SLA: St. Louis SLATE Newsletter

Message from the President

 Hello Saint Louis Metro Chapter SLA Members. I hope 2010 has started on the right foot … or at least you have landed on your feet. This has certainly been a challenging period of time for SLA and libraries everywhere, so I encourage you to rely on your SLA membership, benefits and networks.

The year started off with a very successful SLA Leadership Summit held in Saint Louis. Many chapter members were involved in the planning and execution of the Summit, and I want to especially thank Marianne Cavanaugh, Geri Heberlie, Karen Robinson and Betsy Williams for their leadership, vision and hard work to make it a success. The chapter received much praise from attendees and SLA Leadership for the quality of the Summit and the inventive fundraising.

A common SLA Leadership topic was the challenging economic environment and how chapters can implement successful strategies to both maintain and support their membership. It’s important to remember that all organizations and staff are vulnerable as we’ve sadly seen in our own community with local library closings. SLA Headquarters has also had to make the difficult step of reducing the staff size and these dedicated professionals deserve both our respect and thanks for great job they do under enormous pressure. Putting the results of the Alignment Project into practice will be a challenge for SLA leaders and members, but it will help us keep focused on our professional value and future success.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the 101^st SLA Annual Conference in New Orleans this year. I look forward to representing our chapter at the meeting and the chance to talk to the staff of the SLA Headquarters on your behalf.

Please remember to visit our local chapter website often to keep up-to-date on our local programming. The more active you are with the local chapter, the more SLA can work for you, so please get involved in some way in 2010.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments about SLA or our local chapter.

Kind Regards,

Patrick Hendershot

President

Saint Louis Metro Area SLA Chapter
president@stlsla.org

Message from the Past President

 Back in January, most of my attention was focused on the Leadership Summit. I want to take this opportunity to thank Marianne Cavanaugh and Geri Heberlie, our Leadership Summit organizers, for putting together a truly memorable event. They started working on plans early last year and the results of their hard work really impressed the folks at SLA Headquarters as well at the attendees.

Please Support our Sponsors

 You might notice that this newsletter has something new. On the right hand side, there is a column of company logos and names. These sponsors are our valued contributors. They are the organizations who make a lot of what the SLA does possible. We have programming, conferences, and other events due to their generosity.

The great thing about these advertisements is that they are not randomly generated by an algorithm. These are companies we already do business with in our various workplaces. Their messages are relevant to our work and our lives.

The sponsors you see in this issue helped to make the SLA Leadership Summit possible. Take a moment to note these sponsors. Visit their websites, learn about their products and services. By sponsoring our activities, they help make the St. Louis Chapter of the Special Libraries Association better.

Leadership Summit 2010 Highlights

 Erin Lanham is the Chair of the Information Technology Committee and the Webmaster for the St. Louis Metro Area SLA Chapter.

 Jill Bright also contributed information and photos from the Leadership Summit. Jill is the Treasurer for the St. Louis Metro Area SLA Chapter.

First of all, a big ‘ole “Thank You” to my chapter members at the St. Louis Metro Area Chapter for hosting. Hardworking, upbeat and creative members made the conference hospitality great!

Member News and Announcements

The St. Louis Chapter of the SLA welcomes two new members. Juliette Douglas and Julie Porter recently joined our chapter. Welcome to the SLA!

The Downtown Librarians' Lunch happens every second Friday at 12:30 pm at City Gourmet. Formerly City Grocer, City Gourmet is at the corner of 10th and Olive in downtown St. Louis. Bring your lunch with you, or pick up your lunch downstairs and head up to the seating area. City Gorumet has many choices including sandwiches, prepared salads, soups, and more. Visiting librarians and friends are always welcome.

The Missouri Institute of Mental Health Library closed last month. The MIMH library was founded in 1962, and was located on the grounds of the former St. Louis State Hospital. Our local librarians who attended the Special Libraries Class through the University of Missouri always enjoyed this stop on the Special Libraries  Class tour in the summers. The Library played an integral role in providing research and information to the Department of Mental Health service providers and their staff, patients and families.

Karen Robinson, Student Relations Chair, was interviewed for a story for Fox 2 news. The story was about librarians and technology. It can be seen at the Fox 2/KTVI website.

Save the date for two upcoming chapter events:

• September 21:  L'ecole Culinaire Library Tour. This library tour should be a culinary delight! This date may change. Check back in August for the exact date. Details will be posted soon on the Chapter Blog and through the mailing list.
• October 20: Against Copyright. Dr. Michele Boldrin, the author of Against Intellectual Monopoly and a professor in Washington University's Department of Economics, will discuss Google and copyright. Check for details through the blog post linked above, and the mailing list.

Why I Love My Job

 "Why I Love My Job" is a feature highlighting our chapter members and why they love librarianship. If you would like to tell your story here, please email the newsletter editor. This issue's column was submitted by St. Louis SLA member Rosie Weiss. Rosie is Electronic Resources Librarian and Training Coordinator for Monsanto Library Services.

In the Kitchen with...

This time we're in the kitchen with Keir Haug, who has a delicious curry recipe to share.

Books & Music for Spring

In between the chill of winter and the inferno St. Louisans call summer, we are permitted the brief reprieve of spring. For me, this means cool morning walks to Francis Park with a book in hand and music (or NPR) on my MP3 player. Continue reading and you just might find some great books and music to take along on your next walk to the park.