2002 Special Libraries Section Annual Report
South Carolina Special Libraries Association
For the Fall 2002 SCLA Annual Conference held in Charleston, SC, the Section co-sponsored, with the Online Users Roundtable, a program on digital databases entitled “A Digital Image Database System for Clemson University Libraries”. The presenter Sarah McCleskey, Head of the Clemson University Architectural Library, discussed implementation of a digital image database system at Clemson. The system is currently used for art and architecture images but could be adapted for a variety of fields including biological sciences, medicine, and any subject area that uses slides or visual images. The program demonstrated options for offering digital image collections to patrons. There were eighteen people in attendance and the program was well received with much discussion following the presentation.
The Section also held an informal dinner at Sermet’s on Friday evening of the Annual SCLA Conference with seven people in attendance.
The 2002 fall business meeting followed the program presentation and there were two people in attendance — Lois Sill, serving as Chair, and Kevin Connor, the Section Secretary. Mr. Connor had assumed the duties of Secretary mid-way during the year amd therefore had taken no minutes for the 2001 fall business meeting. Obviously, one of the section’s challenges is to increase membership and to recruit members willing to serve in leadership positions. Mr. Connor, new to librarianship, suggested that he might be willing to serve as Chair next year but wants to remain as Secretary for the year 2003.
Officers for 2003:
Chair vacant
Vice-Chair vacant
Secretary Kevin Connor
Special Librarianship is in a state of flux caused by the job market and the slowdown in the economy. The fragile nature of the international Special Library Association, now examining a name change that would leave the word library or librarian out entirely, is one exhibit in a long list that demonstrates this state of change. Our Section needs to regroup and re-energize but to do this we need dynamic leadership in our Section.