Have you been dreaming of the day when your clients, fellow employees, supervisor, or CEO shower you with the recognition and appreciation you deserve? The day that hordes of admirers flood into your facility and praise you for the benefits you bring to them in helping them do their jobs? Why dream? Through your planning efforts, this can become a reality!

Your day has come...Thursday, April 23, 1998, is International Special Librarians Day (ISLD). This exciting day is the perfect excuse for you to blow your horn--and I mean blast those trumpets! Of course, one should strive to make everyday count--each day a new opportunity to shine--but International Special Librarians Day was created to help you do this! Providing excellent service is the best form of promotion. The next step is to make sure that your organization recognizes the value of the services you and your library provide. Promoting your facility is an ongoing activity, involving winning advocates, lobbying, networking, marketing, and public relations.

As we all know, getting the recognition from senior management figures is an especially arduous task. Does your senior management executive or CEO acknowledge the role of the library in providing the information on which his or her decisions are being based? Does he or she take the delivery of information for granted? Most senior managers often rely on others to provide them information and do not question from where it originates. It is up to the library staff to inform and educate these managers.

The theme for ISLD '98 is: The Time is Now! So on this special day, strut your stuff. Let anyone and everyone in on the fact that thanks to your information endeavors--be it through your Intranet development; detailed routing slips; accessing, organizing, and packaging information; clipping service; research gathering; or Internet searches--you are a critical player in the success of the organization! Go out there and gain the recognition you deserve for the valuable role that you play in the international sharing of information.

Do something fun and creative to show your organization the value of the information you provide! Check out Public Relations Outlook (page 9) for a few celebratory ideas that have been shared by SLA members over the years. Start planning your celebration now. SLA wants to reward and recognize you with one of its PR awards!

In their 1993 report, Special Libraries: Increasing the Information Age, Don King and Jose Marie Griffiths of King Research conducted a comprehensive analysis of 18 organizations and their special libraries. Through this research, it was articulated that many organizations felt that if they had no libraries, the professionals' productivity would suffer, inflicting a penalty cost on the organization. The reasons given were that the professionals would have to spend time acquiring information rather than doing their jobs, or if they chose to work without information, they would not function as effectively or efficiently. Based on hundreds of surveys and interviews, it was estimated that if the organizations did not have a library, the cost would be $12,000 per professional.

This issue of Information Outlook has a focus on planning--from an organizational viewpoint as well as from this association's viewpoint. Challenge yourself and your staff to incorporate some of these planning tips and case studies into your own facility's strategic plan. When assessing your vision, mission, environment, values and priorities, use these articles with solid advice as models from folks who have your best interest at heart--fellow librarians. Whether you are coming up with a new strategic plan for your library or if you are developing one from scratch, use ISLD '98 to give your well-planned identity a positive boost! SLA is proud to welcome LEXIS-NEXIS as our returning partner for this special day.

So, what are you waiting for? The time is now! Give it a go!

David R. Bender, Ph.D.
Executive Director