Building Information Bridges

I recently attended FORO VII--a forum of crossborder librarians (Mexico, Canada, and the United States) held in Juarez, Mexico. I had the privilege of delivering the closing speech amidst much music, food, and networking. Below is a summary of my speech.

Muy buenas noches y muchisimas gracias por haberme invitado a participar en esta conferencia tan importante como es el Foro 7, la cual promueve la colaboración y crea lazos entre individuos, instituciones, y naciones.

Thank you for inviting me to participate in this very important conference which encourages collaboration and networking between individuals, institutions, and nations.

In this environment of diminished expectations in terms of job security and diminished funds to support social services including libraries where we are being asked to do much more with much less, it is of some reassurance to know that information professionals are well positioned to do more with less through our willingness to share our resources, knowledge, and expertise--locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

We information professionals are experiencing the realities of the global information network which of course, is facilitated by the almighty Internet. There is a danger though, that those of us who are fortunate enough to be part of this wired world may forget the less fortunate--some of whom do not even have electricity to share in this connectivity. However, given that the world's demography and economics, among other facets, are changing so rapidly and the minimization of travel barriers between countries is facilitating the transmission of cultural peculiarities, languages, and even diseases--we ignore the disadvantaged at our own peril.

It is fortunate for us all that information professionals are already mobilized through a variety of professional associations and interest groups to discuss, share, problem-solve, and to break down political, linguistic, and economic barriers as we lobby to ensure that information is available to the rich and the poor. In this global information community, information professionals must strive to be multilingual, to understand and appreciate cultural differences so that we can feel comfortable crossing boundaries, and certainly to be open-minded.

I am happy to say that information associations are taking the lead in utilizing technological tools such as the Internet to talk to colleagues across the world, distributing useful information across borders regardless of political persuasion. The Special Libraries Association, which I represent at this meeting, was founded over 88 years ago and has nearly 15,000 members in over 60 countries. It has 56 chapters situated in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Arabian Gulf States. Its 28 subject divisions and 12 caucuses provide a place for everyone's interests.

SLA has a vested interest in promoting the freedom and availability of information across borders and has several mechanisms in place to see that this happens. The Government Relations Committee oversees copyright and intellectual property, telecommunications, and global access to information. SLA takes a leadership role internationally by preparing statements and testimonies on issues affecting the information community. The International Relations Committee has, as one of its mandates, the responsibility to work with SLA Board of Directors and staff to find ways and means to foster connections internationally.

SLA also participates in several major international forums and provides financial and human resources assistance at times. Each feature article in its monthly magazine, Information Outlook is accompanied by summaries in English, French, and Spanish. In addition, our information brochure is available in those three languages as well. At our annual conference, we host an international reception which offers our international participants another forum to network and develop lasting relationships.

Mexico is a neighbor with whom we need to work more closely. We must continue to engage in discussions to see how we can further increase the collaborations between our association and the information professionals in Mexico. We can help each other, we can learn from each other, and we can cooperate on projects for our mutual benefit.

Sylvia Piggott, President
Internet: spiggott@accent.net
Listserv: sla-pres@listserv.sla.org

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