Government Info Pro

Looking Back to the SLA 2007 Award Winners

All this SLA 2008 talk reminds me of the SLA Awards event and the wonderful showing of government librarians among the award winners in 2007. Before the 2008 SLA conference kicks off, let's give another big round of applause to these SLA members and government librarians who were award winners in 2007:

The SLA Professional Award winners: SLA Military Librarians Division

This SLA award recognizes a special event, major achievement or specific significant contribution from an SLA member to the field of librarianship or information science which advances the Association's goals and objectives.

Read more about it and watch a video.

The SLA John Cotton Dana Award: Gloria Zamora, Congressional Fellow and Field Representative
The Office of Senator Jeff Bingaman, (D-N.M.), Santa Fe, New Mexico

Granted to an information professional to recognize a lifetime of achievement as well as beyond exceptional service to special librarianship.

Read more about it and watch a video.

THE SLA Member Achievement Award: Sharon A. Lenius, The U.S. National Guard
Granted to an SLA member for raising visibility, awareness, and appreciation of profession, SLA Unit or the Association at large.

Read more about it and watch a video.

LexisNexis at SLA 2008

Of course, you'll find LexisNexis at Booth #701 at SLA 2008 but you can also look to conference programs to find LexisNexis. As I shared with you in yesterday's post, LexisNexis is the exclusive sponsor of the Opening General Session: Listen to the Wisdom Behind the Internet with speaker, Vinton Cerf. LexisNexis also supports SLA Conference programming with outstanding members and speakers as well as with sponsorships.

As shared on the May 2008 LexisNexis Information Professional Update, this year you’ll find LexisNexis at:

SLA Leadership Development Institute: Sunday, June 15, 7:30 a.m. – noon

LexisNexis will sponsor the institute, which offers information and training for all SLA elected and appointed leaders, as well as those who may be interested in serving in leadership roles in the future.

Toolboxes for Info Pros (Continuing Education Session): Sunday, June 15, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Join Marie Kaddell, LexisNexis Senior Information Professional Consultant and editor of the Government Info Pro blog, who teams with Karen Huffman of the National Geographic Society, to bring you a day-long learning opportunity.

Training from the Trenches: Tips, Tools and Techniques for Every Budget (Continuing Education Session): Monday, June 16, 8 a.m. – noon

Panel speakers include Alicia Koundakjian, LexisNexis Government Solutions Consultant, as well as Maggie Turqman of the National Geographic Society and Jennifer Wood from the Corporate Executive Board.

Tools You Can Use in Two Parts: Monday, June 16, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Part 1: 60 Gadgets in 60 Minutes is presented by Barbara Fullerton, 10K Wizard; Jenny Kanji, LexisNexis Senior Librarian Relations Consultant; Brian Neale, Mayer Brown; and Holly Pinto, Holland & Hart. Part 2: Web Tools for Legal Researchers is presented by Gary Price, Ask.com.

What’s All the Buzz About Social Networking Applications? Monday, June 16, 1:30 – 3:30 pm

Panel speakers include Michele Vivona, LexisNexis Senior Vice President and General Manager of LexisNexis Global Web Strategy.

Hot Topics Series – “The Globalization of Information”: Tuesday, June 17, 9 – 10:30 a.m.

LexisNexis speakers are Joanna Stone, Senior Vice President of Global Strategy and Business Development, and Robert R. Schrott, Manager of Market and Industry Intelligence.

Knowledge Management Staffing Structures in Law Firms: Tuesday, June 17, 3:15 – 4:45 p.m.

This informative session is led by Ellen Callinan, Axelroth & Associates; Kit Hartnett, Proskauer Rose; and Gayle Lynn-Nelson, LexisNexis Senior Librarians Relations Consultant.

Make Your Future Happen at SLA 2008

This year, the annual Special Libraries Association conference will be held in Seattle, Washington. LexisNexis is a Major Partner Sponsor for the SLA Annual Conference.

LexisNexis is the exclusive sponsor of the opening general session – something LexisNexis has been doing since 1995. The session: Listen to the Wisdom Behind the Internet: Vinton Cerf to Speak at the Opening General Session is Sunday, June 15, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. You won’t want to miss this.

You can find LexisNexis at Booth #701 at the hours below:

• Sun., June 15: 2 – 5 p.m. (INFO-EXPO Grand Opening 1:45 p.m.)
• Mon., June 16: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. (INFO-EXPO Networking 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
• Tues., June 17: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. (INFO-EXPO Networking 1 – 3 p.m.)
• Wed., June 18: 8 a.m. – noon

There will be six demo stations and theatre presentations available to you at the LexisNexis booth. Take this conference opportunity to learn from LexisNexis product specialists and get a personalized look at the LexisNexis resources. And you’ll be doing good for the community too. View a product demonstration or theater presentation at the LexisNexis booth (#701) and LexisNexis will make a donation to the Children’s Home Society of Washington.

Here’s just a few of the things you can look forward to at the LexisNexis booth as shared on the May 2008 LexisNexis Information Professional Update:

• Explore thousands of LexisNexis news sources, including international sources, company information and the latest addition of interest to your patrons.
• See the LexisNexis® Due Diligence Dashboard and the latest enhancements to this offering that allow you to research a person or company and their associated interests, affiliations, and connections—across 20-plus resources—with a single search. Mitigate business risks; understand customers, partners and investments.
• Get a current profile of nearly 35 million companies worldwide and information on 1,000 industries. LexisNexis® Company Dossier and LexisNexis® Industry Dossier can help you identify potential new customers, understand a company’s brands and trademarks, access detailed financial and recent litigation information, and more.
• Check out LexisNexis® Publisher and explore how you can push access to LexisNexis content via e-mail, intranet, portal, BlackBerry® wireless handheld, RSS or the Internet. Create your own branded newsletter.

SLA Division of Government Information Dives into Facebook

Eileen Deegan, 2008 Chair, SLA Government Information Division, reminds us about the new SLA DGI Facebook Group Page, which debuted this spring. This Facebook page has a wealth of information for DGI members including upcoming events, recent news, a discussion board, photos and posts, and of course the members of the group. One thing I love about it is that I can actually RSVP for events and have them turn up on my Facebook events. Learn more about the benefits of being part of this Facebook group straight from SLA DGI.

Click image to expand

Eileen asks: What would you like to see on the SLA DGI Facebook Group Page? How can we reach current and potential SLA members using Facebook?

*Thanks to Eileen for submitted this to the 2008 Best Practices.

Are you on Facebook? I am. And, of course, I'm a member of the SLA DGI Facebook Group. If you are on Facebook, join the SLA DGI Group. This is an open group. Anyone can join and invite others to join. If you're not, maybe it's time to explore Facebook and give it a try.

Kudos to SLA DGI for creating visability on Facebook and being Web 2.0 saavy. I also want to mention that SLA's Information Technology Division is on Facebook and they are inherently in the know about such things.

Not an SLA member or haven't selected DGI as your division? Here's all the info about joining. Since I am the Membership Chair for DGI, I hope you will pick DGI as your division. Remember, members can belong to more than one division by paying just a little extra, so if you are torn, it is well worth the small cost to add an extra division and increase what you get from your SLA membership.

Memorial Day 2008

USA.gov provides a wealth of information regarding Memorial Day on their Memorial Day page. You'll find information about the history and origins of the day, monuments and memorials, and veteran's stories. You'll also find practical information about observing the holiday with boating and swimming safety, travel tips, and more.

Also, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Memorial Day page.

FLICC Orientation Series: The Holocaust Museum Library

As seen on the FEDLIB listserv...

FLICC Orientation to Federal Libraries and Information Centers Series: The Holocaust Museum Library Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Pick one of two tour times:
10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

As part of a series of orientations to libraries and information centers, FLICC is offering an opportunity for federal librarians to become acquainted with the programs and services of the Holocaust Museum Library.

The Library of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a small, academic library that provides information and resources to the museum’s staff of educators, exhibitions specialists and visiting researchers.

The library’s resources are also available to the general public and are used by students, educators and family researchers. The library’s extensive, multi-lingual collection of published materials on all aspects of the Holocaust supplements the museum’s larger collection of artifacts, film footage, photographs and archival resources.

This session will feature a discussion of the library research services and activities, electronic and print collections and a tour of the facilities.

Date
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Time
Two tour times:
10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Place
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, S.W.
Washington, D.C. Participants should meet in front of the Museum Shop, immediately inside the building at the 14th Street entrance.

Metro/Directions
Smithsonian Station/Take the Independence Avenue exit (Blue/Orange Line). Walk west along the U.S. Department of Agriculture building to 14th Street; cross 14th Street and turn left. Enter the Museum on the 14th Street side of the building. After passing through security, meet in front of the Museum Shop. A staff member will greet you.

Sponsor
FLICC Education Working Group

Information
Call FLICC (202) 707-4813
TTY (202) 707-4995
Request ADA Accommodations five business days in advance at ADA@loc.gov.

Registration
Free, but advanced registration is required. Limited to 25 attendees per tour. Register online.

Cancellations
Please notify FLICC at (202) 707-4813 if you cannot attend to allow those on the waiting list an opportunity to register.

On-Demand LexisNexis Government E-Learning Classes

I've shared information regularly with you regarding the webinars available as part of the LexisNexis Government E-Learning Series and you can always link to the series from the right sidebar - just click the red Government E-Learning series badge.

But did you know that these classes are also available on demand and new specialty classes are being added?

Here's a little information about the On-Demand series:

Now, with On-Demand Classes, you can view previously held E-Learning Classes whenever it is convenient for you!

Play, pause, rewind, stop, resume—you set the pace and the schedule.   To watch a pre-recorded webinar, simply select a Webinar from the menu below by clicking on the title of the Webinar.  From there, click on the title of the webinar or VIEW; enter the password (training1); and click on playback; and fill out the registration form.  Voila! 

Lexis 101

Nexis 101

Accurint for Government

More On-Demand classes are on the horizon. Please share this information with your end users. This is a great way to build or refresh LexisNexis research skills that is always convenient and at hand.

FEDLINK Spring Membership Meeting

The FEDLINK Spring Membership Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 29, 2008 from 9:00 - 12:00 at the Library of Congress, Madison Building, Washington, DC. Here's the details from the meeting notice...

Please join us for our spring meeting to hear about the FLICC/FEDLINK 2009 budget, the financial status, the working group reports and a special town meeting on “Federal Librarian Competencies”.

All events are open only to current FEDLINK members and vendors only.

Registration: Free but advanced registration is required. Register online.

Web Conferencing Opportunity: If you would like to participate via conferencing software, send email to fliccfpe@loc.gov.

Check out all the details in the PDF version of the meeting notice: Meeting Announcement MA2008-19.

Twitter at SLA

SLA will be using Twitter to add an additional dimension to the SLA 2008 conference experience as discussed in this SLA Blog post: Twitter at SLA2008.

Are you on Twitter yet? Twitter was all the talk at CIL 2008 in April and has been a regular topic at library conferences. I finally joined up earlier this year because I was intrigued by the concept of microblogging and how it would fit in with the kind of blogging I was already doing here on the Government Info Pro. I found it to be a very different experience and was quickly hooked. Keeping what I have to say to 140 characters or less on Twitter is a challenge and a blessing. It's easy to post regularly when the post size remains so small and consequently do-able. I have found Twitter to be a enriching experience. With very little time and energy, Twitter has kept me in tune with those I follow there and has given me a chance to keep those following me on Twitter in the know about what I am up to or thinking about as well. And what does that do?

I have regularly noticed how often our relationships are enhanced by the exchange of small details about who we are and what we know that we share with each other. We just know each other a little better because of it and one of the benefits of that is that it is a springboard to working more effectively together. Furthermore, sharing knowledge as it flows to us back out to others in this kind of real time format makes us smarter faster, and tying in to others who we can learn from through who we meet via Twitter expands our social network. Twitter helps you do all this just like many other Web 2.0 tools we are integrating into our personal and professional lives - and with minimum time and energy demands.

I am just gearing up on Twitter but I am following, and am being following by, other librarians, association leaders, fellow bloggers, and even a friend or two I am dragging into the Twitter realm. Recently, Six Apart began following me (and I am now following Six Apart). As a blogger who is big on Six Apart's Typepad, I was excited that they had found me on Twitter.

Email me if you want to follow me on Twitter.

Searching Images

If you are searching for images on the web, then you might find this SEO Smarty article interesting: Enhanced Image Search - What Is It Like?  It discusses image search engines and search engine applications. Searching for images by filtering options, tags, and facial recognition technology are covered.