Going Green for SLA

Late last year, SLA (the Special Libraries Association), began a going green initiative by asking all their exhibitors at their annual conference in June to think about ways to reduce or even eliminate their carbon footprint. This is a big challenge for large exhibitors like Dow Jones, who occupy 40' x 40' exhibit spaces with attendant superstructures, traditional construction techniques and massive amounts of paper handouts and interesting but eco-unfriendly give-aways.

As we began meeting with our exhibit design consultants, Atlantic Skyline, we also learned that going green does not come without considerable cost. Eco-friendly fabrics and dyes are more costly than conventional ones. Recycled carpets made from plastic bottles are more expensive than conventional carpets and reducing the amount of hard structures in a booth design requires skill and knowledge.

As we look forward to the June 15-18, 2008 SLA Annual Conference in Seattle (where better to practice going green than in the Emerald City) we have made some very good first steps. Here's what you can look forward to seeing - or not seeing - as the case may be:

• Use of Eco-Systems Dyesub Pillowcase fabric banners which use fabric and dyes much friendlier to the environment than traditional dye processes. Not only are they better for initial fabrication, but also better when they are ultimately recycled.
• Use of recycled rental carpet made from plastic bottles and re-used by others when we are finished
• We are recycling 95% of the 2008 booth construction for reuse in our 2009 exhibit in Washington, DC
• We are using local contractors when possible to reduce shipping impact, this includes local rental of all LCD panels and in-booth computers
• Eliminating about 90% of all printed booth collateral in favor of use of electronic print-on-demand documents
• Instead of physical giveaways such as pens, mugs, stress balls or other items we are featuring handwriting analysis as the booth ‘give-away’ and we are using recycled paper for the handwriting analyists to use
  

None of this is rocket science, and this is only the beginning effort, but we all need to start somewhere in thinking about how to reduce the impact of our global carbon footprint. We look forward to seeing you at Booth 401 in Seattle and to showing off our green efforts.

So long for now,

Anne

A History of Newsletters

Wikipedia’s definition of a Newsletter states: A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Webster’s Dictionary states a Newsletter to be: A printed report usually issued at regular intervals, giving news about or information of interest to a particular group.

Traditional newsletters were printed on paper in a hard copy format; however that is not the norm in most cases today with the majority being delivered via e-mail (eNewsletters or electronic newsletters). Research shows that the first newsletter appeared in 1538, long before newspapers became the standard medium for news stories. One of the first known newsletters was distributed in England in 1631 featuring happenings of locals overseas. In 1704, the Boston News-letter made its appearance in the US and eventually became a newspaper. Many other newsletters flourished in the 1700’s and also followed suit by becoming newspapers.

By the early 1900’s, newsletters made a comeback mainly because businesses and industries needed specialized information. In 1904 Babson’s Report, an investment advisory newsletter, surfaced and was followed by the Kiplinger Letter in 1923. The Kiplinger Letter continues to be the most widely-read business forecasting periodical in the world.

A few decades later in 1930, corporate newsletters emerged rapidly. To be specific, Telecommunications Reports (a telecommunications industry newsletter) took the lead in 1934 and was followed by a series of business newsletters. Several types of newsletters ranging from farming to fashion also became commonplace.

Jump ahead to mid-1980 with the advent of personal computers which altered the concept of the rapidly changing workplace. The term “e-mail” becomes part of our regular vocabulary and it is during this time that Desktop Publishing and the use of PC’s to produce print materials became common place buzzwords. Newsletters were welcomed with open arms because desktop publishing software allowed them to be created with ease.

In the 21st century, newsletters appeared in another medium – online or web versions. These are known today as electronic newsletters (eNewsletters) which are usually distributed by email to people who voluntarily subscribed to them online. Initially these types of newsletters contained hyperlinks to webpages so that website operators could draw surfers to their websites. This would increase hits and pageviews allowing website operators to get revenue from banner ads put up by advertisers. Over time, it was clear that web surfers were more interested in getting information from their e-mail accounts than from websites.

Hence today, eNewsletters are now full-fledged, content-rich publications. Advertisers are also more willing to sponsor such newsletters as they believe their ads are better targeted and more effective than banner ads. All types of newsletters fall into one of these broad categories whether they are print or electronic:

• Promotional Newsletters: Frequently used by businesses to promote a product or service (I receive several of these each day). Also known as marketing newsletters, they are typically sent to current or prospective customers free of charge. Promotional newsletters also strive to turn prospects into customers and customers into repeat customers.


• Relationship Newsletters: These focus on the shared interests of the target audience (club newsletters, employee newsletters, church newsletters, alumni newsletters, etc.). Typically distributed at no charge, some organizations may send newsletters only to paid members. Our Dow Jones InfoPro Alliance Bulletin monthly newsletter is a great example of a relationship newsletter.


• Expert Newsletters: Usually subscription-based, these normally focus on a specific topic and the recipient is someone who has specifically requested the information in the newsletter and is willing to pay for the information.

As you can see, Newsletters have been around for a long time and have truly evolved into an important mainstream communications tool that can be created quite easily using inexpensive software programs. As a matter of fact, our Dow Jones Factiva product has a built-in Newsletter Builder feature that is simple to use and is offered at no additional cost to our customers. So the next time you need a way to keep in touch with customers, develop relationships with people who have similar interests as you or provide a group of people with proprietary information, consider starting a newsletter.

Ciao,
VINNIE

Professional Pride - It Isn't Dead Yet

Anyone you talk to can tell you tales of a coworker's lack of effort and how it impacts their own efforts.  It seems that it is common, or even expected to hear stories about someone not pulling their weight and contributing to the productivity of a team or even a company.  For every example someone can give about the individual who went above and beyond to get something done right, there are dozens of examples where someone's lack of effort contributes to making progress nearly impossible.  Why are there so many people allowed to contribute detrimentally to the efforts of a team, department, division or company?  Why do we tolerate this in any environment?  For the longest time I was a firm believer in the Objectivist Philosophy, until I realized that the nature of my fellow workers made implementation impossible.  As a result, I modified my thinking so that I would do my very best and expect little from others and this has worked out depressingly well.  What goes into cultivating a sense of professional pride?  I have three basic ideas that may help, though you should keep in mind that I am referring primarily to the corporate or business world:

1. Enjoy the work you do (or find work you enjoy).  Easier said than done, you say?  It all depends on your situation I suppose.  If you are employed doing something you don't like but you need the money or the benefits, you need to evaluate what matters most to you.  You spend most of your waking hours working, so you should seriously consider the sum of your life after taking into account how much time will be tallied up in the cosmic balance sheet under "Time spent being miserable doing something I detest."  Is there something productive that you'd like to do, or want to do but don't know how to go about it?  I recommend taking the time to investigate alternatives so that you don't end up looking back and see thirty or more years of wasted time you'll never get back.
2. Look at each job or task as representing you.  This is something I can never understand about some people.  If you do a job, even one that is repetitious or tedious, you should consider it an extension of you.  Even if you don't believe in karma or a "reaping future benefits for my potentially unrecognized efforts" sort of philosophy, it still seems like a crime to look at a task as just a task.  If the job requires little actual thought, then don't put in a lot of thought.  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't treat the job as something unattached to you.  Do the job well for the sake of doing it well and you will be able to go through the rest of your life knowing that you did what you were supposed to do so efficiently and well that your name is synonymous with great work and a good work ethic.  It is great praise to have a boss or peer refer to you as a great worker regardless of what you do.  My tasks and jobs represent me, so when someone brings up one of these accomplishments they will link me irrevocably with good work.  "Oh, Tom?  Great worker!"  Who knew that I'd adopt such a philosophy?  My former classmates from my high school days would suffer apoplectic seizures if they heard such crazy talk from me.
3. If at all possible, go above and beyond expectations.  Again, some jobs have very little scope for this, but as I work in a corporate environment I am exposed to a large number of comments like "That isn't my job" or "It isn't in my job description" or "I don't get paid to do that."  There are plenty of things in life we don't get paid for that we still do, but when it comes to work it seems like a stupid, short-sighted and lazy approach to a career.  Movies about slacker employees having all the fun and getting the chicks is a great Hollywood formula, but after a few cubicle mishaps and seeing the snarky manager spluttering in indignation it all becomes a bit contrived and as rooted in fantasy as Lord of the Rings.  Keep in mind that I am not advocating putting your career and such above family and your real priorities, but while you are on the clock why not try to get something done ahead of schedule?  The tired old argument of "Then they'll expect me to always get it done ahead of schedule" is just rot.  In the end, you'll be seen as a responsible contributor and if you start feeling like you are being taken advantage of or that you are going to start falling behind, explain the situation and odds are the powers that be will cut you a break.  A good employer will see that you are worth more if you are kept reasonably happy and treated with some respect.

Now, I am speaking from personal experience and have only adopted this work ethic within the last 10 years, but I feel very strongly about it.  My director allows me the flexibility to expand on my projects or add new elements that exceed the scope if I see it as adding a benefit.  My manager gives me a great deal of scope for developing my skills and pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve.  I look at each project as a challenge and I view each new task as another chance to make a difference in my little bit of real estate in the cosmos.  When I complete something, I know people will not be disappointed in what they get from me.  I take an immense pride in my work.

Why don't more people have this elusive trait?  It is probably due to a combination of innate laziness coupled with  administrative disconnect with workers.  Now, does the fact that I have this trait make me better than others?  It sure as hell makes me a better worker than many others.  Is it possible to cultivate this sense of professional pride in employees in a department, division or company?  Maybe we should investigate this topic further...

Stay tuned for some great pre-SLA 2008 posts as the clock is ticking towards June and Seattle.  I can't wait to see you all there!

Thanks and Regards,

Thomas