SIG III Newsletter

Volume 1 Number 1 December 1999


Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season and a Prosperous New Millennium!


Table of Contents
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1. Greetings from the Chair
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Greetings SIG III Members!
 
I'm the new SIG III Chair this year, and many of us have been busy looking  at our priorities for SIG III. Our main priorities for this year are to run a lively mailing list (sigiii-l), and build a web site which will become a knowledge center for international librarians. It will include a newsletter on important international issues affecting information scientists, with a special emphasis on remote areas of the world. We will also be actively preparing for the November 2000 Conference in Chicago, for which deadlines for our sessions are February 2, 2000...not very far away! A primary focus is to gather information on digital library activities in developing countries, and we will award ASIS memberships to professionals from developing countries whose papers are selected for presentation at the Conference. We will have a fund raiser in DC to support this effort, probably in May, 2000. We have dedicated leaders this year to make these projects materialize, but they really need your help to do it!
 
WE INVITE YOUR IDEAS AND INVOLVEMENT. LET US HEAR FROM YOU.
 
--Sue O'Neill Johnson (sjohnson3@worldbank.org )
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2. List of New Officers
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Officers (1999/2000)

Chair
     Sue O'Neill Johnson
     10957 Rocky Mount Way
     Wheaton, MD 20902
     Tel:(202)458-2833
     sjohnson3@worldbank.org

Chair-Elect
     Bahaa El-Hadidy
     Professor of Information Science (Retired) International Consultant
     16104 Stowe Court
     Tampa, FL 33647-1147
     Tel & Fax:(813)978-1551
     elhadidy@luna.cas.usf.edu

Assistant Chair (Outside the U.S.)
     Harriet Zais-Gabbert
     Kolschitzkygass 30/23
     A-1040 Vienna, Austria
     Office tel: (+43 1) 514 36 281
     Home tel: (+43 1) 504 91 11
     hgabbert@OSCE.org

Assistant Chair-Elect (Outside the U.S.)
     Delia Torrijos
     Independent Consultant
     135 Gov.P.F.Espiritu
     Bacoor, Cavite 4102, Philippines
     Tel:(6346)417-31-53
     dtorrij@cav.pworld.net.ph

Secretary/Treasurer
     Thomas J. Froehlich
     Professor, School of Library and Information Science
     Kent State University
     P.O.Box 5190
     Kent, OH 44242-0001
     Tel:(330)672-2782
     tfroehli@kent.edu

Communication Coordinator
     Hong Xu
     Assistant Professor
     School of Information Sciences
     University of Pittsburgh
     135 N. Bellefield Ave.
     Pittsburgh, PA 15260
     Tel:412-624-9454
     Fax:412-648-7001
     hxu@mail.sis.pitt.edu

Infoshare Officer
     Mikel Breitenstein
     Assistant Professor & Undergraduate Director
     Palmer School of Library & Information Science
     Long Island University
     720 Northern Blvd
     Brookville, N.Y. 11548
     Tel:516-299-3818
     mbreiten@liu.edu

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3. SIG III Business Meeting Minutes (November 1, 1999)
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Dear SIG-III Members,

It gives me great pleasure to report to you the minutes of the SIG-III Business meeting held on November 1, 1999 during the ASIS Annual Meeting. The SIG has a very ambitious program this year. Sue Johnson, the present
SIG Chair will report to you soon the SIG Grand Plan.

Bahaa El-Hadidy,
SIG-III Past Acting Chair

ASIS SIG III Business Meeting  November 1, 1999
 

 ATTENDEES:

 Bahaa El-Hadidy (Acting Chair)
 Emil Levine (IAEA)
 Hong Xu (Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh)
 Dorothy McGarry (UCLS)
 Omar Akchurin (Consultant)
 Sue O'Neill Johnson (World Bank)
 Nathalie Leroy (U.N.)
 Tefko Saracevic (Professor, SCLIS, Rutgers University)
 Ben Lipetz (Professor, School of Info Sci & Policy, SUNY Albany)
 Ione Auston (National Library of Medicine)
 

REPORT OF ACTING CHAIR:

Bahaa El-Hadidy called the meeting to order and reported on SIG III activities. Due to new professional commitments of the 1998/99 SIG Chair and Outgoing Chair, the past year had been a dormant one for SIG III.  Bahaa, with the help of Michel Menou and Trudi Hahn, assumed the role of Acting Board of SIG III during the summer in order to resurrect SIG III and its activities (especially those activities relating to the annual meeting).  Four important SIG III activities undertaken by the Acting Board were: (1) establishing and conducting an ongoing SIG-III listserv (Michel Menou) (2) organizing, arranging for entertainment provided by Sue O'Neill Johnson and colleagues (Bahaa El-Hadidy), and obtaining outside funding for the ASIS International Reception to be held on Monday, November 1 at 8:00pm (Bahaa El-Hadidy and Michel Menou), (3) organizing and conducting a silent auction to be held in conjunction with the International Reception in order to raise funds for the SIG III INFOSHARE project (Trudi Hahn), and  (4) developing a list of candidates for 1999/2000 SIG III officers and conducting a SIG-wide  election via email and regular mail.
 

NEW SIG OFFICERS (1999/2000):

Chair - Sue O'Neill Johnson
Assistant Chair (Outside the U.S.) - Hariett Zais-Gabbert
Chair-Elect - Bahaa El-Hadidy
Assistant Chair-Elect - (Outside the U.S.) - Delia Torrijos
Secretary/Treasurer - Thomas J. Froehlich
Communication Officer - Hong Xu
Infoshare Co-Ordinator - Mikel Breitenstein
 

2000 ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM (PROPOSALS DUE):

An immediate role for the new officers will be planning strong programs for the 2000 annual meeting.  Program session submissions are due to ASIS by December 15, 1999.  The ASIS web site provides guidance about processes and policies and will provide key dates from proposal stage through acceptance for the 2000 meeting in the future (schedules for past annual meetings are posted on the web site and can be used for general guidance in the interim).   Some suggestions:

  • A presentation on a world thesaurus on economic development suggested by Nathalie  LeRoy who will consult further with Denise Bedford (creator of the thesaurus) regarding this topic for the 2000 meeting
  • Sue O'Neill Johnson described joint international partnerships that are ongoing with FID, IFLA, and SLA -- there are plans to collect data on information flow and depository library situations in developing countries and to make this information available on the web-- summarizing the needs of libraries (500 UN libraries).  There will be a contest (with $150 prizes) for papers on practical (not technical) approaches to solving problems in these libraries.  Irene Travis will be involved in evaluating papers for the contest (winners could be published in ASIS Bulletin and/or give presentations at the 2000 meeting).
  • Digital libraries - the 'best' of the world with a regional review/focus.
  • How poeple with the same interest use the Internet to interact, collaborate and share knowledge. Proposed by Tefko Saracevic.
  • Status of the Web connectivity in regions and its impact on social and knowledge dynamics.


SIG III WORKPLAN 1999/2000:

SIG III's function is viewed  as the "international arm" of ASIS, but since international activities have been increasing everywhere (including ASIS), Tekfo proposed that the emphasis change to a role of making international information
professionals feel more at home and to a role of bringing international members together.  Ten percent of ASIS members are from outside the U.S.  SIG III could canvass the international community on how to use the web to link everyone closer. For example, one idea would be to offer the SIG III web site (soon to be under re-construction) as a place for information professionals from different countries to post their research and related papers (publishing opportunities for information professionals).  The web site could become the communications vehicle for information professionals who do not have similar opportunities in their own countries or who wish to communicate with a larger audience.  The web site could also be used for reporting on overseas information activities.  Links could be
established from the SIG III web site to the institutions of ASIS/SIG III members (portal for institutions).  Topics could be posted for discussion and/or a "knowledge" directory (e.g., of special research interests) could be developed ; chat rooms, a web version of the SIG III newsletter, etc., and other mechanisms could be used for connecting people with the same or similar interests via the web.

Ideas proposed by Bahaa and listed on the meeting agenda (some discussed in part during the business meeting as described in other sections of minutes) were:

  • Increase SIG membership, including all members interested in international issues, and all non-US members Organize and co-sponsor international meetings with other organizations
  • Develop creative discussions on international issues on sigiii-l
  • Develop web site and make it  a lively informative communication tool
  • Develop international section of the ASIS Bulletin with possibility of developing it into a separate international ASIS publication Increase ties with other international organizations
  • Look into possibility of developing seminars and workshops to be offered at international sites, with the co-sponsorship of other organizations
  • Increase the InfoShare program to help support the ASIS membership of non-professionals who cannot afford dues.


SIG III BUDGET:

The last budget report showed around $1,962.00 ($2,562.00 reported in September minus $600 for International Reception) in the SIG III budget.  This number needs confirmation since SIG III had a few additional expenses, including providing the Annual meeting attendance support to a Ukraine guest (Tamara Russkyh) who is studying at UC-Irvine. The board also approved that the SIG pays for a copy of the Meeting Proceedings to Ms Russkyh since her meeting registration was based on student's fee.

INFOSHARE:

Michel Menou proposed (and SIG III attendees agreed) that SIG III funds be used for  INFOSHARE membership for Eustache Megnigbeto, Information Officer at the delegation of the European Union in Cotonou, Benin (West Africa).  Michel will follow up with ASIS headquarters with address and other details for Mr. Megnigbeto so that his membership can begin soon.

ASIS SIG FUND:

The ASIS SIG fund is available to support SIG projects.  Details about requesting SIG funds should be sent to Michael Stallings.  ASIS also has limited travel funds that can be investigated if needed.

(Ione Auston  & Bahaa El-Hadidy)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. International Reception & Silent Auction

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(Album is available at http://www.asis.org/SIG/SIGIII/auction.html)

(1) International Reception

The International Reception at ASIS'99 Annual Meeting was held on November 1, 1999. About 150 guests attended. Elsevier Science Ltd donated $1000 to the reception, and the International Folk Ensemble under the direction of Sue Johnson (new chair of SIG III) played international music.

(2) Silent Auction

Dear SIG III members:

just want to extend a sincere thanks to all of you who participated in the Silent Auction at the International Reception. Many III members contributed wonderful and wacky items for sale, some helped to set up and manage the sale, many others bought the items. The best news of all: we made over $500! Thanks to the generous donation from
Elsevier to underwrite the costs of the reception itself, all the profits from the silent auction can be used for Infoshare
memberships. THANK YOU ALL!

       Trudi

----------------------
Trudi Bellardo Hahn
University of Maryland Libraries
th90@umail.umd.edu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. SIG III WORK PROGRAM (December 14, 1999 through November, 2000)

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TEAM LEADERS' E-MAIL ADDRESSES:
 
Bahaa El-Hadidy ( Elhadidy@Luna.Cas.Usf.Edu)
Susan O. Johnson (sjohnson3@worldbank.org)
Nathalie Leroy (Leroyn@Un.Org)
Emil Levine (e.levine@xpoint.at)
Hong Xu (hxu@Mail.Sis.Pitt.Edu)
Kendra Albright Jones ( Kajones@Utk.edu)
Omar Akchurin (oakturin@erols.com
Tefko Saracevic (tefko@scils.rutgers.edu)
Michel J. Menou (Michel.Menou@Wanadoo.Fr)
Margarita Studemeister (Mss@Usip.Org)
Delia Torrijos (Dtorrij@Cav.Pworld.Net.Ph)
Tom Froelich (Tfroehli@Kentvm.Kent.Edu)

 

I. PREPARATION FOR CHICAGO CONFERENCE, NOVEMBER 13-16, 2000
 
 

A. Team Leaders: Sue O. Johnson and Bahaa El-Hadidy: Overall coordinators of  SIG III Conference Program
 

A1. Team Members: Nathalie Leroy, Omar Akchurin, Margarita Studemeister, ____Vacant (need resources):

      Conference Committee
A2. Secretary, Tom Froehlich : Formal submissions of SIG III Conference Program sections

Deadlines: Feb.1, 2000

Proposals for Technical Sessions, fill in form
Proposals for Special Sessions, submit abstract
Assistant to the Secretary_____Vacant. (need resource)

 

A3. Natalie Leroy: Coordinator with CR on any collaborative efforts: (CR Chair, Padmini Srinivasan, padmini-srinivasan@uiowa.edu)
 

A4. Jim Rush: Coordinator with Information Policy on any collaborative efforts: (IP chair, Gail Hodge,inquiry@infointl.com)

Contributing Member for developing countries: Delia Torrijos
 

A5. Sue O. Johnson: Coordinator ALP on any collaborative efforts (Chair, Denise Bedford)
 

B. Specific Potential Sessions under Development:
 

B1. Team Leader : Tefko Saracevic

Team Members, Hong Xu, Tamara Russkykh, Irina Kirillova

How people with the same interest use the Internet to interact, collaborate and share knowledge.

Hong Xu: Case study on the new web knowledge center information paper, (if enough data is available

by then; see details later Section 2, Web knowledge center)

 

B2. Team Leader, Natalie Leroy

Session on international digital library information; special emphasis on activities in developing countries

Team members for session content development: Sue Myberg, Ed Sawyer and Delia Torrijos
Specific Content Assignment for this session:

Bahaa El-Hadidy: Design research project for Univ.South.Florida student for spring semester to collect

Latin American data on digital libraries. Present research results at Conference.

 

Specific Activity Assignments:

Team Leader: Margarita Studemeister

Team Member, Delia Torrijos
Design criteria for a competition for papers for digital program to be presented at conference. Prizes are two year ASIS memberships.

 

_____Vacant. (need resource): Design campaign to promote award of ASIS membership for winning papers
 

Team Leader : Ben ?Ami Lipetz Selection committee for winning papers:

Team Members: Trudi Bellardo and Irene Travis
Team Leader: Sue O. Johnson: Design fundraiser in DC to raise money for ASIS membership prizes for winning papers (spring 2000) .

 

B3. Team leader: Sylvia Piggott

      Team members: Sue O. Johnson, Dorothy McGarry, Natalie Leroy
Roundtable informal discussion with knowledgeable regional people on library and information science with a specific discussion agenda

 

B4. Team Leader: Emil Levine

      Team members: Ed Sawyer, Sheila Webber, ASIS EC Members
Panel between European Union and others on international information science esearch.

 

C. Team Leader: Bahaa: Plan the International Reception for 2000, including the auction.
 

II. SIG III ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR BESIDES CONFERENCE PREPARATION
 

A. Technical Team Leader: Hong Xu
 

Technical Team Members: Jim Rush, Vacant________(need resource)

Content Team Leader: Kendra Albright Jones
Content Team Members: Natalie Leroy, Omar Akchurin, Ed Sawyer, Ione Austin, Delia Torrijos, Irene Travis
Build a SIG III knowledge center for international ASIS members

 

A1. Team leader Natalie Leroy

Team Members,:Tom Frolich and Tamara Russkykh, Delia Torrijos

Within the knowledge center, build a basic knowledge library for international professionals
 

A2. Team Leader, Michel Menou ,

Team Members, Hong Xu, Diane Hopkins, Sue Myberg, Ed Sawyer, Sheila WebberWithin the knowledge center, build a SIG Newsletter for December, Spring and July with printed copies for those who are not on the list. It provides information about SIG activities, international issues news Netaid ,
 

UNDP Program for Sustainable Development, Global Information Development Initiative and seeks input from all members.
 

Dellia Torrijos: Take the lead in putting together a special issue of the Newsletter on developments and challenges in the Asia Pacific region, streamlining.
 

A3. Team Leader:Omar Akchurin

       Team Member; Vacant_______(need resource)
Within the knowledge center, build a section on International Search Engines content

 

B. Team Leader, Bahaa

     Team Members: Tamara Russkykh, Delia Torrijos, Sheila Weber, Emil Levine, Tefko and Harriet.
      Develop a program to increase ties with international organizations, with a sub-goal to attract members from them.

 

C. Team Leader: Bahaa El-Hadidy (and committee he will develop)

Explore the concept of second Egyptian-ASIS International information conference in December 2001.
 
 

III. SERVICES SPECIFIC TO SIG III MEMBERS
 

A. SIG III Archivist, Bahaa El-Hadidy: Organize Information about past of III into a usable resource-answer questions from this resource. Send all material to Bahaa (Bahaa El-Hadidy, 16104 Stowe Court, Tampa, Florida 33647).
 

B. Listserv Administrator: Hong Xu

    Asst Listserv Administrator: Michel Menou
    Reference service through Listserv: questions, comments to III members

 

B1. Team Leader, Vacant________(need resource): Team Member: Delia Torrijos,

       Vacant_____(need resources)
Create and implement a marketing program for the listserv, our main communications vehicle to build anything, to get more ASIS members and people interested in international activities actively on it.

 

C. Web Master: Hong Xu

     Team Member: Anne Ellingham
     Develop and maintain SIG III web page

 

D. Team leader, Mikel Breitenstein

     Team Members, Irina Kirillova, Two colleagues of Mikel, Tamara Russkykh, Ed Sawyer, Michel Menou

 

    Increase the INFOSHARE program (grants, donations from chapters, members, organizations, vendors,etc.).

    Write a plan, pull together a team in January 2000, and implement

 

E. Team Leader: Vacant_________Need Resource

    Team Members: Michel Menou, Sheila Weber, Harriet Gabbert, Vacant______ (need resources)
    Develop the international section of the ASIS Bulletin with the Editor, Irene Travis.

 

IV. ADMINISTRATIVE ADDITIONS
 

A. Past Chair and Chair Elect, Bahaa El-Hadidy, immediately send any SIG reporting or other requirements to all officers, including Chair. Put together nominating committee for officers for next year.
 

B. Omar Akchurin, Local assistance with HQ information on SIG for Treasurer: will determine assets and put together a working budget with the Chair. Bahaa El-Hadidy will work with Treasurer to be sure all HQ requirements on reports are satisfied.

Assistant to Treasurer. Vacant______(need resource)
 

C. Bahaa El-Hadidy immediately send all officers all e-mail addresses of the officers.
 

D. Hong Xu : Contact all SIG III members who are not on Listserv to encourage them to subscribe, and set up process to continue to add names of new SIG members

 
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6. SIG III Welcomes a New Member (December 5, 1999)
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A one year membership in ASIS and SIG/III has been awarded under the INFOSHARE program to Eustache Megnigbeto, documentalist at the Delegation of the European Community in Cotonou, Republic of Benin (West Africa).

Eustache obtained a diploma in documentation in 1994 from the Beninese National School of Administration. Before joining the EU delegation in May 1999 he hold various professional posts : Assistant manager of the documentation centre of National Institute of Statistic and Economic Analysis; Acquisitions librarian at the Central Library of National University of Benin (Cotonou); Responsible of the ROAD (West African Network of Documentation, Information and Communication).

He is a member of the Member of the Association pour le Développement des Activités Documentaires au Bénin (ADADB).

INFOSHARE is a program of SIG/III by which a one year membership in ASIS is awarded to colleagues in developing
countries who face financial difficulties to join. It is meant to expose them to the benefits of being a member of ASIS in the hope this may help them find the support required for continuing membership. The program is financed by the generous donations of members and net outcome of SIG/III fund raising activities.

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7. Frequently Asked Questions about sigiii-l Subscriptions

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The purposes of SIG/III are--

  • to promote better awareness among ASIS members and information  professionals of the importance of international cooperation;
  • to facilitate and enhance better communication and interaction among ASIS members and their foreign colleagues on information issues; and
  • to provide a forum for exploring and discussing international information issues and problems. SIG/III membership includes most non-U.S. ASIS members and a true cross-section of U.S. ASIS members.
The list is open to all (regardless of membership) and it is unmoderated. We felt that of all ASIS SIGs, International Information Issues especially needed the ability to communicate quickly and widely.

We have taken the liberty of subscribing all members of SIG III based on the information available at headquarters in August, 1999.  To change your subscription, you will probably want to unsubscribe the address we have entered for you and re-subscribe from another address.

Here's the HOW-TO instructions:

To post a message to sigiii-l:
        Send your message to <sigiii-l@asis.org>  [All lower case!]
        Attachments will NOT be processed.

To subscribe:
        Send to: majordomo@asis.org
                Subject line should be blank.  It will not be processed.
        Text: subscribe sigiii-l
                [Note: no capital letters.  No signature file.
                Do not include your name or e-mail address.]

To unsubscribe:
        Send to: majordomo@asis.org
                Subject line should be blank.  It will not be processed.
        Text: unsubscribe sigiii-l
                [Note: no capital letters.  No signature file.
                Do not include your name or e-mail address.]
 

Please contact me (hxu@mail.sis.pitt.edu) if you have any questions regarding the list.

Thanks for your attention.

Hong Xu
SIG III Communication Officer
sigiii-l Owner
 


This issue of SIGIII news is compiled by: Hong Xu (hxu@mail.sis.pitt.edu)
Copyright 1999, SIG/III, All Rights Reserved.
SIGIII Newsletter is published three times a year via email and WWW.