Stephen Abram
For the SLA Centennial, we've been asked to provide an essay on our perspective regarding where our profession has been, is and is headed--no small task.
The year 2008 has been a difficult one, with major economic disruptions, a stock market roller coaster and mortgage crises, major elections in the U.S. and Canada, commodity and energy price instability, and more. What a mess! And yet I still feel hopeful. Part of that is because, taken from the perspective of a century-old association, we've survived and thrived in these sorts of business cycles many times in the past. And I believe that at the core of these is a fundamental shift in the underpinnings of our global economy. Just as the economic disruptions of the 1930s signaled the change from an industrial economy led by scientists and engineers to a financially-driven economy with CPAs and MBA's at the forefront, I believe that the current situation reflects evidence that we are giving birth to the information- and knowledge-based economy that has been emerging for the past decade. And this is exciting. Who stands a chance of influencing and being successful in this new economy? I believe that special librarians and information professionals are very well positioned to succeed in this new world order.
Of course, we'll need to step up to build on our past successes--a hundred year's worth. Many of us are not quite ready to grasp the brass ring--almost, but not quite. And, regrettably, I am still not satisfied. I want more! I don't want to seem ungrateful, but things are just not good enough in this world, and I know that libraries and information professionals can make a big difference--a bigger difference. I suppose that's why we have our ongoing SLA strategic planning and visioning exercises. We dream and then we plan to achieve those dreams. So what do we need to accomplish in the coming years? How do we need to change?
My Wish List
- Focus: If we want our profession to achieve something great, then we have to do it with a laser-like focus. We are a rich, intelligent, diverse and multi-hued profession and have a valid and supportable interest in just about everything. However, my dream for SLA is that we discover the will within us to focus with laser-like understanding of our value to society and to our enterprises.
- Recognition: Libraries radiate throughout the knowledge ecology and make a difference. I'd like more important people to notice this! Let's work on getting someone who values us to be a highly visible champion. We need to move beyond ourselves and develop and implement an advocacy program about the role, value and impact of special librarians and information professionals. If we fail at this one thing, we do risk losing everything altogether.
- Confidence: Let's find the confidence to speak as a profession with authority, confidence and energy. Let's do this now. Now! Let's not study it loooonnnggg and haaarrrddd. Let's not take it literally and study something to death. The death of our profession isn't our goal!! We need to have the confidence of our convictions and take action - sustainable action. If each member would tell just five positive springboard stories in 2009, our Centennial year, to five people who matter, our world would change. 50,000 stories will move minds. Imagine!
- Communicate: Let's use the results of the SLA alignment research to empower our personal and professional communication strategies to influence the people who matter - the ones who affect the hiring of librarians and information professionals, those ones who choose priorities, the ones who ascertain budgets: the ones who matter. Let's use the words and strategies that have power.
- Balance: Let's balance all of the needs of every type of specialized librarianship. Our differences are small and our common needs are great. Let's find the middle ground that lets us work more effectively together. We're all in this boat together, and no one part of special librarianship can point to another and say their side of the boat is sinking. Let's sacrifice our pedantic conversations about our titles, our profession's name, how relevant we are. Talking amongst ourselves is just sound and fury.
- Learning: Let's learn anew. Let's learn new modes of learning. Let's actively seek new technologies and become more expert at them. Let's create compelling content. Let's collaborate on a whole new scale. It's time to use our investments of the past decade in the SLA Web site, our discussion lists, Click University, and more in our own cause. Let's all complete the 23 Things and use the SLA Innovation Lab. It's not just about networking and sharing information, it's about achieving our more visionary dreams for success.
- Trust and Respect: We need to respect each other more. We need to build better teams and more sustainable efforts. We are a smart profession with strong critical thinking skills. We need to ensure that we don't devolve that critical thinking strength into random criticism. We need to have faith in our cause. We need to be an incubator of success.
- Welcome: Let's be more welcoming. Let's embrace new graduates and those new members in the first five years of their career. Let's invest time and effort in our LIS schools. Let's support our new colleagues. Let's avoid criticizing our LIS schools. I never hear MBA's, lawyers, doctors, etc., belittling their education. Let's not engage in this silly activity. And while we're at it, let's welcome a wider range of information professionals from all around the world. The information- and knowledge-based economy is truly global, and SLA must be too.
- Risk: Let's take this risk. Small risk, small reward. Our need is great; we won't get to where we want and need to be without taking some calculated, more sizeable risks.
- Commit. Commit to SLA. Commit to mentoring. Commit to sharing. Commit to positive change. Commit to a future, a positive future, that you create - not one that just happens to you.
We can reach a new plateau. We can prove our value to those we work with, work for and get our funds from. We can achieve greatness. By the end of this decade, I want more employers to know that librarians rock. I don't want anyone to say that they are having trouble finding a position as an information professional. I don't want anyone denying that there is a librarian shortage. I want employers fighting over the best and recruiting. I want employers who closed their libraries to fail (or become quite ill and cure themselves by hiring a librarian - grin). I want employers with great libraries to succeed and blame their librarians. That's how I would measure our success.
An investment in us and our association will result in the achievement of our vision. We will spend the next century being sought for our opinions and advice; we will influence government policy in a positive fashion; we will empower our organizations to be more competitive with information; we will ensure the implementation of digital information strategies and IT that enhance human effort and our enterprises' competiveness; we will contribute to great research and development that saves lives, improves our standard of living and builds the next generations.
May this next century for SLA bring you a diverse and valuable network, education and learning opportunities that engage and propel your success. May our profession have a powerful influence on international information policy on a grand scale. I know that we will collectively find both the wisdom to treasure our profession and the energy and commitment to make the world a better place.
Stephen Abram, MLS is President 2008 of SLA, Vice President, Innovation for SirsiDynix. He is an SLA Fellow and the past president of the Ontario Library Association and the immediate past president of the Canadian Library Association. In June 2003 he was awarded SLA's John Cotton Dana Award. He is the author of "Out Front with Stephen Abram". Stephen would love to hear from you at stephen.abram@gmail.com.
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