Building Blocks to Change
 | As we approach the mid point of our association year, the Winter Meeting in Chicago, all around us are signs of the downturn in the economy and the resulting impact on members. It keeps our need to be flexible and sell our value front and center.
We have talked about change for a long time. We have looked at the changes going on around us. We've listened to members saying it was time to change. Just two years ago, we set up task forces to capture ways in which we need to change. We are making changes, as they make sense. We hired a forward-looking executive director, precisely because of her comfort with change. With the support of an outside consultant, SLA staff has proceeded to change internally to match our directions. With the staff restructuring in October, internal changes have begun.
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Here's where we are with the work of the task forces begun in St. Louis two winters ago:
Branding: The work of this task force continues and the board is expecting their report at the Winter Meeting, hopefully leading to recommendations to the membership in Los Angeles in June.
Conferences: Change is ongoing in conference planning. As the Red Queen said to Alice, "It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" We look for our conference to be the one our members select for networking, learning, and involvement in the association that is promoting their professional well-being.
Membership: The importance of member recruitment and helping members become impact players in their organizations is key to our success as an association and profession. We have created a pilot Virtual "Subscription" (since we cannot create a membership category without a bylaws change) to meet the needs of non-North American members who would benefit from our virtual services but who do not affiliate with any chapters, divisions, or attend meetings.
Partnerships: We are looking at expanding our partnerships as recommended in this committee's report.
Simplification: With very little encouragement, many of the divisions and chapters are simplifying, looking at what can be eliminated so that they can spend more time on what's important to them. The Board of Directors is looking at presenting a streamlined bylaws for approval so that the association can better respond to changing needs. Simplification of bylaws does not mean abandoning precedent, tradition, and established guidelines, but it will allow us to make needed changes without a costly, time-consuming, bureaucratic cycle. This is a process that we hope to bring to the annual meeting in Los Angeles for a vote and then mail to members for their approval.
As you can see, the association is looking at major changes this year, but you are part of the process, as you will have the opportunity to vote at the annual meeting and then, if successful, by mail ballot for changes to the bylaws. Your views matter. These changes are stepping stones toward our becoming the association you have been asking for.
Hope N. Tillman, SLA President
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