Special Libraries Association Announces New African Provisional Chapter

The SLA board of Directors approved a petition to create a Sub-Saharan Africa Provisional Chapter at its business meeting during the 92nd Annual Conference in San Antonio in June.

The chapter, SLA's fifty-eighth overall, will include all members of the association who reside and work within the nations of Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Naylah Abrahams and Mariam Stuurman first proposed the idea of forming a South African Chapter at SLA's 91st Annual Conference in Philadelphia in June 2000. Four months later, at the Global 2000 Worldwide Conference on Special Librarianship in Brighton, England, an African Fellows Group decided to pursue the idea of forming an SLA African Chapter. In an attempt to bolster support, both of the groups merged their initiatives and proposed the formation of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chapter.

"We are delighted at the prospectthis collective initiative requires enhanced collaboration, a proactive approach in attempting to bridge the digital divide, but combined with SLA's recognition of the developing nations as opportunities for meaningful growth, it heralds the start of an exciting era for information professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa," Chapter President Naylah Abrahams said.

"The creation of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chapter marks the birth of SLA crossing into a new digital frontier. Nayla Abrahams and Sub-Saharan Africa Chapter members have worked diligently over the past year directing support for this initiative, while expanding SLA's presence in these regions. We are very pleased to welcome the Sub-Saharan Africa Chapter into the SLA family and look forward to working with the chapter in all its future endeavors," said Dr. David R. Bender, executive director of SLA.

High-Digital Imaging Expert Awarded 2001 Goldspiel Award

The SLA has awarded its 2001 Steven I. Goldspiel Memorial Research Grant to Mark Rorvig for his project "Exploiting Image Content Features for Image Index Term Assignment." The SLA Research Committee recommended the proposal, which was approved by SLA's Board of Directors at its June Annual Business Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

Named in honor of the former president of Disclosure, Inc. (now known as Primark), the Steven I. Goldspiel Memorial Research Fund was established in 1991. The endowment was created to provide up to $20,000 to support research projects that promote the advancement of library sciences, particularly those projects focusing on the goals identified in SLA's Research Agenda. Recent winners have

been awarded up to $20,000, though projects with smaller budgets are also encouraged.

Rorvig is an associate professor at the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. He is an established researcher in the areas of storage, retrieval, and indexing, including image classification, visual analysis for information retrieval, and measurement and evaluation. The results of his research project will be disseminated at information technology conferences, publications, lectures, and tutorials.

SLA Inducts LexisNexis Into New John Cotton Dana Circle

The SLA honored LexisNexis as the inaugural member of the John Cotton Dana Circle during its 92nd Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. LexisNexis also served as one of the three Major Conference Partners with SLA this year.

Named in honor of SLA's founder, the John Cotton Dana Circle recognizes outstanding corporations and individuals demonstrating generosity and support of SLA and its members during a five-year period. Members of the John Cotton Dana Circle take a proactive role in providing continuing education to information professionals worldwide.

A division of Reed Elsevier PLC, LexisNexis Group provides electronic research services to libraries, schools, colleges and universities, corporations, non-profits, and government offices.

"We are very excited to announce LexisNexis as the inaugural member of the John Cotton Dana Circle. In order to be inducted into the circle, one is recognized for one's outstanding leadership as demonstrated by their financial and other commitments to the association and its members. LexisNexis, through their generous and sustained support of SLA programs and activities, has consistently taken into account the pivotal role our members perform in the global information community by setting a standard by which other organizations can be measured," said SLA Executive Director, David R. Bender, Ph.D.

Bill Pardue, CEO and President of LexisNexis was on hand to accept the award at the Opening General Session in the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. "LexisNexis values highly our continuing partnership with SLA, because we value highly the information professional," Pardue said. "These trained specialists are more important than ever in helping decision-makers navigate the increasing volume of information they need to be successful. At LexisNexis, we see ourselves not as a vendor to, but a partner with, information professionals, and we are creating a legacy of enrichment and support to the SLA membership."

IMLS To Host Learning Conference

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will host a conference in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 7 - 9, to examine experiments in creating community partnerships for lifelong learning.

The goal of the conference, which is part of the agency's 21st century learner initiative, is for communities to take responsibility for fostering a learning culture in the information age. The agency said that continuing developments in technology and the increasing mobility and pluralism of populations present opportunities to increase skills, knowledge, and understanding. Because libraries and museums are trusted stewards of the artifacts of history, culture, science, and the natural world, they are among the most vital providers of these new learning opportunities.

As the Federal agency that provides support for both libraries and museums, IMLS has a primary focus on lifelong learning, partnership, and technology. In fiscal year 2003, it anticipates awarding more than $2 million for partnerships that address the needs of 21st century learners.

All who have an interest in or experience with creating community partnerships for lifelong learning, including representatives of libraries, museums, colleges and other educational institutions, the broadcast field, the technology field, the research field, and the funding and public policy sectors, are welcome to attend.

Registration is free. To register for the free conference contact Elizabeth Lyons at (202) 606-4649 or elyons@imls.gov.