December 1999 ISSN 0272-9644 Vol. 42 n. 4

President-Elect

Secretary

Treasurer

Government Relations Chair

Webmaster

Public Relations/Advertising Chair

Employment Chair

Membership Chair

Past President/Consultation Officer

Bulletin Editor

The 65th IFLA Annual Conference was held in Bangkok August 20 - 28, 1999 and gave me a perfect excuse to fulfill one of my long held dreams - to visit Angkor Wat in nearby Cambodia. We arrived a week before the conference in Bangkok to team up with my IFLA colleague from France and after 3 days of shopping, dining (Thai food is absolutely superb), and sight seeing on this our third visit to Thailand, we boarded Royal Cambodian Airlines for Phnom Penh, where we spent one day before going on to Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor Wat! This was just about the first time since 1971 that fighting had ceased for a sufficient period of time to allow ordinary tourists to feel that they could proceed safely. We found the towns open and secure, the Khmer people courteous, outrageously good- natured, and charming at all times, and delightfully, there was a paucity of tourists.

Having the daily services of an excellent English speaking guide and driver arranged by the Freedom Motel (a place we chose because of its rare computer access and also its $30 price, instead of the usual $75-$100 for tourists), we three visited in some detail almost all of the temples, fortresses, and palaces of 400 years of high culture, watching the changes in their building materials, their architectural styles, and indeed in their ruler's choices of gods.

The Angkor monuments cover over 70 square miles of ground and provide a cornucopia of pleasures for the traveler interested in centers of civilization whose time of greatness is now long past. Each ruler from the ninth to the fifteenth century built a temple shrine to the Gods (in a facsimile of the abode of the Gods at Mount Meru) and other temples to his ancestors. Although we had read many books about Angkor before arriving here and seen many photographs of it, nothing could prepare us for the first sight of the great temple of Angkor Wat, the largest stone temple in the world, larger than St. Peter's although perhaps not as high. As one crosses the great moat and enters the inner courtyard one sees more and more of the complex structure. In the first level galleries, relief carvings on all four sides of the mile square temple detail the incidents from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in which Vishnu appears in many different avatars. The second level is full of reliefs of bare- breasted and gracefully-carved goddesses and dancers. On the third level one gets a better understanding of the symmetry of the building and the flow of staircases and inner courtyards that awe one with the creative vision of their designer.

While Angkor Wat is the best preserved of the numerous temples in the Angkor complex, one could be equally impressed by those smaller temples in which the ficus trees have engulfed the stone walls and sculptures and made themselves an integral part of the design. Fortuitously the many groups carrying out reconstruction work have left these intact so that a sense of how the temples looked when they were "rediscovered" in the 19^th century can be imagined. Each temple was fascinating in its own way but the enormous sculptures of Jayavarman VII's beatific face, carved as the merciful Buddha Avaloketeshvira, in the Temple of Bayon still remains as a tranquil and calming island in our mind.

The 6 days we allowed ourselves to spend in Siem Reap gave us sufficient time to enjoy the different lights of sunrise, midday, and sunset, and to sit quietly and contemplate what these kingdoms might have been like with some 100,000 residents nearby and daily ceremonies to the Gods. We also had time to enjoy strolling the dirt streets, talking to people we met, visiting the markets, and trying to figure out what were the unfamiliar vegetables, possibly fruits(?), that we saw. We had time to watch the parade of families on motorcycles and bicycles, the main mode of transportation, and to wander in the countryside watching the cycle of planting the rice fields, making the fish paste, and harvesting the silk worms for the gorgeous cloth made in both Thailand and Cambodia. We were able to motorboat through the Tonle Sap Lake viewing the lifestyle of the Vietnamese and Khmers living on the myriad houseboats. This is the largest lake in SE Asia, albeit, of course, only for half the year in the rainy season. You can view some of our photos at: http://www.phys.unm.edu/~finley/Angkor

It was hard to return to Bangkok, for the IFLA Annual Conference. However, the meetings there were sparked by the presence of the Royal Princess, much beloved of her people, who devotes much of her time to libraries and literacy in Thailand. Fortunately the Princess gave the opening address sitting: we call this fortunate because we were instructed that when the Princess stands we stand, and when the Princess sits we sit. The Princess not only attended the obligatory opening session and dinner, but was the first royal personage ever at IFLA to attend the next day's meetings as well---of course, with her military escort, the official bearer of the water glass, and the official arranger of the royal seat.

From my point of view, the most important IFLA meeting was that of the Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression, (FAIFE) which reported on violations of freedom in many countries, and IFLA's efforts to ameliorate those conditions. Happily China and several Middle Eastern and African countries have agreed to send "observers" to this committee. On the social side, the American Embassy gave a smashing party at the elegant, new Marriott Hotel. (Current security arrangements no longer allow large parties to be held at the embassy itself.) IFLA officers also had a splendid evening dinner sailing down the Chao Phraya enjoying the spectacular lights of the palaces and temples. As an aside, all of my work on web sites for travel and tourism produced a stunning room in the Sheraton hotel, with a glorious view of the Chao Phraya river for $50 per night less than the conference rate! (The travel/tourism article, co-authored with Sue Awe, will appear in RSR in December).

There is always some controversy at IFLA. This year it revolved around the recommendation of the ILFA board to eliminate Division 8 - which include the regional sections of IFLA. Many delegates voiced their disapproval of an ill thought through proposal which would have eliminated an important route by which delegates in the developing countries filter into the mainstream of IFLA. Additionally the Board had failed to consult any members of Division 8. Fortunately at the last Council meeting, the plan was deemed premature and shelved. The Jerusalem site for the 2000 meeting was objectionable to librarians from Morocco, Iran, and the Palestinian authority who espoused the idea that it would exclude many Muslims. It was noted that there are no barriers to travel to Jerusalem although " some delegates face restrictions in their own countries". IFLA President Deschamps stated that "IFLA does not believe it is best to avoid so-called difficult countries".

This was my 8th IFLA Conference during which time Americans and SLA have become a major presence. 2237 participants attended the conference from 117 countries, with 310 Americans attending, the largest contingent outside of Thai librarians. Cheap plane fares, glorious sightseeing, and smiling, hospitable Thai librarians surely had something to do with it!

August 13 - 18, the 66th Annual IFLA Conference will take place in Jerusalem. It should be an exciting time! 2001 will find IFLA in Boston, 2002 in Glasgow (to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of IFLA), 2003 in Berlin. It was so difficult to decide between the bidders for the 2004 conference, that although the 2004 bid went to Buenos Aires, Seoul was tapped for the 2006 conference.

For more information about IFLA activities, conferences, papers, proposals, and membership check their web site at: http://www.ifla.org.

SLA

Richard Wiggins is Systems Architect for NEM Online. He has been in the forefront of Internet trends and development for much of the past decade. Author of the popular The Internet for Everyone: A Guide for Users and Providers and a long career in Web development and teaching, Rich has had a tremendous impact in bringing Internet technologies into the academic and librarian mainstream. He has helped develop a number of innovative Web sites and is a producer for Internet Buzz that you can find by pointing your browser to: http://www.webreference.com/outlook/.

Howard McQueen is chief executive officer of McQueen Consulting. You can learn more about his work by visiting the McQeen Consulting Web site:http://www.mcq/com/. Mr. McQueen's Web site states, "He is involved with information systems since 1981 and library-related technologies since 1986. He is editor of IntraNet Professional, a bi-monthly newsletter." Take a look at the January 1999 issue of Online magazine and read the cover article he co-authored with Jean E. DeMatteo, "INTRANETS: New Opportunities for Information Professionals".

Wendy Schultz is Visiting Assistant Professor in Futures Studies, and Acting Chair of the Studies of the Future program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. In addition to curriculum development and teaching, she is Sole Proprietor for Infinite Studies (consulting and futures research/facilitation), and on the executive board for the World Futures Federation. A focus has been helping groups of people explore the many possibilities the future might hold. She has worked with SLA at the Association level as well as the Texas Chapter. She has authored over 30 articles and books in the fields of futures studies, planning/environmental management, the Pacific, and natural energy. One of her key skills in working with groups is as a "rapporteur", reporting on workshops and discussion sessions for organizations. You can learn more about Wendy Schultz and her approach to futures research by visiting her web site at:http://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/~wendy/if.html

For more information visit the conference web site at: www.sla.org/conf/swrc/.

Every SLA member has the opportunity to find out what the candidates who are running for SLA office think the future of SLA should be. Please encourage members to sign on to the SLA Candidates Chat. Instructions are at this URL: http://www.sla.org/assoc/boardcan/candchat.htm.

The next scheduled chat is January 6 at 7 p.m. EDST. The Western Canada Chapter has posted the logs of previous chats on their web site (http://www.sla.org/chapter/cwcn/wwest/chat2000/ ). I have found these very interesting indeed. I could only attend one chat session myself, due to work schedules, but reading the accounts after the fact works well. The chat software itself is a bit cumbersome to use, whether you download the plugin SLA recommends, or simply visit the chat room using Netscape or other Internet browser.

Can't make the chat? Post your questions to the Candidates Discussion List ( http://www.sla.org/assoc/boardcan/candisc.htm). And, finally, each candidate will address the participants in the Leadership Development Institute and be available to answer your questions throughout Winter Meeting in St. Louis. As we know, most Chapter members cannot make it to the Winter meeting, so this is a way to virtually "meet" the Board Candidates and learn a little more about their opinions and ideas than we have been able to do in the past.

Donna Cromer:

Saturday, December 11 found many Chapter members once again in the home of Sandra Spurlock for our more or less annual Holidays gathering.  The treats were excellent, and we had a bonus presentation by Sandra D. Lynn. Ms. Lynn gave an illustrated tour through time and travel in New Mexico. She is the author of Windows on the Past: Historic Lodgings of New Mexico. We had the option of buying her book and having it signed following the program. In addition, attendees brought items to be donated to the Women's Community Association in Albuquerque. 

9:30 on a Saturday morning may seem a bit extreme for those of us who are 'morning challenged', but a grand time was had by all!

Lou Pray:

Los Alamos Laboratory library staff members,  Mona Mosier and Kathy Varjabedian reported on aha! a portal to the Laboratory's web pages and the complicated indexing challenges they faced in trying to make all the many LANL resources searchable.  To search the public version, visit:http://aha-public.lanl.gov

Theresa Connaughton,  who worked in Rome, Italy at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Headquarters library for the last three years and has only recently returned to New Mexico gave a riveting report on the daunting tasks she and all of FAO experienced daily in attempting to provide information to Third World countries. See this website for more information about FAO: http://www.fao.org

Frances Knudson gave an update on the Los Alamos National eprints archives, http://eprints.lanl.gov/lanl. This interface was created at the library to provide library customers with a more familiar and easy to use interface to the xxx.lanl.gov site.

To share the LANL library's marketing tips and success stories, a table was set up with examples of marketing tools to take away: screwdrivers, newsletters, flyers, brochures, etc.

One attended noted: "I had a delightful time at the tea.  The presentations were great and I'm sure that the info will come in handy just when I least expect it.  I met several members of your staff and they were all very cordial. I was especially interested in some of your marketing techniques . . . we're going to be getting into that ourselves, although I'm not sure we could top the "toolkit in a pen" idea as an example of the perfect gimmick for a target audience! AND . . . the goodies were delicious!"

Location: Santa Fe Details to follow

A luncheon and discussion with Susan DiMattia, President, Special Libraries Association

Location: Santa Fe

Presented by Susan Chapman, owner of Azure Communications.

Lunch in Santa Fe, a tour of the libraries at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the Museum of International Folk Arts, followed by the Annual Business Meeting.

Location: Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe

Programs and times are subject to change.

From the Membership Chair - Donna Cromer

We have three new members this time around:  Cheryl Banick in Warwick, Rhode Island; Dawn Perry, in Santa Fe; and Rebecca Rich-Wulfmeyer, also in Santa Fe, at the Museum of Folk Art.

The new electronic discussion list SLARGC-L@unm.edu is up an running! Currently there are around 85 people signed onto the list. I apologize for any typos in peoples' names. If I haven't caught it, let me know! Nothing worse than your name spelled wrong. Thank you, Donna Cromer

Theresa Connaughton has agreed to take over the International Relations Chair for the rest of this year. I think we will all benefit from her experience with FAO in Italy. Judith R. Bernstein

SLA Board has accepted Albuquerque for the 2004 Winter Meeting! Our only obligation will be to provide some "Buddy Dinners" on the Wednesday evening before the actual sessions. I am delighted. Linda Morgan-Davis

Donna Berg

During the first half of 1999, Herbert Van de Sompel of the University of Ghent visited Los Alamos National Laboratory Research Library. Herbert has been working at the University of Ghent Library, particularly in the area of their "virtual library" and came to Los Alamos to learn, study and finish work on his Ph.D.

A tall, lanky young man from Belgium, Herbert has an affinity for the arts that is almost as strong as his information interests. Perhaps that is what drives his many new ideas and exciting way of breaking apart information paradigms.

While in the U.S. he wanted to bring together the activists in the area of electronic preprint archives. During the Spring of this year we could see ideas springing up around the globe about how archives could be used, and the NIH initiative was in the forefront of the news. With the support of Paul Ginsparg and his grandaddy of all archives, XXX, right here at LANL, we were in a good situation to organize a meeting of the major players in the field. The aim of the session was to mobilize a core group to work towards achieving a universal service for author self-archived scholarly literature. The focus of this particular meeting was to address the various issues regarding interoperability. A list of attendees was drafted, and Don Waters, now at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Clifford Lynch of the Coalition for Networked Information, were tapped to be moderators and referees for the two day session. Perhaps most important were the visionary organizations that supported the meeting: the Council of Library and Information Resources, the Digital Library Federation, the Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition, the Association of Research Libraries, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Finding a space for a meeting in late October in Santa Fe is just as challenging as having to find motels for all your out-of-state friends during Balloon Fiesta. But, a location was found, and we were even able to arrange a dinner and speaker at the Santa Fe Institute-as famous for their facility and view of Santa Fe as for their brilliant staff. Meeting invitees ranged from Caroline Arms at the Library of Congress to Thomas Krichel at the University of Surrey (who rode his bike back and forth from the Albuquerque Airport to Los Alamos and Santa Fe!) Frances Knudson and I were recorders for the meeting and were delighted to meet information 'celebrities' from around the world that have played such major roles in changing scholarly communication in their own field and influencing others. The first day was spent demonstrating a protoprototype, discussing lessons learned from some of the other existing systems, debating pros and cons, and renewing and establishing new relationships. New Mexico was at its finest and each day we enjoyed a perfect al fresco lunch that contributed to networking.

By the second day, Don Waters and then Cliff Lynch were able to present summations of progress and start hammering down commitments, obligations and decisions. Like any meeting you have attended, those with the most responsibilities and busiest careers took on the extra work to re-design software, draft protocols and commit time and energy to carrying the flame of the new effort.

Since the meeting there have been articles in Science, Chronicle of Higher Education, Chemical and Engineering News, and Library Journal. Almost daily we read about meetings around the world where the UPS initiative has been discussed. We feel we were present at a historic event in the progress of the virtual library and witnessed the beginning of work on the next step in the evolution of electronic scholarly communication.

Now known as the Open Archive, you can track progress at the web site: http://vole.lanl.gov/ups

Annual Conference to be held in Albuquerque

The Annual Conference of the American Society of Indexers (ASI) will be held May 10-13, 2000, at the Sheraton Old Town in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Expected attendees include approximately 250 indexers, editors, librarians, publishers, and others interested in indexing. Representatives of the indexing societies in China, Australia, Canada, and Britain are also expected. The program includes speakers from both the publishing and indexing industries, workshops on indexing tools and techniques, and roundtable and panel discussions on a variety of topics.

More information on the conference program and registration is available on the ASI Web site (www.asindexing.org) or from Richard Evans (919-781-4302; infodex@mindspring.com).

The American Society of Indexers is a national association founded in 1968 to promote excellence in indexing and to increase awareness of the value of well-written and well-designed indexes. A nonprofit educational and charitable organization with 900 members, ASI serves American indexers and other professionals concerned with indexing. Further information is available on the Web at www.asindexing.org.

Interesting Item of note---

"Atomic Wives and the Secret Library at Los Alamos" by Lisa Bier.

American Libraries, December 1999, pp54-56.

My Scholastic Book Fair is a very small item, but we sold $2,800 in merchandise at Evangel Christian Academy.  The profit on that is $860, of which I am taking 330 in books. (110 titles, mostly odds and ends of books from their bargin bin.)and the rest in cash. $630.  We started the year (May 1999) with 3,000 books gleaned from garages and closets and a place in the school budget for $300-400 total for library & media materials and reading promotion.  Half our shelves are metal discards from someone's workshop, that bend when you fill them with books all the way across.

Last August, when a parent found out that a real MLS had volunteered to cataloging and organize the collection, as well as do library skills training and story time for the Elementary age classes, we got another $600 boost, which almost covered book pockets and cards.  600 + 350 = 950, and I just raised 860 for the rest of the year. That means I raised enough in one fundraiser to almost double the entire budget for this year!  And everyone is so excited about books that they may add a library fee to the tuition in order to hire someone to continue my work! (They are talking about $10 per student, to make about $3,000 per year, given out over ten months as the exciting sum of $300 per month for a half time librarian!)

Okay, not as exciting as breaking new frontiers in technical services, but I thought I'd give you that!

The College of Santa Fe's Fogelson Library is beginning a system migration from Winnebago to Sirsi Corporation's Unicorn Academe.  The library expects to have the new system in place by Summer 2000.  Two years in the vendor evaluation and budget planning stages, the contract with Sirsi was signed in October 1999.

The National Business Employment Weekly (a Dow Jones publication) published a story that reflects the growing importance of the library profession.

It starts: "Knowledge managers, information specialists, chief answerists, knowledge navigators. They're more commonly known as librarians. As corporations rely on information to keep ahead of the competition, demand for these professionals is escalating."

The full article is at:http://public.wsj.com/careers/resources/documents/19990928-francois.htm

Rio Grande Chapter
Special Libraries Association
c/o 455 Wagon Train
Rio Rancho, NM 87124