More QR Code Information

By Jill Hurst-Wahl

I’ve been playing around with generating a new QR code for the conference, which has lead me to try too many QR code generators.  This one, which was in someone’s top ten list of QR code generators, worked very well:

http://www.moongate.ro/en/products/qr_code-vcard/

Every QR code I created was scanned differently in the QR code readers I have on my iPhone (Qrafter, i-nigma, 2D Sense, ScanLife and QR app).  The vcard should load correctly into “Contacts”, but some didn’t see all of the fields or wouldn’t create the contact record.  However Qrafter read the vcard correctly. 

The bottom line… (1) if you are creating a QR code with your contact info in it (vcard or mecard), please test it on several QR code readers, so you’ll know how others might see it.  (2) Have a couple QR code readers handy, because each may read a vcard or mecard differently.

SLA Announces "Need to Know Forum" at Annual Conference

The Need To Know Forum will be an opportunity for information professionals to
network with and educate managers from various organizations. The forum will consist
of a series of lunch sessions organized by topic of interest—e.g. biomedical and life
sciences or legal, plus the opportunity to attend up to two sessions on aspects of being
Future Ready,. The primary goal of the forum is to arm with what they “need to know”—
knowledge of the value that information professionals can bring to their organization. We
all know the value that an info pro brings; let’s make sure the public does too.
GOALS:
1. Connect managers with information professionals at SLA 2011
2. Provide direct exposure of information professionals’ value to a targeted audience
of decision-makers
3. Educate decision-makers by introducing them to the day-to-day work of many of
our members and potential members
4. Generate buzz for the profession itself
5. Take steps toward making the information profession mean more to external
audiences (public-facing)
INTENDED AUDIENCES:
1. Managers, researchers, and HR leaders from all Philly area organizations
2. Professionals who might not have seen themselves as “info pros”
3. Anyone (everyone) who would benefit from having a skilled librarian, research or
strategic knowledge manager on their staff

SUPPORT FROM LOCAL CHAPTERS:
1. Alert SLA Communications and Marketing Manager John Walsh to any publicity
opportunities in the Philadelphia area
a. local newspapers, business/entrepreneur publications specific to the area,
any local websites concerning business trends
2. Encourage unit members to ask their supervisor if they’re interested in attending,
and relay any other useful area contacts to jwalsh@sla.org.
3. Generate as much word-of-mouth publicity in the area as possible!—amongst
businesses, employers, and info pros alike (regardless of membership status)

A Diverse Universe: Working for the State Department’s Office of Information Resources

By Chris Zammarelli

After I landed my first library job working as a cataloging librarian assistant at College of the Holy Cross, I dreamed of having the chance to build a library from the ground up. I figured it was more of a fantasy than a goal, but recently I had a chance to do just that.

Last October, I began work on behalf of ATSG as a contract cataloger at the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs' (IIP) Office of Information Resources (IR). One of the main tasks of IR is to administer the Information Resources Centers (IRC) located in over 185 U.S. embassies. This includes hiring, training, and supporting Information Resource Officers (IROs). Think of them as foreign service librarians. They oversee the operation of IRCs and other American information spaces located around the world.

My main job as a contract cataloger is to catalog materials for IR’s virtual library. This virtual library is available to patrons of our information centers worldwide, and provides them with access to such resources as English as a second language materials, information on studying in the U.S., and resources on business and entrepreneurship.

As part of my work, I have created a collection development plan, worked with our vendors on designing and implementing our ILS and OPAC systems, developed a cataloging style manual, and, well, just cataloged materials like crazy. I hadn’t envisioned that the library I would get to build would be completely online, but it’s certainly nice not to have to make any decisions on carpeting and carrels.

Chris Zammarelli is a contract cataloger on behalf of ATSG at the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs' Office of Information Resources. He is also a 2011 candidate for the SLA Board of Directors.

Call for Submission for 2011 Best Practices for Government Librarie

By Marie Kaddell

I am now accepting submissions for the 2011 Best Practices for Government Libraries. This year, the topic for the document is E-Initiatives and E-Efforts: Expanding Our Horizon. You do not have to be a government librarian to write. If you have an article that you think would be of interest to the government librarian community (federal, state, local, courts, or military libraries) or would be pertinent to those interested in government information, I'd like to hear from you.

Best Practices for Government Libraries is an annual collaborative document that showcases government librarians who are innovating and creating success in the workplace and beyond. It also provides an opportunity for other thought leaders with an interest in government libraries and government information to share their knowledge. The 2010 Best Practices for Government Libraries includes 70 articles and other submissions provided by more than 60 contributors from libraries in government agencies, courts, and the military, as well as from professional association leaders, LexisNexis consultants, and more. Articles from Best Practices are posted on the Government Info Pro blog @ http://www.governmentinfopro.com.

Here are a few examples of recent posts of 2010 Best Practices articles on the Government Info Pro:

* More Nancy Drew than Marian the Librarian by Jennifer L. McMahan, Supervisory Librarian, U.S. Department of Justice -
http://www.governmentinfopro.com/federal_info_pro/2011/02/more-nancy-drew-than-marian-the-librarian.html

* Parsing Digital Value in an Academic Library by Edwin B. Burgess, Director, Combines Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, and Deborah E. B. Keller, Reference Librarian, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -
http://www.governmentinfopro.com/federal_info_pro/2011/03/parsing-digital-value-in-an-academic-library.html

* Pilot Study as a Best Practice: Exploring the Value of the NIH Library Editing Service by Cindy Clark, Brigit Sullivan, Mary Ryan, and Verma Walker, National Institutes of Health Library, Office of Research Services, Bethesda, MD -
http://www.governmentinfopro.com/federal_info_pro/2011/03/pilot-study-as-a-best-practice-exploring-the-value-of-the-nih-library-editing-service.html

* Showcasing the Value of the Library Through Social Media by Christine Sellers, Legal Reference Librarian, and Andrew Weber, Senior Legal Information Analyst, Law Library of Congress -
http://www.governmentinfopro.com/federal_info_pro/2011/03/showcasing-the-value-of-the-library-through-social-media.html

* Strategic Planning and the Value of Libraries by Ellen Ensel, Director of Knowledge Management and Library Services, U. S. Institute of Peace -
http://www.governmentinfopro.com/federal_info_pro/2010/11/strategic-planning-and-the-value-of-libraries.html

View the PDF version of the 2010 Best Practices for Government Libraries: The New Face of Value - http://www.lexisnexis.com/tsg/gov/Best_Practices_2010.pdf.

Your submission for the 2011 Best Practices for Government Libraries can relate to e-libraries, e-collections, e-services, e-pubs, e-programs, e-gov, or e-anything else that you think would be pertinent. Virtual or hybrid efforts are a great way to come at the theme as well. You can also write on the topic from a theoretical point of view or discuss trends. Your submission could be electronic or hard copy, cutting-edge or time-tested but with a new twist, in place or conceptual, in the workplace or in the community.

The scope of submissions is only limited by your imagination. In past years, we have received: program descriptions and promotional materials, planning documents, websites and blog entries, video, displays, original articles, tips and techniques, testimonials, awards, and personal observations on the topic.

I particularly want to encourage you to consider the submission of a short, original article on the topic of E-Initiatives and E-Efforts from any angle: library, organization, profession, or personal.

For the 2011 edition of Best Practices, please submit your electronic documents to marie.kaddell@lexisnexis.com or mail hard copy contributions to Marie Kaddell, LexisNexis, Suite 600, 1150 Eighteenth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. Best Practices will be published later this spring. The deadline for submission is May 13, 2011. If you have any questions about the 2011 Best Practices collaborative document, please do not hesitate to contact me at marie.kaddell@lexisnexis.com.

This is your opportunity to step into the spotlight! Take advantage of it and share your successes, your ideas, and your wisdom. I am looking forward to seeing a broad spectrum of content again this year and I hope you will make it a point to participate.
Share! Write! Get Published!

Marie Kaddell is the LexisNexis Senior Information Professional Consultant for government librarians

A Diverse Universe – Working in the BNA Library

By Marilyn Bromley

In February, Larry Lempert, one of my BNA colleagues, wrote a Diverse Universe blog post on how he became Director of Product Research and Planning after years in the editorial side of the company, during which he earned an MLS from the University of Maryland.  Giselle Caruso, another MLSer here at BNA, participated with Larry in last year’s DC/SLA “Cinco de Mayo” session on alternative careers for MLS graduates; Giselle is a senior project manager in our business systems group.  BNA also has MLS grads serving as indexers, senior-level trainers and legal market sales professionals.  

So BNA’s a pretty diverse place for LIS professionals, right?  Yup, and even in the Library.   With a professional staff of 6 librarians, there is a lot of non-traditional work going on.

To begin with, the Library is responsible for the company intranet, thanks to our late colleague Rhonda Oziel, who got interested in HTML in the mid-1990s, developed some webpages, and before IT knew what was happening, created the BNA intranet.  Laura Gordon-Murnane is our current intranet webmaster.  Catherine Kitchell, reference librarian and treasurer of the News Division, manages the process of updating and publishing the annual BNA Court Directory, a BNA Books bestseller.  Four of us, including librarians Lan Choi and Clare Bailey, handle over 500 permission requests a year, with an industry-leading turnaround time of 24 hours.  Our competitive intelligence service is delivered to over 100 top BNA executives and movers and shakers every day.  I work closely with our general counsel on copyright matters, an important issue for every publisher.  Cataloger Matthew Newton applies for ISSNs for all our products, and assigns ISBNs to our monographs.  He also prepares “official” MARC records of our publications for our law school customers.  As in-house consultants in the product development process, the Library staff is involved in creating high quality value-added products for BNA customers and especially for you, our colleagues.  We take great pride in seeing that everything BNA produces not only delivers the best information, insights and analysis, but makes your job easier.  And that’s a win-win proposition for everyone!

Marilyn Bromley is Library Director at BNA and a 2011 candidate for the SLA Board of Directors

Get Your QR Codes On - at the SLA Conference

By Mary Talley and Marilyn Bromley

The first time I heard about QR codes was during a casual conversation with a colleague in mid-March. The second time was just a few days ago in a post to the SLA Leadership list from Marilyn Bromley, BNA (and a DC/SLA member). Now I'm seeing QR codes everywhere. Today, when I stopped at my favorite kabob shop for lunch, the little ceramic store next door had a big QR code in their window. Read on to find out more about these funny-looking squares of squiggles  - and how you might use them at the SLA Conference. Marilyn's suggestions are so good, we're thinking of incorporating them into the Mid-Atlantic Reception, our New Members event and more: 

Dear SLAers,

I've created a QR (quick response) code for myself, listing

my name, library, company, email and Twitter account, and

plan to print it out on a label and attach it to my SLA

conference badge.

Wouldn't it be great if all of us did that, so cool !  Then

we could run around with our smartphones and "zero in" on

each other, capturing our contact info in an easy fun

way....

I hope you will be in Philly and be part of the SLA QR buzz!

here are some free QR code generators - I used the first one

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

http://www.qurify.com/en/

http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-generator/

here's how WVA University is using them in the library

http://www.thedaonline.com/news/libraries-create-qr-codes-for-available-computers-mobile-site-1.2110021 

Thanks to Marilyn Bromley for giving us permission to reprint her post.