DC/SLA Chapter Notes - May/June 1998

Chapter Notes May/June 1998

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Vol. 57, No. 9 May/June 1998 Contents President’s Message Program: Finding Lost US Government Data '98/'99 Election Results MAC/Pittsburgh Joint Meeting New DC/SLA Members Member News Global Village Arts Fest Going Global AIS Brownbag Lunch The President's Corner

By Ellie Briscoe, DC/SLA President, ebriscoe@ngs.org Summary Annual Report - Washington DC Chapter Activities: We hosted the Winter Meeting and Winter Education Conference January 21-27, 1998, including a sponsored reception at the Library of Congress on January 22.

The reception was a truly gala affair, and was attended by Winter Meeting participants and local chapter members. SLA President Judy Field introduced Dr. James Billington, Librarian of Congress, who welcomed us and opened the "Treasures of the Library" exhibit to us. Other LC officials attended, including General Donald Scott, the Deputy Librarian. We made a point of inviting new Chapter members to attend as guests of the Chapter, to consider this their New Members Reception, and to come meet their colleagues and the Association leadership.

A seven-person committee, organized by David Shumaker, worked for over six months on arrangements. Laura Foy recruited over 30 Chapter volunteers to staff the registration desk. Mandy Baldridge collected handouts and reference materials; her 20-plus volunteers compiled and handed out subway maps and lists of local bookstores, answered questions using directories of local libraries, made restaurant recommendations, and so on. Michele Crecca organized several tours of local libraries and recruited "Dinner Buddies" for two separate nights. Holly Chong-Williams developed local information on the Chapter Web site, Sharon Lenius led the drive to solicit contributions from our six generous sponsors to underwrite the reception. Estelle Alexander and the Chapter Hospitality Committee, with the help of the Special Events staff at the Library of Congress, organized the reception itself.

The Chapter members who volunteered not only signed up to help, they showed up, often arriving early. Their warmth and helpfulness was appreciated by many out-of-town guests, who realized these were fellow professionals taking time out to help our visitors.

We launched a Chapter Listserv and a Chapter Webpage (http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc) this year, both now hosted by SLA. In March, the listserv had 264 subscribers (about 20 percent of our members, 810 of whom list email addresses with SLA), and the Web site received 1314 hits. Highest use of the Web page was made in January, when the Winter Meeting support information was available there: 3384 hits.

We established an ad-hoc International Projects committee, with the immediate goal of raising funds to sponsor one or more librarians from developing nations to attend Global 2000 conference

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in Brighton, England. The first event was a benefit Global Village Cultural Festival at the World Bank on April 22.

Chapter programming followed a unified theme of "The Well-Rounded Professional." All programs included either a snack and beverages, or an opportunity to "brown bag" it. The series included the following programs: z z z z z

Reference on the Web, with a panel of local experts (extremely popular and well-attended); Competencies for Special Librarians in the 21st Century, with Barbara Spiegelman; Workshop on Conflict Management with Martha Johns; Career Day at University of Maryland, held on a Saturday and designed for working professionals looking to change jobs, as well as students; Professional Development Workshop: "Tap Dancing with Sparklers: promotion activities for your Library" with Chris Olson.

Our Program Chair (President-Elect) ensures that meeting notices are sent to neighboring SLA Chapters and other local library associations, as well as to our newsletter.

We held two social events: a joint Holiday party with DCLA at "Dave and Buster's," and our annual Business Meeting/Banquet with a speaker from the Foreign Service.

We changed the schedule for our Chapter elections to hold them earlier in the year. Candidates will know by March if they have been elected, and so can plan for conference attendance and begin to get up to speed before taking office. This should help in the recruitment of committee chairs and planning of fall programs also.

We revised our Chapter Manual, updating descriptions for each officer and committee chair. Our second vice-president is charged with maintaining the manual, and this year she bravely coordinated this task. The manual is over 100 pages long, and includes sample forms as well as our bylaws and job descriptions. We hope to post it on our Web page.

We appointed a Strategic Planning Committee, and hope to have a membership survey in place by fall. We have previously had a Long-Range Planning Committee, but have not updated our longrange plan since 1990.

Our Consultation Committee received eight requests for consultation support, five of which had been resolved by April 1998. Requests were forwarded from SLA Headquarters to the Consultation Committee. The Co-Chairs worked together to find Chapter members who could help the requesters define their need and locate assistance at the level that they wished. Consultation was provided on a complimentary basis, as a professional courtesy.

Our Membership Committee sent each new member a "welcome" packet. Most new members received a phone call (or email) to welcome them; the Executive Board shared this responsibility, we each got a short list of names and contact phones once a month or so. New members got a special label on their name tags for meetings so we could tell who they are and make a special effort to greet them. Lapsed members got a letter saying we miss them and asking them to reconsider.

Our Employment Committee acted as a clearinghouse between position openings and members looking for new jobs. The current Chair also developed an email distribution list of members who are interested in openings. She used this list to distribute information about jobs in the greater Washington area that are posted to listservs to which she subscribes or that are forwarded to her by other Chapter members. There are currently 26 names on the distribution list. The Chair also frequently discussed (either personally or by telephone) the job market in the area with those

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moving into the area or others considering a job change.

We published ten issues of Chapter Notes.

Two Chapter members received Association awards: Donna Scheeder was made a Fellow, and Winifred Sewell was inducted into the SLA Hall of Fame.

We presented our local Chapter awards: Mary Hay Glass won Member of the Year, and her name was added to a plaque which hangs at SLA Headquarters; and the Internet Committee and Winter Meeting Committee members won the Board of Directors' Award.

We changed the nature of our student support from a loan fund to a scholarship fund and plan to give one $2000 and one $1000 each year. We are supported in this by Telesec CORESTAFF, which makes a generous contribution each year. We also allow students to attend meetings at half-price.

We plan to initiate a program, modeled after another Chapter's program, to sponsor one student from each o the two local library schools, paying for their student membership in SLA, and allowing them to attend meetings at no charge. This will be awarded on the basis of an essay contest, and will not require them already to be members.

We mourned the loss of Immediate Past President Paula Lovas, and gratefully accepted the service of former Chapter President Lyle Minter to fill her term as Past President. Chapter members were encouraged to remember Paula with a gift to her hospice.

Washington DC Chapter -- Group Activities The Washington DC Chapter has several subject-oriented groups, which hold programs in addition to the Chapter programs. Here's what they did this year: Military - toured the Old Guard Museum at Ft. Myer, VA viewing the history and accomplishments of the 3rd Infantry (the Old Guard), followed by dinner at the Ft. Myer Officers' Club; - toured Dumbarton Oaks museum and gardens, famous for its landscape architecture, Byzantine studies, and pre-Columbian art collections; - toured the Naval Observatory, (including the Master Clock of the United States, and two telescopes) and visited the Observatory's James Melville Gilliss Library; - toured the National Cryptologic Museum at Ft. Meade, MD, to see rare books on cryptography from the Middle Ages, items from Civil War to present day US military cryptologic operations, and displays of cryptologic equipment. The museum also has a small library of unique items on cryptology; - planned a tour of the Defense Technical Information Center for May 6, 1998.

News - Post SLA Conference discussion at BNA; - visited the Baltimore Sun Library and attended a Baltimore Orioles game; - visited NPR Libraries and observed the workings of Weekend Saturday production - toured USIA library - prepared some pages for the Chapter Web site, designed by Amy Siegel, National Press Club Library - Roundtable discussion on "Temping in DC" with representatives of Telesec Library Services and Library Management Systems, temporary staffing agencies serving the DC metropolitan area.

- "Capitol Steps", a dinner-comedy revue, coordinated by Ruth Leonard (open to all DC Chapter members) - Tour of the Holocaust Museum library and archives.

ALL (Association of Liberated Librarians), a group of ex-librarians who are retired, self-employed, in business for themselves, or occasionally students:

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- visited Hillwood, the fabulous estate formerly owned by Marjorie Meriwether Post, and viewed items which she collected over her career. The library is a small separate building, with a great collection on history and art.

- visited the National Building Museum, the site of several Presidential Inaugural balls. There is no library, but the building is fascinating architecturally; - at National Museum of Women in the Arts, viewed Indian pottery and weaving, and visited a library exhibit of books on travel --some of them most has a small library of unique items on cryptology; - planned a tour of the Defense Technical Information Center for May 6, 1998.

Information Technology - "Virtual Libraries", showed examples of corporate virtual libraries. "Marketing Library Services" discussed the development of a marketing/business plan for library services.

Environment and Resource Management Group - World Resources Institute (WRI) Library invited colleagues to an open house at which many publications, published by WRI and others, were available for free to other libraries. Tours of the library were offered along with demonstrations of the WRI Library catalog.

Return to contents "Finding Lost U.S. Government Data: Collection Development Strategies for the Business Librarian" Sponsored by the American Library Association's Business Reference and Adult Services Section (BRASS) When: Monday, June 29, 1998, 8:00-11:00 a.m.

Where: The Washington Hilton & Towers Lincoln Room, 919 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC With increased budget cuts, the government sector is seeking alliances with the private sector to publish their data. Some private sector entities have embraced this venture by adding value to the existing government content. This program investigates what government information is available through private sources and have these sources improved since their migration from the government sector. This is a critical issue for the business librarian who assumes the responsibility of evaluating and purchasing government data.

Speakers: z z z

Michael Oppenheim, Reference/Instructional Svcs. Libn., Rosenfeld Management Library, The Anderson School, UCLA, Los Angeles; Kate Pittsley, collection development spec. for Business, Economics & Labor, Michigan Electronic Lib., Ann Arbor; Harvey Greenberg, editor, U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook, Standard & Poor's DRI, div. of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

For more information, contact: Jackie Kilberg (jackie_kilberg@mcgraw-hill.com) or Tokiko Bazzell (bazzell@american.edu; Tel. 202/885-3842).

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Results of the DC/SLA Annual Elections '98/'99

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by Julie A. Gibson, Chairman, Ballots Committee Congratulations to the newly elected officers of the Washington, DC Chapter of SLA: First Vice President/President-Elect: Nancy Minter Second Vice President: Karen Mark Director: Michael Kolakowski Corresponding Secretary: Gail Kouril Recording Secretary: Laura Foy Return to contents MAC/Pittsburgh Joint Meeting The Medical Library Association (MLA) is celebrating its centennial this year! As a result, many chapters are holding joint meetings.

This October 4-7th, the MLA Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) and the MLA Pittsburgh Chapter are hosting a joint meeting in Pittsburgh. The theme for this meeting is "Get on Board."

Continuing education courses will be offered on the following subjects: Archives management, history of medical resources, licensing electronic resources, online resources and statistics, PubMed (free Medline via the Internet), alternative medicine, and buidling better web pages. CE courses are offered on the 4th and 7th only.

The actual meeting takes place on October 5th and 6th. Program highlights include a welcome reception at the Grand Concourse of the Station Square in Pittsburgh. We hope to have around 20 exhibitors.

Also included will be contributed papers, posters, roundtable lunch discussions, centennial panel and award presentations, a special women's health luncheon, skills sessions, and a banquet on the Gateway Clipper riverboat.

If you are interested in attending or have any questions, please contact: Kathryn Chmiel, 304-2348771 or klc@ovnet.com.

Return to contents New Chapter members Submitted by Monica Romiti, DC/SLA Membership Committee, romiti@focus.nlm.nih.gov Please welcome these new members of DC/SLA who joined during February and March, 1998: z z z z z z z z z z

Luis M. Acosta, Van Cleve & Associates Tawnya T. Collins, Lexis-Nexis Carol Deangelo, EPA Resources Center Anthony E. Hall, Isoquest Inc. Karen Lee, Allen Greenberg, Architect James M. Lent Judith M. Leon, Shea & Gardner Quinn T. Milleer, Arthur Andersen LLP Linda Nainis, Head Start Pub Mgmnt Ctr Cheryl Lynn Stadel Bevans, UCLA Library

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z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z

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Candace A. Vincent John A. Winterson, Shea & Gardner Jennifer C. Boettcher, Georgetown University Michael Corbitt, Embassy of Australia Sandra Coupe, FBI Sarah L. Dawson Nancy S. Fletcher, Waukesha County Federated Library System Caleb Gessesse, National Public Radio Connie W. Gilman, Intl. Union of Bricklayers Rosalie Sherwin, U.S. Supreme Court Holly G. Wright, Federal Filings Courtney Cain, National Grocers Association Eileen P. Chandhoke, George Mason Univ. - Prince William Campus Library Honora F. Nerz, Catholic Univ of America - Information Science Library John G. Powell Monica L. Romiti, Natl. Center for Biotechnology Information Courtenay M. Slater, Bernan Associates Delia Ullberg, The CDM Group Inc Matthew Von Hendy, EPA Water Resources Center David A. Warner, Info. Dimensions Inc. Patricia A. Wood, ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education Pamela M. Wroten, Drinker Biddle & Reath

Return to contents Member News On Tuesday, March 3rd at the Computers in Libraries Conference, DC/SLA members Greta Ober and Marisa Urgo (DC/SLA Internet Committee chairs) presented the DC Chapter website in a session on lessons learned in website development and management.

DC Chapter member Marisa Urgo had an article published in the April 1998 issue of Information Outlook. The article is titled "No Slackers Here! SLA's Youngest Members Have the Vision and Enthusiasm to Shape the Future of the Profession." The article is also available at http://informationoutlook.com/apr/urgo.html.

Return to contents Global Village Performing Arts Fest

By Greta Ober-Beauchesne, gober-beauchesne@ifc.org On Wednesday, April 22nd, the World Bank hosted the first fundraiser for the DC/SLA International Projects Committee. The event was a huge success and well-attended. Over $3,000 was raised which will be used to assist librarians in developing countries to attend SLA2000. The event lasted just a couple of hours, but was filled with fun and exciting activities. Crafts from many parts of the world (Eastern Europe, Africa, South America, India, Egypt), were available for sale. There were some interesting items that just can't be found anywhere else, and the prices were reasonable. In another room, entertainment - both music and dancing, were ongoing. Entertaining the large crowd were Columbian and Spanish dancers, a salsa performance, the tango from Argentina, Chinese songs, Indian classical and folk dances, a Caribbean costume show and dance, and even the twist, which brought some spectators up onto the stage to participate. The most stirring moment of the event was when Indian staff and the student dancers went on stage and sang the Indian National

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Anthem in Bengali, in celebration of their 50th year of independence. The international audience all stood in appreciation of their triumph.

Sue O'Neill Johnson, DC/SLA member, an Information Officer at the World Bank who is promoting awareness and access to World Bank full text electronic reports on the Web: www.worldbank.org/sources, had started the International Projects Committee. She was playing the accordian and even sang a German song on stage. Look forward to future fundraisers from this committee. Some of the dancers have expressed willingness to entertain at future DC SLA fundraisers. If you are interested in participating on the International Projects Committee contact Sue at sjohnson3@worldbank.org (Sue plans to have a meeting sometime in mid-June).

Thanks to everyone who attended!

Return to contents Going Global: Business and Government Information Partnering An American Library Association Preconference brought to you by the RUSA - BRASS Education Committee Cosponsored by GODORT and Special Libraries Association - Washington, D.C. Chapter Friday, June 26, 1998, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Washington, D.C. The global partnership between businesses and international governments is pivotal to the research community. Librarians are challenged each day to provide users a wealth of governmental information and empirical data. The issues involved in this partnership will be explored along with key print and electronic resources in the financial, economic, trade, and labor arenas. The dilemma of corporate repackaging versus original format will also be thoroughly probed.

Registration deadline: June 12, 1998 (space is limited) Fax registration to 312-944-8085 or mail to: American Library Association, RUSA Preconference, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.

Registration forms can be found at http://www.ala.org/rusa/preform.html Speakers: z z z z

Ruth Pagell, Director of Emory University Libraries Center for Business Information. "International Financial Research: Government Style"; "Corporate Repackaging of Government Information."

Duncan Aldrich, Head of the Business and Government Information Center at the University of Nevada, Reno. "International Governments as Economic Researchers" Stephen Hayes, Business Services Librarian at the University of Notre Dame. "Global Trade and Labor: The Role of International Governments" Aimee Piscitelli Quinn, Head of Government Publications, University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

"International Documents: Issues and Challenges"

Corporate Sponsors: Datastream International; RDS "Business and Industry"; Dow Jones & Company; Securities & Exchange Commission; Moody's Investors Service; Bernan Press; and STAT-USA. For more information: see http://www.ala.org/rusa/brasspre.html.

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Association Information Services (AIS) Caucus Brownbag Lunch

by Nancy Matthes, mic@iafc.org Librarians are constantly searching for ways to track statistics on reference requests. By tracking the requests, libraries are able to determine what the trends are and if they're meeting the needs of their users.

How can a librarian track this valuable information? Deborah R. Smith-Cohen, Database & Technical Services Manager at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), has solved this problem by using a software database to capture their reference statistics. Cohen was one of three speakers at a brownbag sponsored by the Association Information Services Caucus at the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) in Washington, DC in March. She discussed the use of Inmagic software to track reference requests and analyze trends in the association industry.

The database is set up to record the user's name and address, type of request, which staff member fulfilled the request and when, and other information relevant to the work of the association. From that the library staff is able to generate three types of reports: a standard monthly report which tracks statistics on hot topics; a customized report which tracks topics for the ASAE special interest sections; and a strategic report which tracks the average cost per request and links how important the library is to ASAE as a whole.

"Running a library may look expensive, but if we show that the member retention rate is significantly higher because they are using you, then we have an impact upon our organization that's powerful." Smith-Cohen said there are many factors to consider when tracking statistics including staff time, privacy issues concerning users, marketing strategies, and trend analysis among others.

"It takes a fair amount of time to analyze data," she said. Therefore, the library staff generates reports, as needed for other staff members in order to manage time more efficiently. Smith-Cohen said the staff is looking at other options of capturing their statistics more effectively.

Also speaking at the brownbag was John Latham, Manager of the SLA Information Resources Center. He said they use Inmagic to track what topics are requested and by what method (telephone, fax, etc.), and then generate reports on library usage. He hopes to expand the usage of the software in other areas of his work.

Following Latham and Smith-Cohen's presentations, librarians at the NAHB spoke about their system, Cuadra STAR, and how they developed a referral database to other resources in the field, another database which contains information on the specialties of each staff member, and a database which defines terms in the industry. The program ended with a tour of the NAHB library. | back to top | back to Chapter Notes | back DC-SLA Homepage |

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