To Endings and New Beginnings

"It's all over but the cheering," they often say at the end of an exciting sports event. By the time you read this, my year as president of SLA will be nearly over, except for the cheering represented by our annual conference in Philadelphia. Cheering is one of the "C" words I proposed to you last year, when I assumed the presidency, as a tool in creating the value proposition for information professionals and specialist librarians.

Have you ever noticed how a loud noise, such as the cheering of a large group of people, draws the attention of casual passersby? No one can resist being curious. Let's make a loud noise, draw a big crowd, and, once we have their attention, educate them in the reasons why we are valuable and essential. We can do it in Philadelphia, or in the chapters during the year.

The awards and honors that will be presented to twenty-two deserving peers at the conference in Philadelphia are just one cause for cheering. Each of us has daily victories and makes contributions to our organizations. We don't often receive awards and honors, and we don't usually bother to create our own celebration, but we should. Share your victories with someone--either in your organization or in the community of special librarians. Join them in cheering. If you cheer loud enough, you might attract some curious unbelievers who need to understand what we are all about.

Have you provided information resources that turned into a new contract or product for your company or organization? Cheer for your role in that victory by doing a short story about it on your library web site, on the corporate intranet, or elsewhere. Storytelling is one of the most effective ways of communicating. And effective communication is another one of the "C" words that should be our constant weapons in the battle to create our value proposition. Create a new partnership with a person or unit of your organization. Focus on collaborating with an unlikely partner, but one who will strengthen your ability to do your job better or who will contribute to an enhanced perception of your value. Celebrate the new partnership with a loud symbolic cheer of some kind, announcing the liaison and the successes it has produced. Others may begin to see the value in partnering with you.

Chutzpah!--the final "C" word in my list. It will take chutzpah, nerve, moxie, self-assurance, or whatever term you feel most comfortable with, to communicate effectively, to publicize your competencies, to explore your creative side, to make collaborations that will strengthen what you do, to reinforce the culture that is SLA, and to allow you to cheer out loud when something you have accomplished has made a significant difference. Chutzpah is not a trait to avoid, but to be cultivated. Don't kid yourself that it is unprofessional, or that "nice girls don't do that." One of my favorite business books in the past decade was Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do by Kate White. Gutsy girls, and guys, don't hesitate to turn on the chutzpah when it is in their best interest to be firm, aggressive, and a self-assured self-promoter.

The final act in the transfer of office from one SLA president to another may go relatively unnoticed, even though it is a strong link in our culture. Presentation of a gavel at the annual business meeting is the traditional signal of transfer. The gavel, however, is newly created for each new president--shiny, engraved, a keepsake. At the closing gala, the new president is given a chain of office, to wear for just one year and then pass along to his or her successor. There is continuity symbolized by the chain. All presidents take office dedicated to carrying SLA into a strong future. I hope that, in some small way, I have carried out the pledge that I made to myself last year in Minneapolis--to make a difference. Thank you for allowing me to work with you for a year as your president. I plan to be around for several years to come, working to enhance the perception of the value of information professionals. Please join me. The best is yet to come.

Susan DiMattia

President, SLA