Slany Chapternews Newsletter Spring 2004

ChapterNews Volume 76, #1 Spring 2004

IN THIS ISSUE

Message from the President

Message from the President Agnes Mattis.. ............................1

Stop the Presses! Agnes Mattis, President

Message from the Director of Publications .............3

oes anyone ever say that anymore in this age of electronic publishing? But the big news is our very own Pam Rollo won the SLA election and will become the 2004-05 President-elect and will be President of our association in 2005-06. I want to thank all the members of the Chapter who responded to my messages and voted in the election. I would like to think we made the big difference. So, congratulations to Pam and to the other successful candidates: Division Cabinet Chair Elect, Trudy Katz; Chapter Cabinet Chair Elect, Patricia Cia; Directors, Susan Klopper and Dan Trefethen. You have big jobs ahead of you and we wish you much success.

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In Memoriam: From the Heart: Charles Heller.............................5 In Memoriam: Open Letters: Charles Heller.............................6 Chapter Announcements: Manion Promotion ...................10 Insurance Information Institute..10 20 Years of Library Consulting ..10 Welcome New Members .........10

Other big news for the Chapter is Ellen Miller will be awarded the Hall of Fame Award at this year’s annual conference in Nashville. The award “is granted to SLA members at or near the end of an active professional career in recognition of an extended and sustained period of distinguished service to the Association in all spheres.” Ellen “was selected for her longtime guidance, leadership roles, and exceptional service and commitment to SLA.” Ellen served twice as President of the NY Chapter and served on the Association–level Tellers Committee, Finance Committee and Conference Program Committee. Ellen was actually the first professional colleague I met through SLA. But I would need Professor Peabody and his “Way Back Machine” to tell that story so it will have to wait for another day. Ellen recently served as the Chair of the Local Arrangements committee for last year’s annual conference in New York. She currently serves as the chair of the Archives committee and she will hold that position until the archives are updated, re-indexed and moved out of my office. Ellen truly is a treasure to the Chapter and I hope we can count on her wisdom, generosity and enthusiasm for many years to come. A special thanks to Awards Chair Andrew Berner for spearheading the effort to nominate Ellen for this award.

Global Outreach Awards .............12 Queens College News ................12 Chapter Archives Updated .........13 SLA-NY Career Day.....................14 Championing the Profession ......15 Offshoring Backlash Big Enough?.............16 Knowledge Services: Fix Knowledge Management?...18 Librarians – Get Out There!..........20 About Metro.................................21 Metro & NYLC Classes ................21 Intelligence Course ......................22 Small Group Learning ..................23 Balancing on the Tightrope .........23

President-Elect Tom Pellizzi and I attended the Leadership Summit (formerly the Winter meeting) in Albuquerque this past January. We were kept busy for 2 days with presentations intended to hone our leadership skills and learn of new issues facing the association. We watched the Board of Directors in action at their meetings and represented you at the Chapter Cabinet Meetings. The Cabinet meetings (for Chapters and Divisions) are held in January and June and our attendance is required. January’s session was relatively tame. We gave final approval to the new governing documents that each Chapter will follow. These governing documents replace all unit Bylaws. Each unit will supplement the Governing Documents with documents detailing the recommended practices for each Chapter (or Division). The Governing Document is the skeleton of what we must do and recommended practices detail how each unit conducts the business of providing service to its members. It may sound confusing and cumbersome

SLA 2004 Award Winners............24 Career Day 2004..........................26

ADVERTISERS Dialog ..........................................11 Donna Conti Career Resources ...13 EBSCO ........................................14 EOS International........................16 Gatta Design & Co. .....................18 Global Securities Information, Inc...4 Pro Libra......................................19 Wontawk .....................................17 ChapterNews

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ChapterNews New York Chapter Special Libraries Association Spring Vol. 76, No. 1

Stop the Presses! (President’s Message continued from page 1)

but it makes changes and updating much easier. The Recommended Practices can be changed as needed by the NY Chapter Board. The Governing Document would need approval of the association’s Bylaws Committee and then be voted on by the Chapter membership. Our Governance Chair, Donna Abbaticchio, now has the task of reviewing and updating our Guidelines and turning them into Recommended Practices.

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE ChapterNews, the bulletin of the New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association, is published four times a year. Deadlines for submitting materials:

Fall issue

September 24

Winter issue

December 15

Spring issue

March 15

The Cabinets also heard President-elect Ethel Salonen discuss the subject of expanding the membership outside of North America. She pointed out that the term “special library” is not used in Europe and has little significance outside of the United States and Canada. Ethel suggested the Association adopt a DBA (Doing Business As) model for marketing purposes. The cabinets met jointly and discussed the topic at length. The conclusion was for the Board to proceed and adopt the DBA model. This is not a name change but a business practice that allows the association to target communications to specific audiences using the term SLA. We are still the Special Libraries Association for financial and legal purposes. Most of us use the term SLA in our everyday conversation and when writing about the association. There is more information on this topic on the SLA web site for your reference. So look for SLA and tagline “Connecting People and Information” with the updated logo to start appearing on all association and Chapter communication.

Summer issue May 14

Submit all material to:

Jennifer Kellerman ChapterNews Editor E-mail: [email protected] Submissions: Articles on topics of general interest to information professionals and the New York Chapter are welcome. Authors can send submissions via e-mail as text file or MS Word for Windows attachments, or with article in the body of the e-mail. Please use single-line spacing, Courier font, with minimal use of boldface and italics. Include a byline with your full name and place of work.

This year’s annual conference will be in Nashville, June 5-10. You have until May 1st to register at the reduced Early Bird rate. You can register, make your hotel reservations and read all about Nashville on the SLA web site. If you are attending the conference please book your hotel reservations through the housing bureau. SLA has reserved a very large room block and will face financial penalties if the block is not filled. There is also a contest and you could win up to $10,000. Now you would have to be VERY lucky to win the 3 prizes of ($1,250, $1,250 and $7,500) but it could happen. Your name will be entered in the drawing once for each night you stay at the Opryland Hotel and book your reservation through the housing bureau. The raffle will take place MondayWednesday and you do not need to be present to win. The winners will be announced in the SLA registration area and the INFO-EXPO. Good luck to you all. The chance of monetary gain is not the only reason to go to Nashville. The conference program looks great. There will be two keynote speakers, Dr. Carl Ledbetter at the opening session and Bill Ivey at the closing session.

ADVERTISING inquiries should be addressed to:

Nancy Bowles 235 East 22nd Street, Apt 9L New York, NY 10010 Telephone: (212) 679-7088 or E-mail: [email protected] Special Libraries Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by contributors to the Association’s publications. Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official position of Special Libraries Association. Acceptance of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product by Special Libraries Association.

CHAPTERNEWS STAFF Director of Publications ChapterNews Editor Advertising Manager Webmaster Assistant Editor ChapterNews

Mike Gruenberg Jennifer Kellerman Nancy Bowles Shirley Loh Brenda Ling

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The bottom line is that libraries have always had challenges. A wet copy problem which seemed insurmountable twenty years ago is now replaced with other issues such as understanding the effect Google will have on patrons using that form of search engine at home as opposed to coming into the library and using the resources available. The cost of library resources is rising at an alarming rate.

Message from the Director of Publications:

Librarians – Get Involved! aving been in this business for 20+ years, I have had the opportunity to be associated with many SLA members on both a local and national level. My involvement all those years has been in not only the corporate world, but also the academic world. I can categorically state that I have been very lucky to have been associated with such professional and social groups.

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Here at the NY Chapter, we are pleased that one of our own, Pam Rollo, has won the election as President-elect of the organization. It is important for us to recognize that our efforts collectively will help solve the challenges facing us all. When we work together, most everything can be solved or at the very least, becomes manageable. When you congratulate Pam in person, by phone or e-mail tell her that you want to volunteer some time so that you can help SLA. It will be worth it for everyone and most of all, for you.

My first job was selling subscriptions to SEC documents delivered within ten days of their filing on microfiche to the libraries. On one of my first calls to a Wall Street client, the librarian was quite upset and told me that she would have to cancel the service. Clearly, this was not a pleasant first visit. Upon further investigation, it was determined that there was no problem with our service and that the problem was in the ability to make paper copies from the fiche. At that time, the technology in paper reproduction had not caught up with the technology of the fiche. Apparently, copies made from the fiche were made on a paper that came out of the printer in a wet format. It was so wet that when the person making the copy had to retrieve and read it, their clothing would be damaged by the liquid from the paper. The stopgap method to eliminate this problem was to have a raincoat on a hook by the copy machine so that when the wet copy came out, the person’s clothing would not be damaged thanks to the raincoat. I was impressed with the librarian’s ability to cope with a difficult situation, but questioned my future in an industry that could not solve what seemed to be a simple technology issue.

Mike Gruenberg Michael Gruenberg is the Strategic Accounts Manager at OneSource Information Services. He can be reached at [email protected] or 212-836-4161

Stop the Presses! (President’s Message continued from page 2)

The INFO-EXPO will be open Sunday 11:00 – 6:00; Monday 8:00 – 4:00 and Tuesday 10:00 – 5:00. The preliminary conference program was in the February issue of Information Outlook, it’s on your desk somewhere. You can also use the personal conference programmer on the web site. Thank you to Brian Weisman from HQ for making improvements to the planner each year. It is very easy to use, simply click the events you wish to attend and print. The planner is updated constantly so make sure you print a copy right before you leave for Nashville and you will have the most current information. Now I have to admit I don’t really like country music or line dancing but I am looking forward to networking with my long time conference buddies and meeting new colleagues. I hope to see you there!

Many years have passed since that fateful day early in my career and the profession is still coping with technology and the ability to adapt to forces beyond their control. But what can you really control? Recently, I learned that a number of Wall Street librarians had gotten together and formed an ad hoc group to meet with their largest data providers so as to make it clear that as a group they will not look kindly on large price increases and expect to be consulted on changes in product offerings. Margaret Landsman, writing in the January 2004 issue of The Charleston Advisor speaks about the rising costs of journals and how academic libraries are trying to cope. In England, Crispin Davies, CEO of Reed Elsevier, Robert Campbell, President of Blackwell, Richard Charkin of Nature Publishing and Dr. John Jarvis, SVP of Wiley, Europe had to defend themselves in front of MP’s in light of “open access” and perceived huge profits based on price increases they are charging for their publications. ChapterNews

Agnes Mattis Agnes K. Mattis is head of the Corporate Library at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLC. She can be reached at [email protected].

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In Memoriam

set up one or two more with other clients. I remember one day interviewing downtown in the early morning. Then, just as I was about to treat myself to lunch in Chinatown, Charlie’s long-time and deeply cherished Assistant, Lisa Rini, called to tell me Charlie had something interesting in Midtown. Can I drop everything and go? Well I did and got an offer for our efforts. Talk about faith and connections!!!

From the Heart... And in Their Own Words… Friends Remember Charlie Heller (1949-2004)

But I also worked with Charlie from a client’s perspective. When I needed a temp or a full-time placement, Charlie sent the best. It was always “a fit” in terms of chemistry and skill set. I’ve developed life-long friendships through Charlie for just this reason. Even when Charlie knew a parent organization’s policy of no placement fees, he would link me up with superb professionals. One such person has contributed an open letter below.

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he truth is there is beauty in every experience, no matter how tragic IF you open your heart and mind to it. Charlie Heller was a beautiful person inside and out. A mensch who always looked as though he’d just stepped off the cover of GQ.

When I was asked to write this article, I knew I could not write a piece worthy of such a great and influential man on my own. So with the help of Lisa Rini, I contacted colleagues whom we believed had a lot to say about Charlie’s contribution to their own lives and careers. My sincere apologies to anyone who might feel left out of this tribute to Charlie. However, if you feel compelled -- and many should! -- to write something and believe it warrants publication, suggest it to Mike Gruenberg, the Director of Publication for ChapterNews. Quite honestly, Charlie Heller deserves more than a mere article from his friends. Our profession, hence our professional association, should acknowledge Charlie’s many years of service to the field of Library & Information Science.

When I heard the terrible news of Charlie’s sudden and unexpected death in January, I was stunned and shattered. Only two weeks before, Charlie and I had been talking about a special project he wanted me to collaborate with him on. Knowing I shared his position on a particular topic, Charlie had asked me to co-write an article. I was thinking ChapterNews. Charlie had the magical gift of always thinking BIG! He saw the piece as warranting exposure in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times or perhaps Time magazine! Needless to say, this work never had the chance to get off the ground. Quite honestly, without Charlie as my co-author, I doubt I will pursue the initiative. Why? Because it’s highly controversial! But Charlie never flinched when he believed in something or someone. Charlie was fiercely passionate about, and protective of, everything and everyone he considered his own... his family, his business, his friends and colleagues.

Far beyond being respected, Charlie was loved and he will be sorely missed. The heartfelt memorials which follow attest to his goodness, his honesty and his vision. Read on, and after you’re done, do not hesitate to share your thoughts and condolences with Mrs. Charlie Heller, his family and Lisa Rini, by sending an email to, [email protected], and realize that Charlie’s legacy continues. Mrs. Heller, a highly regarded Executive Recruiter in her own right, has taken up where Charlie left off.

Life has a funny way of playing itself out. I was asked to write this piece for ChapterNews as a tribute to Charlie. I only hope I do justice honoring the memory of someone to whom I owe so very much; the wonderful achievements and deeds that were, are and always will be the hallmark of Charlie Heller’s life.

Rest in peace, dear friend…

I know and have worked with Charlie for so long, I don’t even remember when I first spoke with, nor met him. Charlie’s faith in me never wavered, even in the darkest hours of my professional life. His attitude could be summed up as, “… it’s their loss or problem, not yours; get over it, move on!!!” A Sifu, or Master Teacher, from the School of Tough Love. And his actions supported his words. In the same conversation, he’d ask if he could send my resume on to a client, counseling me on what I had to offer that was uniquely my own in that particular placement. And while I was on one interview, he’d have ChapterNews

Madeline J. Kiely-Eng, M.S., M.L.I.S. Director, The Palmer School of Library & Information Science Long Island University’s Westchester Graduate Campus

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In Memoriam Whenever I speak to someone about my career, Charlie Heller always seems to have played a central role.

Open Letters from the Friends of Charlie Heller

I first meet Charlie by chance in 1989. I had just missed the train at Grand Central after a long and frustrating job hunt. The office was just about to close, but Charlie was kind enough to speak with me for 15 minutes. Those 15 minutes gave me a career that has lasted 12 years.

Charlie Heller was instrumental in helping me secure my

I always respected Charlie for his ability to tell me the facts ~ pleasant or otherwise. He knew his stuff. He knew his industry and he was the best in his business. I will miss him for his honesty, professionalism and insight. He was a mentor to me and many others.

last two positions. The first time occurred after I graduated from library school. I saw his ad in the paper and went to his office. I spoke with him for a while and by the time I left he had arranged interviews with three different clients. I subsequently began employment with one of those targeted companies.

Thanks Charlie.

A few years ago I relocated to Long Island and was leaving my position in Manhattan. I talked to Charlie and asked him to keep me in mind if he heard of any openings in the area. A short while later he did connect me with the manager of a library that was looking to fill a spot. Charlie knew the company could not pay a placement fee, yet he still recommended me for the position.

Jim Holderman, Vice President Lehman Brothers

I would like to express my deepest sympathy to Charlie’s

wife, Gail Heller, and Charlie’s five children, for their sudden and tragic loss of such a wonderful husband & father. I pray that the family will find comfort in knowing that Mr. Heller lived a full and exciting life. His contributions to the professional development of many individual careers over the years helped to enhance library services in the New York tri-state area. His untimely death will be felt for some time within the Greater New York library community.

I am grateful to Charlie for the help and advice he gave to me over the last fifteen years. David Cassidy, M.L.I.S., Research Librarian Editorial Library, Newsday

I met Charlie Heller shortly after taking my first management job in 1987, and worked with him over the course of the following 15+ years. Charlie was a professional in every sense of the word - he always put his client first, whether it was me as a candidate, or me as a hiring manager. If he knew of a candidate or a position that he wasn’t going to benefit from, he would always let me know anyway. He understood that if he was forthright and honest today, that if he trusted me as a fellow professional, he would benefit down the line. Along the way, he not only guided me through the process of several hires and job changes, but became a career mentor as well. He looked at our relationship in the long-term. His role as a recruiter was necessarily political, but he played the game above board and beyond reproach. He will be missed.

I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie Heller during the winter of 1989, when I visited his office in Midtown Manhattan for a listed position. He was professional, quick-talking, humorous and always multi-tasking. Charlie was a very good judge of character and he could ascertain a candidate’s skill set for a particular position after talking and meeting with them even just once! If the candidate was not chosen, and he believed that a placement would have been a “good fit,” he would express his opinion on the one hand, and then, on the other, prepare the candidate for another client, without missing a beat. Over the years, he and I worked together on many assignments and we established a close friendship. Charlie was my sounding board while I pursued my undergraduate, and then graduate, degrees. Three degrees later, we continued our friendship.

Mark Biles, M.L.S., Director - News & Information Services, AIRS

Since hearing the shocking and terrible news, I’ve often had to stop myself from calling his office, just to talk. I sincerely miss my friend, mentor and life coach. Phyllis Hodges, M.S., Information Research Associate (Americas), Library and Information Services (LIS) CREDIT SUISSE | FIRST BOSTON ChapterNews

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Charlie was special. Have you read all the stuff about achieving results by hiring the best people? Charlie went way beyond that. If you had a vision for an organization, he’d listen to what you had to say, think about it, and tell you how he saw it. He had the courage to disagree with what you said. But then he’d find people who didn’t just achieve results in a job, but could help make your vision real over time.

Charlie Heller was a larger than life figure in the information professional world. He was excellent at representing the community to top executives who knew nothing at all about information professionals. When I was hiring, Charlie knew who the good candidates were. When I needed insight on the market, I always called Charlie.

I am deeply saddened by Charlie’s death. He had a great sense of humor. We often called each other to see if the other was going to attend an event. I always enjoyed his company.

And what fine careers they’ve had doing it. They’re wellrounded because they’ve got the brains, personal impact, and energy to do different types of jobs. They’ve grown because they’re not afraid to take risks and be accountable for error. They’re great people too. They’ve had their troubles, but made good choices for themselves.

There are many people who owe a debt of gratitude to Charlie Heller. I know he was instrumental to me in this profession. I have had many people convey this. His death leaves a huge void in our profession and he is deeply missed.

Charlie could do this because he was never so bogged down in position requirements and market factors that he forgot about good character. He found people like himself. Many of us were fortunate to travel in time with Charlie and we will miss him.

Marty Cullen, Vice President, Client Review & Documentation Lehman Brothers

Rich Willner, Director. Market Data Content Services, Merrill Lynch

I assume that I, like most people, met Charlie Heller through word of mouth. I was temping during graduate school when a colleague referred me to Charlie. He was everything that a young professional could hope for: sincere, intelligent, straightforward and well-connected.

The first time I met Charlie Heller I was a brand-new

library school graduate. At that first meeting I was a bit intimidated by his vibrant, larger than life personality. However, I soon realized that he was the man I wanted on my side as I started my career in the library field. He took a personal interest in developing my career, placing me in two corporate library positions where I could grow and develop my skills as a librarian. Charlie offered advice and guidance to me over the past few years that I still follow even though I have left the corporate library arena. I believe that I would not have the successful career that I have today without the guidance and support of Charlie Heller.

Therefore, it came as no surprise when I landed my first “real job” through Charlie. For the first time in my career, I had a job that reflected my educational background. I no longer went to work and wondered what I was doing there! Instead, I found myself working with intelligent and sincere colleagues on stimulating projects. I fully appreciated that this position was a reflection on Charlie, not my newly acquired degree. A year and a half later, the time had come for me to change jobs and I again turned to Charlie. When I heard the description of a job he had in mind for me, it seemed a bit out of my league. Out of courtesy, I interviewed for the position. Though I was surprised when I received an offer, Charlie took the news as if it were the only possible outcome.

Merrill Belson, M.L.I.S., Librarian Rockville Centre Public Library

I adored Charlie for guiding me in the early stages of my career and becoming my friend after I learned how to find my own way. It seemed to me that he always had my best interests in mind, regardless of the consequences for himself. Though I am still grappling with the knowledge that I can no longer share my career with him, I have no doubt that Charlie will always be with me. Jodie Schaeffer, M.B.A., Vice President Deutsche Bank

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I met Charles Heller shortly after I moved to New York and had started taking library science classes at Pratt Institute. He agreed to meet with me, and assist me in getting a leg-up in the professional world. At the time, I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to have him on my side. Our first encounter consisted primarily of him taking a look at my resume and raking it over the coals. I think of it now as a form of tough love.

I have worked with Charlie Heller since I was fresh out of

college. He helped me put on paper the many skills I had acquired in an academic library that could be used in a corporate setting. The thing I loved most about Charlie was the fact that he was a straight shooter. As a librarian, I’m always searching for authentic, credible sources and Charlie was the real thing. His many years in the business gave him the knowledge to help many library professionals find the right fit for them in all aspects of librarianship.

As it turned out, Mr. Heller was a great advocate for my career. I really was very fortunate to have him on my side. With my resume in the hands of Mr. Heller, I was always confident about his integrity. He was forthright, honest, and dependable.

What I will miss the most are our conversations about everything and nothing. He left an everlasting effect on the profession and on me.

It was a real coup when he placed me in my current position. He performed the almost magical feat of helping me move from an investment banking library to a law firm library two years ago. The usual law library protocol is to start in technical services and work one’s way up through the ranks. I was able to begin as a reference librarian with a top salary primarily because I had Mr. Heller behind me. In my mind, this proves that he was excellent at his job. As my career continues to progress, I will sorely miss not having Mr. Heller working on my behalf.

Dana Vazquez Castillo, Research Librarian, Business Information Research Center, Time, Inc.

These few words do little to express the deep sense of

loss Charlie’s untimely death has left me feeling. I knew Charlie Heller for fourteen years as a business man and a true and valued friend; probably my only friend within the New York City library community. As a business man, Charlie helped place me or gave me advice and insight on some of the most pivotal positions in my young career; sometimes saving it when it seemed I had lost it all. As a friend he gave so much. He was always there to lend an ear, even when it was just rubbish. Though he used to say that he liked when I called or dropped by the office because I would always say something to make both him and Lisa laugh, I knew I was really doing it for myself because I enjoyed Charlie’s company, and I think he knew it as well. I will remember all the discussions on information technology or some new gadget Charlie had purchased. I will remember all his trips and the interesting people he met. I will remember how proud he was of his children and how they meant the most to him. I will truly miss talking to my friend.

Judith Cohn, M.L.S., Reference Librarian Kaye Scholer LLP

Preston Reginald Marshall, M.L.I.S., Contract Researcher Morgan Stanley, Business Information Services

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Before I got to know him, I remember seeing Charlie Heller at one of those SLA holiday parties in the McGraw-Hill ballroom. It was the late 80’s and I had just seen the movie Tequila Sunrise with Kurt Russell. I was talking with some of the revelers about databases and subject headings and fried food and bad wine when I spotted Charlie. His hair was slicked back and he was dressed much sharper than everyone else in the room.

How sad it was to hear of the sudden passing of a professional colleague, business leader, agent, mentor and

good friend. He was one of the greats and a mainstay of the library community. My memories of Charlie Heller are only good ones spanning a period of more than ten years. I can’t remember when we first became acquainted… perhaps it was at a LLAGNY meeting in the early nineties. But we became working associates when I decided to leave the world of law firms to become a freelance research librarian. After several years struggling on the street as a freelancer, I began working with Charles Heller and Heller Associates. It was a time of turmoil for libraries, but Charlie could always provide a voice of sanity. And he kept me working. He was a consummate professional, at the top of his game providing recruitment services and information professionals to libraries. Yet he always had a few minutes to take my call. Our conversations were candid and I valued his honesty and reliability. He always treated me with respect as a professional associate and would offer me the support of his perspective as it was needed. When 9/11 effectively curtailed the market for business researchers, my years with Heller Associates ended. I decided to change careers and study massage therapy. Still, when I needed a letter of recommendation on short notice, Charles Heller provided one. And he still took my calls. A small kindness for a previous employee, yet in today’s world where no one has time for anything unless it promises to turn a profit, it speaks volumes about the quality of the man. The small things are what one remembers, the small acts of kindness and respect which add up to the character in a life. Thank you Charles Heller…you’re the best!

“Doesn’t that guy look a bit like Kurt Russell?” I asked. “That’s Charlie Heller,” someone said. “Is he at the wrong party?” I asked. “He doesn’t look like a librarian.” This led to a lengthy critique of librarian stereotyping and association efforts to improve the image of information professionals during which I learned that Charlie was in fact not a librarian. He was described somewhat mythically as “The Recruiter.” That explained why he seemed to be talking and laughing with everyone in the New York Chapter. He was a natural salesman who knew how to work the room. I got to know him well over the years and he proved to be a truly unique member of the New York library crowd. He had strong opinions about the profession, about the graduate programs and about the New York libraries and the people who ran them. Charlie knew his clients, he understood their style and their business, and he was great at coaching his candidates and matching them with the right clients. At one point in the mid ‘90’s, almost every MLS working in the BIS group at Lehman Brothers had been placed there by Heller & Associates. Library school, SLA membership, friend and client of Charlie Heller were among the things everyone had in common. We still do. New York Libraryland won’t be the same without him.

Mary Crosby, Research Librarian & massage therapist student, Swedish Institute

Tom Fearon, Global Head, Business Information Services Lehman Brothers

Special Note: The preceding sections Open Letters were presented in the order received. Madeline J. Kiely-Eng, M.S., M.L.I.S., is the Westchester Graduate Campus Director of Long Island University’s Palmer School of Library & Information Science. She can be contacted at either [email protected] or [email protected].

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CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENTS CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENTS Promotion at Consumers Union Kevin P. Manion was promoted to Associate Director of Strategic Planning and Information Services at Consumers Union/Consumer Reports. He oversees a staff of twenty and is responsible for research, including market and consumer research, corporate records and archives. Congratulations, Kevin!

Welcome to the Special Libraries Association New York Chapter!! Sarah Warner - SLA New York Chapter Membership Chair

Insurance Information Institute Free Offer

The New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association will connect you with a spectrum of resources and keep you abreast of the local, national, and international issues related to the world of special libraries. The benefits include the chapter meetings, a chapter newsletter, Career Day, professional development programs, job hotline, internet discussion groups, special membership in the Midtown Executive and Chemist Club, and more. We look forward to meeting you at upcoming events.

The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) has recently published four new books: the 2004 editions of the I.I.I. (Property/Casualty) Fact Book and the Financial Services Fact Book and a greatly expanded fourth edition of Reinsurance: Fundamentals and New Challenges. The I.I.I. is offering single copies free of charge of to members of SLA-NY. If you would like a copy please send an email to [email protected]. Single copies of the 2003 edition of the Institute’s International Insurance Facts are also being offered free of charge.

Laurence Abraham Doris Burke Kris Burton

Information on the publications is posted on the Web at www.iii.org/media/publications.

Maria Capucciati Diane Chernin Marisa Chicarelli Alexandra Crosier

Library Consulting Services Celebrates 20th Anniversary.

Michelle Dollinger Miguel Figueroa Sarah Funke

Shirlee Schwarz, President of Library Consulting

Services, a full service library consulting and placement company located in Westport, CT, announced that 2004 marks the 20th anniversary of her company. LCS initiated temporary and full-time placements for Fairfield County libraries in 1984 after recognizing that no agency existed in Connecticut to handle the need for librarians to fill specialized assignments in local corporate libraries. Shirlee Schwarz holds a Masters Degree in Library Science from Wayne State University, and has consulted with corporate libraries nationwide on salary surveys, strategic planning, management, outsourcing, and process evaluations. Shirlee is a former Chairperson of the Consultant Section, SLA, former President of the Fairfield County Chapter and recipient of the Karen J. Switt Leadership Award from the Library Management Division of Special Libraries Association.

Olga Ganitch Elisheva Hadar Edmund Jessup Nora Johnson Susan Kumar Diana Lawsky Michelle Leonard Judith Lieberman

Philip Papas Sejal Patel Britton Perry Tammy Raum Marguerita Rowland Erin Senig Donna Severino Anna Shifton Kristin Smith Amy Smyth Brenda To Melanie Torres Lisa Vizzotti Jennifer Walter Johnny Woo Jing Xu Luc Yeh Barbara Young

Tamilla Mavlanova Terra McLeod Jill Milhorat William Molinelli Corrina Moss Jean Myers Patricia Neil

ChapterNews

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Vol. 75, #4 Winter 2003-2004

ChapterNews

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

Global Outreach Committee Awards

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Exciting News from Queens College...

he Global Outreach Committee has awarded gift certificates of $150 to two libraries to use for ordering supplies from Brodart.

ecently, the Worker Education Program and the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College-City University of New York formed a partnership that allows MLS courses to be taken at the Manhattan Extension Center of Queens College at 25 West 43rd Street, 19th Floor.

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The first recipient is Michael Kasusse of The Mildmay Centre in Uganda. The Mildmay Centre is an outpatient facility providing information and care to patients with HIV/AIDS. The Information Resources Centre offers health-related information to doctors and medical staff, as well as patients and support groups. In his application, Mr. Kasusse notes that the library budget is very small and that the award will be used for supplies that will benefit all patrons.

The Worker Education Program <www.qc.edu/workered> has a twenty-year history of offering degree opportunities to union members, and for building union leadership with innovative programs like Labor and Civic Participation for union activists interested in electoral politics, Union Semester for full-time students interested in working in NYC labor unions, Labor Breakfasts for those interested in interactive monthly forums to discuss the future of labor, New Labor Forum, a contemporary journal of labor issues, and more.

The second recipient is Imo Akpan, who is the librarian at the Federal School of Radiography Library in Nigeria. The library supports the academic program and serves the school’s academic staff and students as well as other healthcare professionals. The library is heavily dependent on donations and the Global Outreach award will help in enhancing and improving the library’s offerings.

The Queens College MLS program <www.qc.edu/GSLIS> is one of the most rigorous and affordable in the city, and had previously only been offered in the outer borough of Queens. Recently, the three local library guilds, the three metropolitan library systems, and the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies have partnered to make use of the Manhattan Extension Center at 25 West 43rd Street, an extremely accessible location with classrooms outfitted with the latest technology. The goal is to increase opportunities for library employees to attain undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The Global Outreach Committee was started in 2001 by Lilleth Newby and Lois Weinstein as a way for SLA-NY to help colleagues in special libraries in developing countries provide for their patrons. The committee holds raffles throughout the year to be able to award the gift certificates. Members can help support the committee’s goals by purchasing raffle tickets and by letting the committee chairs know of potential candidates for the award.

In addition to the MLS program, we also offer a MA in Urban Affairs, and a BA in either Urban Studies or Labor Studies, as well as a BS in Applied Social Science. We serve union members working in a wide range of occupations throughout the city.

The chairs can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].

For more information, please call 718.997.3790 for the library school or 212.827.0200 for Worker Education Program.

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

Chapter Archives Get an Update By Ellen Miller

Career Resources, Inc. DC On-Line, Inc.

very once in a while, SLA in general and the New York Chapter in particular gives one of us the opportunity to contribute to our professional association by taking on an assignment that is both useful and fun. When Agnes Mattis sent out her e-mail last fall asking for volunteers I responded in the hope that I would get lucky and find a task that would fill both of those criteria. And lucky I was! Agnes asked me if I would be interested in updating and re-organizing the Chapter’s archives, which were currently sitting in cartons in her office at Skadden, Arps. Having been active in the Chapter since 1970, I figured I would be able to bring an historical knowledge of the Chapter and its operations to the task. Being retired, I knew I had the time to devote to this project. My only problem was that I was newly relocated out of the city and did not have the workspace needed to take on twelve cartons of material. Agnes, of course, came up with the perfect solution by offering me space in her library to do the work.

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While former Chapter archivists had organized documents as they received them, there were approximately five cartons that had never been sorted. In addition, the older material had been organized piecemeal over the years, so that not all like material was located in the same box. Thankfully, Jane Reed had prepared an index of all the sorted boxes a few years ago that I could use as a guide for locating items. I don’t think I could have managed a project of this scope without her work preceding me.

Once this re-sequencing occurs a new index will have to be prepared as well. With all the organizational effort required by this assignment, you may be wondering where the fun part comes in. Part of that is personal, re-living my career growth as it paralleled the growth and changes in the Chapter. Beyond that, there is the enjoyment that comes from remembering specific events in the life of the Chapter and the people that made them possible. When I finish the re-organization I hope to write another article, sharing with you the special moments in the history of the New York Chapter that some of you will recall fondly and that other, newer members may find interesting and inspiring. In the meantime, if any of you out there have any material that should be in the archives, please submit it NOW.

I have been working on this project now for four months (more “off” than “on” if I am to be honest with you) and have almost completed the sorting of the unorganized boxes. Using the Association’s retention schedule for Chapter archives and Jane’s index, I have gone through the material and marked it with the box and folder number of the most recent similar item (e.g., Chapter annual reports, Committee and Group reports, financial documents, etc.). Duplicates and those items past their “keep” date have been discarded. I still have one box of this type to sort, which I plan to have done by the end of February (weather permitting). Next, the older material will need to be weeded according to the retention schedule and then the fun begins. My ultimate goal is to re-sort all the archives into one continuous chronology by type, so that all the Chapter annual reports, for example, will be in sequence in one box (with room to grow), not split up in different locations based on when they were received. ChapterNews

Ellen Miller retired from JP Morgan in 1999 after 35 years managing various investment banking and consulting libraries. A two-time President of the New York Chapter, she continues to be active in SLA, where she has held numerous positions at both the local and national level. Since her retirement, Ellen has done consulting work for a variety of special libraries in New York and New Jersey, where she resides. She can be reached at [email protected].

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

SLA-NY Career Day 2004 Robin S. Sanders and Margaret T. Hennessey, Chairs

lans are once again underway for one of the chapter’s biggest events of the year — Career Day 2004. Free of charge for all attendees, Career Day’s goals are to promote the profession of librarianship and to educate the public and would-be librarians about the diversity and flexibility of the profession. Career Day also seeks to create good publicity for the information industry and its associated knowledge workers. A large turnout is expected again this year. Almost 250 people attended the event last year!

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We are looking for volunteers to help play a part in making this day a success. Consider the following ways you can assist: ▲ Join the Career Day Committee by contacting us by

email: [email protected] or [email protected] or by phone: (212) 490-9000. ▲ Offer to serve as a host/ess at the highly successful

Career Café where you can share your experiences and answer questions on a one-on-one basis with the attendees. We need individuals from all library backgrounds (i.e., medical, banking, museum, financial, etc.). ▲ Help the committee publicize the event in newspapers,

radio, TV, and the Internet. ▲ Offer to be a panelist to discuss what convinced you to

become a librarian/information professional. Take this opportunity to share a “typical day in the life” of information professionals. ▲ Send us a copy of the resume you used in your most

recent position. Past attendees have asked to see the resumes of successful applicants. Anything of a personal nature (i.e., names, addresses, and references) will be omitted. ▲ We are always looking for new ideas and new topics

that may be of interest. Perhaps you have an idea for a new program relating to the Career Day event. We would like to hear from you. ▲ Volunteer to help set-up, greet, and assist the attendees. DATE:

May 22, 2004

WHEN:

Noon-5PM

WHERE: Lighthouse International 111 East 59th Street Refreshments will be served.

ChapterNews

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

Championing the Information Profession

Let’s see how the MLS program is preparing future researchers to deal with various subject areas. I may be missing something, but I do not find many choices for researchers in the MLS program. I feel that, like specialized MBAs, there should be similar specialization options available in an MLS program. In my opinion, there should be collaboration with other departments to enable MLS students to make up deficiencies in their chosen research field.

By Vandana Ranjan

would like to offer many thanks to Agnes Mattis for allowing me to chair the SLA-NY Diversity Leadership Development Committee (DLDC) this year. To help ensure that the Association remains vital, relevant and representative of its global membership, the DLDC has committed to fostering the advancement of Information Professionals who reflect the diversity of the workforce. The DLDC strives to provide opportunities to learn, network, gain recognition for accomplishments and be involved in the professional association.

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Besides subject expertise, another gaping hole lies in our business skills. There is a big disconnect between employers and librarians. It is often said that librarians do not understand business or do not know the business lingo. Many job advertisements call for prior budgetary experience. I wonder how many MBA graduates are asked the same question. I feel that basic undergraduate–level business, finance, and economics courses ought to be included in the core MLS program to make the degree more valuable in the eyes of employers. If beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder then we need to re-evaluate the skills and competencies that are derived from our degree.

One of the main goals of DLDC is to promote and encourage minorities to join our profession. We need to strengthen our profession to create more opportunities for Information Professionals. As I see it, the two immediate problems facing our profession are:

A school media specialist has to pass the school certification program besides the MLS courses, whereas a researcher is pushed into the real world without necessarily having subject expertise or any other business credentials. No wonder we feel overlooked by employers.

1. The Labor Department’s projections for 1998 to 2008,

showing lower than average growth in librarianship. 2. Companies seeking undergraduates for research and

analysis. For example, see jobs advertised at American Job Bank, the SLA web site and monster.com.

I think a determined, well-planned, two-pronged approach might save us. Restructuring the MLS program and promoting our profession by forming alliances with other subject-oriented associations may be a solution. We should use champions, such as Bill Gates, to promote our profession. In addition, to keep our profession alive, we need to form alliances with various industry associations as well as SCIP (Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals), the Conference Board and others.

I do not know why employers prefer a four-year degree to an MLS, but my guess is that in these tough times, they are demanding more for less. In my opinion, the days of “what you see is what you get” are over. Value-added services are the rule of the day, and unless we research specialists provide both information retrieval and analysis, our future is bleak. How many of us feel comfortable providing information analysis in an unfamiliar subject area? Mostly, our skills lie in the area of information retrieval and organization. Since we are generalists, we are often clueless about the subject that we are dealing with.

We can’t afford to miss the boat this time. Unlike the Information Management and the Knowledge Management eras when we felt as if a slice of our cheese was stolen, this time there won’t be any cheese left. We are the action people; we can turn the tide. We connect the right information with the right people at the right time. We are survivors. So let’s take action now and save ourselves from turning into a vanishing species.

I don’t blame employers for hiring a subject specialist who can provide both information retrieval and analysis. We usually feel that, as information professionals, we are better at finding information. Perhaps that was true a decade ago. But can we say that today, when academic institutions are turning out information-literate undergraduates? Since information literacy is a hot topic in academic institutions, almost all students are being taught information retrieval know-how. Both academic libraries and public libraries provide an impressive list of databases to end-users. In addition, the databases are becoming more user-friendly. Yes, we can say that we deal with more complicated databases, but the argument doesn’t hold water. ChapterNews

Vandana Ranjan is an active member of SLA since 1996 and has held several leadership positions at the local and national levels. Currently, she is the chair of the SLA-NY Diversity Leadership Development Committee. She can be reached at [email protected]. The preceeding are solely the author’s thoughts and opinions. Your comments, suggestions and feedback are appreciated.

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

Offshoring: Is the Backlash Big Enough? By Kathryn Harkavy he strong surge among corporations and states to send core information, communication, and technology functions to foreign countries now faces mounting opposition in the United States.

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The State of Indiana recently cancelled a $15.2 million contract with Tata America International Corp., India’s largest software company, to upgrade its computer systems. The governor announced that local companies should be able to bid for public outsourcing contracts. Dell, the personal computer maker, backtracked last year when it suffered heavy criticism about quality-control issues resulting from their offshore outsourcing. Clients complained of blurred communications and the company relocated voice-based services from Bangalore, India, last November. The shift was an embarrassment to India’s call centers, whose remarkable annual growth has triggered political hostility in the U.S. and the U.K. Following Dell’s move, Lehman Brothers — responding to customer complaints about the American Express Indian staff — relocated call center operations from Delhi back to the United States about three months ago. Lehman was dissatisfied with an IT help desk outsourced to India’s biggest call center, WibroSpectramind. The backlash has taken a firm hold in the form of new legislation. Eight bills in Congress and thirteen bills in state legislatures would restrict the employment of foreign workers in the U.S. — foreign workers who are brought in to be trained and then sent back to their countries to establish offshore offices. Indiana lawmakers are determined to see that the specter of offshoring doesn’t raise its head again. In January a proposed bill to ban non-U.S. citizens from taking state jobs was introduced to the Indiana Senate. Washington State will soon be the first state to ban non-U.S. workers from snapping up state jobs.

Turning a Blind Eye to the Backlash The offshoring backlash has not fazed giants such as IBM, which is considering a move of 4,700 jobs to India and China. Dominated by players like General Electric and American Express Financial Advisors, India’s call centers currently form one-fifth of the ten billion dollar IT services sector in the U.S. The $35,000-a-year customer service jobs and the $50,000-a-year technical support jobs are steadily sliding over to educated, Englishspeaking Indians. Wall Street is pushing it — handing out rewards to companies that create offshore outsourcing plans. A good indicator of the mood in business is that Forbes Magazine’s “Face of the Year” for 2003 was Kiran Karnik, the Indian businessman who is directing the “offshoring tsunami.”

President Bush signed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill on

January 23, 2004, much to the joy of offshoring opponents. Hidden inside the labyrinthine legislation was the ThomasVoinovich amendment, blocking segments of government from employing foreign companies when outsourcing government jobs. Despite his hectic schedule, Senator John Kerry introduced one of the eight bills in Congress. Rather than ban offshoring, it would simply require call center telephone operators to identify themselves and their location. Despite its limited objective, Kerry’s legislation strongly suggests that offshoring will become a bone of contention in the presidential debates. ChapterNews

(Continues on page 17)

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

Another case that hits close to home is that of Westlaw, the prime database for legal librarians, paralegals, and attorneys in the U.S. Owned by West, Westlaw relies on more than 150 editor/lawyers who quickly review legal decisions, summarize them, and compose “headnotes” for each point of law, which are immediately keyed in to the database. The Westlaw editor/lawyers are at present a little jittery — a small “test office” in Bombay is currently using Indian lawyers to furnish online interpretation and classification of minor decisions from U.S. state and lower courts. Despite the fact that the Indian lawyers are trained in British Common Law, they are receiving tutoring from West trainers in Bombay. Back in chilly Minnesota, the West editor/lawyers - some of whom make $100,000 - and their support staff, are keenly aware that Indian lawyers will work for five times less than they do. As if to confirm this trend, Mindcrest - a Chicago outsourcing firm with an Indian subsidiary that does legal work - has cheerfully announced that business is booming for basic research and low-rung law work. From telephone operators to lawyers — will the backlash be big enough?

Onshoring As Fatherley noted in his article on business librarians, to combat offshoring librarians “must strategically embed themselves” in the mission of their institution. Creating high visibility through “strategic partnerships” with those at the helm is one of the keys to success. Not only is it necessary to be first-rate information providers, but information professionals must also be committed to efficiency and financial viability in the same way as those at the top echelon of our institutions. (ChapterNews #4, Winter 2003-4, 7)

(Continued from page 16)

Nor has the backlash stopped all state governments. After New Jersey welfare recipients phoned Human Services and got a call center in India, state legislators introduced a bill to regulate call center communications. It died in the House. Along with New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Michigan, North Carolina, and Indiana all introduced anti-outsourcing bills in 2003, and all of them died.

Information professionals have to demonstrate that their onshore proximity to and intimate knowledge of the workings and objectives of their institutions make them irreplaceable.

It is not just telephone calls that are being offshored. The trend affects all information providers. In his report on the outsourcing and offshoring of information services, Christopher Fatherley noted that almost three-out-offour major financial institutions will go offshore within two years. Moreover, an estimated $356 billion in costs for the financial-services industry will go offshore within the next five years. The bottom line: approximately 200 million financial service jobs will move out of the country. White- collar professionals — from IT experts to tax preparers — are now at risk. (ChapterNews #4, Winter 2003-4, 6-9)

ChapterNews

Kathryn Harkavy does research and content delivery in the documentary film industry and is a member of SLA-NY.

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

Knowledge Services:

INFORMATION ORGANIZATION NEEDS GOOD DESIGN TOO.

Fix Knowledge Management? Move to Knowledge Services by Guy St. Clair

e’re hearing a lot of talk these days about how knowledge management didn’t turn out the way we thought it would. Certainly in the last couple of years or so, executives in any number of organizations have not been shy about asking when they’ll see the “real” return on their investment in KM. And in the October, 2003, issue of the Harvard Business Review, David Gilmour, president and CEO of Tacit Knowledge Systems in Palo Alto, California, goes so far as to ask right out: “Where’s the payoff?”

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“It’s time to abandon the fiction that knowledge management technology is working,” Gilmour writes. Notice, though, that Gilmour doesn’t say we should give up. No, indeed. At this point in the evolution of knowledge management, it would be a mistake to abandon knowledge management. What we want to do is just figure out how to make it work.

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For Gilmour, we simply move to a different model. According to Gilmour (and I happen to agree with him), KM technology builds on a publishing model, which he describes this way: “someone collects information from employees, organizes it, advertises its availability, and sits back to see what happens.”

Or, put another way, “Knowledge Development/Knowledge Sharing.” KD/KS. Sound familiar? That’s what Knowledge Services is all about. KD/KS. As any regular reader of these columns knows, Knowledge Services converges the three disciplines that affect how people manage information, how they manage knowledge, and how they use strategic (performance-based) learning — in all its forms — to ensure that information and knowledge are developed and shared. Building on leadership and collaboration within the organization, KD/KS is the essential and (not so incidentally) critical characteristic of Knowledge Services. When embraced by all knowledge workers and accepted into the organizational culture, KD/KS establishes the very foundation on which brokering, as Gilmour describes it, can be built.

It’s not a good working model, Gilmour asserts. The publishing model “wrongly assumes that people are willing to share their most valuable knowledge equally and without some quid pro quo. The reality is that what employees say they know depends on who’s on the receiving end of that information. People guard their information and selectively release it….Instead of squelching people’s natural desire to control information, companies should exploit it. They should stop trying to extract knowledge from employees; they should instead leave knowledge where it is and create opportunities for sharing by making knowledge easy for others to find.”

But dealing with KM doesn’t have to be an “either/or” situation. Knowledge management isn’t dead. It’s just coming of age. And like all adolescent concepts, it requires some refinement. I would suggest that by converging information management, knowledge management, and strategic learning, enterprise leaders can build themselves a solution that will put KM back on track as a management methodology that works. And in the process, by

So our real goal — to make KM succeed — is to figure out how we can get those who have knowledge to share it. We need to move to what Gilmour calls a “brokering” model to replace the publishing model. We need a model that “taps people’s eagerness to share when there’s something in it for them.”

(Continues on page 19) ChapterNews

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

(Continued from page 18)

embracing Knowledge Services, they’ll be establishing some pretty important collaborative measurement patterns that can be used to answer that “where’s-thepayoff?” question. The key to finding the solution is in the strategic (performance-based) learning “piece” of the equation. It’s through strategic learning that the culture of the organization is changed, and it’s in changing the culture of the organization that we create an ambiance that permits — indeed, even requires — KD/KS in every information/ knowledge transaction that takes place. We’re not talking about just computer-based training here, or in-house seminars, or even one-on-one instruction. We’re talking about any of the myriad learning activities that take place in an enterprise, wherein people learn to think differently about their work, and about their allegiance to the workplace (which is why I often use the phrase “in all its forms” when I speak about strategic learning). But there’s another reason why we don’t want to give up on KM just yet. Let’s be clear about this: there are a lot of good IT-based KM solutions out there. I don’t think we’re ready to dismiss them out of hand. Not yet. Gilmour writes about how his organization uses a system that “continually” surveys electronic information “to learn who knows what.” Other organizations have their own IT-based KM solutions, either custom-built or offthe-shelf. Let’s see what we can do with what we’ve got before we give up on KM.

for establishing that brokering that would be so useful in the KD/KS process, linking people who have the knowledge with the people who need it. EOS.Web Indexer and EOS.Web KnowledgeBuilder have been created for people who work in special libraries (or indeed, for any knowledge worker whose place of business — while it might not necessarily be a “library” — is one that provides services similar to those provided by special libraries). Can’t products like these be used to bring the information management, knowledge management, and strategic learning requirements of the organization together, into a focused and unified solution? It seems to me, that is what we need to do, in order to organize the KD/KS effort in the organization. If there are vendors out there producing tools just for us, designed for the specialized libraries community, let’s make them work for us. Let’s do our own “brokering” and bring Knowledge Services into the organizations where we work.

For managers in special libraries, it might be worthwhile to take a look at some of the library management systems that have KM capability, to determine how they might be used in that brokering situation Gilmour is looking for. It’s worth a try, and if a management system specifically designed for libraries can be used to connect the people who need knowledge with the people who have the knowledge, let’s go for it. For example, I have recently been looking at EOS International in Carlsbad, California. EOS has two KM products that are, it seems to me, good candidates for the brokering role. EOS.Web KnowledgeBuilder is designed to classify information that is not a good fit for a typical bibliographic record, enabling users to get to indexed unstructured information, usually contained in those elusive documents that many special library managers think of as “hidden” materials. EOS.Web Indexer provides a solution for managing internally generated full-text documents and other materials, including other electronic resources. It seems to me that these are the kinds of products managers in specialized libraries would want to use, if using them will encourage the people who develop knowledge to share the knowledge they’ve developed. These EOS products look — to me — like good candidates ChapterNews

Guy St. Clair is Consulting Specialist, Knowledge Management and Learning, SMR International, New York, NY. He is the author of Beyond Degrees: Professional Learning for Knowledge Services, published by K. G. Saur. A past president of the Special Libraries Association and of the New York Chapter, St. Clair actively solicits readers’ responses to this column. He can be reached at [email protected]. Note: this column contains the personal perspectives of Guy St. Clair and does not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of SMR International or SLA. Products mentioned are not endorsed or recommended and are referred to here only for discussion purposes. 19

Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

Professional Development for Librarians – Get Out There! By Steve Johnson

The Outsell/OCLC study was an international survey intended to identify the market for distance education among library workers from many types of libraries. For that reason, the report does not yield any obvious conclusions regarding planning of professional development activities for the New York Chapter of SLA.

ow many days per year do librarians devote to professional development? Where do we turn for continuing education? How often do we use online classes compared to self-directed study, in person classes, and professional conferences?

Nonetheless, the Outsell study reminds me of the wide variety of formats and sources of professional development opportunities for library workers: professional and trade associations, proprietary schools, library agencies, and colleges and universities. Each of the four professional and library organizations in which I am involved has such a professional development program.

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Over the past eighteen months, I have come to the conclusion that there are more formal opportunities for professional development than there are library workers who are committed to taking advantage of these opportunities.

The “days per year” question has been on my mind for several years. Initially, I wanted to find a benchmark for my own participation in classes, conferences, and other activities. More recently, these questions returned in a new context, planning professional development activities for members of the New York Chapter of SLA.

This imbalance causes cancelled and under-booked seminars and conferences and wasted efforts on the part of program planners. From another perspective, the situation represents a potential buyers market for professional development, at least in terms of selection. The large number of offerings increase the likelihood that one can find the needed professional development opportunity at the right time and an affordable price.

As it happens, Outsell, Inc. addresses these queries in an international survey of library workers conducted in 2002 for the OCLC Institute. OCLC has made the 118page report available as a free download (registration required). The address for registration and download is: http://www.oclc.org/info/needsassessment/default.htm

To plan professional development programs for an SLA chapter, or oneself, I find it necessary to take a close look at the opportunities available outside SLA, as well as those offered through our organization. In the second part of this column I will describe formal opportunities for professional development offered by the New York Library Council, better known as Metro.

Outsell found that the average respondent devoted 5.6 days per year to professional training and education programs. Among the survey’s respondents, web-based training was regarded as the most important form of distance education. However, in terms of formats actually used in the previous twelve months, only 43% used webbased distance education, compared with 84% who used instructor-led workshops, 72% who used informal self-study, and 71% who participated in professional conferences.

Disclosure: For the past several years, I have served as a member of Metro’s Professional Development Advisory Council. This Advisory Council meets once or twice per year to give advice to Metro on development of programs.

The Outsell study found that 59% of those who plan continuing education for their institutions say that they will use web-based distance education in the next year. Just 28% of individual consumers of continuing education expect to use web-based training. Just 47% of consumers believe that continuing education is available at the right time. Forty-one per cent believe that adequate financial support is available for continuing education.

ChapterNews

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About Metro

Spring 2004 classes offered by Metro, New York Library Council

he New York Library Council is the largest of the nine regional library agencies chartered by New York State. Founded in 1962, Metro has 270 member institutions, representing a total of 1200 individual libraries in the metropolitan area, including Westchester County. In 1995, Dottie Hiebing became executive director of Metro, which has a staff of fifteen.

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Introduction to Endnote for Librarians — Friday March 12 Introduction to Dreamweaver for web site creation —Tuesday March 16

Metro is a multi-type library agency, drawing members from and providing services to all types of libraries: school, public, college, university, and medical, and special. Metro also provides support to archives programs. Although Metro supports cooperation and resource sharing among member libraries, membership in Metro does not require that a library open its doors to the public, or participate in interlibrary sharing, or publish a library catalog on the internet.

Introduction to appraisal and selection of historical records —Friday March 19 E-journals: Integrated management solutions —Tuesday March 23 Creating an image database: an overview —Tuesday March 30 Government documents on the internet —Thursday April 1

Metro’s fourth floor offices at 57 East 11th Street include a training facility equipped with late model laptop computers. Classes include half-day, one day and two day seminars. Metro’s professional development catalog for spring 2004 includes two special series of classes: one series on digitization and one series on internet enabled database creation. Other classes include introductions to Endnote, Dreamweaver, and XML. An Introduction to Microsoft Access for librarians focuses on the use of Access for bibliographic information.

Introduction to XML for librarian —Tuesday April 13 Archival perspectives on digital preservation —Thursday-Friday, April 15-16 MS Excel Basics: Spreadsheets, databases, formulas and calculations —Monday April 26 Advanced Research Strategies for the Internet —Friday May 7 Introduction to MS Access for Librarians —Tuesday May 11

New in 2004 are web-based distance education classes from Element K (computer related) and Ninth House (management topics). Metro also offers discounted access to in-person computer classes offered by the New Horizons at New Horizons locations.

Metadata for digital collections —Thursday-Friday May 13-14 MS Excel II for librarians and administrators —Monday May 17

Metro’s Professional Development Catalog may be downloaded in PDF format at http://www.metro.org/pdfs/current_catalog.pdf.

Unix for librarians —Tuesday May 25 Digital project infrastructure —Friday May 28

Class fees vary, with many full day classes priced at $135 for member institutions, $185 for non-member institutions. A $20 discount is available to those who register more than two weeks in advance.

Visualization for information retrieval: an emerging technique —Thursday June 3 Design and construction of bibliographic databases using MS Access —Tuesday June 8

Tim Johnson is program manager for Metro’s education program. He can be reached at [email protected].

PowerPoint for Librarians and Administrators —Monday June 14

Steve Johnson is the Director of Professional Development for the New York Chapter of SLA. He is also Manager of the Bronx Zoo Library, Wildlife Conservation Society. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Competitive Intelligence Course

Much of the information that is needed for actionable competitive intelligence is publicly available, in press reports, S.E.C. filings, trade association data, employment ads and announcements, trade show exhibits or company web sites. Detailed analysis of customer and supplier receivables on a quarterly or annual report, for instance, might give an idea of whether or not a competitor is “managing” profits from one accounting period to another. Examination of cash position and uses of noncash balance sheet elements, e.g. depreciation, can be used to gauge the likelihood of expansion or acquisition.

By Charles J. Lowry

or two days in January, I attended a course on competitive intelligence. The course was sponsored by the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and presented by Michael A. Sandman, Senior Vice President at Fuld & Company, Inc. Fuld & Company is a management consulting firm located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that specializes in providing competitive intelligence to corporate clients.

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Just as helpful in trying to anticipate a company’s plans is an examination of core competencies. Simply defined, a core competency is one that differentiates a company from its competitors and is transferable to other lines of business. Corporations tend to be guided by core competencies, real or imagined.

The course began with a brief introduction to competitive intelligence, a summary of what it is and what it is not. It is not espionage, it is not illegal. It is guided by the same moral and ethical strictures as corporate behavior in general. Competitive intelligence is not merely data gathering. Once material has been gathered, it must be put into a schema that permits both analysis and conclusion. It must be actionable, leading to an understanding of a competitor’s financial position, a product strategy or schedule, or some other knowledge that will permit a firm to anticipate the competition and keep ahead. In short, the program director defined competitive intelligence as information that has been refined enough so that it can be used in making business decisions.

The director of the program spoke at length on ethical considerations involved in talking to competitor employees, to customers and to suppliers of the competitor. These last two are often relationships that both corporations have in common. Helpful hints about practical and ethical considerations involved in competitive intelligence can be found on the web site (http://www.scip.org/). Michael Sandman can be reached by telephone or by e-mail at Fuld & Company, which holds the copyright on the course materials: 617.492.5900 or [email protected]. Chuck Lowry is Director of Client Development at LegalMarketInfo, the research division of American Lawyer Media. American Lawyer Media publishes almost thirty national and regional publications for legal professionals, including The American Lawyer, and produces numerous surveys on the legal profession. He can be reached by telephone or by e-mail: 212. 592.4932 or [email protected].

The development of contemporary competitive intelligence is seen as rooted in the determination of western governments twenty-five years ago to fight inflation full on. Industries were deregulated and trade barriers were lifted. Thus suppliers that had been able to hide inefficiency behind regulation or uncontested price increases were exposed and made vulnerable to domestic and international competition. In this more unforgiving atmosphere, competitive intelligence can be used to show corporations how to become more competitive, to identify future risks and opportunities and to help evaluate performance. The course concentrated on tools useful for gathering and refining competitive intelligence, including SWOT analysis, “Five Forces” evaluation and others.

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Vol. 76, #1 Spring 2004

A Call for Small Group Learning

Balancing on the Tightrope

By Bert Schachter

By Liz Miller Boose

any of us miss the smaller meetings organized by the subject groups of the New York Chapter of SLA. Those meetings offered members the chance to exchange information and meet other members. That kind of grassroots level communication fostered a lot of collaboration and friendships among Chapter members. The three or four meetings organized by the New York Chapter itself, while valuable to us all, are often so large that it is hard to do anything more than greet the people you haven’t seen since the last meeting.

hen my friend asked me to write an article on work-life balance, I laughed. “I mostly run — literally run — everywhere I go,” I said. But when I thought about it some more, I decided that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to think about these things some more.

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When my daughter was born, I left a full-time job. I went back to work three days a week when she was a year old. As Candide might say, it’s the best of all possible worlds. How do I make it all work? There are three crucial points:

Here is a suggestion for creating new opportunities for more professional face-time – still the best way to network despite such enabling technologies as email and listservs:

Flexibility:

It’s hard to balance work and personal lives when you’re a young professional living in the city, trying to meet friends for dinner. It’s a whole different world when you are dealing with childcare issues. I live about an hour away from my job, and I have to pick my daughter up from daycare by 6:00. Luckily, I have a supportive and flexible boss, and we have arranged it so that my hours are 8:30 — 4:30, instead of the typical 9-6.

A New York Chapter Discussion Group announcement is coming out – or has already come out - asking for volunteers to host informal meetings for groups of 20 or less on a series of “evergreen” topics that are of high interest among members. Anyone with access to a conference room or a library large enough to accommodate a group can volunteer to host. The meeting times and refreshments are up to the groups to organize.

Working in Tandem:

It’s so important to split the work with your partner. My husband takes our daughter to daycare in the morning so I can get to work earlier, and then I leave earlier to pick her up. When she’s been sick and has to stay home, I will take a day off, and then he will take the next day off.

Some possible topics for Small Group Learning meetings: ▲ Budgeting – schemes to justify additions to staff and

collections ▲ Statistics – how to gather and evaluate ▲ Compensation and incentives during fiscally difficult

Separate Your Life:

periods – What else besides salary works?

For me, the cardinal rule for work/life balance is this: leave work at work, and leave home at home. We live in an age where we are always accessible. We have cell phones, pagers, laptops. For me, the answer is to push back. Unless there are emergencies (for either work or personal life), I don’t check my work emails or voice mails at home, and I don’t check in with daycare 5 times a day.

▲ Tips on better contract negotiations ▲ How to do meaningful user surveys ▲ Writing an RFP ▲ Interviewing job candidates efficiently

I think that there are probably dozens of other topics like this that would draw members together in small groups to learn from each other – no speakers, perhaps a volunteer moderator who might come in with some warm-up questions.

The specifics of what I have done are not going to work for everyone, but I do think the general guidelines can help if someone is having trouble. Good luck. I have to run!

Let’s try this less formal approach to getting together for professional learning. There are some very smart people in this chapter from whom we can learn.

Liz Miller Boose is a librarian at Deloitte Consulting and a mom to Amelia (age 1 1/2). She has an MLS from Rutgers University and can be reached at 212-618-4107.

Bert Schachter is an ad hoc member of the Advisory Council. She can be reached at [email protected]. ChapterNews

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Reaching the Pinnacle of the Profession

The Rose L. Vormelker Award is presented to Anne Caputo, Knowledge & Learning Programs, Factiva, Washington, DC; and Doris Helfer, University Library,

California State University-Northridge, Northridge, CA. The award recognizes SLA member(s) for exceptional service to the profession of special librarianship through the mentoring of students and/or practicing professionals in the field. Both of these outstanding role models are recognized for their exemplary leadership, dedication, and commitment to mentoring.

SLA Announces 2004 Award Winners

ashington, D.C., February 12, 2004 — The Special Libraries Association (SLA), has selected twenty-five outstanding individuals as recipients for its 2004 Awards and Honors. These individuals were selected for their exemplary contributions and achievements in the information profession and the Association.

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Fellows of the Special Libraries Association are called upon to advise the Association’s Board of Directors and alert the membership to issues and trends warranting action, and are recognized as active SLA members with future leadership potential for the Association. The Class of 2004 SLA Fellows are: Susan DiMattia, Corporate Library Update, Reed Business Information, New York, NY; Richard Geiger, Library, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA; Karen Kreizman Reczek, Bureau Veritas, Buffalo, NY; Agnes Mattis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager, and Flom, New York, NY; and Lyle Minter, Serial & Government Publications Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

In making the announcement, SLA President Cynthia V. Hill declared, “the class of 2004 award honorees represent the pinnacle of the information profession. Through commitment, dedication and unselfish deeds, they have truly elevated the information profession and set the benchmark that much higher.” SLA annually recognizes exceptional individuals who have made significant achievements in the information profession and the Association. All candidates are reviewed by select committees and are approved by the SLA Board of Directors. Awards are presented in a particular category only if a nominee meets the stated criteria as set forth by the program. Award winners will be officially honored on June 6, 2004 at 7:00 p.m., at The Parthenon in Nashville, TN.

The SLA President’s Award is conferred upon the members of the Executive Director Search Committee. The committee members are: Committee Chair G. Lynn Berard, Science Libraries, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA; Tamika Barnes, Research & Information Services, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; Mary Lee Kennedy, Knowledge Network Group, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA; Mary “Dottie” Moon, Strategic & Development, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, CT; and Richard Hulser, Amgen, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA. The award is given annually to SLA member(s) who display an ongoing commitment to the development of the Association as the premier organization for information professionals. Each of these individuals is recognized for their unique efforts, drive, and leadership within the committee.

The SLA Hall of Fame is conferred upon Ellen Miller, Springfield, NJ; Wilda Newman, Knowledge Associates Resources, LLC, Columbia, MD; and Ruth Seidman, Brookline, MA. Membership is granted to SLA members at or near the end of an active professional career in recognition of an extended and sustained period of distinguished service to the Association in all spheres. Each is selected for her longtime guidance, leadership roles, and exceptional service and commitment to SLA.

(Winners list continues on page 25)

The John Cotton Dana Award is bestowed upon Donna Scheeder, Congressional Reference Department, Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and Barbara Semonche,

School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. The award is named in honor of the founder of SLA and is conferred upon a member for exceptional service in special librarianship. Each was recognized for their wisdom, longstanding contributions, and lifetime achievements in their distinguished careers as information professionals. ChapterNews

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(Winners continued from page 24)

The SLA Diversity Leadership Development Award

recognizes individuals from multi-cultural backgrounds who display excellent leadership abilities in the profession and demonstrate a willingness to develop and strive for leadership opportunities within the Association. The year’s winners are Innocent A. Awasom, Science Reference Librarian, Magrath Library, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN; Praveen Kumar Jain, Assistant Librarian, Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi Enclave, Delhi, India; Paiki Muswazi, Head of Special Collections, University of Swaziland Libraries, Kwaluseni, Swaziland; Akram Sadeghi Pari, Cataloging Librarian, Cincinnati Law Library Association, Cincinnati, OH; Cassandra M. Shieh, Information Specialist, Catholic News Service, Washington, DC.

The SLA Professional Award is presented to Dr. T.N. Prakash, Information Technology, Aeronautical Development Agency, Bangalore, India; and Elton B. Stephens, founder, EBSCO Services, Birmingham, AL.

The award is presented to an individual or group who may or may not hold membership in the Association, in recognition of major achievements in, or a specific significant contribution to, the field of librarianship or information science. Both individuals are recognized for their significant contributions and achievements in the information profession as innovators, contributors, and teachers throughout their careers. The H.W. Wilson Company Award is presented to Jill Konieczko, Library, US News & World Report, Washington, DC, and Cynthia Powell, Washington, DC. The award is

About SLA

presented to authors of outstanding articles published in Information Outlook®, SLA’s monthly magazine. Konieczko and Powell authored “Information Centers that Innovate,” an article published in the January 2003 issue, which focused on the common experiences and situations of different libraries and provided practical and adaptable advice for information professionals in similar organizations.

The Special Libraries Association (SLA), is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves more than 12,000 members in 83 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives.

The Member Achievement Award is presented to Kenlee Ray, Washington, DC. The award acknowledges a member

▲ The preceeding was reprinted with the permission of the

For more information, visit us on the Web at www.sla.org.

Special Libraries Association:

of SLA for raising visibility and public awareness of, and appreciation for, the profession and/or the Association. Ray has been instrumental in raising awareness and positive publicity in the field of special librarianship through her community outreach activities and her tireless efforts to affect the lives of under-privileged kids.

ChapterNews

CONTACT: Anthony Blue, 1-202-939-3633 [email protected] www.sla.org

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