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Hello PAMily!

August has been a whirlwind for many of us, with campuses stirring into vibrant vitality, the last bursts of vacation time, and the wait for the results of the SLA-ASIS&T merger vote. As we wrap up the summer season, let’s take a moment to reflect and look forward with optimism! 

On 21 August, we learned that the vote to merge with ASIS&T had passed both associations. While the finer points of the transition will be worked out in the coming months, PAM members have been lively and engaged at all of the town hall sessions over the summer, including the one at the annual conference and the many Zoom feedback opportunities. Based on what we have been told, the alignment of SLA communities with ASIS&T special interest groups (SIGs) is about to take place, led by the Board with feedback and input from us. During the first town hall at SLA in late spring, we had learned from other members that ASIS&T and SLA have discussed mergers before, so perhaps this was going to be as certain as a Milky Way merger with a neighboring galaxy.

We remain hopeful and optimistic that PAM can continue on as a SIG — we definitely impressed the ASIS&T leadership with how strong, engaged, and eager we are to continue our mission in the new structure. There are already some program ideas from PAM members for our post-merger future.

And even with all the merger questions swirling, we had a wonderful conference. A few of us gathered to visit the dinosaurs in the Carnegie Museum before the conference programming began on June 7th. The surprise word search on the back of the Dance Card was well-received. Sarah Siddiqui and Jenny Mueller-Alexander collaborated with Melissa Gonzalez from AIP to host a wonderful PAM Dinner. Our resourceful PAM Roundtable moderators (Alex Manchester and Jenny Hart, Jenny Mueller-Alexander, Ben Mitchell, Emma Moore, and Sandy Avila) facilitated discussions and presentations and did a wonderful job of bringing people together to talk about our work and learn from one another. AMS and SPIE were among SLA’s conference sponsors, and SIAM was our PAM Community Sponsor. Finally, we had a no-sponsor, impromptu Last Night dinner, followed by a chance encounter with 30-50 therapy dogs in the Pitt Cathedral of Learning.

At the beginning of August, we held our PAM Annual Business Meeting, just over a week before the dissolution and merger vote.

ASIS&T and once-SLA (are we allowed to say the name after dissolution? 🫢) will likely give us many updates in the weeks and months to come, so please keep the questions flowing to them.

As in any galaxy merger, there will always be traces of SLA in ASIS&T, visible in the trails and patterns of stars. Many PAM members have put decades of volunteer work and commitment into making excellent professional development opportunities happen for specialized librarians everywhere. Thank you all for everything you do to keep PAM vibrant and forward-looking, and let’s make the merger starburst bright. ✨ Our Chair-Elect, Brian Quigley, would love to hear from you about volunteering in 2026.

For PAM, Kayleigh Bohémier 2025 PAM Chair

The following announcement was sent out to inform the members of SLA and ASIS&T of the results of the vote to dissolve the SLA and merge with ASIS&T.

“As of August 21, 2025, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) today announced that their members have cleared the way for the organizations to merge.  SLA members voted overwhelmingly to accept the dissolution plan proposed by their Board of Directors. Separately, ASIS&T members resoundingly approved their Board’s proposal to welcome SLA members into their organization along with the Association’s remaining assets. These decisions clear the way for the two organizations to formally unite and build on their shared commitment to advancing the work of information professionals worldwide.

The membership votes reflect a recognition of the evolving needs of the library and information profession, and the opportunity for SLA and ASIS&T to combine strengths to better serve their communities.

“Thank you to the SLA membership for recognizing the merger with ASIS&T is the best option for SLA and preserving its 116-year legacy,” said Hildy Dworkin, President of SLA. “As SLA and ASIS&T move forward as one association, I know our combined strengths and dedicated members will have a greater impact on the library and information community for years to come.”

Ian Ruthven, President of ASIS&T, said, “I am delighted that both ASIS&T and SLA memberships have voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining forces to create a united association. This is a significant development for library and information science and its future. In creating a global community of research and practitioners, this merger will provide a home for both internationally excellent research and its impact in practice. I look forward to working with all members of this new community.”

The SLA Board of Directors developed the dissolution plan to provide a structured pathway for responsibly managing the organization’s resources and commitments. In combining with ASIS&T, this merger ensures the continuation of SLA’s mission while opening new opportunities for members through expanded programming, advocacy, and professional networks.

Both associations are committed to transparent communication throughout the integration process, with regular updates and volunteer opportunities provided to members and stakeholders.”

About the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T)
Founded in 1937, ASIS&T is a global leader in advancing the information sciences and promoting the professional growth of information researchers and practitioners.

About the Special Libraries Association (SLA)
Established in 1909, SLA is a nonprofit international organization that has supported information professionals in specialized environments through education, advocacy, and community building. For more than a century, SLA has been a vital resource for librarians and information specialists across academic, corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors.

XKCD: Wavefunction Collapse

_{This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.}

Nuclear Energy

Sculpture marking the site of the first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reactor, on the grounds of the University of Chicago.

STEM Librarians Collaborative, November 19 – 21

The 2025 STEM Librarians Collaborative meeting will be held on Zoom. A small registration fee will help us with Zoom costs and other operational fees.

Schedule at a Glance

• Lightning talks (~5 minutes)
• Short Presentations (~15 minutes)
• Storytelling the Profession (~7-10 minutes) – Firsthand accounts of someone’s experience as a STEM library professional, told without slides
• I Have a Problem (10-15 minutes) – Questions, problems, or scenarios related to STEM librarianship (not personnel problems) that will be discussed by attendees and presenters … live
• I Have a Solution (~15-30 minutes) – Workplace “life hacks” and creative solutions to issues in STEM librarianship, followed by a discussion with attendees

The full schedule for this year’s conference will be posted in the fall. Please stay tuned for updates.

Meeting participants will have every opportunity to be fully engaged and both presenters and attendees will have equal opportunities to contribute to the conference. This means that we will do everything we can to make our conference accessible to all.

Please email us at planning@stemlib.co with any questions.

LISA 10, Santiago, Chile, November 3 – November 7

This conference takes place every 4 years, so if you do not attend this year, the next chance won’t be until 2029.

We plan to post the conference program at-a-glance the week of Aug 18. To the extent possible, abstracts are being grouped by subtopic such as Open Science; Stewarding Astronomical Knowledge (non-data archives); ML/AI topics, etc. The at-a-glance schedule will provide a rough timeline of when these talks will take place. The final program will be posted soon after, once we finalize details with invited speakers and local hosts.

Registration payment for those attending in-person or online remains open through 31 August. You must complete your payment by 31 August to officially register. Please contact the conference host if any questions related to registration or payment at LISA10@eso.org. Please note that your intended type of participation (in-person or remote) can be changed until 30 September, if needed.

In addition to the talks, we invite you to join us for the following events and outings:

  *   Monday, 03 Nov: Evening Welcome Reception: enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres; mix and mingle with colleagues new and known (included in conference fee)

  *   Tuesday, 04 Nov: Early Evening Tour through Observatory Manuel Foster from Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile located in downtown Santiago (included in conference fee)

  *   Wednesday, 05 Nov: Conference Dinner at a traditional Chilean restaurant (included in conference fee)

  *   Friday, 07 Nov to Saturday, 08 Nov: Self-paid, optional excursion flight to Antofagasta, with bus transportation to/from the Paranal Observatory and guided tour. More information about the optional visit to the Paranal Observatory will be posted to the Conference Website in August. Please note that costs associated with this excursion are not included in the conference fee.

Additionally, ESO will send a brief form soliciting your preferences and ideas for two optional roundtable lunches. Boxed lunches are provided each day to all participants, with generous support from ESO and sponsors. For the roundtable we invite those interested to gather in the garden and discuss topics of mutual interest. The form will allow you, the conference participant, to share your topical preferences for these discussions and ensure a more engaged cohort at the roundtable.

About LISA 10:

LISA 10, Research Equity and Access in the Age of AI, will take place the week of Mon, 03 Nov through Thurs, 06 Nov 2025 (optional, self-paid trip to the Paranal Observatory on Fri, 07 Aug to Sat, 08, Aug). The conference will be held in-person at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) premises in Santiago, Chile, with remote participation available via MS Teams. The conference will provide participants the opportunity to engage with fellow librarians, archivists, data specialists, bibliographers, publishers, documentalists, experts on evolving technologies, and scientists. The LISA conference series aims to provide a platform to discuss the state-of-the-art for information maintenance, retrieval, metrics, preservation, scholarly publishing, and information systems.

Conference topics are organized around the following themes:

  *   Using AI/ML/LLMs Responsibly Topics on current or potential application of AI/LLMs/ML at your institution or in your information service community, including opportunities and challenges

  *   Research Equity, Inclusiveness & Access Ensuring equity with perspectives from around the globe

  *   Stewarding Astronomical Knowledge Best practices in traditional and data archives, documentation, and knowledge transfer and representation

  *   Assessing the Impact of Research Sharing insights into tools, platforms, documentation and the Why of bibliometrics. Presentations on researcher/staff, institutional, and observatory metrics are encouraged

  *   The Future of Multidisciplinary Research Current and future expansion of science disciplines and SciX; changes to where and how astronomy gets published; diversity of research communities and media beyond the traditional journal article

  *   Enabling Open Science Topics on data curation, data management and open software; ensuring reproducibility and access to others

  *   Navigating Open Access How changes in publishing models are impacting libraries and their customers; publishing challenges at your institution; topics on affordability and reputability of journals

  *   The Changing Roles of Astronomy Libraries Additional topics, such as:

o   changing role of special libraries, connecting users to resources and managing collections;

o   changing demands on libraries, such as research/data support;

o   role in organizing conferences or publishing conference proceedings;

o   navigating copyright law;

o   organizing training for research skills like proposal writing/Overleaf, etc

For more information, please bookmark the LISA 10 website.

General questions can be directed to LISA10@eso.org.

We look forward to welcoming you to Santiago and online!

LISA 10 SOC & LOC

Women in Mathematics, presented by Smith College and the Association for Women in Mathematics , September 20, 2025

Registration is free.

• WIMIN is the longest-running conference for women in mathematics in New England. There will be two plenary speakers in theoretical and applied topics, as well as a collection of parallel sessions with talks by students from around the region, panel discussions, mentoring activities, and other opportunities for networking.
• All undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and graduate students are invited to give session talks.
• Registration is free. Click here to register.

The PAM Watercooler chat takes place every Friday from 3:30 to 4:30pm, EST. Access the Watercooler here: PAM Watercooler Zoom

One of the ways that you can support the future of the PAMily is by dropping by the PAM Watercooler Chat on Fridays. It’s a chance to meet with other PAMily members, relax, and talk about whatever comes up.

Family bonds are strengthened by communication. The Watercooler Chat, along with the PAMnet news and the PAM Bulletin, help keep us strong in these troubling times. We’re facing the dissolution of the Special Libraries Association and the uncertainty of the days ahead. We need to hold on to those things that bring light and hope for our future.

We’ve grown to be a strong group over the decades; help keep those connections going by stopping by the PAM Watercooler.

I deeply apologize for not getting this information out earlier. It is included here for reference. — Jerrel Horn, PAM Bulletin Editor

PAM Achievement Award

The PAM Achievement Award is reserved for those recipients whose professional work is marked by distinction and dedication to librarianship in astronomy, mathematics, and/or physics. The purpose of the award is to recognize those Division members who have made outstanding contributions to the Division. 

To be eligible, the nominee must

• Be a member of the Special Libraries Association and of PAM
• Have been a member of the PAM Division for at least five years
• Be working currently in a library, information center, library school, or other information related capacity

The PAM Awards Committee reserves the right to withhold the award if a sufficient number of appropriate candidates are not nominated.

To make a nomination for the PAM Achievement Award, please send an email to Nancy R. Curtis, Chair, Awards Committee (nancy.curtis.2@bc.edu), including the nominee’s name and a brief justification of why you believe this person is deserving of this recognition. We appreciate any documentation you provide to support your case. The Committee will send confirmation of receiving your nomination and we may follow up if more information on the nominee is needed to help us make a decision.

PAM Division Award

The PAM Division Award should be given for a significant contribution to the literature of physics, mathematics, or astronomy or to honor work that demonstrably improves the exchange of information in physics, mathematics, or astronomy. The contribution should also significantly benefit libraries or enhance the ability of librarians to provide service. It should be special—above and beyond the normal job requirements or scope of work of the individual(s), group, or entity concerned.

The individual(s), group, or entity so honored need not be, but may be, an SLA/PAM member.

The PAM Division Awards Committee reserves the right to withhold the award if a sufficient number of appropriate candidates are not nominated.

To make a nomination for the PAM Division Award,please send an email to Nancy R. Curtis, Chair, Awards Committee (nancy.curtis.2@bc.edu), including the nominee’s name and a brief justification of why you believe this person, group, or entity is deserving of this recognition.We appreciate any documentation you provide to support your case. The Committee will send confirmation of receiving your nomination and we may follow up if more information on the nominee is needed to help us make a decision.

Thank you,

PAM Awards Committee (Jeff Bond, NuRee Lee, and Nancy R. Curtis (Committee Chair))

Call for Reviewers – Choice/ACRL core title lists

Resources for College Libraries (RCL), the Choice/ACRL bibliography of essential titles for undergraduate collections, seeks experienced library subject selectors and faculty to serve as peer reviewers. Reviewers evaluate how well the core title lists support the college curriculum, including collection assessment considerations centered on diverse publications, emerging scholarship, and historically underrepresented voices or perspectives. We are currently seeking referees for the RCL Science and Technology subjects, including Astronomy, Mathematics, and Physics.

See more details, including FAQs and how to apply at: www.choice360.org/blog-post/rcl-call-for-reviewers-2025/.

On occasion, PAMily members must leave us. We remember two long-time members of the PAMily who left too soon.

Liz Palmer Bryson

Liz was a leader and a fervent supporter of the PAMily for many years. She mentored many other members and was a great friend to even more. She was described as a ‘force of nature’ and the ‘epitome of determination”. She worked as a librarian for the Canada-France-Hawai’i Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawai’i. During her tenure, she edited a film, released two documentaries, and conducted an oral history project about the telescope and the work accomplished there. More information about the oral history project is found in the article An Astronomy Library’s Oral History Initiative: What an Observatory Librarian Is Doing to Preserve a Telescope’s History.

On Christmas Day, 2024, Liz left the PAMily.

Wilda Bowers Newman

Wilda spent most of her career as a librarian at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She was a long-time member of the PAMily, and was inducted into the Special Library Association’s Hall of Fame for her accomplishments, including serving on the board of directors for several years. Wilda was also named an SLA Fellow, an award that recognizes the leadership and contributions of the honoree. She conducted many workshops, gave seminars, and presented at both national and international conferences.

In early April, 2025, Wilda left the PAMily.

 It is fitting that for the last SLA Conference, the PAM Conference Buddy Program will also be offered one last time. If you plan on attending and hoping to make the most of your experience, consider being part of our Buddy Program!  This program is designed to help those new to SLA and the Physics Astronomy Math (PAM) Division to navigate the conference and make the most of their experience.  New members are each matched with a conference veteran.  It is a great way to share your conference experience and knowledge with a colleague and to learn from each other. It is also an opportunity to be introduced to other PAM members by a guide and understand what PAM has to offer.

The time commitment involved depends on your preference. You can share as much time, information and fun as you want, or just meet to chat at a meal or reception.  To sign up for the Conference Buddy Program, email your contact information and some idea of what you’d like from your Buddy to Jenny Hart at hartj@uchicago.edu. You will be matched with your buddy and both of you will be emailed so that you can make plans to meet at the conference.

The PAM Formal Mentoring Program is still being offered to new PAM members. Information about the program can be found, for now, on the PAM Mentoring Subcommittee’s Mentoring Program Page (housed at the Internet Archive). You can contact Jenny Hart hartj@uchicago.edu for more information. The committee is happy to chat with you over phone or email to answer your questions.

Great Lakes Science Boot Camp for Librarians
July 8 – 10, 2025, VIRTUAL
Hosts: Librarian Colleagues Around the Great Lakes
Cost: Free

The 2025 Great Lakes Science Boot Camp for Librarians will be held July 8 – 10, 2025, and hosted by librarian colleagues from around the Great Lakes region. THIS IS A VIRTUAL EVENT!!

This year’s immersive conference offers librarians an opportunity to learn about historical advances in sciences and breakthrough scientific anniversaries. The Great Lakes Science Boot Camp will strive to cultivate an ongoing learning community of librarians providing research support for scientists. Details will be added to our website as they are determined. Contact Jennifer Simms simms29@iu.edu if you have any questions.

Call for Lightning Talks

Have a topic in science librarianship that you would like to give a 7 – 10 minute talk on? Great Lakes Science Bootcamp is now taking submissions for 2025. Topics on the history of science are encouraged but not required.
Proposals are to be submitted by Friday, May 16, 2025, and you will be informed of acceptance by Wednesday, May 30, 2025.
If accepted, you will present virtually.

Contact Kristen Adams (adamsk3@miamioh.edu) or Sherry Larson-Rhodes (rhodes@geneseo.edu) if you have any questions about the lighting talks.

We have amazing news to share. Thanks to our new sponsor, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), we were able to upgrade the PAM Bulletin to eliminate ads and add a lot of great new features – like our own Domain Name!!

Yes, we are now pambulletin.com: easy to remember, easy to type!! You can still use our old URL pambulletin.wordpress.com if you have that linked, and it will redirect you to our new URL. We encourage you, however, to update your links to pambulletin.com.

There are other changes and upgrades we can now implement, so look for some of those in the next few months. Feedback is greatly appreciated as we work to make this a newsletter truly worthy of the PAM name.

The PAM Nominations and Elections Committee is pleased to announce the results of the election. Thank you to everyone who voted in the election.

Brian Quigley for PAM President-Elect: Yes 32, No 0.

Henrik Spoon for PAM Secretary: Yes 32, No 0.

Brian Quigley has been the Head of the Sciences Division in the UC Berkeley Library since 2023, having previously served as the Head of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Division since 2013. In his 24 years at UC Berkeley, he has served at various times as the librarian for computer science, engineering, physics, statistics, and earth sciences. He has been the Mathematics Librarian continuously since 2006. As an SLA and PAM member since 2007, Brian has always enjoyed working with and learning from his PAM colleagues. He previously served as chair of the Awards Committee and is currently chairing the Membership Committee.

Henrik Spoon serves as Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics Librarian at Cornell University since Fall 2017. He is also a research data consultant in the Cornell Data Services team and a curator within the Data Curation Network. On Fridays he still works as an astrophysicist, studying colliding galaxies, as he did fulltime before moving into librarianship. Henrik has served as PAM Secretary for the last two years.

Congratulations to Brian and Henrik!

Sincerely,

PAM Nominations and Elections Committee

Jeff Bond (chair) j.bond@tcu.edu

Rebecca Hutchinson r3hutchinson@uwaterloo.ca

Ruth Kneale ruth.kneale@gmail.com

Check out the information for the 2025 SLA Conference: Creative Transformation. The conference is being hosted June 7 – 10 at the University of Pittsburgh. Presentations, posters and events are still being planned, but we know that the tracks are:

• Data Science & Research • Leadership & Management • Innovative Technology • Marketing & Competitive Intelligence • Knowledge & Record Management •

The conference is shaping up to be a fantastic chance to network and learn, so make sure you get your registration in and your reservations made before it’s too late!