of Information Professionals
The changing role of the information professional is a global phenomenon. The global
economy, the communications revolution, and the Internet have created common
challenges and opportunities for information professionals that bind us together with
a common interest. The large number of applications for the Global 2000 fellowships
and the evolution of topics covered at annual IFLA meetings attest to the fact that
librarians worldwide recognize the challenge to develop new ways to practice
librarianship. It is time to articulate our vision of how we work together as a global
association of information professionals with common interests, but many cultures, in
order to meet this challenge.
When I use the word cultures I am not just speaking of different ethnic and national
backgrounds. I also mean the different professional or work cultures entered by
graduates of library and information sciences programs. Solo librarians, law librarians,
webmasters, library science educators, Internet content managers, public and school
librarians, and competitive intelligence professionals share the challenges of continuing
to invent their new roles in the information age. We share the need to quickly adapt to
new technologies, new business paradigms, and new expectations of users. As professionals,
we recognize that our identity derives from the functions we perform, the evaluation,
selection, collection, organization, and dissemination of information and knowledge
in all of its formats and the challenges we share. The environment in which we work
is secondary to those common functions and to our need to reinvent how we perform
them whether it is with physical or virtual collections or both. Some of the most innovative
work is going on in the public and research library environments, where the physical
collection will always remain part of the work environment.
The global economy and the Internet are also accelerating the pace of change in SLA.
Global 2000 brought information professionals together from Europe, Asia, Africa,
and North and South America. SLA discussion lists enjoy increasing participation from
members signing on from outside North America and the Who’s Who in Special Libraries
now has a country index that lists members in more than fifty-three nations. The SLA web
site allows 24/7 access to products and services and distance learning programs and
web-based courses allow the association to serve the professional development needs
of a wider range of individuals. The same strategies that SLA employs so well,
professional development programs, recruitment and mentoring of students, aggressive
public relations and government relations programs, and a global communications platform,
respond to the needs of the global information professional. As the pace of change
accelerates and wireless technologies, e-books, and other technologies enhance and
replace traditional service provision, both our work organizations and SLA will overcome
additional barriers to globalization. It is time for SLA to claim its place as the global
association for information professionals.
As the year 2000 comes to a close, it is finally possible to envision a truly global future
for SLA. Technology has caught up with our association’s ambitions, enabling us to fulfill
our vision to serve the global community and make the whole world our network. The
global vision can become a reality as long as we have the courage to make it happen.
Donna Scheeder,
SLA President
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