Inside ASIS&T

Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, Dec 2004/Jan 2005

Donald O. Case holds the Ph.D. in communication research from Stanford University. He is a professor in the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information Studies. Prior to his position in Kentucky, he was a faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles. case teaches courses in research methodology and the social effects of technologies, and he conducts research on social informatics and information-seeking. case has been a member of the JASIST Editorial Board for more than a decade. His book, Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information seeking, Needs, and Behavior, received the ASIS&T Best Information Science Book Award in 2002.

News About ASIS&T Chapters

The Central Ohio ASIS&T (COASIST) Chapter opened its fall season in October with a panel discussion on current services and future endeavors for ESOL populations. Kristin Shelley, manager of the Hilltop Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, chaired the panel, which included Lara Callahan, literacy liaison, Beth Riemenschneider, reference coordinator, and Lynne Fogel, foreign language materials selector. Topics included the needs of foreign customers and students, their impact on operations, improving collections and services for these populations, and more.

Then in November, CO-ASIST scheduled a tour of the Mount Carmel West Hospital Center for Learning & Education Library. Fern Cheek, Mount Carmel health systems librarian, led the tour and discussed how the center helps support the state-of-the-art medical facility.

The Northern Ohio Chapter of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (NORASIST) held its 2004 Annual Meeting in late September. Greg Weller, Web applications manager at Cuyahoga County Public Library, was the featured speaker. He discussed browser innovations and new web technologies.

Then in November, NORASIST and the Cleveland and the Kent State University Student Chapters of the Special Libraries Association, held their annual student/practitioner get-together. Jerry P. Miller, director of the Competitive Intelligence Center at Simmons College in Boston, discussed the field of competitive intelligence and how it fits into the library and information field of practice.

The New England ASIS&T (NEASIS&T) Chapter and the Simmons Student Chapter collaborated on a web-accessible Visitors Guide to Providence for people attending the 2004 ASIS&T Annual Meeting in the Rhode Island city. The chapters gave special recognition to Caryn Anderson, chair of the Simmons Student Chapter, and Adrienne Boudreau, Simmons at Mt. Holyoke coordinator, for their work on the guide.

The Metropolitan New York Chapter of ASIS&T, in collaboration with the Queens College Chapter of the American Library Association and the Lloyd George Sealy Library, held a forum on The Future of Library Information Science Education in November. Michael Gorman, president-elect of the American Library Association, gave an introductory talk, which was followed by comments and responses by three panels: one of library school deans and directors; another of employers; and a third of LIS students. Among the ASIS&T members on the panels were Nick Belkin, Rutgers, and Michael Koenig, Long Island University.