PostConference Workshops

Each of these satellite events has its own registration fee. You may register online.

Coffee Breaks • Outside Beekman Parlor
Luncheon for seminar attendees • Rendezvous Trianon, 3rd floor

FRIDAY, MAY 21, 1999 (9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM)
 

MAKING THE MOST OF WEB CONTENT
by Barbie E. Keiser, The College of Insurance
• Beekman Parlor •

Friday, May 21, 1999 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

Cost: $295 (includes lunch and coffee services)

Discovering new sites on the Web is not a problem; hundreds exist for every topic under the sun. Identifying those to which you should link when time and money are a consideration - not to mention comprehensive in nature, timeliness, and accuracy of the data -is the key. This seminar will provide participants with objective information and evaluation as to the nature, extent, and quality of information resources on the Internet.

Internet sources will be approached from a highly practical perspective by an information professional who supports the research needs of organizations on a daily basis. Whets available and how do we find it, how do we validate what we find, and how can we be kept informed of new developments?
This one-day workshop will help you identify and evaluate Web sites in your subject area, distinguish hard information resources on the Net from the soft, understand how traditional online services are approaching the technology and how they intend to compete with the upstarts. Attendees should come away with a greater understanding of what resources are available to them, prepared to develop a strategy to deal with future technological and likely social developments.
 

Course Outline

• Streamlining your Web search: Understanding your choices
• Searching aids: Internet search tools, WWW search engines, specialized servers and Web channels
• Identifying those search engines, pathfinders and/or specialized servers that are most appropriate for your subject area
• Traditional publishers, databases and publications vs. resources created for the Net
• Subject-specific search strategies for locating resources in your field
• Criteria for evaluating Web sites
• Identifying contributors to discussions and verifying their qualifications
• Being realistic and managing the expectations of others
• What we can expect in the future: New resources, tools and technologies
• General news and current affairs
• News sources: Global, national, and local press and coverage
• Public opinions, social, and lifestyle issues
• Personalized news services: Which is right for you?
• People news and biographical material that ring true
• Laws and regulations, education and religion
• World constitutions, international treaties, and legal documents from around the world
• Government sites, legislative information services, legal libraries, and important links
• Human rights libraries and watchers
• Formal education; continuing (adult) education; distance learning; and special education needs and fulfillment
• Religions of the world, traditional and cult
• Sources for scientific and technical information
• International standards, national requirements, and industry specs
• Health and medicine, traditional and non-traditional approaches targeted to the consumer and the practitioner alike
• Academic libraries and scholarly discussions
• Patents and trademarks; medicine and health; engineering and the environment; chemicals and pharmaceuticals
• Maps, atlases, climate, and weather
• Economics, business, and finance
• Economic and financial data: Where to go and what to believe NGOs, government agencies, and research studies
• Labor issues and employment opportunities online
• Key academic libraries, bulletin boards, and research papers
• Foreign trade data and opportunity scans
• Industry and market analyses
• Identifying trade associations with real data online
• Stock and bond market data and trading options
• Commerce, on and off-line: Malls and gateways for conducting industry-specific research and transactions
• Public and private company-specific data and sites
• Using recruitment services and advertising on the Net to gather competitive intelligence

For each discipline, major sites for government and scholarly information will be identified and good sites for answering ready-reference questions noted. Methodologies for performing research on the Web will be presented and specific resources highlighted. Sites will be visited throughout the day, with special trials arranged for attendees of this workshop.

Who Should Attend?
This program is designed for information professionals who wish to expand access to subject resources through the use of the Internet. Some knowledge of print and electronic resources (CD-ROM and online) is advised.

The session will be conducted by Barbie E. Keiser, Director of the Kathryn & Shelby Cullom Davis Library of The College of Insurance in New York City. A comprehensive bibliography of additional readings and listings of recommended Web-based resources will be distributed.
 

COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE: ONLINE AND INTERNET SOURCES
by Helen P. Burwell, President, Burwell Enterprises, Inc., Principal, Information Professionals Institute Seminars
• Sutton Parlor North •

Friday, May 21, 1999 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

Cost: $295 (includes lunch and coffee services)

Description:
Competitive Intelligence (CI) research, as we approach the new millennium, requires new strategies for capturing the best information. Learn new approaches to evaluating and using the multitude of electronic sources now available online and new techniques for keeping up with whets happening stateside and worldwide. This fast-paced class covers a wide range of online sources and presents the best tools for building profiles of both industries and individual companies. Research techniques are examined in the context of at least 15 data elements necessary for sizing up competitors. Specific vendors, database files, and Internet sites are covered, with examples.

Course Outline

Online and Database Sources

• CI Strategies Using Electronic Information

Defensive CI, shadowing, benchmarking, etc.
• What to Consider When Comparing and Evaluating Online Sources for Competitive Intelligence

Twelve criteria for making the best choices
• The Broad Issues to Be Considered

When tracking a competitor or industry online
• The Industry Checklist

The top seven topics to cover in studying an industry, and where to capture the data electronically for loading to a CI database
• Twelve Categories of Sources for CI and Tips for Maximizing Their Use

Which categories yield which types of data needed for CI Checklist
• The Company CI Checklist—What to Look for and Where to Look

Covers 13 categories of information and provides names of preferred online or Internet files for each category
• Locating the Same Checklist Items Outside the U.S.

Europe, Asia, and non-U.S. North America
• Political Risk and Country Reports

What sources are most timely, most comprehensive, most cost-effective
• Database Producers/Vendors

Finding CI information using major commercial vendors: Dow Jones, Knight-Ridder, LEXIS-NEXIS, NewsNet
• Government online services as sources for CI

What's available on end-user services: America Online, CompuServe, etc.

• Why Use Commercial Online Sources If You Have the Internet?

When is the Internet the best source for CI? Pitfalls for the unwary Internet searcher; comparison of data from online and Internet sources, with cost analysis.
• Searching the Internet

Discussion of the major search engines — how they work (and how they don't); how to avoid Internet overload.
• What CI Can Be Found Using the Internet?

Government sources (U.S. and foreign), locating experts, checking up on competitors, advertising and marketing information, and more.
• WWW Sites and Other Internet Locations for Useful CI Information

URLs for dozens of the hottest sites — and for many lesser-known but valuable resources; what's free, what's fee?

About the Instructor:
Helen Burwell is president of Burwell Enterprises, Inc., which provides consulting and research services to the information industry and the international business community. The company also publishes the Information Broker newsletter and The Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers, which is widely used by business and industry for outsourcing information research. As principal of the Information Professionals Institute Seminars, Ms. Burwell shares her expertise nationwide in a series of seminars covering online and business information topics for information professionals as well as the broader corporate community. She is a frequent speaker at regional, national, and international conferences, and is the author of Online Competitive Intelligence, published by Facts On Demand Press, 1999. Helen Burwell is a founding member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) and served as the organization's first president.
 

EXTREME SEARCHING: USING SEARCH ENGINES TO THE MAXIMUM
by Randolph E. Hock, Online Strategies
• Sutton Parlor Center •

Friday, May 21, 1999 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

Cost: $295 (includes lunch and coffee services)

Web search engines have quickly become a critical tool in the serious information seeker's toolbox, providing a kind and extent of access barely imaginable a very few, very short, years ago. However, most engines are neither as straightforward, as accurate, nor as understandable as we might wish and as many of the search engine producers would like us to believe. To make full use of these services, there is a lot more to fruitfully be known than is apparent from the documentation.

The emphasis in this seminar will be on providing the searcher with the information necessary to have better control over what is retrieved. To help accomplish this, we will look behind the scenes a bit to see how the search engines are put together and what factors are involved in their retrieval algorithms. The seminar will cover the variety of options and features provided by the major search engines (AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Infoseek, Lycos, Northern Light, plus Yahoo!) and provide tips for optimal strategies and usage. The individual search engines will be summarized, compared, and reviewed. "Meta-Search engines" such as DogPile will also be addressed in terms of what they do and do not accomplish. A course booklet will be provided that should serve also as an ongoing reference aid.
 

Who Should Attend
Any serious searcher/researcher who has a need for finding material on the Web and who has at least a small amount of Web searching experience, but who has not yet explored most of the major search engines in depth. Those who are being called upon to teach their own patrons, clients, or users about search engines should also find this valuable.

The seminar will cover:

• How Search Engines are Put Together (spiders, indexing, interfaces, etc.)
• What to Expect and Not Expect from the Engines
• Update Frequency
• Overlap of Retrieval
• Search Engine Algorithms
• Typical Advanced Search Options
• Boolean Options
• Field Searching
• General Searching Tips
• Profiles of Each Major Engine
• Meta-Search Engines

About the Instructor
Ran Hock, author of The Extreme Searcher's Guide to Web Search Engines, has his own company, Online Strategies, which specializes in creating and presenting seminars on the effective use of Web resources. He has created courses on searching the Web and other online services for professional associations, businesses, and government agencies. In addition to his recent book, he has published numerous articles on various aspects of online research. During his career he has served as a reference librarian and has held management and training positions with Dialog and Knight-Ridder Information Services. Ran is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland College of Library and Information Services and also at Lesley College (Cambridge, MA), where he teaches in the Technology in Education Program. During his career, he has trained over 6,000 online researchers nationally and abroad.
 

INTRANET CASE STUDIES BY INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS
by Howard McQueen and Jean E. DeMatteo, McQueen Consulting
• Sutton Parlor South •

Friday, May 21, 1999 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

Cost: $295 (includes lunch and coffee services)

In this full-day workshop, five of your peers will present detailed case studies about exciting, cutting-edge intranet applications and projects they are involved with. Time has been built into the day to allow for Q&A with each of the presenters. You will also receive a workbook that contains all presentations.

As yet, the case studies have not been chosen. The final selections will be made in mid-February. During the week of February 22, case study abstracts will be posted on www.mcq.com/seminars (see Schedule, May 21: National Online Meeting) and here on the Information Today Web site.

By the end of this seminar, you should be inspired with many new ideas for your intranet — attendees of last year's conference were. Here's what a few had to say:

• Format great! Selection of presenters excellent.

— Lianna Kelly, The College Board
• Very informative! All the speakers were working on cutting-edge projects that gave me lots of ideas and inspiration.

— Nicole Hennig, Bose Corporation
• Great to see what others are doing! What a lot of creativity!

— Leslie Firth, Bank of Canada
• The variety of speakers gave the seminar a collaborative feel.

— Donna Hopkins, BF Goodrich
• Concentration on "how we did ? and why" very useful. Great opportunity to learn, benchmark, network, etc. Good job!

— Kelly Doran, Weyerhaeuser

Moderators:
Howard is CEO of McQueen Consulting and Jean is Director of Educational Programs. Howard and Jean have been working with libraries and research centers since 1985. Today, McQueen Consulting specializes in intranet development with an emphasis on application development and content management. See www.mcq.com for a detailed description of our services, client list, and schedule of upcoming seminars. Howard is also editor of IntraNet Professional, a newsletter written for Information Professionals and content managers. See www.mcq.com/IP for abstracts and supplemental material, that are not included in print.
 
 

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