*Note: The following is from our archived collection of older documents, and may not reflect the most current information.
by David R. Bender, Ph.D.
Friday, May 25, 2001
Atlanta, Georgia
Good morning, and thank you, Debra, for that wonderful introduction. I hope that my time with you this morning meets the high expectations she has set for me. I've spent the last 22 years as executive director of SLA, attempting to do just that. And I hope, in your eyes, I've succeeded. You and the rest of our colleagues in the membership are never satisfied with the status quo or incremental improvement. That's a quality that association executives truly value. The staff and I have grown over the years to have a fair sense of your needs and what you need from SLA. And so what was originally considered quite an effort has gradually became commonplace. You and the rest of the membership continue to hold high standards for your Association. And yet, here I stand, ready to begin a new chapter in my life, and already beginning to mentally and emotionally move on to other goals and opportunities. If the truth be told, my mind is already beginning to drift over the hills of Tuscany, or on the shores of Jamaica. But we'll suspend those thoughts for a few moments so that I can share with you my thoughts on SLA and your future as information professionals.
It used to be that most in our profession toiled in relative anonymity, happy to serve others and get very little credit. Then, the information age bloomed, and our profession - which sits at the epicenter of all the changes resulting from this blossoming - has evolved moving in many different directions, and for many reasons: 1) the specter of disintermediation, which has now "boomeranged" as information overload hits the workforce; 2) the changes in technology that have reduced the need for full-scale physical collections; 3) the cross-training of information professionals into diverse areas of expertise; 4) the explosion of resources available at our fingertips; 5) the incorrect perception that technologists understand information management; 6) the occasional, but not common, habit of corporations and governments to outsource or eliminate their information resource management staff; 7) the gradual retirement of the baby-boom generation and sudden burst of Generation Xers and Generation Nexters, many of whom know more about technology at 25 than we do after 30 years of work! These factors have sent us scurrying in many directions seeking answers to the changes and uncertainties of our time. I have some advice for you: Don't waste your time trying to find answers. Change and uncertainty are here to stay, and the sooner we come to rely on them, the more prepared we will be for them.
Information is like oxygen - it's all around us, so people don't think about the many ways it's generated and consumed (or how important it is). That basic level of awareness about information is one of the biggest challenges our profession faces. In the businesses that all of you serve, this presents us with an interesting conundrum: information flows like water, but much of it is considered property. And the companies and organizations you serve must work hard to achieve a greater balance in the use of information. History suggests that, eventually, the reigns of control over intellectual property will be loosened as our culture becomes more comfortable with the medium by which we obtain information. But today is certainly an interesting time to witness the psychological and philosophical evolution of information usage online.
Can the true value of information be measured? This is a question that our profession and the owners of content struggle with, although for very different reasons. Further, how do we value the people who generate and exploit intellectual assets and how they impact on their organizations? At the EBIC 2001 conference in Rome, Dick Harrington, CEO of Thomson Corporation said, "We need to get the right information to the right people at the right time with the right applications... to enable clients to make the right decisions." That's a mouthful, but it summarizes the demands placed on our profession and the information content industry.
The February 2001 issue of Knowledge Management includes a column by Rebecca Lloyd, in which she reveals the findings of a study by Outsell about return on investment in corporate knowledge initiatives. Quote: "The study specifically considered the benefits to these companies of... the quote-unquote "corporate information center." Such a center accumulates reports, best practices, abstracts and other knowledge assets from both internal and external sources, which usually are made available to staff and partners through an intranet...as well as a conventional library of documents." Is it me, or is this not reinventing the proverbial wheel? My point is this: we all know our value, but there's a whole universe out there that often doesn't have a clue or needs constant reminders. Knowledge assets as we know them are generally highly valued at the superficial level in organizations. Where there's a loss of value is when the rubber meets the road - when changes in practices, habits, budgeting, and organization are required. But it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to engender a deeper, richer, more meaningful value in our work and in all knowledge assets.
I predicted several years ago that the wave of technological development - and the corresponding love affair with the people who are technology experts - would subside, and WE would be left to pick up the pieces. Well, my friends, that time is NOW! If you are in a position to establish partnerships - be it with management, technology staff, consultants, whoever will help your boat rise with the tide - take action to make them happen immediately. In the case of technologists, who once kept senior executives starry-eyed about the prospects for increased revenues, the luster has now worn off those stars. They now need you as much as you need
them. Take time to show them why a partnership can help THEM.
Many information professionals have already discovered the value of what Morten Hansen and Bolko von Oetinger [etinjer] wrote about in the March 2001 issue of the Harvard Business Review: T-Shaped Management. Simply put, this means sharing knowledge across the organization (the horizontal part) while remaining loyal to individual business unit performance (the vertical part). The successful T-shaped manager learns to thrive within the tension created by such dual responsibility. I submit that information professionals are the prototypical T-shaped managers, whether they are officially managers in the organizational hierarchy or not. Treating your library or information services operation as a business unit - which I'm certain many of you already do - and interacting with other business units to share knowledge but to also reap benefits for your own business unit - this is an excellent way to leverage your value across an organization.
So where does the profession go from here? There are far too many factors at play for me to predict that, but I can tell you where I see SLA in that mix. There are many forces swirling around our Association these days. The association industry at large is experiencing many changes and competing forces that will dramatically alter the nature and scope of the work we do for years to come. But more important is the simple fact that the needs and requirements you place on the associations to which you belong is changing, and we must respond or lose you as a valued member.
There are very few, if any, association communities more historically democratic in organization and practice than the global network of library and information associations and societies. By their very nature, the members of organizations are true believers in open access to, and participation in, the processes that drive their associations. But then, most of you are librarians by training – which makes you teachers and facilitators, advocates of fairness for all who seek their guidance. It is no surprise that you should expect the same of one another and in your dealings with the supporters of your profession.
Information associations - including SLA - have scrambled in the New Economy to either cling to the traditional philosophies and practices of librarianship, grab for the new evolutions taking place, or find themselves muddled somewhere in the middle, trying to do both. What is the best answer for the future? There is no single answer for all information associations. We all must strive to define our missions relative to the changes in the profession, and then apply that mission to our programming and practices. The good news is that the information profession is alive and well – albeit in a completely different form than existed 30 years ago. Those who left the profession long ago – and maybe some
who still practice – would be hard pressed to recognize it today.
In recent months, the SLA staff was asked to develop a plan for 2002 that radically changes the way ideas become reality. They were asked to consider the following:
How do we become cool?
How do speed of change, boundaryless behavior, stretch, competitiveness, and simplification apply to our operations and the development of products and services reflective of the needs of our stakeholders?
What standards of performance will our members and customers expect from us?
How can the Association turn existing products and initiatives, as well as new products and ideas, into expeditionary product platforms that will drive tomorrow's business?
How do we adapt our culture in order to engage the development of high performance products, services, and experiences? What new competencies do we need? How will we acquire them? How will we sustain them?
How do we bring along the slow adapters?
To define the potential for tomorrow's high performance association, we must begin by examining how the Knowledge Age will be different from today operating environment. Today's associations must be succeeded by a new breed of products, services, and experiences based on indispensability and previously unachieved levels of customer intimacy.
In order to succeed we must raise our planning sights in order to comprehend new possibilities. We need to plan for the future. Extrapolation of current trends from today's plane of operation will not yield the desired breakthrough insights. We must assume that e-commerce will drive our business, despite how many or how few currently utilize (or desire to utilize) technology to interact in relation to Association products, services, and experiences. We know that this is the future, if not current, reality for all business.
Information associations must return to their roots. An understanding of their individual and collective histories –– and some insight into strategy formation in the association industry –– reveals some basic matters than require ongoing attention:
+ Returning to the concept of community building
+ Making innovation a priority
+ Committing to the creation of authentic learning opportunities
+ Implementing financial models that allow for wise assessments of revenue streams
There will be substantial challenges for SLA and all information associations in the future that exist today and will not go away. I recently delivered a paper on the future of information associations that suggests four critical challenges facing us now: Mega-Associations, For Profit Learning, Mass Media, and The Internet. If you'd like to read that paper, you can find it on Virtual SLA - www.sla.org - in the Executive Director's Corner, under "Articles and Speeches" section. These four factors - which clearly have affected our social landscape beyond associations - have, in particular, drawn most of us away from dependency on associations. If we can learn or obtain information or knowledge quicker, cheaper, or from other legitimate sources, why do we need associations? That is the question for the twenty-first century!
One piece to SLA's "future puzzle" has already been found. Roberta Shaffer will begin service as executive director on September 4th of this year. She will bring to SLA a new energy and sense of style that I'm certain will differ from my own. But the important consistency in Roberta's leadership as compared to mine over 22 years is a constant focus on growth for the profession, growth for the Association, and building an ever-growing community to which our profession can always turn for support and encouragement. I am excited about her selection, and I hope that you are, too!
In closing, I'd just like to remind you that there are no limits to what you can do. Just twenty-two years ago, I was moving onward and upward in a career focused on educational librarianship. Then suddenly, I'm in charge of growing organization of my peers. Before I know it, that organization has grown into a multi-million dollar educational foundation focused on the principles of putting knowledge to work. People used to say such things only happen in America. Now, that geocentric phrase is no longer valid. Such things begin only in your mind, if you are willing to let happen.
My tenure with SLA will come to an end this summer. Being Executive Director of the Special Libraries Association has been the best job in the world! I've worked with members and staff to make SLA a vibrant, ever-changing and ever-growing professional association. I'm sincerely thankful for the opportunity you all have given me for twenty-two years. It's been a thrill and a joy. The people I've met, befriended, and served have provided me with a lifetime of memories that I'll never forget. You and the rest of the SLA membership worldwide are well-educated, knowledgeable, and motivated, and I am proud to say that I have served you over these many years. And I can't say enough about the staff at SLA Headquarters. They have worked so hard for so long to make my job pleasurable and rewarding. So you see, satisfaction at the end of a career is rarely about fame or fortune, but most often it is about the people who share your values and goals. Thank you for the gifts you have given me over the years.
Farewell, and thank you for coming today.
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