5 June 2007
SLA Annual Membership Meeting, featuring Candidate Speeches
Speech given by Deb Hunt, Candidate for Director
Good afternoon. I would like to thank the nominating committee and the Board for the opportunity to be a candidate and to speak to you today.
I remember spending many summer days at the local public swimming pool. When I was 8 years old, I finally got up enough nerve to climb the ladder to the high dive and jumped off the edge. Little did I know then that leaping off the edge would become a pattern of behavior in my professional life. When I graduated from library school, there was a glut of librarians in Northern California. Entry level jobs were being filled by librarians with 5-10 years of experience. I was fortunate that a local civil engineering firm posted a help-wanted notice on the library school's job board saying they needed someone to organize the firm's library. I met with the two firm principals and wrote up a proposal. I then spent three months right after graduating diving into organizing and cataloging a book, journal and trade catalog collection, and answering reference questions. It was a great way to leap off the edge into the profession.
12 years ago, I began work as a web developer and project manager at the Exploratorium, a hands-on museum. I had no experience with web development, but my employer knew that my library degree and experience would be a good foundation for the position. My boss, also an SLA member, and I learned together. I got to leap off the edge again into a new area in my career. SLA helped me get up to speed with the skills I needed when I attended classes at conference to learn more about web design tools.
In the past few months, I've become the manager of two knowledge management initiatives, one at the Exploratorium and one as a consultant. SLA was there for me again when my local chapter brought in Guy St. Clair, KM guru, to teach a seminar on knowledge management and knowledge services. I'm leaping off the edge again and SLA has provided the foundation for me to move ahead in this new area.
I believe that SLA must be THE association that special librarians and information professionals turn to for support, education and networking, no matter where they live or work. My colleagues are now my friends and I know I can turn to them when I need answers to questions about my job and my career. SLA has made that possible.
My vision for SLA is for the continuing recruitment of membership of special librarians along with non-traditional information professionals, such as independents, as well as those with library degrees who do not work in traditional library settings. My current work at the Exploratorium and also as the owner of an independent information consulting business, has broadened my own perspective of how information skills can be used in a variety of environments, including, but not limited to, libraries. By broadening SLA membership, we can learn from one another and expand our sphere of influence.
I'm excited to be a candidate for the Board of Directors. In the past few years, SLA has really moved ahead in so many wonderful directions. I'd like to be part of that as a contributor, not a bystander. Let's grow and stretch a bit. Please take my hand as we leap off the edge together. We're sure to go to new and exciting places.
Again, my name is Deb Hunt and I'm a candidate for Director. I'd appreciate your vote.
Thank you very much.
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