Chemistry Division Special Libraries Association

Spring Message from the Chemistry Division Chair

Bylaws, bylaws, bylaws - they seem to be the topic for the year. In the Chemistry division we are coming down to the homestretch when it comes to changing the division bylaws. You should have already seen the new version in the last issue of SciTech News. If you missed them, they are also available at the chemistry division website: (New ByLaws). We plan to vote on these at the chemistry division business meeting on Monday, June 10 in Los Angeles. I hope you will be there to participate.

As far as the Association goes, bylaws are also a big issue. By now you should have seen Hope Tillman's message in the April issue of Information Outlook. SLA has also set up a page to act as central location for you to review and comment on the bylaws. It can be found at SLA ByLaws. The bylaws process has been a long but important one for the association. As a member of SLA, you have a say in the process and I urge you to review the information and make your voice heard.

At this point in time, many of us are looking forward to attending the annual conference in Los Angeles. It's an exciting time for the chemistry division as we are also hosting the 7th quadrennial Trisociety Symposium on Sunday, June 9. We have a line up of interesting speakers & topics lined up. You'll be able to see the schedule and abstracts at our website. While the underlying theme of the day is dealing electronic resources for chemistry, I think our speakers will be touching on issues that other science librarians will be interested in. Please spread the word to your non-chemistry focused colleagues. And once again, we'll have the opportunity to see old friends and meet new colleagues with a reception sponsored by ACS and CAS which will be held 8:00 to 10:00 on Sunday night. Check the final program for the location details.

You'll also find interesting events planned for the rest of the conference. Kathy Whitley has lined up an interesting slate of presenters for our annual vendor roundtable on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, our poster session on Teaching Scientific information has also garnered some very interesting posters. I hope you'll take the time to see them. In the afternoon you can find out more about Spectroscopy databases in a session arranged by Sue Cardinal & Dana Roth. Wednesday you can learn about polymer resources and attend a session I know I've need for a long time --- "How to Say Gracefully" (I just hope you won't say no when our chair-elect, Suzanne Fedunouk asks you for help in the coming year). One of the things that makes our conference successful is the sponsorships we receives. I'd like to thank our sponsors John Wiley & Sons, ISI, American Chemical Society, Chemical Abstracts Service and the Royal Society of Chemistry for their support of our events.

And speaking of thank you's, I'd like to thank our many speakers, moderators & planners in advance for what I know will be a great conference. Nancy Simons has done a wonderful great job as the overall planner for the chemistry division this year. I wouldn't have gotten through the year without her. A big thank you also goes to Svetlana Korolev and Jennifer Kostelnik for putting together the Marion E. Sparks Award for Professional Development. Our first award winner is Cory Craig of the Univ. of California, Davis. You can find more out about Cory by reading the member profile. I also hope you'll take the opportunity to say hello if you see her at the conference. We'll be presenting the award at our business meeting on Monday.

And now I'll wrap up my last message from the chair. I've enjoyed being the chair of the chemistry division this past year. The best part is always the people you get to meet and work with. I hope to see many of you in Los Angeles.

Marilynn Dunker Dunker.mj@pg.com

Comments to:
Susanne J. Redalje
Chemistry Division
(206)543-2070(voice)
(206)543-3863(fax)
curie@u.washington.edu

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This page updated April 2002