SLA Information Technology Division Blog

SLA Board of Directors Candidates Announced

The candidates for SLA Board of Directors have just been announced.  I'm so pleased to report that not one, but two current IT Division Board members are running for SLA Board of Directors:

Holly Chong-Williams, a past chair and 2008 IT Program Planner, is running for Division Cabinet Chair-Elect. 

Michael Kim, IT Secretary, is running for one of the Director positions.

The complete list of candidates:

For President-elect:

• Janice C. Anderson, Access Sciences Corporation, Houston, Texas
• Anne Caputo, Dow Jones & Company, Washington, D.C.

For Chapter Cabinet Chair-elect:

• Cynthia Barrancotto, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, Houston, Texas
• Ruth Wolfish, IEEE, Piscataway, New Jersey

For Division Cabinet Chair-elect:

• Holly Chong-Williams, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, Virginia
• Ann Sweeney, European Union - European Commission Delegation, Washington, D.C.

For Director (Two to be elected):

• Jessica Baumgart, Renesys, Manchester, New Hampshire
• Michael Kim, University of Miami Library, Coral Gables, Florida
• Daniel Lee, Navigator Ltd, Toronto, Ontario
• Nettie Seaberry, National Minority Supplier Development Council, New York City

Congratulations to all the candidates!

An information professional is not necessarily a librarian

That thought (above) occurred to me at the Leadership Summit during Andy Hines' presentation.  We in SLA general describe ourselves as librarians, yet we belong to a broader group of knowledge workers called information professionals.  Interestingly, we're seeing our members branch out of libraries and work for other types of organizations including software companies -- and not as librarians, but as information professionals.  Some of our members work in technology positions within libraries, where they are information technology professionals.  In addition, we have other knowledge workers who are developing skills and performing tasks similar to those that have been associated historically with libraries and librarians.

I've written this much and am not sure how to end this blog post...so perhaps I'll just say that this is all food for thought....and your thoughts are welcome!

Sivacracy.net and Siva Vaidhyanathan

After hearing him speak in May, I've been "high" on Siva, who just joined the University of Virginia faculty (from NYU) and who has been appointed the first fellow of the Institute for the Future of the Book (IF:Book). He runs a group blog called Sivacracy that focuses on copyright, culture, free culture, democracy and more.  IF:Book noted that:

Siva is one of just a handful of writers to have leveled a consistent and coherent critique of Google's expansionist policies, arguing not from the usual kneejerk copyright conservatism that has dominated the debate but from a broader cultural and historical perspective: what does it mean for one company to control so much of the world's knowledge?

Although he is not a technologist, he thinks about and write on topics that are important to us.  If you've not heard of him, take a quick peek at his blog (which is not being hosted by IF:Book).

SLA 2008 Board of Directors Candidates Announced

The candidates for 2008 Board of Directors were just announced.  Note that IT Division Public Relations Chair Ty Webb (also a past chair of the division) is on the ballot for Director.  Congratulations, Ty!

SLA Member Profile

The September 2006 issue of Information Outlook features Jill Hurst-Wahl in the member profile feature.  Jill has been an active contributor to the Blogging Section blog since its beginning, and she has accepted the role of 2007 Blogging Section Chair for the division.  Way to go, Jill!

New Chair-Elect for the Blogging Section

It is my pleasure to announce that Jill Hurst-Wahl, contributor to the Blogging Section blog, 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 thank you to her for rising up to the challenge!

Award winners

With great joy, I just learned that Stacey Greenwell, IT Division's Chair-Elect, and contributor to this very blog, received last Friday the Professional Award from the Kentucky Chapter of SLA. Also, and not the least, Constance Ard, a member of the IT Division as well, received the Chapter Member Award from the same Chapter.

A lot of Kentucky members are also part of IT, and that's because of Stacey. I should know, she got me too before I left the state :)

Congrats you two, it is richly deserved!