Impact: SLA Leadership & Management Division Blog

Our 2008 Award Winners ...

Press Release June 2008

The SLA Leadership & Management Division announces two award winners for 2008

Karen J. Switt Award:

Each year since 1988, at the Annual SLA Conference in June, the Leadership & Management Division has honored one of the Division's members with the Karen J. Switt Award in recognition of significant leadership in the information management profession during the previous five years.  Accomplishments must be in some aspect of library and information management, for example: visionary leadership, planning and strategy, information policy, technology, communication, marketing, public relations, human resources, finance or ethics. 

The 2008 Karen J. Switt Leadership Award winner in Cynthia (Cindy) Hill, Vice President of Outsell, Inc.  Cindy was nominated by her colleagues because she is viewed as a visionary leader of SLA for the 21st century.  Not only has she been a personable and dynamic President, Chapter Cabinet and SLA Board Member, but her work with Sun Systems really exemplifies what the library in the 21st century is evolving into.  She recently joined Outsell where she can leverage her knowledge across an even broader information spectrum.  This award is given by the Leadership & Management Division at the Division's Annual Business Meeting and includes a check from the C. Berger Group, Inc.

LMD Member of the Year Award:

The LMD Member of the Year Award is given by the Leadership & Management Division to an outstanding Division member who has made notable service contributions to the Division over his or her career. 

The 2008 LMD Member of the Year is Gloria Dinerman, Founder & President, The Library Co-op of New York, NY. a position from which she has recently retired.  Gloria has been a long-time member of the Leadership & Management Division.  She was nominated by her colleagues because she has been able to share the hazards and happiness of her business experience, her love of libraries, and her communication skills in reaching a wide and diverse audience.  She has an extensive bibliography, often writing about the lighter side of the library profession.  The winner is also honored at the Leadership & Management Division's Annual Business Meeting. 

Mission statements

We had an LDI workshop on creating mission statements - and the principles from this workshop could be applied to your service / dept within your organization - or to a unit of SLA such as the Leadership & Management Division.  What do you think should be LMD's responses to the following questions...

1. What unique attributes make this unit special?
2. What opportunities / needs do we exist to address?
3. What are we doing to address these opportunities / needs?
4. What principles / beliefs exist to guide our work?

Any thoughts?

SLA 2008 - some random quotes

Stephen Abram during the Leadership Development Institute session:

"It's time to DO - to make things happen."

"The future goes to the people who invest in themselves."

Dave Snowden during the LMD / KM  spotlight session:

"Knowledge is only ever volunteered - it can't be conscripted."

"If you have to ask how to create a knowledge sharing culture - you don't have one."

"We know more than we can tell - we can tell more than we can write down."

Tesse Santoro at the Marketing Section breakfast:

"Ask for the opportunity.  Ask for what you want."

"Sell the NEED for the service - and the service will sell itself."

7 Steps to Sales (which we are hoping Tesse will expand on in the Marketing Section breakfast next year in DC):

1. Preparation
2. Introduction
3. Questioning
4. Presentation (up to this point, librarians do fine)
5. Overcoming objections and neogiating (this is when the going gets tough - with these last few steps,  we've moved from marketing to sales - which is critical to our success and rarely done)
6. Close and agreement
7. Followup and fullfillment

From the Content Buying Inside Out session - in response to the Q: "What do you think is the single biggest threat to your success / our mutual success?"  A: 

EBSCO:  The perception on the part of senior management in companies that there is no real value in content."

eBrary: DRM - the need to address DRM, to negotiate these rights - and to compromise.

Bill Noorlander:  The loss of understanding of the value of content - this is the raw material of a knowledge economy.

Susan Klopper:  Information illiteracy is rampant in the next generation. 

Annual Business Meeting and Leadership Luncheon

Remarks from the Chair:

Again, I'd like to thank my team.  They are an incredible, dedicated, fun group of people and I've enjoyed working with them - of course, the year's only 1/2 over so there's more fun to come.  And I'd like to thank you for coming to our annual business meeting and leadership luncheon.  I consider the Leadership & Management Division to be the leading division of SLA.  We inspire innovative leaders - and I'm honoured to be your Chair.  We are in the process of preparing a new strategic vision and plan for the Division and we will be undertaking some new initiatives as part of our strategic plan.  So, keep you eyes open for new ways to benefit from your Leadership & Management Division membership.  I've put up my email address (juanita.richardson@cedrom-sni.com) - I'd love to hear from you.  Thank you. 

Five Tips for Increasing Networking Success

These tips are from Joe Groden of JG Consulting.

Five Tips for Increasing Networking Success 

1. Choose the right groups. Not only those groups that share common interests, but branch out to groups where your target customers participate. In addition, there are networking groups solely formed to refer business to each other.
2. Set goals. Have a realistic goal for the number of new contacts to make at each meeting/event. Most importantly, set goals for the follow-up to any contact made. This could include setting an appointment or lunch date, a follow-up call or email, or sending out some appropriate information. 
3. Create an intriguing introduction. It should be no longer than 30 seconds, tell what you do and how that benefits the listener. You would have to modify that introduction depending on the contact. 
4. Make a good impression. This is not the time for a sales pitch, or a “life of the party” act, but being you and showing interest will have the most value. 
5. Gather good information. Listen carefully for clue’s regarding the life and interests of the person you are talking with. The real goal is developing a relationship that can have future value.

---

Originally posted in the SSECP blog.

June's Theme: Networking

To encourage discussion, LMD has a monthly theme for the blog. This month it's networking". Do you have a favorite book related to this theme? Personal reflection? Tips for networking at the SLA Conference? Please share!

My favorite networking event of the year is just around the corner, and LMD has two conference social events perfect for networking, building relationships, and catching up with friends.

Sunday, 9pm-12am - LMD Open House - Sheraton Grand B
Good food, good drinks, good friends! Mingle with colleagues and enjoy refreshments during our traditional open house.

Tuesday, 9pm-12am - LMD, IT & Physics-Astronomy-Math Joint Open House - Sheraton Grand C
Under the sea, come dance with me! Promises to be a great time.

Message from LMD Sponsor EBSCO

Accessing Information — Solving the Unique Learning and Training Needs of Organizations

Corporations need to stay informed and having unlimited access to premium content that is unique to the needs of an individual organization is a trend that is likely to increase rather than decrease. Corporate universities, the growth in corporate learning divisions and the creation of core competencies are emblematic of the important role information plays in corporate learning and training. Librarians and information professionals, by providing the latest information, have a unique role in guiding corporate learning.

EBSCO Publishing provides premium information resources that support corporate learning and training through the combination of Business Book Review® and Business Source® Corporate. These are resources that are frequently integrated into corporate portals and intranets or used through Learning Management Systems (LMS). The process involves the use of keyword and relevance feedback monitoring techniques along with an XML gateway for direct integration.

Learn more about Business Book Review® and Business Source Corporate®