News Division Program for the
Special Libraries Association Annual Conference 2003

June 7 - 14, 2003 in New York City, New York

More information about the conference, including information about hotels and online registration, is available on the Special Libraries Association Web site
NY 2003: Putting Knowledge to Work.

The News Division Suite was in the Hilton New York in the Empire Suite, rooms 4417-4419. The exhibit hall was also in the Hilton.

Liz Donovan of The Miami Herald created a Weblog for the conference. Several people blogged about the conference.

This schedule is based on information about the conference distributed over Newslib by Linda Henderson, News Division chair-elect and conference planning Czarina, and other conference program planners or to the News Division Web team directly. If you have questions about the SLA News Division programs, please contact Linda Henderson. Her e-mail address is lhenders@projo.com.

Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

Blogs, Mags, etc. How to keep up to date on the 'Net was Webcast. Listen to the archived audio file.
General New York Information
Getting Around New York
What to Wear
What to Attend

Saturday, June 7

3:30 - 7:00

Tour of Newsday.
Location: To be announced

A bus trip out to Melville, Long Island to visit with Chris Hardesty and his crew at Newsday. Sponsored by Newsday. Ticketed $10. Open to News Division members only.

Host: Christopher Hardesty, Library Director, Newsday

6:00PM - 12:00AM

Welcome to New York reception in the News Division Suite at the Hilton New York.

Sponsored by Olive Software and iBill

Sunday, June 8

8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

CE Course - Archiving Web Content
Location: Sheraton, Royal Ballroom B
What is the Future?

Is anyone capturing the content that appears on your news organization's web site? If you are interested in taking a leadership role in this arena this course is for you. Come learn about the trends in this area, learn about the daily challenges of an online editor, discuss potential standards for archiving this content and how to work more effectively with IT. Ticketed $199 member/$249 non-member.

Moderator: Gary Jesse
Speakers:
Janine Yagielski,
CNN.com
Mark Stencel , Vice President of Global Strategy and Partnerships , Washington Post
Olivia Kobelt, Christian Science Monitor
Barry Abisch, AME Online, The Journal News

PowerPoint and HTML versions and a brief summary of this continuing education course are available.

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

CE Course - Tracking Down Public Records
Location: Sheraton, Versailles Terrace
Where have they gone? How can you find them

Need help tracking down public records? Access to public records has changed with the passage of legislation like the GLB Act and the events of September 11. Course will examine current laws, review trends related to public records access and provide tips and tricks for tracking down those hard to find public records. Attendees will walk away with both a deeper understanding of the public records climate and the tools necessary to become an expert in the newsroom. Ticketed $199 member/$249 non-member.

Moderator: John Martin, News Researcher, St. Petersburg Times
Speakers:
Barbara C. Fought, Associate Professor, Newhouse School, Syracuse University
Rebecca Daugherty , Freedom of Information Service Center Director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Linda Gray, Founder and Owner, Carolina Information, Inc
Bob Port, Investigative Reporter, The New York Daily News

Barbara Fought's presentation about finding public records and public records law is available.
Bob Port's slides discussing ways he uses public records as a reporter are also available.
Rebecca Daugherty did not have a prepared presentation or handouts.
Linda Gray's presentation has not been received yet.
A summary of this program is available in the Summer 2003 issue of News Library News.

6:00PM - 12:00AM

Newcomers reception in the News Division Suite:
Come and meet our newest members and other first-timers.

Sponsored by LexisNexis

Monday, June 9

7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Internet update.
Location: Marriott, Olmstead & Gramercy
Newsrooms and The Internet: What's a Librarian to do?

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful that a locomotive that jumped its track at deadline. Able to leap tall buildings of bound volumes in a single search. It's a blessing. It's a curse. It's our definitive challenge: Internet use in our newsrooms. Let's talk!

Moderator: Mona Hatfield, Library Director, Contra Costa Newspapers
Speakers:
Liz Donovan, Miami Herald
Charlie Campo, Bangor Daily News

Read a summary of this session.
Liz Donovan's presentation is available online at: http://edonovan.home.infionline.net/BLOGGING.HTM.
Charlie's presentation is in HTML at: http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/conferences/sla2003/programs/campo.htm.

11:30 - 1:00

Archiving update.
Location: Marriott, Cantor/Jolsen
What's new in archiving technology?

Find out what's new in text and photo archiving technology. We'll also look at what's on the horizon and get a sneak peak at of Time Inc.'s "Master Archive" plan.

Moderator: Justin Scroggs, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Speakers:
Ann Considine, Assistant Director, E-Content Management, Time, Inc. Peter Johnson, Los Angeles Times
Chuck Palsho, President, NewsBank Media Services

Peter Johnson's presentation is available.
Chuck Palsho's presentation is also available.

Sponsored by MerlinOne

1:30 - 3:00

Vendor roundtable.
DNWS (That's SLA-speak for the News Division) Vendor roundtable
Location: Marriott, Duffy/Columbia
Come and discuss content quality issues with the vendors

Representatives from Dialog, LexisNexis, Proquest and Factiva discuss quality issues. Includes box lunch, sponsored by the vendor participants. Ticketed $20.

Moderators: Peter Johnson, Los Angeles Times

A summary of this program is available in the Summer 2003 issue of News Library News.

3:30 - 5:00

News Division business meeting.
News Division Business Meeting
Location: Marriott, Duffy/Columbia

Annual business meeting of the News Division. Come and see what makes the division tick.

Moderators: Michael Jesse, Chair, News Division
Minutes from the Annual Business Meeting are available in the Summer 2003 issue of News Library News.

6:00 - 10:30

Awards reception and banquet.
News Division Awards Reception and Banquet
Cruise on the Hudson
Location: Meet at Pier 81, West 41st Street & The Hudson River
Barbara Semonche has put together a lovely Web site with photos of the banquet and the speeches given during the banquet.

Join us as we honor our award winners and enjoy a scenic cruise on the river on World Yacht Cruise's beautiful ship, the Inamorata. Cocktails at 6 followed by dinner on our own cruise ship. Please arrive at the Pier by 6 p.m. sharp to avoid being left behind. The boat leaves at 6:30 pm. (The 7 pm time in the preconference program is incorrect.) We should return by 10:30 p.m. World Yacht, Pier 81, West 41st Street & The Hudson River, (212) 630-8158. Ticketed $95.

This reception and dinner cruise was a 4-hour voyage to enchantment with unforgettable views of Manhattan's skyline. The reception, graciously sponsored by ProQuest, will be on board, followed by an elegant dinner.

This year's awards honorees include:

Kwapil Memorial Award - John Jansson, The Chicago Tribune
Henebry Roll of Honor Award: Judy Canter, The San Francisco Chronicle and Ginny Everett, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vormelker-Thomas Student Award: Jennifer Klimas, University of Maryland, College of Information Studies
1ST Annual Hayden Fellowship Award - Announced that evening - went to Carol Taylor at the Daily Camera

Getting to Pier 81: The Pier is about a 20-minute walk from the hotels or easily accessible by taxi. Barbara Oliver of the St. Petersburg (FL) Times reports, "The closest subway stop (42nd St & 8th Ave.) will take you within 4-5 long blocks from the pier."

Awards Chair: Jody Habayeb, Tampa Tribune

Sponsored by Proquest, Inc.

Tuesday, June 10

11:30 a.m. - 1:00

Change is critical.
Location: Sheraton, Royal Ballroom B
Change: a vital issue for libraries and the news

This session examines change as a driving force within the library community, taking a look at new people entering the profession as well as those who will be leaving the profession in the near future. We'll also examine the challenges and rewards of change within news environments, discuss ways of coping and ways to initiate change in the workplace.

Moderator: Debra Bade, Chicago Tribune
Speaker: Roger Strauss, Outsell, Inc.
Geoff LoCicero, IFRANewsplex at the University of South Carolina
Roberta Piccoli, consultant

A summary of this session is available.
Geoff LoCicero's presentation is available.

1:30 - 3:00

Public records from commercial sources.
Location: Sheraton, Versailles Terrace
What's available at what cost?

The panel tries to get a handle on what is available at what cost. They will give a thorough overview and examine the issues.

Moderator: Sammy Alzofon, Palm Beach Post
Speaker(s):
Sandy Levy, Baltimore Sun
Liz Donovan, Miami Herald

Sammy Alzofon brought a handout prepared by Michelle Quigley for The Palm Beach Post's Editorial Library: How and Where to Find Court Information in Word and in HTML. Sammy's presentation notes are also available in Word and HTML.
Sandy Levy brought two handouts: Commercial Public Records and a Sample Maryland Criminal Court Record shown on Balitmore Sun Corporate Intranet, both in .pdf.
Liz Donovan's presentation is in HTML at: http://edonovan.home.infionline.net/publicrecords.htm and in Word.
A summary of this program is available in the Summer 2003 issue of News Library News.

3:30 - 5:00

Training the trainers.
Location: Sheraton, Versailles Terrace
How to develop a training program

Training is an increasingly important part of our jobs. We focus on training goals, developing an action plan and the mechanics of good training. An informal discussion session will follow.

Moderator: Leigh Poitinger, Library Director, San Jose Mercury News
Speakers:
Debbie Wolfe, St. Petersburg Times
Julia Franco, Los Angeles Times

Debbie Wolfe's slides and presentation notes (in Word) are available.
Julia Franco's handouts are in Word: "How to Make Handouts" and "Internet Tools for Research". Her presentation is also available.

6:00 - when bidding closes

News Division Auction Raid the supply closet, pester your Pulitzer cartoonist, and dig up what you can to donate to the auction. Or just show up to bid on the items brought by your colleagues. Items in the past have included framed photographs, totebags, umbrellas, mugs, and clothing. The money raised goes to support News Division activities, and anything you can bring or send is appreciated. Items left after bidding closes often go on sale on Wednesday night.

Sponsored by ProQuest, Inc.

Wednesday, June 11

12:00 - 1:30

International news research.
Location: Marriott, O'Neill
Tips on resource sharing across the globe

Our colleagues from Europe and Latin America share experiences and tips on resource sharing across the globe.

Moderator: Will Roestenburg
Speakers: Laura Soto-Bara , Syracuse Post-Standard
Daan Boom, KPMG

Wil Roestenburg's presentation is available, as are a shortened version of Laura Soto-Bara's presentation, and Daan Boom's slides.

Sponsored by Dialog

2:00 - 3:30

Repurposing our archival assets.
Location: Marriott, O'Neill
Revenue streams for news libraries

New technologies pose wonderful opportunities for newspapers to take their most valuable asset - content - and turn it into added revenue streams.

Moderator: Leigh Montgomery, Christian Science Monitor
Speakers:
Claire Wollen, Torstar Syndication Services
Sharon Clairmont, Orange County Register
Ginny Everett, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A summary of this panel is available.

4:00 - 5:30

Blogs, Mags, etc. How to keep up to date on the 'Net

Our 'Net gurus Gary Price and Marydee Ojala talked about keeping current on the Web and new and interesting resources. Moderator: Linda Henderson, Providence Journal

Speakers:
Gary Price, Library Consultant
Marydee Ojala, Editor, Online Magazine

Listen to the archived Webcast of this session. (Caution: This file is 97.7 M and will take a while to download.)

As you listen to the archived presentation, you can follow along with the list of linksGary posted at: http://www.freepint.com/gary/slanews03.htm.
Marydee provided us with her presentation slides.

Click here for a summary of this session.

6:00PM - 12:00AM

Reception and Bargain Bazaar in the News Division Suite. Pick up those items that didn't sell last night and say goodbye to friends as we wind down conference.

Sponsored by InfoUSA

Thursday, June 12

9:00 - 11:30

Tour of the ABC News Research and News Desk
Location: ABC

By invitation to News Division Members only. This tour is full.

Moderator: Candace Stuart, ABC News

A synopsis of the tour is available.

1:00 - 3:30

Tour of the New York Times with a stop in the news library
Location: New York Times

By invitation to News Division Members only. This tour is full.

Moderator: Linda Amster, New York Times

All locations are subject to change. Please check the conference program distributed at the conference for actual locations.

If you have questions about the SLA News Division programs available during the SLA Annual Conference, please contact Linda Henderson, chair-elect of the News Division. She is in charge of conference programming this year. Her e-mail address is lhenders@projo.com.

General New York Information

Our colleagues in the New York Chapter have a list of links to New York City resources, like restaurants, transportation, and entertainment, on their chapter Web site. The direct link without their frames is: http://www.sla.org/chapter/cny/sla2003/nyc_links.htm.

There's also a conference discussion list for those with more specific questions or who aren't satisfied with the links listed on the above Web site. It's possible to read the discussion without being subscribed to the list through its archives.

Getting Around New York City

Kerry Prendergast of NBC's Information Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, posted these transportation tips on Newslib on April 9: "There are 3 major airports that service New York City. Getting in to midtown Manhattan from any of them can be expensive by taxi. All 3 airports have shuttle services available that are considerably cheaper. From JFK or LaGuardia there are several services that will take you to midtown. One of them is the Carey bus service. There's also the Blue Vans. I think they're called Super Shuttles. These will take you to a specific location in town rather than a general drop off point like the Carey bus. Newark airport also has shuttle and bus services into Manhattan.

The cheapest way from LaGuardia is the M60 bus which will cost $2.00 (transit fares are going up) to Manhattan (exact fare is required). It makes a lot of stops on the way in but is a pretty easy ride. It will take you over the Triborough Bridge (east side), across 125th street, then south to 106th street (west side). You can get off at any of the avenues and take another bus (or subway) south or north to your destination. If you don't have a Metrocard, ask for a transfer when you get on the bus. The transfer is valid on any bus in Manhattan but not the subway.

Here's a pdf file with the M60 schedule and route: http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/bus/schedule/manh/m060cur.pdf.

Once you're in Manhattan, walking is the best way to get around unless you're going way downtown or uptown. Then the subway is the quickest way. You can buy one day Metrocards which will allow you unlimited rides on buses and subways. A pretty good bargain if you're moving around a lot."

According to Amy Ryan of OCLC PAIS in a posting to Newslib on Wednesday, April 9, "The airport shuttle services are pretty reliable, especially from Newark Airport. Much cheaper than a taxi, and have an advantage over public transportation in that they have room for your luggage. For schedules/fares, see:

Sometimes SLA will get deals with certain transporation companies. Information about that is usually available on the SLA Web site: NY 2003: Putting Knowledge to Work.

What to Wear

Some good advice for almost any SLA conference is to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring leg and/or foot lotion for sore muscles. It's also a good idea to bring a sweater or jacket for cold lecture halls. How people dress varies. Business casual is the median. Some people choose to wear formal business attire; and, there are always people in shorts and jeans, too. People usually dress up for some of the fancier activities, like the Opening Gala and the News Division Awards Banquet. Some events state the dress code.

What to Attend

Go to anything that interests you. The majority of the sessions are open to anyone, regardless of the division, caucus, or chapter affiliation. If an event is only for people from a certain division, caucus, or chapter, it will almost always say so.

Walk through the exhibit hall at least once. These vendors help defray the cost of our conferences, so visiting their booths lets them know that their presence is valuable to us. The vendors often have free goodies, like pens, highlighters, and sticko-notes, that are good to grab. Some libraries get their year's supply of pens in the exhibit hall. Some people recommend bringing an extra shipping box to send stuff back to the office or home after the conference because it's easy to get overloaded with free stuff and conference handouts.


Conferences
SLA News Division Home

Last Updated: 12/09/03
Jessica Baumgart
newsdivisionweb@yahoo.com