Info Index

SUNCOAST INFORMATION SPECIALISTS
INFO NEWSLETTER
VOL. 13 -- NO. 1
JANUARY 1999

EDITOR'S CORNER

Shirl Kennedy, skennedy@reporters.net

Happy New Year! Been ridiculously busy in my new gig with the City of Clearwater. But I'm having a good time. Belated holiday gift for y'all...a few nifty new Web sites to explore.

1. Yahoo! Real Estate -- Home Values (http://realestate.yahoo.com/realestate/homevalues/). Home sales records for AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OR, RI, SC, VA, WA, DC, WI.
   Search by Location: Find all homes that sold on a particular street, or find the sales history of a specific address. Example: "Find all the homes that sold on Maple St.", or "Find the previous sales prices of 1234 Maple St."
   Search by Price Range: Find all homes sold within a certain price range in one city. Example: "Find all homes in Oakland, California sold between $200,00 and $210,000."
2. NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory (http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/). Lots and lots of stuff here for weather weenies. Check The Weather Room for tutorials, fact sheets, etc.
3. Furby Autopsy (http://www.phobe.com/furby/index.html). What it says. Some people have too much time on their hands.
4. Arts and Letters Daily (http://www.cybereditions.com/aldaily/). They glean high quality material from an amazing range of online publications -- covers "philosophy, aesthetics, literature, language, ideas, criticism, culture, history, music, art, trends, breakthroughs, disputes, gossip..."
5. U.S. News Archives on the Web (http://metalab.unc.edu/slanews/internet/archives.html). Maintained by the SLA News Division -- gives date ranges, fees; provides direct links. Belongs on everyone's bookmark list.

Enjoy!

FEBRUARY 1999 MEETING

If you haven't seen the beautiful, new Stetson University College of Law Library yet, the February SIS luncheon meeting will provide you with the opportunity:

Feb. 1, 1999, Monday, 11:30am - 1:30pm
Stetson University College of Law
1401 61st Street South
St. Petersburg, Florida

Directions: Stetson is in southwest St. Pete, between Gulfport & Pasadena. From either I-275 or U.S Hwy 19 take the 22nd Avenue South exit, and go west to 61st Street South.

We will start with lunch and a brief business meeting in the OLD library building. Lunch will cost us each $ 7.00. We will then go into a classroom where Michael Dahn, Librarian and Webmaster, will show us his Stetson website and dispel a few myths on search engines. After his 20 minute presentation, there will be a 30 minute tour of Stetson's NEW library.

RSVP. to Mary Kaye Raddatz, so Madison can plan lunch for us. Call or email Mary Kaye by phone (727-341-3657), fax (727-341-3658) or email (raddatzm@email.spjc.cc.fl.us) by END OF DAY Tuesday, January 26, 1999

MINUTES, SUNCOAST INFORMATION SPECIALISTS, DECEMBER 7, 1998
By Mary Marna Brady, Secretary

St. Petersburg Junior College's new Seminole campus hosted SIS for a multi-faceted day December 7, 1998. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., 36 persons attended an SIS-sponsored workshop led by Richard M. "Rick" Georges, P.A., St. Petersburg.

This was followed at 11:45 by an enjoyable alfresco lunch of sandwiches, fruit, beverages, and dessert served on the covered patio of the Information Commons. Even on the patio, we were aware of the "wired" nature of this campus as we observed the outlets for plugging in laptops at each of the picnic tables.

After the brief business meeting--also held on the patio--we got to see and hear about the exciting concept of a completely electronic library as exemplified in the Information Commons, when Joyce Burkhart, Instructor-in -Charge, showed us her new facility.

WORKSHOP--"Electronic Tools & Technologies for Information Professionals: a Multimedia Show"

Rick Georges, in the forefront of the effective use of technology by the legal professions, practices law and handles litigation as a sole practitioner. Among other activities, he serves as technological trainer/consultant to his fellows, writes the column "The Future Lawyer," serves on the Florida Courts Technology Commission, and conducts legal technology workshops nationwide.

He amazed SIS members with the demonstration of his portable law office consisting of a laptop computer, a miniature video camera (for teleconferences on the internet), a scanner, and an infrared printer (no wire connecting it to the laptop).

While conducting the presentation, Mr. Georges cited several software products for the legal fields. Among these were 2 legal research services: LOIS (Law Office Information Systems) and Versuslaw. He also highlighted the usefulness of Amicus Attorney for case management and PCLAW/PCLAWJR for time and billing. Many sources for legal research are now updated to within 24 hours of currency. We can anticipate this phenomenon having a worldwide scope in the years ahead with the advent of expanded satellite/remote wireless communications spanning the globe.

Our state of Florida is making strides with technology for its legal proceedings. For example, a uniform numbering system for cases will simplify locating information on the internet. The Florida Supreme Court currently has live internet broadcasts of oral arguments available, and the archives of these are accessible on the web also. All of Florida's public records concerning an individual are now located at one site on the internet, as volunteer Joyce Burkhart allowed Mr. Georges to demonstrate using her name.

Mr. Georges' web site (http://www.futurelawyer.com) lists his e-mail address and voice mail for those who have questions. The site also links users to many web locations helpful to anyone interested in legal research.

At the close of the presentation, SIS President Trudie Root gave those attending the workshop certificates citing their attendance and participation.

BUSINESS MEETING

President Trudie Root presided at the meeting attended by about 40 persons.

There was a correction to last meeting's minutes: the February meeting at Stetson University College of Law will definitely be on February 1, 1999.

Vice President Mary Kaye Raddatz and Trudie ask that the survey distributed to SIS members be returned by January 4, 1999, so that it can be used for planning future programs.

Trudie has sent our organization's letter commenting on Dialog's new minimum charges to the Dialog CEO.

We heard from those who were in attendance that SLA's workshop held at Disneyworld in Orlando was quite informative.

Representing the Tampa Bay Area Medical Library Association, Gwen Wolff encouraged attendance at this spring's April 14-15 program by the Florida Health Science Library Association to be held at Safety Harbor. The theme will be "Revitalizing the Value of the Informtion Specialist."

Trudie Root handed out samples of a proposed SIS logo for comments.

At the close of the meeting, on behalf of SIS, Trudie presented to Joyce Burkhart a green plant in celebration of the opening of our host site, the new Information Commons, SPJC, Seminole Campus.

TOUR

Assisted by staff member, Paul Sutton, Joyce Burkhart gave an overview of the Seminole Campus and the Information Commons, where each course has some technical component. Staff serving as technical developers work with instructors to create web-based classes.

Distance learning classes and 27 on-line courses are coordinated here. In addition, the campus handles video teleconferencing with Florida State University and Braille typewriting training for Florida and Georgia.

The web site allows the 700 students of this campus to do on-line research from home, and expected spring enrollment here is 1000. The Commons is open 7 days a week for students and staff to use the 125 computer stations.

One of the campus's cutting-edge showpieces was demonstrated by Paul Sutton as he explained how instructors would use a smart board, which replaces a traditional chalkboard. On this flat screen on the classroom's front wall, the instructor's finger directs the cursor, rather than using a mouse. Students who miss the class have access to the notes via the web site, and this board does not have to be erased to produce a new, clean page for the instructor to continue on with the lecture's highlights/notes.

WORKSHOP REPORTS

The following two meeting reports were contributed by our own Joyce Burkhart, who certainly does "get around."

Like last year, the fall FACRL workshop was held at the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn, an excellent place to stay and to hold a meeting of this size. This year’s topic was The Electronic Library: A Reality Check, dealt with the myth of the Electronic Library.

The first speaker was renowned library/Internet writer Walt Crawford. His thesis was that the electronic library, which he defined as the use of modern information technologies as a replacement for physical libraries, is dead. He believes that we now have complex libraries that combine and integrate various technologies.

What made professionals embrace the concept of the electronic library? Walt had a few ideas:

1. We wanted relief - from the flood of print items!
2. We believed that it would be effectively free - yes, it would cost, we could do so much do more with this technology that cost would be justified. Growth in memory would help, also.
3. Technology is a religion to individuals of our generation. We are part of the cult of the new.
4. We forgot our professional purpose. Libraries are about focus, organization, perception, etc. They are NOT about mere information!
5. We are all looking for magic bullets.

Now, why did this idea die? Well, because:

1. Technology - these new devices were neither as smooth nor as efficient as we expected.
2. Users - We listened to them. We found out that books not only worked for many patrons, but that they worked much better.
3. Real world economics.

What was his answer? He liked the complex library. This is a library that uses the most appropriate technology for the specific user need. For some users books may be better. For some users - micromaterials. And yes, for some users the Internet may be the best.

The newest, and most high-tech tool may not always be the best. Mr. Crawford also stated his belief that the role of librarians in this mixed environment will be that of organizers and mediators. Someone has to organize all this information, as well as facilitate use, training and access.

He also likes collection development and cataloging as future growth roles - in addition to our current traditional roles,. There is a lot on the Web, but someone has to organize it. That is our traditional best function and we should be doing it. Mr. Crawford noted that his upcoming book is about the libraries and people’s sense of place. This concept should continue the theme of this conference quite nicely. The point is that today’s academic library must be prepared to use the best technologies possible.

The speakers that followed were our colleagues who discussed attempts made at their institutions to create just the type of high tech operation that Mr. Crawford analyzed.

• Wendy Helmstetter, Florida Institute of Technology, presented her library’s path to electronics under a new director. They promote electronic research, and Wendy noted that the switch to electronics has engendered a massive leap in requests for instruction.
• Kathleen Hoeth, Florida Gulf Coast University, talked about her new library, designed for electronic operation from its very inception.
• Joyce Burkhart, St. Petersburg Junior College - Seminole, sent an excellent videotape about her new all-electronic library with no books (although they DO have a contract with the nearby Seminole Community Library).
• Kathey Chumley, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, discussed how her institution needs electronics to handle its world-wide distribution/distance learning activities.
• Monica Metz-Wiseman, University of South Florida, talked about how her university created virtual access in order to extend, NOT compete with, what is inside the walls at any decent academic library.

It was a very good conference that addressed one of the more important issues facing our profession. The FACRL should continue to focus on such important topics as this.

Report on Internet Librarian '98, November 1-5, 1998, Monterey, California

In early November I was fortunate enough to attend the second annual Internet Librarian '98 conference, sponsored by Information Today, in Monterey, California. Based on my attendance at this three-day event, the following represents present and future trends regarding the use of the Internet, particularly the World Wide Web, as a source for electronic research.

1. Virtual libraries, virtual librarians and virtual library schools. A project manager from United Technologies told how that company has successfully converted all its branch libraries into "one reference librarian with a powerful computer at each site," with print materials maintained only at the central office. Librarians work actively with staff at the branches, learning the latter's areas of information interest and making sure they are kept up to date with the latest in electronic information, as well as answering requests that staff as generated.
   
   A professor at San Jose State in California described its new online degree program for virtual librarians, of which he said the state of California alone will need 5000 in the next five years. The program is expected to pay for itself by charging double the tuition for the same degree earned in the classroom.
   
   One of the two full-time professionals from the Florida Distance Learning and Referral Center at USF-Tampa spoke at the same workshop with San Jose State, using their Web site for distance learners as a model of a virtual learning center.
   
   
2. Web site creation and maintenance. This is becoming an increasing part of an information professional's job. Several workshops I attended provided tips for their appearance and functionality. Interestingly, while wysiwyg programs like Microsoft's Front Page and Netscape's Composer received good reviews for simple Web page creation, it was agreed that there is still no substitute for HTML.
   
   A new programming language, XML (extensible markup language) was discussed as a potential replacement for HTML, but the feeling was that its success in achieving same could not be predicted.
   
   
3. Metadata - information about information. Probably the most frequently heard word at the conference, with an entire track of workshops on the subject, three examples of the concept at work were
   
1. Alexa Internet Corporation - A company that has created an archive of Web page information, including older versions of pages. It claims its collection is already almost as large as the Library of Congress, and that it visits every site on the Web every twelve days. An ad-based service, it is able to offer both a free and a subscription version.
2. Dublin Core - A project begun in 1995 by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and NSCA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) to organize Web sites by library classification (e.g.,LC, Dewey and National Library of Medicine) and to create what library catalogers refer to as a MARC record for each site, just as one exists for each item in a library collection.
3. Northern Light - A search engine that actually creates subject headings for each site it locates, and arranges them into virtual folders for future retrieval.
   
   
4. Anything Web-based. The Internet is becoming the transmitter of all kinds of data. Some of the last bastions of print delivery are turning to the Web to deliver their products. Examples include Dow Jones, which is moving rapidly toward a Web-only format of its many products and Gale Research, which recently put its extensive collection of literary criticism resources on the Web. While there are still substantial costs involved for these services, the availability of them has increased dramatically from the not so long ago days when they were kept inside library walls.
   
   With the increase of e-commerce (i.e., businesses operating on the Internet), distance education, and the increasing use of the Web for the distribution of government documents (ex. Starr Report), there is every reason to believe the Internet will become an increasingly familiar part of daily life.
   
   
5. Interesting Web stats, facts and quotes:
   
1. The Web doubles in size every eight months.
2. The average number of links per page is 15.
3. Some search engines now accept money from Web site owners to skew the arrangements of hits in their favor.
4. The search engine HotBot now re-sorts its hits to include a category for the 10 sites most frequently visited for the subject searched.
5. The search engine AltaVista has added a new capability for refining searches.
6. "The Internet provides the final empowerment of the individual." (Charles Schwab)
7. "Having a Web site is like owning a home - it requires constant maintenance."
8. "You should spend some time every day on your Web site."
9. When teaching the use of search engines or databases, teach common principles, techniques and features, not individual engines or databases. Instruct users on how to be alert for changes and
10. innovations, use the help screens of a particular product, and generally become self-sufficient.
    
    
6. New buzzwords:
   
1. Metadata - Information about information (see 3 above).
2. XML - Extensible markup language (see 2 above).
3. Portals - Term that describes sites like Yahoo, Altavista, Excite, etc., that combine search engines with channels (directories of selected sites by subject), and other features like news, email, customized pages, etc.
4. Knowledge managers - New job title (suggested several times) for the profession previously known as librarian, information specialist or information professional. The aim is to make the job more relevant to the electronic method of delivering information.
   

However, on November 26, a strip appeared in the cartoon Dilbert that featured Dogbert the job counselor giving the following advice to a zombie-like employee: "We’ll need to disguise the fact that you’re a moron. The best way is to become an expert in something called ‘knowledge management.’" Perhaps the use of this term should be further investigated before the profession embraces it.

SIS OFFICERS, 1998-1999

Suncoast Information Specialists
c/o Tampa Bay Library Consortium
1202 Tech Boulevard, Suite 202
Tampa, FL 33619
Phone: (813) 622-8252
Email: sis@snoopy.tblc.lib.fl.us
URL: http://snoopy.tblc.lib.fl.us/sis/
Listserv: SIS-L@snoopy.tblc.lib.fl.us