The first skill of an innovator is questioning, really questioning.  We should be challenging sacred cows and entrenched traditions of our profession and in our jobs in light of facts about how our organizations operate, looking for better ways to serve.

The second skill of an innovator is that of observing, both internally and externally. We can learn more about the information seeking habits of our customers by following studies that others have done and learning how to do our own studies.  Due to the diversity of SLA’s divisions, we also have an opportunity to observe how other industries are adapting to this digital age both through conference presentations and the increased use of division webinars.

The third skill is willingness to experiment and SLA is the perfect “safe haven” for experimentation since it doesn’t directly risk my pay or benefits if the effort fails.  Through volunteer efforts with SLA, we can build our skills in running meetings, managing work teams, building proficiency in managing webinars and even building technology skills such as WordPress Web site management.

The fourth skill of innovative people is networking or relationship building. Having an opportunity to build relationships with peers, find mentors, interact with new and existing information providers, and make new friends is the key to building a professional community that people want to be a part of.  Even with the growth of social media, our virtual relationships are stronger with a face-to-face foundation which can happen at the annual conference and in local chapter events.

The final skill of Innovators DNA is associating which pulls together the four actions (questioning, observing, experimenting, and networking) to create new connections.  Those mental connections are the spark of innovation and have spawned new business processes and changed the world.  Learning from others who have made unconventional associations to create new services for our customers helps us to exercise that “associating” muscle ourselves and overcome potential blind spots.

Building a culture that allows and encourages these innovative traits at both the manager level and employee level will challenge traditional leadership and traditional librarianship but will result in a more relevant and innovative organization.  Whether we have the support where we are or not, are we taking advantage of the opportunities available to us through SLA to build these innovative traits or simply running the treadmill to retirement?

-James

http://about.me/cmndr_king

The post It’s in the DNA – how SLA has helped my career – James King, Chapter Cabinet Chair candidate appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

When I was first entering the profession SLA was great because with the diverse group of careers held by our members it allowed me to learn about other professions (within my first few months in SLA-NY I’d had sit down talks with librarians from banking, law, consulting, and news) and see if a certain career was where I’d like to grow in or learn about. We also have so many members that belong to other associations that it allowed great introductions to other memberships. When I made the recent move to a law office, while still specializing in finance, so many New York members invited me to come to Law Library Association of Greater New York (LLAGNY) events. That sense of community and welcoming is what has always helped me grow as a professional.

Now SLA enriches me by allowing me to meet other members and hear what they know and what skills they value. Skills improvement is the best way SLA currently challenges me. Every time I attend a conference, webinar, or read a division email I feel challenged to keep learning and developing as an informational professional. I always come back from conference excited and recharged to keep learning and never become complacent in my career.

The third way SLA has helped me grow professionally has come from volunteering for my chapter. The sense of involvement and improvement from giving back has helped me so much in my career. Where else would I get the opportunity to mentor, help build the long term goal of an organization, teach a class, help design a website, and get comfortable with public speaking all in one place? I firmly believe you get back double what you put in with SLA, and I can’t wait to see what volunteering on the international level will bring. I hope you will allow me the opportunity.

The post How has SLA helped me grow professionally? appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

Considering that my first interaction with SLA was them giving me money via a travel grant to attend Annual, we got started off on an extremely good foot! Probably clad in a killer shoe.

I’ve been around ever since that 1997 conference in Seattle, with some years missed but most not. However, I really began to get involved around 1999 when the director of the College of Insurance library, Barbie Keiser (hi, Barbie!), actively encouraged me to participate in the Insurance & Employee Benefits Division. I was guest editor for their newsletter, was elected Secretary of the Division and began to realize that leadership within SLA was not something that was held apart for long-term or already recognized members – anyone could step up and get actively involved and hold a Division-level board position.  I began to transfer this idea of no boundaries to my career.  The sign doesn’t say no?  Then I assume yes!

Barbie could have let me continue to do my job at the insurance library (I was the cataloger/gov doc librarian) and allow me to go to Annual without making any further effort, but it was that extra step she took of letting me know there was more to it that is directly related to the fact that I’m now running for this board position. So now you know who to blame (thanks, Barbie!)

It was that start and my continued work with the Information Technology and Academic Divisions as well as my local chapters that has sharpened my wits, my networking skills, my ability to pitch an idea, my mentoring abilities, my vision of the profession.

Without SLA, I would have felt a bit isolated during my time at EBSCO. I loved the company and I loved the job, but I was in a nontraditional role in a nontraditional setting. SLA Leadership and Annual allowed me to mingle with My People twice a year and feel like I still had my finger on the pulse of what was going on in the broader information world. You can read a million articles and watch a million webcasts, but NOTHING replaces talking face to face with the people who are doing the stuff.

Without SLA, I would not have been able to as skillfully adapt my career to the changes I saw coming down the road, or take the calculated risks I have with my career that have paid off so very well. SLA has provided me with context and a group of brilliant sounding boards when I needed to bounce ideas around before doing something possibly really stupid (or really awesome).

Coming out the other side of over 15 years of SLA, I’m a confident risk-taker who’s still excited about the profession. SLA has been a big part of getting me there.

The post How has involvement with SLA over the years helped you grow professionally and personally? appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

Valerie Ryder, Candidate for Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect

Throughout my career, SLA has been my “go-to” place for finding expertise, my professional safety net in time of career transition, and the nucleus of my professional friendships.  In the early stages of my career, I found many of my informal mentors among the ranks of the local SLA chapter and the more geographically dispersed divisions in which I became involved.  Serving in chapter and division roles gave me the opportunity of practicing leadership skills in a low-risk environment while developing friendships with other SLA members.  As my confidence built, I became a division chair-elect, program planner and chair.  Those opportunities provided the challenges of developing and refining my project planning techniques, communication skills, and abilities to motivate others towards achieving a common goal.  I had strong role models within the chapter and division who guided me and challenged me to become all that I could be.

In mid-career I knew that as I assumed new job responsibilities or changed careers I could always reach out to other SLA members, whether or not I knew them, for advice or answers to my questions.  One of the enduring strengths of SLA is that its members always help each other and willingly share their knowledge.  This tradition continues today in a more spontaneous and ubiquitous way through the various unit listservs and social media channels to enhance person-to-person contacts.  It amazes me how quickly even the most esoteric question that is posed through these conduits is answered by the ever-present centers of expertise that are SLA.  I have learned so much about knowledge areas outside my core domain by following these discussions.

During my own job losses and career transitions, I turned to my network of SLA colleagues to sustain my confidence and be my safety net of professional contacts.  I re-invested in my professional skills through the offerings of SLA Click University as well as SLA Career Connection Seminars or divisional programming at Annual Conferences.  I can attribute my three successful “landings” during career transition to connections that I made through SLA.

As I gained experience and expertise of my own, I sought ways to give back to the professional association that gave me a strong foundation upon which to build my own career.  Sharing my knowledge through presentations at local chapter meetings also helped me to fine tune my public speaking skills.  When I saw that there was an unmet need to do more to help chapter members find jobs in a tough economic climate, I volunteered to be chapter Employment Chair and stared writing articles for the chapter bulletin about job-hunting, resume writing, and interviewing techniques.  During another economic downturn and in a different chapter I created and presented a three-part seminar series on these key success factors for job seekers.

As Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect I would like to facilitate more opportunities for chapter leaders to learn from each other, share best practices or lessons learned, and continue the mentoring roles that my predecessors have begun to strengthen the SLA leadership pipeline.

The post How SLA has helped me throughout my career – Valerie Ryder, Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

This question poses two challenges: first, find where the non-traditional jobs are, and then to find the people in those jobs and see what skills are required to do them.

The answer to both of these questions is your local chapter.

If you want to find new or non-traditional jobs where a Library Science/Information degree would be appropriate, go to your chapter listserv, or attend a chapter meeting and ask about who they know within that chapter that have non-traditional jobs.

Once you have some name of contacts, either contact the people directly and ask for an informational interview (and contrary to stereotype, we’re almost always thrilled to talk about ourselves) or consider organizing an event around this topic, using the contact list you have as a starting point for speakers.

This could be a formal event – in 2011, the Boston chapter held an event featuring a panel of librarians in areas like funding research and taxonomy creation/management. Despite the evening being cold, windy and sporting monsoon-like conditions, 60 out of 70 registrants still attended.

Dine-arounds are always a popular option. It gives everyone a chance to talk on a casual level, and they’re easy to organize and cost the chapter nothing.

Another strategy is to go to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Monster or other job lists and read the descriptions. Don’t focus on the requirements! Wait for the job description that makes your brain ping with sudden interest, or the one that sounds like the most fun you could imagine having and being paid for it. THEN look at the requirements and see if you think your skillset would fit.

Finally, sometimes there are ways you can strategically redirect the job you currently have into more non-traditional channels, if you are interested in taking strange paths (I love strange paths!). Metadata Librarian is my title, but I project manage, collaborate with software engineers to create tools, collaborate with faculty on a variety of projects involving discovery, and create ontologies. I did this by trapping people in breakrooms and asking to join teams, by putting out the word that I was interested in ontology research, and jumping on any project that might have potential to become interesting. Some worked, some didn’t, but overall, it lead me to a much more interesting job than my title might imply.

The post Advice for those investigating non-traditional career paths appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

Programming

In my estimation programming needs to go four – not three days.  Programming would start on early Saturday afternoon and end mid-Tuesday afternoon.  Many people don’t come to the pre-conference or post-conference programs so this could be the way the number of work days people miss could be lessened.  Those that want to be a tourist can still do that.

Types of programs

I have long felt that the programs have been too homogenized – that is much less Division/Caucus or subject specific.  We need more programs and more of them targeted to very specific audiences. Although Divisions and Chapters are adding webinars, this doesn’t fill all the needs.   This also means that we should not say a Division can only do x number of programs and can be the lead on only x number of programs.  Sometimes that really doesn’t work for a Division.  Yes, Divisions should be encouraged (and should) to do cooperative programming but not to the extent that they are now.

Length of programs

Programs should be scheduled for the amount of time needed – some programs lend themselves to a one hour format – others will work best with longer times.  This will make scheduling a bit harder but I think it would be worth it in the end.

No-conflict time

Cut down on the no-conflict time. I really do recognize that the vendors want people to come to their booths but not everyone needs to talk to every vendor.  For example, I don’t make the choice of which library catalog software we use (this decision is made far up the “food chain”).  I’m wasting the vendor time when I do talk to them about it. Other people have different areas that they don’t deal with.  The number of vendors is down, so the amount of time, we need to meet with them is less.  When (not if) we get more vendors, the amount of time given to vendors can be adjusted.  I know people also use this as networking time with one another, there will still be a lot of time left for this, I believe.  I know we’ve experimented in the past on the number of days the vendors are here – I’m not sure what is really right.

Programming on the last day

This really is tricky.  I would make sure there are strong – if not the strongest programs before the closing session (although many people will at that point) (also see my note on opening/closing sessions).  Geography also plays a role.  If the conference is held on the East Coast, people from the West Coast and middle-America/Canada, can leave later and still get home that evening.  If the conference is held on the West Coast, people will have to stay an extra night, if the conference runs too late on the last day.

Division Board Meetings

These are difficult to schedule and either doing it on Saturday morning and/or a late Tuesday afternoon/early evening would be do-able.

SLA Opening/Closing Sessions

Keep as they are but make the closing session shorter.

Continuing Education Classes/Tours

Can be structured as they are now – but two options would be to have them all at the end of the conference or some before and some after the conference.

The post Division Cabinet Chair Question 2 – What changes do we need to keep the annual conference … appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

Given this diversity in our profession and the broad scope of the question, it is difficult to provide more than generic advice.  What has worked for me is to first of all know myself.  My current job may be a joy to me but torture to the next person so knowing what my interests are, where my talents/skills lie, what level of autonomy I enjoy, and what I can actually make a living doing all have brought me to where I am now.  Given the amount of time I spend on professional pursuits each week, I personally want to be doing something I enjoy with a purpose far more than I want to be making millions of dollars a year doing something I dread.  Since you’re reading this, I can assume that you have an interest and skill in handling information so see what else you like and find a place that brings them together.  My experience has proven that the career or job that I end up in does not have to have the term “librarian” applied to it in order to use those skills.  They “non-traditional” skills are in demand in a variety of situations for those who are innovative and willing to take risks.

More broadly speaking, if SLA wants to be an effective melting pot of professionals, our association needs to “raise all boats”.  By this, I mean that our activities must strive to strategically move the entire membership to a new level by providing learning opportunities and lessons learned as we adapt the wisdom of the past to this digital age.  Rather than lamenting the closure of an under-valued library, we should instead be challenging our profession to step up to the challenge of this age by showing value and relevance.

We can do that by encouraging innovation and risk taking within the “safe harbor” of SLA.  We can also do this by highlighting the successes and lessons learned of those who have made strides to exceed expectations in their organizations.  We should also be anticipating the wave of library centralization and automation sweeping through corporate and government libraries by encouraging the development of non-traditional services within our existing libraries.

Ultimately, to succeed in a non-traditional path, we should understand our skills and goals, apply the wisdom of the past to today’s opportunities, work through safe harbors like SLA to expand our skills and competencies, and take risks to innovate in our career and organizations.

-James

http://about.me/cmndr_king

The post Thoughts on non-traditional career paths – aka “Innovate or Die!” – James King, Chapter Cabinet Chair candidate appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

So, for anyone looking for a new or alternative career, I would suggest that you choose a path of activities that you enjoy, which makes good use of your expertise, and allows you to learn something new so you can continue to grow professionally.

When selling your unique capabilities, talk about them in terms of benefits to your customer or potential employer.  Our professional foundations open doors throughout our knowledge-based economy; all you have to do is walk through them and take on the challenge of the path (potentially) less traveled.  One thing is for certain, in SLA you will find colleagues with many “non-traditional” careers who take full advantage of their library and information science skills every day – from market research, social networking consulting, search engine optimization, to information architecture, and so on.  SLA can also help you build new skills and competencies to make your non-traditional career path dreams come true.

When I was a newly minted librarian, I was given the advice to take the initiative and make things happen in order to find ways to be valuable to my organization. As a new librarian to the tenure track, I heard about a grant for converting traditional courses to online learning environments.  This may sound like old hat, but it was 1997 and the most technologically advanced people were using dial-up modems from their homes.  I had never taught a course before, but I knew html, and I was fascinated by the possibilities of the web.  I talked a couple of colleagues into writing the grant with me, and we got it!

So, I recommend the same to you: take the initiative and make things happen.  As you think about this advice, know that you don’t have to be completely trained or have all the facts – you really only need to have the guts to fail. Stay current in our profession (read blogs and journals, attend SLA Annual Conference, etc.) and take the opportunity to get actively involved to continue growing your skills and knowledge.  As a candidate for President-elect, member retention through active engagement and involvement is important to me.   Look at volunteer opportunities within SLA to see if we can help build your toolkit of skills, knowledge and abilities in a safe and supportive professional environment – from event planning to bookkeeping and a whole lot more.  We exist to help each other grow and develop to make our professional dreams come true.  Reach out to an SLA colleague that is working in an area that interests you and chat with them about what they do, how they got there and what additional advice they might provide to someone wanting to follow the same path.  There are many ways up the mountain of a career in library science, but it is always a good idea to talk to someone who has already traveled on a path that interests you.

Always pursue your passion. If you follow it, your career may or may not end up non-traditional, but I guarantee you will love what you do.  If you’d like to talk more about careers in library and information science, or if you’d like some feedback on your resume, I’d love to connect with you at leslie.reynolds@colorado.edu, Twitter (@leslier), or on LinkedIn.  I look forward to hearing from you.

The post Advice for Both Newly Minted & More Seasoned Professionals Who are Interested in Non-traditional Career Paths – Leslie Reynolds, Candidate for President-Elect appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

This Feedback Pack is an outgrowth of our Conference Re-Envisioning Task Force, which is well on its way to make recommendations that will continue making the SLA Conference the most engaging and invigorating annual event in our field.  Since our conference is the main source of revenue for our association, it is imperative that it not only meets, but exceeds our member needs and expectations.  This task force, charged with determining short and long term trends in conferencing, is taking a holistic look at six vital areas: member engagement strategies; content levels and subject matter coordination; logistics in geography, duration and frequency; vendor engagement and improving efficiencies; international outreach; and online virtual conferencing extension opportunities.

What keeps me coming back to our annual conference year after year is the opportunity to make connections with others in our profession who, like me, care about customer service, about improved access to information, and about facilitating connections within and outside our home organizations.  For my conference dollar, SLA provides incredible value and lessons I can bring back and implement in my daily work.  This year, a first time attendee remarked at the quality and variety of our sessions, “not the same old re-hashing of topics” they had experienced in other venues.  Our conference sessions are relevant to what I do on a day-to-day basis and bring fresh ideas to help solve challenges we all experience in providing services to our customers.

I’m proud of our conference, but I know we can do better and attract more attendees, whether it is strategic location selection, changing conference session timelines, or adding a virtual component for the most popular sessions to be re-presented as webinars.  Wouldn’t that give us a bigger bang for our conference dollar (not to mention help with session decision management)?  Additionally, by providing the best sessions in virtually, it will also offer the Association an opportunity to provide the highest quality content to members who could not afford to attend the entire conference in person.

If you have thoughts on improving our Annual Conference, please send your ideas (if you didn’t attend, tell them why) to the Conference Re-Envisoning Task Force at slacrtf@gmail.com.  As a candidate for President-Elect, it is important for me to find ways to get our members actively involved in chapter, division or association activities such as the Feedback Pack, virtual conference planning, or arranging chapter happy hours. Considering sharing your thoughts with me on how to make your experiences with SLA more vibrant at leslie.reynolds@colorado.edu, Twitter (@leslier), or on LinkedIn.  I look forward to hearing from you!

The post Keeping Our Conference Experiences Vibrant and Viable – Leslie Reynolds, Candidate for President-Elect appeared first on Special Libraries Association.

SLA elections are in September.   The SLA Cabinet Officers are hosting a Meet the Candidates series of webinars to provide all members the opportunity to learn more about the individuals standing for the SLA Board of Directors.  Mark your calendars and register now to participate in the live programs, or plan to listen to the recordings before you vote.

Audience questions will be taken during the events, or you may send your questions in advance to Richard Huffine, the moderator for the series.

Meet the Candidates for Director:  Tony Landolt, Moy McIntosh, Valerie Perry, and Bethan Ruddock

Tuesday, August 6^th, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern time

Registration link:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/276316248

Meet the Candidates for Cabinet:

James King and Valerie Ryder (Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect)

Pamela Enrici and Juliane Schneider (Division Cabinet Chair-Elect)

Tuesday, August 13^th, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern time

Registration link:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/513577217

Meet the Candidates for President-Elect:  Leslie Reynolds and Jill Strand

Tuesday, August 20^th, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern time

Registration link:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/166180872

Want to know more about them now?  Visit the candidates page  and click on the image of any candidate – you’ll see their bios.  They’ve also been answering a series of questions on the SLA Blog .

When asked about the candidate forums set for the near future, SLA Nominating Committee Chair James Manasco said, “I can’t encourage our members enough to learn as much as possible about the candidates running for the Association board.  Your Nominating Committee has worked hard to identify candidates who have much to offer the Association during these challenging times, but it is up to the members to choose those who will assume the “big chairs” and help lead the Association in the future.  Please take the time to be informed about the members who have answered the call and graciously agreed to be considered for these important positions!”

The post Prepare to Make an Informed Decision appeared first on Special Libraries Association.