DC/SLA Chapter Notes - July/August 2001

DC/SLA

| About Us

Page 1 of 12

| Events

| Chapter Newsletter

| Communication

| Homepage |

July/August 2001 Volume 60, No. 11/12 Table of Contents z z z z z z z z z z z z z

Come Meet Our New Members and SLA's New Executive Director Evening Meeting "Knowledge Management: Communities of Practice" Celebrate a Happy New Year with Roberta Schaffer‌!

President's Corner DC/SLA Chapter Board Kudos!

Special Invitation FLICC Program on Digital Libraries U.S. Supreme Court Decision Could Impact Information Professionals SLA 2001 Program Highlights Mini-Minutes of the DC/SLA Board Meeting DC/SLA Closing Banquet Photos SLA Conference 2001 - President's Reception

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. Chapter Notes is free to DC/SLA members. Subscriptions to nonmembers are available at $10 per year. Advertising rates effective September 1997 are: $95 - 1/4 page; $175 - 1/2 page; $290 - full page.

For information regarding advertisements, Contact the DC/SLA Chapter Notes Business Manager: Mari-Jana O. Phelps Phone 703-361-2305; e-mail: mphelps@pwcgov.org EDITORS' NOTE: Friday, August 17 is the deadline for materials which can be included in the

From the Editor's Desk The Chapter Notes editors are eager to hear from you. If you would like to: z z

z

submit an article provide a report on a recent conference or workshop event share an idea for a Chapter Notes features or column

Please forward your suggestions, submissions, and ideas to cneditors@yahoo.com

Come Meet Our New Members and SLA's New Executive Director WHEN: Monday, September 24, 2001 6:00-8:00 pm WHERE: U.S. Navy Memorial And Naval Heritage Center 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 123 (Metro exit - Archives-Navy Memorial on Green/Yellow Line or walk from Gallery Place exit - 7th Street/MCI Center side - on Red Line) WHAT: Cash Bar, Heavy hors d'oeuvres Socializing and conversation with new members Introduction of the new SLA Executive Director WHO: Roberta Shaffer, new SLA Executive Director Roberta I. Shaffer is the new executive director-designate of the Special Libraries Association. She will officially assume her new duties on September 4, 2001.

Chapter new members since Jan. 2001 PRICE: Members $15.00; Students $7.50; Retirees $7.50 New Members - FREE (remember to RSVP so we know who you are!)

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

September 2001 issue. The issue is distributed approximately three weeks after the deadline. The preferred submission format is a Word document sent via e-mail.

Materials for Chapter Notes should be sent to all of the editors: Marie Kaddell, LexisNexis, 1150 Eighteenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036; phone 202/857-8223; fax 202/857-8233; marie.kaddell@lexisnexis.com Betty Landesman, U.S. Customs Service Library/PTFS, Inc., Information Resources Center, Room 7.5B, 1300 Penssylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20229; phone 202/927-1616; fax 202/927-1460; bettyindc@yahoo.com Jan Alfieri, Fundraising Resource Center, The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) formerly NSFRE, 1101 King Street, Suite 700, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone 703/519-8458; fax 703/6840540; jalfieri@afpnet.org Event announcements should also be submitted electronically to the DC/SLA Internet Committee chair and discussion list moderator: Liz Farley, (List Moderator) International Monetary Fund, 700 19th Street, N.W, Washington, DC, 20431;phone 02/623-7042; efarley@cais.com

Page 2 of 12

Registration Form: Name:

Print-ready Registration Form

_________________________________________________

Organization: ____________________________________________ Phone: ____________________

E-mail: _____________________

Payment Method: ___ Check

______

Visa/Mastercard

If paying by credit card, include: Card number ___________________________________ Card Type

_____

Expiration Date:

Visa

____

Mastercard

________________

Name on Card: __________________________________ Signature: ______________________________________ (Due to fees incurred, all payments made by credit card will be non-refundable.

Payments must be made in advance. No credit card payments will be accepted at the door.)

Please send completed form and payment to: Barbara Folensbee-Moore, Library Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP 1800 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 All registrations must be received by Wednesday, September 19, 2001.

Kristina Lively, (Webmaster) National Endowment for Democracy; 202/293-0300; fax 202/293-0258; kristina@ned.org, Send address changes for Chapter Notes to: SLA Headquarters, ATTN: Address/Name Changes, 1700 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC 200092508.

Don't forget to visit the DC/SLA Virtual Chapter Website at www.sla.org/chapter/cdc for: z

z z z z

Upcoming Event Listings and Announcements Chapter Board and Committee Information Chapter Notes Chapter Discussion Lists Other Great Chapter Resources

Top of Page

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 3 of 12

Evening Meeting "Knowledge Management: Communities of Practice"

Celebrate a Happy New Year with Roberta Schaffer‌!

The Military Librarians Group of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Special Libraries Association will kick off its 2001-2002 program year with a provocative panel discussion on "Knowledge Management: Communities of Practice" on Wednesday, September 12, 2001 from 6:00 - 8:30 pm at the U.S. Navy Heritage Center, N.W. 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 123, Washington, D.C.

This is not a typo, but rather a way to welcome a new year of programs, neighborhood dinners, inspiring thinkers, hot topics, library tours and celebrity speakers for DC/SLA. We are kicking off the new program year by welcoming SLA's new Executive Director, Roberta Schaffer, who is returning to Washington and is a good friend of the DC Chapter.

The moderated panel will include 3 speakers who will discuss Knowledge Management practices and possibilities. Ann Cashin, librarian at the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technical Center, and Gretchen Schlag of the Defense Technical Information Center have confirmed their participation.

Cost is $10 and includes treats from Just Desserts from 6-6:30, to be followed by the panel discussion in the President's Room.

Register by Saturday, September 8, 2001 to Diane Schnurrpusch, 5836 Oakland Park Dr., Burke, VA 22015. Make checks payable to DC/SLA.

Roberta will host an open discussion of her new position with SLA and would love to meet and talk with chapter members, both new and not so new. Join Roberta and the DC/SLA officers and board at a welcome reception and open discussion on Monday, September 24, 2001 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Navy Memorial.

This is also our new member reception, so come if you are new to the chapter; we are waiving the reception fee for you. Attend and begin those great networking connections, volunteer to help our chapter and enjoy a great evening of discussion and fun. Come if you are not new and make the newcomers welcome, volunteer for activities and give us your good ideas.

The Military Library Group is also sponsoring a tour of the Freedom Forum Library and a visit to the Newseum's "War Stories" exhibit at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 13, 2001. A dutch-treat lunch at a restaurant in Rosslyn will follow. Mark your calendars now and watch for details in the next issue.

For more information on either of the above events, contact Diane Schnurrpusch at 703-767-8022 or dschnurr@dtic.mil.

Top of Page

President's Corner This is the Right Time

By Sue O'Neill Johnson, DC/SLA President If you have been waiting for the right time to become active in SLA, you may be in luck. The right time is NOW. Thanks to very able Chapter presidents who have come before me, we are in a strong position to provide library and information science leadership at several levels in the Washington D.C. area, the U.S., and internationally.

Your participation in Chapter activities provides many benefits. These returns include: the personal and professional rewards of networking, friendships, resume building, management skill development, and the satisfaction to doing something useful for others.

Send me (sueojohnson@msn.com), or anyone involved with an activity, an e-mail with your interests and we'll see how you can participate. I have listed some contacts below to get you started: Anne Caputo, Program Chair and President Elect, is already putting together what promises to be an outstanding group of professional development and social programs for our "year," which goes from September through May. Be

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 4 of 12

sure and come to programs, and send Anne your ideas. Barbara Folensbee-Moore has taken on the exceedingly important post of Hospitality Chair. The first event, in September, will give you a chance to meet the multi-talented new Executive Director of SLA, Roberta Shaffer. And now you can pay for events with your credit card, a process we are testing, that we think will simplify making reservations.

Becky Milton and Marcelle Saint Arnaud lead the Chapter's International Projects Committee. We will continue our support for 25 Global 2000 Fellows from 22 developing countries. We selected them, we funded them, we mentored them, we provided them with SLA memberships, and now we have set up a web site and listserv for communicating with them and others about international issues. We would like to expand the numbers of SLA members from developing countries. Can your company sponsor a member for $115 per year? The benefits are that you will be providing information for a whole community of people needing access to library and information science knowledge.

They in turn will share knowledge with us and with each other. Reputations and careers can be built this way.

Back in Washington, Maureen Booth and Kenlee Ray, a DC/SLA Director, will lead a major effort to select and provide support for a library in the DC Community. Can you help them? We will also increase and promote giving free short, consulting sessions to Washington businesses as they deal with the changes brought about from the proliferation of end user Internet searching. Lynne McCay, winner of the Chapters' President's Award this year, will lead that effort. Let her know if you are interested in working on this.

Roberta Geier will build on the foundations of our continuing student support program, and organize a young professionals group downtown. Let her know if you want to work on this.

We have a new set of talented Newsletter editors, Marie Kaddell, Editor in Chief, Betty Landesman, and Jan Alfiari.

Do you like to write? If so, please contact them. In a new feature, I am planning to draw attention to innovative Chapter members whose outstanding qualities represent what is best in our field. I call them "Innovators in our Midst." Perhaps you have not even heard their names before, but there are people in our Chapter who are setting the standards and creating best practices as they manage the chaotic, changing environments in which we work.

Their approaches and ideas could work for you.

Anna McGowan, DC/SLA Senior Director, will head up a new committee studying the feasibility of moving toward our Chapter's dependence on electronic communications media. Let Anna know if you want to work with her, and your opinions on this hot topic. David Shumaker, Immediate Past President, will head up a Simplification Committee to look at our committee structure, and suggest changes that help to encourage volunteerism. Eileen Deegan and Amy Pass, winners of the Chapter Members of the Year Award this year, will head up a new committee to produce a new edition of the DC Library Directory. They are a great team, so please join them.

Top of Page

DC/SLA Chapter Board Any member of the Chapter is welcome to come to Board meetings, held at 6PM on the first Tuesday of the month at BNA HQ, 1231 25th Street, NW. To look up location details of Board members, please use the SLA web site, www.sla.org. Go into "Members Only," put in your SLA pin number, and access the Online Directory.

VOTING BOARD (Elected Chapter Officers)

ADVISORY BOARD/COMMITTEES

Listserv: Liz Farley, efarley@cais.com

President: Sue O'Neill Johnson, The World Bank, sueojohnson@msn.com

Archivist: Danna Bell-Russel, dbrussel@CapAccess.org

Membership: Greta OberBeauchesne, Greta@worldbank.org

Vice President/President-Elect: Anne Caputo, Factiva, Anne.Caputo@factiva.com Immediate Past President: David Shumaker, Mitre Corporation, Dshumake@mitre.org Second Vice President: Mandy Baldridge, Infocurrent Library Services, mbaldridge@infocurrent.com Recording Secretary: Erin Clougherty, Market Research.com, eclougherty@marketresearch.com

Awards: Joan Gervino, joan4844@aol.com Chapter Notes: Marie Kaddell, Editor in Chief; Marie.Kaddell@lexisnexis.com Betty Landesman, Editor; Bettyindc@Yahoo.Com Jan Alfieri, Editor, Jalfieri@Afpnet.org Communications Change Study Committee: Anna McGowan, amcgowan@cfsan.fda.gov

Public Relations/Community Fundraiser: Maureen Booth, boothm@aiamail.aia.org And Kenlee Ray, KenleeR@aol.com Simplification Study: David Shumaker, dshumake@mitre.org Strategic Plan: Anna McGowan, amcgowan@cfsan.fda.gov Students/Young Professionals/Professional Development: Roberta Geier, rgeier@nga.gov

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 5 of 12

Corresponding Secretary: Estelle Alexander, AARP, ealexander@aarp.org Treasurer: Catherine Kitchell, BNA, ckitchel@bna.com Senior Director: Anna McGowan, US FDA, amcgowan@cfsan.fda.gov Director: Kenlee Ray, Retired, World Bank, KenleeR@aol.com

Consultation: Lynne McCay, lmccay@crs.loc.gov DC Directory New Edition: Eileen Deegan, Edeegan@Pd.State.Gov Amy Pass, apass@opa.easterseals.org

Student Award: Kenlee Ray, KenleeR@aol.com Career Day: Meg McCully, McCully.Meg@bcg.com Web Master: Kristina Lively, kristina@ned.org DIVISION AFFILIATES

Government Relations: Frederick Heller, fheller@realtors.org

Business: Jennifer Boettcher, boettcher@gunet.georgetown.edu

Hospitality: Barbara FolensbeeMoore, bfolensbeemoore@morganlewis.com

Cataloging: Suzanne C. Pilsk, pilsks@sil.si.edu

International Projects: Becky Milton, Beckym@Wri.Org and Marcelle Saint-Arnaud, Msainta@Naalc.Org Joint Spring Workshop: Laura Hjerpe, laura.hjerpe@uspto.gov

Legal: Jeff Stickle, Jeffrey.Stickle@Wcom.Com Military: Diane Schnurrpusch, dschnurr@dtic.mil News: Sheryl Rosenthal, srosenthal@usnews.com

Top of Page

Kudos!

The following chapter members received SLA awards for 2001: z z

Eric Brewer, Inktomi Corporation, received the Innovations in Technology Award Susan Fifer Canby, Director of Libraries and Indexing at the National Geographic Society, received the Innovations in Technology Award. The July 2001 issue of Library Journal contains a "Focus on Special Libraries", and features Fifer Canby on the cover.

z

Roger Haley, who is retired from the U.S. Senate Library, was added to the SLA Hall of Fame

z

Susan O'Neill Johnson, DC/SLA's new President, received the SLA President's Award

z

Anna McGowan, one of DC/SLA's Senior Directors, received the 2001 Distinguished Member Award of SLA's Biomedical and life Sciences Division The DC/SLA Chapter Award recipients for 2001 are:

z

Members of the Year: Eileen Deegan and Amy Pass

z

Board of Directors' Award: Lynne McCay

Other Chapter Member News: z

z

Sylvia Piggott is Chair-Elect of the Library Management Division. She was also an invited participant to the LexisNexis Leadership Symposium held July 9 - 13, 2001, where she made presentations on Developing a Business Plan, Competencies for the 21st Century.

Jennifer Boettcher, Business Reference Librarian/Bibliographer at Georgetown University, has won the national election to be a Member-At-Large in the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of the American Library Association.

-- Betty Landesman Top of Page

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 6 of 12

Special Invitation As the new Convenor of the International Information Exchange Caucus (KIIE) [www.sla.org/caucus/kiie], I would like to send a special invitation to all interested DC chapter members to join KIIE, especially its discussion group [SLA-KIIE@lists.sla.org].

KIIE is a center of discussion, a clearinghouse of international information. Caucus members are involved or interested in efforts to promote networking on the international level through exchange of ideas, information and/or people. It provides the broadest possible opportunity for members to participate or volunteer and discuss international library activities.

As part of the development of the clearinghouse, the caucus will begin work to compile and list international activities throughout the entire Special Libraries Association -- chapter activities, division activities, and committee activities.

Additionally, to build on the excellent work done in our chapter to bring developing country librarians to the Global 2000 Conference in Brighton, England, this clearinghouse will also contain information on distance education, funding resources for professional development as well as grants and proposal writing resources.

All this information will be available on the KIIE caucus Web site (www.sla.org/caucus/kiie) by the end of August.

The main communication tool is the discussion group, which will include all 25 Fellows, 22 of whom attended the Global 2000 conference last October. To subscribe: 1. send an email to lists@lists.sla.org 2. leave the subject line blank 3. in the body of the message, use the command: subscribe first_name last_name [example: subscribe Joe Smith] I hope you will also join to participate in building better communications between all those interested in international activities.

International Information Exchange Caucus Web site: www.sla.org/caucus/kiie Discussion group is at: SLA-KIIE@lists.sla.org Subscription address: lists@lists.sla.org Marcelle Saint-Arnaud (Msainta@Naalc.Org) KIIE Convenor Top of Page

FLICC Program on Digital Libraries

By Betty Landesman On July 12, 2001, the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) sponsored an all-day information technology update on "Building a Digital Library: How Digitization Affects Traditional Library Activities and Services".

There were presentations on all aspects of digital libraries, including cataloging and indexing, archiving, preservation, accessibility, and reference services.

JosĂŠ-Marie Griffiths, Professor of Information and Chief Information Officer of the University of Michigan, provided a digital library overview, including an assessment of the current status of digital libraries and future considerations.

She referred to the NCLIS report on government information. There are many challenges in providing access to this information including: the inadequacy of finding tools, technological incompatibilities, the overwhelming amount of information, the lack of availability of all information on the Internet; and inequitable access for special populations.

There are issues such as "passive dissemination" versus "proactive dissemination" which must be addressed.

Furthermore, there are organizational dynamics that occur in this landscape such as overlap and competition among government agencies; inconsistencies and incompatibilities at the state and local levels; and public/private sector partnerships that must be successfully navigated.

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 7 of 12

In discussing the "digital divide", Griffiths challenged the traditional definition of access as being a physical, technological one. To be successful, users need information literacy skills. We need to find a balance between computer intelligence and human intelligence; between proactivity and intrusiveness; between protection and openness. Technology is actually a minor component. The real issues are those of the basic foundations of knowledge.

The web gives an illusion of depth, but it is not comprehensive. Other illusions are those of validity, structure, and permanence. The role of the information professional is really the traditional one of collection development (identification of trusted resources, knowledge of the resources that are collectively relevant to the community), cataloging (description of these resources), and reference.

Following Griffiths' keynote, there were three presentations on the topic of "Providing Intellectual Access". Suzanne Pilsk and Martin Kalfatovic of the Smithsonian Institution discussed metadata and Dublin Core, and their use in providing access to digital resources. Their presentation is available at http://www.sil.si.edu/staff/flicc2001dl/. Denise Bedford, Thesaurus Manager for the World Bank's Information Solutions Group, described the development of thesauri and their role in digital environments. George Barnum, Electronic Collection Manager at GPO, talked about the history of the Federal Depository Library Program, the challenges faced in making the transition to electronic formats, and the GPO-OCLC digital archiving project.

In the afternoon, there were four presentations on the topic of "Providing Physical Access". Don Sawyer, of the National Space Science Data Center of the NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center provided a reference model for an Open Archival Information System. Since long-term preservation of digital information is difficult, and there is no consensus on what is meant by "archiving", ISO developed a model. An overview of ISO archiving standards can be accessed at http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/nost/isoas/, and the 2001 OAIS draft at http://www.ccsds.org/documents/p2/CCSDS-650.0-R-1.2.pdf (download Adobe Reader).

Nancy Davenport, Director of Acquisitions at the Library of Congress, described their efforts to develop a framework to protect digital collections. The physical security framework for book collections, which differentiates levels of security based on a risk/value continuum, was not applicable in the digital environment. They need to decide what aspects of digital collections (integrity, accessibility, confidentiality) are most important to LC. Mary Lou Mobley, an attorney with the Disability Rights Section of the Department of Justice, gave an introduction to the Rehabilitation Act: Requirements for Federal Libraries (Section 508). Section 508 outlines the need for Federal agencies to incorporate design accessibility features into their planning for electronic and information technology in order to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. Full information can be found at http://www.section508.gov/.

The last presentation in this section was an overview of some of the technical aspects (servers, storage, clustering, security, scanning) of a digital library infrastructure, presented by James King, Network Administrator at the Naval Research Laboratory. The final group of presentations was on the topic of "Providing Reference Services". Diane Kresh, Director of Public Services Collections at the Library of Congress, described the development and status of the Collaborative Digital Reference Service. Through an international network of participants, CDRS's goal is to provide digital reference service to users anywhere and any time. Complete information is available at http://www.loc.gov/rr/digiref/.

John Shuler, Head, Government Documentation at the University of Illinois at Chicago, talked about how digitization affects traditional library activities and services. The UIC Library serves as the contractor for the State Department's Public Affairs office, and provides reference service for the public on their behalf. We are defining new forms of relationships with new technology. Agencies are now able to deliver information directly to the user without the need to go through an intermediary. While electronic reference service is much like traditional reference service, it offers several challenges to library concepts of privacy and employee performance measures. We no longer have to be archivists; our collections point to information on other web sites that we don't own. Regardless of the challenges, electronic reference service is what users have come to expect.

The full day's program concluded with a panel discussion, where Denise Bedford, JosĂŠ-Marie Griffiths, and John Shuler addressed remaining questions from the audience.

Top of Page

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Could Impact Information Professionals

By Frederik Heller

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 8 of 12

On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in one of the most hotly contested copyright cases in recent memory, New York Times Co. vs. Tasini (00-201). The case was originally filed against the Times and several other major publishers in a New York district court in 1993 by Jonathan Tasini, National Writers Union president, and five other freelance writers.

The debate centered on the ownership of the copyrights to digital versions of freelancers' articles that had already been published in the print versions of The New York Times and other major publications. A provision in the Copyright Act of 1976 gives newspaper and magazine publishers a collective copyright to each issue they publish, as well as the right to publish revisions to the collective work.

The court was asked to decide whether or not the electronic versions of a newspaper or magazine -- on a website or online database such as LEXIS/NEXIS -- should be considered revisions. If digital versions are revisions, as Tasini argued, then freelance writers would own the right to publish their articles electronically and be able to collect back fees from publishers.

The Supreme Court decided 7-2 in favor of the writers, stating in its decision that "databases do not perceptibly reproduce articles as part of the collective work to which the author contributed or as part of any 'revision.'"

After the decision was announced, SLA Executive Director David Bender said that the opinion "dramatically alters the landscape for management of information through online content aggregators and purveyors." Because its membership includes many information professionals who are either writers or employed by publishers, the Special Libraries Association remained neutral in the case.

Although it is not known how many freelance articles are affected by the Supreme Court's decision, information professionals may soon experience missing articles in online databases, especially material written before 1995 (in 1995 it became common for publishers to request both print and electronic rights to freelance articles in their contracts). The New York Times has already begun pulling articles written by freelance authors from its website, citing fear of liability for continued copyright violations if it were to keep the material online. Database users could also encounter increased fees as publishers try to offset the higher costs of making information from freelance writers available electronically.

The Supreme Court's decision did not rule on a solution to the publishers' copyright violations, which could total several billion dollars. The case has been sent back to the original federal district court in New York, where it will be joined with similar copyright infringement lawsuits against Dow Jones, Dialog Corp., and Gale Group.

Top of Page

SLA 2001 Program Highlights San Antonio, Texas, June 9-14, 2001 The Library as an Enterprise

By Jan Alfieri Gary Hoover, entrepreneur and co-founder of Hoover's Online, identified eight key things that separate winners from losers with a combination of business analysis, personal inspiration and practical knowledge based on experience.

These keys are: curiosity, history, geography, a clear vision, being consistent, serving the customer, and being unique.

Curiosity, history and geography are the foundations for exploration. Hoover states that curiosity is important because you can learn something from everyone and suggests that nothing new is discovered by looking in the same places. History shows you where you've been, which is key to knowing where you are going. History also helps us to see trends. To have a sense of place and an awareness of space, we need knowledge of geography. It helps us understand the world and how it works which allows us to remove biases so that we can more clearly see our place in the world. Most of all it helps us understand where people are coming from.

The four words Hoover associates with vision are: clear, consistent, serving, and unique. Southwest Airlines is his example of one of the companies in the U.S. that has developed an especially clear vision for itself. Their plan is simple and they know what matters. They fly only one type of aircraft so that all their crews are trained on the entire fleet and investment in spare parts are reduced. They are no frills - peanuts instead of a meal, first seats to the first people to arrive at the airport, and this allows them to take off in less time than any other major airline.

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 9 of 12

The next key is being consistent. Know what you believe in, what you are good at, and what is important to you; then be willing to stick with it. Serving is important because what you do has to make a difference to the customer.

The customers always get what they want - it's just a matter of who gives it to them. You need to pay attention to details, genuinely care about the customers, and put yourself in their shoes. Also remember a successful vision is unique. If you are trying to accomplish the same exact goal as another organization, it is unlikely that the two will be equally successful. One way to differentiate yourself is by finding gaps in a competitor's offerings and filling them.

The final key to success is passion. You must love what you are doing. Toy R Us is a great example of this. They profess, "We love toys, we love our customers," and it shows. Competitors that failed had two motivations too. The first was to copy Toys R Us and the second was to get rich. The nature of their motivation shows as well.

Around the Globe, Around the Web, and Looking to the Future: Four Programs

By Sue O'Neill Johnson Bibliotheca Alexandrina Presented by Mohammed Aman, School of Library and Information Science, U. of Wisconsin, this program allowed for some insight into the efforts to start a library school at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, which is under construction.

This is very good news if Egyptian librarians will be given an opportunity for a first rate education, and funding will be provided for them to attend, based on merit. It is unclear what support exists for Egyptian librarians to attend. Dr Aman will be involved in developing the curriculum and selecting faculty. He also encouraged receipt of single books or whole libraries. If books can be moved to Baltimore, UNESCO will ship them without charge. This service of UNESCO is an important component of building the book collections, as shipping costs $60 per box.

Futuristic Studies The session on "Futurist Studies," described a way of using information science skills to look at change and its impacts. Speakers were from the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UH-CL), a leading center of futurist studies, and Deloitte Consulting, with graduates from UH-CL. One important activity of futurists is environmental scanning. For instance, you have a client whom you interview.

Then, identify key documents to examine and products to scan. A framework of the Environmental Scanning Process was presented, looking very similar to the flow of information from organization and storage to distribution and analysis. The futurist must build a list of formal search terms to scan and update regularly. Personal networking is by far the most valuable source of information. One must look for biases in sources, and continually look out for good sources. Monitoring change is an important part of futurism. Look for small signs of changing trends, even though they may not be easy to find. Try to get to the fringe environment, practice thinking outside the box, and learn to be comfortable with ambiguity. Seek out unconventional thinkers, read outside your area of specialization. How does what you find effect a trend or a cycle?

Focus on Websites Two sessions featuring selected web sites were very useful. The first is the Winner's Circle of the best environmental, biological and chemistry web sites, as selected by library experts in these fields. http://www.sla.org/division/dche/winners2001.html The second is a sometime "tongue in cheek," entertaining, half serious session called "60 Sites in 60 Minutes, by the Legal division‌"from legal to business to indescribable." Take a look at: http://www.pro2net.com and click on Legal or http://infopro.lexis.com under Events.

Report on "One Dot Shopping: The Best International Business Sites"

By Iris W. Anderson This session was jam-packed and ran over its allotted time. How gratifying for the four presenters, each of whom focused on a different world region in order to present the best websites for finding international business information. Planned and moderated by Ann R. Sweeney, Librarian and Webmaster of the Washington, D.C. Delegation of the European Commission and Iris W. Anderson, Group Leader of Information Delivery at the Joint World Bank-IMF Library, the session was sponsored by the Social Science Division and the Business & Finance Division. It was supported by Ebsco Subscription Services.

The following topics were covered: 1. Iris W. Anderson, presented highlights of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund websites, focusing on finding country and regional information and the easiest ways to find country statistics from these two institutions.

Special mention was made of two new initiatives of the World Bank: their Projects Database and the Development

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 10 of 12

Gateway, a major portal for development information. To see the latter, go to http://www.developmentgateway.org/.

2. Ann R. Sweeney (Ann is currently chair-elect of SLA's Social Science Division), presented best sites for finding European Union business information. She began with the local EU delegation's comprehensive website and went on to show sites for e-commerce, Euro Info Centres, Eurostat and much more. Ann is planning a session for next year's SLA conference on the final implementation phase of the new Euro currency in Europe. To view Ann's list of recommended websites from the session, go to http://www.eurunion.org/infores/BestBusSites.HTM 3. Ann Griffith, Business Researcher at Ernst & Young's Center for Business Knowledge in Dallas, Texas presented the best business sites on Latin America. The main site continues to be the University of Texas' Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) http://lanic.utexas.edu/, but she also discovered other interesting sites that are less well known.

4. Tesse Santoro, Senior Account Executive at Dialog in New York City, presented the best Asian and African websites for conducting business research. She divided her presentation into Japanese, Asian and African groupings.

The good news here was that there really is a lot of good information from and about Africa. One of the best sites, however, remains the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa at http://www.uneca.org/ To see the handouts and PowerPoint presentations from this information-filled session, please stay tuned to the Social Science Division's website at http://www.sla.org/division/dsoc/index.html where everything should be posted soon. Otherwise, send any queries to Iris at ianderson@imf.org SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 287 Benjamin Franklin Station Washington, DC 20044 Top of Page

Mini-Minutes of the DC/SLA Board Meeting May 8, 2001 Sue Johnson signed a letter from SLA Headquarters asking SLA chapters to support international activities through the David Bender fund.

A discussion was held on the remaining $6,000 that was raised for Global 2000 to be transferred to the David Bender fund to support the Global 2000 fellows. The following language will be presented at the SLA Chapter Cabinet meeting: To express the sense of the Chapter Cabinet that funds remaining from the Global 2000 Fellowships be used to fund SLA memberships for the current Global 2000 Fellows.

The board passed a motion for a $3,000 donation from the DC chapter be made to the David Bender fund at SLA Headquarters.

Catherine Kitchell, Treasurer, submitted a Cash Flow Report and a Balance Sheet to the Board.

The Chapter has decided to undertake a new edition of the Washington Area Library Directory. Eileen Deegan has agreed to, and has been appointed by, the board to be Chair of the Ad Hoc Publications Committee.

-- Erin Clougherty Top of Page

DC/SLA Closing Banquet Photos Photos by Sue O'Neill Johnson

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 11 of 12

Linda Paez, Student Affiliation Committee Chair and David Tulanian, one of the DC/SLA Scholarship recipients.

David Shumaker with speaker Eleanor Clift, Political Analyst.

Lynne McCay, Winner of the Board of Directors Award with David Shumaker (Photo by Sue O'Neill Johnson)

Top of Page

SLA Conference 2001 - President's Reception Photo Photo by Sue O'Neill Johnson

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011

DC/SLA

Page 12 of 12

United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Library Back Left: Rob Bohall, World Bank (WB) Left to Right: Alcione Amos (WB), Sue O'Neill Johnson (WB), Lorraine Pellicano Weitman, United Nations Library, Dag Hammarskjoid, Angela Fan (WB) (World Bank Attendees are DC Chapter members) About Us

Events

Chapter Newsletter

Communication

Home

Special Libraries Association | DC/SLA Chapter | PO Box 287 Benjamin Franklin Station | Washington, D.C. 20044 webmaster | Last Modified 03/01/2002 | You are at http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

http://units.sla.org/chapter/cdc/cnotes/2001/julyaug01.html

12/21/2011