Summer is almost here! For this month’s article club, we’re going to try something a little different with an online-only miniseries Design by the Book, instead of articles.

When: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 – 6:00-8:00 pm

Location: Old Nick – 123 Danforth Ave., Toronto, ON M4K 1N2 (Near Broadview & Danforth)

Hosts: Eileen Lewis and Kate Johnson

RSVP by emailing Kate Johnson (katejohnson200 at gmail dot com) by Sun, June 23, 2013.

Design by the Book documents a project initiated by the New York Public Library and design blog DesignSponge. The short web series follows five New York City-based artists who partner with a librarian to explore NPL collections in search of inspiration.

This web series will kick start a discussion on creative collaborations and the role that libraries & information services could develop with artists, designers and independent makers of all sorts.

Cost is only your own food and drinks. Everyone is welcome!

Read & watch: Design by the Book post on CLDFX.com Blog Magazine

Eileen Lewis may just be the toughest librarian at Queen’s Park. By day, she works as a research librarian at the Ontario Legislative Library at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. By night, Lewis straps on a pair of skates and morphs into her alter ego, “Marian the Diebrarian”, in a roller derby league. Raised in Hamilton, Lewis is a two-time University of Toronto graduate, where she obtained an Hon. BA in history and political science and a MISt in the library & information science and women & gender studies collaborative program. She sat down with fellow TSLIS member, Mimi Szeto, to talk about what it’s like to be a part of the Members of the Provincial Parliament’s library team and how the roughness on the rinks made her a better professional.

What is a day in the life of a research librarian at the Legislative Library?
There would be clients at the reference desk, an hour or two fielding incoming calls and answering the questions you’ve taken in. Rather than helping people find material and go about their research, we actually do the research. Our librarians are broken down to subject clusters that come up most frequently. If it’s something like health and education or planning and environment, we send it to the right people to do it. My cluster is planning and environment, so I do a lot of energy questions, municipal planning, agriculture, anything that falls into general parliamentary duties. As well, I train the general client team. We also work closely with our legislative research service, and those are mostly lawyers and people who are able to give more insight or more analysis.

What material does the library collect?
We collect a little bit of everything. Because we serve the Members of Provincial Parliament and their staff, there would be issues in legislating the province that could really range. If it’s policy-related or a government publication, we have them. We also have lots of licensed databases, unique products we get in-house, a small fiction collection and legal reference desk material. The bulk of our collection is Ontario government publications. Whenever the Ontario government publishes, we do our best to archive it, either in paper or digital format.

What’s your favourite thing about being a special librarian?
The thing I really like about being a special librarian is that you work in a smaller environment and get a broader sense of what actually goes on in the library. I think if you worked in a public or academic library, you’ll see your role in reference or your role in collections almost like an island. Working in smaller special libraries, you have to do more. You can do more character building and career building in a special library.

What’s the most challenging part about being a special librarian?
Definitely in our context, the pressure is on, just because of the nature of our work. There’s always the chance that someone would stand up in the House and misquote a fact that you’ve done. You want to be perpetually diligent about having factual, reliable, concrete information that you’re passing onto your clients.

You’re a derby girl. You mentioned once that it made you a better librarian. How so? How did you get into it?
A friend of a friend was starting a league and it seemed like fun to put on roller skates and hit people. And I did. The most important thing you learn from roller derby is you learn to fall and you learn to get back up. The best way you can have it is to get knocked down completely, dust yourself off, laugh, get back up and keep going. I think that makes you a better professional. Sometimes you get hurt, sometimes you’ll be at your worst, but you can keep going.

Would you ever let us come and watch?
Yes. I had a large cheering section from the Ledge one year, actually. They came out and had a big sign that read, “Shhhh!” It was awesome.

Connect with Eileen Lewis on Twitter @eflewis.

]]> http://tslisnetwork.org/2013/05/13/member-profile-eileen-lewis/feed/ 1 tslisnetwork Eileen Lewis http://tslisnetwork.org/2013/03/08/tslis-network-sla-toronto-article-club-google-glass-and-libraries-mar-26/ http://tslisnetwork.org/2013/03/08/tslis-network-sla-toronto-article-club-google-glass-and-libraries-mar-26/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:13:41 +0000 TSLIS network http://tslisnetwork.org/?p=936 Continue reading →]]> When: Thursday, March 28th, 2013 – 6:30-8:30 pm

Location: Dora Keogh – front room, 141 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1N2

Host: John Shewfelt

RSVP by emailing John (john.shewfelt AT utoronto.ca) by Sun, Mar 24, 2013.

Google Glass and Libraries: The Beginning of the End or the End of Irrelevance?

TSLIS Network and SLA Toronto are pleased to invite you to participate in the March 2013 edition of Article Club!  Join us for a vibrant conversation about the prospect of Google Glass and libraries.  Too many of our conversations start inside out – we approach topics from our position and then make them fit our needs.  So, is Google Glass the next big thing?  Let’s discuss Glass from the Librarian’s context:  How do we build business in a world in which in life, and content, can be distilled down to a text recognition earcast?  No answers, just ideas.

Be at the Dora on March 28th at 6pm – and let’s find out!  Cost is only your own food and beverages.  Everyone is welcome.

Reading List:

Mark Hurst.  ”The Google Glass feature no one is talking about.”  Available here or at: http://creativegood.com/blog/the-google-glass-feature-no-one-is-talking-about/

Eric Ravenscraft.  ”Here’s Why All the Google Glass Skeptics are Wrong (And a Few Ways It Might Fail Anyway).”  Available here or at: http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/03/01/heres-why-all-the-google-glass-skeptics-are-wrong-and-a-few-ways-it-might-fail-anyway/

Date:  Wednesday March 27th (registration @ 5:30; start time 6:00 p.m.)
Light refreshments will be provided.

Location:  FindHelp office (see map here)
543 Richmond St W (Queen and Bathurst)

Cost:

• $15 for CLA members
• $20 for non-members
• $10 for Student/Unwaged/Retired

Registration:  To register, visit the Canadian Library Association T-SLIS Network Registration Page

Location: Victory Cafe, 581 Markham St., Toronto, ON M6G 2L7

Host: Zachary Osborne, Toronto Botanical Garden Head Librarian

RSVP by emailing Zachary (zachary.osborne AT utoronto.ca) by Sat, Feb 9, 2013.

TSLIS Network and SLA Toronto are pleased to invite you to participate in the first Article Club of 2013! This edition will focus on marketing and the promotion of resources, services, and tools in a special library environment. Most information professionals in the special libraries community have experienced challenges in engaging users (and non-users), and this will be an opportunity to discuss approaches and techniques to marketing your library effectively. Come join your fellow information professionals for lively discussion and a drink!  Cost is only your own food and beverages. Everyone is welcome.

Reading list:

Barber, Peggy and L. Wallace. October 26, 2009. “The power of word-of-mouth marketing”, American Libraries. Available: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/10262009/power-word-mouth-marketing

Bridges, Peggy Bass and S. Morgan. “Creatively marketing the corporate library”, Marketing Library Services, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2000. Available: http://www.infotoday.com/mls/mar00/bridges&morgan.htm

Start the New Year with new ideas and new strategies for your information centre! OLA’s new Special Library Committee is hosting a Pre-Conference Session at OLA Super Conference 2013.

What:  Mini-Marketing: Lessons From Small Libraries
When:  Wednesday January 30th, 1-4 pm
Where: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, P013
More Info: http://www.accessola.org/Documents/OLA/Super%20Conference/2013/Pre-conference%20workshops.pdf (see page 6)
Cost:  OLA/Affiliate Member $85*, Non-Member $115, Students/Retired/No-Income $45

* If you are a member of any of the following groups, you are entitled to the affiliate organization rate of $85: APLA; ABQLA; Sask LA; OHLA; BCLA; NWTLA; OALT/ABO; NSLA; LAA; NLLA; NLA; MLA; YLA; T-SLIS

T-SLIS members are set up to register under the “Affiliate Association” button. Select T-SLIS from the dropdown menu. This will automatically give OLA member rates.

Registration Website: http://www.badgestudio.com/ola/myOLA.htm

Join OLA’s newest committee — the Special Library Committee — for an informative half-day pre-conference on how to market your information services. Learn how to align your information services with the strategic objectives of your parent organization, how to develop a value proposition, and the best applications of a hard sell versus a soft sell. We will also be sharing our experiences with balancing the expectations of management and clients, reaching out to and educating the client, and applying all of these lessons to personal marketing.

Learn from our guest speakers from:

• Department of Justice Canada
• Halton Healthcare Services
• Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Epilepsy Toronto
• CPP Investment Board

Because most library staff working in Special Libraries work alone, or with a very small staff compliment, we have special in-sights into providing services, surviving and staying sane! Join us as we share our tips and strategies for achieving the most “bang-for-the-buck.”

Moderated by Suzanne LeBlanc, Research Librarian, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Suzanne will be joined by other members of the Special Library Committee.

The OLA Special Library Committee is a group of local special librarians and “non-traditional” info professionals dedicated to sharing, promoting and benefiting from the wealth of knowledge in our professional community here in Toronto. We are a diverse network, with members including librarians in fields like news, law, business and government, as well as research consultants, prospect researchers, and students.

What:

Cost:   $25 members (SLA / TSLIS / FIAA / THLA)  /  $35 non-members  /  $15 students, retired & unemployed

Register HERE – Registration closes: Friday, November 30, 2012

Join us at the Joint Holiday Social! Hosted by the SLA Toronto Chapter, the Toronto Special Libraries and Information Services Network, Alumni Association, U of T Faculty of Information and the Toronto Health Libraries Association.

Please come out and join your colleagues in celebrating the holiday season. Enjoy a delicious selection of hors d’oeuvres and raise a glass with friends as you toast 2012. Bring several of your business cards to be eligible to win one of the wonderful door prizes donated by our sponsors – Eureka.cc, Access Copyright, OVID and Dysart & Jones.

RSVP by emailing Kate  (katejohnson200 AT gmail.com) by Mon Nov 19

Location: Dora Keogh, Front Room (old smoking room) 141 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, ON M4K 1N2 (Broadview Station) Dora Keogh is a fully accessible location.  Hosted by Stacey Redick and Kate Johnson

SLA Toronto and TSLIS Network are pleased to invite you to participate in the latest edition of Article Club!  This edition of Article Club will focus on the role of the information consultant – a growing interest with the tough job market. Come join your fellow information professionals for lively discussion and a drink at Dora Keogh’s front room!  Cost is only your own food and beverages.  Everyone is welcome.

Here are two articles to get the conversation going:

Consulting: Helping Clients Plan, Adapt, Choose … and Much More. (2010) By Ulla de Stricker http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Oct-10/OctNov10_deStricker.pdf

Going Independent: Asking the Key Questions. (2008) By Kim Dority http://lisjobs.com/rethinking/?p=13

The “good enough” phenomenon in technology – with consumers preferring cheap & simple gadgets over expensive, complex new products – is moving into the information world. As people face information overload from the web, they’re preferring to stop at less than perfect information rather than working harder to find the really valuable stuff. Will this mean the threat of current clients opting for “good enough” research they do for themselves? Or will it be an opportunity to offer cheap, simple information options for a whole new wave of clients who are swamped by the internet firehose?

Maggie Weaver is convenor of CLA’s Information Services for Business Network (ISBN) and chair of the B2B Division of the Market Research & Intelligence Association.  She works with clients who don’t use libraries or market research services, but who might be persuaded to. Do you see them as an opportunity? Do you notice the “good enough” trend in your own clients? How do we keep quality from being edged out of the market?

Date:  Tuesday November 13th (registration @ 5:30; start time 6:00 p.m.)
Light refreshments will be provided.

Location:  Lillian H. Smith:  Toronto Public Library (see map here)
239 College Street  – Downstairs Meeting Room “A”

Cost:

• $15 for CLA members
• $20 for non-members
• $10 for Student/Unwaged/Retired

Registration:  To register, visit the Canadian Library Association T-SLIS Network Registration Page

Source: https://www.dkit.ie/sites/default/files/logo/research_centres_and_groups.jpg

The “good enough” phenomenon in technology – with consumers preferring cheap & simple gadgets over expensive, complex new products – is moving into the information world.

As people face information overload from the web and social media, they’re preferring to stop at less than perfect information rather than working harder to find the really valuable stuff.  This has spawned a whole new vocabulary: information anxiety, infobesity, satisficing, data smog, time famine…

20-year-old research on how people really prefer their information delivered is being dusted off and updated, in an effort to predict the behavioural impact of overload on information users, particularly those in business and financial sectors.

Will this “good enough revolution” mean the threat of current clients opting for “good enough” research they do for themselves? Or will it be an opportunity to offer cheap, simple research options for a whole new wave of clients who are swamped by the internet firehose?

Maggie works with clients who don’t use market research services, but who might be persuaded to. Do you see them as an opportunity? Do you notice the “good enough” trend in your own clients? Is the market for quality information shrinking, even as the demand for faster, multi-faceted information surges?  How can we keep quality from being edged out of the market?

RSVP by emailing Ricardo Laskaris (r.laskaris AT gmail.com) by Monday October 1

Location: Dora Keogh, 141 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, ON M4K 1N2 (Broadview Station) Dora Keogh is a fully accessible location.   Hosted by Ricardo Laskaris

SLA Toronto and TSLIS Network are pleased to invite you to participate in the autumn edition of Article Club!  We thought we’d take this opportunity as fall gears up to focus on a degree that most of us have or are in the midst of obtaining: the MLS (or MISt).  This edition of Article Club will focus on the conflict between marketing the MLS as a professional degree, and as a degree that can be useful for any non-library knowledge-economy job.  Come join your fellow information professionals for lively discussion and a drink at Dora Keogh’s front room!  Cost is only your own food and beverages.  Everyone is welcome.

Here are an article to get the conversation going:

Book Review - The MLS Project: An Assessment after Sixty Years. By Boyd Keith Swigger http://sentra.ischool.utexas.edu/~lcr/bookreviews/Callery_B_Swigger.pdf