Category Archives: Academic

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

SALIS: Conference and Resources

The following was submitted by Barbara Weiner. Barbara is the manager of Hazelden Library, and had the opportunity to attend the SALIS (Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists) conference at the end of April.

SALIS Conference Recap:

Each year SALIS hosts a conference.  Just completed, this year’s conference, held in New York City, was built around the theme of:  “ATOD Policy and Information Technology in an Era of Change”.  The 40 attendees represented six countries, and all benefited from three days of presentations, networking, and learning.  Professionals from both the addictions and information fields provided stimulating presentations.  Here are just a few:

  • Susan E. Foster, MSW, Director of Policy Research, Columbia University. “Behind Bars: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population”
  • Michael Ahmadi, MPH, Public Health Analyst, SAMHSA. “Using Knowledge Management Technology to Help Meet Information Needs in the Field of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs”
  • Robert Pandina, PhD, Director, Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University. “Scientific Publishers: Gatekeepers of Human Knowledge”
  • Rick J. Block, Head of Special Collections Metadata and Cataloging, Columbia University. “Promise for the Future, or Legacy of the Past? Cataloging in a Changing World”
  • Dan Lawrence, MLIS, Director, Prevention Information Center, Colorado. “Social Media in the Office: “To-do” or “Taboo?”
  • Christine Goodair, Coordinator, International Centre for Drug Policy, London. “The Perils of Progress – Quality Unassured”

Conference attendees bring back an armful of new resources, new information to put to use and/or share, new colleagues and friends to network with, and renewed energy, motivation, and knowledge for the mission of our daily work.

SALIS Organization and Membership Information:

Are you—or someone you work with—responsible for addiction and substance use/misuse information in your organization?

Do you sometimes seek assistance in responding to questions about substance abuse?

What are the resources and networks which coordinate information in the ATOD (alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs) field?

 You may want to consider membership in the SALIS organization!  SALIS (Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists) is a professional, international association of individuals with special interest in the access, exchange, and dissemination of ATOD information.  It represents the major ATOD collections from around the globe.  SALIS members not only provide and receive assistance from each other, but also advocate for improvement and change in matters of common interest.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Falling Out of Love with Facebook?

If so, you’re not alone! In fact, you’re in good company; an informal Sophos poll found that around 60 percent of Facebook users are tossing around the idea of quitting Facebook entirely. Additionally, Google reports that more people than ever are searching for information on how to delete their Facebook account. There is even a group of about 11,000+ people that have committed to calling it quits with Facebook on May 31st — a clear sign to Facebook that users are not happy with recent changes to their Facebook accounts.

So… what exactly is going on? What’s got people so fired up about Facebook? The interactive visual provided here, titled The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook, should be a good launching point for those that aren’t familiar with the concerns surrounding this issue.

Mainly, the concern is that personal information is becoming increasingly available and accessible to others without the user’s consent. Each time Facebook changes its security and privacy restrictions the user has to be aware that this is happening, and “opt-out” to protect themselves from their information being leaked. This essentially requires users to frequently visit and update their security preferences (which can be a complicated task!).  Even more importantly, it requires users to be aware of Facebook news and updates.

Many believe that Facebook is releasing more and more if its user’s data for monetary gain. A Washington Post article, from May 20th, cited a recent concern that Facebook supplied User IDs of people who had clicked on an advertisement to the advertisers themselves. Facebook, on the other hand, claims that its most recent changes are due to the desire to connect their users with more information, and specifically, to tailor information to the user’s preferences. Additionally, Facebook’s Head of Public Policy, Tim Sparapini, recently indicated that Facebook plans to unroll much simpler privacy settings.

Thinking about deleting your Facebook account? Use this article, titled Deleting Your Facebook Account (FAQ), from CNet to explore the situation in more detail and make some informed decisions. Perhaps most importantly, if you use your Facebook account to connect with colleagues or library patrons, ask yourself what’s next? What are some tools you can use to maintain your Facebook connections?

Of course, the less extreme option is to carefully control and maintain your privacy settings. This guide should help!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Gentleman (and ladies) … Start your READING!

One Book, One Twitter is officially underway! American Gods by Neil Gaiman was selected as the first book that the “club” will read. I’ve already picked up my copy from the library, and if all goes according to plan… will start devouring tonight!

The One Book, One Twitter book club opened for discussion starting on May 5th. If you’re interested, you may wish to review the following for a system of hashmarks for tweeting and commentary…

#1b1t: General Discussion

#1b1t_1c: Discussion of Chapter 1 (and prologue material)

#1b1t_2c: Discussion of Chapter 2

… and on until the final chapter.

For additional information, and a One Book, One Twitter reading schedule, take a look at Jeff Howe’s Crowdsourcing blog – he’s the guy that started the whole thing!