The Scoop

This year’s Special Libraries Association conference was in Denver, and I was lucky enough to be asked to help present, along with Jeremy Milarsky, a day-long session for the News Division on June 3rd. The basic focus was on developing a “tech toolbox” for news researchers - expanding their skills further into the technology realm. You can see two of my presentations(zipped ppt slides) and a quick handout on sites for learning about technology in general and some of the specific tools that Jeremy and I use.

I’ve written before about the crucial role that news librarians can play in the life of the newsroom, but it takes people willing to embrace the shift in attitude and habits that these new roles demand. We’ve got a core group of folks who want to learn - the folks who paid $300 for the session, some of it out of their own pockets, were eager to dive in. The next day we heard from news librarians who have completely turned their jobs upside down (not always voluntarily), but I’m not sure that it didn’t just frighten some of the attendees.

At the News Division’s business meeting it was great to hear Jim Hunter, the outgoing division chair, say that the division’s website was a key element in serving our members and attracting more. Hopefully there will be more news on that front soon.