Remarks at 2006 Leadership Summit
Friday, 20 January 2006
Houston, Texas USA
Good morning, everyone! Thank you for being here in Houston this week for what has been a very successful SLA Leadership Summit. The planning task force – comprised of Brent Mai, Patricia Cia, Anne Caputo, Agnes Mattis, and Rebecca Vargha – has done a wonderful job of making this event a valuable experience. The programming was excellent, we’ve talked about some of the incredible opportunities and challenges facing the global community of information professionals and SLA, and we’ve had a little fun, too! Best of all – we’ve established some great momentum for 2006. And if 2005 was any indication, momentum coming out of our Leadership Summit gives way to great things happening.
I also want to thank the members of the Texas Chapter of SLA who were so involved in coordinating local arrangements. Led by Chapter President Judy Johnson, we’ve been graciously hosted this week by some of the best people in Texas. I know that many volunteers in the Houston area have worked hard to make things fun and exciting, and I’d like us all to thank them. So, as you hear your name, please stand up, and let’s hold the applause until I’ve called on everyone.
- Judy Kraatz Johnson, president of the Texas Chapter.
- Marcia Schemper Carlock, who organized the Chapter’s Welcome Reception.
- Janice Anderson and Susan Yancey, who organized the on-site hospitality efforts.
- Rafal Kasprowski and Margaret Carroll, who organized student volunteers.
- And Bill Dice, who worked on the chapter’s online Summit communications.
Let’s all give a big Texas thanks to these great volunteers from the Lone Star State!
I want to step back from the celebrations to talk about something a bit more serious. We all know that 2005 was marked by tragedy throughout the world as the result of numerous natural disasters. The horrible toll of a devastating tsunami, several destructive and disruptive hurricanes, and several massive earthquakes reminded us of the fragility of life and the importance of helping our fellow global citizens.
Within the SLA community, we responded to the tsunami in southern Asia by creating an association task force on natural disasters, which proved to be a very strategic move later in the year. That task force helped us to think of ways to aid members affected by natural disasters, and it continues to seek out strategies for aiding in recovery efforts.
Your Board of Directors also took action by extending SLA benefits and services for one year to members living in the regions affected by these natural disasters. It’s the least we can do to show that we are very aware that, in the battle for survival, paying one’s association dues is one thing we don’t want these friends and colleagues to worry about.
Probably the most striking aspect of our collective experience in these disasters during 2005 was hearing the stories of the loss of life, the destruction of homes, and the devastation to economies, societies, and cultures. In Louisiana, where Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding left the state in chaos, SLA members took action to do whatever they could to help. The sadness and despair of life in New Orleans and surrounding areas gave way to the hope and optimism shining through people helping others and, in particular, SLA members helping SLA members.
With us this week are two people who were there – two people who are consummate information professionals, but they are also great human beings for their efforts to help New Orleans return to a sense of normalcy. One, as president of the Louisiana – Southern Mississippi Chapter, coordinated efforts to relocate displaced members and even welcomed a displaced SLA member into her own home. The other is head librarian at the Historic New Orleans Collection and was instrumental in making that museum the first to re-open in the wake of Katrina’s destruction. Both have been with us this week, and I’d like to introduce them to you. Let’s all applaud and thank Lisl Zach and Gerald Patout for their shining example of leadership in action.
Lisl and Gerald, thanks for being here with us this week, and I know I speak for everyone here when I say that we look forward to celebrating the revival of New Orleans with you in the near future.
We’ve also lost some very dear people in 2005, as past president Frank Spaulding passed away in July. And Elton Stephens, founder of EBSCO Information Services and a pioneer in the information industry, passed away in February. Their legacy and commitment to the SLA community should not be forgotten.
Despite the tragedies of so many natural disasters and the passing of some dear friends, 2005 was a productive year in the history of SLA. We should all be proud that this Association has grown from a struggle with its place in the world to a place where we are putting our stamp on the future of the profession. Our commitment to Learning, Networking, and Advocacy has begun to show results. Headquarters staff has prepared the 2005 Performance Review so that you and all other members can see for yourselves what kinds of great things are happening at SLA. You should have a copy where you are seated. If not, we have extras over near the exits.
Additionally, staff has published the first-ever online Annual Report on the Association’s year. That report provides more detail on the things we accomplished in 2005, and I encourage you to check it out. Go to www.sla.org/05report.
There are several highlights from 2005 that I’d like to share with you today. We began with a revitalized Leadership Summit. It’s hard to believe that just one year ago, we embarked on a new path to developing leaders in the profession. Looking at this week’s program, I think we are continuing the evolution and making a difference.
Our Annual Conference was a complete success, due in no small part to the efforts of the Toronto Chapter and the Division planners.
We celebrated the Info Heroes of the profession as 23 people received SLA Awards and Honors.
We approved three changes to the SLA bylaws – the last being the first electronic vote in our history. This is no small feat, as we can now offer a truly democratic approach to member participation in the shaping of the Association’s future.
We launched Click University, the first and only online learning system designed specifically for practicing information professionals. I believe Click U is destined to become THE hub of learning for the profession worldwide. Look for more great things to happen in 2006 at Click University.
We dove into the “blogosphere” by creating our very first conference blog, and then opening up our blogging service to the SLA Community, so that you, your chapter or division, or any grouping of members can create a blog at no cost. Just contact John Adams at SLA Headquarters to learn more.
At SLA Headquarters, our staff evolved and grew in 2005. We were very fortunate to hire some great people, and four of them are here: Nancy Sansalone, Jill Calabria, Akisha Edogun, and Connie Liebrecht. They are joined here this morning by some of the vets you all know: Linda Broussard, Sam Felder, and John Crosby. I hope you have taken the opportunity to meet and get to know them.
On the technology side, we began the process for acquiring a new management system that will allow us to do many great things online and electronically for members, leaders, and other stakeholders. Our goal is to get this done as soon as possible, but we want to be sure we are making the most of this significant financial investment, that any new system meets our goal of enhancing the member experience, that our staff is appropriately trained, and that we have a flawless rollout and transition.
On the public policy front, we made great strides in 2005, with our partnerships flourishing, our educational offerings proving to be very successful, and our exposure to, and influence on, international policymaking at an all-time high. Our work with North American, European and other international library associations is opening new doors for us. And late last year, I was honored to be selected by the U.S. Department of State and the Bush Administration to represent the memberships of SLA, ALA, AALL, MLA, and ARL as an official member of the United States Delegation to the World Summit on the Information Society, which was held in Tunisia.
A major goal of the Summit was to reach consensus on the future of Internet Governance. I believe we negotiated an excellent agreement. We agreed to establish an Internet Governance Forum that would discuss overarching issues surrounding the Internet but would not be involved in naming or day-to-day technological and administrative issues. This would give all nations, as well as stakeholders like us, the opportunity to voice issues of concern without interfering in a system that, for the most part, works well.
We completed the 2005 fiscal year with a surplus – the third consecutive year in the black, while living up to our commitment to invest in our strategic initiatives. Further, for the 3rd year in a row, the Association has received a clean audit report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2004. This means that all internal management controls are in place to give us an accurate picture of where SLA stands financially.
The last thing I want to mention about 2005 was one of Pam’s first acts as your president. She formed 6 new task forces that are now focusing on strategic areas of the association’s future: allies and partners, chapter modeling, contributing to executive growth, new visions for the profession, recognition, and research. Together with the task force on professional value that had been formed by past president Ethel Salonen, SLA members and staff are working together to assess the current state and future needs in these areas, so that SLA can be prepared to grow with you.
These task forces will be reporting their findings in June at SLA 2006 in Baltimore. Then, two work groups made up of Board members and staff will work to implement those findings and help to shape the future of SLA relative to this evolving profession. I expect that you will hear a range of findings that might confirm some beliefs and shake up others. But I do believe that we must re-examine ourselves regularly so as to ensure that we are anticipating the needs of the profession. Let me give you an example of why this is so important.
The latest issue of Business Week features a cover story on the rise of mathematicians in the business world. In particular, the article focuses on how they are addressing the use of information to achieve organizational goals. I highly recommend the article to anyone who wishes to get a glimpse of the future taking place today, but here’s what struck me as I read it during my flight to Houston.
The article begins with an introduction to Neal Goldman, a “math entrepreneur.” He works on Wall Street, but his focus these days is on the world of words, rather than numbers. His startup company is called Inform Technologies, and it is developing an innovative analytic tool. To quote the article: “Every day it combs through thousands of press articles and blog posts in English. It reads them and groups them with related pieces. Inform doesn’t do this work alphabetically or by keywords. It uses algorithms to analyze each article by its language and context. It then sends customized news feeds to its users, who also exist in Inform’s system as – you guessed it – math. Mr. Goldman refers to his innovation as a robotic librarian.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your future.
These kinds of changes are going to come at us at an alarming pace. They will remind us that we cannot afford to sit still, to rest on our laurels, to presume that our value is a constant. It also points out that living, working, and growing cannot be done by continually looking in the rear view mirror. We must be aggressive in the effort to prepare the minds of the profession for these challenges AND to promote the value of the profession to the world. We’ve begun to move in the right direction, but now we must commit ourselves to doing whatever it takes so that we can guarantee a healthy future for the profession.
Our 2005 successes will propel several new initiatives in 2006. Click University will continue to garner significant attention as it begins to fire “on all cylinders.” A new Web interface is being finalized as we speak, which will make the site more user-friendly and visually appealing. And we’ve already begun to consolidate all of our learning services under its banner, with the SLA Virtual Learning Series now becoming a part of the Click University Live! Series. They will be available only to members of SLA, so this is one more example of how we can increase the value of your membership dues.
SLA 2006 in Baltimore will be structured a little differently this year. We are doing some things this year in order to maximize your time there. Our Opening General Session, for example, will take place on Sunday evening, June 11, beginning at 6:30 pm. It will feature news analyst Gwen Ifill, who is sure to inspire us with the story of her success. We have a second high-level keynoter in Walt Mossberg, author of the “personal technology column in the Wall Street Journal, who will speak on Tuesday, June 13. Look for more announcements on new and exciting changes to our conference structure.
We will also be conducting several strategic campaigns:
- We will be working to define the value of membership so that we can shape services that will keep you involved.
- We will be engaging in a major push to recruit new members to the association AND retain existing members.
- We will be promoting the value and values of the profession to executives and hiring professionals in organizations.
- We will be participating in policy debates that will affect the profession at large.
As we move forward on these initiatives, the momentum from a successful 2005 gives us some advantages that, otherwise, we would not have.
First, as I mentioned earlier, we have completed our third consecutive year with an operating net surplus. To keep things moving forward, our finance team, led by Chief Financial Officer Nancy Sansalone, is working to modernize the structure of SLA’s finances. And the SLA Board of Directors has also taken action. During its October 2005 meeting, the Board approved a change in the Association’s reserve fund strategy that has some very positive implications on our ability to innovate while ensuring our financial future. The change guarantees a fallback reserve TWO AND A HALF times greater than the standard practice for nonprofit associations. Any funds over and above that level are now being invested in new and innovative services that will directly benefit the membership.
Second, we are increasing our focus on the use of technology to enhance your membership experience. Now, I know many of you have probably had issues with some of the technology-oriented services deployed by SLA headquarters in the past. And, just like any organization that takes risks, some of our efforts have flourished, while others have struggled. What the Board of Directors and I are committed to is the pursuit of technological excellence and experimentation. Back in October, the Board formed a Technology Review Advisory Group of SLA members who are committed to helping the cause. We seek to acquire back-office systems and technologies that make the commercial, accounting, and customer service-related components of our operations as efficient as we can afford. But we also want to acquire the kinds of useful technologies that you can use to enhance your interaction with other members around the world. We invite any SLA member to work with us to make sure this effort succeeds.
Third, and possibly most important, we are staying committed to our strategy, which has evolved but maintained the course of focusing on the delivery of learning, networking, and advocacy for the profession and our strategic partners. Consistent leadership in disruptive times is essential to achieving success. And I think you’ll agree that the results are showing.
Now earlier, I referred to the historic vote by the members in Toronto to allow electronic voting on association business. Well, we wasted no time in making use of this capability. In June of last year, the SLA Board of Directors approved a proposal from the association’s finance committee to restructure member dues. This came about as a result of calls from the membership for greater flexibility based on income, but what most people don’t know is that the Board was already facing the possibility of considering a dues increase. The resulting proposal achieved both needs, but it required a change to the SLA bylaws in order to take effect. In September and October, you and your fellow SLA members, for the first time in the Association’s almost 100-year history, cast a member vote – a vote on a bylaws question – over the Internet.
Most of you probably saw the news that over 77 percent of those members voting approved the bylaws change and, thus, the Board’s restructuring plan took effect on January 1, 2006.
Online voting is the future of association democracy. It means that any of you in this room – any full, voting member – can cast a ballot and have a say in the affairs of your association – whether you’re here in a hotel room in Houston, or in an office in Milwaukee, or your home in New Zealand, or in a cyber café in New Delhi. We are a global association – a global leader – and tapping technology brings us closer together.
In six months, much of what I have shared with you today will be in process or possibly completed. But it’s my BELIEF that, by that point, we’ll also be talking about the great things that you and other members are doing through chapter and division activities. We’ll be talking about many of the winners of SLA awards and honors, and celebrating their successes. But it’s my HOPE that we’ll also be talking about the future, about great expectations, and great possibilities for you and your colleagues as information professionals.
I want you to be a part of that excitement, but if you can’t be there, we are looking for ways to keep you connected to the action, including the renewal of our very-popular conference blog. We’re also looking at podcasting some of our programs, so that you can listen in to selected recorded sessions and get a feel for the atmosphere. Let us know if you have ideas that can help keep all members connected to the annual conference.
I’m hopeful that you have questions, and I’ll be happy to answer them. But I do want to wish you all the best in 2006, and I look forward to continued success with you as we work to make SLA the premier association for information professionals.
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