In this issue:

Important Leadership Dates
Message from the President-Elect
Survey Tool Provided to the Association's Units

2003 Conference - Minutes and Money

Plan Now to Attend the January Leadership Summit

Important Leadership Dates

Message from the President Elect

I just wanted to make sure you were all aware of an article that appeared in the July 2003 issue of "Library Journal" entitled "Special Librarians: Opportunity in the Air." Our very own Mary Lee Kennedy, Director, Knowledge Network Group, Microsoft, is pictured on the cover. The article discusses how special librarians have adjusted quickly to major changes happening in their organizations. With so many information centers closing and the restructuring of staff taking place constantly, our career paths have taken many twists and turns. Mary Lee Kennedy shares her success stories in dealing with change at Microsoft. Mary Ellen Bates, well-known independent information professional, outlines her career paths and discusses how her entrepreneurial skills came to excellent use as a successful businesswoman. You also hear from Anne Abate, Director of Communications at GovConnect, and Dee Magnoni, Director of the Olin College Library, on how they have managed to navigate through their career journeys. It is a fascinating article with a number of excellent suggestions for information professionals in all organizations. As the author Andrew Richard Albanese states: "…it is more important than ever to view your career broadly, to continue to pursue professional development, and to keep your mind - and your options - open." Enjoy the article.

Survey Tool Provided to Association's Units

While many of you are planning to survey your members at some point during the year, traditional techniques (paper or telephone) are too time consuming, costly, and difficult to analyze. The Association's Leadership Department offers an online survey tool to make your job easier and at no cost to you. We've set up an account for you to use an online survey tool at www.SurveyMonkey.com. Your sign-in e-mail is: leadership@sla.org; and password: slaunits.

Request a current listing of your unit's e-mails by completing the label/roster request form at: www.sla.org/content/leadership/resource/requests.cfm.

To get started in developing your survey, here are some tips:

1. What is your research objective? An ideal objective has a narrow scope and can be clearly communicated. Remember the wider
the scope, the more complex your survey, and results will be less meaningful.

2. What is the information you need to reach your objective? Be specific and leave out the "nice to know" information.

3. Develop your survey. Include an introduction which outlines your purpose, the benefit to the responder, gives instructions on how to complete the survey and a realistic estimate of how long it will take to complete the survey.

Now develop your survey with clear, concise questions that:
· Provide data related to the problem;
· Use plain, easy to understand language;
· Are organized in groups by importance;
· Ask for demographic information at the end.
· Include an "Any Comments" text box at the end.

Conclude by thanking those who took time to complete the survey.

4. Conduct the survey. It can be distributed either via your web page, your discussion list or by sending a link to your membership via e-mail. Your introduction to the survey should be clear and compelling. Provide a direct URL to the survey.

5. SurveyMonkey's analysis tool will provide you simple analysis. Your survey results will be open to all units using this "joint" account.

6. Now that the survey has been completed, recommend a course of action to the Board or Committee. Finally, report to your members what actions have resulted from the survey.

Please share this article with your committee chairs or others assigned tasks for which surveys may be helpful

2003 Conference - Minutes and Money

Check the minutes of the June 2003 Chapter Cabinet meeting.

Invoices for all chapter and division activities from the 2003 Conference were mailed the week ending August 15, 2003. Conference planners should review the invoices and write or e-mail Kristin Foldvik (Kristin@sla.org) by September 19, 2003, if there is anything you need to dispute. Treasurers were copied so you can let him/her know if its okay to pay as invoiced. Payment due to International Headquarters is due September 30, 2003. If your unit is due monies, a check will be sent in late September after you've had a chance to review the invoice.

Plan Now to Attend the January Leadership Summit

Hold these dates on your calendar and plan to attend the Leadership Summit (formerly Winter Meeting)!
When: January 22-24, 2004
Where: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Who Should Attend: Chapter Presidents and Presidents-Elect; Division Chairs and Chairs-Elect; SLA Board of Directors; Committees upon the call of the chair; Annual Conference Program Planning Committees; anyone who may be interested in learning more about the governance of the association and/or may have an interest in a leadership position and how to hone their skills.
Call to Meeting: A "Call-to-Meeting" will be announced to the full leadership following the October SLA Board of Directors Meeting at the end of October. Preliminary agendas for the Board Meeting and Leadership Development Institute will be available at that time.
Hotel Reservations: The Hyatt Regency Albuquerque is already accepting reservations. Call them at +1 505 842 1234 and ask for the Special Libraries Association rate. For additional information on Albuquerque, check out the 2004 Leadership Summit page the Rio Grande Chapter has developed.

If you have any questions or comments about LEADERS.COMmunique', we would like your feedback. Please share your comments with leadership@sla.org

Useful Links

SLA Home Page

Leadership Home Page