NJSLA Blog

NJSLA Seeks Program Planners

In 2008, your New Jersey chapter of the SLA (NJSLA) held career networking meetings throughout Central and Northern New Jersey; hosted SLA President Stephen Abram; went out to a Somerset Patriots game; and found out how to "Put Yourself First … Discover Your New Niche in Our Changing World."

All of this is possible with the help of volunteers finding sites and speakers, handling registrations, greeting fellow members, writing and distributing notices for the meetings, photographing the event and posting those photos, and several other tasks that make an event successful.

We're looking for volunteers for the 2009 Program Committee. Although it may sound like a lot of work, we have a framework and lots of tools (such as online registration) to make the job easier. If you've ever thought that we're missing out on some good ideas or could handle programming better, please let me know of your interest. Almost all of the work can be done from your home or office, so please consider volunteering.

Please email me for more information. (The link will open a message with my phone number included. If for some reason that does not work, please contact email directly: eric AT ericthelibrarian.com, with AT replaced by @.)

Best regards,
Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President 2009

SLA Conference Dates and Locations Through 2015

Mark your calendars: SLA has announced the dates/locations of our annual conferences through 2015, as well as the 2010 mid-winter Leadership Summit. (The summit is a smaller gathering of leaders of the SLA units such as chapters, divisions and caucuses.)

Leadership Summit 2010: Jan. 13-16 in St. Louis, MO, USA.

Annual conferences:

• 2009: June 14-17 in Washington, DC, USA. Register online.
• 2010: June 13-16 in New Orleans, LA, USA.
• 2011: June 12-15 in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
• 2012: July 15-18 in Chicago, IL, USA.
• 2013: June 9-12 in Phoenix, AZ, USA.
• 2014: June 8-11 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
• 2015: June 14-17 in Boston, MA, USA.

-- Eric Schwarz (NJSLA president, 2009)

SLA 2009: Final Days for Registration Discount - Stimulus, Part 2

Are you planning to attend the SLA 2009 annual conference in Washington, D.C. (to be held June 14-17)? You can save $45 off the member registration price, only through Saturday, Jan. 31. Sign up online for Part 2 of the "SLA Stimulus Plan."

Highlights of the conference will include keynote speaker Colin L. Powell and several Spotlight Sessions.

Remember, only three days left!

SLA NY Chapter Happy Hour: Monday, Feb. 9, 5:30-7:30 PM

From Leigh Hallingby, President Elect of SLA's New York Chapter:

The NY Chapter is holding its next 2009 SLA-NY Happy Hour on Monday, February 9th, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Midtown Executive Club.  Hope to see you there!

Happy Hours are a regular event the NY Chapter organizes to give members a chance to meet and chat.  Prospective members, students and all colleagues also are welcome.

There is no charge to attend, and there is no agenda except to network with colleagues in a quiet space. You will have an opportunity to introduce yourself to the group and make any announcements (such as a new position, job search or job  availability).  Please come and tell us who you are and, if you are looking for something, what it is. 

Midtown Executive Club, Rumford Hall, 40 West 45th Street (betw. 5th/6th Aves). You will see a blue awning that says CQ (for Club Quarters). http://www.midtownexecutiveclub.com


Drink Prices: $4 for soft drinks; $10 for beer, wine or mixed drinks; $12 for martinis.  
PLEASE NOTE: Half-price for beer and wine until 6:30.
 

Please RSVP to Vida Cohen to help us establish an attendance figure.  But feel free to drop by even if you have not RSVP'd. 

XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) - Wed., Feb. 11 in NYC

For the first SLA-NY Business & Finance program for 2009, Co-chairs Vicky Hall and Rita Ormsby have organized an informative session regarding XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) and its upcoming use in financial reporting.

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1 to 3:30 p.m.

Location: Room 130 in The William & Anita Newman Library, Baruch College, 151 E. 25th Street, New York. 

For all details please see the SLA-NY blog.

New Benefits for SLA Members

Greetings from the SLA Leadership Summit in Savannah, Georgia.

At the welcome session this morning, SLA leaders announced several new initiatives to enhance your membership -- and some changes that recognize the financial challenges of a recession economy.

The great news: Click University (virtual learning) Live and Replay sessions and replays will "now" be free to SLA members. (You'll need your membership info to get in.) The Web site hasn't yet been updated to reflect this information. SLA likely will update the site within the next week or so after the staff returns to their office in Virginia.

Remember that the execuBooks and Online Libraries are free to members, too.

Click U also offers discounts of up to 15 percent on certificate programs, and discounts for online courses at several universities.

SLA annual membership is now $35 for those making less than $18,000 a year, as previously announced. This has helped the association recently add almost 100 new members outside North America, SLA CEO Janice Lachance announced.

Members going to SLA 2009 (June 14-17) in Washington, D.C., can save $45 on the early bird registration cost by registering by Jan. 31. The first 100 attendees who registered Jan. 7 saved $100 each.

SLA is also adding a Rising Star award and a new Academic Division. The Ethics Ambassador program got into full swing in 2008.

Organizationally, the association is cutting costs by holding its Finance Committee meetings virtually. Also, SLA staff members are skipping salary increases in 2009 and will have to pay part of their medial coverage costs.

SLA's magazine, Information Outlook, will be published eight times a year rather than 12, because of increased printing and publishing costs, and decreased advertising.

Business & Finance Division Seeks Posters for SLA 2009

Location: SLA Annual Conference – Washington, 2009

Date/Time: Monday, June 15, 2009 – 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Business is everywhere. As a result, business information literacy is crucial to success in almost every aspect of daily life in academic, corporate or public library environments.

In this call for posters, the Business and Finance Division of SLA is providing an opportunity for business librarians to share ideas on this important topic. We are looking for case studies or practical applications on a wide range of issues including:

· Standards and competencies for business information literacy
· Pedagogic approaches to business information literacy education
· Assessment of learning outcomes
· Integrating business information literacy in the curriculum
· Librarian / faculty collaboration
· New technologies for teaching business information literacy
· Business information literacy in multi-disciplinary contexts
· Professional development for business information literacy
· Promoting business information literacy in the corporate environment

Help your colleagues learn from your work, both successful and unsuccessful. Share the results of your efforts at the upcoming poster session at SLA in Washington, June 2009.

This session is sponsored by the Business & Finance Division. Guidelines for materials and layout of poster presentations are available on the SLA Business & Finance Division website.

The deadline for abstract submissions is March 1, 2009. Please submit your name, institution, fax, email address, poster title, and description (250 words or less) by email, fax, or surface mail to Karen MacDonald at the address given below.

Any SLA Member is welcome to submit an abstract for consid! eration. In the event that a greater number of submissions are received than can be accommodated, members of the Business & Finance Division will be given preference. Not a member of the SLA Business & Finance Division? Click here to join.

All applicants will be notified no later than April 1, 2009 as to whether or not their proposal has been accepted. If you have any questions about this session, contact:

Karen I. MacDonald, MBA, MLIS
Assistant Professor / Business Liaison Librarian
PO Box 3967
University Library
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA 30303 USA
Ph. (404) 413-2856
Fax: (404) 413-2851
Email Karen.