SLA Social Science Division Blog

Board member profile: Matt Von Hendy

Continuing my series of introductions to your 2011 DSOC board members, I'd like to introduce Matt Von Hendy, Chair of the Public Policy Section.

Matt is a Research Librarian at the National Academies of Science in Washington, DC. He has been an SLA member for 5 years and a DSOC member for 3 years.

Although he currently lives in the Washington, DC area, Matt is a native Bostonian. He is also an avid runner, baseball fan, and birder.

Matt will be moderating the Public Policy Section program at SLA 2011 in Philadelphia, "Tracking Public Opinion in the US and Abroad."

Matt says, "I look forward to seeing many of you at the session!"

How to have a great time in Philly

SLA 2011 in Philadelphia is just over a month away! DSOC member Elana Broch reminded me that she wrote an article for Information Outlook with some tips for making the most out of your SLA conference. The article, called "How to Have a Great Time in Toronto," was published in April 2005 - but the tips are still relevant and not specific to Toronto. SLA members can access the article from the SLA website.

If you're looking for information specific to Philadelphia, from how to get there to where to get your cheesesteak, the Philadelphia Chapter (my home chapter) has created a hospitality wiki.

DSOC members should also plan to attend the DSOC Business Meeting and Breakfast on Monday morning, to meet other division members and get an overview of division programs. You'll need a ticket for the breakfast, which you can purchase from the conference registration website. (If you've already registered, you can return to the registration site to add a ticket to the breakfast.)

See you in Philly!

Board member profile: Vanette Schwartz

I've already introduced several of our Social Science Division board members. Today I'd like to introduce Vanette Schwartz, chair of our Geography & Map Section. Vanette is the social sciences and maps librarian at Illinois State University.

Vanette joined DSOC when the Geography & Map Division of SLA beame a section of DSOC in 2003. She's been an SLA member since 1989. "My predecessor as map librarian at ISU had been a long time member of SLA and encouraged me to join. I found a very welcoming and helpful group of colleagues and friends in the G&M Division and that trend has continued within DSOC," Vanette told me.

Vanette served in various capacities in the G & M Division including division conference planner in 2002 and division chair.

Vanette has a BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, an MALS from the University of Michigan, and an MA in history from the University of Illinois. In addition to being maps librarian at ISU, Vanette is also the library liaison for the departments of history, sociology, and social work, as well as the women's and gender studies program.

When I asked her about G&M Section activities for 2011, Vanette said, "I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in Philadelphia for another great SLA conference. Please join your DSOC and G&M colleagues on Wednesday, June 15 for a tour of the cartographic treasures at the Map Collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia." The tour is free, but please register by emailing Vanette.

2011 Leadership Summit: Marilyn Bromley's take on James Kane

 As you may know, James Kane was the keynote speaker at the 2010 and 2011 Leadership Summits. His presentations are so inspiringt that SLA is bringing him back again, this time as a keynoter for the 2011 Annual conference in Philadelphia.

Past President Marilyn Bromley attended the 2011 Leadership Summit, and took notes at Kane's speech. To give you a taste of what James Kane is all about, she thought she would share her notes with you from the Leadership Summit:

 

Building and Maintaining Loyal Relationships

 All relationships fall into 1 of 4 levels:

   1. Antagonistic:  you don’t just dislike the person, product or service,

      you tell everyone just how much.

   2. Transactional:  equal exchanges with no further obligations. You

      provide a service, the customer pays you for it, you’re even.

      Neither side feels indebted to the other.

   3. Predisposed:  the customer is content and satisfied. They will stay

      with you until something better comes along. No long-term loyalty

      exists.

   4. Loyal:  we are loyal to those who are indispensable, who have our

      best interests at heart, who we trust and view as partners and

      advisors.

Satisfaction – is a mood, is about the past, is about what you do for them.

Cats are satisfied.

Loyalty – is a behavior, is about the future, is about what they do for you.  Dogs are loyal.

Trust is the bedrock of a loyal relationship, but it isn’t the end-all.

Your customers expect you to be trustworthy, to be competent, to be able to address their needs, to be fair and honest and ethical, to be consistent.

And you don’t get credit for being these things – your customers expect it.

 “The real key to building and maintaining a loyal relationship is conveying a sense of belonging. Recognizing everyone as unique individuals.  Having insight into their hopes and fears, challenges and opportunities.  Being proactive in solving their problems before they ask for help.  Offering them an identity they can relate to or aspire to, through common andaligned interests.   Making them feel included, wanted, appreciated andvaluable.”

 

 

 

 

 

Books by Jim Kane, coming in 2010

 

 

The Loyalty Switch: how to turn anyone into a devoted customer, committed employee, supportive partner, faithful follower and raving advocate

 

 

Virtually Loyal: the secret to creating loyal customers online

The Future is Now

Today's post on the SLA Future Ready 365 blog, "The Future is Now," was written by Social Science Division member Jill Blaemers. Go read her post - and remember that you can also contribute to the Future Ready 365 blog by writing your own post.

Need to Know Forum

The Special Libraries Association is planning a special event to be held at this year's annual conference in Philadelphia.  The Need to Know Forum is being held to provide non-members with the opportunity to learn about the value of access to authoritative information.  The form will offer participants approximately 10 different topics to choose from and is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 14th, from 10AM-3:30PM at the Philadelphia Convention Center.  There is a $50 charge to attend the event - a networking lunch is included. 

You can learn more by visiting the SLA blog.

This is a message from SLA DSOC Need to Know Forum co-liaison Sophia Guevara.

DSOC Past President to Run for SLA Executive Board

In case you hadn't heard the news, DSOC Past President Marilyn Bromley is a candidate for the 2012 SLA Executive Board of Directors. You may recall seeing a blog post of Marilyn on this blog several days ago as part of our Chair's series of posts profiling this year's board members.  Marilyn's experience in DSOC will equip her well for this endeavor, and we wish her luck with the election.