October 7, 2009
Call for Nominations: PAM IMA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics (PAM) Division is now calling for nominations for the International Membership Award. The SLA-PAM Division will present this award to a librarian from the developing world; it provides a two-year SLA membership, for the years 2010 and 2011. For complete information, please visit the following web page: http://units.sla.org/division/dpam/manual/awards/pamimadetails.html
Please submit nominations to the co-chair/s of the International Relations Committee (IRC) of the PAM Division (address below) by November 1, 2009. The award will be announced in December 2009. Thank you.
Objective:
The purpose of the award is to provide an opportunity for librarians from the developing world to be an active member of SLA and of SLA-PAM.
Components:
Please submit nominations to:
Mangala Krishnamurthy
Chair, SLA-PAM International Relations Committee
Rodgers Library for Science & Engineering
University of Alabama Libraries
The University of Alabama
P.O.Box 870266
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Phone: (205) 348-2109 | Fax: (205) 348-2113 | Email: mkrishna@ua.edu
Or
Kiem-Dung Ta
Co-Chair, SLA-PAM International Relations Committee
Oklahoma State University
Edmon Low Library
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078
(405) 744-9743 | Email: kiem.ta@okstate.edu
Please submit nominations to the co-chair/s of the International Relations Committee (IRC) of the PAM Division (address below) by November 1, 2009. The award will be announced in December 2009. Thank you.
Objective:
The purpose of the award is to provide an opportunity for librarians from the developing world to be an active member of SLA and of SLA-PAM.
Components:
- The award will provide SLA membership, including PAM Division affiliation, for a period of two years.
- The award recipient will serve as a member of PAM's International Relations Committee (IRC) during the term of the award.
- SLA-PAM will fully fund the award recipient's attendance at SLA's annual conference during the first year of the award, including travel costs, lodging, conference registration, and related expenses. Please note: travel to the conference is contingent on several factors including procurement of a visa to travel to the United States. This is the award recipient's responsibility.
- The award recipient will prepare a short report on the state of scientific information/libraries in his/her country, to be presented to the membership at the annual SLA conference either in person or in writing.
- The award recipient will also prepare a final report reflecting on his/her experience with PAM and providing recommendations for future improvements to the award program; this report is to be sent before the end of the second year of the award to the PAM Executive Board and PAM IRC.
- The nominee must reside and work in a developing country and have basic English skills.
- The nominee must be working currently in a library, information center, library school or other information-related capacity, in one of the subject areas related to science and technology. Priority will be given to applicants working in Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics areas.
- The nominee will not have had a previous opportunity to become actively involved in SLA, such as by attending an SLA conference or other professional library association meetings in the U.S.
- A letter highlighting the candidate's professional career and qualification and explaining why this person should be granted the award.
- The candidate's current professional resume.
- Contact information for the nominee: name, position, business address, and (if possible) email address.
Please submit nominations to:
Mangala Krishnamurthy
Chair, SLA-PAM International Relations Committee
Rodgers Library for Science & Engineering
University of Alabama Libraries
The University of Alabama
P.O.Box 870266
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Phone: (205) 348-2109 | Fax: (205) 348-2113 | Email: mkrishna@ua.edu
Or
Kiem-Dung Ta
Co-Chair, SLA-PAM International Relations Committee
Oklahoma State University
Edmon Low Library
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078
(405) 744-9743 | Email: kiem.ta@okstate.edu
October 5, 2009
Guybrarians, machinery & merriment
Not all at the same time, mind you...
* "When I tell people what I do fora living, a now expected look crosses their faces, somewhere between a suppressed chuckle and a barely contained rolling-around-clutching-their- bellies guffaw." Rob Huffman shares his confession about "why he became a guybrarian" and addresses those who make that face at him.
* It sucks to be in Leicestershire UK, where the County Council is replacing all the library staff with automated machines. No, really. Staff is not surprisingly against this decision - 19 of them will lose their jobs over it - but the locals are also pretty upset. What a rotten situation.
* Horror stories (and sometimes happy stories) from the stacks! Check out The Merry Librarian, a new site that collects and shares true library stories (some more wince-inducing than others).
* "When I tell people what I do for
* It sucks to be in Leicestershire UK, where the County Council is replacing all the library staff with automated machines. No, really. Staff is not surprisingly against this decision - 19 of them will lose their jobs over it - but the locals are also pretty upset. What a rotten situation.
* Horror stories (and sometimes happy stories) from the stacks! Check out The Merry Librarian, a new site that collects and shares true library stories (some more wince-inducing than others).
September 30, 2009
Thank You, SABL!
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of speaking to the Southern Arizona Biomedical Librarians here in Tucson about the librarian stereotype, pop culture, and why it's important to be aware of how we're presented. It was a really good talk, with an energetic and involved crowd, and I had a lot of fun. Thanks again to Cindy for the invitation to join them, and thanks to the SABL folks for sharing their stories with me!
September 24, 2009
Sterotypical Linkdump
Yes, I know, I need a new name for the "Hey, here's a bunch of articles I found interesting and want to share" pile -
* WestLaw just doesn't get it. "Are you on a first name basis with the librarian? If so, chances are, you're spending too much time at the library." Read the furor and the fallout!
* Today’s Librarian: Hip, Delusional, and Doomed. A well-thought-out and thought-provoking article by Michael Antman, discussing ye olde stereotype, the future of libraries, digital versus print, and so much more. I'm still chewing it over!
* The Librarian Stereotype War. "Can we please just stop debating about the library’s image and what a librarian is and just go out into our community–whether a city, a hospital, or a university–and do what we do best? No more debate will be needed when our community is well-aware of our existence and that *gasp* librarians are people. Who’d have ever thought it, eh?" - Yes, please! I would love for this to be the case, really I would...
* They're called net generation librarians. Librarians in the Philippines tell it like it is!
* It's Not Generational. In a recent NextGen Librarians column at LJ, Erin Silva points out "One of the things I've been pleasantly surprised to learn in my time as a blooming professional is that the generation to which you belong does not determine how forward-thinking you are."
* WestLaw just doesn't get it. "Are you on a first name basis with the librarian? If so, chances are, you're spending too much time at the library." Read the furor and the fallout!
* Today’s Librarian: Hip, Delusional, and Doomed. A well-thought-out and thought-provoking article by Michael Antman, discussing ye olde stereotype, the future of libraries, digital versus print, and so much more. I'm still chewing it over!
* The Librarian Stereotype War. "Can we please just stop debating about the library’s image and what a librarian is and just go out into our community–whether a city, a hospital, or a university–and do what we do best? No more debate will be needed when our community is well-aware of our existence and that *gasp* librarians are people. Who’d have ever thought it, eh?" - Yes, please! I would love for this to be the case, really I would...
* They're called net generation librarians. Librarians in the Philippines tell it like it is!
* It's Not Generational. In a recent NextGen Librarians column at LJ, Erin Silva points out "One of the things I've been pleasantly surprised to learn in my time as a blooming professional is that the generation to which you belong does not determine how forward-thinking you are."
September 22, 2009
Would any of this be news without librarians?
I'm always cheerful when a fellow librarian gets their name in the paper, but I wonder if there are similar articles out there about, say, lawyers, or police, or other professions?
* Jennifer Garner wanted to be a librarian when she grew up. "...my dream was to grow up to be a librarian, because I had a librarian named Mrs. McCann who I thought was the most magical woman on the planet." (Go, Mrs. McCann!)
* It's hip to be a librarian! "Yes, a librarian can now be anyone -- from your cute neighbor or cool classmate, to that sophisticated babe or handsome hunk."
* Tiny librarian is hell on wheels. "She's petite, she's middle-aged, she's bookish, and if she gets a chance, she'll knock you on your keister."
* Hefting kettlebells, hitting the books. "You know you're not in the average librarian's office when two Apollo brand kettlebells -- one 70 pounds, the other 53 pounds --are positioned directly across the desk."
* Jennifer Garner wanted to be a librarian when she grew up. "...my dream was to grow up to be a librarian, because I had a librarian named Mrs. McCann who I thought was the most magical woman on the planet." (Go, Mrs. McCann!)
* It's hip to be a librarian! "Yes, a librarian can now be anyone -- from your cute neighbor or cool classmate, to that sophisticated babe or handsome hunk."
* Tiny librarian is hell on wheels. "She's petite, she's middle-aged, she's bookish, and if she gets a chance, she'll knock you on your keister."
* Hefting kettlebells, hitting the books. "You know you're not in the average librarian's office when two Apollo brand kettlebells -- one 70 pounds, the other 53 pounds --are positioned directly across the desk."
September 16, 2009
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
A note: this has nothing to do with librarians, libraries, image, perception, or pop culture. Feel free to skip it if you want.
This week - September 14-20 - is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. While I'm not a member of the group that's putting on the conference referred to at the website, I am a member of the group of people it targets. In that spirit, here's my blog entry in support of this week.
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
1. The illness I live with is: Fibromyalgia
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 2006 (formally, at least)
3. But I had symptoms since: the mid-1990s. Several docs diagnosed me with various chronic inflammations. Lots of fun. When it got to the point where I had one doc treating me for seven different chronic inflammatory situations it was conjectured that perhaps, just perhaps, I really did have a systemic issue!
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Mentally accepting there are things I just can't do anymore. I tell you, it makes me so angry sometimes... I'm still working on this step.
5. Most people assume: that it's no big deal, or that I don't really mean it when I say "I'm fine as long as you don't touch me". Really, I do mean it.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: First putting my feet on the floor. Some days I have to really work at making myself to stand up that first time.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: Don't have one, actually.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: my Treo!
9. The hardest part about nights are: Getting to sleep, followed by staying asleep.
10. Each day I take 13 pills & vitamins. (No comments, please)
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: absolutely positively believe in and find relief from therapeutic massage & myofascial release. (I wish my insurance company did.)
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: Oh, that's a toughie. Having seen how folks react to visible situations in this "enlightened" age, I'd probably stick with invisible. At least I don't get pigeonholed right off the bat.
13. Regarding working and career: I have a great and very understanding boss and team I work with who are totally not fazed if I IM them rather than walking down the hall (because some days that's just tough to do). I can telecommute if I need to, as well. I love what I do and am glad I haven't had to change my career path because of the fibro.
14. People would be surprised to know: how physical I used to be, and how much I miss it.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: See #4.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: Put in a new floor. It took a really long time and my husband was really patient!
17. The commercials about my illness: There's a commercial?
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: Dancing! Oh, my god, I miss seriously dancing. I still do it - I can't live without it - but now I have to weigh the fallout against the benefits. Sometimes I can't dance more than five minutes - but damn if I'll give up those five minutes. (In my head, though, I live life dancing...)
19. It was really hard to have to give up: Some forms of physical exercise. I miss rock climbing and hiking - I have a great trainer at a great gym but strength and resistance training just isn't the same. I also really, really, really hated giving up learning and teaching bellydance... can't do much of a routine if you can't dance for more than a few minutes at a time. (Dammit!)
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: Uh.... damn. No, really, I have hobbies.... let me think....
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: Dance dance dance dance dance! Oh, and maybe get a few hours of solid uninterrupted sleep. Yeah, that'd be nice too.
22. My illness has taught me: an incredible new level of respect for my mother, who also suffers but has it much worse than I do (between fibro and diabetes she had to take early medically-necessary retirement). It's also teaching me how to get on with life in spite of it!
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: "It's all in your head." Come live in my skin for a day and try to say that again!
24. But I love it when people: Don't judge me if I walk slowly or have to take the elevator instead of the stairs.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: "Hurts if you lie still and do nothing, hurts if you get up and get on with life; might as well get up!" My motto, from something my mother said to me once.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: That this is manageable. It ain't fun, but it also isn't the end of your world.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: How much it impacts every aspect of life, and I mean *every*.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: My husband will let me shut myself in our room and just rest, whenever I need to. It hasn't been a "once he did this" thing, either -
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: I've met some amazing folks who also deal with invisible illnesses and they're inspiring. I've found a support group through it. I honor my mother because of it. And I wish the doctors out there who still think fibro is imaginary would learn something more from it.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: Nervous! This is the first time I've really put it all out there - my family and friends know, of course, but I feel as if perhaps I'm risking things by sharing this much. But as I said in #29, I've met some amazing folks, and maybe by sharing my own bits and pieces I can be amazing for someone else.
This week - September 14-20 - is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. While I'm not a member of the group that's putting on the conference referred to at the website, I am a member of the group of people it targets. In that spirit, here's my blog entry in support of this week.
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
1. The illness I live with is: Fibromyalgia
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 2006 (formally, at least)
3. But I had symptoms since: the mid-1990s. Several docs diagnosed me with various chronic inflammations. Lots of fun. When it got to the point where I had one doc treating me for seven different chronic inflammatory situations it was conjectured that perhaps, just perhaps, I really did have a systemic issue!
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Mentally accepting there are things I just can't do anymore. I tell you, it makes me so angry sometimes... I'm still working on this step.
5. Most people assume: that it's no big deal, or that I don't really mean it when I say "I'm fine as long as you don't touch me". Really, I do mean it.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: First putting my feet on the floor. Some days I have to really work at making myself to stand up that first time.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: Don't have one, actually.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: my Treo!
9. The hardest part about nights are: Getting to sleep, followed by staying asleep.
10. Each day I take 13 pills & vitamins. (No comments, please)
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: absolutely positively believe in and find relief from therapeutic massage & myofascial release. (I wish my insurance company did.)
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: Oh, that's a toughie. Having seen how folks react to visible situations in this "enlightened" age, I'd probably stick with invisible. At least I don't get pigeonholed right off the bat.
13. Regarding working and career: I have a great and very understanding boss and team I work with who are totally not fazed if I IM them rather than walking down the hall (because some days that's just tough to do). I can telecommute if I need to, as well. I love what I do and am glad I haven't had to change my career path because of the fibro.
14. People would be surprised to know: how physical I used to be, and how much I miss it.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: See #4.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: Put in a new floor. It took a really long time and my husband was really patient!
17. The commercials about my illness: There's a commercial?
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: Dancing! Oh, my god, I miss seriously dancing. I still do it - I can't live without it - but now I have to weigh the fallout against the benefits. Sometimes I can't dance more than five minutes - but damn if I'll give up those five minutes. (In my head, though, I live life dancing...)
19. It was really hard to have to give up: Some forms of physical exercise. I miss rock climbing and hiking - I have a great trainer at a great gym but strength and resistance training just isn't the same. I also really, really, really hated giving up learning and teaching bellydance... can't do much of a routine if you can't dance for more than a few minutes at a time. (Dammit!)
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: Uh.... damn. No, really, I have hobbies.... let me think....
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: Dance dance dance dance dance! Oh, and maybe get a few hours of solid uninterrupted sleep. Yeah, that'd be nice too.
22. My illness has taught me: an incredible new level of respect for my mother, who also suffers but has it much worse than I do (between fibro and diabetes she had to take early medically-necessary retirement). It's also teaching me how to get on with life in spite of it!
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: "It's all in your head." Come live in my skin for a day and try to say that again!
24. But I love it when people: Don't judge me if I walk slowly or have to take the elevator instead of the stairs.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: "Hurts if you lie still and do nothing, hurts if you get up and get on with life; might as well get up!" My motto, from something my mother said to me once.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: That this is manageable. It ain't fun, but it also isn't the end of your world.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: How much it impacts every aspect of life, and I mean *every*.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: My husband will let me shut myself in our room and just rest, whenever I need to. It hasn't been a "once he did this" thing, either -
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: I've met some amazing folks who also deal with invisible illnesses and they're inspiring. I've found a support group through it. I honor my mother because of it. And I wish the doctors out there who still think fibro is imaginary would learn something more from it.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: Nervous! This is the first time I've really put it all out there - my family and friends know, of course, but I feel as if perhaps I'm risking things by sharing this much. But as I said in #29, I've met some amazing folks, and maybe by sharing my own bits and pieces I can be amazing for someone else.
August 25, 2009
The League of Librarians
Let me just say: BRILLIANT!I am extra impressed and uber-jealous of the "League of Librarians" covers created by the librarians from
thanks to Liz for sharing!
Updated to fix my incorrect library credit; also, the set's available on Flickr so you can see it even if you don't have a Facebook account.
August 14, 2009
Superheroes & Sterotypes
It's Friday so there must be blog reading!
* A new superhero at Comic-Con? Hmm...
* Cat and Girl does it again with "Long Time Listener". Amen to "it's a start"!!! (via about a half-dozen blogs)
* I am a slacker; I've only just found the Library Leadership Network. (I need to add this great resource to my Information Systems wiki!)
* Just for fun: Non-Wrecky Children's Book Cakes. Beautiful!
* Necessary Science Stuff: Check out Experience the Planets, "our solar system through the eyes of artists" - amazing, amazing, amazing!
* A new superhero at Comic-Con? Hmm...
* Cat and Girl does it again with "Long Time Listener". Amen to "it's a start"!!! (via about a half-dozen blogs)
* I am a slacker; I've only just found the Library Leadership Network. (I need to add this great resource to my Information Systems wiki!)
* Just for fun: Non-Wrecky Children's Book Cakes. Beautiful!
* Necessary Science Stuff: Check out Experience the Planets, "our solar system through the eyes of artists" - amazing, amazing, amazing!
August 10, 2009
3BT: Catchup Edition
Three Beautiful Things, albeit a bit sideways....
1) The wonderful photos in the slideshow at my beloved father-in-law's funeral.
2) Having ceilings in the bathrooms again, rather than large holes.
3) The air conditioner working properly again.
Also, this is my 500th post.
(So, what's been up with you?)
1) The wonderful photos in the slideshow at my beloved father-in-law's funeral.
2) Having ceilings in the bathrooms again, rather than large holes.
3) The air conditioner working properly again.
Also, this is my 500th post.
(So, what's been up with you?)
July 17, 2009
Random Fridays
Bits-n-pieces to end the week!
* More on the forthcoming calendar from the Texas Library Association. (thanks to many!)
* The secret side of happenings at the ALA conferences? (NSFW language)
* I just love precision book cart drill teams, especially ones that channel Marilyn Monroe. (thanks Coleen!)
* Speaking of bookcarts, don't forget that Unshelved's Pimp My Bookcart contest is accepting entries!
Yeah, sorry, that's all I've got for now. More next week! Currently 103° and thinking about rain.
* More on the forthcoming calendar from the Texas Library Association. (thanks to many!)
* The secret side of happenings at the ALA conferences? (NSFW language)
* I just love precision book cart drill teams, especially ones that channel Marilyn Monroe. (thanks Coleen!)
* Speaking of bookcarts, don't forget that Unshelved's Pimp My Bookcart contest is accepting entries!
Yeah, sorry, that's all I've got for now. More next week! Currently 103° and thinking about rain.
July 13, 2009
Tattoos and Cartoons
Thanks to Pamela A, who I met at SLA and who then sent me a photocopy of a cartoon that just made me laugh, you too can check out the winners of last year's Caption Contest of the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. To the right you can see the cartoon to be captioned; be sure to check out the top suggestions! My particular favorites:
- "Miss Vivian hoped that her 'extreme makeover' would put muscle behind the 'no food or drink in the library' rule."
- "With the entire Dewey Decimal System tattooed on Ernie's body, the library saved a ton of money on costly computer systems."
June 29, 2009
Random Linkdump
Aaaand now that I've caught up on SLA postings and the book interview announcement, it's time to share a few other tidbits from the last week:
* Get your geek on at Geek the Library! (thanks to Libraryman)
* "The Librarian 3: Quest for the Judas Chalice" wins the Saturn award, given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, for "the best presentation on TV". Heh.
* OK, wait, what? School librarians reassigned into teaching positions in Bellevue, WA? I don't know about you, but I'm sure not qualified to teach. (My reference class teacher from grad school would back that up 100%.)
* Just in case I haven't already mentioned it (and if I have, well, I really like it so I'm going to mention it again) : Girl Genius. Go. Read now. I'll wait!
* Get your geek on at Geek the Library! (thanks to Libraryman)
* "The Librarian 3: Quest for the Judas Chalice" wins the Saturn award, given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, for "the best presentation on TV". Heh.
* OK, wait, what? School librarians reassigned into teaching positions in Bellevue, WA? I don't know about you, but I'm sure not qualified to teach. (My reference class teacher from grad school would back that up 100%.)
* Just in case I haven't already mentioned it (and if I have, well, I really like it so I'm going to mention it again) : Girl Genius. Go. Read now. I'll wait!
Longshots Podcast Now Up!
I'm pleased to announce that my book interview with Sarah Long for her LongShots podcast is now available! We talked about - yes, it's true - the image of librarians, why you should care, and what we can all do to help continue to update that image. It was a great interview and I was really pleased to have the opportunity!
SLA 2009: Day Five
Wednesday, Day 5, came grey and gloomy...
The morning kicked off with the second IT Board Meeting and plenty of bacon. (These things are important!) This one was about a third as long as the first one; we just needed to finish working through the agenda for the year. A division this large has a lot going on! 
I then had to immediately gallop off for the Astronomy Roundtable, which ended up being standing room only - always well attended, Jane did a great job this year of keeping the conversation flowing and on-topic. (It's always neat to hear what ADS has up its sleeve, as it's a resource I use quite often.)
That was pretty much the last formal session of the conference for me; the closing reception of the Info-Expo hall was next (including my second book signing, which went as well as the first one - yay!), followed by the Closing Keynote. This year it was a panel discussion again, moderated by Judy Woodruff and consisting of Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium), Robyn Meredith (Forbes magazine), and John Patrick (Internet visionary, formerly with IBM). It was pretty cool - I always love to hear Tyson speak, his passion is just wonderful - and hearing all three discuss the global information changes that are coming from such different popints of view was really interesting.
After helping to fling beads at the Closing Reception on behalf of the 2010 conference committee, I enjoyed a beignet or two and then ran away to do some touristy bits at the Library of Congress. I'm going to close my SLA postings with this shot of a wall mosaic from the LoC, as it really says it all as far as I'm concerned:
Onward!
The morning kicked off with the second IT Board Meeting and plenty of bacon. (These things are important!) This one was about a third as long as the first one; we just needed to finish working through the agenda for the year. A division this large has a lot going on! I then had to immediately gallop off for the Astronomy Roundtable, which ended up being standing room only - always well attended, Jane did a great job this year of keeping the conversation flowing and on-topic. (It's always neat to hear what ADS has up its sleeve, as it's a resource I use quite often.) That was pretty much the last formal session of the conference for me; the closing reception of the Info-Expo hall was next (including my second book signing, which went as well as the first one - yay!), followed by the Closing Keynote. This year it was a panel discussion again, moderated by Judy Woodruff and consisting of Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium), Robyn Meredith (Forbes magazine), and John Patrick (Internet visionary, formerly with IBM). It was pretty cool - I always love to hear Tyson speak, his passion is just wonderful - and hearing all three discuss the global information changes that are coming from such different popints of view was really interesting.After helping to fling beads at the Closing Reception on behalf of the 2010 conference committee, I enjoyed a beignet or two and then ran away to do some touristy bits at the Library of Congress. I'm going to close my SLA postings with this shot of a wall mosaic from the LoC, as it really says it all as far as I'm concerned:
Onward!
SLA 2009: Day Four
(I swear I'm going to get these finished today, dang it. I have other stuff stacking up behind them!)
Day Four, Tuesday, was going to be the longest day on the schedule - from the 7am start of the PAM Business Meeting through the IT/PAM/LMD Dance Party that night. Oof!
The big items at the PAM Business Meeting were the Award winners. Dana Roth was given the Achievement Award for the multiplicity of his work relating to scientific literature; Dr. Helmut Abt was given the Division Award for his work in citation analysis; and Thomas Heverin, Michael Peper, Kara Young, and Yun Zhang were the IoP Publishing Travel Stipend Award winners. Congratulations to them all!
Then it was off to moderate the "History of PAM" session, which was well-attended and chock full of good memories of division folks and events. A write-up will appear in the PAM Bulletin later this year, and the Division History section of the website will also be updated.
Lunch was spent at the IT Business Meeting, where hearty congratulations were bestowed on Stephanie Buck, winner of the 2009 Joe Ann Clifton Student Award for her paper on emerging technologies, and the North Carolina Chapter was awarded the Outstanding Chapter Technology Programming Award. A rather nifty Flash movie of the history of the division was also shared.
Later in the afternoon found me at the Matchbox DC Bistro for the Tech Support Roundtable... a session that many RSVPd but few actually appeared. *sigh* But for the two folks who did show up, it was a lively and informative session, where we talked about Vista, cloud computing, and the kinds of things that are really required from technical librarians these days. Oh, yeah, and the food was awesome...
What really bummed me out about today was the arrival of a wicked migraine about halfway through the session, and I had to bail on the Embassy Ball Dance Party. I'm still searching for photos or posts about it... I can only imagine the attendees are still recovering!
Day Four, Tuesday, was going to be the longest day on the schedule - from the 7am start of the PAM Business Meeting through the IT/PAM/LMD Dance Party that night. Oof!
The big items at the PAM Business Meeting were the Award winners. Dana Roth was given the Achievement Award for the multiplicity of his work relating to scientific literature; Dr. Helmut Abt was given the Division Award for his work in citation analysis; and Thomas Heverin, Michael Peper, Kara Young, and Yun Zhang were the IoP Publishing Travel Stipend Award winners. Congratulations to them all!Then it was off to moderate the "History of PAM" session, which was well-attended and chock full of good memories of division folks and events. A write-up will appear in the PAM Bulletin later this year, and the Division History section of the website will also be updated.
Lunch was spent at the IT Business Meeting, where hearty congratulations were bestowed on Stephanie Buck, winner of the 2009 Joe Ann Clifton Student Award for her paper on emerging technologies, and the North Carolina Chapter was awarded the Outstanding Chapter Technology Programming Award. A rather nifty Flash movie of the history of the division was also shared.
Later in the afternoon found me at the Matchbox DC Bistro for the Tech Support Roundtable... a session that many RSVPd but few actually appeared. *sigh* But for the two folks who did show up, it was a lively and informative session, where we talked about Vista, cloud computing, and the kinds of things that are really required from technical librarians these days. Oh, yeah, and the food was awesome...What really bummed me out about today was the arrival of a wicked migraine about halfway through the session, and I had to bail on the Embassy Ball Dance Party. I'm still searching for photos or posts about it... I can only imagine the attendees are still recovering!
June 24, 2009
SLA 2009: Day Three
So, after completely discombobulating my brain with the fact that yes, Day Three is, in fact, Monday, I was able to shake it up and get going. Kicked off the day with an informal meeting of the Innovations in Technology committee - 2/3 of us, at least - but it was great to meet James in person. And then, it was the non-conflict Info-Expo Lunch Reception and (drum roll please) my first book signing! It went well, I think - the time certainly flew by! (Thanks again to Jill for the great photo!)
The afternoon was spent at the PAMwide Roundtable. The moderator, Joe, had a great idea this year; in addition to the usual round-the-room introduction, you were supposed to share a hobby, and something you were hoping to get out of SLA this year. Thankfully, he set aside the first hour for this, as it was a packed room! Then an experiment in social networking using Twitter was tried (with middling success), and a presentation of the International Membership Award winner's talk was given. (Sadly, the IMA winner, Ms. Adefunke Olanike Alabi, was unable to attend this year due to visa problems.) It was interesting and sobering to hear about the state of scientific librarianship in Nigeria, and I only wish Ms. Alabi had been able to deliver her talk in person.
The evening was given over to the US Naval Observatory - and what an evening! After a brief but lively discussion about the tour bus scheduling, a group of us were off for the PAM Book Group discussion, held in one of the conference rooms at the USNO. We read and discussed "Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries" by Neil deGrasse Tyson; the discussion was lively and included comments on the readability of the book, how some folks had known the author while he was a postdoc, and a great back-and-forth about science and religion. (Really, it was pretty spiffy.) 
By the end of our discussion, the other group of folks had arrived from the conference center for the USNO Tour, pulled together by Sally (who we cannot say enough good things about). After two hours of amazing thing piled on amazing thing, a full busload headed back to the convention center. Some folks went on to a reception at the Spy Museum, others headed to the IT Division's Sci-Fi night, but me? I went back to my hotel and crashed again!
June 22, 2009
SLA 2009: Days One and Two
I think this may be the first conference since I started blogging where I didn't live-blog it (or at least same-day blog it). It was both liberating and guilt-inducing (yes, those can happen simultaneously!). So here's the first of the post-conference catchups!
Day One: Saturday. The two events Saturday were, of course, at the same time, sigh. I missed the PAM Division Early Bird Dinner and walking tour (which I hear were both great) in order to attend the first IT Division Board Meeting. It was, shall we say, illuminating... plus the hotel had put out purple pens! After the chock-full-o-stuff board meeting we all headed off to the restaurant PS7 for a lovely dinner (I had the tuna au poivre, yum) and great conversation.
Day Two: Sunday. The work day kicked off with the PAM Newcomer's Lunch, where the division board welcomed new members who were attending their first conference. Unfortunately, we were all having so much fun eating & getting to know each other that we forgot to take photos (sigh). This was immediately followed by the PAM Board Meeting, always lively, and then the grand opening of the Info-Expo hall. Upon browsing the hall I was pleasantly surprised to come across a poster of my book prominently displayed at the ITI booth!
Sunday also included the opening keynote, by General Colin Powell. I know some find his reputation to be questionable, but I have a lot of respect for this man and what he went through, and I found his speech to be witty and charming. His comments about social networking and his grandkids just made me chuckle, and his story about his first airline experience after being Secretary of State was a hoot!
The closing event for the day was the AIP-sponsored PAM Open House. It's always a blast to see everyone and be able to do some serious networking over delicious food and drink. (Check out AIP's photos of the event over on Flickr!) I had planned on then heading over to the IT Division's Mystery Night, but I just crashed and had to head back to the hotel for the night.
Weather report for the weekend: ICK. How do people live in that humidity all the time?!? (The temperatures were lovely and mild but I felt like I was breathing through a hot wet washcloth all weekend long. Bleah.)
Day One: Saturday. The two events Saturday were, of course, at the same time, sigh. I missed the PAM Division Early Bird Dinner and walking tour (which I hear were both great) in order to attend the first IT Division Board Meeting. It was, shall we say, illuminating... plus the hotel had put out purple pens! After the chock-full-o-stuff board meeting we all headed off to the restaurant PS7 for a lovely dinner (I had the tuna au poivre, yum) and great conversation. Day Two: Sunday. The work day kicked off with the PAM Newcomer's Lunch, where the division board welcomed new members who were attending their first conference. Unfortunately, we were all having so much fun eating & getting to know each other that we forgot to take photos (sigh). This was immediately followed by the PAM Board Meeting, always lively, and then the grand opening of the Info-Expo hall. Upon browsing the hall I was pleasantly surprised to come across a poster of my book prominently displayed at the ITI booth! Sunday also included the opening keynote, by General Colin Powell. I know some find his reputation to be questionable, but I have a lot of respect for this man and what he went through, and I found his speech to be witty and charming. His comments about social networking and his grandkids just made me chuckle, and his story about his first airline experience after being Secretary of State was a hoot!The closing event for the day was the AIP-sponsored PAM Open House. It's always a blast to see everyone and be able to do some serious networking over delicious food and drink. (Check out AIP's photos of the event over on Flickr!) I had planned on then heading over to the IT Division's Mystery Night, but I just crashed and had to head back to the hotel for the night.
Weather report for the weekend: ICK. How do people live in that humidity all the time?!? (The temperatures were lovely and mild but I felt like I was breathing through a hot wet washcloth all weekend long. Bleah.)
June 15, 2009
It's that Special Time Again
I am currently being inundated with all kinds of information and events at the 2009 Annual Special Libraries Association Meeting in Washington, DC. It's been a blast so far and I hope to have time soon to actually blog & photo-share about the events! Highlights for me so far have included Gen. Powell's keynote speech, the PAM Open House, and the US Naval Observatory tour. Tomorrow is the History of PAM session, which I'm looking forward to moderating for PAM, and the Technical Support Roundtable, ditto for IT. And then the party of all parties, the IT/PAM/LMD Dance Party - oof!
May 28, 2009
I believe...
"I believe in libraries and librarians." I totally agree with what Christina said, but she says it much better than I could. Bonus: she's now a blogger for ScienceBlogs - congratulations, Christina!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)