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New system archives Information Outlook

With this aim in mind, we have renamed this column "Information Management." In the colu

we will be introducing new IC services and products and discussing general issues of interest on information management. More on that later.

ebrary system to be used for Information Outlook

With SLA's fast-approaching centenary in 2009, it is fitting that SLA has contracted with ebrary, a leading provider of book databases to the library market, to host, distribute, and archive a full-text database of SLA serials and other publications.

Information Outlook will be available through ebrary's interactive platform via the same easy-to-use interface used by hundreds of libraries worldwide. Before the Annual Conference, users will have online access to Information Outlook issues from 2003 and 2004. Issues from Information Outlook's inception in 1997 will be submitted to the ebrary system shortly thereafter.

For those not acquainted with ebrary, I can confidently say that you will be impressed with its search and interactive capabilities. It offers full-text searching within and across documents, Boolean search, and search by author, title, publisher, or subject. After opening a particular title, users can highlight any word or phrase, then use ebrary InfoTools[TM] to instantly link to additional resources on the SLA website or on the World Wide Web.

Members will still have free access to the digital edition of Information Outlook. In phase II of the project, other SLA publications will be made accessible within the database at a member-discounted rate. Nonmembers will be able to view, copy, or print pages on a pay-per-view basis. The ebrary database will allow members to access information that is of particular interest to them quickly and efficiently.

In the near future, ebrary will also scan SLA's journal Special Libraries, from its first issue in January 1910 to 1996, and many of the SLA books published over the past decade or so. This powerful database will be an invaluable historical resource, particularly for researchers and authors, who will have 100 years of searchable SLA serials at their fingertips.

Document delivery changes

As I mentioned above, SLA's move to Alexandria has been the catalyst for changes in IC services. The routing of serials to staff has been replaced with electronically prepared tables of contents, which will enable IC staff to push appropriate resources to desktops. Full-text access to articles is made available using Factiva's extensive resources. The IC will maintain a reduced number of print subscriptions. Advertisements, certain news columns, and other nontext information keeps us abreast of the latest technology, training resources, and information industry news and can be found only in print.

The current monograph collection of about 3,000 items is being significantly reduced, and the content will focus on the latest technology, Web development and design, and association management. Interlibrary loans will be limited to the loan of SLA videos to chapters, divisions, and other units for training or other events. Interlibrary loan circulation has greatly decreased in recent years, and ebrary's platform will allow us to share the latest SLA publications electronically. Other changes are being considered and will be announced in due course.

SLA's Information Center, as well as the information centers of all our members, has to keep up with technological advances and make more efficient use of its human and electronic resources to provide the best possible service to staff and management.