Libby Trudell
When I thought about what I could tell you about myself today, I looked back over my 30 years as an information professional, and decided I would like to tell you a little bit about why I chose to go to library school back in 1975.
I made that choice in large part because of my mother, who was the reference librarian in my hometown public library in New England for 20 years. She absolutely loved her job because there were new questions and research requests to challenge her every day…and of course she served her clients with access only to a small print collection – there were no electronic resources in those days! My mother was always engaged in her work, and we used to hear about those challenges many days over dinner. I also remember vividly how over the course of years, she partnered with the library director to lay the foundation for and eventually win funding at town meeting for building an addition to the town’s Carnegie library building. My mother was always empowered in her work, and she was proud of those accomplishments.
Clearly, I was lucky to have such a role model. But I am telling you this story because I think it is directly related to the critical mission we face today, as individual information professionals, as members of SLA, and within our organizations. That mission was highlighted to me again just last week, when a colleague in the UK forwarded a message about a survey reported at a meeting of British psychologists. One of the results from the survey was that librarians as a profession experienced more stress than other professions. As reported in the London Times on Jan 12th:
"... a consultant with a recruitment company interviewed 300 people in five occupations, and was surprised to find that the most stressful work environment was the supposed calm of a library, with many respondents saying that they were dull and uninspiring places in which to pursue a career. Librarians complained that there was not enough variety in their work, that they did not have enough control over their careers and they were not allowed to put their skills to full use.." see full story at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1980961,00.html
Wow! Well, this doesn't sound like my work environment or colleagues, and I bet it doesn't sound like yours either. Sure, we all have our frustrations at work, but we work not just with variety but with a multitude of challenges and opportunities. We can assert control over our careers by building relationships with managers and decision makers. We can put our skills to work by providing information services that really make a difference to our organization's success. Yet, this "stuck in the stacks of books" image is so typical of the negative stereotypes and misconceptions that we associated with as information professionals.
So what do we do?
For several years ago, I was a facilitator for a Leadership training program, and did training for all entry and mid-level managers at our company. One of the guiding principles from that program has stayed with me: "Take action to make things better." It's such a simple message, but it's also the first step in being an agent for change. I believe we can transform the way people think about us as information professionals,
The current leadership of SLA is already beginning to take action to define and communicate a more accurate picture of our role in the workplace. Each of you has taken action already by becoming engaged as leaders within your chapters and divisions. If I do have the opportunity to serve on the SLA Board, I look forward to the chance to take action together as agents for change to transform our image. Just as my mother was, we can all be role models for engagement and empowerment to communicate our value as information professionals.
Thank you!
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