SLA Launches InfoStore
In June's IRC Notes, I said our information portals were great, but they needed improved access.
With the launch of SLA's InfoStore, a new vehicle or portal to Virtual SLA's information resources, we have taken steps to improve that access. The idea behind the InfoStore is to provide access to the SLA products and services that help make your job easier and more secure. This resource will be regularly amended and updated as new and improved products and services are made available. The InfoStore will initially include the following resources:
Information Portals
It's library budget time and the boss wants you to cut costs and be more creative with your money. The "Library Costs and Budgets" Information Portal (IP) can give you some ideas and benchmarks.
Without an information center you wont need a budget. The "Value of the Information Center." IP can help you do this with its citations for articles (many of which are fulltext online), monographs, videos, and other resources. Since it does not do any harm to "blow one's own trumpet" at budget time, take a look at "Opinions and Perceptions of the Library Profession." Information professionals/librarians are getting some good press nowadays, so make sure senior management knows about it.
These are just some examples of how IPs can help you. There are currently IPs on more than 40 different topics.
Recent Industry Reports
We are regularly asked for reports and statistical data about the information industry and information professionals. This new section of Virtual SLA links directly to reports prepared by leading players in the industry, such as Outsell Inc, and includes the results of their recent survey, "The Changing Role of The Information Professional 2001: Implications for Vendors, Buyers, and Users of Content in the Corporate Marketplace." The executive summary includes information about users served, budgets, cost allocation, and other statistics. It is available through the InfoStore.
Also included are the Information Services Panel survey results for 1999 and 2000, a list of recent vendor products reports and reviews, "The Library Automation and Software" IP, and "The Internet: Research Tools" IP, which covers reference resources and evaluation, search engines, strategies, and the organization and classification of websites.
Latest Industry News
Latest Industry News is designed to keep you abreast of what's going on in the library and information world. We have started with the nine topics using the LexisNexis "Website Content Service" previously "Tell Me More" which automatically searches their databases and adds the results directly to our website on a regular basis. We review the search criteria to improve relevancy and change the topics to ensure that they cover the areas of most interest to our profession.
Chapter, Division, and Other SLA Unit Resources
Most of the 82 SLA chapters and divisions have websites, all of which can be accessed from the InfoStore, as well as links to those that include superb general information resources over and above information about their leadership and events.
Other Useful Information
Since the InfoStore is in its infancy, we will be adding new resources, some of which I am not yet aware. It will definitely include links to salary surveys, standards and benchmarks, serials data, answers to frequently asked questions, and other resources found recently.
Revised Chapter and Division Archivists Guidelines
Following the Chapter and Division Archivists' workshop in San Antonio, the revised Chapter and Division Archivists' Guidelines have been approved and now added to Virtual SLA under "Policies and Practices" at www.sla.org/content/SLA/Policies/index.cfm. There are no major changes, but there are updates that take into account electronic resources and changes in other SLA procedures.
Archiving is very much the "Cinderella" of the information profession, but it is important that we maintain the archives of the association's chapters, divisions, and caucuses. In 2001-2002, I will try to heighten the awareness of the importance of maintaining the archives of the association. As with records management, archiving is made simpler if the creator of the document is aware of his/her responsibility. We are all "overworked and underpaid," especially when doing volunteer work, but it saves time in the long run to prepare documents for archiving early rather than look for them later.
For more information,
contact John Latham
is the sole sponsor of the IRC.
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