Candidate for 2020-2022 Director: Jim Miller

Jim Miller is the Principal of Connect Public Affairs, a consultancy that provides strategic competitive intelligence to organizations to help them effectively deal with government and the non-market environment.

Jim has been a member of SLA since 2005 and is the Chair of the Public Policy Advisory Council of the Special Libraries Association, a member of the Professional Development Advisory Council and Content Chair of the Competitive Intelligence division.

For more than 20 years, he served as a strategic advisor to numerous cabinet ministers at the federal and provincial levels of government in Canada.

Jim has served as Director of Policy to the Minister Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. As well, he served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

He has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the University of Guelph and a Master of Information Studies from the University of Toronto.  He has recently completed coursework towards a PhD in Information Studies at McGill University.

Email: jim.miller@connectpublicaffairs.com


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?

I first joined SLA in 2005.  I was a part-time Master of Information Studies (MISt) student at the University of Toronto.  The SLA conference was in Toronto that year, which made attending the conference easy.

I joined SLA as a student because I saw tremendous opportunity to learn from members who had lived experience working in non-traditional library settings.  SLA also provided me with educational and networking opportunities that have proven invaluable to me.

I was working in government while studying and have always wanted to work towards using library skills in developing evidence-based public policy.  SLA, through its multiple divisions, provided me with numerous opportunities to develop these skills and share knowledge with like-minded individuals.  To this day, these opportunities continue.

Today, SLA continues to provide me with opportunities to grow and develop my skills in information management and policy.  One of the greatest benefits I continue to receive through SLA is the development of a great network friendships that I can reach out to for assistance.

I wish to continue contributing to the growth of SLA to enable others to be able to have the opportunities for incredible learning and development experiences, make lifelong friendships and further explore our profession.

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 helped me grow both professionally and personally in so many ways.

Professionally, I have been able to develop new skills and knowledge through participation in conferences, webinars and SLA publications such as Information Outlook.

SLA provides great opportunities to discover new and interesting information, networks and career development.

Through volunteering with the competitive intelligence division, I have been able to share my experience with others, develop a great professional network and learn from some of the best in the world. Organizing successful webinars and presentations for conference have helped me improve my public speaking skills tremendously.

From a personal perspective SLA has been a significant part of my growth.  I always look forward to the annual conference so that I can meet up with my friends from all over the world.  The friendships I have developed through SLA have are quite significant to me.  They have greatly inspired me to not be afraid to participate in discussions, events and social activities.

As well, my friendships through SLA have provided me with many diverse viewpoints, adventures and a sense of belonging.

Lately, we have heard a lot of talk about getting added value. I think that value is what you make it.  It is a two-way street.  If you don’t put anything in or seek out experiences, you certainly will not feel you are getting value.

Contributing could be something as simple as attending a webinar or reading a blog post.  Volunteering for your division, caucus or chapter certainly adds significant value to both SLA and your personal sense of accomplishment.

Looking into the future, I think SLA has a lot to offer its current members while at the same time growing its membership by demonstrating significance to the information management profession.

SLA could assist in providing nontechnical training, as well as technical training specific to the information profession they serve. Business, leadership and soft-skills training are also highly important for professional growth.

Training students offers a tremendous opportunity. By providing ways for students to forge useful connections through training, SLA would be an important path to create the potential for lifelong engagement.  I started SLA as a student at the University of Toronto and the Toronto Chapter was and continues to be very supportive of involving students in both social and professional events.

SLA is in an excellent position to build on the information and relations they get from industry insiders.  We could better utilize partners in like-minded associations, academia and industry in identifying trends and useful sources for predicting future skill needs.

Our strength is in togetherness and SLA will continue to bring us together to learn, create and grow.

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?

Like many other professional associations, SLA has recently seen a decline in the number of members.

This trend however can be reversed through a number of channels to improve the experience for new and existing members.

The first channel to focus on would be a renewal/re-evaluation of why we are members and why the association exists. This process has really already begun with the survey regarding the name of the association. This survey is the beginning of defining who we serve. This is important because I think that information professionals are located in numerous situations within organizations and not just libraries or information centres. Information management is growing in importance and thus we should be growing too by attracting those individuals through unique and meaningful programming.

As well as our current educational programs, SLA could assist in providing nontechnical training, as well as technical training specific to the information profession they serve. Business, leadership and soft-skills training are also highly important for professional growth.

The second channel to focus on is that of students in the information schools. The board or SLA staff need to engage in more outreach with students to provide valuable pathways to careers in settings outside of the traditional public library route. A liaison could assist with the establishment and development of student SLA communities that could be part of the larger association but with a greater focus on issues of interest to students such as career exploration, mentoring and training.

Training students offers a tremendous opportunity. By providing ways for students to forge useful connections through training, SLA would be an important path to create the potential for lifelong engagement. I started SLA as a student at the University of Toronto and the Toronto Chapter was and continues to be very supportive of involving students in both social and professional events.

The third channel to focus on would be exploring new sources of revenue for the association. Currently, we are reliant on membership dues, conference fees and sponsorship as the main sources of revenue.

There are many more options available for associations such as SLA to access funds from governments and foundations to support initiatives of value to our members. In my many years of working in government as well as my current role as a consultant, I have assisted in securing government funding for numerous organizations. As well, while in government, I was responsible for the evaluation and approval of applications for funding. This has provided me with the insight as to what funders are looking for in a successful application.

Having multiple streams of revenue will help provide SLA with greater stability to better serve members and attract more people to join.

SLA is in an excellent position to build on the information and relations they get from industry insiders. We could better utilize partners in like-minded associations, academia and industry in identifying trends and useful sources for predicting future skill needs. These partnerships could also be used to leverage funding opportunities.

The fourth channel to focus on would be advocacy for and by members to advance as well as protect the situation for information professionals. Advocacy is an important endeavour for organizations to undertake, as it provides awareness and relevancy for its members.

It is important that our profession and members participate in the advocacy process to remain informed and influential in progressing areas of interest. This will assist in demonstrating value to employers or clients as to the growing importance of individuals possessing the skills of our members.

SLA members have a great deal to contribute but need to have greater awareness of where and how we can participate in ensuring our voice will be heard.

Having participated in numerous policy forums, including G8 summits, and policy development processes, I have a keen sense of how SLA can assist in advocacy development, including greater partnerships with like minded organizations to further the development and progression of the opportunities for information professionals.

I believe that pursuing these channels and opportunities could have significant impact in reversing the trend of declining membership and contribute greatly to the revitalization of SLA.

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?

Over the years, I’ve found my niche in making sense of chaos. As a seasoned insight professional, I’m known for looking at things from multiple angles, turning ideas on their heads to figure out a new perspective, and for delivering intelligence and strategy with precision and a dash of wit. As a leader, I’m known as the person who gets things done.

I have integrated my communications and strategy knowledge and skills – developed through years of experience in politics and government – with my research and intelligence skills – developed through my training and participation in library, information management and intelligence – to help clarify and simplify the decision-making process and deliver results.

I like being connected.
I like to connect people with information.
I like to connect people with each other.
I like to connect the dots to find patterns and trends and to find alternate approaches.

One of the key motivators for me to build a better SLA is my dedication to helping those in our profession to demonstrate the great value we provide to our employers and our communities.

In a 2016 article, Library Journal reached out to academic and public library directors and other thought leaders nationwide to find out what new skills they expect to need in librarians in the next 20 years.

Advocacy was listed as one of the top skills that librarians should have. According to the article, this key competency has two distinct but overlapping paths: raising awareness of value among stakeholders, with an eye to maintaining or increasing funding, and building community, organization, and outreach, with an eye to expanding those services and effectively serving the constituencies who need them.

For many organizations the information centre and the information professionals that work within them are seen as a cost centre. There is no money to be made in the services they provide to other employees within the organization is the usual thinking.

We as information professionals know otherwise that this is simply not the case. There is significant value in the services we provide. In fact, the information, intelligence and services provided by information centres contributes greatly to decision-making processes throughout the organization.

So why is it that the information centre is usually the first area targeted when cuts need to be made?

Well, information professionals are good at research, providing information and interpreting facts and figures, but they are not so good at demonstrating the great value they add to an organization’s successes. They are not very good at advocating for themselves. This is a valuable skill in today’s and future work environments.

I am greatly motivated to demonstrate leadership by sharing my knowledge in communications and advocacy to advance the position of information professionals in specialized settings.

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