Month: May 2007

Did You Know How Hot You Are?

Post author By Jing Liu
Post date May 29, 2007
2 Comments on Did You Know How Hot You Are?

According to three very different publications, “Librarian” is cited as one of the best careers for the future. US News.com listed “Librarian” as one of the Best Careers in 2007…while Parade Magazine called “Corporate Librarian” one of the Hottest Jobs for College Grads. And the personal financial advisor…Kiplinger.com…which listed “Librarian” as one of its Seven Great Careers of 2007…had this to say about librarians:

“Forget about the image of librarian as mousy bookworm. Today’s librarian is a high-tech information sleuth…a master of mining cool databases…well beyond Google…to unearth the desired nuggets.”
To learn more, go to:

Parade Magazine. Read under the heading: The Hottest Jobs (For College Grads)

U.S. News & World Report

Kiplinger’s

Source: SLA Connections, May 2007, e-Newsletter

Life

Hello from Nanaimo

Share with you guys a few photos of beautiful Nanaimo. Wish all of you a great summer.
The neighborhood where I live

Vancouver Island Regional Library 1

Vancouver Island Regional Library 2

Nanaimo sky

Playground of a local primary school I pass by everyday

Recent Career Postings

Digitization Assistant- SFU Library

Post author By Jing Liu
Post date May 24, 2007
2 Comments on Digitization Assistant- SFU Library

The Simon Fraser University Library seeks an individual to digitize items for the Library’s Editorial Cartoons Collection (http://edocs.lib.sfu.ca/projects/Cartoons/). This full time temporary assignment from June 18 to August 24, 2007, is located at the Simon Fraser University’s WAC Bennett Library in Burnaby, British Columbia. The rate of pay is $21.54/hour plus 9% in lieu of benefits.

The successful candidate will 1) scan and catalogue selected cartoons and 2) analyze workflows and procedures currently used in the processing of the cartoons and 3) deliver a report with recommendations on how those workflows and procedures can be improved or refined. The successful candidate will also document all operational aspects of his/her work.

Applicants must be currently enrolled in graduate programs in Library and Information Science (including Library Technician programs) or in Archival Studies, or be recent graduates of these programs. Recent graduates may apply but preference will be given to students returning to school in September 2007..

Experience with planning and implementing websites is required. Experience with scanning or other digitization procedures and with indexing/cataloguing would be an asset, as would undergraduate or graduate courses in Canadian history or politics.

Funding for this assignment will be provided by the Young Canada Works in Heritage Institutions program. In accordance with the program criteria, applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 30 and must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Applicants must register at http://www.youngcanadaworks.ca to be eligible for this position. After registration is completed, applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and the contact information for three references to Ian Song, Digital Initiatives Librarian, WAC Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, no later than June1/2007. Applications may be sent as email attachments to isong@sfu.ca or be faxed to 778-782-3023.

Simon Fraser University is committed to the principle of equity in employment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals.

Recent Career Postings

CIA Library Chinese Non-Ref Positions

Post author By Jing Liu
Post date May 23, 2007
No Comments on CIA Library Chinese Non-Ref Positions

The CIA Library is seeking trained, innovative, customer-service oriented librarians, particularly
those with East Asian, Chinese or Arabic language skills, to work in acquisitions, cataloging,
collection management, electronic resources, and interlibrary loan disciplines. The CIA regularly provides current information to the President of the United States and senior U.S. Government officials, and librarians contribute an essential role within this function by meeting the critical information needs of our various offices, sometimes on quite short notice, as well as through more traditional duties of the profession. In addition to working directly out of
its large Headquarters facility, librarians also have opportunities to relocate within other Agency offices, serving as resource experts for their particular needs. Our Library maintains strong working relationships with other Intelligence Community libraries and the Library of Congress, as well as with selected academic institutions and other resources.Responsibilities vary depending on assignment but may
include providing support of current intelligence
production, using a broad variety of classified and
unclassified resources in both electronic and
hard-copy formats; utilizing Agency and other
government or academic resources; training customers
in the use of electronic resources; providing a
variety of briefings to other offices on Library
services; participating in the planning of Library
marketing events; managing acquisitions and collection
development for hard-copy and electronic resources;
cataloging hard-copy and electronic resources; and
representing the Library while serving in selected
other Agency offices as a resource focal point. In any
of the above responsibilities, there are on-going
needs for direct application of East Asian, Chinese or
Arabic language skills.

Positions are in the metropolitan Washington, DC area,
with limited opportunities for temporary overseas
travel. In addition to salary and benefits, Librarians
with proficiency in an East Asian language, Chinese or
Arabic are eligible to earn annual language “bonus”
pay based on in-house language testing. Librarians may
also have the opportunity to take courses in
additional languages and area studies as well as other
relevant training. As a part of the screening process,
selected applicants will be sent a language
proficiency test.

Minimum requirements include a master’s degree in
library/information science from an American Library
Association accredited program. For those with East
Asian, Chinese or Arabic language skills, a general
professional proficiency is required. Excellent
interpersonal, writing, communications and customer
service skills are also needed.

All applicants must successfully complete a thorough
medical and psychological exam, a polygraph interview
and an extensive background investigation. US
citizenship is required. To be considered suitable for
Agency employment, applicants must generally not have
used illegal drugs within the last twelve months. The
issue of illegal drug use prior to twelve months ago
is carefully evaluated during the medical and security
processing.

Interested candidates must apply through the CIA
website

Important Notice: You are interested in a position as
an overt employee—which means you can acknowledge
your affiliation with the Central Intelligence Agency.
But should you? There may be friends, family,
individuals or organizations who would be very
interested to learn that you are an applicant for or
an employee of the CIA. Their interest, however, may
not be benign or in your best interest. You cannot
control whom they would tell. We therefore ask you to
exercise discretion and good judgment in disclosing
your interest in a position with the Agency.

Professional Development

Reflections on the Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute (NELI 9)

Post author By Jing Liu
Post date May 22, 2007
1 Comment on Reflections on the Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute (NELI 9)

I attended the Ninth Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute (NEL 9) in early March, 2007. This program is intended for librarians who have a desire to develop their leadership potential, received their degree within the past seven years and have a minimum of two years of professional experience.

This is the spiritual journey I mentioned in this blog before. I hope many of you would have the opportunity to experience it at the earlier stages of your careers. I wrote an article and submitted to the SLA WCC online newsletter, The Wired West, and the BCLA Reporter.

To read the full article, go to: http://units.sla.org/chapter/cwcn/wwest/v10n3/article_yan.shtml

For more information about NELI, check out the links in the article, or feel free to contact me.

Life

What a happy annual meeting!

Post author By Jing Liu
Post date May 13, 2007
5 Comments on What a happy annual meeting!

What a beautiful evening and what a happy annual meeting! Please look back our happy moment in video and photos.Happy moment:

Open Words (Video)
Smile
Call from Heather in Montreal
畅所欲言:
Jing
Jan
Ping
Linda
Ian
Min
Ying
Jian
Qi
Lei
Jie
Qiong
Wei
Ding

What others are saying

Thank you!

Post author By Jing Liu
Post date May 13, 2007
1 Comment on Thank you!

Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to belong to a caring and supportive 组织? Thank you for sharing your achievements and experience with all of us.

Thank you, Jing, for organizing!
Thank you, Jan, great location!
Thank you, Heather, for calling!
Thank you, Lili, for being the photographer!

Thank you to all the wonderful chefs.
Thank you to all the drivers.
Most of all, thank you to the family members who understand and support our Chinese Canadian Librarians community.

You all contributed to our successful second AGM. Thank YOU and take care.

Uncategorized

SLA WCC – Blogs & Wikis (Thursday, May 31, 2007)

Post author By Jing Liu
Post date May 10, 2007
1 Comment on SLA WCC – Blogs & Wikis (Thursday, May 31, 2007)

Thinking of starting a blog or wiki for your library or organization? Already have one but would like more information?

Mingle with SLA colleagues and hear an impressive panel of librarians and professionals share how they are using these technologies.

Thursday, May 31, 2007
5:00 – 8:00 pm
Terminal City Club

PROGRAM DETAILS

· 5:00 pm Registration. Cash bar opens.

· 5:15 pm Canapé buffet opens, mingling, eating & drinking

· 5:45 pm Blogs & Wikis presentations begin

· 7:15 pm More mingling, eating & drinking

· 8:00 pm Wrap-up

THE PRESENTATIONS

Sally Taylor: Blogs & Wikis at UBC

Sally will demonstrate how librarians at the University of British Columbia are using blogs and wikis for communication, outreach and teaching, with their user groups and with colleagues at UBC and beyond.

Rob Golbeck: Social Software Law Firm Style

Rob will showcase the social software being used at Clark Wilson LLP, including custom user profiles, internal blogs, custom RSS feeds, user-developed e-collections, and wikis.

Diane Thompson: Blogging @ Geoscience NRCAN

Diane will describe her recent experience setting up a blog for the Geoscience Research Library (Natural Resources Canada), and the response she has received to date from her users.

Tracey Carmichael: Wiki that Investment @ BCSC

Tracey will discuss how the BC Securities Commission created an internal wiki to track new types of investments as they gain market share and identify the next “big thing” in retail investing. The markets are always changing and new products are created all the time. The wiki harnesses the collective knowledge of BCSC staff and encourages everyone to add what they know about an investment.

Lauren Wood: Quick Tips on the How To’s of Blogs & Wikis

You’ve heard how useful blogs and wikis can be in organizations, but getting started can be a bit tricky. It’s not simply a matter of installing the software and watching everything just fall into place; you need to figure out the answers to some issues first. Lauren will talk about what you can do to make your blog or wiki a successful endeavour, and some of the trade-offs you’ll have to make. She will help answer questions like: How do you choose whether to use a blog or a wiki? How do you find the right people to blog or contribute content? What are some things to look out for?

THE SPEAKERS

Sally Taylor is a Reference Librarian at the Woodward Biomedical Library at the University of British Columbia, liaising with faculty, staff and students in botany, fisheries, microbiology and zoology. Sally has recently embraced RSS as a way to spice up her subject pages and is working on a blog for the biology researchers at UBC.

Rob Golbeck is a Library Technician at Clark Wilson LLP where he splits his time between the library and records management. He has experience in the legal, corporate and non-profit sectors, and is interested in working with technology, especially website design and maintenance. Rob is currently serving as Chair & Web Administrator of the Library Technicians & Assistants Interest Group (LTAIG) of the BC Library Association. Rob’s blog:

Diane Thompson is Head Librarian at the Geoscience Research Library, Natural Resources Canada. Formerly the information specialist at the BC Office of Health Technology Assessment at UBC, Diane has published material on grey literature and finding the “hard-to-find”, including the “Guide to Internet Resources for Health Technology Assessment” produced by the National Library of Medicine. Diane is a self-described “newcomer” to the blogging world, but is happy to share her experience.

Tracey Carmichael manages Knowledge Management Services for the BC Securities Commission, including the Knowledge Centre, call centre, and websites. She is a law librarian with 15 years experience providing legal reference services. Recently, Tracey has been working on knowledge sharing projects like the wiki, and an electronic records and document management system.

Lauren Wood is a senior technical program manager at Sun Microsystems, concentrating on the areas of identity and privacy in the web world. She chairs the Business Marketing Expert Group for the Liberty Alliance. Lauren has worked as an independent consultant, is a published industry analyst, and was Director of Product Technology for SoftQuad Software Ltd. (now part of Blast Radius). Lauren has been on the organizing committee for Vancouver’s blogging conference “Northern Voice” since its inception. Lauren’s blog:

REGISTRATION

Please RSVP to Lesley.perkins@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca if you’re planning to come to this interesting and informative event.

To pay by cheque, complete the online registration form <http://www.sla.org/chapter/cwcn/programs/regform2004.htm> and mail it (as soon as you can!), with your payment (cheque made out to SLA WCC), to:

Lesley Perkins, Vancouver Director
Canada Border Services Agency

Pacific Region Enforcement Centre
700- 300 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 6C8

To pay by credit card, go to our online announcement at [Coming soon! Check the SLA WCC website in a day or so] and follow the PayPal links.

FEES Includes a fabulous canapé buffet. There will be a cash bar.

· $29 for SLA members, students, and those between jobs

· $35 for non-members

VENUE

The Terminal City Club is located at 837 Hastings Street. PLEASE NOTE: There is a dress-casual dress code in effect, so no jeans please.

Program sponsor to be announced.

Uncategorized

More Details from Linda

Thank you, Jing, for organizing. Thank you, Jan, for
the room. Such an excellent idea to rent a room!

Our Chinese Canadian Librarians community is getting
bigger and stronger each year. As it is the norm with
other activities, you get out as much as you put in. I
encourage everyone to contribute to our community and
to share your knowledge and information using our
weblog.

For the party this Saturday, we like to make this
event a socializing, networking, and professional
development opportunity. If we follow Confucius’
teaching, “among three people together, (at least) one
will be my teacher,” imagine how many teachers you
would find among more than a dozen librarians and
several former teachers?

—————
For your 2-3 minutes self-introduction, please also
share with us your achievements, career or otherwise.
I will be the Timer and make sure everyone has an
opportunity to shine!

If you have any topics that you wish to be addressed,
please post to the blog or email me. I will take notes
and make sure we have a constructive discussion.

For the $40 room rental, I propose that we share the
cost among us. Bring your changes to me, most likely
$2-3 each, excluding spouse or children.

Food – For pot luck dinner, the usual norm is to bring
enough for you and your family, plus an extra portion
of food for one person. Bring your own drink and
cups/mugs as well. Please post what you would bring to
the blog so that we do not all bring the same thing. I
will bring a kettle to boil water for tea. I will
bring tea bags as well. If you have plug-in kettles,
please bring them as well.

Poker cards – For spouses and children, please bring
your own cards or games so they could have some fun at
another table while we have discussions.

All family members and friends are welcome – just
bring enough food/drink for them.

Clean-up – Jan paid an extra deposit to make sure the
room is clean after our gathering. Please help clean
up the room so Jan could get her deposit back.

For future gatherings, if you like such facility and
format, please let us know. If you have better ideas
or venues, share with us. Or better yet, organize the
next gathering. We are all in this community together.
Let’s make it remarkable for the benefit of each and
everyone of us!!

Thank you very much, Jing and Jan.

News & Announcement

Annual Meeting on May 12

Thanks for all the replies posted on the blog and via email. The rent for the event room is $40. We’d better start at 6pm, since some will work and some will have class that day until 5pm. For those of you who don’t drive, I will pick you up from a Richmond bus stop. Please email me if you need my cell phone number.

We are very happy to celebrate new Co-ops, new professionals and librarians’ progress in the past year; we are more than happy to welcome several new comers. As Linda suggested, we should each prepare for a three-minute self introduction. Linda has volunteered to look after this part.

What do you think about a Q&A session, after we enjoy the food? Now our group has experience from public, academic, special libraries, and contract library work. Jan and He Ping could talk about management, and Linda has plenty to report on NELI and Toastmaster. I wish Heather and Henry can join us too. Please feel free to email me or send your comments here for more topics.

I would like to have a sign up list for food, so we won’t end up with too much wine and desert. I will bring plates, forks and chopsticks, plus a Chinese salad (什锦）that most of you enjoyed at previous parties.