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ChapterNews
1
Vol. 80, #1 Spring 2008
President’s Message
 Who inspires you?– What inspires you
?
 by Dr. Stephen T. Kochoff, SLA NY Chapter President, 2008 and Regional Sales Director, Basch Subscriptions, Inc.
I
am struck by the importan
ce of “inspiration” and “inspiring leadership”during this campaign season, though I promise I will not endorse a can-didate in this message! Instead, I would like to ruminate about inspira-tion in our profession, and, particularly, since this is an issue of thenewsletter devoted to education and professional development, aboutsome of the profession’s shining lights and inspiring educators. Althoughthere are many today who are inspiring leaders and educators in our profes-sion I’ll confine my observations to those who are now deceased. As I do so,I would like to ask you to consider sharing with the readers of this newsletter*— and with your other colleagues your thoughts about: what has inspired you in your own background, as you pursued your education to become alibrarian/information professional or, subsequently, as you continue yourprofessional development? What inspires you today professionally? Whatare some of the
educational musts?Sometimes we recogniz
e elements of true inspiration after the fact. Some-times inspiration is unintentional.
Melvil Dewey
(1851-1931), certainly a“founding parent” of librarianship and major figure in our professional histo-ry, was inspired — yes, of course he is known for the DDC system and otherDewey inventions such as the vertical file. — I won’t credit Dewey directly for consciously establishing librarianship as a career path for women,though, because Dewey is shrouded in his own controversies, including hissexism. However, the establishment of librarianship as a profession open to women in the late 19th century was inspired, whether that inspiration lies with Dewey or not. Look at those photos of the first graduating classes inDewey’s “library school” and you see all women, gloriously attired. Wasn’tthis inspired and revolutionary for the era? During the late 19th century withthe traditional professions of law and medicine virtually closed to most women, librarianship was an avenue open to women who wanted a profes-sional life — at a time
 when women had so few professional opportunities.
John Cotton Dana
, (1856–1929) ser
 ved as a president of the American Library  Association and was also the first president of the Special Libraries Associa-tion. Dana helped found and organize SLA. Dana started the action thatbrought together about 56 librarians working in such fields as law, insurance,chambers of commerce, engineering, public util
ities, museums and municipalresearch. Largely through Dana’s efforts, this group organized as the SpecialLibraries Association, a name suggested by Dana.
ChapterNews
 Volume 80,#1 Spring 2008
IN THIS ISSUE
President’s Message:....................1President-Elect’s Message............4Did You Know?Chapter Jobline .........................5Training forNew Investment Bankers...........7Mentoring Comes to SLA-NY......10We Are Celebrating!.....................13Professional News.......................13The SLA-NY Executive Board......14Neal-Schuman PET .....................15Innovate in 2008 ..........................16The Backstory..............................17
ADVERTISERS
Dialog...........................................11Donna Conti Career Resources.....8EBSCO.........................................10EOS International...........................7Factiva .........................................12InfoCurrent...................................16MyMETRO .....................................8Prenax............................................9Pro Libra........................................4Research Solutions......................13Westlaw Business..........................6Wontawk........................................5
(Letter continues on page 2)
The New York Chapter
 
ChapterNews
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Vol. 80, #1 Spring 2008
ChapterNewsSpecial Libraries AssociationNew York Chapter Volume80, #1 Spring 2008
PUBLICATIONSCHEDULE
ChapterNews,
the bulletin of the New York Chapter of theSpecial Libraries Association, is published four times a year.
 Visit our web site:
 www.sla-ny.org
Deadlines for submitting materials:
Spring issue:February 15, 2008Summer issue:June 20, 2008Fall issue:September 5, 2008
Submit all material to:
Roberta Brody 
ChapterNews 
EditorE-mail: Roberta.Brody@QC.CUNY.edu
Submissions:
 Articles on topics of general interest to infor-mation professionals and the New York Chapter are welcome. Authors can send submissions via e-mail as text file or MS Word for Windows attachments, or with article in the body of the e-mail. Please use single-line spacing, Courier font, withminimal use of boldface and italics. Include a byline with yourfull name and place of work.
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assumes no responsibility for thestatements and opinions advanced by contributors to the Associa-tion’s publications. Editorial views do not necessarily represent theofficial position of Special Libraries Association. Acceptance of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product by Special Libraries Association.
ChapterNews STAFF
Director of CommunicationsChristina Darnowski
ChapterNews 
EditorRoberta Brody  Associate EditorCorrina Moss Associate EditorBerte Schachter Advertising Manager Sara Stein WebmasterStan FriedmanDana was inspired in recognizing that the business com-munity — and others such as museums, had their ownspecial information needs.
Jesse Hauk Shera
(1903-1982) pioneered informationtechnology in libraries, recognizing its fundamentalimpact on our profession and the transmission of infor-mation. Dr. Shera’s leadership roles included heading theCase Western Reserve Library school and establishingand leading ASIS (now ASIST). He is still widely quoted.Shera died before the Internet era’s ubiquity but with his wonderful concept of “graphic records” he anticipatedthat paper-driven information delivery mechanisms suchas books had a finite life expectancy. Yet Shera cautioned,“Embrace the technology but do not become its servant.’’
Lester Asheim
(1914-1997) a prolific author, thinkerand member of the faculties of the library schools at The University of Chicago and the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill grappled with the issue of whatconstitutes a “profession.” Decades ago Asheim wrotean important article about the factors determining aprofession and its status. Asheim articulated how librari-anship met those criteria in his article, “Librarians asProfessionals” (
 Library Trends,
University of Illinois, v. 27, Winter 1979, 225 -57). Asheim quoted Dewey’s “thetime has at last come when a librarian may withoutan assumption speak of his occupation as a profession” which appeared in the first issue of what is today’s
 Library Journal 
(from Sept. 30, 1876). According to Asheim, librarians were not quite there, as a profession.However, he believed that there was a new, more flexibledefinition of a professional and he remained positiveabout librarianship’s professional status.In looking for inspirational leadership in SLA, one sourceis
Guy St. Clair’s
much anticipated centenary history —
SLA at 100: From Putting Knowledge to Work to Building the
 Knowledge Culture
. One of the most importantimpressions from his study was, as he expresses it, thecommitment and enthusiasm of SLA’s leaders overthe years. This history is due to be published in 2009,in connection with the SLA centennial celebration.“These people were the original time-management mas-ters,” he says. “It’s a remarkable and very rewardingprocess to read about how they understood the differ-ences between specialized librarianship and other typesof librarianship, and how they used their time, skills, andorganizational energies to make the case for their branchof the profession. They were truly committed — fromthe earliest beginnings in 1909 — to make sure that thespecial library ‘idea,’ as they called it, was broadcastthroughout society, and of course throughout the largerLIS profession.”
(Letter continued from page 1)(Letter continues on page 3)
 
 All of those cited by St Clair, himself a former presidentof SLA, had been presidents of SLA. In the 1920s and1930s
Rebecca Rankin
, who ran the archives at the New York City Hall, and knew “everyone”, booked specializedlibrarians on radio shows. In these pre-television daysradio was the paramount communication medium.Rankin placed specialized librarians on talk shows of theera and was even successful in getting special librariansinto amateur theatrical activities, bringing attention tothe special libraries dimension of the profession in someof the era’s popular entertainment activities.
ElizabethFerguson
, too, inspired with her grasp of public relationsand her career-long effort to raise awareness about spe-cialized librarianship to the public at large. Like Rankin,Ferguson was one of SLA’s leaders who grasped the valueof public relations. She was not shy about seeking con-nections with people in other fields who could provideadvice and information, even developing, at one point, aprofessional relationship with
William White
, the authorof 
The Organization Man
. In that context, Ferguson con-tributed White’s notion to special librarianship that one’sprofessional allegiance transfers from the profession tothe employing organization when one has a professionalcareer in the private sector.
Elizabeth Owens
, too, was inspirational for librarians inthe corporate sector. A leader in the field, Owens soughtto identify the librarian’s “work contribution” that is, what are its constituent parts. She spent a considerableamount of energy working with special librarians toensure that they gave attention to work standards fortheir profession. Such standards were required — Owensbelieved — if special librarianship was ever going to beaccepted as a profession among the organizational lead-ers and managers who hired librarians to work in theirbusinesses. Not surprisingly, many of her colleaguesagreed with her. Always seeking to determine the valueof the specialized library and the special librarians contri-bution to the organization, Owens was essentially asking,“What is expected of corporate librarians?” Another inspirational leader was
Winifred Sewell
 who was a leader in both MLA and SLA and who served asSLA’s president in 1960-1961. She was involved withimportant work at the National Institutes of Health andunderstood and promoted the concept of medical andspecial librarians. In both worlds Sewell advocated thatlibrarians partner as equals with the attending physiciansand others “making the rounds” in hospitals and/or withresearch teams. One of the first proponents of “in-sourc-ing” or the “embedded” librarian, Sewell recognizedthe value of collaboration and interaction amongprofessional peers.Opening a professional avenue for women when women’sroles were greatly circumscribed, founding an associationfor those who today practice special librarianship, recog-nizing and embracing technology and its paramount rolein the dissemination of information, describing the attributesthat frame librarianship’s professional status, promotingand publicizing special librarianship to the generalpublic,and imbedding specialized librarians; these are all inspiredideas. I have chosen to highlight a few moments in thisthought piece about historical moments of inspirationand I encourage the members of the SLA NY Chapter toshare their perspectives via our newsletter and other methods your own views about today’s educational/ professionalmoments of inspiration.Returning to the here and now, you’ll find in this issuean overview of 
Stephen Abram’s
is 2008 initiatives as our2008 SLA President. Much of what Stephen wants us toachieve as a profession and a professional association is very much: “education as people,” that is, how importantit is for us to mine the expertise that resides among us.I began this piece touching, fleetingly, on politics — and Iconclude by noting that President Franklin D. Rooseveltbelieved that one of his roles — and a role that all UnitedStates presidents share is that of “Educator in Chief.”Stephen Abram is wearing his mantle as SLA Educatorin Chief wonderfully and I encourage all of us to takeadvantage of what our association will undertake in themonths and years ahead. Thanks to
Guy St. Clair
for his help and to
Rebecca Vargha
for her help in tracking down the Lester Asheim citation.
Steve Kochoff 
 may be reached at stak.kochoff@gmail.com
*
Roberta Brody
,
our newsletter editor, will include a column“What Inspires You” in future newsletters Please consider con-tributing a paragraph or more about someone who inspired you in your education and/or in your career.
ChapterNews
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Vol. 80, #1 Spring 2008
(Letter continued from page 2)
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