Thank you to the outstanding vendor sponsors who are supporting SLA Government Information Division programming at the 2013 SLA conference in San Diego:

Platinum Level ($2,500 and over)

LexisNexis

Gold ($751 to $1,250)

CQ Press, an imprint of Sage

Elsevier

Leadership Directories

Springer

WT.Cox Information Services

Silver ($501 to $750)

Gale Cengage Learning

ProQuest Dialog

Bronze ($500 and under)

Basch Subscriptions, Inc.

For more information on Government Information Division sponsorships, please visit http://govinfo.sla.org/sponsorship/ on our division website!

The Government Information Division (DGI) is pleased to announce this year’s essay contest.

Library students:

Would you like to win a student registration to attend the SLA Annual Conference in San Diego?
Here is your chance!

The Division of Government Information is a community of knowledgeable information professionals who share an interest in government information.  Everyone uses government information.  From unemployment numbers to climate change, government resources help local governments, businesses and families to make decisions that affect us all.  We are interested in hearing new and innovative ideas about how governments can improve access to their information, especially to the public. Governments can include local, state, provincial or federal.  Current MLIS students, present your thoughts and ideas to us.

Here are the rules:

• Word Count: 1500 or less
• Deadline: May 1^st, 2013
• Winner must be eligible for a student registration (current student in a library & information science program such as MLS, MLIS, information management, human computer interaction etc), and must be a member of DGI by April 15, 2013. To become a DGI member, please see http://www.sla.org/content/membership/unitchange.cfm.
• Please remember, DGI cannot take political positions and can only accept apolitical postings. Political entries will be disqualified.
• Only one entry per participant. The winner should plan to attend the DGI Business Meeting at the 2013 Annual Conference.
• The winning essay will be published on the DGI blog http://govinfo.sla.org/blog/
• Should the winner be unable to attend the conference, an alternate winner will be selected.
• The division will reimburse the winner for the student registration cost on presentation of a receipt. Additional ticketed events, if desired, can be purchased at the winner’s expense.
• DGI cannot cover travel, lodging, food, or any other additional conference expenses.

Submit questions and entries to jennifer_klang@ios.doi.gov

I can’t believe that the SLA 2012 Annual Conference in Chicago, IL has already come and gone!  While the Government Information Division is busy planning for the 2013 conference, I want to provide follow-up information on presentations that took place during conference.

The following presentations are being made available online at our SlideShare account:

Patent Research 101

Open Data in Chicago

Gov on the Go: Mobile Content Assessment and Evaluation

In addition, Patrice McDermott’s speech on “The Wikileaks Controversy” is available as a PDF file by clicking the link below:

DGI Spotlight Session: The Wikileaks Controversy

I hope that everyone in Chicago enjoyed our sessions and on behalf of myself and our 2012 planner Deb Knox, it has been an honor and a pleasure planning Government Information Division sessions for the 2012 conference, and we look forward to a great slate of programming from our Chair-elect Aileen Marshall in 2013!

And one last big thanks to our 2012 session sponsors – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Kim Schultz

2012 DGI Chair

While DGI leadership works on member communications and follow-up for SLA 2012, planning for the SLA 2013 conference in San Diego is underway. A recent SLA blog post spelled out some big changes for 2013, including:

• Continuing education will be offered on a single day (Saturday), and ALL CE programming will be Division-based… Association-sponsored professional development courses have moved online as to not compete with division offerings at conference.
• Conference will start and end a bit earlier.  Opening events a full day early will allow us to close the conference Tuesday evening.
• The pre-conference Leadership Development Institute has been replaced by broader leadership development programming during the conference, and all interested members are invited to attend.
• Tours move to Wednesday.  We’ll still have the great tours you won’t want to miss.

Read the details at the 18 July 2012 SLA blog post by Ann Koopman, Board Liaison to the 2013 Annual Conference Advisory Council.

Convention center policies and accommodations vary a bit from city to city. If you are bringing a smartphone, iPad, or other device to connect to the web at McCormick Place, here is what you need to know:

There will be charging stations–clusters of power outlets–available for SLA attendees to literally recharge their batteries. Look for the signs directing you to the stations. Other outlets throughout the center probably will not be accessible. (Session presenters will have access for their A/V, of course.)

Wifi is to be provided in all session rooms, but it could be subject to service interruptions. Par for the course.

For those who tweet, the official conference Twitter hashtag is #slachicago. Why? Shorter versions with “2012″ were being used by other tweeting entities and would be susceptible to spam.

SLA Government Information Division members may also want to tag DGI-related tweets with #sladgi. Tweetspace is precious, so #slachicago should be the default. That way, everyone can read about the spectacular DGI programs.

SLA’s official conference Twitter account is @slachicago. This account is re-tweeting tweets tagged with #slachicago. If you’re watching from McCormick or from home, @slachicago is the account to follow.

DGI has its own Twitter account at @SLADGI. Please follow us throughout the year! We’ll be tweeting from it occasionally, but many DGIers are tweeting from their own accounts too.

DGI sessions taking place next week in Chicago, that include Power Point slides, will be available via our Slideshare account – just look for “2012″  in the presentation title.

http://www.slideshare.net/DGISLA2011/presentations

So far, we have slides from our Patent Research 101, Gov on the Go: Mobile Apps, and Open Data in Chicago sessions.  Be sure to check back after conference, for all available presentation slides.

For updates during conference, follow @SLAChicago @SLADGI and I’ll be tweeting as well @klyall

A final reminder to add these great Government Information Division programs to your Annual Conference schedule!  Room numbers now available in the online planner and listed below.  Hope you see you in Chicago!

Government Information Division Programs & Room Numbers

Monday

8am – Spotlight Session: Wikileaks Controversy  Room E450B
The Wikileaks scandal headlined worldwide news in 2010 – 2011 and highlighted issues of government classification, information policy, and information ethics. This session will explore various facets of the controversy.  Speaking: Patrice McDermott, OpenTheGovernment.org.  Sponsor: Dow Jones & Company, Inc

4pm – Patent Research 101  Room E353A
Take the plunge into the world of intellectual property. Find out how to do patentability searches, litigation research, and state-of-the-art-searches. 
Speaking: Chris Vestal, Lexis Nexis; Kristin Whitman, Landon IP.  Sponsors: Bloomberg BNA/Bloomberg Law, Dialog, LexisNexis, and Springer

Tuesday

10am – Spotlight Session: Cross-Cultural Competitive Intelligence  Room E450B
Competitive intelligence (CI) practices are being adopted by more organizations throughout the world, increasing interest in the diversity, differences and commonalities in CI practices to foster both competitiveness and cooperation among firms and government agencies. In this session, the presenters will describe and discuss differences and commonalities in CI practices across a number of countries and trends in new programs as they explore the demand and requirements for stronger intelligence education.
Moderating: Dr. Craig S. Fleisher, Aurora WDC; Speaking: Dr. France Bouthillier, School of Information Studies, McGill University; Dr. Andrew Dillon, School of Information & Professor of Information, Psychology and Risk & Operations Management; Tao Jin, Louisiana State University.  Sponsor: Dow Jones & Company, Inc

2pm – Business Meeting & Career Agility Panel  Room E266
Annual business meeting followed by an exciting and thought-provoking discussion on  career agility in the government information sector.
Speaking: Leia Dickerson, Government Accountability Office; Richard Huffine, U.S. Geological Survey; Tanya Whippie, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sponsor: Gale Cengage Learning and LexisNexis

8pm – Joint Reception @ 312 Chicago
Please join the Government Information, Solo Librarians, and Transportation Divisions for a lively joint open house. Speak with members from a variety of fields and experiences, all in one place. Please meet at the event location: 312 Chicago, Downtown Loop.  Sponsors: Elsevier and WT Cox

Wednesday

10am – Open Data in Chicago  Room E253C
Chicago has recently launched major government transparency efforts.  Learn more about open data initiatives in the Windy City, particularly the work of the Metro Chicago Information Center.
Speaking: Virginia Carlson, Metro Chicago Information Center.  Sponsors: WT Cox, LexisNexis, and Thomson Reuters, Westlaw

12pm – Gov on the Go: Mobile Apps  Room E253C
Government information is now being made available on the go via smart phone applications.  This session will explore creating mobile applications using government information as well as one government library’s experience evaluating mobile applications for use in an agency setting.
Speaking: Heidi Peters, DARPA Support Contractor; Katrina Stierholz, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.  Sponsor: LexisNexis

Mobile apps from the U.S. government can help you with anything from luggage packing tips from the TSA to finding the latest unemployment numbers.

Looking for a place to start exploring the breadth of what these apps offer? Check out the recent Government Computer News article The 10 best federal mobile apps. You’ll find that some of your favorite research sites are also available on mobile devices. Among the top ten: Science.gov, Cancer.gov, and USA Jobs. The General Services Administration maintains a directory of government mobile apps at apps.usa.gov and an RSS feed announcing new apps.

If you’re coming to the annual conference, be sure to attend “Gov on the Go: Mobile Apps,” a DGI sponsored program, on Wednesday of the conference at noon. For the complete division conference schedule, see our blog post C U in Chicago…DGI Sessions Update.

SLA HQ, the SLA Illinois chapter, and many individual members have been sharing information on conference logistics. Some key facts:

Chicago has taxis, local and commuter trains, shuttle buses, city buses, and even water taxis. Check out the Transportation page on SLA/Illinois chapter conference wiki for airport, hotel, and city transportation options with links to schedules and route information. Plan your route ahead of time.

McCormick Place, the convention center, is not within walking distance of any Chicago hotels but their own. SLA will have shuttle buses for those staying at official SLA conference hotels. Staying elsewhere? Take a look at the many public transportation options listed on the Illinois chapter wiki. Only those at the SLA conference hotel will be issued shuttle passes.

McCormick Place is huge. Here is a map of the complex (PDF). SLA will be in the Lakeside Center building.

Member Jill Hurst-Wahl has posted a custom Google map with the SLA hotels, Metra rail, and McCormick Place indicated. (Thank you, Jill!)

We’ll be sharing more tips as the conference nears. For now, it’s time to start breaking in a comfortable pair of shoes.

C U in Chicago….Don’t forget to add DGI programming to your schedule, our sessions are proving quite popular in the online planner!

Our most popular session by number of attendees is our Spotlight: Wikileaks Controversy, with 67 sign-ups!  Following in close pursuit is the Joint Reception (party!), Patent Research 101, Cross-Cultural Competitive Intelligence, and Gov on the Go, with around 50 sign-ups each.  Let’s not forget about Open Data in Chicago and the Career Agility panel at our business meeting – show em some love and select the star icon in the online scheduler.

Monday

8am – Spotlight Session: Wikileaks Controversy
The Wikileaks scandal headlined worldwide news in 2010 – 2011 and highlighted issues of government classification, information policy, and information ethics. This session will explore various facets of the controversy.  Speaking: Patrice McDermott, OpenTheGovernment.org.  Sponsor: Dow Jones & Company, Inc

4pm – Patent Research 101
Take the plunge into the world of intellectual property. Find out how to do patentability searches, litigation research, and state-of-the-art-searches. 
Speaking: Chris Vestal, Lexis Nexis; Kristin Whitman, Landon IP.  Sponsors: Bloomberg BNA/Bloomberg Law, Dialog, LexisNexis, and Springer

Tuesday

10am – Spotlight Session: Cross-Cultural Competitive Intelligence
Competitive intelligence (CI) practices are being adopted by more organizations throughout the world, increasing interest in the diversity, differences and commonalities in CI practices to foster both competitiveness and cooperation among firms and government agencies. In this session, the presenters will describe and discuss differences and commonalities in CI practices across a number of countries and trends in new programs as they explore the demand and requirements for stronger intelligence education.
Moderating: Dr. Craig S. Fleisher, Aurora WDC; Speaking: Dr. France Bouthillier, School of Information Studies, McGill University; Dr. Andrew Dillon, School of Information & Professor of Information, Psychology and Risk & Operations Management; Tao Jin, Louisiana State University.  Sponsor: Dow Jones & Company, Inc

2pm – Business Meeting & Career Agility Panel
Annual business meeting followed by an exciting and thought-provoking discussion on  career agility in the government information sector.
Speaking: Leia Dickerson, Government Accountability Office; Richard Huffine, U.S. Geological Survey; Tanya Whippie, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  Sponsor: Gale Cengage Learning and Lexis Nexis

8pm – Joint Reception @ 312 Chicago
Please join the Government Information, Solo Librarians, and Transportation Divisions for a lively joint open house. Speak with members from a variety of fields and experiences, all in one place. Please meet at the event location: 312 Chicago, Downtown Loop.  Sponsors: Elsevier and WT Cox

Wednesday

10am – Open Data in Chicago
Chicago has recently launched major government transparency efforts.  Learn more about open data initiatives in the Windy City, particularly the work of the Metro Chicago Information Center.
Speaking: Virginia Carlson, Metro Chicago Information Center.  Sponsors: WT Cox, LexisNexis, and Thomson Reuters, Westlaw

12pm – Gov on the Go: Mobile Apps
Government information is now being made available on the go via smart phone applications.  This session will explore creating mobile applications using government information as well as one government library’s experience evaluating mobile applications for use in an agency setting.
Speaking: Heidi Peters, DARPA Support Contractor; Katrina Stierholz, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.  Sponsor: LexisNexis