ASIS Annual Meeting Report-Back
OVERVIEW: ASIS Annual Meeting Report-Back
By: Allison R. Kopczynski,
08 December 1999
The Indiana Student Chapter of ASIS held an ASIS Annual Meeting Report-Back session
Thursday, 18 November 1999. The event was held in the SLIS Library at Indiana University,
Bloomington. This was an opportunity for SLIS faculty members, who attended ASIS' 1999
Annual Meeting, to report back on their experiences and information they learned with
students.
When I heard about this event, I knew I should attend. I was unable to
attend the ASIS Annual Meeting this year and this was an alternative opportunity for
me, as I-ASIS Chair, to meet some of the students and members of our Society's local
chapter. The drive to Bloomington is, of course, always a beautiful one. Even if the
trees were not glowing so much this season, the drive was pleasant. When I arrived, a
cozy corner in the SLIS Library was made for the session. Students brought in food
and drinks. Mark Napier, SLIS Student and ASIS member, videotaped the session to use
as part of his digital library project. The current URL is:
http://pci.slis.indiana.edu:2005/events/asisstreams.html.
Interest has been expressed to use the video as part of a SLIS metadata workshop.
Four SLIS faculty members who attended the ASIS 1999 conference in Washington earlier
this month reported on the event. Those faculty members were Howard Rosenbaum, Elin Jacob,
Debora (Ralf) Shaw and Bob Travica. They spoke about interesting research as well as ASIS
directions. In addition, Rob Kling spoke briefly on the conference of the Society for the
Social Studies of Science that he attended concurrently.
Bob Travica (Assistant Professor
of Library and Information Science) began the session by addressing the various research
topics and special interest groups such as computer science and management of information
systems. He described ASIS meetings as being multi-disciplinary. He talked about traditional
labels being used for newer topics and paradigms. In conclusion, he encouraged students who
wanted to present a paper to contact him and that ASIS Annual Meetings are a good place to
do just that.
Elin Jacob (Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science)
followed-up with high-energy, promoting the value of Special Interest Group (SIG) activities
and membership. She expressed the society's need for young, fresh, new blood with fresh,
new ideas. She spoke of the various opportunities that ASIS provides for its members,
nationally, and highlighted the organization's importance.
Debora (Ralf) Shaw (Associate Professor of Library and Information Science and Associate
Dean of IU's School of Library and Information Science) spoke next about conference tips.
Ralf talked about the different events and opportunities conference-goers have in meeting
people and learning new things. Networking, dinners, choosing your session to attend,
talking to people at the water fountains and in between sessions are all ways to meet
new colleagues, friends, or potential new employers or employees.
Rob Kling (Professor of Information Systems and Science and Director of Center
for Social Informatics), although he did not attend ASIS' 1999 Annual Meeting, attended
the session to report back on the conference that the Society for the Social Studies of
Science (4S) held concurrently. He started with sharing the attendance size of the conference,
300-400 people, and spoke of its international appeal. About half of the conference
attendees were European. The conference was three days with nine concurrent sessions,
no tracks. The topics of the 4S conference are the sociology of science and technology.
The main technologies discussed were information technologies and bio-medical
technologies (such as genetic engineering). Specific sessions examined knowledge
management, virtual communities, the complexities of IT standards, professional
communities, and IT in workplaces. Professor Kling referred to the conference as a
"moveable feast," with an academic audience.
The session ended with Howard Rosenbaum (Assistant Professor of Library and Information
Science). He spoke of the intellectual exchange that occurs at ASIS annual meetings.
The opportunity for professional networking as well as social networking is advantageous
for all conference attendees. Professor Rosenbaum ended the session on a light note by
talking about the great locations of the conferences and how it is a good way to get out,
see something new, eat different food, and purchase things from another place. He shared
his strategy to attending conferences with the group, which is to always walk away with a
good idea. If you can walk away with one good idea, then the trip was worth it!
The presenters described the meeting with tones of enthusiasm, dedication, and support.
Each had valuable information to share with the students and encouraged the students to
pursue their presentation and writing skills through this type of forum, at an ASIS meeting.
Overall, the session lasted about two hours and information filled! It was very causal,
informal, and open for dialogue and discussion. The report-back was well received and well
done.
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Dublin Core Metadata Conference Report
DC-7: The 7th Dublin Core Metadata Workshop
October 25-27, 1999; Frankfurt, Germany
by Allan R Barclay
Approximately 125 people from all over the world attended the
7th Dublin Core Metadata
Workshop, including this reporter (for the very first time). People who are not aware
of what the Dublin Core is might want to take a look at the
Dublin Core Metadata Initiative homepage for more
indepth information. I was a little concerned about being such a "newbie" to metadata
(at least in actual application moreso than theory) but was delighted to hear that well
over half of the other attendees had never been to one before either! I believe they said
we had people from 5 continents and a number of different countries there, representing
libraries, publishers, computer and information scientists, government representatives,
students - quite a diverse crowd, and a fascinating one (how many conferences have you
been to with impromptu standup comedy routines? About metadata? Which were actually funny?).
The structure of the workshops is very interesting, some parts are like your traditional
professional conference and others were quite different! The only real requirement for
participation in the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative is to subscribe to the mailing lists
devoted to different aspects of the project (there is a general list which everyone is
subscribed to, and ones for each of the different working groups). The conference days are
divided into two types of activities: large sessions where everyone is together in an
auditorium for presentations about the consensus (or lack thereof) in the working groups
about particular issues, or presentations about actual implementation of the Dublin Core
element set in the Real World (such as at Australian government web sites, or at an art
library's site showing the contents of some of their archives); and small working group
sessions (where people discuss and debate the merits of proposals made over the course of
the last year on the mailing lists, and then vote to make final recommendations to the
group at large).
The focus of this years workshop was to reach a consensus on the first
set of qualifiers to the Dublin
Core element set (to review, the element set consists of 15 different ways to describe
a resource - things like title, creator, subject, etc - these elements are then linked to the
resource somehow to facilitate identification and location of the resource). The qualifiers
act on the different elements to refine them - for example one might qualify the "contributor"
element in describing an online newsletter story by giving credit to one person as the
photographer for the picture accompanying the story and giving credit to someone else as
having done background research. To see more about the results of the workshop there is a
separate results page at
the Dublin Core site.
The workshop was held at Die Deutsche
Bibliotek (the German National Library) and the facilities and staff at the library
were most accomodating. On the second day of the workshop most of the conference attendees
were also treated to a brief tour of Frankfurt by bus on the way to a dinner at Gerbermuhle,
an historic restaurant where you could hardly put down your wine glass without someone
running up to fill it again. Needless to say we had a great time - good thing we were the
only people there! My impression of the Dublin Core community was that they are an absolute
blast, wonderful people from very diverse backgrounds working together for no particular
reward other than accomplishing their goal of giving the world a better way to organize
and find information in a networked electronic environment (in this they reminded me much
of the open source movement). From what I understand almost as much work gets done in the
bar of the hotel where the group is meeting as does in the actual workshops (being a bit
overwhelmed and new to the group I didn't participate too much in these after hours sessions,
but hope to next time)! It was a wonderful experience with a wonderful group of people, and
I hope to be able to attend next year and every year, as well as participate actively.
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IOLUG Fall 1999 Meeting Report
IOLUG Fall 1999 Report
by Steve Hardin, ace correspondent
10/22/99
More than 70 librarians from around the state heard reports and reflections on
"Electronic Reference Around the Clock: How Close Are We?" at the fall meeting of the Indiana
Online Users Group. The meeting was held October 22 at Indiana Wesleyan University's
Conference Center in Indianapolis.
The first two speakers addressed the issues from
the viewpoint of a large academic library. Ann Bristow and Jian Liu of Indiana University
in Bloomington reported their electronic reference service began during the 1986-87
academic year. Usage of the service has increased to where they're now answering close to
700 questions a month.
People may check for electronic questions throughout the
library's hours of operation, working on the answers during slow times on the reference
desk. Answers are signed with either names or initials. They try to get back to the
patron with an answer within 24 hours.
How people approach information seeking -- their
"mental models for searching" -- was discussed by Purdue University's D. Scott Brandt.
He noted that librarians and students have markedly different ways of searching.
Librarians use what he termed the "card catalog mental model," the idea that information
is structured into subject/format-related sources, that there's an efficient (logical)
way to search that may lead to answers or to learning about where else to look. The model
is based in part on the idea that there are well-ordered documents, a finely-controlled
vocabulary, rigidly-structured databases, and Boolean and proximity operators. On the
other hand, students use the "mall shopping mental model," which is based in part on
free-form documents with multimedia, a gigantic keyword index, a lack of controlled
vocabulary, the presence of language processing algorithms, point-and-click hyperlinks,
and relevancy ranking.
As librarians, we need to get away from thinking we have THE
correct model for searching, and consider other approaches. Brandt said, "you can't wipe
out someone's mental model in five minutes at the reference desk." Instead, librarians
should use and modify the students' model to lead the student to information.
For example, someone doing a "quick and dirty hunt" for information just wants the
answer; he or she isn't interested in learning how to use the library. Brandt said
librarians should resist the temptation to say "you're wrong to do it this way; here's
the right way." Instead, we should think about how to get our foot in the door; give
the patron a quick time and let them know you can help him or her in the future. Or
suppose someone's "shopping at the info mall," wanting to look around, compare and make
choices based on finding alternatives. We librarians should point him or her to one
good (maybe the best) resource, and/or show others which can be compared and contrasted.
Or maybe a patron's "exploring a mountain trail." This person will become immersed in the
environment and the exploration process. He or she will make observations and collect tips.
We can ask how the "exploration" is going and maybe give the patron a map of the territory.
After lunch, the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library's Lynn Hobbs outlined
electronic reference services at IMCPL. She noted that electronic publications have
several advantages over their print counterparts: they're readily accessible from
home and from branch libraries, they save space, they're often easier to search,
they're automatically updated, and no one's going to spill coffee on them, steal them or
check them out to the bindery.
On the other hand, Hobbs noted electronic publications
suffer from disadvantages as well. They can be costly, especially if you're trying to
obtain access from multiple locations. Different vendors have different pricing models,
which can be confusing and inconsistent. Down time can be a problem, too - she noted
some of the Gale databases were out of service for several days this fall thanks to the
hurricanes in the Carolinas. And because vendors are continually upgrading and changing
their products, training for staff and patrons is an ongoing issue.
Hobbs gave a summary of some of the electronic resources at IMCPL. They also have an
"Ask a Librarian" electronic Web reference service. Users identify themselves with their
library card and PIN number, and they're guaranteed an answer within two days. They've
been getting at least 10 questions a day. You can see their Web site at
www.imcpl.org.
Next, Bonnie Grimble of Carmel High School talked about the electronic reference
services available at her school. The school also provides home access for ProQuest,
GaleNet and NewsBank for all its students, free and clear. They authenticate access
using a URL and password; it's part of the package deal, she said.
They also like to create partnerships with public libraries and universities, for the
students who can go beyond the high school curriculum. Students need to be taught to think
before they even turn on the computer. Students know about new Web sites, but do they know
the difference between good sites and bad ones? We need, she said, to teach students not
only the information at hand, but how to be lifelong learners.
The final speaker was Terri Whitehead of Whitehead and Associates Educational Consulting.
She began by noting that she had worked as a middle school library media specialist for
eight years, and was shocked to learn there were teachers who'd made it through four
years of college without setting foot in the university library! Once the Internet
was added, these same people became scared. Now that there was something that made it
much easier to copy information -- both routine and controversial -- they saw a need for
someone to teach students how to use it.
The ALA's Information Power: Building
Partnerships for Learning, she said, is the guidebook for school media specialists.
It sets up standards for school library programs. A 1988 statement reads, "The mission of
the library media program is to ensure that students and staff are effective users of
libraries and information." We've moved from providing resources to students to creating a
community of learners, she said. Information Power sets up nine information literacy
standards for student learning, including standards on independent learning and social
responsibility. One big question, Whitehead said, is how do we bring all these things
into an already overcrowded teaching schedule? Her presentation prompted the most
discussion of the day, with give-and-take concerning student information literacy and
how school media specialists can improve it.
After Whitehead's presentation, Indiana
State University's Steve Hardin conducted a "Stone Soup" discussion session.
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