Chinese Canadian Library Weblog

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.

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.

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.

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.

Still two papers to go, but almost done, and can’t wait to throw a party to celebrate the past academic year. Let’s target on mid-May.

No matter where you are and what you do today, please take a moment to thank your mentors, teachers and professors.

My beloved Mentor, Thesis Advisor, and Professor, Rong Yilun laoshi, passed away on March 19th in Beijing. His friends, colleagues, and students live and work in many parts of China and in several other countries – a true teacher of 桃李满天下. I have learned from Rong laoshi a lot more about life than just the English Language and Literature from the graduate school curriculum. Rong laoshi emphasized 育人 more than 教书, and he taught by example. I learned from Rong laoshi that 育人 was a teacher’s sacred responsibility, and 教书 was an activity, a task, to reach for that goal. Rong laoshi taught us that one had to be true to oneself and to others no matter what the circumstances were.

I am grateful that I last talked with him in mid January. I promised that I would visit him again on my next trip to China and we would continue with our conversations. I will keep this promise and visit Rong laoshi at the cemetary when I am in China next time.

I am better than I was because of all my mentors, professors/teachers, and friends. In remembering Rong laoshi, I also want to thank all of you no matter where you are in the world!

I am on my way to Boston for the AAS/CEAL conference, and just ran into this:
世界日报报道，根据美国新闻与世界报导（US News & World Report）最新一期的「2007年就业指南」（Career Guide 2007），高压力的职业已经渐渐失宠，就业市场上正形成一股中间趋势：人们越来越青睐压力较少、但同样引人入胜的工作。这些工作的收入与劳动强度成正比。

已开始热门的十大行业包括：图书馆馆员(librarian)：中间收入4万9708元。他们不再是「书虫」的呆板模样，而是摇身变成高科技信息领域的灵光人士。他们帮人遨游信息海洋，从中学到自己未掌握的知识；还经常大逛书店，采购热门畅销新书。新世代图书馆员绝对不甘寂寞，经常陪老人、小孩「玩」，从讲故事到演木偶戏，寓教于乐。在图书馆工作，时间固定，通常不需要无限制加班，工作环境也赏心悦目。一些机构内部的图书馆员还可享受朝九晚五的工作时间。

国会图书馆的毕灵顿（James Billington）表示，科技没有淘汰图书馆，人们将重新利用图书馆。

I had the great fortune to be involved in two once-in-life-time events this year, one in early January and one in early March.

Besides being grateful to my very supportive and forward-thinking manager, I firmly believe that being an active Toastmasters member helped me in accomplishing these two tasks successfully.
Toastmasters activities not only improved my communication skills, it also provided me with confidance and poise. Most importantly, I have FUN at club meetings each and every time.

To find a club that is in your area, please go to: http://www.toastmasters.bc.ca/clubsearch.php

You may be surprised to know there are many clubs near where you work and/or where you live!! If you are not laughing or smiling while attending a club meeting, then you should look around and try another club.

Just got back from completing the nineth Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute, NEL 9. I am filled with gratitude to the leaders, mentors, and the sponsors!

I am in love with the spirit and vision of NEL. I feel rejuvenated and energized. I hope some of you will seek out the opportunity and give yourself the gift of attending a future NEL.
http://www.ls.ualberta.ca/neli/index.html

Arizona State University Libraries at Tempe Position: Chinese Studies Librarian/Area Specialist Deadline: Application deadline is March 16, 2007; if not filled, the first of the month until search closed. The Arizona State University Libraries at the Tempe campus seeks applicants for the position of Chinese Studies Librarian/Area Specialist. This is a full-time, continuing appointment-track Academic Professional position at the rank of assistant, associate, or full librarian, dependent upon quality and level of professional preparation and experience. This position requires professional development/contribution and service in addition to excellent job performance. For complete application and qualification requirements, please visit ASU’s website. Application deadline is March 16, 2007; if not filled, the first of the month until search closed. Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States. Abackground check is required for employment. ASU is an EO/AA employer and actively seeks diversity among applicants and promotes a diverse workforce.