by Marie Kaddell, DC/SLA President

Ah, Spring! Everything looks bright and fresh at this time of year. It’s a time for new beginnings, new perspectives, and new opportunities. 

No matter how tough the winter, spring puts everything in perspective. 

BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

Winter does end.  Ending are okay. They can get us to beginnings.  Beginnings are exciting and sometimes they are a bit scary. They can bring us to new opportunities. They can also bring us to new challenges. And of course, beginnings are a sort of change. Any new grad can tell you the bittersweet feeling of stepping away from the academic life to move forward to new goals and careers. It’s wonderful, it’s exhilarating, and sometimes, it’s a little daunting.

There should always be a little bit of a new start in our life and there should always be a graduation in the works – whether it’s learning how to tweet or getting a degree.  As information professionals, we have an innate desire to continue to grow. Be true to that desire. Don’t let the winter coat and boots and sudden snowstorms of life keep you from finding ways to do that. It’s imperative to your professional success. Spring is a good reminder that we can push through the challenges in our professional and personal lives to shed those coats and boots and enjoy a little spring sunshine.

In May and June, SLA and DC SLA are providing many opportunities for professional growth and expanding your network. Take advantage of them! Coming up:

Legislative History Research 101 – Brown Bag Lunch In Person Sponsored by LexisNexis – May 7, 2013  and Legislative History Research 101 – Virtual Viewing Sponsored by LexisNexis – May 7, 2013

Public Speaking Demystified…Tools, Tips and Tricks for Special Librarians – May 29, 2013

And of course, the SLA Annual Conference – June 9, 2013.

CHANGE

One major lesson spring provides us is about change because spring is all about glorious in-your-face change—change that we embrace gleefully, fully. Aha! Change doesn’t have to freak us out. Looked at from the vantage point of a beautiful spring day, change looks pretty good, totally manageable, just what we needed. Let’s keep that in mind from a personal and professional perspective. Look around you. Find the change. Give it a little hug. It may turn out to be your best friend.

RENEWAL

Spring refreshes our minds and spirits and prompts us to look at the same old things with new eyes; to see things in a new light. When you walk out your door on a beautiful spring morning, don’t the things you see every day:  the grass, the trees, the streets you walk down, all feel a little different?  They’re the same grass, trees, and streets though. Spring infuses everything with a fresh feel. We need to pay attention to what a fresh perspective can do for us as professionals, as individuals. Where can that take us? To opportunities. To discoveries. To insights. To our goals.

So, spring is a time of awakening to our opportunities or renewing our attention to them. What are your opportunities? What have you been waiting on doing? What fresh steps – big or small – can you take to drive your professional and personal development? Are there obstacles to overcome? Can you look at those obstacles with fresh eyes? Don’t forget about the value of your colleagues’ perspectives – take advantage of your DC SLA network.

SPRING CLEANING

And don’t forget to do a little spring cleaning in your life to make room for some of those opportunities. I highly recommend DC SLA member and author, Bruce Rosenstein’s article:  Creating Your Total Life List for 2013 to get your started on that. 

by Tracy Z. Maleeff, SLA OCAC member & Legal Division Past Chair

As a member of SLA’s Online Content Advisory Council, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you more about our #SLAtalk initiative. By using Twitter as our forum, the council crafts questions to spark online conversations among members about topics relevant to our profession. Originally called #SLAchat, the revamped #SLAtalk series debuted in March of this year.

Four questions are chosen that will elicit answers in the most productive way considering the limitations Twitter has for 140 character answers. We spend 15 minutes on each question to fill up an entire hour. Moving the conversation along this way helps to keep the participants on point as well as giving equal time to each question. The entire interaction is archived and available for review at your leisure. But, it’s most fun to participate live! In order to best serve the SLA membership, two sessions are held on the same day in order to accommodate many different time zones.

The first #SLAtalk session in March dealt with job hunting and career growth. The summary of which can be found here. That conversation contains many great tips and useful feedback. The second #SLAtalk session was entitled, “What Would You Tell Your Past MLIS-Student Self?” and received an amazing level of participation. The archives, found here, are a tremendous resource for future and current library school students. Another valuable use of this session’s archives is peer guidance for someone contemplating continuing his or her post-MLIS education.

The next #SLAtalk will be on Tuesday, May 14th. Session 1 will begin at 1:30 pm EDT and the second session will begin at 11:00 pm EDT for you night owls. The topic will be about collaboration. “#SLAtalk: Collaboration – Better…Stronger…Faster. Working in groups can be fun and productive or the bane of your existence. Learn how information professionals accomplish tasks through collaboration, either within or outside their work place.” If you haven’t yet participated in an #SLAtalk session and would like some tips and pointers, refer to the OCAC guide, “How to #SLAtalk.”

Not only are these sessions informative, it’s also a fun way to interact with fellow SLA members from near and far. Get your typing fingers ready and join us on May 14^th!

Public Speaking…few embrace it, many fear it, and no one escapes it.  Regardless of your station on the public speaking spectrum, from rock-star speaker and master of toasts, to hiding under your desk to avoid even the chance of uttering words in public, everyone can improve their public speaking skills.  Perhaps you are comfortable with speaking in public, but just need some tips to jazz up your presentations.  Maybe the frog in your throat or butterflies in your stomach are preventing you from speaking your mind.

Find your voice…at our presentation skills workshop.  Join us for an engaging, fun-filled presentation by two local speakers who are mastering the art of public speaking. Ron Barrett, Vice President of Nonprofit Services National Corporate Research, Ltd. and Lewis Flax, Owner of Flax Associates will be presenting.

You will learn about:

• Tools to improve public presentations
• Tips to minimize and overcome fear
• Tricks to make your presentations more memorable

When: Wednesday, May 29, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Location: LexisNexis 1150 18th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20036

Closest Metro Station:  Farragut West (Blue, Orange Lines) /Farragut North (Red line)

Price:  Members: $15

Non-members: $20

Students/Retired/Members in Transition: $10

Questions contact: Chris Vestal at vicepresident@dc.sla.org

TO REGISTER AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKERS, PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK: http://dc.sla.org/events/?ee=235

The Military Libraries Group of DC/SLA invites you to an Evening Reception and Tour of Grant Hall on the grounds of Ft Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC. Begin the evening with a Wine Reception, Ft McNair Officers’ Club (4th & P Sts) followed by Tours of Grant Hall, Ft McNair.

The newly renovated building, formerly known as “Building 20,” was originally part of Washington Arsenal and the Federal Penitentiary during the Civil War. The third floor of Grant Hall was the site of the Lincoln Conspirators Trial in a specially prepared Courtroom. A tour of the Grant Hall Courtroom is a unique opportunity to learn about the sad aftermath of the Lincoln Assassination, as much of the country mourned the fallen President and struggled to regain its “Nationhood.”

This tour is a very special opportunity as this building is not generally open to the public. Docents from Special Collections of the National Defense University (NDU) Library will conduct the tours. Visitors will need to walk up two flights of stairs to the renovated Grant Hall Courtroom. No special accommodations are possible in this historic building.

A maximum of 40 members and guests can be accommodated on the special tour.  We will maintain a Waiting List. More details below:

WHEN:  Thursday, May 9, 2013, 5:30-8:30 p.m.  R.S.V.P. by May 7th.  Walking Tours depart O’Club at 6:15 and 7 p.m.

WHERE:  Ft Lesley J. McNair, located in Southwest Washington DC, between the Anacostia River and the Washington Channel not far from Arena Stage, and Waterside Mall (under reconstruction). METRO: Waterfront – Green Line, Three/four block walk to the Main Gate or auto access gate.

Free Parking is available in the Officers’ Club Lot.  Picture ID required for entrance to Ft McNair.

HOW:     Register for this tour NOW!  Cost:   DC/SLA Members/DCLA/LLSDC – $20, Guests – $25,
Students/Retirees/Job Seekers – $10

For more information:   Contact Sharon Lenius leniussa@gmail.com

What’s Big Data and what does that mean for you? What’s the difference between it and Open Data? What are the challenges and impact of both? Our panel for this lunchtime webinar will answer these questions.

Panel:

• Tracey Boylston, Solutions Architect LexisNexis, will speak about trends and issues with Big Data
• Tariq Khokhar, Open Data Evangelist World Bank, will talk about Open Dataand it’s challenges and impact

Twitter: #sladc

This registration is for the Brown Bag Lunch in person viewing hosted at LexisNexis’s DC Office. Seating for the in person viewing is limited, attendees are encouraged to register early. CLICK HERE to register. 

You can also register to attend via webinar HERE. 

When: Tuesday, April 23, 12:00 pm-1:30 pm est

Location: LexisNexis 1150 18th Street NW, Washington DC 20036 – This will be held in the second floor conference room in the LexisNexis building

Closest Metro Station:  Farragut West (Blue, Orange Lines) /Farragut North (Red line)

Price:  General Admission: $5

Questions contact: Chris Vestal at vicepresident@dc.sla.org