EDITOR'S CORNER
by Jackie Jackson
This is the time of year when the leadership of this group looks forward, with the election of new officers, to a new phase and new interests. Each summer the officers plan programs and visits for the next year, and with this in mind, we would be interested in hearing from you, the members. What subjects would you like to see featured? Are there any specialized areas which have not been covered in recent months or years which you would like to have brought to the attention of the group? Do you know of anyone who has an interesting slant to their job or who has been involved in a different but related type of library activity? What about participation in library conferences? Contact one of the officers with your suggestions, or run for office and be a Amover and shaker@ yourself. Also, don=t forget to subscribe to our listserv as members are posting items of interest for your benefit.
JUNE MEETING
by Trudi Root
Our June get together will be a dinner meeting at the Bombay Bicycle Club Restaurant & Bar in Clearwater, beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, June 1. As this will be our annual election night we will be selecting officers for the next year, and then will have a presentation from the Tampa Bay area Ebsco representative, Melissa Howard. Melissa will tell us about all the new online products Ebsco has to offer.
Regarding the meal we will be ordering off the menu and prices range from $4.95 for appetizers to $15.95 for a filet mignon. The menu contains steak, chicken, pasta, south of the border and seafood entrees, as well as soup, salads and sandwiches. Please be prepared to pay Trudie or Betsy with cash or check, as the restaurant will not be issuing separate bills.
The Bombay Bicycle Club is located at 2721 Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard at the east end of the Clearwater Mall. Directions: From Tampa come across the Courtney Campbell to Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard. The restaurant is on your left in front of the Clearwater Mall at the east end near Gayfers. You will need to turn in at the Mall entrance as there is no entrance in front of the restaurant. From St. Petersburg or points north take Highway 19 to the Clearwater Mall/Gulf-to-Bay exit. Turn into the mall and follow it around to Gayfers at the east end.
We hope to have an informative and fun program for you and hope to see a good attendance. If anyone is interested in running for office and has not put their name forward yet, it is not too late. Call or email one of the officers. Officers serve for one year and get to make a lot of new friends, participate in the planning for the year, and add a line to their resumes! Please Rsvp to Trudi Root by Friday, May 29 if you plan to attend.
APRIL MEETING
by Debbie Factor
Our April meeting was, as previously announced, a joint meeting of Suncoast Information Specialists/American Society for Information Science. Prior to the meeting Susan Haynes from LGB & Associates, Inc. a computer technology services business, spoke about VERSO, an automation system for libraries of all sizes. This can be used as a stand alone, networked or enterprise system. Some of the features include powerful, simplified searching tools, extensive indexing, and sophisticated editing with eight MARC formats. It is web based, modular and fully integrated. We thank Susan for coming from Fairfax, Virginia to Tampa to give us this presentation.
The joint meeting of SIS/ASIS then followed with about 30 members attending, and was a unique opportunity for SIS members to collaborate with members of the Florida chapter of ASIS. The ASIS Board members were introduced -- Baha el Hadidy, Chair, Professor Emeritus from USF School of Information Science; Dr. Vicki Gregory, Vice Chair, Associate Professor of Information Science at USF; Cary Kenney, Secretary, Online Resources Coordinator of the St. Petersburg Times Web Publishing Department; LaMar Woodard, Treasurer, Director of Law Library, Stetson Law School, and Christine Zornick, Communications Officer, student.
Dr. Vicki Gregory introduced the speaker, Dr. Jim Carey, Assistant Professor, USF School of Information Science. His topic was Human Communication and Information Processes-Perspectives from Communication Theory and Cognitive Psychology.
Dr. Carey began by defining information science as the study of laws and principles that govern information systems. Information science is interdisciplinary and borrows from the basic sciences and the applied sciences. It could be called AS Information Science or AS1 Engineering or AS1 Technology.
Information, as applied to information studies, is a continuum which flows from events to symbols to data to information to knowledge to wisdom. It can be subjective or objective.
A system is a set of elements (or objects or processes) that work toward a common goal. For example, an air conditioning system, brakes, schools, etc. The systems applicable to Information Science are human systems, computer systems and communication systems.
Human systems are visual and verbal, encompassing both short term and long term memory. We can observe an event on Monday and describe it on Tuesday. In long term memory events tie in with one another. We set up executive control -- can go into our minds, find the information and talk about it.
Computer Information Systems contain effectors and receptors (keyboard and video screen). Short term memory, RAM., is gone if not saved. Long term memory is magnetic or optical. The operating system manages the way the computer thinks. In the hard drive information is stored according to a logical system. People use mental models to build computers. Both people and computers are information systems.
Communications systems need to be thought of in the light of people interested in interpersonal communication and between models and people. The active role of an audience is important with accuracy as the goal.
Information scientists study how people and institutions collect, process, store, use and disseminate information.
As technology and automation assume more prominent roles, there is a critical need for strategies to optimize information services for patrons. We must provide appropriate information to clients at the appropriate time in a climate that is both useful and friendly. We are still in a service profession. Machines should not be allowed to take over roles appropriate for librarians or information scientists. The information as well as the way it is provided is important.
Thanks to Dr. Carey for this informative and thought provoking talk and to ASIS for providing the delicious refreshments.
SIS OFFICERS, 1997-1998
| President | Joyce Burkhart | St. Petersburg Junior College, St. Pete Campus (813) 341-4732, (burkhartj@email.spjc.cc.fl.us) |
| Vice President | Trudie Root | Juvenile Welfare Board (813) 547-5671, (hn3750@handsnet.org) |
| Secretary | Debbie Factor | 167 Almedo Way NE, St. Petersburg, Fl 33704 896-7962, (deborah.factor@MCIONE.com) |
| Treasurer | Betsy King | Reflectone, Inc (813) 887-1658 (kingb@cftnet.com). |
| Newsletter Editor | Jackie Jackson | USF St. Petersburg, Poynter Library (813) 553-3581, (jackson@bayflash.stpt.usf.edu) |