their education with one or more Masters degrees, yet you’re completing a doctorate program in education. What made you decide to enroll in the program? How have you balanced the demands of the program with your work both in your library and in professional associations?

I’m a perpetual student, whether it’s formal or informal education. When I got into library administration, I decided that having a doctorate would give me more options as I continued in my career. A degree in education seemed to offer more options in the academic environment than one in library science since I was not interested in joining the

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 28

full-time faculty of a library school program. The doctoral program in the Peabody School at Vanderbilt University permitted me to do a lot of what I would call “doubledipping.” I tailored my responses to many assignments toward things that I could use in real life. I investigated applications that would improve library service or management; I studied the impact of changes in technology and collections on faculty satisfaction; I studied the impact of diversity training on reference service; I analyzed the impact of fund-raising techniques for my library. As for the demands of SLA, while I’ve served in many leadership and non-leadership capacities, I truly believe that my association with SLA has still given me more than I’ve given to SLA. That’s one of the major reasons that I felt it was necessary to step up and accept the nomination to become SLA President. I don’t know that I will ever be able to “give back” enough, but I can at least do this.

One sees the realism of this statement when looking at past SLA Presidents who are currently continuing to serve in the Association: they’re leaders in chapters and divisions, serving on committees, and chairing conferences.

When did you first join SLA and what made you decide to join? What other professional memberships have you had?

I joined SLA as a Library School student because I was interested in working in corporate libraries and I saw the continuing education opportunities at SLA as critical to my success in that arena. There was a very active SLA student group at UT-Austin. When I became an academic library director, I joined ALA, but I’ve not become active in ALA committees or governance.

What was your first leadership role in SLA and what was it like? What made you decide to take on leadership positions?

My very first leadership position was as Publications Chair of the Engineering Division. At that point, however, the only thing that was being published by the division was a membership list and that information was supplied by HQ, so it wasn’t too difficult – just time consuming. The next position I held, this time for the Business & Finance Division, was as Membership Chair. In this capacity, I welcomed new members each month with a personal letter and materials about the Division (back in the days when everything was still done in print). I also surveyed those who chose not to renew their membership to determine whether or not there was anything that the Division could have done or should have done to have kept that member actively engaged in the Association. At that point in my career, service to the profession was part of my performance review, and both of these early leadership positions were an excellent way to demonstrate that I was active professionally.

Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect What other positions have you held within SLA? Is there one that you’re especially proud of?

I’ve had the privilege of serving in a number of leadership positions within SLA. On the association level: PresidentElect. Candidate. 2010, 2007 Annual Conference Committee. Co-Chair. 2005-2007, Board of Directors.

2003-2006.2006 Annual Conference Committee. 2004-2006, Endowment Fund Grants Committee. 2003-2006,Division Cabinet Chair. 2004-2006, Awards & Honors Committee.

2004-2006,2005 Annual Conference Committee. 2003-2005, Division Cabinet Chair-Elect. 2003-2004, Finance Committee. 1999-2003, 2001 Annual Conference Programming Committee. 2000-2001. On the division level: Academic Division-Editorial Board, Journal of Academic Librarianship. 2009-present, Business and Finance Division-Centers of Excellence Awards Committee. 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, Nominations Committee. Chair.

2002-2003, Liaison to American Library Association – BRASS. 2002, 2007, Awards Committee. Chair.

2001-2002, Executive Board Member. 1997-2002, PastChair. 2001-2002, Chair. 2000-2001, Chair-Elect.

1999-2000, Treasurer. 1997-1999, Nominations Committee.

1997-1998, College and University Business Libraries Roundtable Coordinator. 1997-1998, Advisory Board Member. 1995-1997, Membership Committee. Chair.

1995-1997, Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition DivisionStrategic Planning Committee. 1995-1997,Engineering Division-Publications Committee. Chair. 1993-1995. On the chapter level:Indiana Chapter-Treasurer. 1996-2000, Local Planning Group for 1998 Annual Conference.

1997-1998. I don’t know that “proud” is what I would call it, but it was very personally rewarding to work with the 1998 (Indianapolis), 2001 (San Antonio), 2005 (Toronto), 2006 (Baltimore), and 2007 (Denver) Conference Planning Committees. It was a real pleasure to help structure these events to meet our members’ professional needs at the time.

I got to work first as a planner for one division, then as a coordinator for several divisions, then as conference co-chair with all of the divisions. I met and worked with literally hundreds of fabulous and talented individuals in our profession – all with a common goal of serving the needs of the members.

What made you decide to run for SLA President?

The confidence that the members of the Nominating Committee had in choosing me as a nominee was a significant factor in my willingness to even consider it, as they requested. Upon reflection, I saw this as yet another opportunity for me to give back to the group that has been so instrumental in my career development. The fact that my wife was immediately supportive is another deciding factor!

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 29

What can you uniquely bring to the position?

The previous question inquired of my experience with SLA. Of course, no one else has exactly the same background and experience that I do – and each candidate brings something unique to the table. Whether these experiences are significantly unique will have to be determined by each member as they investigate our backgrounds and our contributions to the association.

In your video on SLA TV you mention four visions for SLAhow do you plan to go about achieving these visions during your tenure as SLA President?

They are visions which are broad in scope, but critical to maintaining and strengthening the successes that SLA has brought to its members, individually and collectively. The only way that these visions can be accomplished is with the help of my SLA colleagues. It will take a combination of task forces, committees, and ambassadors to carry out some of these visions – which I anticipate would become an inherent part of SLA culture in the future.

Every president has a theme for the year of their presidency, have you given any thought to what your theme might be?

As a nominee for SLA leadership, I’ve had an opportunity to listen-in on several Board conference calls. It became quickly evident that SLA has some significant fiscal issues which must be confronted, and wise management of SLA’s financial resources will be occupying a significant amount of time in the immediate future. As these decisions are being made, it will be paramount for all involved to “keep your eye on the

Mai attending one of the open houses at the 2010 SLA Conference. (c) The Photo Group 2010 - All rights reserved.

Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect What do you do in your spare time?

My children (17, 15, 13) and their activities occupy the majority of my “spare” time. I am also active with my local congregation.

Although a certain amount of this activity is not part of my official responsibilities as the Director of the Center for Volga German Studies, I do a lot of research and translating of all things Volga German (check OCLC!). [The Volga Germans were a group of Central Europeans who immigrated to the Volga River region around the city of Saratov under the invitation of Catherine the Great, beginning in 1764. They developed a unique German/ Russian culture that lasted until Stalin had them deported to Siberia in 1941.]

Mai and Stern met with many members during the 2010 SLA Conference. (c) The Photo Group 2010 - All rights reserved. prize” – support of SLA members in their personal career development, enhancement, and advancement is what SLA is about. So, if I have to identify a theme for my presidency, I’d say that “Keep Your Eye on the Prize” would be it.

How has your work with SLA over the years helped you grow in the profession?

Simply put, I would not be where I am now in my career if it were not for SLA! As a Library School Student, SLA provided guidance in my job search. As my career began, SLA’s continuing education opportunities (local and association-wide) provided me with valuable knowledge that helped me meet the information needs of the organizations for which I worked. As I matured in my career, my SLA leadership experience gave me a valuable skill set that I could also use on the job. I’ve got a lot of work years ahead of me, and I anticipate, in fact expect, that SLA will be there to support me as my career continues to develop.

Where do you see the profession in the next 5 years? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates that the employment of librarians is expected to grow 8 percent over the next decade as private corporations, nonprofit organizations, and consulting firms turn to us for our exceptional research and organizational skills and our knowledge of computer databases and management software. The Bureau uses the widest possible definition of the term librarian and includes information brokers, systems analysts, database specialists and trainers, webmasters and web developers, and local area network coordinators. It is these positions as nontraditional “librarians” where there will be the fastest growth, and this is prime recruiting territory for SLA. In an earlier question, I advised others to “keep your options open,” and I would recommend that same strategy for myself.

I’ve chosen a career path in the academic world and employment opportunities in that environment are changing, just like in all others. My responsibilities will undoubtedly change and new opportunities will arise. I will have the collective outlook of my SLA colleagues to guide my recognition of those opportunities and prepare me to take advantage of them.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 30

What’s the most recent book you’ve read? What’s your favorite book and what makes it your favorite?

I’m currently reading Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. After the Bible, I have many favorite books depending upon whether they are for work or or education or reference or entertainment or pleasure. In 2004 at the Nashville Conference, I used one of my favorite books as the theme for one of the SLA Leadership Development Institute that I chaired along with Patricia Cia: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. Yes, perhaps it offers an overly simplistic approach to answering those often ethereal questions of life, but it reminds us to focus on the underlying basics for the foundation of our decision making. As I noted above, with a conceptual theme of Keeping Your Eye on the Prize, this foundation will serve us well as we transition through this economic turbulence into a “new and improved” SLA that focuses even more purposefully on assisting its members in their career development, enhancement, and advancement.

When there’s a book you want to read do you usually go to the library, a bookstore, or download it to an ebook reader?

I already have a house full of books and in recent years have changed my habit of buying everything that I want to read personally. Now you’re more likely to find me checking out books from the university library or from my local public library.

What do you think of ebooks?

I still like to hold the old fashioned book in my hand when I’m reading. However, the ebook has some very enticing features, the most enticing of which is that it’s smaller and lighter particularly when you’re traveling.At Concordia, the main campus library has been charged with the task of supporting not only on-campus students, but also the on-ground students that we have at our campuses in Bend, Klamath Falls, and Medford (all in Oregon, but many hours from Portland) – without benefit of onsite staff or collections. The only option available for supporting the curricular and research needs of the students there was to build an online collection of books as well as journals. We currently have around 80,000 ebooks in our collection. Their use has been going up at a steadily increasing rate and I anticipate that this trend will continue.

Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect David Stern, Knowledge Management Consultant with Maximize Information It looks like your early background was in biology, what prompted your interest in library science?

I was working toward a Ph.D. in History & Philosophy of Science, and decided to take a few courses in research methods at the library school. I found the process of research very interesting.

What do you think the most important lesson you learned from library school was? What’s the most important thing library programs can impart on recent graduates today?

I believe that library school provides the theoretical underpinning required to effectively analyze and create a good search strategy, to maximize the available resources, and to organize and re-purpose your gathered information.

What sort of advice would you give to professionals in their first library related position who might be interested in nontraditional career paths?

Explore as many aspects of the industry as possible – talk to vendors, librarians in other environments, and non-traditional researchers to understand their needs.

What advice do you have for members in the midpoint of their careers?

Look for new trends, new tools, new techniques … and explore as many things as you can in order to remain relevant as user needs and expectations change.

You’re currently the founder of Maximize Information but it looks like your first library position was as an academic reference librarian. Which of your previous positions would you say prepared you the most for owning your own company? What was the transition like and what made you decide to go for it?

All of my positions have been training grounds for my new endeavor. From some I have developed better research skills, others have provided management and leadership experience, and still others have provided financial experience. I thought it was time to do something more exciting than pure administration.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 31

David Stern You were the editor of Science and Technology Libraries, can you talk a little about that position and the work you did? What advice do you have for professionals interested in getting involved in publishing and editing?

The most important part of editing is consolidating material down to demonstrate only what is important, novel, and helpful for the readership. Every manuscript must be viewed from the attitude of “So What?” --deliver a few key concepts and what this means for the future. Evidence based material must support the premise and be handled appropriately; so many people miss-use statistical analysis.

You’ve presented at a myriad of conferences and professional meetings, what advice would you give to members interested in developing their speaking/ presenting skill set?

Use only a few slides, don’t overwhelm the audience with too many concepts, build enthusiasm for your main point, and use humor to connect with the audience.

Finally, don’t practice too much – you will come off flat.

Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect What made you deicide to run for SLA President? What can you uniquely bring to the position?

I agreed to run when asked. I bring a broad range of experiences within the entire industry (librarian, teacher, author/editor, consultant, speaker), an ability and willingness to listen, the joys and frustrations of many years of being an SLA member, and a vision of where we need to go as a profession to remain relevant in our rapidly changing world.

Stern speaking with 2010 SLA Conference Attendees during the Knowledge Management Cafe. (Photo by Karen Huffman)

When did you first join SLA and what made you decide to join? What other professional memberships have you had?

I joined SLA during library school; knowing I wanted to be a science librarian it was the logical group of professionals to help me develop my skills. I have been involved with most of the associations and conference organizations; it is where I expand my knowledge base by hearing of new trends, new explorations, and make contacts.

What was your first leadership role in SLA and what was it like? What made you decide to take on leadership positions?

My logical progression went from a roundtable convener and program planner to Chair of the P-A-M Division. Leadership results as a consequence of speaking up if you have ideas.

What other positions have you held within SLA? Is there one that you’re especially proud of?

My LDI experience resulted in my appointment to a few SLA committees, my term on the Board of Directors, and recently as a founding member and second Chair of the Knowledge Management Division.

I am equally proud of the work done by all the groups with whom I have worked.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 32

In your video on SLA TV you list several types of people in SLA (early adopters, later adopters, resistors, innovators, translators, mavens, connectors, persuaders) and talk about how all types are needed. Which type would you say best represents you and why?

I hope I have a healthy balance of each, as do most people. My natural nature is to try and explore in depth the underlying problems, work with others to find a best solution, delegate responsibility to the best equipped people, and communicate the goals and aspirations to everyone in the organization.

Every president has a theme for the year of their presidency, have you given any thought to what your theme might be?

That would be premature, especially as quickly as our profession changes. Perhaps something along the lines of adapting and providing a competitive advantage.

How has your work with SLA over the years helped you grow in the profession?

It has provided me with a risk-free environment to learn how to better communicate, coordinate, persuade, and explore the many aspects of the information network.

Where do you see the profession in the next 5 years?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I imagine we will move further into providing advanced knowledge sharing skills, and become more involved in R&D efforts, complementing the discovery tools and techniques we traditional offer. I hope to be doing something dynamic and exciting, but really cannot imagine in what realm it might be.

Q & A with the Candidates for 2011 SLA President-Elect

Voting will begin on 8 September and close on 29 September.

Stern holding an eel while scuba diving.

(Photo provided by David Stern)

What do you do in your spare time?

Ski, sail, tennis, SCUBA, read, and hack on a guitar.

What’s the most recent book you’ve read?

What’s your favorite book and what makes it your favorite?

I just finished The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter, a fascinating mystery by a law professor at Yale. I think Galatea 2.2 and The Gold Bug Variations, both by Richard Powers, are great reads that discuss topics of deep interest for librarians.

When there’s a book you want to read do you usually go to the library, a bookstore, or download it to an ebook reader? What do you think of ebooks?

My household owns far too many books, but I do utilize the library for materials I missed when they were first published. I have read ebooks on my iPhone, as well as listened to audio books – they are great for traveling.

Is there anything I didn’t ask that you’d like to talk about?

My favorite color, the air speed velocity of an African swallow?

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 33

To learn more about the candidates see their video statements on SLA TV at http://tinyurl.com/ 29nbd5r DC/SLA will also be having a virtual Meet the Candidates on Tuesday 31 August from 6:30p.m.-8:30p.m. SLA Headquarters (331 S. Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 ) will be hosting. This event is free but please RSVP Mary Talley at dcslaprograms@gmail.com

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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 34

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates It’s Time to Vote!

The SLA voting season is upon us but, sadly, less than one in five members (on average) will take the time to vote this year. That minority of voters determines who runs our association and our chapter, which affects who plans our programs, manages our budget, sets the future direction for the chapter and association, and basically ensures that we get value out of our SLA membership. Make the difference this year and VOTE!!

The 2011 DC/SLA Board of Directors election runs from 13 September until midnight on 1 October. As you will see in this issue, we have a stellar slate of members running for the board this year!All of the credit for this great slate of candidates goes to our Nominating Committee, led by Diane Schnurrpusch and includes Greta Ober-Beauchesne, Lynne McCay, and Rosa Liu. Beth Kirton-Crane is our Election Committee chair and is already preparing the online ballot. If you have any questions about the election or would like to receive a paper ballot, please contact Beth at bkirtoncrane@yahoo.com or 703-749-1199.

On a separate ballot, SLA’s International 2011 Board of Directors Election runs from 8 September to 29 September. Given the tough decisions facing the association in the coming years (as described at the closing general session), the leaders being elected NOW will play a crucial role in deciding what direction is taken regarding benefits, services, and programs that our association offers. Our chapter is once again represented in the SLA slate of candidates so please, before voting, please take DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 35

the time to review information about each of these candidates: • Meet the Candidates: [http://tinyurl.com/2fj3wrx] • Candidates Corner [http://tinyurl.com/2urw9yy] • SLA-TV Candidates Videos [http://tinyurl.com/ 29nbd5r] We have also planned a special networking time at SLA HQ to meet with the two SLA Presidential candidates on 31 August..Who we choose as our leaders has a big impact on the future of our Association and Chapter so please take the time to vote in September!

DC/SLA’s 2011 Board Candidates First Vice President/PresidentElect: Kari Anderson, Lois Ireland Second Vice-President: Julia Leggett, Lea Wade Director: Layla Voll Heimlich, Victor Monti Communications Director: Jamie Peacock, Chris Vestal Recording Secretary: Stacy Bruss, Gretchen Sauvey Treasurer: Carol Jacobson, Hannah Sommers

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates First Vice-President/President-Elect Kari Anderson Currently between opportunities, Anderson was most recently Vice President for Client Services and before that Client Services Manager at the LAC Group, an information services staffing and consulting firm where she managed projects, developed and maintained client relations, and placed and mentored contract staff. Previous positions include Information Services Manager at the Head Start Information and Publication Center, Member Services Librarian at the CAPCON Library Network (now OCLC Eastern), and Librarian at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. She has also been an academic librarian, a public librarian, and (briefly) a high school librarian. She received her MA in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Anderson has served on the DC/SLA Scholarship Committee for the past four years and is currently Chair. She is also on the Professional Enhancement and Program Planning committees. She served on the Chapter Student Affiliation and Employment Committees and the Social Sciences Group.

Statement of Interest: I am honored to be nominated for President-Elect of DC/SLA. I’ve been a Chapter member for over 20 years and in that time have benefitted enormously from the high-quality programs and the unparalleled networking opportunities. The DC Chapter’s diverse and talented membership is both an advantage – a deep pool of talent to draw on – and a challenge – meeting the professional development needs of the full range of librarianship, and while the DC area tends to fare better in economic downturns the current one is all too real to too many of our members. If elected, I will focus on programs and events that give members a range of opportunities to develop their skill sets by learning from others and participating in program planning, build relationships that will foster job performance and professional development, and provide tools and encouragement to promote the value of librarians within the organization.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 36

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates First Vice-President/President-Elect Lois Ireland

Ireland is Manager, Library & Business Information Services at Freddie Mac, a position she has held and grown since 1997, and one which includes management of the corporate library as well as multimedia services. Prior to that, she spent 7 years on contract at the US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, with over 5 years as Head Librarian of the HQ Information Resource Center. She also worked three years as a reference librarian at a public library in Fayetteville, NC and a year as a corporate librarian for an engineering firm in New Jersey. Ireland has a BA in history from Washington College in Chestertown, MD, and an MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ireland is currently serving as a Director (2009-2010) for the DC/SLA chapter.

Statement of interest: I have actively participated on the Chapter Board this year as vendor relations director, and would look forward to continuing my involvement as 1st Vice President/ President-Elect. Participation in SLA offers unique networking and educational opportunities, and it will be a fun challenge to develop programs that interest and excite our members.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 37

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Second Vice-President Julia Leggett

Leggett is currently the Acquisitions Librarian in the Office of Finance & Administration of the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress (2005– present). Previous work experience includes Copyright Acquisitions Librarian at the U.S. Copyright Office (1999-2004) and Leadership Development Fellow at the Library of Congress (2004-2005).

Leggett earned degrees from Beijing International Studies University and George Mason University. She holds an MSLS from the Catholic University of America.

Previous DC/SLA volunteering experience includes: Chapter Notes Business Manager (2006-2007) and Membership Director (2008-2009).

Statement of Interest: I am honored to be nominated to run for the 2nd vice president's position. I have enjoyed volunteering for DC/SLA in the past few years and look forward to making further contributions to the future success of our Chapter. I believe in this simple formula for success: Ideas + Enthusiasm + Actions = Results. I would like to apply this formula in my work to serve our Chapter and make it SLA's most dynamic chapter.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 38

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Second Vice-President Lea Wade

Wade is the Senior Librarian and Program Manager for the Department of Homeland Security. Her role is to develop policy to coordinate the collaboration and consolidation of information resources within the Department, and to guide change management to a successful outcome. She has also held leadership positions for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, NIST, NOAA, and universities in Louisiana and Texas.

Wade has a BA in English from Centenary College of Louisiana and her Masters from The University of Texas at Austin.

In the 20 years of professional librarian experience, she has been active on committees for SLA and ALA, including policy and planning committees. Within DC-SLA, she has been the newsletter editor, listserv administrator, elections chair, and dine-around coordinator.

Statement of interest: I would like to further my participation in the DC chapter by becoming the 2nd Vice President. I have become familiar with chapter governance and procedures, and feel qualified to administer and monitor the chapter records. I thank the Board for the opportunity.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 39

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Director Layla Voll Heimlich

Voll Heimlich is a medical reference librarian at the Washington Hospital Center, and has been an active member of DC SLA since she moved to DC after graduating from library school in 2007. She has served the chapter as chair of the non-fiction book club (for two terms), and chair of the elections committee. She was also co-chair of the hospitality committee, which she serves on this year as a member and helped to coordinate one of the popular “speed mentoring” events. At the national level, she served as a member of the Biomedical Division’s professional development committee, and is currently chair of the Medical Section of the Biomedical Division, where her responsibilities include organizing the section’s annual conference program.

Voll Heimlich received an MLIS from the Pratt Institute in New York, and a BA in modern European History from Harvard University. Prior to becoming a librarian, she worked in editing and publishing in New York City. She is also involved in volunteer literacy work as an adult literacy tutor through the Washington Literacy Council, and as the National Chairman of Literacy Promotion for the Daughters of the American Revolution, where her duties include fundraising, volunteer coordination, and program planning.

Statement of Interest: When I moved to DC to start my career as a librarian, I immediately joined DC/SLA, because I wanted to meet other librarians in the area and to continue my professional education. The wide range of programming provided by the chapter is a wonderful resource for information professionals at all stages of their careers. I am honored to be nominated as a candidate for Director, to help the Chapter help others the way it has helped me.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 40

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Director Victor Monti

Born and reared in New York City, Monti holds a B.A. in International Affairs from Vassar College. He holds his M.L.S. from Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, where he served as a graduate assistant to the Library Science Department and managed the Media Lab. Monti most recently has been a Federal government contractor for the Departments of Education, the Air Force and the Army where he supports Chief Information Officers and IT programs and provides knowledge management services. Past positions include reference Librarian at the Pentagon Library, Library Liaison at the Air Force Centennial of Flight Office, Air Force Officer (Lieutenant Colonel), high school physical sciences teacher, and head librarian at a public library. He has also volunteered at Bolling AFB Library, Charles County Community College Library, and University of Maryland Library (Government Documents).

Monti’s SLA Experience includes: Chair of the DC/SLA Military Librarians group, Chair of the International Relations Committee Managing International Special Librarians Day celebration and instituting UN Week event), and Dine Around Coordinator.

Statement of Interest: I am fortunate to be a member of a vital professional library association chapter and privileged to be considered as a board member.

Ever since I worked three years as an undergraduate library assistant I knew that libraries and the information available there was what my life was about. While my career has gone in many unexpected directions, I have always received fulfillment from my DC chapter activities; both as a participant and leader of many groups, events and committees.

As a board member, I would align my goals and efforts with those of the association and chapter presidents.

Further, I would complement the chapter mission with my own concern of understanding and advancing the use of new technologies for information use. Additionally during these difficult and transitioning times, I would place added emphasis on matching talented chapter members with appropriate open positions.

I am excited about the opportunity to serve SLA and the DC chapter. I expect to contribute to the value of association membership to all in the chapter.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 41

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Communications Secretary Jamie Peacock Peacock is an Information Technology Specialist within the National Library of Medicine’s Specialized Information Services (SIS). Peacock currently heads the SIS social media working-group responsible for exploring possible uses of social networking technology to meet the expectations of the Open Government Directive.

Peacock has a BA in British and American Literature from the New College of Florida and an MLS in Information Sciences from the University of Maryland College Park.

Statement of Interest: After serving last year as the President of the University of Maryland SLA Student Group, I know first-hand that shouldering responsibility in SLA can be very rewarding.

While president, I built a popular social networking site for iSchool students on the Ning platform. I also partnered with other student officers to do SLA outreach through monthly happy hours and informative chat sessions. Currently, I am collaborating with the current SLA Student Group President to develop strategies for using Facebook and Hootsuite to organize and disseminate information important to the university’s iSchool population.

If elected, I will continue to efficiently promote major chapter events, to maintain an accurate and upto-date website roster, and to enable the smooth functioning of electronic discussion lists. Additionally, I would like to explore using new media to augment the Association’s mission to provide communications channels that effectively connect its many members.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 42

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Communications Secretary Chris Vestal Vestal works for ASRC Management Services in Washington, D.C., supporting its contract with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He supervises a team of five researchers and assists patent examiners.

Vestal has a BS in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MLIS from Drexel University.

Vestal joined SLA in 2006 and is currently editor-in-chief of the DC/ SLA newsletter, an Alignment Ambassador, and a member of the SLA Public Relations Advisory Council. Vestal was honored by SLA with the Rising Star Award in 2010.

Statement of Interest: I'd like be DC/SLA's next Communications Secretary for one of the same reasons I decided to become a librarian - I love sharing information! I believe that in order to have an active and successful chapter the size of DC/SLA we really need to engage our members and share information about chapter activities. One of the primary responsibilities of the Communications Secretary is to do just that and be the Chapter's "info pro". With the rise of social networking technology the Communications Secretary also has a host of new tools to elicit member feedback (to improve future events) or widen an events' audience by facilitating virtual attendance. I've played a part in engaging members via social networking tools with my various roles in the Chapter, for example: • As editor of Chapter Notes, I created a planning survey for DC/SLA members focused just on our newsletter.

Based off the feedback we instituted a number of changes including adding new sections on upcoming events, adding reoccurring columns focused on professional development, and including more member contributed photos in each issue.

• I suggested creating a Youtube account for the chapter and have worked with other members to record video of events and post them to the chapter's group (http://www.youtube.com/group/cdcsla) • I created the chapter's first Twitter account (http://twitter.com/sladc) • I've worked with other members on the Communications/Marketing Committee to integrate our current

communication platforms and redesign the chapter's events calendar.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 43

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Recording Secretary Stacy Bruss

Bruss has worked as a research librarian at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD since March 2009. Stacy has been a member of DC/SLA since starting her MSIS program at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville in Fall 2008 and from which she graduated in December 2009. In her previous career, she has been officer and director of student and local chapters of the Health Physics Society and the American Industrial Hygiene Association. In her free time, Bruss is the president of her local Kiwanis club and actively volunteers in the Northern Virginia and DC communities.

Statement of Interest: Throughout my career as an engineer and now a librarian, I know the power and importance of professional societies. DC/SLA is special to me as I began attending its events the first week I lived in DC (and the first week of my very first job in a special library). DC/ SLA has furthered my professional education, not only through interacting with its members, but also in awarding me a scholarship as I was pursuing my MSIS. I look forward to this opportunity to give back to DC/SLA and its members by being the Recording Secretary.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 44

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Recording Secretary Gretchen Sauvey

Sauvey is a Knowledge Management Specialist at the United States Institute of Peace. Previous positions include Research Assistant, Jeanette Rankin Library United States Institute of Peace; Program Assistant, Association of American Colleges and Universities; and Government Documents Aide, Marquette University Law Library.

Sauvey has an M.L.I.S. from Catholic University of America and a B.A. in Political Science and French from Marquette University.

She is currently chair of the DC SLA non-fiction book club; member of the DC SLA Students and Young Professionals group; DC SLA member since 2008; ALA member; member of Beta Phi Mu, IOTA Chapter (DC).

Statement of Interest: I have always admired the fact that DC has such a thriving community of librarians who provide education, support, and fellowship to other members of the profession. Personally, I have received many benefits from the activities of DC SLA and it would be an honor to be able to assist the chapter to continue its excellent work.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 45

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Treasurer Carol E. Jacobson Jacobson has been employed by the Defense Technical Information Center for 30 years, and has held a variety of positions including Acting Director, Deputy Director, Project Teams Manager, Technical Information Specialist and Administrative Librarian in the Directorate of Information Science and Technology; Chief of the Products and Services Division in the Directorate of User Services; and Operations Research Analyst (DTIC-DE). She is currently the Deputy Director in the Directorate of Information Science and Technology. Before coming to DTIC, Carol was the Chief of the White Oak Division Library at the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

Jacobson holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; a Master’s of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park; a Master’s of Public Administration from George Washington University, Washington, DC; and a Master’s of Business Administration (with an area of concentration in Information Systems Management) from George Washington University, Washington, DC. She is an active member of the Special Libraries Association and has served in a variety of leadership positions at the Chapter (Treasurer of the DC Chapter) and Division (Chair, Director, Director at Large of the Military Libraries Division) levels. She is a past recipient of the Military Libraries Division’s Distinguished Service Award. Jacobson is also a member of the American Library Association. She is an active volunteer in the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital where she currently serves as a Service Unit Manager, Association Chair, Co-Association Cookie Chair and Member of the Gold Award Panel.

Statement of Interest: I am running for treasurer because I am interested in helping with the financial aspects of the Chapter. A number of years ago, I served as treasurer of the Chapter, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I have also served as a treasurer of my children’s high school PTSA.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 46

Special Section: Meet the DC/SLA 2011 Board Candidates Treasurer

Hannah Sommers

Sommers has been a member of SLA since 2001 and a member of the DC Chapter since 2004.

She has served as a mentor at Speed Mentoring events in 2009 and 2010, and since March 2010 has served as Chapter Treasurer.

For the past five years she has worked in the audio archives at National Public Radio (NPR) where she performs audio research for producers and reporters, and indexes NPR content. She’s also heavily involved in improving NPR’s internal taxonomy and serves on a crossdivisional team to implement NPR’s first digital asset management system.

Sommers received her MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002 and was a legal research librarian prior to joining NPR. Between undergraduate and graduate studies, she spent two years in China's Sichuan province teaching English to college students. When she's not at work, she writes the profiles column for the SLA News Division's quarterly newsletter, and ponders home improvement projects.

Statement of interest: Having filled in as Chapter Treasurer on a temporary basis since March, I would be pleased to continue my service to the chapter for a full term. Despite challenging economic circumstances, the chapter remains on steady financial ground thanks to the commitment of the membership and board members, including the treasurer team. I look forward to continuing the good work already in progress.

DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 47

Jackson Square was a New Orleans must see (Photo by Chris Vestal) DC/SLA Chapter Notes | July/August 2010 | pg 48

Cafe Du Monde stays open and busy all night. (Photo by Margaret Hawes)