Yankee in Canada.com

A few final thoughts from my experience at SLA:

• text messaging is a lifeline (how did people ever find each other before it?)
• laptops are a must
• the local arrangements committee for every conference from now on must publish a list of wi-fi spots near the conference centre
• you can never drink enough water (this particular conference centre was akin to the Sahara)
• attend at least one business meeting
• better yet, attend the conference wrap-up session and speak up
• attend at least one session from another division
• when giving a speech, practice makes perfect
• (these next two I can’t take credit for and I think they’re good ones)
• we get cards to swipe with the vendors…what about cards to swipe before entering sessions to get accurate attendance levels?
• and each division gets $1 back for every butt in every seat (how’s that for getting the programme planners to put on good programming?)

Technorati tag: sla2006

At last check, there were 183 photos on flickr tagged with sla2006.

My speech to the joint cabinets (Chapter Cabinet and Division Cabinet) went very well.  The recommendations of the Technology Review Advisory Group were well received.  The full report is available to SLA members only, so I am publishing only the recommendations here.  If you would like to access the full report or the executive summary, please contact me (danielplee at sympatico dot ca) and I will direct you to their location.

Short Term Recommendations

1. Establish a permanent Technology Advisory committee, reporting to the Board of Directors.
2. Review the communications procedures and broaden channels used by SLA staff to promote technologies available to units.
3. As the decision for a new Association Membership System (AMS) is made, consult with the SLA Technology Review Advisory Group.
4. SLA’s Association Membership System (AMS) should, at a minimum include a number of features not currently included in the system.
5. Task a staff member at SLA Headquarters (with the assistance of the proposed ongoing Committee in recommendation 1) to develop an IT Strategic Plan for SLA.  This plan would serve as a valuable planning tool for decision-making as well as facilitating dialogue between the leadership, members at-large, and Headquarters.
6. Allow for more than one person to access the web server via FTP.  The current model of distributing one username and password to the unit webmaster creates a narrowly controlled, “gatekeeper” environment which is inefficient and not easily managed.
7. Solicit and/or compile recommendations from other Task Forces that directly relate to technology.
8. Permanently expand the Leadership Discussion List to include all elected members of each unit.
9. Provide a list of available tools and expected deadlines to any Association-level task force.

Long-term Recommendations

1. Create a task force to investigate SLA’s current model for publishing web content by the units.
2. Investigate expanded reporting options for conference planners and unit leadership.
3. Many volunteers feel it is a burden to rely on home or work computers to conduct SLA business, including software installation and software upgrades.  This is especially important for volunteers who work in “restricted” environments.  SLA should investigate possible solutions to this issue, such as web-based or thin-client software.
4. Negotiate licenses (to which seats could be added through SLA at unit expense if desired) for popular desktop software tools in addition to Quicken (e.g. Dreamweaver and Adobe Acrobat.)
5. Strive to provide a seemingly seamless technology experience for members.
6. Use Click University as a platform for volunteer education to improve technology skills and awareness.
7. Provide volunteers with web-based collaborative workspaces.

SLA 2006 in Baltimore photoset on Flickr

Technorati tag: sla2006

News Researchers in the newsrooom

Derek Willis is Research Database Editor with the Washington Post and author of The Scoop.  By far, Derek’s presentation intrigued me the most at SLA.

The notion that information professionals are becoming dependent on software they haven’t built themselves (hint: vendors) Derek calls "crutchware."   By using scripting, open-source software and a bit of old fashioned know-how, Derek has repackaged publicly available data in ways that we as information professionals should definitely emulate.  A few of Derek’s projects include:

• FEC Electronic Filings RSS Feed
• U.S Congress Votes Database

Willis’ Priciples to Follow

• Always move forward
• Never turn down data
• Steal from the best
• Automate and DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself)
• Deploy first
• Be an evangelist

The tools:

• Apache
• Django
• Instiki
• MySQL
• Perl / PHP / Python
• Wget
• xPDF

What’s on the Info Horizon?
Mary Ellen Bates is Principal of Bates Information Services. Her presentation, What’s on the Info Horizon was an excellent look at where, in Mary Ellen’s opinion, the information profession is heading.  There is:

• The impact of Web 2.0
  • harnessing collective intelligence
  • rich user experiences (we will be judged against Google, flickr, etc.)
  • constant change rather than software upgrade cycles
  • web-based rather than platform-based
• Embracing change
• Interactivity
  • users tagging OPAC records
• Professional challenges
  • graying of the profession
  • library students choosing to work outside libraries
• The skills deficit in library schools.  Students should be learning:
  • value-added online searching
  • post-processing and analysis
  • marketing
  • leadership
  • communication and collaboration
  • teaching and speaking

According to Mary Ellen:

• Things will get weird
• Be ready to pivot
• Everything you know is wrong
• Become the New Librarian, or channel your inner Xena, the Info-Warrior
• Think, "If I were outsourcing this library, what would the RFP look like?"

Yet, another oustanding contribution by Mary Ellen. A PDF copy of her presentation is here.

Technorati tag: sla2006

Developing Leaders
Dr. Ken Haycock is Director of the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University.  His presentation, Developing Leaders:

• outlined the differences between management and leadership
• defined leadership; and
• described the characteristics of leaders.

According to Haycock, there are four competencies of good leaders:

1. managing attention
2. managing meaning
3. managing trust
4. managing oneself

Leaders also exhibit the following attributes:

• agreement building
• networking
• non-jurisdictional power
• institution building
• politics
• communication
• ascendence, dominance, and assertiveness (the inner impulse to leave their thumbprint)
• adaptability and flexibility of approach

In his closing remarks, Haycock asked the group, "What kind of leader are you?" and challenged the group to plan by:

• knowing yourself
• taking advantage of opportunities
• selecting a mentor
• discussion succession management

Dr. Haycock’s speaking style is relaxed, humourous and witty.  Developing Leaders was excellent.

Meet the Millenials
Michael Wood is Vice President of Teenage Research Unlimited. His presentation, Meet the Millenials was fascinating not only because of the content, but also because of his style in presenting qualitative and quantitative research results in such a way as to keep the audience on the edge of their seat for 1.5 hours.  Not an easy task.

According to Mr. Wood, today’s teen are best described as:

• MaturiTeens (making adult decisions early in life)
• Virtual Intimates (the Web has allowed for an intimacy between teens who have never met)
• The Re-Generation (teens are forgiving – think Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, Paris Hilton, and Kobe Bryant)
• Armchair Activists (want to be involved, but not necessarily in an active role)
• Backstorians (wanting to know the story behind the story)

And teens are an important market because:

• They’re big
• They’re passionate consumers
• They’re confident and optimistic
• They’re not us

The TRU Study is one to watch.

Technorati tag: sla2006

I leave tomorrow for Baltimore, this year’s host of the annual Special Libraries Association Annual Conference.  The conference is already underway and by some reports, it’s already off to a great start.  As mentioned in a previous post, I’ll be presenting the findings of the Technology Review Advisory
Group at a joint meeting of the Chapter and Division Cabinets.  A copy of our Final Report is posted to the Leadership Development Institute/Summit COP (SLA members only).

I’ll also be attending a number of sessions, keynote addressses, open houses, breakfasts, lunches and dinners.  All while trying to squeeze some time in to see Baltimore and Washingon, D.C.

Background on the Technology Review Advisory Group
In the fall of 2005, SLA Toronto
brought a recommendation to the SLA Board of Directors asking for an
investigation into the technology needs of units. The Board of
Directors deferred the matter to the Cabinets. The Technology Review
Advisory Group, with members representing both chapters and divisions,
was created to investigate.

 Technorati tag: sla2006