If you are reading this it means that you are interested enough in engineering librarianship to pay $65 to join ASEE and ELD. Why? For some it's another notch in your resume, for others it is a means to get more involved. Whoever you are, let me tell you what ELD can mean for you and how you can get involved. Librarianship is no longer static or safe. Innovative information technologies have brought opportunities, but they have also introduced a crowd of newcomers who have discovered information and see librarians as kindly, quiet and obsolete.
Well, they're wrong! ELD members include forward looking innovators, experts who help guide our members and our profession in the possibilities of these new tools. What's more, we also have folks who appreciate the guiding principles of the profession; who understand what the tools were meant to build. Together we're dynamite! This sense of tradition and possibility is what we work to convey in our conferences and our publications. But's there's more... there's the sense of community gained from having colleagues and being able to ask questions. Questions about budget cuts, moving a collection, or accreditation reports. A community that supports your professional development by providing an opportunity to publish or to join a committee. Mostly there is an organization where you won't be lost in the crowd, a group that understands that engineering specialists are different from folks who work in public libraries or stock brokerages. Interested? Read on...
My introduction to ELD came with my first ASEE meeting in Lincoln Nebraska, which was roughly seven years ago. No stranger to conferences, I expected to experience that uncomfortable sense of being an unwelcome intruder among a gathering of old friends. My delight at being welcomed into the fold, included in discussions and encouraged to participate in ELD has never diminished. Nor has my appreciation for the assistance and sage advice I have received from fellow ELD members over those years. If any of this sounds like what you are looking for, then I urge you to become more involved in ELD. Participate in the Listserv, come to the conference, join a committee, work on a publication. Feel free to get in touch if you want to know more.
The strength of ELD is its members, representing a global community ofengineering librarians and information specialists in academia, government and industry. The depth of our experience and knowledge was clearly evident at this year's annual meeting where session attendance continued to top old records and attract interest from outside of the profession.
I want to acknowledge the hard work of our session moderators and speakers. Jim Ottaviani, Dena Thomas, Karen Andrews, Steve Gass, Kate Herzog, Sheila Curl, Dorothy Byers, Christy Hightower, Gene Alloway, Jay Waddell, Bonita Stableford, Mel Desart, Maurita Holland, Jill Powell and Jean Whelan all helped make the conference a success through their contributions. Very special thanks go to Locke Morrisey who took the time and effort to welcome us into his library and his home.
As incoming chair one of my obligations is to let you know what I hope to do in 1996. I have four objectives:
I am happy to say that we have taken steps to establish assistance for ELD program chairs and that we have a preliminary web site up at http://www.engin.umich.edu/facility/library/ASEE/ [link No Longer Active].
ELD does not belong to the officers or committee chairs. More than any voice I know, ELD speaks for our profession. Its future, and ours, depends upon your creativity, your energy, and your participation. Get involved!
Bob Schwarzwalder
Chair, Engineering Libraries Division
Head, Information Services, RLIS
Ford Motor Company
313/323-2789 (Voice) 313/323-7936 (Fax)
rschwar3@srllib.srl.ford.com
| Submissions due | Issue |
| Nov. 13, 1995 | December 1995 |
| Feb. 5, 1996 | March 1996 |
| April 1, 1996 | May 1996 |
Dena Thomas, Editor
Centinnial Science & Engineering Library; University of New Mexico
ph: 505-277-5327; fax: 505-277-0702;
dthomas@hal.unm.edu
Copyright © 1995 ASEE Engineering Libraries Division