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.

Jan-Mar 2009 Newsletter Available

The Jan-Mar 2009 Newsletter is now online, including:

• Messages from the Chair, Chair-Elect, and MRM Section Chair
• Bob Buchanan's 'Beyond the Chemistry Web'

If you are interested in contributing to future newsletters, please contact Kiem Ta (kiem.ta@okstate.edu) or Kevin Lindstrom (kevin.lindstrom@ubc.ca).

Click U Online Courses Now Included in SLA Membership

Special Libraries Association (SLA) now offers free online courses as an exclusive benefit to SLA members. The free programming encompasses all non-certificate online courses that are part of SLA’s Click University, including programs such as Click U twice-monthly Webinars, the SLA Online Libraries and Click U Replays. Also available to members as part of their membership dues are execuBooks, recorded Annual Conference continuing education courses, 23 Things, the SLA Innovation Lab and SLA Leadership Training.

Click U Premium courses at the SLA Annual Conference and the Click U Premium Certificate Programs in knowledge management, competitive intelligence, and copyright management will remain as fee-based offerings.

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(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

A Note from the Chair-Elect

I hope you all had a great experience at the SLA Conference in Seattle in June. The conference was filled with opportunities to learn and network and to celebrate our profession. I hope that you all returned back to your organizations and were able to put at least one new thing you learned into practice already.

I enjoyed meeting some “Newcomers” to the Chemistry Division at the Newcomers’ Luncheon, congratulating the award winners at the Business Meeting, learning about alternative fuels and some hot technologies, and networking with new and old friends at the Chemistry Division’s Speed Networking/Open House Reception and the All Sciences Poster Session. HINT: if you happened to miss seeing any of the posters, there was an opportunity to view them via the online web poster session in October – November. You can still find them at http://forum.lib.lsu.edu/slachem.

Also at this conference the planners for the 2009 conference met twice and we are gearing up to set the schedules and topics for next year’s programs. You will see some familiar program sessions again, such as the Roundtable event. We also want to continue the Speed Networking concept for the Chemistry Division Open House Reception, and it appears as if the All Sciences Poster Session/Reception will do an encore performance.

Please stay tuned to the Chemistry Division discussion list to learn more about the other program topics being planned because we may put a call out for moderators, speakers and panelists in the next few months.

To join the SLA Chemistry Division discussion list, SLA-DCHE, please go to:
http://units.sla.org/division/dche/listserv.htm

Luray M. Minkiewicz, SLA Chemistry Division Chair-Elect
luray.m.minkiewicz@usa.dupont.com

News from the MRM Section Chair

Help us stay in touch!

The MRM section Board is continuing to work on some of the projects identified during our annual business meeting held a few months ago. Communications is the theme of the year, and our listserv and web page are the two best ways we have to communicate as needed with members and non-members alike.

Currently we’re reconciling the list of section members (as reflected by SLA’s records) and the names of people who are registered with the list, to identify those MRM section members who have not joined the list, and directly invite those members to join. It’s not a requirement, by any means, but it sure makes it easier to communicate!

To stay in touch between newsletters:

• Visit the website at http://units.sla.org/division/dche/mrm/index.htm


• Join the list by e-mailing Lyris@lists.sla.org. The body of the message should say: Subscribe sla-dmrm <your e-mail address> <FirstName> <LastName>


• Not sure if you’re already a member of the list? Go to http://sla.lyris.net/read/login

Cathy DiPalma, Incoming Chair

As the SLA program year draws to a close, I’m trying to provide incoming Chair Cathy DiPalma with a good feel for the kinds of issues and activities that she’ll be involved in next year. To that end, I’ve asked her to submit a Chair-Elect column for this issue. And thank you Cathy, for your kind words! I’m looking forward to supporting you next year as I’ve been supported so well this year!

Hello fellow MRM members,

I have been caught up in a whirlwind of activities since accepting the position of Chair-Elect of the DCHE Materials Research and Manufacturing Section; in addition to being the Program Planner for the 2009 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. It should come as no surprise that in the SLA whirlwind I have met many energetic and dedicated people. A debt of gratitude is owed to those who have helped guide and encourage me: Marty Rhine, Betsy Aldridge, Ben Wagner, Margaret Bower, the current DCHE Chair Sue Cardinal, and the current MRM Chair Nora Stoecker. Nora patiently answered questions and offered helpful suggestions as I began this journey last January at the SLA Leadership Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. We thank Nora for the leadership role she assumed in the MRM section; her contribution has been invaluable.

Looking toward 2009, I encourage the MRM membership to contact me with your ideas, comments, suggestions, questions, and yes, complaints concerning our section. Although materials science covers a broad range of activities and touches on many fields, we are all connected by the business of information and knowledge management within this very diverse discipline. I look forward to working together to continue to develop a stronger and more unified group.

Anticipation remains high for the 2009 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. next June as we celebrate the SLA centennial. I am fortunate to have the DCHE Chair-elect, Luray Minkiewicz as well as Susan Makar as co-program planners. We have been working for several months to develop programs we think will enlighten as well as entertain. If time and finances permit, please consider attending this very special conference.

Cathy DiPalma
cathy.dipalma@saint-gobain.com
Saint-Gobain NorPro
3840 Fishcreek Road
Stow, Ohio 44224
330-677-5-3566

Warm regards,
Nora K. Stoecker, nstoecker@nksinfo.com

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