SLA 2014 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO

The division board members will meet to discuss activities and projects undertaken by the division and finalize a report-out to be delivered at the division membership meeting.

In addition to the DERM business meeting, a guest speaker will present "A Hot 30 in 30 Minutes" Environmental Website Highlights on a range of hot topics and emerging issues of interest to the environmental community, information professionals and concerned citizens.

Fish and shellfish provide a vital source of protein and essential fatty acids for the human diet around the world. They are wild caught or aquacultured at the rate of 150 million tons annually by industrial fleets and farm operations nominally regulated by national governments which have often have drastically diverging interests from those of other nations with whom they must share the seas. Many species are endangered, some aquaculture practices have been found hazardous to the environment, and the livelihood of small-scale, subsistence fishermen everywhere is imperiled. Corrective multinational seafood conservation treaties require massive data compilation & the development of an international scientific & political consensus on best practices. But informed consumers making wise choices in the market may well be the most influential factor in making seafood a sustainable resource. Information professionals have an important role to play at every step of the process.

Program Take-Aways
Participants will have a better understanding of the complexities of what is truly an international dilemma, will see how important fact-finding is, and yet understand how competing interests can look at the same set of  facts and come to very different conclusions.

All major officers of the division present their reports to the membership in which the previous year's progress is reviewed, current year's agenda confirmed, and the outlook for the coming year is projected. Suggestions for next year's convention programs are taken from the floor. Annual Awards are presented. Calls for candidates for next year's officers are issued.

Federal and local government agencies are implementing plans to provide more services to their constituents through digital means. Representatives from the U.S. General Services Administration, U.S. State Department, and the city of Vancouver will discuss their agencies’ efforts to move in that direction.

Program Take-Aways

1. Learn how and why libraries at the local and federal government levels are partnering with their home agencies to provide library and other government services digitally to their sometimes unique communities.






2. Learn which digital and social media tools are being utilized and are recommended by local and federal government libraries and agencies for this type of digital outreach.