UNYSLA

SLA's Proposed Name Change: Voting Starts Next Week!

Please cast your vote on SLA’s proposed name change
Linda Galloway, President, UNYSLA

E-voting will open on November 16 and close on December 9. The proposed name, the Association of Strategic Knowledge Professionals, was selected to help members communicate their value to their organization and reflect the depth and breadth of Special Librarians’ expertise.

The process of selecting a new name began back in 2007 and was funded by profits from the sale of SLA’s previous headquarters. The alignment project team, lead by Fleishman –Hillard, conducted a comprehensive analysis to help  bring clarity to the core identity of information professionals. After a series of specific alignment initiatives that included a great deal of primary and secondary research, focus group testing, testing of language and ideas that resonated with members and employers and then eliminating names that were currently in use, this name was selected. The Alignment Team looked at many options and selected a name that represents our value, is meaningful internationally and is not currently in use.

Before you cast your ballot, remember that librarians and other information professionals use our knowledge to teach our users to find information on their own; we teach them—share our knowledge so they can learn, find, discover, think, and excel. We may also provide information to our stakeholders – to help them make decisions based on the information provided. Certainly most of us can think of examples where we present information that permits our constituents to make informed decisions based on the strategic knowledge we provide. Please vote for the name change as it represents a chance to convey the value of special librarians and information professionals in a way that makes sense outside the library community.

Janice LaChance has just written an excellent blog post on this topic. Here’s her last paragraph:
“When you cast your vote on the proposed name change, I ask you to consider not whether you like the name Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals, but whether it does a better job than SLA in conveying your value to organizations that hire people like you.”

Discussions on the proposed name can be found on Twitter (#slaname) and on the SLA wiki.

New Member Profile: Jane Minotti

Jane Minotti is Librarian at the NYS Department of Transportation Research Library, where she began working in October 2007. The Library is located in the DOT Main Office in Albany, and provides library services to eleven regions throughout the state. Prior to DOT, Jane spent her career in public libraries, and was Director of the Sand Lake Town Library in Averill Park before making the switch to a special library. Currently serving as Transportation Division Treasurer, she enjoys and benefits from networking with colleagues in SLA’s Transportation Division. Jane earned her MLS at University at Albany and received her BA in English from SUNY Potsdam. In her spare time, she likes to knit, read, spend time outdoors, and plays cornet in the Averill Park Community Orchestra.

Librarian's Toolbox: Increase Your Web Presence

By Ruth Williamson

At UNYSLA’s fall meeting, Blake Carver, the Technical Librarian for the New York Power Authority and founder of LISNews.org, gave an informative and interactive presentation on increasing your library’s web presence using free and inexpensive tools. Mr. Carver stated that as librarians we need to understand our web audience and their needs and the tools that can best be used to reach that audience. “Tools are to enhance, not control, what we’re doing. And the best tools don’t control you.”

“Tools are to enhance, not control, what we’re doing. And the best tools don’t control you." -Blake Carver

The goal in using web tools is to make our lives easier. Web tools can be used to enhance our libraries’ connectivity, productivity and presence. Some of these tools are free, but may have backend costs. Mr. Carver asked some librarians what is in their “toolbox” that helps them stay connected, productive and present in their careers and the online community. The results of his mini-survey are as follows: