by Alison Verbeck

The IAU General Assembly Commission 5 Working Group Libraries (Marsha Bishop (NRAO/USA) and Robert Hanisch (STScI/USA), co-chairs) kicked off its first multi-day meeting on the 23rd of August 2012 in Beijing, China. This meeting was designed to bring astronomy librarians and scientists together to create a synergistic environment for librarians and their customers to better understand the needs and challenges faced by each group.  The series of discussions and talks focused on issues related to astronomy libraries and the role they play in supporting astronomical research. The meeting began with a panel discussion, “Scientists’ Need for Libraries in the Age of the Internet.” Panelists included astronomers Ronald Taam (Taiwan), Ray Norris (Australia), and Pieter Degroote (Belgium), and librarians Christina Birdie (India), Eva Isaksson (Finland), and Sally Bosken (USA). We hope the next meeting, scheduled for 2015 in Honolulu, generates even more interest and participation.

Emily L. Poworoznek, Engineering & Physical Sciences Librarian at University of New Hampshire, is now also serving as the interim Biological Sciences Librarian due to the untimely death of her colleague, David Lane.

by Cunera Buys

Work is starting to get underway for the next PAM Membership Directory.  Remember, I obtain your information from SLA, so please update your membership information with any changes. To update your information go to http://www.sla.org/ and log in using your SLA user name and password.  Click on “Update Your Information” under the Membership tab on the SLA home page.  You can then update your name and/or contact information.

PAM currently has 198 members.

Please join me in welcoming new or returning PAM member(s) since the last PAM Bulletin.

Elizabeth Sleison

by Dianne Dietrich and Lance Utley

arXiv Receives Operating Grant from Simons Foundation: The Simons Foundation is providing arXiv with five years of matching funds to complement the annual membership fees paid by institutions. http://news.library.cornell.edu/news/120828/arXiv

NSF AST Awards Linked to Papers in ADS: The CfA Library has matched NSF AST awards from 1995 to 2012 to papers indexed in ADS and has placed the dataset in Astroverse. http://goo.gl/Ywtxj

Initial Call for Roundtable Topics
As we gear up for SLA in sunny San Diego, we are starting to think about potential roundtable themes. What topics are of interest to you? Considering the range of topics from past meetings, potential themes include the changing nature of libraries; adjusting to diminishing (or loss of) physical collections and space; how to use bibliometrics, or tracking staff publications to demonstrate impact of institutions, instruments, and scientists; or other topics that you are passionate about. Please contact us if you have thoughts or ideas.

by John Kromer and Mat Willmott

SLA’s 2013 Conference in San Diego is fast-approaching, and your PAM division colleagues are putting together ideas for many events including the roundtable sessions.  This Conference’s Physics Roundtable will be moderated by John Kromer, Physical Sciences Librarian at Miami University and 2012 PAM Travel Stipend award winner, and Mat Willmott, Physics Librarian and Collection Specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Due to some feedback we received on this year’s evaluations, we are planning to change the format a little bit.  We want to start this year’s roundtable off with a sort of “state of the field” session, in which six to eight PAM members give five-minute review-style presentations on particular topics of relevance to physics librarianship, intended to give everybody a baseline knowledge of current trends and developments relative to each topic.  Following these presentations, we will break into more traditional, smaller roundtable discussions to discuss the topics of the presentations.  Lastly, we will wrap up with summaries of the discussions at each table and a brief whole-room discussion/question-and-answer time.  We hope that this layout will make for well-informed and useful discussions.

So here’s where you come in.  We’re excited about this format, but to make it work, we need ideas and we need volunteers!  What topics should we cover at the session?  Are you an expert on a topic and want to share what you know?  Is there a topic that interests you that you’d like to research and share with your PAM colleagues?  Or maybe you’d like to present on something and want us to give you a topic?  Topics can range from current (SCOAP3) to timeless (instruction, reference, etc.), and can be as broad or as narrow as you like.  Please e-mail us if you have topic ideas or wish to volunteer as a presenter.  We look forward to hearing from you!

by Carol Hutchins and Laurie Reeves

Proof of the ABC Conjecture?

The New York Times and Science, as well as other media outlets, have reported on the possible proof from Shinichi Mochizuki on the ABC conjecture. This proof is contained in four papers, totaling more than 500 pages, and will likely take years to check for correctness and completeness. All four papers can be found here, under the heading “Inter-universal Teichmuller Theory”. Dr. Mochizuki is a Professor at the Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences at Kyoto University.

Archive of American Mathematics (AAM) Digital Projects

The History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America (HOM SIGMAA) is providing support for digitization of two AAM special collections, the Paul Halmos Photographs Collection and the Max Beberman Film Collection. The AAM is hosted by the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas, Austin. View the mathematics digital collections here and read about HOM SIGMAA’s generous support in this article by archivist Carol Mead in the MAA newsletter, MAA Focus.

NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences

The NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences has decided that it will keep its current name. There will be a team, however, that will examine how the division currently supports the statistical sciences. For more information, see this letter from the Assistant Director for the Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Ed Siedel.

Joint Mathematics Meetings

The 2013 Joint Mathematics Meetings will be held in San Diego, California January 9-12, 2013. These two special sessions are of particular interest: The Present and Future of Mathematics on the Web; and, Topics and Issues in Electronic Publishing.  For more information on the JMM, see the meeting homepage.

by Michael Chesnes

by Ruth Kneale

As the year draws to a close, I am reminded once again of the awesomeness that is PAM. What a strong, dynamic, diverse, powerful group we are! Celebrating 40 years since our division was approved has been a great experience, and I was honored to be the coordinator for our various celebratory offerings.

By this time, every division member should have received their souvenir pin. I would like to thank once more the boards of 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, who paid for a large part of the cost of the pins out of their own pockets.  If you have *not* gotten your pin yet, or if yours got broken in transit, please drop me a line. We have a few extras and want to make sure everyone has one. Wear it with pride!

by Stella Ota

Greetings from your PAM Division program planner for SLA 2013 (June 9-11 in San Diego).  Normally for the November Bulletin, I would have a few more details about our June conference to pass along. However, the initial conference schedule details will not available until after the copy deadline for this Bulletin issue. Once the online planner goes live, please expect to see our subject roundtables (Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics, and Computer Science), the required Business Meeting, as well as the Vendor Update.

Speaking of which, thank you for the rapid response to my PAMnet “quick poll” on which session to keep for 2013: PAMwide or Vendor Update. The reduced number of sessions and the shorter conference has meant that we could choose either to hold the PAMwide or the Vendor Update, but not both. It was very close, but the Vendor Update came out ahead in the poll. Now, I just need someone to head up the Vendor Update…

HELP WANTED: Seeking a Publisher Relations Chair to coordinate the various Publisher Liaisons and to help organize/moderate the 2013 PAM Vendor Update. It’s a wonderful way to become familiar with the core vendors of PAM literature as well as stay abreast of the latest news from publishing. Please contact me if interested! How soon can you start?

PAM will not host a continuing education session in San Diego. However, professional development opportunities are a valuable component of PAM membership and SLA membership. HELP WANTED: PAM could use a couple more members on the Professional Development Committee and/or the Mentoring Subcommittee to explore what we might offer to support professional development. Please get in touch if interested to help out!

Anyone have a keen interest in cataloguing? HELP WANTED: The “Cataloguing Liaison” position is open. With the transitions from AACR2 to RDA occurring and the heightened interest in “data” and “metadata”, having a PAM member keep an eye on the happenings and updating us on the changes afoot would benefit the division! Contact me!

HELP WANTED: Looking for that certain someone who loves procedure, process, and documentation to be our next Practices Manual co-editor. The Practices Manual is “The Guidebook” for all things PAM, providing detailed “how to’s” and guidelines for officers and committee members. Are you that certain someone?

HELP WANTED: Any PAM members out there who have that knack for promoting and spreading the word? If so, then your creative energies and instincts would be very helpful on the Public Relations Committee. Come join the fun!

Cheers!

Stella

by Nisa Bakkalbasi

As the end of 2012 is approaching, this is my last message to you as your Chair.  It has been an honor to serve you and a joy working with you. I am tremendously proud of our division and its vital contributions to all aspects of librarianship in the fields of physics, astronomy and mathematics, and to overall mission of the Special Libraries Association (SLA).

Libraries are constantly adapting to a changing world. The Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics (PAM) division is no exception. Another sign of change is the SLA HQ’s strategic direction in emphasizing unit collaboration in conference planning and recommendations concerning unit incentives for member recruitment. As the Chair of the Division, I can take comfort in the knowledge that members of PAM play an active role within our division and with other divisions by volunteer service.  We are well prepared for the changes ahead of us.

Since I first became a member of PAM in 2002, it has been wonderful to observe longstanding members of the PAM help new members recognize the value of becoming active members within the Division.  I am delighted to observe the growth of our new, freshly minted librarian members, as they take on more responsibilities within the Division as Committee Chairs, Web Masters, and Bulletin Editors in a short time.  I would therefore like to encourage as many longstanding members of the Division as possible to continue to recruit new members, and also help new members remain a member of the Division and take on progressively challenging roles.

Using our long-established strong ties with other divisions, we will ease into more unit collaboration that SLA HQ has been emphasizing. As the Chair-Elect, Stella Ota, communicated at the Business Meeting in July, the SLA HQ now allows 5 lead sessions per division.  Therefore, requiring more collaboration and co-sponsored sessions with broader topics. The division will be in very capable hands as we respond to the new challenges facing conference scheduling in 2013 and 2014.

In this newsletter, I am very pleased to report that our financial situation remains sound.  We have received conference program invoices, reviewed actual expenses for this year, and compared to projected budget. The Treasurer’s report in this issue includes the details about the budget. I want to take this opportunity to thank once again to the Executive Board for their prudent advice, Past-Chair Ruth Kneale for sharing her experiences from the 2011 conference planning, thoughtful and tactful work of Fund Raising Committee Chair, Uta Hussong Christian, remarkable creativity and cooperation of Session Moderators, and tireless efforts of resourceful Committee Chairs and Members. As a result of this common effort, we’ve done it without dipping into our reserve fund in a year with so many challenges! We are ending the year financially strong.

As I prepare this message, the polls will open to elect a new Chair-Elect and a Secretary.  In less than two months, I will pass the baton to a new Chair, who will lead our division through new challenges.

As this year coming to a close, thank you for this opportunity to serve the Division and give back to members, who have been my professional family in the past ten years.

All my best,

Nisa