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...

Event: Silicon Valley - A History of Change / Vote on Chapter Name Change (Aug. 30 SLA Event)

Want a better understanding of the changes in Silicon Valley that have occurred over the 30 year history of the San Andreas Chapter? Join your colleagues for  this presentation by an outstanding chronicler of the history of Silicon Valley, followed by the official vote on changing our chapter name to the better known Silicon Valley brand.
 
 

"Silicon Valley: A History of Change"

 

When: Monday, August 30, 6 - 8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Leslie Berlin, Project Historian, Silicon Valley Archives at Stanford University
Location: Michaels at Shoreline, Mountain View
Registration URL: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B5Q7VBD
 

A revised Strategic Plan - your input needed!

The Chapter’s Strategic Planning Committee has been developing a new strategic plan, taking in mind changes in our contemporary professional world and current endeavors of the Association. This is the first update since the early years of this decade. The document will be a “living” document, intended to be adaptable over time and as the contexts of the chapter and the profession changes.  

  

 The initial draft plan has been provided to Chapter leadership for review. Recommendations from the leadership are being incorporated into the plan, and the latest draft will be discussed at the next Board Meeting. Be on the lookout for dissemination chapter-wide in the early fall. Your input will guide us in adapting the Strategic Plan to the times and interests of chapter membership.

 

Leslie Fisher

San Andreas Chapter Strategic Planning Committee Chair

 

Save on registration for Internet Librarian!

Greetings All - Please find a registration form for Internet Librarian 2010 attached.

Download IL 2010 Group Discount Reg_SLA_SA

 If you use this form to register you will be registering collectively through me as Past-President of San Andreas Chapter, SLA.

FYI - The chapter is being offered an incentive for coordinating registration as a group. The chapter will receive $8 per individual registrant when we submit registration collectively. Last year the chapter received $152 income for using the group registration process. So if you are planning to attend Internet Librarian 2010, please consider registering collectively via the attached form.

If you use this method to register, please complete the form and send back to me at the address provided, along with your registration fees or credit card info. If paying by check, the check should be made payable to Information Today, Inc..

SLA Chapter Dinners - July 19 -23 in Silicon Valley

Ah, summer! Long days. The 4th of July is over. Time to kick back and enjoy meeting your colleagues at neighborhood dinners.   

For those of you who either work or live in Silicon Valley, please join your San Andreas colleagues for our neighorhood dinners on July 19-23. There are a variety of venues and times. We hope you will participate in these informal get-togethers and take this opportunity to network, share knowledge, and have a little fun with your colleagues in SLA.

Registration is easy. Choose a venue, note the deadline for the RSVP, then contact the Host to sign-up for the dinner.

Come dine with us!

Jean Bedord & Vicki Garlow
Program Directors
San Andreas Chapter of SLA

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Here are the options, for your delectation:

Next Steps for SLA's Alignment Project

 

 

Greetings San Andreas Chapter Members -  I've heard some news about next steps for the SLA Alignment Project through the SLA Leadership List. Here is a distillation of what was posted there late last month.

At the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) on Sunday, and again at the Annual SLA Business Meeting during Wednesday's Closing Session, Anne Caputo, SLA's 2010 President, addressed the renewal of the SLA Alignment Project. The focus now will be on developing:

 

1. An Alignment Toolkit - to provide pragmatic steps for units and members
2. Vision, Mission, and Core Values statements  - refreshed and revisioned 
3. Career resources - to increase the body of professional development resources 
4. Finding more revenue - to ensure fiscal health of the Association 

 

To this end, chapters’ Alignment Ambassador positions will be re-activated. 

Mary Ellen Bates, SLA 2009 President-Elect, is in charge of the Alignment Toolkit project.

More news as it happens.  And I'll post Ann's slide shows when available.

Your San Andreas Chapter Alignment Ambassadors,

Leslie Fisher and Cindy Hill. 

 

 

 

Event: New Orleans West Coast Chapter Reception, June 15, 2010

 

Situated in the heart of the French Quarter (on Royal St.) and housed in the Louisiana Supreme Court building is the Law Library of Louisiana. This library provides service to the Judiciary, the Bar and the public. On June 15, 2010 it was host to the SLA Conference West Coast Chapter Reception attended by around 100 West Coast SLA members who braved a torrential downpour to attend this event.

Under high security members were shown into the main hall of the building, which opened up into a grand staircase and reception area where the wonderful Joe Simon Jazz Trio awaited everyone. Additionally, the area was festively decorated with Mardi Gras beads and masks, as well as offering drinks and a wonderful assortment of appetizers catered by New Orleans Catering. Speeches were given thanking our host, vendors and by several chapter members celebrating milstones. The San Diego Chapter (celebrating 50 years) was toasted by Bobbie Weaver and the Silicon Valley Chapter (celebrating 30 years) was toasted by Helen Keil Losch and Kathleen Gust. 

(photos by Jason Kruppa of the Law Library of Louisiana)

Attendees were encouraged to tour the library exhibits and were allowed to peek into the Supreme Courtroom, where the justices sit when hearing cases. Members also took advantage of the wonderful live jazz to dance away the evening.

Event: Panel Discussion about the SLA Annual Conference - Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Solo Librarians of the Silicon Valley Chapter of SLA invite you to join them at their next meeting on Thursday July 15th. Anyone with an interest in libraries is welcome, including students and recent grads of the MLIS programs. 

 

Sonia Dorfman will be hosting the meeting at 6 P.M. on Thursday, July 15th at NeuroPace, 1375 Shorebird Way, Mountain View. The map link is below. 

 

The SLA Annual Conference takes place in New Orleans next week from June 13 – 16.  A panel of librarians who will be attending SLA 2010 will be at our meeting to share their impressions and experiences.  

Event: Blackberries, iPhones and the Future of Libraries: Quick and Easy Library Mobile Services at Joint SLA Chapter, May 11, 2010

Attendees of the joint SF Bay / San Andreas SLA chapter dinner meeting enjoyed a fast-paced presentation by Sarah Houghton-Jan, Digital Futures Manager, San Jose Public Library, who blogs at the Librarian in Black (http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/).

Mobile devices change how we interact with our users and the services that can be provided. Mobile services are ubiquitous, and people are using them to do multiple things quickly and efficiently.   According to a Morgan Stanley report (http://mashable.com/2010/04/13/mobile-web-stats/), 80% of American adults currently use mobile devices, and by 2015 two-thirds of them will be using smart phones.

As librarians we need to ask our users what devices they use and how they are accessing the library. Then we need to design our services based on what users need and the platforms they use. Improved mobile access can be provided in two major areas. The first is a mobile-friendly website which requires simplifying the traditional interface and which meets the needs of a wider number of users. The second is apps, which can be more sophisticated, but must be downloaded to a smart phone. Sarah recommends modifications to the library website so it is more usable by mobile devices before developing apps.

President's Letter - Preparing for the Annual Conference

Hi San Andreas Chapter Members!

The annual conference in New Orleans is just around the corner and hopefully some of you will be able to attend! The Virtual Program Planner is up and running and keep up with Conference happenings via the Conference blog. Below are some of the events related to our Chapter, Chapter members or SLA members from the Bay Area which might be of interest.

Event: Solo Librarians Meeting on May 19th - Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Solo Librarians of the San Andreas Chapter of SLA invite you to join them at their next meeting on Wednesday, May 19th. Anyone with an interest in libraries is welcome, including students and recent grads of the MLIS programs.

 

Nicholas Siekierski will be hosting the meeting at 6 P.M. on Wednesday, May 19th at The Hoover Institution at Stanford University (http://www.hoover.org).

 

Nick will present intriguing archival materials from the holdings of the Hoover Institution Library and Archives.  He will also discuss the history of the Hoover Institution. He is the Assistant Archivist for Exhibits and Outreach at Hoover and obtained his MLIS degree from San Jose State University in 2008.

 

Nick will meet the group at the front steps of the Hoover Tower. Food is not allowed in the archives.  If you arrive early, there are benches outside of the tower where you can eat while we wait for the whole group to assemble. A map link and parking suggestions can be found below.

 

Searching for Silicon Valley - What's in a Name?

Greetings All - Does anyone reading this have any doubts about where is Silicon Valley? I'll guess not.

 

And you know what, I'll guess also that a whole lot of folks who are not living in this region also know - at least generally - where is Silicon Valley. During my tenure as Chapter President in 2009, I took the opportunity to randomly poll folks in other chapters when I had the opportunity for an interaction. 

 

I attended the Leadership Summit in mid-winter, I attended the annual conference in the summer, I worked on an Association project and led a committee of nine members from various regions, and I had reason to interact with a few Association-level leaders or employees. And I asked if they had regional recognition of Silicon Valley. And I asked if they knew where San Andreas Chapter was located. And in most cases the answer was "yes" to the former and "no" to the latter.

Event: Quick and Easy Library Mobile Services, May 11, Tuesday, in San Mateo - Joint Chapter Meeting

 SF Bay Region and San Andreas Chapters, Special Libraries Association

  present

Quick and Easy Library Mobile Services

 by Sarah Houghton-Jan, the Librarian in Black 

 

 

 

  Tuesday, May 11, 2010

 

 

 

  Astaria Restaurant

  50 East 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401. (650) 344-9444 

http://www.astariasm.com 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Many libraries are trying to respond quickly to the proliferation of mobile devices and services. They are struggling to provide innovative mobile services with little resources to devote to staff, software or hardware. The buzz about ground-breaking mobile technology can sometimes seem impossible to implement in smaller, poorer, and under-technology-staffed libraries. But we, too, can offer excellent mobile services to our users! Take advantage of the quick and free services that any library can create with minimal time or expertise. 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Houghton-Jan is the Digital Futures Manager for the San José Public Library, one of the first libraries to use downloadable mobile applications. She was named a 2009 Library Journal Mover & Shaker. Sarah is a well-traveled consultant, speaker, and technology instructor and has been published widely in both library and technology publications. Her first book, Technology Training in Libraries, was just published. She has applied for an LSTA grant using augmented reality technology and is an organizer for the Handheld Librarian Conference. Sarah also writes the award-winning blog about library technology, Librarian In Black (http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/  ).

 

 

  Agenda

5:30-6 p.m.      Registration and networking

6-7 p.m.           Dinner

7-8:30 p.m.      Program with Q&A following

 

 

  

 

 

Event: Preserving Digital Heritage with LOCKSS & CLOCKSS at Stanford, March 17, 2010

On Saint Patrick’s Day, SLA chapter members got a behind the scenes look at LOCKSS and CLOCKSS presented by Vickie Reich, one of the first employees of HighWire Press, part of Stanford Libraries. LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe) came into being in 1998 to address the trend in academic libraries to rely on leasing access to content. rather than actively acquiring collections.

Reich focused on the preservation of e-materials, concerned that a lot of digital content was digital only and not appearing in print. If libraries lose access due to funding, or publishers go out of business or formats changes, then their research communities lose access to this content. Creating an archive of digital content which separates payment from ongoing access ensures this value is not lost.

The key to digital preservation is maintaining a minimum of 7 copies of digital content in libraries in various geopolitical locations. If one copy is corrupted or destroyed,

Event: West Coast Chapter Chapters Reception - Monday, June 14, 2010

Are you attending SLA 2010 in New Orleans? If so, schedule to attend the annual West Coast Chapters Reception (WCCR):

• Date: Monday, June 14
• Time: 5:30-7:30 PM
• Location: Louisiana Supreme Court Building, The Law Library of Louisiana, 400 Royal Street - walking distance from the conference center

Thanks to Teresa Bailey and the SoCal Chapter, the organizers for the WCCR in 2010.

Event: Solo Librarians Meeting on April 7th - Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Solo Librarians of the San Andreas Chapter of SLA invite you to join them at their next meeting on Wednesday, April 7th at 6 PM. Anyone with an interest in libraries is welcome, including students and recent grads of the MLIS programs.

 

The Solo Librarians will be meeting at the El Camino Hospital Health Library and Resource Center (http://www.elcaminohospital.org/Patient_Services/Health_Library) on the first floor of El Camino Hospital, 2500 Grant Road in Mountain View.  A map and directions to the library can be found at the link below.

 

There will be a tour of the Library conducted by senior librarian Jack Black.  The new Library opened with the new hospital in November 2009.  The library supports the physicians and nurses at the hospital and is also open to the public free of charge.  In addition to showing us the library, Jack will discuss the planning and building of the new library.

 

Those who are planning to attend need to contact Sonia Dorfman by April 2, 2010 at [email protected] or (650) 237-2784.  If you have already contacted Sonia, there is no need to do so again.

 

Sonia Dorfman

Eric Kristofferson

 

San Andreas Solo Librarians

 

Directions and Parking: http://www.elcaminohospital.org/Patient_Services/Maps_Directions/

 

Jack suggests parking in the North Drive Garage and using the Main Entrance or the New Main West Entrance to the Hospital.

Book Review - This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All

Johnson, Marilyn (2010). This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. New York: Harper (ISBN 978-0-06-143160-9)

This is an easy-to-read and entertaining book. The author is clearly enthusiastic about the many talented, knowledgeable librarians she has met in her travels. The profession has undergone a number of dramatic transformations through the years especially as librarians have continued to stepped up to more complex problems. In addition, they have also made their users more aware of who librarians really are and what they are able to accomplish through their intellectual capabilities, training, experience, knowledge, and their use of technology. More than once librarians have "saved the organization’s bacon" by finding the missing data and magically using their instincts to pull together the various pieces to solve highly complex problems. Many library users are unaware that  professional librarians have great organizational and analytical skills, curiosity, wide-ranging knowledge, good memories, and usually a deep subject knowledge background.  But they (these users) all seem to appreciate the answers and information "we" provide them...In the newer environments special librarians are making use of avatars in their exploration of the virtual world known as Second Life. Johnson mentions this "knowledge seeking" activity in her book.

Johnson’s volume mentions a few early professionals, such as Frederick Kilgour who was one of the professionals in the early seventies. He headed the efforts to combined a few dozen college libraries catalogs into a world catalog, called the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). Henriette Avram helped to automate the records of the Library of Congress. She is credited with writing the first code for the computerized catalogs called MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging). According to this book the MARC format is still used today. Avram and others helped to inspire a generation of librarians to combine library work and computers. Computerized records helped libraries to change from a collection of books into automated research centers. The continuing strongest quality of librarians has been their desire to be of service. It has been said that perhaps their earliest values tended also to include truth, free speech and universal literacy. Many considered free access to information as the foundation of democracy.

There is continuous praise of librarians throughout this book. In addition there are interesting tidbits which add to its charm, e.g., the suggested use of Bounce dryer sheets to absorb musty book odors. Everyone should find something of interest as they read through This Book Is Overdue, including a few smiles or perhaps even chuckles. In addition to twelve enjoyable chapters, it also includes the following end sections: Chapter notes (pages 257-266); bibliography (pages 267-273) and acknowledgments (pages 253-257). I discovered this book through a review by Christine Rosen on page A17 of the February 9, 2010 of the Wall Street Journal.

Karen Takle Quinn