President’s Corner: The New Board By Sheryl Rosenthal, rosenthals@sec.gov
June/July 2005 Volume 64 No. 9
As we conclude another successful year and look forward to the planning that precedes a new year, I am filled with gratitude for having been given the opportunity to be your President. It has truly been a pleasure getting to know and work with some of the finest, hardest-working professionals anywhere.
http://www.sla.org/Chapter/cdc
I want to thank the 2004-2005 DC/SLA Board of Directors for their fine service. Unlike other Chapters, DC/SLA holds contested elections. It is a testament to our strength that we are able to recruit strong slates. Thank you to everyone involved in what was a very close election. I look forward to continuing to work with the newly elected 20052006 Board of Directors as the immediate Past-President. Here is your 2005-2006 DC/SLA Board of Directors:
President’s Corner
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Exective Library Tour
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Toronto Conference!
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Cataloging Cocktail Hour
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DC/SLA Award Winners
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Annual Banquet Report
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Banquet Awards
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Election Report
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President - Shirley Loo President Elect - Susan Fournier Treasurer - Erin Clougherty Second Vice-President - Suzanne Pilsk Director - Gail Kouril Director - Kristina Lively Recording Secretary - Georgeanne Higgins Corresponding Secretary - Jenny Wood
State of the Chapter When I took over the Presidency from Susan Fifer Canby, the Chapter was hale and hearty. I am delighted to report that membership is steady and the Chapter continues to thrive. Here are a few highlights from 2004-2005. Events: Shirley Loo has done an exceptional job in planning a record breaking 86 events which included library tours, virtual seminars, dine-arounds, book club meetings, networking opportunities, Chapter Board meetings, and other professional development events. This Chapter saw participation in one or more events from close to 400 members. Thanks also to Hospitality Chair Lorraine Bell for an outstanding job. Community Outreach: This past year brought recognition for a job well done and for the beginning of a new and ambitious undertaking. On April 15, DC/SLA Bach Consort committee members, led by Sue O’Neill Johnson, were honored at a reception and signing ceremony for work in initiating the agreement between the Bach Consort and the Library of Congress which gives LC reproduction rights to the entire Bach Consort archive. Always looking for ways to contribute to the community, Kenlee Ray and her committee got the new Coolidge High School project jump-started with a teen-reading program. Special Events: Barbie Keiser led the International Relations committee through a series of successful events and activities culminating with this year’s Special Librarian’s Day. Kris Sasala, a new DC/SLA member, jumped in and, with help from Director Alphonse Vinh, hosted an innovative Career Day. More than 135 people attended the Joint Spring Workshop, ando ur thanks go to Anne Marie Houppert for a great effort. [cont’d page 10]
Inside this issue:
Student Award Winner
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Military Librarians Tour
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Read about the new products and services from: • • • • • • •
Capcon Dialog InfoCurrent Library Associates Trak Legal EOS International Factiva
Check us out on the Web http://www.sla.org/Chapter/cdc/
Next Newsletter Deadline For August/Sept. issue is August 15. Email bferry@ngs.org
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 to non-members are available at $10 per year. Advertising: 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: Erin Clougherty Email: eclougherty@casact.org EDITOR’S NOTE: Deadlines for Chapter Notes are the third Monday of the month for the following month’s issue. Deadline for the August/September issue is August 15. The issue is distributed approximately two 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 should be sent to the Editor: Barbara Ferry Libraries & Information Services National Geographic Society 1145 17th St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Phone: 202-857-7051 Email: bferry@ngs.org Event announcements should also be submitted electronically to the Listserv Moderator: Kelley Weber, Surface Transportation Board Phone: 202-565-1668 Email: weberk@stb.dot.gov
DC/SLA Web Master-- Cassandra Shieh, Catholic News Service 202-541-3254; Fax: 202-541-3255 cshieh@catholicnews.com cassandrashieh@hotmail.com Send address changes for Chapter Notes to: SLA Headquarters ATTN: Address/Name Changes 1700 18th Street NW Washington, DC 20009-2508
Executive Office of the President Libary Tour Submitted by Jennifer Wood, WoodJ@executiveboard.com Robyn Frank, Director, Library and Research Services (LRS), and her staff welcomed 25 Chapter members to the libraries at the Executive Office of the President (EOP) on Friday, April 29. Ms. Frank and her 15 staff members operate three libraries in two buildings and serve about 2,000 clients. The presentations included the history and development of the EOP libraries and the library’s branding and marketing efforts. The new logo echoes an architectural design element in the historic library at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) while giving a sense of the lightning fast pace of information flow in today’s environment. The logo has been incorporated into marketing materials including a slide presentation that gives an overview of LRS functions and services. This presentation is used during new hire orientation as well as to re-educate the older client base. Following the presentation in the NEOB library, the group toured the library in the EEOB. The building itself dates back to the late 1800s and the library architecture is unchanged from the era. The original floor tiles, cast iron railings, vaulted ceilings, and painted skylights make it easy for visitors to step back in time for a short while. You can view pictures of this library on the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/eeobtour/eop-library.html. DC/SLA thanks Robyn Frank and all the staff at the EOP for their hospitality and generosity.
Highlights of the Toronto Conference Submitted by Shirley Loo, sloo@crs.loc.org Rita Tehan, Carolyn Smith, Shirley Loo, Julie Jennings, and Julissa Gomez reported on selected sessions from the SLA annual conference at a program June 21 at the Library of Congress. Libraries in “war zones,� the future of search engines, training users, money laundering, ownership of scientific information, the naked corporation, emotional intelligence, and left brain thinking were noted. Mary Ellen Bates appeared at the conference for several divisions. Her presentations are available at http://www.batesinfo.com . Check under Speeches for "The Next Information Revolution, and Our Role as Revolutionaries" and four others. (See also p. 11) At the program, Diane Falk was recognized for her attendance at Chapter programs during the year and presented with an SLA conference bag. Diane also was awarded the butterfly planter as a door prize. An intern from the University of Puerto Rico, Juan Lopez, was awarded the other door prize of a conference bag.
Cataloging Cocktail Hour Submitted by Suzanne C. Pilsk, PilskS@si.edu A group has gathered. It is a small party. Drinks are ordered. Chitter chatter abounds and then the conversation turns. And I am stunned by the news. I’m shocked! I’m not sure how to react! I’m, well, I’m Speechless! And that is saying something to say that I am speechless! When librarians gather, the conversation turns toward the trade. And the news is truly new to me. It isn’t that the rules are being looked at and revised and changed. It isn’t that the new rules are changing in organization and structure to follow some funky standard called FRBR (pronounced by some as FerBer). Or that they are now saying that they are also following FRAR (I have no idea how to pronounce this – is it like Friar?) Functional Requirements for Authority Records. It isn’t even that they are considering the audience for our rules– or the term that is now being used instead of “audience” or even “stakeholders” but is now “constituency” – that the constituency for our rules are considered to be Outsiders – Non-librarians – Other people who might look at our rules for organizing information in this wacky Internet, World Wide Web, Googlefied world. It isn’t those things. It’s the hard-to-take, take-my-breath away fact that AACR is Changing Its Name!!! Anglo-American Cataloging Rules is now going to be called Resource Description and Access – or RDA. “ACK!” I exclaim before I realize that I should not scream in public (though I do not spill my drink). RDA. I need to practice. I need to learn not to slip up and show my age by referring to the rules as AACR2. I need to be hip and cool and “with it” and let the new acronym come tripping off my tongue as if I knew what I was talking about. “Ah yes,” I need to say, “I agree with the constituency of my fellow metadataists that the timeline for the RDA is ambitious but a must. Publication by 2008 will be just in time for the revisions of the first part again! Chief source of information concept will truly be a fight.” How do I sound? Debonair? Too pretentious? I think I need to take a sip of that drink! You can’t call me a Luddite. I can roll with change. I’m fine with new approaches to the old, well thought out, working, “why fix it if it ain’t broke” rules. Okay – so some of the rules don’t make a lot of sense in this age; they don’t apply all kinds of information. Some are tied up in a print world and that just isn’t working on a daily basis any more. Maybe it is time to throw the old out and bring in the new. Processing and providing access to varied information might mean taking a look at the old rules and making sure the new rules are helping us. I think it is grand that we are bringing in the people who need these rules to comment on them in the process of developing them. This is all a good thing. But, sip, sip, gulp… Do they have to change the name?! To take the conversation away from RDA and back into reality, I glance at my half filled/ half empty cocktail glass and sigh “Bartender, I’ll take another one.” For an outline and overview of what the Joint Steering Committee for the Revision of Anglo-American Cataloging Rules is up to, check out http://www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/0504out.html
Congratulations to our DC/SLA Award Winners! Sylvia Piggott - John Cotton Dana Barbie Keiser - President's Award Susan Tarr - Honorary SLA member John Latham - SLA Member Achievement Susan Fifer Canby - Factiva Leadership Defense Technical Information Agency - Innovations with Technology National Geographic Society Library – B&F Division Corporate Excellence For more information on all SLA award winners, visit: http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/awardsrecognition/awardsrecipients/index.cfm
DC/SLA Annual Banquet Highlights from the May 24 Event
The festive annual banquet and business meeting at the Capital Hilton on May 24 was well-attended with 130 registered. Special guests included Lotte Goldman and Kitty Scott, Chapter members for more than 45 years. SLA President Ethel Salonen was also present as was SLA Board member Lynne McCay joined the festivities. Banquet speaker Anthony S. Pitch spoke on "Lincoln and 9/11: Symbolic Parallels" and there were many interesting questions at the end of his talk. Victor Monti won Pitch’s prize-winning book "The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814� as a door prize. President Sheryl Rosenthal noted the 65th anniversary of the Chapter in her remarks before turning the gavel over to incoming President Shirley Loo. Below are various past presidents of the Chapter pictured with the birthday cake.
DC SLA Past Presidents at the Annual Banquet: Front row left to right: Ellen Lytton (1994-1995); Eileen Rourke (1995-1996); David Shumaker (2000-2001); Shirley Loo (2005-2006); Second row: Anne Caputo (2002-2003); Marilyn Bromley (1992-1993); Lynn McCay (1991-1992); Joan Gervino (1982-1983); Robert Klassen (1972-1973); Mary Feldman (1985-1986); Donna Scheeder (19881989); Sheryl Rosenthal (2004-2005); Kitty Scott (1971-1972); Third row: Lyle Minter (1993-1994); Susan Fifer Canby (2003-2004). Not pictured: Nancy Minter (1999-2000).
Annual Banquet Awards Submitted by Una Hildebrandt, unahildebrandt@comcast.net
At the Annual Banquet on May 24, two students were recognized for their scholarship and potential contribution to the profession of special librarianship. Leigh Anne Palmer was awarded the InfoCurrent Scholarship. Leigh Anne attended George Washington University as an undergraduate, and received a Master’s degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. Her graduate study included extended research on George Eliot and the ways in which the development of the modern, 19th century museum/library affected her fiction writing. Leigh Anne enrolled at Catholic University in the Fall of 2004, and is a member of the Catholic University SLA student Chapter. She currently works as the Assistant to the Curator of Books and Exhibitions at the Folger Shakespeare Library. She also holds an Association of Research Libraries Academy Fellowship. Her essay addressed her commitment to teaching diverse groups about the critical role played by special collections in an informed citizenry. Alexa Hackbarth was awarded the Catherine A. Jones Memorial Scholarship. Alexa enrolled at the University of Maryland College of Information Studies in January of this year, and plans to complete her MLS in 2006. In addition to her graduate study, Alexa holds two part-time positions. For the past several years, she has worked at the Washington Post News Research Center and Photo Department as an Editorial Aide, conducting photo research for special projects, managing the digital photo archive, and responding to reporters’ research requests. In addition, she is an Editor with MedBioworld.com, a digital reference site for physicians and biologists. Alexa plans to pursue a career as an information specialist in the exploding world of biosciences and biotechnology.
Fun at the Annual Banquet! from left to right: SLA Chapter Cabinet: Lynne McCay; SLA President, Ethel Salonen; Incoming DC/SLA President Shirley Loo, Speaker Anthony Pitch; and, Incoming SLA Chapter Cabinet Anne Caputo.
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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/July 2005
Chapter Voting Results Double! Submitted by Ellie Briscoe, ebriscoe@ngs.org In the spring of 2005, the Washington DC Chapter of SLA used a digital ballot for our annual election of officers. In brief, we nearly doubled the previous year’s voter turnout from about 20% to about 40% of the membership. We reduced the expense and made vote counting much easier. Members could choose to vote digitally or request a paper ballot; 380 voted digitally, and only 9 used paper ballots. There were some problems, but on the whole, it was very successful. Paper ballots were enclosed in the mailed paper copy of ChapterNotes. The digital ballot was set up as a survey on Survey Monkey. A list of 815 members’ names and email addresses, supplied by SLA HQ, was used to generate “invitations” which included a link to the survey. By using invitations, the respondents/voters’ personal information was linked to their votes, making it possible to verify that a given vote was valid. The election was open for nearly a month. Nearly 200 votes were received the first day that invitations were sent. We sent reminders to those who had not yet voted, and reminded the membership at large via the Chapter Discussion list. In this 2005 election, 381 digital and 9 paper ballots were received. One paper ballot was invalid, as it was received after voting was closed. One digital ballot was invalid, as one member voted twice; we kept the more complete, later ballot. In the 2004 paper-based election, the Chapter received 224 ballots, of which only 201 were valid—23 were lacking member addresses. Counting the Survey Monkey ballots took about 20 seconds. Counting the paper ballots took about a minute. Then voters’ names were checked against the list to confirm voting status and to be sure that no one voted more than once.. The 77 user comments were almost universally positive, describing the process as quick, efficient, convenient, cool, simple, easy, painless, cheap (no stamp required), and “it avoids killing trees.” The word most commonly used was “great.” There were a few problems: no invitations were delivered to AOL addresses, or the Library of Congress, and at least half a dozen members had incorrect emails on file at SLA. Suggestions for future elections: • • • •
In the invitation to the election, we should make it clear we are using Survey Monkey for the SLA DC Chapter election and that the invitation is not a phishing email. Include a place for write-in candidates. Do more advance PR to avoid some of the problems. Several members said they did not vote because they “didn’t know the candidates.” That had nothing to do with the format. The biographical material was very dry, with no paragraph about why the candidates wanted the job; there should be something more personal, and perhaps a photograph.
To address the concern that not all members received the digital ballot even though they may have had email, we ran a “test” election immediately after the real election. In addition to the Survey Monkey invitation, we also sent a survey link in an open email to the Chapter discussion list. Verifying votes sent this way would be considerably more timeconsuming, off-putting for those who do not want to enter personal information, and probably not worth the extra effort. Of the 88 members who participated in the test poll who said they had NOT voted digitally in the real election, only 28 said it was because they did not receive a digital ballot. 50 said they meant to vote but didn’t get a chance. Note: Jane Eyre won out over Anna Karenina for President in our test election, and Bilbo Baggins won Vice President running against Harry Potter. Write-in votes were received for Scrooge McDuck and the Scarlet Pimpernel, and Sam Gamgee was suggested for Treasurer.
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/July 2005
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State of the Chapter, [cont’d from page 1] Submitted by Sheryl Rosenthal, rosenthals@sec.gov
Young Professionals: The YPs continue to show their youthful exuberance, meeting almost monthly and drawing members of all ages to their fun and varied events, thanks to co-chairs Elena Howell and Allegra Moothart. Student Chapters: Alphonse Vinh supervised the revitalization of the student Chapter at CUA’s library school while continuing as liaison to the ambitious and energetic student group at UMD. “Get out the Vote”: In an effort to increase voter participation in the 2005 SLA national and DC Chapter elections, Estelle Alexander and Michael White designed campaign buttons for distribution to Chapter members and beyond. E-Elections: We pride ourselves, here in DC, on being innovative and forward thinking and nowhere was that demonstrated more than this year’s “First Time Ever Anywhere” electronic Chapter elections. A total of 380 digital and 8 paper ballots were cast this year. That represents an almost 100% increase over last year’s election with 201 valid paper ballots were counted. Ellie Briscoe is already testing improvements for next year’s election. Way to go, Ellie! To Barbara Ferry, newsletter editor, Shelia Jackson, calendar editor, Cassandra Sheih, web master, Marilyn Bromley, metrics master, Donna Scheeder, awards chair, Erin Clougherty who is so much more than Chapter Treasurer, and all the other committee chair and volunteers, my sincere thanks for all your wonderful work. And thanks to our major sponsors, Factiva and LexisNexis, for their generous support. Best Wishes The Annual Banquet and Business Meeting gave us the opportunity to celebrate the Chapter’s 65th anniversary with good food, good friends, and a fascinating keynote speaker, author Anthony Pitch. With the traditional “transfer of the gavel”, Shirley Loo officially took on the duties and responsibilities of the Presidency. My best wishes for a wonderful year ahead. Shirley, I know you will do a terrific job. Shirley will be looking for volunteers to head up or join the many committees that make up the DC Chapter so please raise your hands high and get involved. Have a safe and wonderful summer. My best to all.
The gavel is passed from Sheryl Rosenthal to Shirley Loo.
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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/July 2005
Student Award Winner Submitted by Ginger Richards I was thrilled when I found out that I was the recipient of the 2005 SLA Annual Conference Stipend Award from the DC Chapter of SLA. Last year’s conference in Nashville was what sparked my interest in special librarianship and I knew that this year’s conference would be a week full of stimulating events. As a soon-to-be graduate of Catholic University of America and a new resident of Washington DC who recently accepted her first job as a professional librarian, I couldn’t have thought of a better way to begin my professional career than to attend the SLA Annual Conference. I must first mention that the convention center in downtown Toronto was an incredible location for this year’s conference and the turnout was astounding. My week was filled with excellent sessions on a variety of topics, my favorite of which was Mary Ellen Bates’ session on mining the “new” web for information, including Blogs, RSS feeds, and online social networks. Mary Ellen’s sessions are always quite informative, and her quick wit and humorous anecdotes on Boulder, Colorado (which happens to be my hometown) always keeps the audience entertained. Other highlights of my week included vendor-hosted parties at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre and the Hockey Hall of Fame, visits to the INFO/EXPO center, and an inspiring speech by Gary Hamel on innovative strategies that can be applied to libraries and information centers. I must admit, however, that what stands out as the most significant aspect of attending this conference is the opportunity to meet fellow colleagues and to experience the camaraderie and professional support that the SLA community has to offer. If I have any advice to carry forth from this conference, it would be to encourage people to extend those networking opportunities beyond the confines of an annual event and to continue building the community within their local Chapter. Not only was I able to attend this year’s conference because of DC/SLA, but it is through the Chapter’s listserv that I was apprised of the solo librarian position opening at People For the American Way that was offered to me in late April. Needless to say, I owe the Chapter more than one “thank you.” So with that, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of DC/SLA for offering me an opportunity that was rewarding on both a personal and professional level and for being part of such a welcoming and supportive community. I hope to see you at future DC/SLA events and I am looking forward to next year’s conference in Baltimore!
Ginger Richards receives her stipend award from Lyle Minter at the DC/SLA Annual Banquet.
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Military Librarians Hear About A Special Historic Collection Submitted by Diane Schnurrpusch, DSchnurr@DTIC.MIL On April 4th the Military Librarians Group of DC/SLA sponsored a meeting at the Hilton Old Town Alexandria in conjunction with the Defense Technical Information Center’s 2005 Users Meeting and Training Conference. More than 50 people attended the evening meeting, including DC/SLA members and many local and out-of-town conference attendees. R. Lee Hadden of the Geospatial Information Library of the Topographic Engineering Center in Alexandria was the speaker. Mr. Hadden, a former USGS reference librarian, gave a fascinating talk on the Heringen Collection. The geology books, maps, and other records in the collection were taken from European libraries and hidden by the Nazis in a potash mine in Heringen, Hessen, Germany. At the end of World War II, the US military uncovered them and transported them to the United States where they were given to the US Geological Survey Library. Hadden’s wellresearched presentation focused on censorship, theft of the cultural heritage of the occupied countries, and the freezing of the flow of scientific information. He also explained the importance of the geology materials to the military. Soil conditions and locations of bridges, mines, and water supplies are some of the many concerns to the armed forces. Hadden displayed some items from the collection. He was kind enough to provide several photographs from his presentation for this newsletter. The Military Librarians Group is grateful for his contributions. [cont’d next page]
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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/July 2005
Military Librarians [Cont’d from previous page ]
German books and materials hidden deep in a mine in Hessen to prevent destruction from Allied bombing at the end of World War II. You might say this is a true example of “data mining.” (Photo taken by US Army troops in 1945. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.)
One of the few items in the Heringen collection that has a full quota of ownership stamps. The book was published in Russia, was purchased by the Krupskaya Library in Orel, southeast of Moscow, and placed in its main reading room. Captured by the Germans, the title and author were transliterated into German. The pasted title is stamped with the Swastika and Eagle stamp of Wehrgeologenstellen #20. Sent to Berlin, it was later evacuated to Heringen, where it was stamped with the US Army Corps of Engineers “Heringen Collection” stamp. Finally, it is stamped with the US Geological Survey acquisitions stamp and date of entry into the USGS library collection. This page reads like a visa page in a passport. Few articles in the collection are so well documented. (Photo taken by Lee Hadden.)
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DC/SLA Chapter Notes | June/July 2005