SLA Europe Chapter

SLA Europe podcast episode 2 - the fragmentation of our profession

In this episode, Geraldine and Dennie talk about a discussion started on LinkedIn about the fragmentation of the information profession. Mark Field started the discussion with the statement: "The information professions are highly networked but poorly integrated. As a result they lack influence in government policy-making and traction in business."

The full discussion thread with many relevant comments can be found here. If you are not a member of the CILIP group on LinkedIn, you can request to join.

SLA Europe are interested in this discussion and would like to hear from our members whether this discussion is also going on in their countries and what we could do to address the concerns.

The podcast can also be downloaded or retweeted via the Twaud.io website.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or the RSS feed.

2011 SLA call for volunteers

SLA Europe President Kate Arnold shares her thoughts on SLA's annual volunteer drive

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Volunteering (aka The Big Society) is a popular topic in the UK thanks to our coalition government and their desire to get us all volunteering. I was reminded of this by a recent email from Cindy Romaine (SLA’s President-elect) which announced the launch of SLA's annual volunteer drive. It got me thinking about the personal and professional benefits of volunteering. 

I initially joined SLA to gain access to an unrivalled network of news librarians. On reflection 11 years later I realise I have got more than just a network of friends and colleagues. Through volunteering at unit (SLA Europe and the News division), committee (cataloguing), advisory council (PR) and board (SLA board of directors) levels I have been able to contribute to my development and that of the profession.

Personally, I’ve gained confidence in my abilities while having the opportunity to develop and hone new skills, including chairing meetings, influencing and motivating volunteers to name but a few. Not forgetting the mentoring and support I’ve received, particularly important in the early days and during stressful times at work. It’s rewarding to now be in a position to mentor others.

From a professional perspective my involvement on SLA’s board undoubtedly helped to ensure the non-North American perspective was considered in association plans.

So, if you’re interested in contributing more to the profession or simply want to partake in some personal development, then consider completing the volunteer request form. The deadline for applications is 4 October 2010. Make sure you research the offerings available and match your skills, and development needs with the roles on offer. Finally as SLA increases its international activities and outlook, I’d encourage anyone keen to provide an international voice to go ahead and volunteer; SLA will be richer for your contribution.

SLA Europe at Internet Librarian International 2010

If you like the look of this year's Internet Librarian International programme, then you'll be pleased to know that once again we are able to offer a 20% discount on registration. To get the discounted rate, you'll need to use the SLA member form.

We will also be holding a networking evening on the 13th October at 6.30, for attendees at ILI and SLA Europe members, sponsored by Infotrieve. This will be held at Novotel London West. To register, please fill out the online booking form.

If you need more encouragement to attend ILI, there are some great speakers from SLA and SLA Europe presenting this year. SLA Europe President Elect, Sara Batts, will be discussing the induction process for new trainee lawyers at Reed Smith on the Friday afternoon. In addition, the following SLA members will also be speaking:

Bethan Ruddock - Visionary Views

Karen Blakeman - Social Research

Armand Brevig and Ulla de Stricker  - Relating Value to Price and Budget

Andrew Clark - Library Teams and Peer Collaboration

Robert Haran - Discovery, Dissemination and Outreach

Terence Huwe - Connecting Scholars with Information

Marydee Ojala - WebSearch Seminar

We hope to see you there!

 

New Podcast: Looking ahead at SLA Europe's upcoming events

SLA Europe is starting a series of fortnightly podcasts to keep you up to date with interviews on interesting topics. This time, Geraldine Clement-Stoneham and Dennie Heye look back to the annual SLA conference and ahead to upcoming SLA Europe events. They discuss the theme of "change" and what this means for information professionals in the future:

If the embedded player above doesn't work for you, you can listen to, download and even re-tweet the podcast using this link: http://twaud.io/HHW

Please do send us your feedback on the podcast, as we'd like to improve this service to our members.

Upcoming events - save the dates!

SLA Europe have got some great events planned over the next few months, so get these dates in your diary now:

On October 13th we will be holding an evening networking event at Internet Librarian International. This will be at Novotel London West.
 
On November 24th, Laura Woods and Ned Potter will be talking about marketing libraries and escaping the "Echo Chamber" at the City Business Library.

From November 30th - December 2nd, SLA Europe will be at Online Information. We'll be at stand #104 in the exhibition hall - come and say hi! Our annual SLA Europe Breakfast will take place on the 1st December, kindly sponsored by Proquest Dialog. We are also running our popular European Librarians Theatre - details of the three planned panel sessions will be available soon.

Stay tuned for further details and booking forms for all of our upcoming events.