Candidate for 2020 Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect: Elaine Lasda

Elaine M. Lasda is the Subject Librarian for Social Welfare and Research Impact at the University at Albany, SUNY. In 2015, she received her master’s level Certificate of Advanced Study in Data Science from Syracuse University.  Elaine is a co-founder of SLA’s Data Caucus and served as its convener for its first two years of existence. Elaine has served SLA in diverse roles through her 18 years as a member. She is a past Chair of both the Social Sciences and Academic Divisions, as well as a past President of the Upstate New York Chapter. In 2018, she was named an SLA Fellow.


Candidate Q&A

Question 1: When did you first join SLA? What made you decide to join then and why do you still belong today?

The Special Libraries Association has been a vital part of my professional development since I joined in 2001. At that time, I was hired as the librarian of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), a statewide trade association for hospitals and health care organizations. The previous librarian urged me to become an active participant in chapter and local events. I have always valued professional development in many forms and I was glad to know there was an organization that met my unique needs as a solo librarian in a specialized setting. I began to attend Chapter and local area meetings. At some point there was a meeting in Saratoga, NY, near me, and then-chapter President Angela Horne put out a call for help with setup and registration. I jumped at the chance to help, and from there met the board and… sure enough, the next year I had a board position – Secretary! From that time, I held various positions on the chapter board continuously for over a decade. I have found SLA to be a valuable, meaningful support for my professional development as a librarian. SLA membership remains important to me for many reasons. I have seen a variety of changes in the organization since 2001. SLA resources such as conference presentations, articles and publications, webinars, online resources, and email conversations provide me with innumerable ideas to bring forward at my home organization. SLA’s professional development content includes the right balance of subject matter information combined with topics focused on personal development and growth. Not long ago in the association’s history, SLA leaders would talk about using SLA volunteer positions and board roles as a kind of “laboratory” for gaining new skills and leadership experience. Years of active participation in SLA gave me skills in web design, social media, event planning, budgeting and finance, running effective and timely meetings, public speaking, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. The most important part of being an SLA member to me, however, are the personal connections I have made. Because of SLA, I was able to land a book project in my research area, scholarly impact metrics. Leveraging my network of SLA colleagues to contribute chapters was essential to the success of this project, and I wouldn’t have had the idea or the ability to carry it out without being an active member of the association. As a mid-career librarian, I am finding that my role has become more balanced – I’m not just in SLA to learn all I can, but also to share my own experience, skills, and knowledge. With my nearly two decades in the organization, I am able to draw on the experiences of the past and understand the many shifts and changes in our organizational landscape. With this knowledge I anticipate working with the Chapters and the Board of Directors to chart a new successful and growth-oriented path that secures SLA’s future as a vital professional resource for librarians and other professionals in specialized information and research settings.

Question 2: How has your involvement with SLA over the years helped you grow professionally and personally? How do you feel SLA can help members grow into the future?

SLA has been my professional development “home” for almost two decades. I am a firm believer that active participation in professional associations such as SLA are invaluable in shaping the trajectory of one’s career and provides tremendous opportunity for growth and knowledge sharing.

Professionally, SLA has helped me grow in what I see as three broad categories: my content and subject knowledge, my understanding of new tools and resources, and my ability to be an effective and productive employee. Through many conference sessions, I gained significant subject expertise in bibliometrics and scientometrics, or as I like to affectionately describe them – “who cited whom.” My ability to get started on many initiatives, such as conducting systematic reviews and providing data literacy education all generated from information I learned at SLA conference sessions and webinars.

Knowledge of tools and resources has come to me from peers, vendor partners, online workshops and, again, conference sessions. I rely on many tools I first learned about in SLA: Trello, for managing workflow and teams, citation management tools such as EndNote, new features of Web of Science, Dimensions and other heavily used resources, and tools that generally focus on productivity and tech.

Finally, to be effective as an employee I have gained valuable project management skills, the ability to run and facilitate productive and useful meetings, expertise in social media and blogging, and public speaking/giving presentations. My skills in these areas developed from holding leadership roles in SLA’s Upstate NY Chapter, the Social Science and Academic Divisions, and in co-founding the Data Caucus. Numerous workshops and other sessions provided still more strategies for being a good worker and excelling at leadership within my workplace.

Insofar as personal growth, I cannot stress enough how the relationships I have forged through years of SLA participation have been of benefit. A few years ago, one of our SLA colleagues described SLA conferences as a sort of “family reunion” or “homecoming” and I cannot underscore my agreement with this sentiment enough. I look forward every year to staying with my conference “roomie;” I have shared a room with the same SLA colleague for over seven years. Decompressing at night with her about our conference experiences has helped me forge new insights and see other perspectives with regard to conference content and activities. Although I treasure her as a dear friend and colleague, the reality is that we would likely never have crossed paths any other way in life. She lives in a different state and our fields of expertise diverge as well. This is only one example of many relationships with SLA “family” that would not exist, were I not an active member.

Another area of personal growth is the ability to meet and connect with a diverse group of information professionals. This diversity includes types of libraries and information centers represented within SLA, our global reach, and people from all career phases, including brand new members and those retirees in the venerable Encore Caucus. When compared with other professional associations that are available for me to join and attend, none holds a candle to SLA in this sense.

A “fun” aspect of SLA that has enabled me to grow personally is the ability to travel to conference every year. I knew about and visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but did you know that Cleveland is just chock full of Hungarian, Polish and German restaurants? Did you know Vancouver public transportation consists entirely of energy-efficient vehicles? Getting to see the baby panda at the San Diego Zoo, or just generally learning the local quirks of various cities, and other activities “extracurricular” to conference would not be afforded to me, were I not an SLA member and regular conference attendee.

So what does SLA offer for members in terms of future growth? All of the offerings that I gave as examples above remain vibrant and robust sources of personal and professional growth. SLA can offer a varied experience for information professionals and librarians of all stripes. We continue to forge ahead with initiatives to keep on the forefront of the needs and concerns of members. We can do this a number of ways: by using governance working groups recommending proactive change in our association, by providing cutting-edge information content and programming at conferences, meetings and webinars, and by facilitating interaction and meaningful connections with information professionals and librarians from all different perspectives and experiences.

Question 3: SLA’s membership has been in decline for the last couple of years. What can the board, staff, leadership, and membership do to reverse this trend?

First, it is my understanding that the decline in membership we are experiencing is not unique to SLA; it is something being experienced by other library-related professional development groups as well. To some extent, this may have to do with changes in the professional landscape, including but not limited to: the ebb of libraries and librarians in certain corporate sectors; an educational movement away from library schools in favor of iSchools, informatics programs, and so forth; and a trend away from employer sponsorship of travel and membership related to professional development. To borrow a phrase from the late Hugh Carey, a former governor of New York State: “The days of wine and roses are over” for associations like ours. The composition of our membership has shifted as previous models of librarianship fade away and information professionals with new skills and professional needs are being employed.

Turning around our membership decline is something that each of us, regardless of role must address to assure the future viability of SLA. The boards of recent history have worked hard on several initiatives to explore reasons for the decline, identify trends and shifts in the industry, engage new professionals, and work towards increased relevance and greater member engagement. One new initiative arising from the current board that particularly interests me is identifying and perhaps generating resources to demonstrate the ROI of libraries/information centers in specialized settings. There has been much discussion on this topic in SLA Connect Forums. By providing ROI resources of value to our members, many of whom are continually under pressure to justify their existence in their organizations, we empower members to demonstrate their efficacy and utility to their organization.

Other association leaders can help promote SLA activities on an individual and group basis. Many times, a personal request or suggestion from an SLA leader to a colleague (member or not), can be enough motivation to engage someone and retain them as a loyal member for years to come. It is incumbent upon SLA leaders to act as role models, champions, and cheerleaders for our rank-and-file membership.

Staff provide the “bones” or infrastructure to support the directions, agenda and initiatives of the organization. By staying efficient and on top of administrative necessities the staff frees association members and leaders to focus on professional development, rather than the many details that must be handled to keep an organization running and viable. Leadership and the board will know SLA’s administrative staff is doing a top-notch job when operations are seamless, and the staff seems nearly “invisible.” For this reason, we need to make certain staff efforts are recognized and they too, stay engaged in the maintenance and operation of our association.

Of course, none of the above activities can happen if rank-and-file members are not involved in decision making, engaged with our activities, and derive meaningful benefit from being a member. We want members to feel proud to be a part of this organization and to encourage their colleagues to join and participate, as well. Long-time members can mentor and encourage new colleagues to participate and take on association responsibilities. There is another important area where I feel members can leverage significant power in preserving the viability of SLA. Quite frankly, I feel when members see an issue or a concern, it is not enough to bring it to the attention of leadership. Members should feel empowered to propose possible solutions or changes to improving all aspects of SLA. Simply voicing a concern and expecting others to handle it will not guarantee a desired solution.

The reasons for a decline in SLA membership are complex and multifaceted. There are no simple solutions to reversing this trend. One thing is certain, it will take solutions-oriented dialogue and actions from members, staff, leadership, and the board working together to make those numbers climb again.

Question 4: SLA relies on its leadership to develop its vision to move forward. What motivates you to help lead and build a better SLA?

I have a deep-rooted, vested interest in the success of our organization. As mentioned in previous posts, I have been a member of SLA for almost 2 decades. I have seen many changes in SLA, and feel many more are warranted as our profession continues to evolve. I believe that my forward-thinking outlook, combined with my depth of experience from leadership positions in professional development groups (SLA and others), makes me well suited to help tackle SLA’s challenges and facilitate continued success.

My motivation to lead and build a better SLA is also one of loyalty. I choose to stay involved, lead, and fight for a better SLA because the organization helps me grow and improve as a professional. I have learned and improved in so many ways by moving through chapter and division leadership ranks, by meeting colleagues from all different sorts of information organizations, and by attending conferences, workshops, and webinars that build my skill set. SLA has been so beneficial to me that I am committed to working to ensure a prosperous future for our association.

My motivation though, is not just about the benefits I have received from participating in SLA. I want to pay it forward; to see others learn, lead, and succeed by being members. I look to mentor in addition to being mentored, and to share what I have to offer my colleagues not only in terms of knowledge and skills, but also in sharing support and friendship.

SLA would be nothing without active members, and I take the responsibility of leadership very seriously. There are challenges ahead for our group, let’s face it. We can meet those challenges if we work towards the common values and benefits we all want from our association. So it is with joy and enthusiasm I approach the prospect of building a better SLA. I am excited for the future. I saw a bumper sticker once that was a play on the cliché “think outside the box.” It simply said: THERE IS NO BOX. It is with this mindset that I approach leadership in SLA. Let’s not be constricted by what have been as an organization. I choose to look towards the future with openness and willingness to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

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