*Note: The following is from our archived collection of older documents, and may not reflect the most current information.
Welcome to SLA Connections, your source for news and information from the information profession and industry.
By Janice R. Lachance
Info Heroes Across the Generations
With the announcement of the winners of the H.W. Wilson Award, SLA now has a complete lineup of 26 “Info Heroes” to celebrate and honor now and in Toronto at SLA 2005. Take a look at them, read about their success. I’m willing to bet you can see a little of them in yourself!
Consider Carol Ginsburg, who has devoted her career to groundbreaking work and innovation that has transformed her value and that of the services she and her colleagues have provided over the years. Then take a look at Phyllis Waggoner, who spent her life engaging other information professionals and embodied the spirit of networking as a crucial aspect of professional development. These two women are about to be inducted into the SLA Hall of Fame, which means that they will forever be aligned with dozens of other information professionals from prior generations who also forged new ground and shone through as leaders. I am honored to recognize them, and I look forward to toasting them in Toronto.
A closer look at the slate of award winners reveals that we are not only recognizing lifetime achievement; we are also recognizing the promise of tomorrow. Folks like Brandy King, John DiGilio, David Liserio, Tamika McCollough, Tatiana Pashkova, Phoebe Poydras, and Matilda Misengo Sakala are the people in our profession who are already following in the footsteps of Carol and Phyllis, proving themselves as leaders and inspiring us to do great things. This is the value of our profession: the continual chain of innovation, leadership, success, and a desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Just last week, we announced the results of our Board of Directors elections. While we must celebrate the success of Rebecca Vargha, Anne Caputo, Agnes Mattis, Cindy Romaine, and Roberto Sarmiento, we should also honor their worthy competitors, who are all equally committed to the SLA cause and should be celebrated and held up as shining examples for all of us. Taking the risk to serve is not all glory. It’s hard work. It can be disappointing, even heartbreaking. So our newly-elected Board members should go forward with an air of humility and grace, knowing that some very qualified people must wait for another opportunity to assume the mantle of leadership that they will be handed in June.
All of our Board candidates are Info Heroes, too. And while they won’t be walking away with statuettes at the Awards Reception in June, they should all walk away from Toronto with the recognition they all truly deserve.
Advice from the Field
Democratizing Innovation, by Eric von Hippel. Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. In Democratizing Innovation, von Hippel looks closely at this emerging system of user-centered innovation. Read a review from MIT Press or an excerpt from Fast Company.
On the Road Again
I’ve returned from my adventures in Oceania and Spain and, though I am still recovering, I have been energized by the experience. This profession has so much going for it, and I found it in the faces and words of the information professionals I met in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. I served on a panel at the European Business Information Conference in Seville, Spain, at the beginning of the month. The topic: the effects of global intellectual property law on the knowledge economy.
Coming events I’ll be attending:
29 March SLA Michigan Chapter Meeting
5 April SLA Pharmaceutical & Health Technology Division Spring Meeting
Las Vegas, Nevada USA
4-9 June SLA 2005 Annual Conference
Toronto
Burning Questions
We’ve seen and heard a LOT of commentary on the March cover of Information Outlook. While the dialogue has wavered between positive and negative impressions, most people see the young woman’s look and posture as emblematic of the profession’s outlook on advancement into management roles. I want to hear what YOU think. Email me at Janice@sla.org.
Consider This
"Big things are expected of us, and nothing big ever came of being small."
William J. Clinton, former U.S. President
LexisNexis Tightens Data Security
After acknowledging last week that intruders had illegally accessed data on more than 32,000 Americans via one of its database products, LexisNexis announced that it would restrict access to Social Security and driver license numbers. Read more from USA Today.
Report: Top Ten Intranets Selected
The list was put together by Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g), which is headed by Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen. It found the winning companies conserved between $200 and $1,000 annually per employee by improving their intranets, which are private, enterprise-wide networks, typically written using HTML code. Read more from Silicon.com.
London-based Orbis Technology was ranked in the top 10, alongside Banco Español de Crédito from Spain, Electrolux Group based in Sweden, NedTrain from the Netherlands and Cisco Systems, The Integer Group, Park Place Dealerships, P&G, Schematic, and Verizon Communications, all from the U.S. Purchase the report from Neilsen Norman Group.
PC Security, But At What Cost?
Hardware-driven security protections can help stem the tide of viruses and other electronic maladies, but they’re also supporting digital rights management (DRM) processes. Is this an acceptable trade-off? Read more from the BBC.
Cool Site: Corante
Corante is a leading news and business intelligence service on technology and science that’s read by many of the sector’s top entrepreneurs, executives, funders, followers and thinkers. Corante is also helping to pioneer the emergence of blogging as an influential and important form of reportage, analysis, and commentary.
Google Innovation Update: Source Code Site Launched
Google has launched a site that provides its own source code for free, along with discussion forums. The site, called Google Code, has been in development for about six months. Read more from MacWorld UK.
Participate in National Library Legislative Day--May 3 & 4, 2005
Come and participate in National Library Legislative Day 2005. SLA is collaborating with ALA and DCLA in bringing together hundreds of library supporters from across the country. Attendees will visit Members of Congress to share stories about libraries in their communities and to talk about the needs and accomplishments of libraries in their area. Full details and registration information SLA contact: Doug Newcomb.
SLA Board Elections Complete
Rebecca Vargha, the librarian at the School of Information and Library Science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was elected to serve as SLA’s next president-elect. She will serve as SLA president beginning in June 2006. Read more.
Working with a Brain: The SLA President’s Showcase
Widely recognized for his first book, Free Agent Nation – a Washington Post bestseller – Dan Pink will join SLA President Ethel Salonen during her signature session, The SLA President’s Showcase: Working with a New Brain. The event will take place on Tuesday, 7 June, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 104C of the Toronto Convention Center.
Covering subject material from his soon-to-be released book, A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, Dan will explore the impact of some very powerful changes on the world of work in the 21st century. An entertaining and humorous speaker, Dan will challenge you to consider more conceptual, right-brain thinking that can transform your career. Dan will also be available for an author signing session at the SLA Marketplace (located in the SLA Info-Expo) shortly after his presentation. For more information, see the SLA Conference Planner at www.sla.org/toronto2005.
Hotel Rooms for SLA 2005 Going, Going…
… but not quite gone! We’ve experienced such great demand for accommodations this year that SLA staff is securing more rooms from selected hotels in downtown Toronto. But don’t wait much longer! Get your reservations booked soon!
The two most important steps in the process of preparing for SLA 2005 are to register for the conference and book a hotel room! You can save more than 15 percent on conference registration if you SIGN UP NOW via our online system at www.sla.org/toronto2005. What’s more is that, by making your plans now, you’ll get the hotel room you really want!
If you’re making plans to extend your stay beyond SLA 2005, you’ll want to contact our reservations hotline directly by telephone: +1.866.774.0486 (toll free in Canada and US) or +1.703.770-3907. We can help to acquire a customized reservation that works for you.
Upcoming SLA Virtual Learning Seminars
Negotiating
Part I: April 6, 2005
The Art of Negotiating Anything
Part II: April 13, 2005
The Art of Negotiating Anything
Speaker: Jennifer R. Pitarresi, Esq. Founder, JP Consulting
Upcoming SLA Career Development Seminars
April 27, 2005
Positioning Yourself as a Leader within your Organization
Speaker: Marshall A Brown, CPCC is a certified career and life coach
Write for Information Outlook!
Upcoming issues will focus on corporate governance, searching, and e-publishing. Do you have what it takes to get published in IO? Make it happen! Check out our writers guidelines at SLA.org or contact John Adams at SLA.
Bloglines Offers Fully Internationalized RSS Service
Dialog Expands NewsEdge Coverage of Financial News
Elsevier to Provide Content to Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Factiva Enters Reputation Management Space
FAST Unveils mSearch for Mobile Users
Gilbane Report to Offer Reports Free; Opens CM Blog
Library Stats Expert Joins Sirsi
Got News? Tell Us About It!
Want to see your organization’s news or announcements in SLA Connections or Information Outlook? Send to communications@sla.org.
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