DCHE Session on Interdisciplinary Science (Inside Higher Ed)

Inside Higher Ed reported on "Interdisciplinary Science and Its Impact on Information Professionals," one of the SLA Chemistry Division programs (co-organized with the Social Sciences Division) at this year's SLA Annual Conference in Washington DC.

The Interdisciplinary Science Library - June 17, 2009

Carol Tenopir envisions academe as entirely connected. With interdisciplinary research creating more and more fields of study throughout higher education, university libraries are becoming the hub of the growing body of academic work spawned by these new disciplines. In a session here at the Special Libraries Association annual meeting, she told the audience that information professionals should embrace these new bodies of interdisciplinary thought both by helping scholars to access them and by taking an active role in compiling them.

Other speakers at the program: librarians Daureen Nesdill from the University of Utah, Kevin Lindstrom from the University of British Columbia, and Brandy King from Harvard University's Center on Media and Child Health.

All Sciences Poster Session Abstracts Available

Abstracts for both themes of the All Sciences Poster Session and Reception are now available:

Theme I: Scientific Information Workflow: Librarian Perspectives, Best Practices, and Models in the Digital Era

Theme II: Innovations and Best Practices in Biomedical and Life Sciences Libraries

Nominations Announced

The SLA Chemistry Division’s Nominations Committee are pleased to announce their candidates for Secretary and Chair-Elect (terms starting in 2010).

Chair-elect: William Armstrong

Secretary: Lee A. Pedersen

To suggest additional candidates, send a petition with 10 members names along with the written consent of the proposed candidates to either Sue Cardinal, Betsy Aldridge, or Dana Roth by June 5th

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William Armstrong
Head of the Chemistry Library at Louisiana State University from 1999 until its closing in 2005, Bill Armstrong now serves as Collection Development Coordinator for LSU Libraries, coordinating collection development activities and procurement (or “de-selection,” as the case may be) of information resources for all academic departments on campus. For ten years, he co-taught a semester long for-credit course for biochemistry majors, “Information Retrieval in the Sciences,” with a colleague from the Biochemistry faculty, and has taught numerous sessions for chemistry graduate students.

Bill has been a member of SLA and the Chemistry Division since 2001 and has served as administrator for the online poster sessions since 2004, and moderator for the live sessions since 2005. He has served as President of the Louisiana/Southern Mississippi Chapter and is currently Networking Chair for the chapter.

Bill has published on diverse topics, including “Communication in the Sciences as Seen through Physics and Chemistry…” and “Cyberspace: Relationship Between Place and Being,” in addition to having given talks at ACS meetings on the future of Chemistry libraries and the Biofuel economy. He holds an MLIS and an MA in Philosophy from LSU.

Once a flamenco and classical guitarist as well as composer, Bill still has an avid interest in music, which is confined largely to listening these days, due to time constraints. He and his wife have a daughter whom they have raised bilingually in German and English – Bill has only spoken to her in German since she was born almost 18 years ago. He and his family enjoy hiking and horseback riding, among many other things.

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Lee A. Pedersen

Lee Pedersen became a librarian in 2003 with an MLIS from Dominican University. Before then, she was a seasoned professional with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and had years of experience doing research in industry and later serving in chemistry faculty positions. Her first job as an academic librarian has been at Brown University. She started at the end of 2004. She is currently the subject librarian and department liaison for chemistry, computer science, engineering, and physics, developing the collections, doing research, conducting instruction, and creating outreach opportunities. As a research chemist, she has published in journals, presented at national and international meetings, and been granted two patents. She also was elected as the secretary and later the alternate councilor for the Pittsburgh section of the American Chemical Society. As a librarian, her research is currently in instruction and outreach. She has presented at SLA and ASEE national meetings and, recently, had a poster on her program Librarian in the Lobby at the ARL forum on 21st Century Science Libraries. Her professional memberships are DCHEM, PAM, DST, and the RI Chapter within SLA. She is currently in her first year of a two-year term as President-elect of the RI Chapter. She is also a member of the Engineering Libraries Division of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Cancelled CE Course

Due to low enrollment and the Division's tight finances at the
upcoming SLA conference, the "Advanced Chemical
Information Topics" CE course has been cancelled. The remaining three courses are
still a GO (Chemistry for Non-Chemist Librarian, Chemical
Information Sources, Diving for Patents). So, please help get the
word out about these.

Contact TedBaldwin (ted.baldwin@uc.edu)
Professional Development Chair, Chemistry Division.

ACS New Professional Award: Paulina Borrego

The SLA Chemistry Division (DCHE) and ACS Publications are pleased to announce: Paulina Borrego is the winner of the 2009 ACS New Professional Award. Ms. Borrego is currently working as a reference librarian at the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She obtained her MLIS degree from Simmons College in 2007.

ACS Publications will present Ms. Borrego with a $1500 check and an award certificate to support her attendance at the 2009 SLA Annual Conference. Presentation will take place during the DCHE Annual Business Meeting/Breakfast in Washington, D. C. on Tuesday June 16th.

DCHE would like to thank ACS Publications for their generous sponsorship of this award!
-Cory Craig
Chair of Awards Committee, SLA Chemistry Division

Sparks Award Winner: Li Zhang

The SLA Chemistry Division (DCHE) is pleased to announce: Li Zhang is the winner of the 2009 Marion E. Sparks Award for Professional Development. Ms. Zhang is currently working as a Science Librarian/ Chemistry Subject Specialist at the Mississippi State University Library. She obtained her MLS Degree in 2004 from the University of South Florida.

DCHE will present Ms. Zhang with a $1500 check and award certificate to support her attendance at the 2009 SLA Annual Conference. Presentation will take place during the DCHE Annual Business Meeting/ Breakfast in Washington, D. C. on Tuesday June 16th.

The Sparks Award is named to honor Marion E. Sparks, a pioneering and influential chemistry librarian who worked at the University of Illinois from 1913 through 1929.

-Cory Craig
Chair of Awards Committee, SLA Chemistry Division

2009 Conference Schedule Now Online

The Chemistry Division events for the 2009 Conference are now posted. We will continue to update the schedule as we get more information on speakers, sponsors and room locations.

Division CE Courses at SLA 2009

These highly-regarded courses are taught by experts in their fields, and provide essential and hands-on learning in chemical information, patents, and specialized information topics (substructures, biosequences, polymers).

Note that some courses provide discounted registration for student members.

Contact TedBaldwin (ted.baldwin@uc.edu)
Professional Development Chair, Chemistry Division.

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(1) Diving into Patents: A Primer for Librarians
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2009, 8am-5pm
Tickets: $299 members / $399 non-members (no student discount)
Instructors: Denise Callihan (PPG Industries), Jan Comfort (Clemson U.), Michael White (Queens U.)

(2) Chemistry for the Non-Chemist Librarian
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2009, 8am-5pm
Tickets: $299 members / $399 non-members / $149 student members (limit 5)
Instructors: Bartow Culp (Purdue U.), Judith Currano (U. of Pennsylvania)

(3) Chemical Information Sources, Request, and References
Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 8am-12noon
Tickets: $199 members / $299 non-members / $99 student members (limit 5)
Instructors: Denise Callihan (PPG Industries), Bartow Culp (Purdue U.), Judith Currano (U. of Pennsylvania)

(4) Advanced Chemical Information Topics: Substructures, Sequences, and Polymers
Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 1pm-5pm
Tickets: $199 members / $299 non-members (no student discount)
Instructors: Ted Baldwin (U. of Cincinnati), Judith Currano (U. of Pennsylvania)

Call for Posters: 2009 in Washington DC

Call for Posters, 2009 Annual Conference (Washington DC)

Theme: Scientific Information Workflow: Librarian Perspectives, Best Practices, and Models in the Digital Era

SPONSOR: Chemistry Division
LOCATION/DATE/TIME: SLA Annual Conference - Washington DC; Tuesday, June 16, 5:00pm – 6:30pm

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: March 15, 2009

DESCRIPTION:
How often have you encountered faculty, students, or corporate researchers struggling to adapt to the nature of electronic information flows, yet clinging to paper schemes that no longer work effectively? Paper workflows in an electronic environment not only slow the research process, but also foster patron resistance to increasing amounts of available electronic information.

Today a vast array of possibilities helps us improve information flow
efficiency: custom search alerts, citation management software, PDF storage and retrieval on personal computers, production/storage and sharing of data compilations in large repositories, electronic collaboration tools (e.g., Delicious, Connotea, etc.), and more. What methods for creating new models of electronic workflows have you recently adopted or experimentally piloted? What successes or failures have you encountered in teaching patrons – faculty, students, researchers, etc. – new ways of handling information in an all-electronic workflow, from the literature search to the discovery and publication process?

Please consider sharing the results of your efforts at the upcoming All-Sciences Poster Session at the Annual SLA Conference in Washington, D.C., June 2009. Your poster presentation could help your colleagues immeasurably as we all seek to cultivate or improve scientists' digital information management skills. The poster session provides an informal and lively venue for sharing your innovative ideas on an important topic.

Guidelines for materials and layout of poster presentations are available on the SLA Chemistry Division website at http://www.sla.org/division/dche/poster.html.

SUMBISSION DETAILS:
Please submit your name, institution, email address, poster title, and description (250 words or less) by email to Bill Armstrong at notwwa@lsu.edu. The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2009. Any SLA member is welcome to submit an abstract for consideration. In the event that a greater number of submissions are received than can be accommodated, members of the Chemistry Division will be given first preference. All applicants will be notified re: poster proposal acceptance on or before April 1, 2009.

CONTACT:
William W. Armstrong (notwwa@lsu.edu)
Sciences Collection Development Coordinator
Chemistry Librarian
Liaison to Physics & Astronomy
Middleton Library
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge , LA 70803 USA
Ph. (225) 578-2738
Fax: (225) 578-9432

2009 Sparks Award

2009 Marion E. Sparks Award for Professional Development

The Chemistry Division of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) is sponsoring a student/new member travel award to defray the costs of attending the 2009 SLA Annual Meeting June 14-17 in Washington, D.C. The award is intended to encourage the professional development of student members and new members of the Chemistry Division and encourage their participation in Chemistry Division activities.

TRAVEL AWARD:
$1,500 stipend to attend the 2009 SLA Annual Conference. The winner will also receive a certificate of achievement and will be introduced at the Chemistry Division Business Meeting & Breakfast.

ELIGIBILITY:
All student members of the Chemistry Division and all new members of the Chemistry Division (individuals who have joined since January 2008) are eligible. All applicants must have joined the Chemistry Division by February 23, 2009. See below for how to join.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
Please submit the following:

• A brief essay that: a) clearly articulates your objectives for professional development; and b) indicates what you hope to gain from attending the SLA Annual Meeting. Maximum length: 2 pages.
• Resume
• Names of two references.
• Brief budget (expected expenses for registration, airfare, lodging, food and/or continuing education course).
  

Registration in a Chemistry Division or other Continuing Education (CE) course is recommended, but not required.

DEADLINE:
All applications must be received by March 9, 2009. The winner will be notified by March 27, 2009. Essays will be judged by the SLA Chemistry Division Awards Committee.

HISTORY:
The award is named to honor Marion E. Sparks, a chemistry librarian at the University of Illinois from 1913 until her death in 1929. Ms. Sparks contributed a great deal to the field of chemical information, her achievements include teaching courses on chemical information, and authoring and publishing what is argued to be the first book to formally address chemical literature and library instruction.

SUBMIT APPLICATION VIA EMAIL TO:
Cory Craig (cjcraig@ucdavis.edu)
University of California, Davis
Physical Sciences & Engineering Library
One Shields Avenue
Davis, California 95616-8676