NJSLA Blog

Information Visualization (Princeton-Trenton SLA Meeting, Monday, Nov. 16 in Princeton)

SLA Princeton-Trenton Chapter
 Information Visualization

Monday, November 16, 2009
Speaker: Dr. Anselm Spoerri, Rutgers University
Venue:  Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ. For directions click here.

As the amount of available data continues to grow at an exponential rate, tools are being developed to help users explore and gain insights into this rich data universe in interactive and visual ways.

Dr. Spoerri’s talk will provide an overview of key design approaches and tools for visualizing a diverse set of data domains. It will also show examples from the current work being done at Rutgers and address how libraries can benefit from information visualization.

Networking begins:  5:30
Dinner:  6:00
Speaker:  7:00

Cost: $20 members     $25 non-members       $15 students 

Name: __________________________________  Email:__________________________

To register, please remit checks (payable to PT-SLA) to:

Melissa Brown
5 Sommers Road, Ewing, NJ 08638.
Phone: 609-252-7584
melissa.brown AT bms.com

 

Rutgers SC&I Rebranding on SLA Blog

I've posted to the SLA Blog on this year's rebranding to the School of Communication & Information, and its parallels to the current SLA Name Change discussion. Because this topic is of local interest, I'm promoting it here, too. Check it out!

Reminder: Documenting Climate Change: Documents Assn. of NJ Fall Conference (Friday, Nov. 6 at Princeton U)

From Susan Kadezabek (skadezab AT gmail.com):

You are invited to the Documents Association of New Jersey (DANJ) annual conference entitled "Documenting Climate Change" on Friday, November 6th, from 8:30am to 3pm. DANJ welcomes all educators, students, and librarians to come and learn how important government and non-government publications can be in researching climate change issues. 

The conference will be held at Lewis Library at Princeton University.

For complete agenda and registration application go to:  http://www.danj.org.

Conference costs include continental breakfast and lunch: $35 for DANJ members, $45 for non-members, and $25 for students.

Hope to see you there!

Register Online for The New York Information and Intelligence Forum (Thursday, Nov. 19 in New York City)

The New York Chapter of SLA has opened online registration for the all-day "New York Information and Intelligence Forum," to be held Thursday, Nov. 19. I've already registered, and I hope other New Jersey Chapter members can join us.

Remember that this and other events sponsored by local SLA chapters or of interest to information professionals are listed on the NJSLA Calendar. More information is below.

Eric Schwarz, NJSLA President

---

 

The New York Information and Intelligence Forum

A discussion of the challenges of 2009 and the opportunities of 2010

Brought to you by the New York Chapter of SLA

Thursday, November 19th, 2009, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.*

Dr. William Duggan, our featured keynote speaker, is a best-selling business author and Senior Lecturer at Columbia University. Professor Duggan’s primary teaching and research interest is strategic intuition as the key to innovation. He is the author of three recent books on strategic intuition: Napoleon's Glance: The Secret of Strategy (2002); The Art of What Works: How Success Really Happens (2003); and Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement (2007). In 2007 the journal Strategy+Business named Strategic Intuition “Best Strategy Book of the Year.”  Dr. Duggan teaches strategic intuition at Columbia Business School and has been an active consultant and advisor to the business community.

Our Providers Panel will feature: Ms. Clare Hart, Executive Vice President of Dow Jones & Co., and President, Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group; Mr. Steven Goldstein, Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alacra; Mr. Scott Livingston, Vice President of Lexis-Nexis; and Ms. Trish Frankenfield, Director, Client Development, at Capital IQ.

Our Information Professionals panel will feature: Ms. Karen Kreizman Reczek , Senior Manager, Information Resource Services, Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, and Mr. Bill Patterson, Director, Research & Analysis, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Forum will be held at Baruch College, 151 East 25th Street (between Lexington and Third), Newman Conference Center, 7th floor. Ticket price includes breakfast, coffee breaks, and lunch.

Members registering before Saturday, October 31st pay $25 for this event. Members registering Monday November 2nd through Friday November 13th pay $35. Non Members pay $75. Student ticket price is $10.

RSVP by Friday, November 13, 2009, to Vida Cohen at cohen.v AT att.net.

You may pay with credit card via Paypal on the SLA-NY website. Please forward Paypal receipt to Vida with your email RSVP.

If you wish to pay by check, please make it out to SLA-NY, and email Vida to get her mailing address.

Vida will also be able to accept reservations and checks at the SLA-NY Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 15th.

All payments must be in advance and not at the door.  Refunds will not be available.

*Registration, including breakfast, will begin at 8 a.m. the day of the conference.

We look forward to spending an exciting day with you!

Alignment and Name Change Resources: 'Getting to the Heart of SLA's Alignment Project'

The horizontal navigation bar at the top of the NJSLA Bulletin blog now includes a link to the SLA's Alignment Project wiki. The wiki contains comprehensive information on SLA's Alignment Project and Name Change.

The Alignment Project Portal may be the most easily grasped resource, especially by people outside SLA, and is prominently featured at www.sla.org. Note that the Portal features Advancing Knowledge prominently — but not the name SLA.

The wiki features a page, Getting to the Heart of SLA's Alignment Project, which answers the tough questions. Jill Strand, Chair of SLA's Advisory Council and Alignment Ambassador for the Minnesota Chapter, put together that page, where you'll learn:

• What is the SLA Alignment Project and how did it come about?
• Why is Alignment so important?
• Is the Alignment research truly reflective of all SLA members?
• I've heard that it is mainly a way to push a name change for the Association.  Is that true?
• How would a possible name change be handled? What's next and when will we learn more?
• The core of what we do hasn't changed, so we should still be calling ourselves librarians. Terms such as "info pro" and "knowledge manager" are inaccurate and have hurt the profession.
• Why doesn't the Alignment Project stress the value of an MLIS?
• Some long-time members or those who have had budget cuts seems to be against Alignment, saying that no matter what we do decision makers aren't going to value us.
• Where do we go from here?

As with other wikis, you can join the conversation by logging in or signing up from any page or the main page.

Eric Schwarz
President and Alignment Ambassador, New Jersey Chapter

New Name to Come Soon

I reported yesterday about SLA's potential new name, and that it could be announced as soon as today (Oct. 8). The good news is that the SLA Board took definitive action today. The flip side is that we have to wait a few more days to learn the chosen name. 
 
SLA President Gloria Zamora sent this note to the "Alignment Ambassador" team on Oct. 8: "I am happy to report to you that the Board, earlier today, voted on a new name for the association. It will be presented to the entire membership next week along with details about the voting process. All members will get a chance to vote on the name before the end of the year."
 
As a reminder, SLA's Alignment Project Portal is at http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/alignment/portal/index.html. The portal has tools to help us Explore, Define and Express our value as knowledge professionals.
 
Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President
 

Alignment and the SLA Name

SLA is getting ready to introduce a potential new name for members to consider as we start our second century. The SLA Board is discussing the issue tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 8), and may have an announcement on www.sla.org later in the day Oct. 8. Check it out!

The association's name is only part of the Alignment Project, which is meant to give members the tools to show their value to employers and other audiences. We have about 50 people attending tonight's session with SLA President-Elect Anne Caputo, where Alignment will be the topic of the evening.

These are some points to consider regarding Alignment and the name change proposal:

1. We need a name that reflects our value and our passion for providing actionable information and analysis that moves our organizations forward.

2. Pride in our 100-year legacy is important, but nostalgia has no worth to our organizations. If the terms "special libraries" and "special librarians" are of little value to our clients, we can't hold on to those terms.

3. Changing our name and changing our game this time is backed by thorough research readily available on the SLA site and via communications to members. Take the time to read the research so you can make an informed decision.

Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President

SLA Announces Results of Board Election; Cindy Romaine to Lead as President-Elect

SLA has announced the results of the election for leadership of the association and board directors.

Cindy Romaine will lead your organization as President-Elect in 2010 (President in 2011 after Anne Caputo).

SLA members also elected:

• Treasurer Dan Trefethen.
• Division Cabinet Chair-Elect Mary Ellen Bates.
• Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect Liz Blankson-Hemans.

Complete details and a link to the new leaders' bios are on the SLA Blog.