SLA San Diego Chapter

Janice Lachance sends chapter special message recognizing our 50 years

 

Click here to listen to SLA President Janice Lachance's special video message, congratulating SLA-SD on our 50th anniversary. See this and all SLA videos at SLA-TV.

Adele Barsh Appointed as Chapter Treasurer

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Adele Barsh has agreed to serve as Chapter Treasurer through 2010, and she has been duly appointed by the Chapter Executive Board.

Adele is Economics & Business Librarian at the University of California, San Diego.  She has been a member of SLA since 2004, coming to the San Diego Chapter from Pittsburgh in 2007.  In San Diego Adele has served on the Advisory Board as Employment Chair and Ethics Ambassador.

On behalf of the Chapter and all of its members, I want to thank Adele for her willingness to serve in this position.

Cindy Shamel
SLA San Diego Chapter President

SLA Likely to Change Names This Year

As many of you know, SLA has undertaken a detailed study of how our profession is perceived.  The study, referred to as the Alignment Project, looked at information services, SLA members, and the language used to describe them.  Findings were discussed at the Annual Conference in Washington, DC and in the June 2009 issue of Information Outlook (pg. 33.)

One of the key findings is the lack of understanding surrounding the association name.  Special Libraries Association did not test well with any of the groups surveyed for this project.  In addition, it does not communicate the strategic value of the contribution our members make to their organizations and clients.

The SLA Board has begun working on some potential candiate names, however, they are anxious to hear from the membership on possibilities.  There is a Name Change Wiki on the SLA web site to facilitate this conversation and the suggestion of names.  SLA President Gloria Zamora, who spoke at the San Diego Chapter Business Meeting last November, has indicated that proposed name changes could come out as early as this Fall.

Ths San Diego Chapter looks forward to hearing more at our October 9 Fall Seminar about the Alignment Project and its implications for communicating our value.

Mark Your Calendars - Programs Scheduled for June 26 and July 10

All info pros will want to flock to Nami Sushi Bar on June 26 between 5:30 and 7:00 PM for networking, conference debriefing, and sharing a refreshing beverage. 

Nami is located in Hillcrest at 5th and University Avenue.  Similar gatherings in the recent past have drawn a good crowd, so contact President Elect Bobbi Weaver at your earliest convenience to let her know you will attend.  619.525.1497 or mailto:[email protected]

While you've got your calendar in hand, mark July 10 from 2:45 to 5:00 pm for the next program meeting.   The Chapter will gather at the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) for a program called Technology and Career Agility: Using New Tools for Career Development.  Attendees will learn how to use social networks for career advancement, web sites for job serching and career development, and tips for developing online resumes. 

Registration information and our roster of speakers will be announced soon. At this point we can confirm that Sarah Volpe, Associate Program Manager at the Center will offer a presentation about the California Center for Sustainable Energy and the Energy Resource Library.

Chapter Adopts Strategic Plan

On Tuesday, May 12 the Executive Board adopted a new Strategic Plan for the San Diego Chapter of SLA.  The Strategic Planning Committee, comprised of Chair Britt Mueller of Qualcomm, Mike Perkins of San Diego State University, and Cindy Shamel, Chapter President have been working since January to gain member input and draft a plan for Board consideration.  The draft was presented to the Board at its meeting on April 15.

The previous Strategic Plan dated back to 2005 and became outdated as many of the plan provisions had been implemented during the intervening years.  The 2009 plan goals address education and networking, advocacy, member relations, communications/information sharing, and administration.  Download entire document here (it's just over two pages), or watch for it to be posted soon on the Chapter Website.

Many thanks to Britt and Mike for taking on this task and completing it in such a timely and professional manner.

Download Strategic Plan_SLA San Diego Chapter_051209

San Diego Chapter Members Volunteer at Children's Book Festival

As part of SLA's Centennial Celebration, San Diego Chapter members volunteered today at the San Diego Children's Book Festival, sponsored by the San Diego Public Library.  Thousands of children from all over the city came to hear stories and songs, participate in crafts and games, and meet authors.

Deborah Kegel from UCSD arrived early to help with setup.

      

Anne Magill, Union Tribune and Bobbi Weaver, CA Western School of Law welcome new arrivals.

Linda Counts from Sharp Hospital helped out at the arts and crafts table.

Past President Kathy Quinn from the Herrick Community Health Library (with the help of other royal festival goers) invited children to a performance of The Princess and the Pea.

Student member Samantha Stevens collected donations at the book drop.

President Elect Bobbi Weaver even entertained the crowd with guitar and song in the late afternoon.  Should pictures become available they will surely be posted here.

It was a great day for children in San Diego and for specialized librarians who were pleased to take this opportunity to celebrate in service the Centennial Year of SLA.

Reported by Welcome Booth Volunteer Cindy Shamel of Shamel Information Services and President of the San Diego Chapter of SLA.

SLA San Diego Chapter Supports the Children's Book Festival

Saturday, May 9 from 10:00am to 4:00pm local information professionals will volunteer at the San Diego Children's Book Festival.  The event will be held at the Nobel Recreation Center and North University Community Library at I-805 and Nobel Drive.

Volunteers include Linda Counts, Anne Magill, Marcia Wolfe, Deborah Kegel, along with Board Members Bobbi Weaver, Kathy Quinn, Daria DeCooman, and Cindy Shamel.

We will be there all day helping with check in, reading stories, and in Bobbi's case, singing songs for the children.  You don't want to miss the fun.

We look forward to seeing all of you there!

From the President

2009 Looks Good for the San Diego Chapter of SLA

Your chapter has lots of activities and opportunities coming up soon.  Don't miss out!

February 18, 5:30 pm at the California Western School of Law - A joint program with the Southern California Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries.  We will preview Washington DC, which is the site for both association annual conferences this summer.  For details visit the Chapter web site. 

President Elect Bobbi Weaver has lots of other great programs in the pipeline, so stay tuned.

Special Event Planning Opportunity - This year marks the Centennial of SLA, which was founded in July, 1909.  The San Diego Chapter will celebrate the occasion, and you can help decide how.  If you'd like to join the Centennial Planning crew, contact Kathy Quinn. 

Public Relations Opportunity - Directors Nancy Stimson and Mary Wickline are well along in planning our annual Fall Seminar, to be held on October 9, 2009.  Nancy and Mary will need help getting the word out.  The San Diego Chapter Fall Seminar is one of the most important events for information professionals in Southern California.  Contact Mary or Nancy today for more information.

ClickU Opportunity - Tomorrow, February 11 from 11 am to 12:30 pm David Lee King will deliver a *free* ClickU Live! webinar on the Basics of Web Site Management, Part 1.  Register now. This program is free to SLA members.  (Part 2, also free, is on Febrary 25.)

On February 19 Gary Price will offer a ClickU Live! webinar on Gary Price's Research Tool Box.  This session is also free to members.

Cindy Shamel
SLA San Diego Chapter President

President's Update

Greetings All and Happy New Year!

Chapter Happenings

With the new year comes the handover of chapter leadership.  First, a giant thank you to outgoing President Kathy Quinn.  Under Kathy's leadership in 2008 the chapter held one its most successful and well attended professional development seminars ever.  Kathy has positioned the Chapter for great things in 2009.

Look on the Chapter Web site for a complete list of Chapter Officers.  Volunteers for all committees is always welcome so do not hesitate to let us know of your interests.

Volunteer Opportunities - The Chapter currently has openings for Employment Chair and Public Relations Chair.  The Employment Chair tracks job openings in the San Diego area and keeps members apprised through the e-mail discussion list or through this blog.  The Public Relations Chair will work with the President and all committees to identify and act on opportunities to promote awareness of SLA-SD and the role of the information professional in the workplace.

January Board Meeting - The chapter board will meet on Thursday, January 22 from 3-5 pm at the UCSD Biomedical Library.  All members are invited to attend these meetings.  For more information, contact Cindy Shamel at [email protected].

Headquarters Happenings

2009 marks the Centennial Year for SLA.  Watch the SLA Centennial web site for news of ongoing events and activities.  Of particular interest to some may be the video contest to depict the information professional of the future.  Entry deadline is January 23.

The 2009 Leadership Summit takes place in Savannah GA this year from January 14-17.  All are welcome.  As President I will attend, so feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Did you know EBSCOhost makes two of its databases available free to SLA members? 

GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment.  Multidisciplinary by nature, GreenFILE draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology. The database provides indexing and abstracts for approximately 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.

LISTA Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts™ (LISTA) indexes nearly 690 periodicals, plus books, research reports and proceedings.

To access these databases go to the EBSCOhost web site.

Looking forward to working with you all in 2009,
Cindy Shamel, President

SLA Centennial

Many of you probably heard about SLA's plans to celebrate the association's centennial in 2009.  The initial plan was for a gala event on Sunday evening during next year's annual conference.  When that plan was presented to division and chapter officers at this year's annual conference, there were many objections, primarily due to the cost and the limited number (2,000) of tickets for the gala.  The Centennial Commission listened to those objections and has cancelled the gala.  Further details are in the email below.

- Kathy Quinn, SLA-SD President

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear Leaders,

You spoke and the SLA Centennial Commission has listened:  The Centennial Gala originally planned as part of SLA 2009 will not take place.  After careful consideration, we determined that looking into other types of events to honor the association would be more appropriate for the membership.

We look forward to incorporating centennial celebrations throughout the SLA 2009 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO, as well as throughout the year.  With this more inclusive approach, all SLA members will have numerous opportunities to toast the first century of our achievements together as information professionals and applaud the exciting changes taking place at SLA and in our profession.

One of the events the Commission is considering is an Opening Centennial Reception (not requiring unit sponsorship) on Sunday evening following the Opening General Session. Please note that this change leaves Sunday night open for unit planners to plan activities and members may come and go at the reception as they wish. One schedule under consideration for Sunday is as follows:

1:00 pm INFO-EXPO Opening with cake and champagne/sparkling cider

3:00-5:00 pm INFO-EXPO Networking Reception with food

5:15-7:15 pm Opening Session

7:30-9:00 pm Opening Centennial Reception with light food, drinks and entertainment

Thank you for your continued support of SLA’s Centennial Celebration. There will be opportunities for sponsorship of centennial activities at the conference and throughout the year, and more information will be forthcoming. We will continue to keep you updated on our plans to make the entire year a very special one that both celebrates the past and envisions a bright future for the association and the profession.

As always, we continue to solicit your suggestions, which you can send to [email protected].

All the best,

The Centennial Commission and 2009 Conference Planning Committee

Dav Robertson, Chair

Lynne McCay

Bill Fisher

David Cappoli

Patricia Cia

Kristin Foldvik

Stacey Greenwell

John Larrier

Tamika McCollough

DeVonne Parks

Deborah Rash

Tom Rink

Karen Kreizman Reczek

Cara Schatz

Information to Inspiration: Knowledge & Vision Shaping the Future

SLA Celebrating 100 Years: 1909-2009