Silicon Valley Chapter | SLA

Upcoming Event: The Role of Paid R&D Information Tools in Helping Achieve Executive Level Objectives (Thursday, October 7, 2010)

The Solo Librarians of the Silicon Valley (formerly San Andreas) Chapter of SLA invite you to join them at their next meeting on Thursday, October 7th.

 

We will have Sharon Malakoff on hand to discuss “The Role of Paid R&D Information Tools in Helping Achieve Executive Level Objectives”. Based on the results of a recent survey, she will focus on how information resources meet the needs and business objectives of managers and corporate executives. Identifying Return on Investment (ROI) these days is critical. This study shows how paid information tools save time, reduce costs and increase productivity.

 

Sharon is a Research Solutions Manager at Elsevier and has been with the company most of the last 22 years.

 

Upcoming Event: Environmental Design: Creating Digital Exhibitions Using Open Source Solutions (Sept. 23 SLA)

Meet the winners of the Silicon Valley chapter SLA  Design-A-Program student project from earlier this year! These SJSU students (and recent graduates) will be presenting a recent collaboration between the UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Library and Environmental Design Archives to create digital exhibitions using the open source software Omeka. 

"Environmental Design:  Creating Digital Exhibitions Using Open Source Solutions"
When:  Thursday, September 23, 6 - 8:30 p.m.
Speaker:  Mia Jaeggli, Environmental Design Library, UC, Berkeley
ALASC Proposal Team:  Gayle Pellizzer, Abby Dansiger and Rowena Weger
Location:  Gilead, 362 Lakeside Drive, Foster City
Registration URL:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/38F5YR5 

Special libraries indeed have very unique collections, although many of their own users do not realize the extent of the holdings. With staff and budgets stretched thinner than ever, how can special libraries highlight their collections and reach beyond base clientele? Creating digital exhibitions with open source tools can be an efficient, economical and innovative way to keep your library moving forward into the 21st century:  http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/exhibitions/

Event: Silicon Valley - A History of Change, August 30, 2010

The name change vote wasn't the only thing happening on August 30th! Leslie Berlin, Project Historian for the Silicon Valley Archives at Stanford University and author of the book The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley, spoke for about an hour on the founding and history of Silicon Valley. Before that, Chapter members tried to identify the former names of 50 people, companies and countries (I'm amazed anyone knew Burkina Faso's former name - I certainly didn't!)

A new beginning for the Chapter

In Leslie Fisher's work as Chapter President in 2009, she found that many of our colleagues did not know where the San Andreas Chapter was located, while they were aware of Silicon Valley. Given that we were also revisiting the Strategic Plan for the Chapter, including branding, it seemed opportune to revisit the Chapter's name as well.

In 2009. the Board voted to move forward with proposing a name change, following the process outlined by the national Association. Leslie posted over several months beginning in March 2010, explaining why a name change was necessary, the process and why she felt the new name suited us better. To quote from her May email:

Our Strategic Plan is being designed with an emphasis on adaptation and innovation.  It will serve us like a weathervane.  The components are like the directions, and by viewing it (and reviewing it) through prevailing currents – of business, of technology, of our social fabrics – the plan will serve as a guide, helping us steer through this time of paradigm shift, re-shaping our goals and directions as we proceed.

The name Silicon Valley Chapter is meant to serve as a beacon in this process and in the new era.  We thus identify ourselves with the regional hotbed of innovators and innovation.  We thus aspire to be of this region, a part of this sea change, participants and contributors in the evolution.  The name is meant to inspire us as achievers and to inspire our constituents – peers, colleagues, managers and executive management – with our sense of self, our commitment to innovation, and our active participation in these changing times.

At the August 30th meeting, after an excellent presentation by Leslie Berlin, the proposal was put up to a vote by the attending members and over 90% voted for the new name. So without further ado...