Queen City SLA

SLA Innovation Laboratory: A Well-Stocked Sandbox

First Things First: SLA's Proposed Name Change

Before I point out the benefits of SLA's Innovation Laboratory, I'll acknowledge the deliberations and member concerns around the proposed SLA name change to Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals orASKPro.  Jennifer Evert posted recently on the SLA's Alignment Project.  The proposed name change is related to that effort to understand the role of and the professional development needs of information professionals.  The SLA Board's proposal to rename the organization has generated a lot of discussion.  Read up on it or join in on the SLA website or on Twitter or on Facebook or on the SLA blog.  And if you're an SLA member, remember to vote on the name in a special referendum from Nov. 16-Dec. 9.

The SLA Innovation Laboratory

Among the many benefits of SLA membership is the availability of a number of resources the SLA makes available on its website.  I'm focusing on the Innovation Lab today but look at the SLA Resources page for more information, tools, and news.  The Innovation Laboratory is a "sandbox": a collection of SLA-licensed software and open-source applications available to SLA members so we can try out technologies in a safe environment without having to invest money and time installing or supporting them locally or subscribing on our own.  We can play around in Second Life, learn how to set up a wiki or a blog, learn more about web editing, and so much more, including the ability to try out a whole lot of proprietary and open-source applications including social networking sites, Google Analytics, listservs, ColdFusion, podcast and other broadcast applications, and, yes, there's more!  The Adobe Creative Suite is coming soon -- a welcome addition.  Like the Innovation Laboratory webpage says, "The Laboratory offers a wide variety of Web 2.0 software learning tools to help you become more business savvy and technologically adept."  All you need to do is log in and start playing.

posted by Mary Jenkins, Law Librarian & Director, Cincinnati Law Library Association

Membership Information

^{Have questions about who is a member of the Cincinnati Chapter of SLA?}  

SLA's website contains a tab on the front page entited "Membership".  This tab allows you to update your profile, renew your membership and view the membership directory. 

The Membership Directory link is located below the "Networking" heading and is only available to members after entering your login and password.  You can search for members by chapter/division or by an individual's name.  It's a great way to obtain current contact information for members of our chapter.  Be sure to check it out!

Joint Program on Copyright - November 5th

Please join the Cincinnati and Kentucky Chapters for a joint meeting on Thursday, November 5 at Thomas More College. The joint meeting will feature two guest speakers, John Savage, Copyright Clearance Center and Kopana Terry, University of Kentucky.

To register click here. Registration will close Wednesday, October 28 at 5:00 p.m.

For directions to Thomas More College, click here.

Please contact me, librarianliz@gmail.com, if you have questions, need more information, or encounter problems with the SurveyMonkey registration or PayPal forms.

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Schedule of Events

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. John Savage
2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Kopana Terry
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Cincinnati and Kentucky Chapter Business Meeting
5:45 p.m. - ??? Dutch-treat dinner at Brio (Newport on the Levee (optional)

Program Details

John Savage, Copyright Clearance Center

If you've ever been puzzled by copyright questions, don't miss this opportunity to learn from the copyright experts and to expand your respect for intellectual property. Not only will you get answers to your copyright questions, but you'll also learn how to minimize your company's exposure to illegal content use.

In this workshop you'll learn:

Copyright law basics as they apply in your company =0

How to stay compliant when you use content in your work

The answers to your own copyright questions

Kopana Terry, University of Kentucky

Analog to Digital: Photography Copyright Then and Now

will examine where photo copyright started, how it has evolved, and how today’s Internet access and digital content demand could change it in the future. Using pivotal photographic examples, these aspects as well as Fair Use, Creative Commons, and other applicable avenues will be discussed.

COST

:

Members: $15
Non-Members: $20
Students: Free

Additional $1 service charge will be added to credit card payments.

Make checks payable to SLA-KY Chapter and mail to:

Alex Grigg
Lexmark Library
740 W. New Circle Rd. Lexington, KY 40550

SLA Alignment Project - Update

Sorry for this rather long blog posting but I wanted to bring everyone up-to-date on the SLA Alignment project. Many of you may be following the discussion of Alignment that has been going on in SLA publications, at the annual conference and on the SLA web site. I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on what the Alignment project is and what it means for our Chapter.  (Alignment Portal: http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/alignment/portal/index.html)

 

In my view, the project gives us an opportunity to think constructively about the value we bring to our organizations and how we communicate that value. Last year, SLA partnered with Outsell and Fleishman-Hillard to undertake extensive research on the role of information professionals. Executives from all industries and sectors were interviewed and some very powerful research emerged identifying the language that spoke to organizational leaders and the language that did not.   In preparing strategy documents in the last several months, I’ve found the results of the research to be quite helpful. For a good overview: http://wiki.sla.org/download/attachments/34701754/Positioning+Info+Pros+for+the+Future.pdf

 

The Alignment project has also been a chance for SLA to assess its own role. In recent years, membership has declined and members have become more diverse. Members don’t just describe themselves as librarians anymore.  To address these changing times, SLA has to assess whether it is providing members the tools that they need and whether it is effectively promoting the value of information professionals within the marketplace.  One of the first issues that SLA is grappling with is the potential for a name change. Last week, the SLA Board voted on a new name for the association. It will be presented this week to the organization and all members will have a chance to vote on the name before the end of the year.

 

Following are some excerpts from the recently posted FAQ on the Alignment wiki (http://wiki.sla.org/display/align/SLA+Alignment+Wiki). I hope these will help familiarize you with the discussion and get you thinking about the future of the organization and the profession.  We will be focusing on this topic further as the organization moves forward with a potential name change. I will post any updates to the list as we receive them.

 

Thanks,

Jennifer

 

 

What is the SLA Alignment Project and how did it come about?
For several years, members have asked for a broader effort and support from the Association in helping them to communicate their value in their organizations.  At one time or another, many of us have struggled to define the value of what we do and why our skills as a librarian and information professionals are important. The Alignment Project plan and goals were first introduced at Leadership Summit in January of 2008 with initial research findings shared at the next Leadership Summit in 2009.  The research provided broad concepts as well as value statements and encouraged people to use the information contained in it to explain what they do and the value they provide.  Association leadership  encouraged people to use the very powerful language and concepts when they talked about their skills.  

 

Why is Alignment so important?
When the Alignment research talks about using language that resonates with leaders and executives it is referring to leaders at all types of organizations: corporate, academic, non-profit and government.  Particularly in today's economy, we all need to articulate our value in language they can relate to, no matter where we work.  Our job, no matter whether we are up front or in the back room, is to talk with them about the solutions and support we offer and to align it with the organizations goals.  

 

I've heard that it is mainly a way to push a name change for the Association. Is that true?
Although the research suggested that a name change should be considered, SLA Leadership hesitated to move too quickly because they did not want anyone to think we embarked on this project as a means to that end.  Yet as members looked at the initial research findings on the SLA website, many (myself included) kept asking about a name change.  A name change is but one of many ways we can benefit from the findings of the alignment project.  The project results clearly show us the name and the perception of the name leave us in a very weak and not very desirable place in the world of public perception, and especially in the perception of senior management in our organizations.  The names we call ourselves - and there are more than 2,000 variations on names in our membership database - is testimony to the losing battle to use our professional name as a the name of our association.  We honor and respect libraries and librarians, just as we honor information professionals, knowledge managers, business or competitive intelligence professionals and a myriad of others. In fact, we are no longer an association of "special libraries" as more than 50 percent of our members do not work in a "library."

 

Welcome to the new Queen City Blog

Hi SLA Cincinnati Chapter Members,

I am very excited to announce the official launch of our Chapter blog. The blog will replace the old Queen City Gazette and will be a place where we can share information about upcoming events or issues that are of interest to the information community in the CIncinnati area. I'd like to thank Chris Campbell for getting us set up and started.  If you have ideas for useful things to post on the blog, please let me know. 

Upcoming events to remember:

- October 14th - Empower Yourself in the Workplace - Whether you are in the process of looking for a new position or you are trying to find ways to add value in your current position, our keynote speaker, Kathy Grant, Director of Membership Services for the Cincinnati Bar Association, will discuss the most important things to consider as you move forward in your career. For more details and to register, click here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=X3q1Ti9qvu8TzuXly2DRPQ_3d_3d

-- November 5th - Joint session with KY Chapter at Thomas More on Copyright. More information to follow.

Thanks - 
Jen Evert

President, Cincinnati Chapter SLA 

Reminder of Upcoming Tech Blitz Session

This is a reminder that we will have a Tech Blitz session on Thursday, September 24th. Please come to share or hear ideas on how you can creatively use technology in the workplace.  Time: 5:30-7:00 Place: KMK Library - 1 E Fourth Street

Upcoming events

Please mark your calendars for the following dates for programming from the Cincinnati Chapter of SLA. More details will follow but I wanted to get the basic information out there.

Also, please note, that we have also updated information on the SLA Cincinnati Chapter Website: http://units.sla.org/chapter/ccin/index.asp

September 15th - 6:00-7:30 -- Vineyard Café - Wine Tasting and Happy Hour

September 24th -- 5:30-7:00 - Technology Tips from Local Librarians - See how people are using blogs, wikis, social networking sites, and a wide range of technologies in their environments. Location: KMK Library, 1 E. Fourth Street

October 14th - 3:30-5:00 - Resume Updates - tips/guidance on selling your skills. Location: Health Foundation, Rookwood

Nov. 6th - 1:30-5:00 -- Copyright Workshop - Joint session with the KY Chapter of SLA. Location: Thomas Moore College Campus

Details on all of these sessions will follow. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Jen

President, Cincinnati Chapter, SLA