Stop Dancing with a 'Default' Name & Partner up with a New One! by Ty Webb

One hundred years ago, John Cotton Dana admitted that our name was chosen "in default of a better."  Even though we have talked about changing it ever since then, we continued to use it. The idea of changing it was scary, so we kept on going. Well, let's stop our 100-yr-old superstitious dance with a "default" name and partner up with a new one!
 
We've talked about it forever. It's been a constant undercurrent that frequently comes to the surface.  I remember discussions in the '80s, and again in the '90s, and then in 2003 when the membership actually voted to change the name, but did not select a replacement. Now, it has not only come to the surface, it has become a flood, a whirlpool, with members actively voicing their feelings on both sides.
 
That's good. Our organization is important to us.  We are emotionally attached to it, and heavily invested in it.  The association has given us innumerable opportunities for professional development, for furthering our careers, for building our network and for making life-long friends. We are loyal to our association, and we know we can rely on it to give us what we need to have a successful, satisfying career. 
 
To help you with your career, members of your Board have been working on the alignment project for several years. New members have joined the Board as you elected them; others have left as their terms expired. All of them have worked hard on the alignment project in order to improve the recognition of the value you contribute toward the success of your employers.
 
The research results give us data that we can build on for years to come. The association will take it one step at a time, and the first step is to consider changing our name to something that resonates with our  current members, future members, employers, and vendor partners.  Using the research results in combination with due diligence, we have a potential new name for our beloved association.  It is your choice whether we continue to use the name that is familiar to us, even though it was "in default of a better," or if we enter our second century with a "better." A name based on research.
 
We all have personal stories about the challenge of explaining what it is that we do. And we've all seen the light bulb come on as the person we're talking to really gets it... One time stands out in my memory.
 
My library was newly assigned to report to the VP of Marketing.  In my first meeting with him, he apologized right up front and said he didn't really understand what it was that the Library did...
 
My response was, "We provide the strategic information that you and your colleagues need in order to make better business decisions."
 
Well, the light bulb came on!  I could see it in his face... He SAW THE LIGHT!
 
My title was changed to Manager, Strategic Information.  One librarian who worked with Marketing and Business Development became the Information Specialist, and another, who worked with Research & Development and Product Development, became the Information Scientist.  A third staff member opted to retain the title of Librarian. Her responsibilities were primarily in acquisitions and collection development.
 
The term library is respected, but it brings to mind a stereotype. What we do, the services we provide, and the value we contribute, all go far beyond that stereotype.  Let's start our second century with a name that is "better!" Let’s stop our old superstitious dance and start a new dance with a new partner -- a new name.