Slany Chapternews Newsletter Winter 2003

ChapterNews Volume 75, #1 Winter 2003

Message from the President

IN THIS ISSUE

Agnes Mattis, President

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

our Executive Board is in the planning process for 2003. We approach 2003 with enthusiasm but there will be challenges ahead. The year will begin with the return of the Janus seminar. For those of you too young to remember the Chapter held these professional development seminars each January and got the year off to a great start. Janus, the two-headed Roman god who faces the past and the future, is the god of beginnings. So we name the seminar for Janus.

Y

SLA 12th Annual Career Day.......4 Members in the News...................4 The Open Door Policy: Just Say Yes! (or...How

Pam Rollo is taking the lead in planning this 2 day seminar with assistance from Guy St. Clair. The seminar will be built around the theme of looking back and

to Build a Better Workforce).....5

looking ahead. We will look at the economic climate we are in and what lies ahead. We will re-think, re-orient and re-charge.

Knowledge Services Misinformation on the

We will look at moving our careers into the next stage. On the evening of the second day of the seminar a Chapter meeting will be held at which seminar attendees and facilitators will summarize the program. Look for details in the next month.

Internet: Use Your Expertise to Raise Awareness .................6 The Librarians are Coming!

April 12th will bring the return of the very popular Career Day program. Cliff Perry is heading up this year’s effort and I’m sure it will once again be a success. The program will be at the end of National Library Week and will bring together librarians working in different environments with students, and those interested in a career change. The local Library Schools and specialized employment agencies also participate. Cliff will be looking for volunteers so please help out if you can.

The Librarians are Coming! ....10 Website Resources – Corporate Governance............12

In June the BIG EVENT happens. The annual conference comes to New York. Ellen Miller is in charge of the Local Arrangements Committee. (See The Librarians are Coming! page 10.) Her group will be preparing a restaurant guide, walking tours and all sorts of activities to welcome SLA members to this great city. Ellen will need lots of volunteers during the conference so please heed the call for help.

ADVERTISERS Dialog ............................................9 EBSCO ..........................................8

To get Chapter members excited and involved in advance of the conference we will be asking for your “Top Three Lists” over the next few months. At Chapter meetings and events we will be asking you to list your favorites, your 3 favorite Italian restaurants, your 3 favorite places to shop, your 3 favorite quiet escapes in the city, etc. The lists will be compiled (and screened) by the committee and made available to conference attendees at the New York Chapter booth. So, when asked, please contribute.

EOS International..........................7 Gatta Design & Co. .......................7 Info-Current.................................11 James Lafferty Associates .........10

I mentioned challenges at the beginning of my message and so far all I have listed are exciting events. The challenge for myself and the Board is doing more with less. You hear this every day in your jobs and now the Chapter is in the same position.

The Library Co-Op ........................3 NKR Associates ............................6

(Continues on page 2)

Pro Libra........................................8 Wontawk .......................................4 ChapterNews

1

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

(Continued from page 1)

ChapterNews New York Chapter Special Libraries Association Winter Vol. 75, No. 1

For all of my years working in the Chapter we were able to obtain sponsorship for our meetings and events with a simple telephone call. Our vendors were able to help anytime we asked.

ChapterNews, the bulletin of the New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association, is published four times a year.

They are now not able to help in the same way as in the past. Our meetings and events are getting more and more expensive to hold. This past year we took a larger amount from our Project/Reserve fund just to cover operating expenses.

Deadlines for submitting materials:

Now we are not in desperate shape by any means but we are faced with this challenge.

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

Will our vendors be able to support us in the future? Is this a temporary state of affairs? Will we have to charge the membership to attend meetings? The NY Chapter is the only Chapter that does not charge for meetings so this would not be an easy decision.

Fall issue ....................August 15 Winter issue...............November 15 Spring issue................February 15 Summer issue.............May 15

The Board will be making a lot of tough decisions as we go through the budget process. I will be able to tell you more in my next message.

Submit all material to:

Thomas Pellizzi Interim ChapterNews Editor E-mail: [email protected]

I have a favor to ask each of you. When you finish reading this article I want you to go to the SLA website and verify your membership information. I mean it, I want you to do it now before you forget. Please be sure your email address is correct. The Chapter no longer sends printed notices for meetings, luncheons and other chapter events. There is an announcement list (separate from the discussion list) but we must have a valid email address to stay in contact with you. If the information on the SLA website in wrong, correct it.

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.

It’s a very simple process but each member is responsible for their own information.

ADVERTISING inquiries should be addressed to:

OK. I’m getting off my soap box now and getting back to work. Until next time. — Agnes Mattis

Laura Kapnick, CBS NEWS 524 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019-2985 Telephone: (212) 975-2917 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 Interim ChapterNews Editor Advertising Manager Webmaster ChapterNews

Thomas Pellizzi Thomas Pellizzi Laura Kapnick Konrad Will 2

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

ChapterNews

3

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

SLA-NY 12th Annual Career Day by Clifford Perry, Warburg Pincus DATE:

April 12, 2003

TIME:

Noon-5PM

PLACE:

Lighthouse International 111 East 59th Street

Refreshments will be served. lans are underway for one of the Chapter’s biggest events of the year — Career Day 2003. This event draws almost 250 attendees each year and is essential in promoting the information profession. Why not play a part in making this day a success. There are many ways in which you can contribute:

P

▲ Offer to serve as a host 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 (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 a professional. ▲ Send me a copy of your resume that 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, references) will be omitted.

Members in the News... Robin S. Sanders, formerly Library Manager at Bear Stearns, is now the National Research Coordinator for FTI Consulting, Inc.

▲ 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.

FTI Consulting is a leading financial and litigation support consulting firm, with over 100 employees and 33 offices nationwide. Robin will be providing and coordinating information resources and services to the entire organization.

▲ Volunteer to help set-up, greet and assist the attendees. This is just one of the many ways our Chapter provides outreach in the metropolitan area. Your involvement will not only enhance and enrich this program, but also strengthen the ties between our Chapter and potential new members. A number of past attendees have graduated from library school, and have joined our profession. Come join us at CareerDay to see old friends and to make new ones!

She will also be responsible for developing and organizing a knowledge practice and network for the firm.

Join the Career Day Committee by contacting me: email: [email protected] phone: (212) 878-9314 mail: 466 Lexington Avenue, 10th Fl., NY, NY 10017

ChapterNews

4

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

The Open Door Policy: Just Say YES!

We may not always get the respect we deserve but two facts hold true: a) as librarians we almost always get to apply skills and experience from past work, and b) I can’t think of a single profession (except maybe hockey or belly-dancing) where knowledge of research and technology skills aren’t critical to performing well.

(Or…How To Build a Better Work Force) by Sandra Kitt

Mind you, I do give warning to my colleagues when I’ve invited students to come on down to pick our brains. To a person, they have been gracious and welcoming. And the benefits are two-fold, even if not personally realized.

n my library I think I’ve gained a reputation as being a ‘blabber-mouth.” Not that anyone actually calls me that, or would even think of saying it. However, my largesse toward MLS students is becoming, among my colleagues, almost legendary.

I

The student goes away with a completed assignment and a warm fuzzy feeling of having been taken seriously. And we, the information specialists already in the field, can count on eventually getting a well- prepared and enthusiastic librarian in our midst.

I invite MLS students to visit, email, or call me (and the entire library staff, for that matter) as a source for their class assignments. I encourage students to request appointments to shadow the staff as they perform their normal routines, to volunteer for a day or longer, and to consider an Internship…anything that gives them first-hand insight and experience for the career they are pursuing.

Two days after hearing from the first student I got an email from a second. She’d been referred to me by one of the Chapter’s most committed and involved leaders. Unfortunately I was not able to accommodate the student this time. Certainly not because I didn’t want to…but because I was already booked! My dance card was completely filled.

“You must be out of your mind!,” I can hear someone exclaiming, only to realize that it’s my own voice. Why am I so generous not only with my own time, but with that of my colleagues, interrupting important projects while springing neophytes onto professionals who might have better things to do? It’s because I believe in the value of giving time to nurture the next generation of information specialists.

However, what this pointed out to me was a clear need for more ‘open doors’, from more New York Chapter members. It is less of an inconvenience than you might think, and you will probably surprise yourself with just how good it feels to know you’ve been able to help another swing-vote in favor of our profession.

We are, in effect, helping to train our successors. Not to replace us, but to join us. In maintaining an open door policy, we are taking an active part in making sure that the profession gets the very best people, those who are committed and enthusiastic. And I’m doing my part in promoting special libraries as the best of all possible worlds.

There is an African proverb (much used recently) that states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” You know what that means. We all need to be involved. We all have something to share. We all need to remember that at some point in our career, someone held the door open for us.

I recently received an email from someone whom I’d known many years ago. I remembered the name but couldn’t conjure up an image. Under the circumstances I might have been luke-warm at best about reestablishing a connection…until he informed me that he’d just begun library school at Pratt. He contacted me because he had an assignment to complete for a class and wanted to use me as a contact.

Sandra Kitt, Richard S. Perkin Collection, Astronomy & Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History For more information on Mentoring, Internships, Shadowing or hosting an MLS student for a few hours, contact Suzan Lee, [email protected]. For feedback and encouragement contact Sandra Kitt, [email protected]

I welcomed him with open arms! Intending to stay only a few hours, he was with my colleagues for almost the entire day. He left bleary-eyed, slightly overwhelmed, but delighted by his experience, and ready to forge ‘full stream ahead’ on his studies. Even a casual survey of New York Chapter members will reveal that a surprising number of professionals became information specialists after having begun their adult working life doing something else.

ChapterNews

5

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

Knowledge Services Misinformation on the Internet: Use Your Expertise to Raise Awareness

NKR Associates

by Guy St. Clair

Consultants to libraries, offices, archives.

n my last ChapterNews column, I described how specialist librarians are uniquely qualified to practice as knowledge services professionals. Knowledge services is the new profession that has evolved from the convergence of information management, knowledge management, and strategic (performance-centered) learning.

Get to know Davida Scharf, Richard Steele, Nancy Nelson

I

They’re hands-on information professionals helping clients in the NY area with projects, large and small.

It’s a profession that is made up of many knowledge workers, from many different professions, disciplines, and types of work. I contend that it’s the specialist librarians who are naturally qualified for leading knowledge services in their organizations. They’re the information professionals who know best how to enable Knowledge Development/Knowledge Sharing (KD/KS) — the defining attribute of knowledge services — in the organizations where they work.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

201-947-8039 fax: 201-947-2586 [email protected] www.NKRassociates.com

Among our special competencies, as stated in the famous competencies document published in 1996 (and currently being updated), is an ability to “provide excellent instruction and support for library and information service users” and to “assess information needs and [then] design and market value-added information services and products to meet identified needs.”

services professionals (particularly specialist librarians) can provide expertise, is what is usually referred to as “misinformation on the Internet.”

The newest version of the competencies will, presumably, continue this approach in describing our competencies. In any case, it’s that reference to our learning and teaching role, what I like to call “strategic (performancecentered) learning,” and to the development of what I like to think of as “high-level, value-added services,” that so particularly positions specialist librarians for leading knowledge services in their parent organizations.

Here again, we have an excellent discussion resource to help us as we seek to provide information management, knowledge management, and strategic learning for our customers. It’s a new book written by one of our New York Chapter members, Anne P. Mintz, and while this column can’t serve as a book review [full disclosure: Anne is one of my very special friends, and a review, as such, would not be appropriate], I have delved into the book, and I think it can be a very fine tool for knowledge services professionals.

One of the first challenges for us, though, is to identify subjects and issues that are appropriate for us — as knowledge services professionals — to bring to the attention of our customers. In last winter’s issue of ChapterNews, I wrote about how critical information protection (CIP) is a subject that provides a perfect role for specialist librarians as knowledge services experts.

As I read Anne’s book, which is a compilation of very thoughtful essays on this important topic, it became very clear to me that this is just the kind of subject we specialist librarians can — and should — bring to the attention of our organizations. And knowledge services is exactly the methodology we should use for doing so. How?

In fact, The White House has now published its Draft National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace and is offering it to the public for comment. That document (www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/) can serve as an excellent discussion document for knowledge services professionals, as they seek to raise awareness about this critical issue in their organizations. An equally important issue about which awareness must be raised, and for which knowledge ChapterNews

Special Projects Workflow & Systems Database Design & Development Records & Archival Management Intra/Internet Projects Cataloging & Indexing Inmagic software experts

Let’s look at the components of knowledge services. Information management is what we do best, and when we think about misinformation on the Internet, there are few information professionals who are better qualified to (Continues on page 7) 6

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

(Continued from page 6)

advise their customers about the dangers of bad and incorrect information, particularly since so many people — who do not have our expertise — seem to have the impression that everything they read, regardless of its format, is true. Not so! And we know it. We completely understand how to distinguish good information from bad. We have expertise, techniques, and methodologies that have been developed specifically to enable us to advise our customers about what resources they should be using and what resources they should not be using. We engage in this sort of advising and consulting all the time as we recommend to our customers that this source or that site should be used — or avoided. Correcting those uninformed misperceptions about the Web and information on the Web is just part of our daily professional routine. We know how to manage information, and that particular competency includes being able to distinguish between what is good for our customers and what is not good. As for knowledge management… Well of course! If we, as the organization’s specialist librarians, have any role to play in content management for our organization’s intranet (and even if we only advise the “official” content management team in the enterprise, which is, sadly, often the case), we might want to put together an experiential “knowledge store” (I would call it) for the site.

TO SEE A SAMPLE OF OUR WORK... TURN THE PAGE.

Better yet, if our specialized library has a portal or home page of its own, we would want to put the knowledge store there. What I’m suggesting is a smaller, more personal (but well organized and well managed) site modeled on the “lessons learned” sites often found in the military or in other large organizations.

Gatta Design is proud to help SLA-NY design and produce ChapterNews. We’d be happy to help you, too. With projects ranging from small business, non-profit and corporate promotional collateral to full-scale identity and branding programs, packaging and illustration, creative design will get

It would be a little knowledge area that permits people in the organization (including the staff in the specialized library, of course) to report their experiences and their findings when they run across misinformation on the Internet.

your message across. Call us for an SLA-NY discount.

Certainly these colleagues can’t report every such experience (who has that kind of time?), but if we’re reasonable about it, reporting on sites that the specialized library’s customers might be going to on some sort of regular basis, or sites that contain information relating to the subject or subjects of the parent organization’s field of specialization, can provide a good “heads up” for others in the organization who might need to have this information. (And for one of the best discussions I’ve read about the intranet-development process and building the team to do it, see Roberta Piccoli’s article in last summer’s ChapterNews.)

286 SPRING STREET, SUITE 301 NEW YORK, NY 10013-1427 TEL (212) 229-0071, FAX (212) 229-0074 e-mail: [email protected] www.gattago.com

(Continues on page 8)

ChapterNews

7

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

(Continued from page 7)

It’s when we move into strategic (performance-centered) learning that the specialist librarian’s skills really come into play, though, and it’s here that Anne Mintz and her authors have provided us with the very tool we need. The book presents so many examples of what to look for and describes so many issues relating to information on the Internet that it can be truly said that it is the perfect resource for any seminars or workshops the specialized library might sponsor on the subject.

EBSCO Book Services Offers: • over 2.5 million titles plus music and movies • secure server for payment transactions • multiple payment options: credit card, purchasing card and purchase order • competitive pricing • administrative features to designate approval authority • level II capabilities for credit card transactions

Even if formal learning programs are not part of the library’s mission (since these are so often the purview of HR or some other department in the organization), those popular “brown-bag” lunches and discussion groups we sponsor are guaranteed to become even more popular if attendees read some of these essays, and come prepared to talk about what they’ve read and relate it to their own experience. In fact, from my perspective, since there are eleven chapters in the book, and each has a provocative topic and any number of eye-popping examples, I could see setting up a series of hour-long discussion groups — one per chapter — and watching them grow in popularity as word gets out in the organization. What better opportunity is there for specialist librarians to contribute to their customers’ understanding of this important issue?

For more information, visit

www.ebscobooks.com

Is this knowledge services? Is this KD/KS? Of course it is. By helping our organizations manage information and knowledge about misinformation on the Internet, and by taking a proactive strategic learning role in knowledge development and knowledge sharing for our customers, we are doing exactly what specialist librarians have been doing so well for so long. It’s not called “putting knowledge to work” for nothing, you know, and it’s what we are very good at. If we can help our customers and our organizations avoid the pitfalls that misinformation creates, we are doing our job. References

Mintz, Anne P., ed. Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet. (Medford, NJ: CyberAge/Information Today, 2002) Piccoli, Roberta. “Essence of a Successful Intranet,” Special Libraries Association. New York ChapterNews. 74 (4), Summer, 2002. 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, just 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]. ChapterNews

8

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

What do 7,000 great news sources have in common?

NewsRoom. THE PLACE FOR NEWS FROM DIALOG For more information or a free trial, please call 1-800-3-DIALOG or visit our Web site at www.dialog.com. INFORMATION TO CHANGE THE WORLD

©2002 The Dialog Corporation.

ChapterNews

9

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

The Librarians Are Coming! The Librarians Are Coming!

The quest for sponsorship will be headed up by John Ganly of The New York Public Library, who is also fulfilling this role for the Business & Finance Division. This coordination of effort will allow us to best use the resources available through the vendor community without annoying our supporters by having numerous people contacting them with hat in hand. I’m sure John would be happy to hear from anyone who would like to contribute to our efforts or who has a contact with a possible sponsor that might be helpful to him.

By Ellen Miller he Special Libraries Association annual conference for 2003 is fast approaching and will be held in New York City next June 7th-12th. To help make this a special week in this wonderful town, the Conference Committee and the New York Chapter President set up a Local Arrangements Committee last spring and asked me to chair the function.

T

One of our most ambitious efforts is in the area of library tours. Changes in the Association’s approach to tours next year, and the increase in security throughout the city since 9/11, are causing us to create formal guided tours on the Thursday morning at the end of the conference instead of more free-form touring during the week. Josephine Howell of Merrill Lynch and Bert Schachter of Scholastic Inc. are co-heading this effort.

I have been fortunate enough to enlist a group of longtime New Yorkers to help me with this task and we began our efforts with preparations for last June’s Los Angeles conference, where our presence was a huge success (see Sandra Kitt’s article in the last issue of ChapterNews).

(Continues on page 11)

We will also have a small information table in New Orleans at Winter Meeting in January, so that we do not lose our momentum with the Association’s leadership. But most important of all, and the thing that will make our efforts remembered fondly by the membership, will be the job we do to welcome them to “our” city next June. Many plans are underway, some of which are just in the talking stages and can’t be described in detail yet, while others are farther along in the planning process. There may be a conference-wide function (still in early discussion), but we have decided to concentrate our energies for the moment on a few activities that we can better control and that will enhance the overall experience of attending a conference in New York. In the tradition of past New York conferences, we are planning to publish a restaurant guide for the attendees. Andrew Gazzale of Jeffries & Company is heading up this effort and is working with a graphics designer to set up a format that will group restaurants by neighborhood, with indexes by restaurant name and type of cuisine. We will indicate price ranges for each entry as well, so that our visitors won’t face any unhappy surprises when they encounter New York price levels. We are hoping to find a sponsor for this effort who will pay for the printing and design costs. Sandra Kitt of the Museum of Natural History is heading up the Information Desk for the conference and she is working with a costume jewelry designer in Florida to design an apple pin that can be used as a souvenir of the conference. As many of you who attended the LA conference know, the NY taxi stick pins we gave away there were a big hit, but we thought we would go a little more upscale next year. Factiva has graciously sponsored the New York Apple pins, which will be given to every attendee. ChapterNews

10

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

(Continued from page 10)

They have some exciting ideas about how to present the New York special library community to our visitors (and to any of you who would like to see some local libraries that you may not have had the chance to view until now). They will be preparing a handout of the special libraries in the city that are open to the public, along with some ideas for places to eat, shop and tour in the same area of the city. This leaflet will be available at the Information Desk and we will encourage everyone to go to see these libraries at their leisure. In addition, on Thursday morning they will lead a series of guided tours to “private” libraries within different sections of the city.

YOUR SOURCE FOR SKILLED INFORMATION NAVIGATORS • The premier source for high-caliber library & information management professionals • Executive search & direct hire placements nationwide • Temporary & temp-to-hire assignments • Competitive candidate benefits & training programs

People will have to sign up in advance for these tours at the Information Desk and participating organizations will be provided with a list of names in advance for security clearance. Each group will visit three libraries and at the end be given the option of returning to the hotel with the tour guide or staying in the area for lunch and further sightseeing. Once again, there will be a handout geared to the local neighborhood and directions for getting “home.”

A Part of TeleSec CORESTAFF

Washington, DC Metro area

[email protected]

[email protected]

212-642-4321

202-775-1890

www.infocurrent.com

By now you may be wondering what you can do to contribute to the Chapter’s efforts to make this a very special occasion for the SLA membership at large. As we get closer to the actual event, there will be many opportunities for volunteers at the Information Desk and, possibly, leading tours if logistically we have to split groups to accommodate the number of people who sign up.

She is also planning to have info from the major museums and tour companies available. We will have a small library of books on shopping, sightseeing, restaurants, etc. on hand for volunteers to use and hope to have a computer hookup at the Desk with web access as well. As you can see from all of the above, we have a lot on our plates and the need to continue to communicate with you and the membership at large makes the use of technology very important to our efforts. We are fortunate that Konrad Will of Lehman Brothers, the Chapter’s webmaster, has agreed to serve on the Local Arrangements Committee since we plan to use the website to post notices and articles about New York in general and the Conference in particular. We have already put up a list of New York tourist websites so that those who are planning their trip here can use these resources as guides. We will also have information on the site about Broadway shows and other ticketed events that attendees may want (or need) to order in advance. If you have a suggestion for a website that may be useful in this regard, please forward it to Konrad for inclusion on this list.

We plan to use the Chapter’s website to post a form for volunteers when the time comes to organize these functions. However, since we know that many of you want to feel that you are getting involved in now, we will be asking for your input for the various handouts mentioned above. At the next few Chapter meetings and on the website, we will be making available a form for members to fill out. On it, we will be asking you to recommend your favorite restaurants, off-beat shopping places, unusual tour opportunities, and all those other things that make New York unique and special to those of us who live and work here. We urge you to fill out the forms and return them to us so that we can ensure that our efforts are reflective of all the members of the Chapter, not just the committee. Obviously, we will not be able to include all suggestions due to space constraints, but we will go through all the forms and make sure to use those that receive multiple “votes.” There will also be a place on the form to volunteer your library for the Thursday tour program.

June may seem a long way off right now, but the seasons change quickly and we know that the conference will be upon us sooner than we think. The New York Chapter has always been a vital part of the Association and we are committed to making this a conference that members will remember with enjoyment for years to come.

In addition to the opportunity to make your ideas known to us through the forms, we would appreciate your making us aware of any handouts we might want to stock at the Information Desk. Jane Reed of The University Club is responsible for gathering material of this type and is already working with the City’s Convention and Visitors’ Bureau to get maps and event listings. ChapterNews

New York City Metro area

We want to set a standard for all who succeed us and look to you, the Chapter’s members, to give us your all in this endeavor. It’s been fourteen years since SLA had a conference in New York. Let’s leave them wondering why it took so long to come back! 11

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

Website Resources:

Corporate Governance NETwork http://www.corpgov.net/

Corporate Governance

American Bar Association. Special Study on Market Structure, Listing Standards and Corporate Governance

This site is designed to educate the private investor about shareholder rights and corporate governance. The “Stakeholders” page has a list of links to governance organizations and publications with descriptions and contact numbers. A monthly “News” summary and a “Library” with an annotated bibliography of relevant books and journal articles are useful tools. The site is maintained by James McRitchie, author and activist.

http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/fedsec/nosearch/20020517.pdf

Corporate Library

by Louise Klusek

Published in May 2002, this report looks at the role of the listing standards promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the stock exchanges in establishing corporate governance practices for companies in the U.S. marketplace.

http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/ Founded by activists Robert Monks and Nell Minow of Lens Investment Management, the Corporate Library site publishes research and presents weekly “News Briefs” about corporate governance. An extensive arsenal of “Research Tools” includes a database of shareholder proposals, a glossary, case studies, shareholder focus lists, and proxy voting guidelines. The “Library Catalog” is actually a searchable index covering more than 25 years of articles.

Business Roundtable Corporate Governance Task Force http://www.brtable.org/issue.cfm/2 The Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs and American business leaders, has built a site dedicated to corporate governance matters; it includes testimony, press releases, publications on corporate governance issues, and the full text of the Roundtable’s Principles of Corporate Governance, issued May 2002. Task Force priorities include advocating the simplification of SEC regulations and providing advice on issues relating to FASB accounting principles and auditor independence.

Encycogov: Encyclopedia of Corporate Governance http://www.encycogov.com/ This searchable encyclopedia contains definitions collected from classic studies and recent academic research in the field of corporate governance. “References” are provided. “Specific Topics”, accessed via the menu on the left, offers information on topical areas such as ownership structures, capital structures, and incentive pay. Tables and statistics are generally included.

Business Week. The Best & Worst Boards http://www.businessweek.com Since 1996 Business Week has published a ranking of the best and worst corporate boards in America. This year’s list, appearing in the October 7, 2002 issue, has added categories for the most improved boards, boards that need work, and a Hall of Shame.

Georgeson Shareholder http://www.georgesonshareholder.com/html/00_home.asp?f=1 Georgeson Shareholder, a well-known proxy solicitation firm, posts its “Research and Insights” in the site’s news archive. The annual Corporate Governance Wrap-Up is an especially valuable review of the proxy season that includes summaries of corporate governance proposals, voting results, and total outstanding shares for the proposals. Historical data on proxy contests is included.

CalPERS Shareowner Forum http://www.calpers-governance.org/ The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), a large institutional investor and leader in the corporate governance movement, features its own shareholder proposals, proxy voting record, and annual “Focus List” of targeted companies in the “Shareholder Action” section of this site. CalPERS also posts its desired “Governance Principles” for corporations doing business in the U.S., France, Germany, Japan and the UK.

GovernanceMetrics International http://www.governancemetrics.com/ GMI, launched in April 2000, is developing a global database of governance ratings based in part on criteria developed by the OECD.

The Conference Board http://www.conference-board.org

International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN)

The Conference Board is a major publisher in the areas of corporate governance, board structure, executive compensation, and shareholder communication. This site features reports and governance recommendations from their Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise, a group composed of business leaders, academics, and major investors.

http://www.icgn.org/ A forum for discussion established by major U.S. institutional investors (TIAA-CREF, CalPERS, and others) and now open to international members, the ICGN seeks to bridge the gap between corporate management and shareholders. Its research, by-laws, proposals, and monthly newsletter are available. (Continues on page 13)

ChapterNews

12

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003

(Continued from page 12)

Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC)

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgibin/bdquery/z?d107:HR03763:|TOM:/bss/d107query.html

http://www.irrc.org/

Signed into law on August 2, 2002, the Act expands the federal regulation of corporate governance, increases financial disclosure and reporting requirements, and significantly alters the accounting and auditing regulatory regime. The procedural history of the legislation and the text of the act as signed into law can be found here, at the U.S. Congress’ THOMAS site.

IRRC is a non-profit research center that publishes in the areas of corporate governance, shareholders’ rights, and corporate social issues. They propose to launch a governance scoring system with TrueCross in 2003. The site provides information on IRRC products and programs; publications are available for a fee.

ISS Corporate Governance Quotient Standard & Poor’s Corporate Governance

http://www.isscgq.com/central.asp

http://www.standardandpoors.com/Forum/RatingsAnalysis/ CorporateGovernance/

The CGQ, Corporate Governance Quotient, is a ratings system developed by Institutional Shareholder Services for use in its proxy analysis service. Details on the criteria used in the CGQ are provided. Access to ISS data, which covers the universe of Russell 3000 companies, requires a corporate subscription.

The S&P Transparency and Disclosure Survey, released in May 2002, rates more than 1,600 global companies by the quality of corporate reporting practices. Over 98 variables measuring ownership structure and investor relations, financial transparency and information disclosure, and board and management structure and process are scored in this benchmark report.

NASDAQ Corporate Governance http://www.nasdaqnews.com/ The Corporate governance section of the NASDAQ newsroom reports on its proposals for rule changes in this area, including the enhanced disclosure of material information, the increased role of independent directors, empowering audit committees, accelerated disclosure of insider transactions, and transparency of financial statements for non-U.S. issuers. These new rule proposals and a Summary of Nasdaq Corporate Governance Proposals, issued July 2002, are available at this site.

Louise Klusek is the coordinator of the Research Services area of the Corporate Library at Salomon Smith Barney, part of Citigroup, where she has worked for the last fifteen years.

New York Stock Exchange. Corporate Governance http://www.nyse.com/abouthome.html?query=/about/report.html On June 6, 2002 the NYSE issued regulations that tightened corporate governance rules for companies whose shares trade on the exchange. These rules, additional recommendations to Congress and the SEC, and other information about the changes can be found here.

ChapterNews

13

Vol. 75, #1 Winter 2003