Executive Connections

Pardon the Interruption.

Guest Post by Cindy Romaine, 2010 SLA President-elect 

Can you relate to this? The Internet, with all its interconnectivity, instant gratification, and obscure but fascinating information at your fingertips, is actually doing us a huge disservice. As we tap into all the hyperlinks in that great new Wired article we are reading [Oops! Just a sec, I just got an e-mail that I need to reply to] we are losing our ability to concentrate. [Be right back, I have an incoming text message.] 

Nicolas Carr’s new book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains [Hey, look! I got a Facebook update] talks about this trend. Carr’s premise is that the way we ingest information over the Internet is fundamentally different than other methods. With all the links and ads demanding our attention, our thinking isn’t getting deeper, it’s getting shallower. In his NPR interview, Carr states that deep, critical thinking – the kind we get from books – is important. 

Carr is onto something here. [I think I’ll tweet that.] As it turns out—lucky us—Nicolas Carr will be speaking on just this topic at the closing session of the SLA Conference in New Orleans. The conference opens on Sunday 13 June and runs through Wednesday 16 June, Carr will also do a book signing following his keynote during the closing reception. Tweet me and we can hook up!

23 Ways to Becoming a Technodog

If you have not checked out the new SLA Innovation Laboratory or enrolled in 23 Things yet, I strongly urge you to do so. The Innovation Lab is a place you can experiment with or try out some of the latest technologies of Web 2.0, and 23 Things is a week-by-week learning program designed to get you up and running on these valuable tools as quickly as possible.

If you have ever wanted to learn more about wikis, blogs, podcasts or RSS feeds, the SLA Innovation Lab is the place to go. And, if you register for 23 Things, which runs through 15 September, 2008, you will be eligible for a prize drawing and certificate. Please click here to register.  It is a great way to become more technologically savvy, increase your value as an information professonal and, even, have a little fun.

I am interested in your thoughts, views or opinions on this post.  Please respond below or send me an email at Janice@sla.org.

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are

I recently read an interesting blog post I want to pass along to you. It was written by Mark Hall, editor-at-large and columnist for Computerworld, about the results of a recent survey by the Association for Information and Image Management on the subject of "findability."

According to Hall, the survey looks at the findability of information behind an organization's firewall and the results are quite revealing. For example, Hall says AIIM learned that "...most good-size companies use around four separate search engines to locate enterprise content, a few as many as ten." And he says they found that even though about half of the 500 business users surveyed in May said they believe search has become easier to work with, nearly the same number said they think it is still too difficult and time-consuming to use.

I encourage you to read this post and review the full survey when it is released officially some time this month. And definitely take a look at the question Hall poses at the end of his post. You may recognize whom he could have in mind and may even want to reply.

As always, I would like to hear your thoughts, views and opinions on this post.  Please reply below or send me an email at janice@sla.org.

What's Up at SLA?

I want to make sure you are aware of an excellent article that appeared in the Washington Times

on Monday about the recent 2008 SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO. The story focuses primarily on the increasingly tech-based capabilities librarians and information professionals must have. I encourage you to take a look at this terrific article.

Also, my remarks from the 2008 Membership Meeting during the conference in Seattle are now posted on the Web site. Here you will find an update on many of the activities SLA has undertaken this year and the overall "state of the association." If you were unable to attend the conference or had to leave before the Membership Meeting, I hope you will find the speech informative and helpful.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts, ideas and opinions about this blog entry. Please include your comments below or send me an email at Janice@sla.org.

Dr. Vint Cerf: Living Legend

If you are coming to the 2008 SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in Seattle next month, you are probably as excited as I am that our opening keynote speaker will be Dr. Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet Evangelist at Google. Dr. Cerf, who will be interviewed by veteran television journalist, Charlie Rose, has rightly been called the "Father of the Internet" and has been honored in just about every way imaginable for his ground-breaking work. If you have not made plans to attend this year's conference, it's not too late to register. http:/www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2008/registration/index.cfm

I recently came across an absolutely delightful interterview with Dr. Cerf online in Esquire. www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/vint-cerf-0508 It is a brief article, but I think it shows what a treat is in store for us in Seattle.

I hope to see all of you there.

Let me know if you like the interview. I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on it. Please add a post below.