SLA: St. Louis SLATE Newsletter

Message from the President

By Geri Heberlie

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Information is not power; information sharing is power.

This is a quote from Vinton Cerf's interview with Charlie Rose during the opening keynote address at this year's annual SLA conference.  As I listened to the interview, I jotted this quote down because it conveys the value of what we do as information professionals.  Our organizations, the patrons we serve, and even the professional associations in which we are involved, thrive because of information sharing.

Charles Guenther: Lyrical Special Librarian

By Stephanie McReynolds

Charles Guenther, poet, reviewer, translator, past-president of our chapter (1969-1970) and (according to our chapter archives) our own "Lyrical Special Librarian," died on 24 July 2008 at the age of 88.

Nominations for Chapter Awards

By Karen Goddard

The Awards Committee is seeking nominations for two Chapter awards:

Elizabeth Owens Award

St. Louis Metro Area Chapter/Special Libraries Association Leadership Award

The deadline for submitting nominations is October 31, 2008.

Please read on for more information about these awards.

Professional Growth and Fun

By Betsy Richie

I confess I have been a bad SLA member.  Well, maybe not bad, just blissfully ignorant.  Then I attended my first SLA Annual Conference in June.  At the conference, I realized there is much more to my membership in SLA -- more opportunities for learning and networking -- than I ever imagined.

Hitting the Vendor Floor

By Rosie Weiss

As the electronic resources librarian for Monsanto, hitting the vendor floor at the SLA Annual Conference is a must.  I try to visit the vendors we do business with and squeeze in a few we are curious about.  Some sales reps are old friends whom we follow from vendor to vendor...to vendor.

Seattle's Cool House

By Betsy Richie

What do librarians do when they're out of town? Visit libraries, of course.  Patrick Hendershot and I took a break from the SLA Annual Conference to visit the Seattle Public Library.  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer referred to the new library building as the "Cool House" because it was designed by architect Rem Koolhaas and because it is, well, cool.

IUG Conference

By Lisa Farrell

I attended my first IUG Conference in Washington DC this April.  The IUG (Innovative Users Group) Conference is open to those that use the Innovative Interfaces Inc library software.

2008 MOBIUS Annual Conference

By Jill Bright

In its 10th year of fostering collaboration among Missouri libraries, MOBIUS held its 2008 Annual Conference 3-5 June at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.  The MOBIUS (Missouri Bibliographic Information User System) consortium is comprised mainly of academic libraries working together to share both print and electronic resources, including III’s Millennium integrated library system.

What’s So Special About SLA for Academic Librarians?

By Jill Bright

A petition is making the rounds in SLA proposing a new Academic Division.  Our chapter has long provided a welcoming atmosphere to all types of librarians, including a fair number of academic librarians.  What will the proposed division do, and how do academic librarians in our Chapter feel about what SLA currently offers them?

Freedom to Soar...With Books and More!

By Stephanie Tolson

If you haven't yet made plans to attend the 2008 Missouri Library Association Conference, 1-3 October, in St. Louis, time is getting short.  You will not want to miss the exciting lineup of events conference organizers have planned for you.