5 June 2007
SLA Annual Membership Meeting, featuring Candidate Speeches
Speech given by Gloria Zamora, Candidate for Preident-Elect
Good afternoon. Let me tell you what an honor it is to be nominated to serve on the SLA Board of Directors. I have been writing this speech in my mind since February and finally put it to paper a few weeks ago. At that time, I thought it was everything I wanted to say about what I have done in this Association and what I would like to do as President. But something happened and I decided to focus this speech on two things. First, I what to focus on what I have learned in my years in SLA and second I will talk about an issue that is troubling to me. And since I know that you are all well-educated and capable of reading, I would ask if you want to know what offices I have held, what committees I have served on and my association with the Rio Grande chapter, please read my resume on the candidates site, or better yet let's talk this evening or tomorrow or after the conference give me a call or email me.
The one lesson that I have learned in this association is that it is vital to communicate. Sounds simple doesn't it? But when I say communicate, I mean two way communication, listening as well as talking; gathering as much information about any issue that affects this profession this association, joining that with the original ideas, massaging the whole thing and repeating the communication process over and over again. In this way, the diversity of ideas creates a much stronger result and there is a positive association with the final product.
Let me give you just one example, I was fortunate to be on the Board, as Treasurer, when the dues restructuring issue surfaced from the Kentucky chapter. They wanted some relief for lower income members but we knew what the finances looked like and were not sure we could do what was suggested, but we needed to look at the issue as a whole. I was also fortunate to have a hard working Finance committee who welcomed all challenges as well as an Association staff, that was supportive, a staff who instead of giving me all the reasons why we couldn't do something said OK why not, let's take a look at it. But that was not enough. I have seen other reasonable issues go down in flames in this association because we did not do an adequate job of communicating and answering questions. So we surveyed the members, we asked questions, we listened during the Leadership summit and we came up with what we thought was a reasonable proposal but we still realized we needed more input, more buy-in, more inclusion.
So, then President, Pam Rollo and I went live answering question on a call in show. Pam even joked after our second or third show that we were getting so good we were taking this show on the road. Needless to say, we did not quit our day jobs! But the communication and cooperation paid off. The membership approved the dues restructuring. Now everyone didn't get everything they wanted, but I believe most people felt they were given a fair opportunity to participate in a fair process.
So you see I have learned a valuable lesson that I use in any position either in this association or in my job. And that brings me to the second issue I wish to address.
I have been fortunate to have had enlightened management for the most part throughout my career. When I started in the technical information center at Sandia National Labs we were encouraged to participate not only in SLA, but in our profession in any way possible. As I moved out of the library I worked with primarily engineers and scientists who were encouraged to publish and participate in their professional organizations. Often times my management, who were technical, asked, "Why do you participate in a library organization?" I told them it was for the ideas, the network, and the chance to gain leadership skills. All things that I have experienced by participating in SLA and all things that I have brought to my job for the benefit of the organization and for the people I work with. There was never an argument after that and I was supported in these endeavors.
I am sorry to say that I am seeing more and more that this same supportive attitude is not always conveyed in some of our organizations, and sometimes librarians are even encouraged to not participate in any professional activity that may take then out of their office. I know one manager, a librarian himself, who told his staff that he views professional organizations such as SLA as "club work" and not professional. Another manager in a research library encourages his staff to join technical societies, at lab expense, and attend technical society meetings such as American Chemical Society, IEEE, or American Physical Society while discouraging participation in SLA because the programming is not "technical." Now don't get me wrong, all of these organizations are great organizations, but why is it either or? Why are members of management in our own profession belittling our professional organizations and discouraging participation? It cannot all be economics.
I would not have believed you twenty years ago if you told me that in 2007 on the verge of our 100th anniversary we would still need to justify our participation in SLA and the value that this membership returns to our organizations many times over.
A very recent event hit even closer, a member of a committee I serve on contacted me to let me know that she would only be able to attend one of our meetings, the one on the weekend, because her new management in the library felt she needed to concentrate her efforts on her job and not participate in professionally-related extracurricular activities. This person is a dedicated member of SLA and an active participant on the committee. So in true form she was already changing her reservation to come in on Saturday and leave following Sunday's keynote address. She would fulfill her commitment to the committee and SLA and be back at work on Monday morning also fulfilling her commitment there. I offered to call her management and, without Janice's permission, offered Janice to call to try to influence her and explain why SLA is important to professional development. Extracurricular activities! I was amazed.
So I see more and more that these are not isolated events or ideas. SLA has taken tremendous strides forward and offers so many valuable opportunities for our members; opportunities to learn, opportunities to team, and opportunities to lead and it is imperative that we get this message out; a message that we are not a club, a message that states that SLA members are vital accomplished employees with many skills to offer; skills that are enhanced by their membership in SLA.
So because of these concerns, the opportunities I have been given, the opportunities I have created, the people who have taken the time to mentor me both knowingly and unknowingly, the knowledge I have of the association and the leadership I have displayed in my profession and in SLA, I am now ready to lead SLA at this time as we move into our second century. I have the experience and the skills and I stand her today ready to make a commitment to you that if elected and even if I am not elected, I will use all the skills I have gained in SLA to enhance the reputation of the Association and its members and be fully engaged in the strategic alignment process. I will do the very best job that I am capable of doing to lead this organization.
So let me leave you with this thought. When you mark your ballot, electronically, think of what I have said and remember this, ZA MOR YOU WANT, ZA MOR YOU GET, VOTE ZAMORA, that's Gloria Zamora, FOR PRESIDENT ELECT.
Thank you for your attention.
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