Alexandria, Virginia, December 10, 2009- The Special Libraries Association (SLA) announced the results of its association-wide vote on a new name today.  Voting in record numbers, SLA members failed to approve a proposal to change the organization’s name to the Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals.  50 percent of those members eligible to vote participated in the referendum, with 2071 voting yes and 3225 voting no.

“The active discussions, online and in local meetings, are a testament to the passion and commitment that knowledge and information professionals feel towards their association and their profession,” said Gloria Zamora, SLA 2009 President. “This level of engagement will help make SLA and its members more effective advocates for the information profession in the years ahead.”

The name change proposal stemmed from the findings of the Alignment Project, an intensive two-year research effort aimed at understanding the value of the information and knowledge professional in today’s marketplace and how to best communicate that value. “Our name will remain,” Zamora continued, “but we will go forward with developing opportunities for our members to use the Alignment findings to demonstrate their contributions to the organizations that employ them.”

“Information and knowledge professionals are critical assets to the organizations that employ them, yet their contributions and capabilities are too often underestimated,” said SLA CEO Janice R. Lachance. “The findings of the Alignment Project research will guide SLA in developing services and programs that will more successfully position these professionals in the marketplace and attract the recognition and compensation they deserve.”

Date: Thursday, December 3

Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Place: MIT Faculty Club (directions: http://web.mit.edu/facultyclub/about/directions.html)

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Fall Dinner Buffet:

– Yukon Gold Potato and Leek Soup
– Roasted Beet Salad, Chevre, Greens, White Balsamic Vinaigrette
– Grilled Pear Salad, Stilton, Candied Pecans, Orange Sherry Vinaigrette
– Fontina and Baby Spinach Stuffed Breast of Chicken, Lemon Thyme Jus
– Cider Glazed Pork Loin, Grilled Apples, Calvados Sauce
– Butternut Squash Risotto
– Roasted Root Vegetables
– Pumpkin Cheesecake, Heirloom Apple Tart, and Chocolate Flourless Cake
– Coffee/Tea/Cash Bar

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Registration information is here: http://tinyurl.com/slaabm09

We would very much appreciate your
registration by Nov. 29th so we will have an accurate count for dinner.
Walk-ins are always welcome but pre-registration makes the program
planning a lot easier!

There is no charge for only attending the business meeting portion of the evening.

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Payment:

SLA Regular Member – $25
SLA Student/Between Jobs/Retired Member – $15
Non-SLA Member – $35
Attending Business Meeting portion ONLY: Free

Payment must accompany registration – please pay via PayPal or send a check when you register.

The paypal link is available on the registration form or checks can be made out to SLA Boston and mailed to:

Alex Caracuzzo
SLA Boston Treasurer
Dewey Library for Management and Social Sciences Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, E53-100
Cambridge, MA 02139

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Please send any questions about the program to Kris Liberman at k.liberman@verizon.net — thanks!

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*Ontologies for Knowledge Mapping and Discovery*

When: Tuesday, November 17, 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Where: Social Law Library — John Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Square,
Suite 4100, Boston

 We will have copies of Brandy's book available for sale for $70 (this is a
20% discount plus a small shipping charge) — we can only accept exact cash
or a check.

 Agenda:
5:30pm to 6:00pm: Registration, networking, booksigning, and snacks

6:00pm to 7:00pm: Brandy King, author of Finding the Concept, Not Just  the
Word: A Librarian's Guide to Ontologies and Semantics, will present an
overview on ontologies: how they are different from other knowledge, how
they are contructed, why they are useful, and how they are helping people
find information.  Matt Johnson from Harvard's Center for Biomedical
Informatics will follow by providing a specific example of how ontologies
are helping scientists discover new information about autism.

7:00pm to 7:30pm: Questions and Wrap-up

7:30pm to ?: The Kinsale Pub
(http://www.classicirish.com/kinsale-directions.php)

 Costs:
SLA/SCIP/ASIST Members – $20
Non-Member – $25
Between Jobs/Retired $10
Student $10

 Registration:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=LDLvOKtuYbnzlYBgt4EDlw_3d_3d

 Please register by November 15th if possible so that we will have an
accurate count for the catering folks. Walk-ins are welcome but it is very
helpful if you pre-register.

 Payment:
Payments can be made through PayPal or by check. The paypal link is
available on the registration form or checks can be made out to Boston
Chapter/SLA and mailed to:

 Alex Caracuzzo
SLA Boston Treasurer
Dewey Library for Management and Social Sciences Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, E53-100
Cambridge, MA 0213

 Please send any questions about the program to Kris Liberman at
k.liberman@verizon.net — thanks!

Join SLA members for a fun and informative dine around event to discuss
SLA's alignment initiative, and spend some time networking with
colleagues over a dutch-treat dinner.

Where: Fugakyu - 1280 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA
(across Beacon street from the Coolidge Corner T stop on the Green C line)
When: Thursday, October 15, arrive between 6-6:30
Cost: Pay for what you order, no registration fee.

Note: Traditional Japanese floor seating

SLA Alignment: What’s In It for You?

Align
in ’09! has been the rallying cry from SLA from the January Leadership
Summit to the June Annual Conference to President Gloria Zamora’s
August Chapter Visit. Even if you were at one or all of those events,
you may feel like you were only teased with a bit of initial
information, as SLA has begun to analyze the research it has collected.

What's in a name? What do you think you should call yourself as a professional? What should SLA call itself?

What do you see yourself doing 5 years from now – in an ideal world and assuming you can achieve your dreams?

How do you define your value to potential employers? How do you measure that value?

Do you have an elevator speech?

Now
is the time to learn more. Hope Tillman, former president of SLA, and
currently the chapter’s Alignment Ambassador, will provide a short
presentation synthesizing the Alignment research and make it easy to
understand and then will answer your questions. Check out http://www.sla.org/alignment
ahead of time or come for the quick overview without having to dive in
yourself. However you choose to do it, this information will be
important for the association as it moves toward a name change vote by
the end of the year, and ultimately is important for your future as a
librarian/information professional, or whatever you call yourself.

SLA Boston Chapter Annual Fall Kickoff  - Sponsored by Dow Jones

Thursday, September 24, 2009 6:00-8:30pm

At Hotel Indigo, Newton Riverside – http://www.newtonboutiquehotel.com/

Join colleagues and friends for an evening enjoying refreshments and networking.  If possible, please complete and submit the online registration form (link follows) by Tuesday, September 22 so that we may give an accurate count for catering. However, walk-ins are always welcome.

Register here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=KEj9LSLSUN3dwWGS5B1cAA_3d_3d

Please join us in Portland, Maine on Friday, August 21st, for any
afternoon session on "Visualizing Social Networks" with Ric Marshall,
The Corporate Library's Chief Analyst!

Date: Friday, August 21st, 2009
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM following by a Dutch Treat dinner from 5:30-7:00 PM at Flatbread Pizza in downtown Portland, Maine
Location: Pierce Atwood LLP (additional directions below)

VISUALIZING SOCIAL NETWORKS

New web-based technologies are making it possible to study social networks and other types of related data visually, often in ways that highlight previously unrecognized connections and even the way those connections change over time. This presentation will briefly survey some of the software tools currently available in this area, such as Touchgraph, Osprey, and Hypergraph, a few actual applications such as the Muckety.com news site and the 3D Dewey Data Visualization Project conducted for the Seattle Public Library, and then move to a more in-depth, hands-on exploration of US corporate director networks using The Corporate Library's groundbreaking Board Analyst Leaderboard software, led by The Corporate Library's Chief Analyst Ric Marshall.

For more information, go to our Programs page.

Please register here — http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=J4ZIfDTQSiSFKr_2bS6NukFg_3d_3d   — by August 13th, if possible, so that we will have a firm count for the reservation — but walk-ins are always welcome.

Many thanks to our sponsor, The Corporate Library!

*Dine Around Dinner with Gloria in Cambridge*

Wednesday, August 5, 2009
5:30pm to 7:30pm
Tavern in the Square — Cambridge, MA

Gloria will join us for a Dine Around at the
Tavern in the Square, in Porter Square, Cambridge, for a discussion of
the Alignment Project and other topics of interest to SLA Boston
members.  Tavern in the Square has an eclectic menu so there is
something for everyone.

Tavern on the Square is located at 1815
Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge at the Porter Square Exchange
building, just steps from the Porter Square T stop. And, free parking is available for up to 2 1/2 hours!

As with all Dine Arounds, the only cost is for whatever you choose to eat and drink.  Please register here – http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=TJlyEMiX2GmTx6jGASpL0Q_3d_3d  – by August 4th, if possible, so that we will have a firm count for the reservation — but walk-ins are always welcome.