Blogging Section of SLA-IT

Blogging Section Year-in-Review (2007)

With the end of the year nearly upon us, I thought I'd take a few minutes for an informal year-in-review.

THE BLOG

The number of posts in this blog continue to grow and now we're over 300 posts.  Generally, you're seeing a couple new posts per week from our growing list of authors:

• Nicole Engard
• Stacey Greenwell
• Jill Hurst-Wahl
• Steven Kaye
• Cynthia Larson
• Catherine Lavallée-Welch
• Tracy Z. Maleeff
• Steve Oberg

This is a very knowledgeable group and I'm pleased to be among them.  (And thanks to all of you...this blog would be nothing without you.)

Of course, a blog needs readers and we know from our statistics that our readership has grown this year.  On Jan. 12, we were averaging 24 pageviews per day. On May 30, that number had increased to 34 per day, and I would suspect that it is continuing to increase.  In addition to people reading the blog by going to the blog itself, we have people who are reading it through an RSS reader.  For example, at least 70 people are reading this blog through Bloglines.  HQ tells us that we're one of the more heavily read blogs in the Association!

OTHER SECTION ACTIVITIES

Besides the blog, our only other major activity is the bloggers get together at the SLA Annual Conference.  For several years, this has been an informal activity and a lot of fun! With more people interested in blogging, a question we should ask is whether we should do something more formal at the Annual Conference.  I'll leave that question to the next chair of the Blogging Section.

THE NEXT CHAIR

Yes, I'm passing the torch (or should it be the keyboard) to Nicole Engard, who will chair this section in 2008.  Nicole is very knowledgeable, highly respected and a great blogger.  I look forward to the direction she'll take this section in!

EXIT STAGE LEFT

Yes, I am stepping down as chair of the section, but I am not going far.  I'll be staying on the Board and I'll keep blogging.  And surely I'll be at whatever blogging event happens at the Annual Conference in Seattle!

Best Wishes,

Jill

Chair-Elect for the Section

It is my pleasure to announce that Jill Hurst-Wahl, contributor to this weblog, has become Chair-Elect of the Blogging Section. Her term as Chair will begin in January at the Leadership Summit in Reno. Congratulations to Jill and thanks go to her for rising up to the challenge!

CE class at SLA Baltimore and Get-Together

Unfortunately, the CE class I was going to teach on Sunday June 11th, "Continuing Education Course- Weblogging for Beginners: A Practical Approach", was cancelled due to low number of registrations. It's just too bad because we were going to have hands-on activities for the participants. I guess the incredibly high prices for the equipment and Internet access, forcing us to put a higher price on the class registration, did us in...

But fear not, the Webloggers Get-Together is still on! See you there!

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Technorati tag: sla2006

Bloggers get-together in Baltimore

The Blogging Section invites all bloggers and those interested in blogging to join us for a get-together at the Annual Conference in Baltimore. On Monday, June 12th, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, we will meet at Edgar's Billiards Club & Restaurant (htt://www.edgarsclub.com) on the outdoor patio. Look for the sign "SLA Bloggers Get-Together". Restaurant and bar service will be available for you to order refreshments (each pay his/her own). A pool table will be reserved inside for us.

Edgar's offers 10% off the tab for conventioneers so don't forget to bring your conference badge with you. The club is conveniently located between the Baltimore Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency on the Baltimore Inner Harbor Skywalk, above Pratt and Light streets.

So, come relax, practice your eight-ball and talk about blogging with us!

Thursday evening, Houston meeting

Well, the Texas Chapter sure can put up a nice reception!Great view up the top of a nearby hotel, great food and a nice opportunity to meet other information professionals.

While there, I met Marydee Ojala, editor of Online Magazine. Marydee is blogging about the meeting over at the Online Insider blog.

Tomorrow is "association" day. One of the highlights will be the luncheon with the various candidates for the SLA board. Among them, several IT members: Baltimore planner James Manasco and Libby Truddell who are running both for Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect; Blogging Section member Dav Robertson and Stephen Abram both for President-Elect; “Buzzy” Basch  for Treasurer and LaJean Humphries for Director.

CORRECTION: I failed to mention that Libby Truddell, candidate for Chapter Cabinet Chair, is the Chair of the IT division's Public Relations Committee. My apologies for the omission.

Off to Houston

I'm off this morning to Houston to the SLA Leadership Meeting. It will be my first winter meeting, and it is as chair of the Section. If Section members are going to be present in Houston, please look me up. It will be my pleasure to meet you!

SLA Leadership Summit 2006

Registration is open for the SLA Leadership Summit in Houston, January 18-21, 2006.  Blogging section members, IT division members, anyone who is involved in SLA--this is a great meeting to get to know your association and its leadership.  I've attended the past three summits and have found the meeting to be valuable, particularly in terms of networking and in getting the opportunity to speak to SLA leadership.

Brief recap of emails

Here is just a brief recap of the emails to use:

• if you want to join the Section: membership@sla.org
• if you want to be a contributor to the blog: clw@lakeland.usf.edu

I apologize for any confusion that could have occured. Afterbirth pains of a new blog I suppose... I am grateful for your interest.

Want to be an contributor?

Would you like to contribute to this blog?

I am looking for Section members who would be willing to become authors. The only parameters would be to stay on topic - information professionals, blogging and related technologies - and to remain cordial. You could be new to blogging or an old hand as both groups can bring interesting things to the table. Possible topics for posts include interesting links, news from vendors/publishers, questions, experiences, theory and practice, reflexions, etc etc.

If interested, drop me a line at clw - at - lakeland.usf.edu .

Welcome!

Could you imagine the SLA-IT Division's Blogging Section without a weblog? Of course not, so it is high time this blog got under way. I am happy to see you here.

The Information Technology Division of SLA created the Blogging Section in June 2005. Its purpose is to provide a forum for members to exchange information on the technologies and applications of blogs and RSS. Central to this section is the development of blogs by and for information professionals and their customers, including design, development, structure, delivery, and promotion. This section monitors and reports on emerging new technologies and offers education and training on their effective use, implementation and management.

All are invited to join, from the curious and the beginners, to the grizzled veterans.

We are also already planning activities for the new Section for the Annual conferences in Baltimore. An half-day, hands-on CE course for blogging beginners will take place on Sunday. A get-together of Section members and bloggers will also be organized in order to socialize and “put faces on familiar names”. More details are to come in the following months.

If you would like to join the Section:

• Already a member of the Information Technology Division? Call, write or email SLA Member Services (+1-703-647-4938; SLA, PO Box 75338, Baltimore, MD 21275; or membership@sla.org)and ask them to add you to the Blogging Section of the Division. Have your member number on-hand. Easy!
• Not a member of SLA-IT? You have to become a member of the Division in order to join a Section. You can wait until your renew your membership and add us to your selection, but, why wait? Contact SLA Member Services by phone (+1- 202-939-3671 – different number!), they will take your credit card details to add you to the Division and Section immediately. Alternatively, you can mail a check with a request to add the division/section to your membership (SLA, PO Box 75338, Baltimore, MD 21275).

Don't hesitate to contact me with your questions and comments. This Section is meant to help all information professionals with their blogging endeavors. And this brand new baby is just waiting for your loving input to grow.

Best,

Catherine Lavallée-Welch
Blogging Section Chair