Embedded librarianship is a hot topic (there were two sessions about it at the SLA conference last week). APLIC members got an early look at what Claire is doing at the Hopkins Population Center during the 2005 APLIC conference.

Tsui, a professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, began her talk by saying that APLIC president Claire Twose has been “invaluable” to her research.

Tsui continued talking about research infrastructure, saying it is not often you get money to develop research capacity for the long term – but she got just that from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Tsui is director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, which works with African universities to develop research and training programs.

The institute focuses on multi-country, large-scale research projects and working with universities on curricula to train the next generation. They also helps partners organize their own conferences. Tsui said that in order to keep training programs alive, they have to focus on building research capacity.

Tsui described a typical faculty visit to Johns Hopkins. Visiting faculty audit courses, take training on electronic databases, work on a systematic literature review or data analysis exercise, and give a seminar presentation. Tsui noted that these faculty do not have access to the same level of resources in their home universities – for example, the bibliographic databases and journal subscriptions that Hopkins pays millions of dollars for, reliable internet and electricity, and training in statistical software. “If they had the kind of access that we have here, the speed of  change would be that much faster,” Tsui said.

Tsui went into detail about a research project in Africa, delivering home based family planning counseling and HIV voluntary counseling and testing to couples in rural Malawi. The project faced a number of hurdles, including a year-long wait for IRB approval (due to fears of domestic violence following testing and counseling – but no incidences were reported), the need for confidential referrals, polygamous households (excluded from the study), and community misconceptions.

So far, the project has resulted in a manuscript under review and a submitted NIH proposal, in collaboration with the University of Malawi.

Social Science Division Business Meeting Breakfast (Monday, 8-9:30 a.m.)

This Monday morning breakfast is a good way to meet new colleagues and find out about programs at the conference. If you’re not a member of the Social Science Division, this is also a good way to find out about it. It’s a ticketed event (#425) but $10 for a full breakfast is a conference bargain! You can purchase a ticket at registration on-site.

Thomson Reuters EndNote Bibliographic Update (Monday, 1:30-2:30 p.m., INFO EXPO Hall A, Booth 154)

Yes, it’s a vendor session – but probably useful for those of us who use or provide support for EndNote.

Open Source Technology for Libraries (Monday, 2-3:30 p.m., Conv. Ctr. Room 232)

Nicole Engard is an expert on open source for libraries, having given numerous talks and edited Library Mashups.

Brand You and Web 2.0 (Monday, 2-3:30 p.m., Conv. Ctr. La Louisiane Ballroom)

Mary Ellen Bates is always in high demand at SLA. In this session, she’ll talk about how to use the social web to build your network and share expertise while maintaining a professional image.

International Reception (Monday, 6-7:30 p.m., Meet at the Convention Center, Outside of Lobby B at 5:45 p.m.)

The International Reception is always a don’t-miss SLA event for me, and this year in New Orleans should be no exception. Follow the band from the Convention Center to Generations Hall, a block away.

Social Science, Museum, Arts and Humanities, Education and Academic Divisions Poster Session and Open House (Monday, 7-9 p.m., Historic New Orleans Collections, 533 Royal Street)

After the International Reception, continue networking and enjoying refreshments while viewing poster presentations.

Census 2010: A Progress Report (Tuesday, 10-11:30 a.m., Conv. Ctr. Room R09)

Find out the latest on Census 2010.

International Virtual Libraries (Tuesday, 2-3:30 p.m., Conv. Ctr. Room R09)

Learn about major virtual libraries like UNESCO’s World Digital Library and the European Union’s Europeana, plus the Google Books settlement.

Social Technologies for Collaboration (Tuesday, 2-3:30 p.m., Conv. Ctr. Room 230)

Speakers share their experiences with various technologies and provide tips on which to use when.

Embed Yourself: The Librarian is IN (Wednesday, 10-11:30 a.m., Conv. Ctr. Room R06)

Many of us in APLIC have opportunities to be involved in research, project planning, and data curation. Find out how to embed yourself at this session.

The Parties

Though things have scaled back a bit with the economy, SLA’s parties are still legendary. After a day of learning and networking, let loose a little bit at the dance parties – the Academic Division Open House and Dance Party on Sunday from 9-midnight at the Sheraton Hotel Rhythms Ballroom, and IT, Leadership and Management, and Physics-Astronomy-Math Open House and Dance Party on Tuesday from 9-midnight at the Sheraton Hotel Armstrong Ballroom.

Even if it doesn’t it’s a great presentation. . . .

Presenters : Allison Burns, Family Health International; Tara Murray, Population Research Institute, Penn State University; Kay Willson, Futures Group

Put two information professionals in a room and you know that eventually they will begin trading stories about what may be the biggest headache we face every day : getting our beloved researchers to help us help them.

Allison Burns, Tara Murray, and Kay Willson gave three perspectives on this vexing issue, looking at some useful tools, how the tools fit the need, and getting participation.

Family Health International was using email and an intranet for collaboration among 2,500 staff in 55 countries worldwide. Problems arose from “email fatigue” and some email policies that restricted what could be shared, as well as accessibility to the intranet on the part of staff in infrastructure-challenged environments. Allison Burns finally settled on a Wiki installation (Confluence) that provided some impressive functionality that could be accessed anywhere an internet connection was available. It was inexpensive, flexible, and included an alert feature and interactivity.

Specifically, it allowed library staff to easily edit and upload documents and to create documents using a rich-text editor. For the users, anyone within the organization who wished to track new documents being uploaded could simply put a watch on the pages that interested them and, of course, it supplemented other forms of communication.

At the Population Research Institute, Tara Murray was working with data archives and a range of users who needed varying degrees of access. Some users would need access simply to the data archive; another group would need access to confidential datasets or other restricted information; finally, a dedicated area for staff collaboration was desired. Her audience comprised students, faculty, peer researchers not at PRI, and staff – all with varying degrees of computer literacy.

Tara implemented an open source web server (Plone) to manage roles and access to the data. It provided simplified search, granular definition of user permissions and workflow, and a way to wrangle the numerous gatekeepers and their priorities. Plone is a content management system, and the interface for creating new documents is easy to learn and not too different from what most MS Office savvy individuals are used to. One benefit of having a staff-dedicated area ended up being greater ease collating staff meeting notes, which are often taken by a different person at each meeting.

Kay Willson has been working for one or another version of Futures Group for many years. Her recent task has been to roll out a Sharepoint collaboration tool. During a previous Futures Group incarnation, a Knowledge Management initiative resulted in an implementation of Sharepoint, mostly to support communities and repositories. Because most users did not enter metadata the result was a multiplicity of sites with no common template – a kind of “Sharepoint for silos,” as it were. On top of that, there was a preconceived idea that Sharepoint was hard to use. “You can’t just tell them it’s easy; you have to stand there and make them do the process (like uploading a file) – that’s the only way it sinks in,” Kay noted.

Kay drew on the book Influencer : The power to change anything* for tactics to create real change. There is a matrix of six strategies for creating influence. The key is to “overwhelm” by implementing at least four of the strategies: 1) on the personal level, make the undesirable desirable and push your limits; 2) on the social level, harness peer pressure and find safety in numbers (of others supporting the cause); 3) on a structural level, design rewards and demand accountability and make whatever alterations to the environment that might encourage the new behavior.

So: Did they log in ? Results are mixed. Kay reported decent results, especially because of strong support from a key stakeholder; Tara reported improvements but no revolution; and Allison is still waiting to find out.

_{* Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler (McGraw-Hill 2007, 288pp).}

This was my first conference and, truth to tell, my heart was not beating especially fast knowing I would be spending five days in Dallas, Texas. Preconceived ideas, you see.

So – conference hotel, the usual story: big spaces without intimacy and a maze of meeting rooms spread out on two or three levels. You spend the first day just figuring things out. At some point you forget about the environment and remember that the meeting is about people. Folks who are doing something like you do and who may have some insights. Folks who end up being fun to know, too.

At any rate, the 2010 planning group hit a home run with this year’s banquet.

There’s always a banquet at these kinds of things – I’ve been to so many they all run together in a blur. Of course, you’re there to enjoy each other’s company and maybe gab about things beyond the profession, common interests, or maybe give an award or two. Nobody pays attention to the food, certainly not the chefs who shovel it out by the hundredweight. Let’s be honest – most conference food is boring. In a place like the Hyatt it’s not bad quality but it won’t make you sit up and take notice.

Leave it to APLIC to think outside of the box – or, in this case, the hotel. We held our banquet outside the facility at a very unique local restaurant named . . . Local.

In my other life I translate a restaurant guide to the South of France called the Guide Gantié. For 20 years Jacques Gantié has been writing up restaurants large and small all over Nice-Provence-Cote d’Azur and I get to create the English language edition every year. Yum. His criteria are simple: welcome, service, food, décor. So, in the spirit of the South (France or USA) here’s a Gantié-style look at Local :

“More than one person wondered what Tracy Miller was thinking when she purchased the old Boyd Hotel deep in the Deep Ellum district at 2936a Elm in 1998. Almost 12 years later the results speak for themselves: Clean modern lines from Dallas designer Alice Cottrell, classic Eames walnut chairs, pine floors, 16-foot ceilings; thoughtful arrangements create intimacy in numerous discreet areas within a complex space. It’s comfortable and trendy but we come here most of all for the playful and tasteful New American cuisine of Tracy Miller. Fried green beans with creamy thyme and garlic-infused dipping sauce for an amuse-bouch; appetizers like roasted roma tomato soup with two baby farmhouse cheddar cheese sandwiches or lettuces of endive, radicchio and frisee with haricot vert, blue cheese, crisp pancetta and lemon-shallot vinaigrette; main courses like cornflake-panko crusted seabass, spring pea-lemon risotto, herb beurre blanc and sauté of sunburst squash; grilled grass-fed tenderloin filet, panko crusted tater tots, baby arugula toss and tawny port balsamic finish; special vegan preparation of small vegetables, swiss chard, and fragrant sauce… are all prepared with the utmost care using the best products, presented with delight, and served briskly. The chef’s signature “chocolate constructed” dessert features a seemingly bottomless chocolate soufflee, two small, crunchy brownie-type cookies, and a thimble-sized “milkshake” of ovaltine-chocolate malt ice cream, complete with straw. While occasionally tipping her hat to Thomas Keller, Tracy Miller’s cuisine is anything but derivative. She creates, crosses flavors, seeks the essence of the product, and plays with our memory. Welcome is warm and efficient, service is impeccable, and wines and beers have been carefully selected to match the food. One regret: it’s too bad the entry-level price on wine doesn’t get lower than $44 a bottle (white). At evening’s end, however, we really don’t mind, because we have been treated so well and had such fabulous adventures with the food.”

Wish you were there ? It’s not too early to start planning for next year in Washington.

—submitted by William Fennie

Understanding How Twitter is Used to Widely Spread Scientific Messages (8 pages; PDF)

by: Julie Letierce and Alexandre Passant and John Breslin and Stefan Decker

From the Abstract:

According to a survey we recently conducted, Twitter was ranked in the top three services used by Semantic Web researchers to spread information. In order to understand how Twitter is practically used for spreading scientific messages, we captured tweets containing the official hashtags of three conferences and studied (1) the type of content that researchers are more likely to tweet, (2) how they do it, and finally (3) if their tweets can reach other communities — in addition to their own. In addition, we also conducted some interviews to complete our understanding of researchers’ motivation to use Twitter during conferences.

K4Health Needs Assessments focus on family planning and reproductive health and other health information needs, and are based on a continuous feedback principle that ensures audience demand for health information is routinely gauged and met. There are three components of the needs assessment: an environment scan, a global online survey, and a multi-country qualitative study conducted in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.