The third element of the 1998 conference theme "Leadership, Performance, Excellence: Information Professionals in the Driver's Seat" is Excellence. In today's world of constant change as typified by reorganization, mergers, a constant stream of new and improved hardware and software, and the creation of new or reformatted reference sources, achieving a standard of Excellence seems like an impossible task. It is also increasingly evident today that knowledge as a commodity is being seen more as an economic property. Our organizations recognize at the senior management level that knowledge needs to be harnessed and then exploited if they are going to remain profitable. With this growing recognition of the value of knowledge, it is imperative that we, as information professionals, position ourselves to become part of the solution in helping our organizations keep their competitive edge. This can be done by promoting and implementing a knowledge management program that allows us to partner with the senior management teams. Evaluation of your knowledge management will help identify new standards or measures of excellence.

The first area where many of us would turn to measure our achievements in terms of excellence would be to evaluate the information products we have delivered. As we start to create a knowledge management program in conjunction with other units within our organization, we need to develop new criteria or standards for evaluating our services. One aspect of this new knowledge environment is the amount of time we will need to spend training employees to use the system and to develop additional programs as new products and enhancements are added. This training will become our responsibility and by providing it, it will enable us to reach all employees. Your end-product will be educated end-users who feel empowered to do their jobs.

Another area where we need to develop standards of excellence is our marketing and promotion efforts. Marketing the wide range of services that your knowledge management can provide is critical as you move into a boundaryless environment. This means providing uniform service to your organization's multiple plants or sites. It is important that all employees feel that they have equal access to the information they need to do their jobs in a timely manner. This provides you with another place to develop a standard of excellence. This is all based on having excellent oral and written communication skills. These particular skills were identified as one of the personal competencies information professionals must have in Competencies for Special Libraries of the 21st Century.

Developing effective marketing and promotion activities, improving communication skills, mastering new information products, implementing new technology, learning about new management processes, and knowledge management are examples of the areas where SLA can be of assistance. Our Professional Development Program offers courses in many of these areas including the State-of-the-Art Institute and video conferences which are supplemented by programs offered by chapters and divisions. We have also provided a Middle Management Institute for several years. Last year, we introduced a Knowledge Management Institute for our members in senior management positions.

I also feel that serving SLA in various leadership positions helps to develop some of the needed skills to become an effective leader. SLA's commitment to make these volunteer activities valuable to your professional growth is demonstrated by the series of leadership training modules that are offered at the Winter Meeting and the Annual Conference. We are also planning on creating more effective evaluation methods so these training modules will reflect current needs of the officers. This is one way that we can assist our members to feel that their contributions to the association and to the profession can also be seen as path to achieve excellence in their professional career.

Let SLA be part of your professional growth, use the networking opportunities that SLA provides to assist you in doing your job better, and share your expertise by becoming a mentor to new information professionals. Excellence is a goal that all of us can achieve!

Judith J. Field, President