SLA Contact:
Cara Schatz
P : 703.647.4917
cara@sla.org
SLA 2009 Draws Highest Attendance in Six Years
Centennial Conference Celebrates History, Examines Perceptions and Looks to the Future
Alexandria, Va, July 1, 2009 - Despite tough economic conditions, sweeping layoffs and shrinking travel and professional development budgets, members of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) turned out in record numbers to participate in the association's 2009 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO held in Washington, D.C., June 14-17.
Final attendance figures for SLA 2009 totaled 5,856 registrants, a 16 percent increase over SLA 2008 attendance. Of that number, 1,130 participants were first-time SLA conference participants. SLA's INFO-EXPO, the largest information and knowledge management exposition in North America and the most significant gathering of content and technology providers in the world, featured 299 companies and organizations and a total of 462 booths. SLA welcomed 48 new exhibitors in 2009. This year, attendees were given additional motivation to circulate among the INFO-EXPO exhibitors to collect 25 stamps, making them eligible to win a 2009 SmartCar at the closing general session.
"In a year when so many associations are experiencing dramatic decreases in attendance and exhibit sales, SLA broke records. Going by the numbers, the positive feedback and the excitement I heard from attendees throughout the week, I think it is safe to say that SLA 2009 was a smashing success," said SLA Chief Executive Officer Janice R. Lachance. "SLA's leading-edge conference is clearly a can't-miss networking and professional development event for info pros from around the world, and I am thrilled that so many of them found a way to make it to D.C."
"SLA 2009 also marked a pivotal moment for the future of the profession and the association," said Lachance. "SLA members were enthusiastically celebrating the SLA Centennial, but they also spent a significant chunk of their time throughout the conference discussing the SLA alignment research and what the findings mean for the future of the profession."
The official anniversary of SLA's founding is July 2, the day when, in 1909, John Cotton Dana and F. B. DeBerard called a meeting of 20 librarians on the verandah of the Mt. Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H. to discuss the need for a new type of specialized librarianship and an organization to bring its practitioners together. A century later, SLA is an association of about 11,000 members in 75 countries around the world.
The Big News: Alignment Research Points to Needed Name Change for SLA
The most talked-about topic throughout the conference was SLA's alignment research, an exhaustive examination of the information profession that is bringing clarity and unity to the core identity and value of the profession and the association. For more than two years, SLA has worked with a multidisciplinary team of research and communication professionals to not only help refine the current positioning of the profession in the marketplace, but also to provide a framework for discussing the inherent value in the profession and the association in a clear, compelling and cohesive voice.
SLA President Gloria Zamora and Lachance delivered a presentation on the alignment research results at the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) on Sunday, June 14. The volunteer leadership in attendance provided their comments on the findings of the study, and asked thoughtful questions about what the results mean for the future of SLA and the profession. Lachance and Zamora were not surprised when asked the question, "Isn't it time for SLA to look at a change in the name of the association?"
Citing the alignment research, which demonstrated that the term "special librarian" holds little or no perceived value to C-level decision makers and hiring managers, Lachance answered, "Yes, it is clear that the research is telling us that we need to investigate changing the name of SLA."
Flashback
Following an exciting Sunday morning LDI session focused on the future of the profession, SLA honored its best and brightest members during the 2009 Awards Ceremony and Opening General Session. The ceremony featured the presentation of 18 major awards including the inaugural class of five up-and-coming professionals who were honored as SLA Rising Stars. The videos created to tell each award recipient's story are available on SLA TV, the association's exclusive online video network at www.slatv.org.
After the conclusion of the 2009 Awards Ceremony, SLA members heard form General Colin Powell, who spoke off the cuff for nearly an hour to a captivated audience. General Powell, a gifted and humorous storyteller, shared his views on leadership and the importance of information technology through tales of his conversations and interactions with the world's leaders as well as his grandchildren's efforts to get him to use Facebook and Twitter.
2009 SLA Membership Meeting
Following a well-received report from SLA Treasurer Sylvia James, the membership heard from Lachance, who delivered her annual State of the Association address. Lachance announced during the Wednesday afternoon Closing General Session that the Board of Directors, after evaluating all of the research and discussing the results at length, agreed to pursue a name change for SLA.
"You have told us over and over again that one of your greatest challenges is our name--SLA. It is a name that we hold dear, but a name that has little meaning outside the profession . . . a name that research shows us does not capture your contributions, your aspirations, your future. But the research--along with what we are hearing from all of you--leaves no doubt: SLA needs a new name for a new century," announced Lachance. The announcement was followed by a round of applause by the audience.
SLA President Zamora emphasized the need for a new name and identity for the profession. In a nod to Seth Godin, who delivered the closing keynote address at SLA 2008, Zamora called upon the membership to be part of the "SLA alignment tribe."
"A tribe is a group of individuals, connected to an idea, who communicate that idea widely and effectively to bring more people into the tribe. SLA is a tribe in that regard, and now we need to build our tribe around the alignment research and the pursuit of a new name for our second century that effectively and powerfully states our value," said Zamora
After a thought-provoking panel discussion on the future of information featuring luminaries in various fields, conference attendees then celebrated a successful week of information and inspiration at the closing reception and kick-off party for the SLA 2010 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO.
SLA 2010 will be held in New Orleans June 13-15 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The theme for the 2010 conference is Entering SLA's Next Century: Let the Good Times Roll!, and the event will feature an opening keynote address from political commentators James Carville and Mary Matalin.
About SLA
Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves more than 11,000 corporate, academic, government, and other information specialists in 75 countries. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.sla.org.
RSS
Feedback form
