W. Davenport “Dav” Robertson
Good afternoon, everyone. You have a splendid set of candidates to choose from this year.
But. . . I confess: I have a leg up on my opponent—I know I can count on two votes: My wife Eliza is also an SLA member!
Why am I running for President-elect of SLA? Because I believe firmly in something Eleanor Roosevelt said: “It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.”
Many of you know me from when I was Chapter Cabinet Chair two years ago. My strength is that I’m a builder . . . and what SLA needs as we approach our Centennial in 2009 is someone who can build the foundation for our next hundred years.
- I served two years in the Peace Corps building relationships in South Korea.
- I was the first professional librarian at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences where I have built the collection, staff, services, and a new facility.
- I am a builder of coalitions, and I follow participatory management and team-building in my relationships with all people—my staff, colleagues in other federal agencies, or colleagues in SLA.
The Peace Corps taught me how to build coalitions for change, a skill I used to bring positive change to SLA while I was on the Board of Directors. For example,
- After helping select Janice Lachance as our new Executive Director, I then made sure as Chapter Cabinet Chair that she traveled to the chapters to meet a variety of members and understand our value.
- I co-led the effort with Pam Rollo that changed the Winter Meeting to the real Leadership Summit it’s been since 2003.
- I helped create the Governing Documents which streamlined the offices and responsibilities for you in our chapters and divisions, and
- I led the task force that developed the Leadership Code of Accountability.
Through my recent work on the Finance Committee, I helped fashion the dues restructuring which I had originally assisted the Kentucky Chapter propose as Chapter Cabinet Chair.
For the past year, I’ve chaired the Task Force on Natural Disasters, nicknamed IPANDA. We’re building ways information professionals can use our competencies in times of disasters. Fortunately, when Hurricane Katrina struck, our task force had the IPANDA blog in place to lead SLA’s response. It was a principal tool for communication with our members directly affected by the hurricane.
What about my aspirations for SLA? I want to build on the foundation provided by all the task forces that are currently underway, and feature 8 initiatives that I call “8 for 2008.”
- My top priority will be to advocate for our profession. We need to define what an information professional is in today’s world of technological transition. Our challenge is to take the initiative and define who we are, and not let others define us. I have mentored over a hundred student interns, and I know we must define ourselves so we can attract young professionals to SLA.
- Second: Give voice to the needs of our membership. I believe the Cabinets should play a greater role in leading our association. You are the ones closest to the members and you should bring forth new ideas that reflect the members’ needs and desires, much like Kentucky did. If you know me, you know I’m a good listener. I do not believe in the idea of the imperial presidency! I am a leader, but I believe in our membership-driven association!
- Third: Ensure the Association is financially responsible and still be innovative.
- Fourth: Expand internationally. Just read Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat, and you’ll know why.
- Fifth and Sixth: Recruit new members from developers of the Semantic Web and Web 2.0, and from people in special collections involved in digitization and metadata projects.
- Seventh: Explore credentialing—beyond Click University certification--that would recognize members for leadership, conducting workshops, and professional writing.
- Eighth: Plan for our Centennial. SLA needs a President in 2008 who can build coalitions to guarantee the success of our Centennial in 2009.
So why do I want to be that President? I am a practitioner, and I deeply believe in service to others. We owe it to ourselves and our profession to actively engage in continuous education, to share our ideas and ideals with others, and to promote our profession with the power of one loud voice. Those are the three building blocks of SLA’s mission statement: professional development, networking and advocacy.
Grounded firmly on that foundation, we must work together—with dignity and enjoyment--and use our imagination to build the structure for mentoring newcomers and providing rewarding experiences for all members. That will ensure our Association will last another hundred years.
That’s a mighty tough job. But do you remember the Peace Corps tagline: the toughest job you’ll ever love? Well, I ask you to join with me to make the SLA presidency the next toughest job I’ll ever love! Thank you!
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