News & Updates Archive
December
John Stewart interviews Transportation Secretary LaHood about improving infrastructure, creating jobs and high speed rail on The Daily Show December 15, 2009.
Warmest congratulations to both Sheila Hatchell and A.J. Million for their nominations as the two newest SLA Transportation Division Board members.
The pooled fund is well represented on the 2010 Transportation Division Board:
Chair - Arlene Mathison, University of Minnesota, Center for Transportation Studies (2010)
Chair-Elect - John Cherney, Wisconsin Dept of Transportation (2010)
Treasurer - Jane Minotti, New York State Dept of Transportation (2009-2010)
Secretary - Anthony Million, Missouri Dept of Transportation (2010-2011)
Past Chair - Rita Evans, University of California, Berkeley (2010)
Chair-Elect-Elect - Sheila Hatchell, Minnesota Dept of Transportation (2010)
WTKN is holding elections for Chair and Chair-elect for 2010. On the ballot this year are Kendra Levine (UC-Berkeley ITS) for Chair, and Louise Rosenzweig (UT-Austin CTR) for Chair-elect.
November
A mini peer exchange was held November 16-17, 2009 at the Mn/DOT and WisDOT libraries. Zona Kahkonen Keppler (Ohio DOT), Sandy Brady (Louisiana DOT LTRC) and Alexandra Briseno (Michigan DOT), and Maggie Sacco were hosted by Sheila Hatchell and her staff at Mn/DOT and John Cherney at WisDOT. The participants toured the libraries and discussed agenda topics such as how to communicate the value of library services and strategies for providing value-added services to library customers. A full report is coming soon.
October
Maggie visited librarian Betty Amber at the ConnDOT library on October 28, 2009. After a library tour, Betty introduced Maggie to the Traffic Operations staff who showed how they monitor and notify the public about road conditions with cameras and technology.
Start planning your attendance at the 89th Annual TRB Conference in DC, January 10-14, 2010.
September
Inez Adele Hopkins and Ned Parrish hosted Maggie during her site visit to Idaho Transportation Department on September 30th. Please stay tuned for the site visit report. If you would like to read past reports, visit the Members & Partners page.
Maggie visited with A.J. Million and the folks from MoDOT in Jefferson City on September 28th. Site visit report coming soon.
The 2009 annual meeting was a success. We thank chair Ann Pahnke, all of TAC members and Mary Ellen Bates for her participation. On to 2010!
We are pleased to announce the completion of the Transportation Librarian's Toolkit, 2nd edition. New content includes Data Management, Web 2.0, updated Space Planning content and many new examples of our member libraries' best practices.
The pooled fund is pleased to welcome New Mexico DOT as our newest member. Librarian Krystyna Cherry will serve as the Technical Advisory Committee member for her state. Welcome aboard Krys - we're glad to have you with us!
The 2009 TPF-5(105) Annual Meeting was held on 9/17/09. We convened online via Web conference and welcomed guest speaker Mary Ellen Bates to lead a session on "Librarians as Change Agents" where we learned of the many ways to provide value-added services to our customers. We conducted our year end business meeting and reviewed the 2009 annual report and Transportation Librarian's Toolkit, 2nd ed. (coming soon). Thanks to Mary Ellen and all of our members for helping us wrap up FFY2009 with a great meeting. On to FFY2010!
August 2009
Please mark your calendars for our annual meeting on September 17, 2009. This year we will convene in a Web conference from 10am-1pm CDT. Our annual meeting marks the end of FFY 2009 and the start of FFY 2010 - our 5th year of supporting transportation libraries. Details coming soon!
The US DOT Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse is a great resource for librarians. Our members and partners from the TKNs and the AASHTO RAC TKN Task Force have contributed to the development of the clearinghouse by submitting valuable information sources in the development of this new research tool.
July 2009
The National Transportation Library hosted the first Joint TKN meeting at the US DOT headquarters in Washington, DC on June 18, 2009. This landmark meeting brought members of the three regional TKNs together for face-to-face meetings and to develop a National TKN identity and select projects and priorities for the network.
June 2009
SLA Tran 7 was launched on June 14th. The first 50 registrants who complete the 7 things (Web 2.0) get a prize!
Have you seen the SLA Transportation Division Wiki? Division members can post and keep up with developments in transportation information and libraries.
The first Joint TKN meeting will be held at the US DOT in Washington, DC on June 18. See you there or see you online at http://fhwa.acrobat.com/translibrarian. Agenda.
Countdown to SLA 100th Annual Conference June 14-17, 2009 in DC! Check out the SLA wiki with the Transportation Division program.
Unable to attend? Keep up with what's happening with the SLA Virtual Conference Initiative.
The Eastern Transportation Knowledge Network has launched their new web site. Please visit and see pooled fund member-ETKN chair-Webmaster Sandy Brady's excellent design and content!
May 2009
Kendra Levine created Mashtrans, a web site that looks at transportation information exchange through the Web 2.0 lens. See Kendra's TRB poster on Mashtrans, and visit Mashtrans on the Web to learn more.
The March-April 2009 edition of TRNews features articles about libraries and information in transportation. Some of our members' success stories are featured in a sidebar as well as articles about libraries in the digital age, the evolution of TRIS, why agencies should support libraries, TKNs and more!
Rita Evans presented a poster at TRB demonstrating the Many Eyes visualization system in use at UC Berkeley ITS. See it here.
Lance Warren is an Embedded Librarian in the FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research program. Learn more from Lance's TRB poster about the EAR program (146.7 MB).
February 2009
Amanda J. Wilson, NTL Director and Maggie Sacco, pooled fund Consulting Librarian collaborated on a poster for the "Developments and Innovations in Transportation Libraries and Information Services" poster session at TRB. Amanda and Maggie presented their poster, The National Transportation Knowledge Network, an illustration of how far we have come, where we are now, and where we are going with the NTKN in the future.
WisDOT Head Libraran, John Cherney authored and presented a fantastic poster at the 2009 TRB Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. His poster, Creating an Information Commons on a Budget clearly illustrated that space and functionality can be enhanced with creative design ideas and making library and information services front and center in a DOT library.
The pooled fund organized a poster session at the 2009 TRB meeting, "Developments and Innovations in Transportation Libraries and Information Services". The LIST Committee sponsored the session, which had 8 spectacular posters presented by authors from DOTs, federal agencies and UTC libraries. The first poster we would like to highlight from the session is The Transportation Librarians' Toolkit. A product of the pooled fund study, the Toolkit has been useful to new and experienced transportation librarians alike. Maggie Sacco authored and presented the poster at TRB.
January 2009
Poster Session 251- Developments and Innovations in Transportation Libraries and Information Services will be on Monday, January 12, 2009 at the TRB Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Please stop by and meet the authors from 9 am -12 pm in the Hilton International Ballroom.
December 2008
Janet Coles has joined Caltrans as the new Supervising Librarian. We look forward to working with Janet and congratulate her on her new job!
November 2008
Zona Kahkonen Keppler is the new Ohio DOT librarian and our newest TAC member. We welcome her and congratulate her on her new position at ODOT.
October 2008
Connecticut DOT has joined the pooled fund! Please welcome librarian and new TAC member Betty Ambler.
The 4th Annual Pooled Fund Meeting & Conference was a great success. Most members were able to attend and we had great presentations and lively discussions. See the presentations on the Annual Meetings page.
September 2008
Welcome ConnDOT! Our newest Technical Advisory Committee member is Betty Ambler, Librarian at ConnDOT. We are so pleased to be working with Connecticut as we plan our work for FY09.
Transportation Library Connectivity 4th Annual Meeting & Conference
October 21-23, 2008 (Tuesday-Thursday)
Louisiana Transportation Research Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The Transportation Library Connectivity pooled fund welcomes its members and guests to our 4th Annual Meeting & Conference October 21-23 at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center. Our program this year will highlight strategic planning for libraries and Transportation Knowledge Networks.
August 2008
August 22, 2008
11 AM-12 PM PT; 1-2 PM CT; 2-3 PM ET
TOPIC: Engaging Key Stakeholders & Funders
SPEAKER: Cindy Hill from Outsell, Inc. Cindy's bio.
URL: https://www.webmeeting.att.com
Webinar Meeting Number: 8773361829
Access Code: 6687863
Audio Call-in number: 1-877-336-1829
Audio Access Code: 6687863
We need you at TRB 2009! The LIST Committee is sponsoring a poster session, "Developments and Innovations in Transportation Libraries and Information Services." Now is the time to show the world's largest gathering of transportation professionals that partnering with libraries is the way of the future. The deadline is August 28th - all we need is an abstract for consideration. TRB's Guidelines for poster proposals
The Arizona Transportation Research Center/Arizona DOT has joined the pooled fund for FFY 09 - We are pleased to welcome another WTKN member library to our group.
July 2008
Transportation Librarian's Toolkit Workshop
July 30, 1:00-2:00 PM CDT
URL: https://www.webmeeting.att.com
Webinar Meeting Number: 8773361829
Access Code: 6687863
Audio Call-in number: 1-877-336-1829
Audio Access Code: 6687863
The pooled fund had a booth at the 2008 AASHTO RAC meeting in Portland, ME, July 14-18. Maggie, Pat, Amanda, and Sandy B. were there to attend the first face-to-face Special Task Force on TKNs. It was a great opportunity talk with research managers about the benefits of membership and the exciting projects we have going on. Check out our first booth!
SLA 2008 GTRIC presentations are available here.
We are delighted to welcome our newest member, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority. Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive Administrator Matt Barrett has been a supporter of the pooled fund since we started our work. We're glad to have him on board!
Barbara Post, Director of the Transportation Research Board Library has joined the pooled fund as a partner and Ex Officio TAC member. We look forward to working with another prominent member of the transportation information and library community. Welcome Barbara!
Bonnie Osif receives 2008 SLA Transportation Division Professional Achievement Award
Congratulations Bonnie!
SLA Takes Out Full Page Ad in Wall Street Journal
Click here to see the full page WSJ ad sponsored by Dow Jones. Many thanks to SLA for their ongoing effort to raise awareness about the importance of our profession!
SLA Centennial Stamps
SLA has created First Class postage stamps to celebrate its centennial in 2009.
June 2008
99th Annual SLA meeting June 13-18 in Seattle
It’s the 65th Anniversary of the Transportation Division! See our program here.
We have a record number of Transportation Division librarians attending this year’s GTRIC meeting, including 15 representatives from the pooled fund.
Mn/DOT Library Accolades in MinnPost.com
Who knew? Mn/DOT Library is little-known gem
Kudos to Sheila Hatchell, Jerry Baldwin, Jim Byerly, and Qin Tang!
June 5 Site Visit to Caltrans
Maggie visited with Susan Haake and her staff in Sacramento.
May 2008
April issues of Kaleidoscope
The April issue of the SLA Transportation Division newsletter is out – be sure to check out your study partners’ contributions and SLA GTRIC event listings!
April 2008
The pooled fund member libraries are celebrating National Library Week with contests, drawings, giveaways, and education initiatives in their departments.
MODOT 2008 Innovative Researcher Achievement Award
Goes to Library Development Project
Congratulations to Librarian Danielle Pollock!
See Librarian Hank Zaletel on KCCI Channel 8 in Des Moines for “A Look Back at Iowa’s Rough Roads”
March 2008
Library 2.0 @LTRC
Librarian Sandy Brady has incorporated chat into the LTRC Library web site, and she’s
blogging. Check out more new photos of the LTRC library on Flickr. Sandy is reaching out to the library’s customers using Library 2.0 applications. Visit the links to keep up-to-date on her progress. (You’ll be impressed!)
“Fast Lanes on the Transportation Information Superhighway: Tips for Efficient, Comprehensive Internet Research”, a fantastic Webinar hosted by TRB on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. Bonnie Osif (Penn State) and Barbara Post (TRB) presented.
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/671118090
February 2008
The LTRC TTEC Library is taking shape. Check in on new librarian Sandy Brady’s progress in starting this library from scratch via her slideshow on Flickr.
January 2008
Welcome NYSDOT! The pooled fund study is pleased to have New York State Department of Transportation as our newest member.
Transportation Librarian's Toolkit. This new publication, a product of the pooled fund study, offers comprehensive guidance to librarians who are serving customers in state departments of transportation. The Toolkit draws heavily on the experience and wisdom of pooled fund members as it provides detailed information in seven key areas:
- Deliver Essential Library Services
- Plan an Effective Collection for Your Customers
- Make the Most of Your Space
- Put Best Practices to Work
- Market Your Services Creatively
- Network, Network, Network
- Learn the Lay of the Land
December 2007
New Work Plan for 2008. The Technical Oversight Committee has approved a 10-point consultant work plan for 2008, encompassing technical services, promotion of the value of transportation libraries, workshops and information sharing. The work plan includes cooperative efforts with many other organizations and individuals with a similar vision, particularly in the US DOT and state DOTS across the country.
September 2007
Annual Meeting and Conference. This Madison event, with attendance by seven new pooled fund members, featured in-person and Web presentations, sharing of best practices and a tour of WisDOT's new iCommons. The repeated theme of the meeting was that momentum is being achieved, among the members of the pooled fund and beyond, in demonstrating the value of library and information services to the transportation community. Plans are already under way for the next annual meeting and conference to be hosted by the Louisiana Transportation Research Center.