SLA and the Wall Street Journal

SLA (Special Libraries Association) has made a pdf of their full-page ad  (from the Wall Street Journal on June 17, 2008 ) available via the SLA website. Pretty amazing exposure!  All the messages in the ad are valid for all types of special libraries (government, NGO, for-profit and non-profit libraries):

“The right people, information and decisions.”

“Behind every good business decision is an information professional.”

“The relevant, high-quality business information you need to take action doesn’t turn up all by itself. Whether internally or externally produced, it’s the lifeblood of people who work for you: librarians, knowledge managers, chief information officers, Web developers, information brokers and researchers.”

 

“Web facts erode research”

A Times Online article titled “Web facts erode research” verifies what we already know, that many people don’t know how to judge the authority of web pages and people prefer the “quick fix” of information the web can provide over solid research.  The original article is here, and a paper it was based on is here  The University College London project is called: Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future (‘Google Generation).  The executive summary section titled “what are the implications for research libraries?” is especially interesting for research libraries.  Should we be “abandoning any hope of being a one-stop shop” and instead focus on being “gateways”? According to this research, yes.  

Sabbaticals for non-academic librarians?

Yes, they are possible. They are called “deferred salary leave plans” or “self-funded leave plans”.  Yes, these plans are different than sabbaticals. But they do provide opportunities for growth and learning.  I took my first such leave in 2006/07 (6 months).  I enjoyed it so much, that just over a year after returning home from 6 months of traveling around the world and learning lots, I have signed up for another 6 months off … starting in late 2011.  Yahoo!  I have no specific plans for the time, but I know I will enjoy fantasizing about a wide variety of possibilities over the next few years. All I know is I am very likely to do some more traveling and will definitely encounter learning opportunities! Yes, these plans do mean a hit on my regular paycheque.  Trust me, the hit is well worth it.  

The future of the book … the ongoing saga

Opposing views … the kindle vs the book … a brief overview by Russell Smith at the Globe and Mail.  I believe the book will continue to exist, even as reading books electronically grows.  While traditional books are portable, not affected by changes in data standards, and easy to share (no DRM!), the ability and ease of carrying multiple books around with us electronically will definitely grow in popularity.  IMHO, traditional books and e-books are going to co-exist well into the future.

Polar Libraries Colloquy

I wish I could have attended the Polar Libraries Colloquy this year, especially at it is being held relatively close to where I live. Edmonton is only a 2-day drive away. But, work is simply too busy right now as we are understaffed. Therefore, I can only access the Colloquoy via the blog. One day I will meet David in person, ha ha, instead of just corresponding via e-mail and telephone. You know who you are, David.

Alaska Library Association

The Alaska Library Association has a blog.  Yes, I am closer to major cities in Alaska than I am to major cities in Canada.  Pretty cool.  I hope to make it to the AKLA conference one day … it will be in Kodiak next year (March 13-16,  2009). There are many more librarians in Alaska than in Yukon, which makes sense because Alaska has a lot more people than Yukon (approximately 670,000 in Alaska in 2006 … many more than the approximately 32,714 in Yukon as of December 2007)!