SLA Blog

Dow Jones & Company Announced as Gold Sponsor for Leadership Summit

Dialog Continues Its Silver Sponsorship

"Dow Jones and Dialog continually demonstrate their support of SLA and information professionals by underwriting important learning opportunities such as the SLA Leadership Summit," said SLA Chief Executive Officer Janice R. Lachance. "Through their generous support of SLA, our members enjoy and benefit from exceptional programs and speakers that get better and better each year. SLA appreciates the dedication of our sponsors to the future of the association and the profession, and we cannot overstate the value their contributions bring to this summit."

Read the Press Release

SLA HQ Staff Celebrate the Holiday Season by Helping Those in Need

SLA HQ staff decorated the SLA Holiday Tree early in December, kicking-off the now annual SLA Food Drive to benefit SOME (So Others Might Eat), an interfaith, community-based organization that exists to help the poor and homeless of Washington, D.C. Over 25 food-filled bags were placed under the tree by staff and donated to SOME on 20 December 2008.

2009 Best Careers: "Librarian" Again Tops U.S. News & World Report List

U.S. News & World Report has once again tagged "librarian" as a hot career for 2009!

Special librarian. All sorts of organizations need librarians, not just public libraries. They work for colleges, law firms, hospitals, prisons, corporations, legislatures, the military, and nonprofit agencies. In fact, special librarianship is the field's fastest-growing job market. Unlike public and university jobs, which require night and weekend hours, these jobs are mostly 9 to 5.

The conversation in the comments section is quickly growing, with many references to careers in special libraries or in corporate information as lucrative options. Check it out and share your thoughts below!

 

 

U.S. General Colin L. Powell to Deliver Opening Keynote Address at SLA 2009

“General Powell is one of the most recognizable figures on the world stage today” notes SLA’s CEO Janice R. Lachance. “His unparalleled experiences at the highest levels of the military, diplomatic and philanthropic spheres surely equip him with unique insights into the importance of information and international cooperation that will resonate with our members. SLA is honored to welcome a leader of such stature and accomplishment to our conferenceat this important time for our profession and for our association.”

 

Read the press release

 

Learn more about SLA2009

 

 

SLA Nominating Committee Seeking Members with Board Potential

SLA’s Nominating Committee is seeking help from the membership as it looks for its next leaders, specifically members willing to serve in the following positions: president-elect, treasurer, chapter cabinet chair-elect, and division cabinet chair-elect.

The committee is looking for eight people, two candidates for each of the four positions, for the 2010 association year. The Nominating Committee will meet at the SLA Leadership Summit in Savannah, Georgia, 14-17 January 2009, to recommend a slate of nominees to the board.

“To ensure that SLA continues to be relevant and influential in the information- and knowledge-based 21st century, it is critical for the board to be comprised of a diverse, enthusiastic, and visionary group of individuals committed to the profession,” said Nominating Committee Chair Lynne McCay. “There are many SLA members in the organization that can fill this need, although members of the current Nominating Committee may not know some of you. For this reason, you are invited to submit names potential candidates, including your own name if you are interested in being considered.”

When submitting names, the following information should be included:

• The nominee's name, address, phone number.

• The position recommended for each individual you name.

• Length of his/her SLA membership.

• Offices held in chapters, divisions, or at the association level.

• Membership in association-level committees.

• Other activities with SLA (on chapter and division committees, teaching CE courses, awards received, articles published, etc.).

McCay recommends including other information of interest to the committee. For example, what is about this person that makes him/her a great nominee for the election slate. “Serving on the SLA Board is guaranteed to be a challenging and rewarding experience,” McCay added. “It will provide an opportunity to expand management and leadership abilities through service in an international professional association. Please give some serious thought to who might bring fresh ideas and energy to the board and send us your recommendations. All information submitted will be handled confidentially.”

Recommendations can be sent to Lynne McCay at lmccay@crs.loc.gov

 The deadline for nominations is 9 January 2009.

Remembering Liz Donovan

Liz Donovan, an SLA member and well-known news research maven, sadly passed away this week at the age of 63.  Liz was a primary researcher on the Watergate story at The Washington Post, and eventually spent many years at The Miami Herald. 

Joel Achenbach of The Washington Post has written a wonderful tribute including links to some great stories about her days as " ..the world's most beloved news researcher."

Obit in Washington Post

Our condolences to her colleagues, friends and family. It is clear she will be missed. Please consider sharing your memories of Liz in the comments section below. 

SLA's 23 Things Countdown: Complete by 15 December

If you haven't completed all 23 Things, you still have till December 15, 12 midnight PST, to do so.

Our generous sponsors, Dow Jones & Company and Dialog, have made it possible for 23 SLA members who complete all 23 Things and complete the survey by the deadline, to be eligible to win $100!

All participants who complete the program, will be given a Certificate of Completion, signed by our 2008 SLA President, Stephen Abram.

We hope you have enjoyed working your way through 23 Things to improve your Web 2.0 Skills!

A Safe Investment: SLA Membership

In today's rocky economic times, you may be wondering about the best and safest place to invest. Why not invest in yourself and your future through SLA?

When times are tough, put your money to good use and give yourself a stronger safety net. SLA member benefits allow you to upgrade your skills, grow your professional network and make new contacts.  

Want to make sure you keep your benefits going? Not sure if it’s time to renew your  membership? Want to pay now without having to wait for an invoice?

Do all that and more, fast and easy, here  

Please contact Vernon Hemphill, SLA membership manager with any questions at  703.647.4936 

SLA 2010 Call for Presentations

Call for Participation:  SLA 2010 Annual Conference

The Special Libraries Association is pleased to announce its 2010 Annual Conference and INFO-EXPO, to be held 13-16 June in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.  The theme of the conference is “Entering SLA's Next Century: Let the Good Times Roll."

It's no secret that today's changing technology and more demanding management expectations require information professionals to demonstrate a positive impact on their organizations.  You have to be a great researcher and manager, but you also have to help your organization put knowledge to work as a strategic asset -- across the enterprise, day in and day out.

What should I know about the SLA Annual Conference and INFO-EXPO?

The SLA Annual Conference and INFO-EXPO is the premier networking and educational event for information professionals.  The conference takes place over four days, with additional days for continuing education and local tourism.  For more information, visit the conference Web site.

What should I know about conference planning?

The SLA Annual Conference is planned on an 18-month timeline.  The Annual Conference Advisory Council sets the parameters of conference programming, including (but not limited to) schedule, keynotes, time blocks, and theme.  In addition to this council, divisions and caucuses devise the educational sessions that are put on Monday through Wednesday of the conference.  If you are a member of SLA, you should approach your unit chair or unit planner with your conference programming idea before submitting it to SLA headquarters.  Proposals submitted directly to SLA headquarters will be forwarded to the appropriate unit(s).  Continuing education courses may be organized either through divisions or through SLA headquarters. 

What types of submissions are you looking for? 

* Presentations *
Educational sessions are held Monday through Wednesday of the conference.  Sessions may be 60, 90, or 120 minutes in length.  Presentation ideas should be submitted to the unit chair or unit planner.  These presentations can be panels, lectures, roundtables or any learning format that you think would be appropriate. 

* Contributed Papers *
An opportunity to share your knowledge!  Are you using your expert knowledge and talents to shape the future?  Do you have a vision of what the future will look like?  Are others inspired by your ideas, innovations, and passion?  How is your workplace preparing for the future?  Do you have valuable insight from lessons learned that could help other information professionals?  If so, here is your opportunity to engage in scholarship and share that knowledge with your peers.  Accepted papers will also be published on the SLA Web site and in Information Outlook.  Proposal forms are located here.

We are still accepting contributed papers for our 2009 conference, so feel free to submit a proposal for consideration for this June.

* Continuing Education Courses *
By submitting a CE course proposal, you demonstrate your commitment to helping information professionals become indispensable through learning and help broaden our growing understanding of library and information profession practice in the 21st century. Courses are offered on Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 June.  Courses may be half-day or whole-day, and are open to both members and non-members. Continuing education courses may be organized either through divisions or through SLA headquarters.  Proposal forms can be found here.

UPDATE:

Deadlines

* 14 January 2009:  SLA unit conference planners will meet at Leadership Summit to begin the 2010 planning process and brainstorm program ideas/collaborations.

* 15 May 2009:  Proposals are due to unit planners by this date.  Conference proposals not submitted at the SLA unit level must be turned into Kristin Foldvik, SLA's events director, at kfoldvik@sla.org.  (Only authors of accepted proposals will be notified.)

* 3 August 2009:  Final presentation descriptions are due to the Annual Conference Advisory Council by SLA units.

We look forward to hearing your ideas.  If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Foldvik, SLA's director of events, at kfoldvik@sla.org.

EXTENDED DEADLINE: SLA Centennial Video Contest

The founders of SLA had a vision for how to fill the networking and educational needs of special librarians. With the forming of SLA in 1909, these fabled past leaders created an amazing professional association.  For 100 years SLA has grown and transformed itself, and the association that started as one idea, by one person, now serves a global market of over 11,000 information professionals, librarians, and their partners.

Do you have an inspired vision of how SLA's members will change in 25, 50, or even 100 years? Can you peer into the future and see SLA's leaders of tomorrow? What will the next 100 years look like for SLA and the profession?

Celebrate SLA's Centennial with your video representation of SLA's information professional of the future!  Winners in two categories (student and professional) will receive cash prize of up to US $3,000 and other SLA prizes. Deadline for entry is 15 December, 2008- 23 January 2009.....get started today!   

Complete Rules and Submission Information

 

Promotional Video on YouTube