Current eNotes

April Message from the DC President

Thinking About Where We've Been and Where We Are Going

As I look back on the last year and forward to the year ahead, I cannot help but reflect on how much support I receive from the network we have built through SLA. Our community is made up of people doing really innovative things. Our collective response to the pandemic and our pivot to remote work has been really impressive. So many of us have kept our organizations connected to critical information; continued to do in-depth research and responded to your users with information they need to do their jobs effectively. I know we miss the physical space, collections and proximity to our colleagues and users but I also know we've made it work under really challenging circumstances.

As we begin to think about what a return to the office will mean for ourselves and our customers, I am really excited about doing things differently in the office based on what I've learned over the past year. Personally, I've learned the value of dual monitors, online collaboration tools, and Voice Over IP phones. The dual monitors let me take notes while presenting and look something up and have a document open to capture what I find. We had some of the collaboration tools before the pandemic but I didn't use them nearly as much as I do now. Sharing screens to walk someone through a process; review statistics and discuss an approach are all second-nature now. The same is true with my Voice Over IP phone. Making a call to a colleague, having spontaneous group calls, and touching base after a larger call are all so much easier with integrated tools than they were with the phone on my desk. 

These same conveniences are also true for our SLA community. SLA Headquarters has made Zoom, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and Remo available to all communities so we can quickly come together and share our knowledge, experience, challenges and successes. Your DC SLA Programming Committee has the process worked out to create, promote, record, and share events easily and we've got some great events coming up including our first Virtual Speed Mentoring Event on Saturday, May 15. Whether you're a seasoned professional that can share your career path with others or someone looking for encouragement for the next step in your career, I hope you'll consider joining the May 15 event as either a Mentor or Mentee. Speed Mentoring is a series of 10-minute conversations between people looking for inspiration and those in a position to offer wisdom and encouragement. 

I've been on both sides of those conversations and I can tell you, done right both parties come away encouraged about the future of our profession. 

If you have an idea for a program or just want to learn how to use the tools we have available, I would encourage you to join the Programming Committee of DC SLA and get involved in planning, promoting, hosting and sharing events with the DC SLA Community. We've got some great ideas for the rest of the year but always have room for more if you are willing to do a little work. 

I hope to see you at an upcoming DC SLA Program soon!


Richard Huffine
2021 DC SLA President


Upcoming DC SLA Events

We've got some exciting virtual events coming up in April and May!
 

Sustainable Design in Libraries: Lessons from the DC Public Library

Thu, April 22, 2021
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM EDT
Register Here
 

In honor of Earth Day, DC SLA & DCLA are cohosting a lecture about sustainable design on the renovated MLK Memorial Library. 

Jaspreet Pahwa, AIA, LEED AP, has been delivering transformative, award-winning built environment projects in both DC and Virginia for 18 years. In her current role she leads the Design and Construction for DC Public Library (DCPL). In late 2020, DC completed the renovation of their historic Mies van der Rohe downtown Branch and throughout the past 10 years they have been systematically redesigning branch libraries throughout the city to serve today's communities in new and exciting ways.


DCSLA Infobites: The Impact of COVID-19 on Publishing

Mon, April 26, 2021
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
Register Here

Join fellow members of the Washington DC Community of the Special Libraries Association for a conversation on recent articles in librarianship.

As the current Covid 19 pandemic emerged in 2020, there was an urgent need to conduct research and disseminate results rapidly. This scenario had a major impact on traditional publishing as preprints and open access emerged with a growing role in information dissemination. Lots of questions persist! How has the need to publish legitimate research on Covid 19 as quickly as possible been balanced against the process of full peer review? How has the editorial process changed in 2020? Will peer review survive? What will be the ultimate impact of the temporary loss of paywalls for Covid 19 research for traditional publishers? Have predatory publishers flourished in this unsettled publishing environment? Please join Anne Linton, Director, and Sarah Hoover, Scholarly Communications Librarian, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library, The George Washington University, for a discussion of these questions on April 26, 2021 at noon.
 

DC SLA May 2021 Board Meeting

Tue, May 4, 2021
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT
RSVP Here

The Washington DC Community of the Special Libraries Association will be having their next board meeting on May 4, 2021 at 6PM. This meeting will be a virtual meeting only and not in person. We will be discussing updates in SLA, hearing from committees, and discussing future activities. We look forward to connecting with you.


#LibrarianLunchChat

Fri, May 7, 2021
12:00 PM EST
RSVP

Join us on Twitter the first Friday of every month from 12-1 ET! Tweet with the hashtag #librarianlunchchat from 12-1PM ET and join librarians for a lively discussion about recent virtual conferences and events! We'll be tweeting out the questions from the DC/SLA twitter account @sladc. Discussion questions will be posted on our Facebook page on the Wednesday before the twitter chat.
 

DC SLA May 2021 Programming Meeting

Tue, May 11, 2021
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT
Register Here

The programming committee for the Washington DC Community of the Special Libraries Association will be having their monthly meeting on May 11, 2021. Please come share your ideas with us and help us to plan some great events. If you are interested in helping plan of any these events but are unable to make it to the meeting, please reach out to us at dcslanewprograms@gmail.com. We are always looking for more volunteers, including micro-volunteers.
 

Speed Mentoring with DC SLA: Virtual Edition

Sat, May 15, 2021
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT
Register Here

Are you a student getting ready to graduate, but you feel like you need more advice on what jobs to look for? Are you a new professional looking to gain insight into different types of roles available in our field? Or are you an experienced professional, who's looking to share the knowledge you've gained over the course of your career? Join us virtually for our Speed Mentoring Event. Students and new professionals will have a chance to meet experienced mentors from various institutions and roles.


DC SLA Book Club: Alone Together by Sherry Turkle

Tue, May 18, 2021
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
RSVP Here

Join the DC-SLA nonfiction book club for a lively virtual discussion of Alone together: why we expect more from technology and less from each other.

 

In Case You Missed It: Recordings of Some Recent Events!


Buying Ebooks In Special Libraries

Watch The Recording

A lot of special libraries had not ventured into eBooks prior to the pandemic because the products have been largely marketed exclusively to either academic or public libraries with very little support or consideration given to special libraries and their clientele. In this discussion with Richard Huffine, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Ian Roberts, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library at George Washington University, tips and tricks on buying ebooks in special libraries were shared.

Women In the Archives

Watch The Recording

In honor of Women's History Month, the Washington DC Chapter of Special Libraries Association hosted a conversation with 3 women who work in the archival and record management fields. The speakers were:

  • Justine Rothbart, Rothbart Information Solutions
  • Katherine Stinson, National Archives and Records Administration
  • Elizabeth Deegan, American Psychological Association

They revealed their journeys into their respective careers, explored how their institutions adapted working during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provided details on current and upcoming projects.


Dr. Elizabeth W. Stone Lecture Series

Watch The Recording

Dr. Trevor Owens, the first head of digital content management at the Library of Congress, lectured about the craft of digital preservation.

Dr. Owens contends that the craft of digital preservation is the work of a futurist. We must look to the past trends in the ebb and flow of the development of digital media and hedge our bets on how digital technologies of the future will play out.

Check out all of our events here! If you have any questions about the newsletter, would like to be featured in a member spotlight, or have an event from another local SLA community or library association to promote, email dcslacommunications@gmail.com. If you'd like to plan an event or have questions about events, email dcslanewprograms@gmail.com.