The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on; nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
-- Rubaiyat
of Omar Khayyam
Our moving fingers write and are now are able to change, delete, or
revise as necessary but once we Save ...
Some of the suggestions made at the officers' meeting in the summer with regard to promoting our organization, are beginning to bear fruit. Shirl Kennedy has agreed to build a Web page for SIS, and many of you will have seen her message asking for information about your favorite sites. Also TBLC has agreed to furnish us with a permanent address, where SIS will be able to receive mail. Soon we hope to have a logo and a stylized format. We are looking for suggestions for a logo and would welcome any ideas as to format that you may have. Forward your ideas to any of the officers at their email addresses below, or call us.
Following the general theme of this issue, we are including some sites where those of you who do not yet have a home page, and would like to learn how to put one together, can find a lot of help and ideas. On the other hand, we would like to include in a future issue the home pages of those members who already have them. Send your URLs to jackson@bayflash.stpt.usf.edu and they will be included.
The October meeting at MOSI had a good turnout, despite the fact that the weather was so bad that many of the St. Petersburg members could not attend (including Tina Neville, our Secretary). The minutes were taken by Casey McPhee on Tina's behalf.
The next SIS meeting will be held on Monday, December 2, at 11:30 a.m. at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. Included will be a tour of the new building, a pizza lunch, and a discussion on the topic of "How do you use the Internet in your workplace and what are some of your most useful sources?" Please RSVP to Jackie Jackson at 553-3581 or jackson@bayflash.stpt..usf.edu by Wednesday, November 27th. The lunch charge is $5 per person, and as the 27th is the day before Thanksgiving, don't forget to RSVP in time.
To reach the St. Petersburg Campus using I-275 take Exit 9, which brings you to 4th Street S. Continue one more block to 3rd Street S. and turn right (south). Drive south until you reach the Piano Man Building parking lot, just after the USGS building on 6th Avenue S, and their parking lot which is surrounded by tall, bright blue iron railings. Turn right onto 7th Avenue S. and then turn right again immediately into the parking lot. Parking will be free for members attending this meeting. If you come to downtown St. Pete using 4th Street S. you can also turn onto 7th Avenue S. and immediately enter the parking lot.
The October meeting of SIS was held on the 7th of the month at the Science Library at MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry), a branch of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Library System. Following coffee and danish, President Lana Bullian made a few announcements. The SIS officers are working on a permanent address for the organization. There will be an effort for the group to become more visible and more viable in the professional library community. While the new officers have some excellent plans for the year, suggestions and ideas are always welcome. It was announced that the Florida/Caribbean Chapter of SLA will hold its annual meeting in Tampa this year.
John Bostick, MOSI Library Branch Manager, spoke to SIS about this unique library setting. The concept of county library systems opening branches in museums is a growing trend. Often, library staff and budgets are cut first when museums must economize. Public libraries can work in partnership with museums to fill the void. It seems to be a win-win situation, libraries can offer subject specific research to patrons and the connection to the museums expand the learning experience for their customers. The library also benefits from museum publicity, media contacts and inclusion in grants.
At this time the branch is a science only collection for K-12. Although the building has been open for over a year it is still a work in progress. The focus is evolving and may include adult materials, circulating software and CD-ROMs. There is an Educator's Collection that offers help to science teachers in planning lessons. Mr. Bostick says that the collection is almost always 80% checked out. Some teacher training is conducted at the museum. A tour of the library focused on the "now empty", "soon to be filled" display cases in the Science Alcove. The displays will be done in partnership with the museum, the drawers below contain specific exhibits. The realia or non-typical library materials are what make the library unique. This library circulates typical library materials, plus globes and microscopes. Mr. Bostick sees a future Science Project Fair as a possibility as well as many other special projects. He works closely with the Museum Store and purchases specialty items from there. It looks as if the Library and the Museum have the makings for a beautiful friendship.
Thanks to the Tampa-Hillsborough Library and to John Bostick for the tour and talk.
Along with Deb Henry, several members of SIS either helped organize this workshop and/or attended the Orlando meeting on Friday, October 18, 1996. A very good program began with a presentation by Gail Clement of Florida International University on "The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Subject-based Training". Gail conducts specific subject-based training through workshops for both library and non-library organizations, and one of her goals is to provide practical and useful information and experiences, emphasizing applications and resources of immediate value. She ascertains the kind of computer environment and tools available to the particular group she is addressing and gears her instruction accordingly.
Although Jim Alderman (UNF) commented that Gail's lively presentation was a "tough act to follow", his talk "Untangling the Web" drew excellent reviews. He showed the group how the University of North Florida library incorporates teaching the Internet in its LIS 1000 course, Beginning Library and Information Systems Strategies (BLISS). Pages from the BLISS Home Page were displayed showing where the students can get their course syllabus, class notes, assignments and other information. Jim included examples of class notes, vocabulary definitions and a search engine tip sheet. Evaluating the quality of Internet resources is an important focus of their instructors and a copy of the BLISS Material Selection Worksheet was particularly valuable.
After lunch, teaching the Internet via distance education was the focus of Ilene Frank's talk "University Level Courses in the Classroom and at a Distance". Ilene described how the University of South Florida's undergraduate and graduate level courses were originally developed, and modified, as Internet technology advanced. In addition to the course content, she discussed some of the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning for both students and instructors.
The concluding talk was given by Dave Whisenant, formerly of TBLC, now Executive Director of NEFLIN. In his presentation "Teaching the Internet: the Cooperative Perspective" Dave examined the role of the state library consortia in training library staff and patrons in Internet use. He discussed the transitions taking place in the types and content of instruction offered by the consortia, e.g. increasingly more hands-on, less demonstrative, and leaning more towards subject-based training.
Although the speakers employ different approaches and/or formats for teaching use of the Internet, they expressed similar concerns and goals in their presentations, each touching upon common areas of concern such as copyright, censorship and the critical evaluation of sources. This workshop was informative and timely.
Listed here are some sources for learning how to build web pages. The first four are straightforward tutorial style sites, some of which contain links to further sources:
and finally... The HTML Terrorist's Handbook.
(http://www.zikzak.net/~acb/hacks/htmlth.html)
Our President, Lana Bullian, has recently changed her position, and her telephone number. She is now circulation manager at the main branch of the Clearwater Public Library. Her new number is listed below, so be sure to change your records. Also, an incorrect telephone number was included in our last issue for Ed Sanchez. His correct number is 553-3402.
President -- Lana Bullian (Clearwater Public Library, Main Library)
462-6800, (bullial@snoopy.tblc.lib.fl.us)
Vice President -- Joyce Burkhart (St. Petersburg Junior College, St.
Petersburg Campus),
341-4732, (burkhartj@email.spjc.cc.fl.us)
Secretary -- Tina Neville (Poynter Library USF-St. Petersburg),
553-3582, (neville@bayflash.stpt.usf.edu)
Treasurer -- Betsy King (Reflectone, Inc.),
887-1658, (kingb@freenet.tlh.fl.us)
Newsletter Editor -- Jackie Jackson (Poynter Library, USF-St. Petersburg),
553-3581, (jackson@bayflash.stpt.usf.edu
November 17, 1996
Shirl Kennedy
.