NJSLA Blog

Applications Open for SLA Diversity Leadership Development Program Award

See below for more information on applying for the SLA Diversity Leadership Development Program Awards. I was one of the 2009 recipients, and it has been a very good experience. I'm still working with my mentor, and he and I are coordinating our schedules to meet further. I encourage you to consider applying if you qualify. If you need a reference, please let me know.

Best regards,
Eric Schwarz, NJSLA President

SLA Diversity Leadership Development Program Award

Application deadline: February 15, 2010
 
Applications and requirements are available at:
http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/awardsrecognition/awardsdescriptions/dlpnomform/dldpnomfrm.cfm
 
The SLA Diversity Leadership Development Program (DLDP) Award aims to accelerate the advancement and visibility of members who represent a diverse population of the Association by mentoring them for more leadership opportunities within the Special Libraries Association, to ensure that the Association remains vital, relevant, and representative of its diverse membership.
 
For full information about the Award and previous Award recipients, please see: http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/awardsrecognition/diversityaward/index.cfm.
 

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Eligibility requirements for the Diversity Leadership Development Program award:

    * Applicant must have been a member of SLA for at least 1 year.
    * Applicants are eligible based on SLA's definition of diversity, which includes but not exclusive to, race, ethnicity, physical abilities, religious beliefs and/or sexual orientation.
    * Applicant must have between 3-10 years of professional library information experience.
    * Applicant cannot be a current SLA Diversity Leadership Development Committee member. Only applicants who meet all the eligibility requirements [at the time of application] are submitted to the DLDP Committee for award consideration.

Benefits:

A recipient receives:

    * An award of $1000. The awarded money should assist with airfare and/or accommodations and may cover at least one SLA CE course. The awardee must attend the conference to receive the funds.
    * Complimentary registration, provided by SLA, to attend the annual conference and specific ticketed events as appropriate.
    * An assigned mentor to assist candidate in understanding the mechanics of how the Association works and the roles of the Association leaders.

An Explanation of Costs for the SLA 2010 Annual Conference in New Orleans

Registration for the SLA 2010 conference in New Orleans has been open for several months. There was a $395 discounted price for registrations completed by Sept. 4, 2009, which was about four months earlier than the deadline for the extreme early-bird price for SLA 2009 in Washington, D.C.

The current early-bird price for 2010 is $445, an increase of $150 (50.8 percent) since 2006. Here are the registration rates for 2006-2009 (compiled by Teri Vogel, Chemistry Division Chair-Elect):

·         2006 - $295  http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2006/registration/index.cfm

·         2007 - $325  http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2007/registration/index.cfm

·         2008 - $325  http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2008/registration/index.cfm

·         2009 - $395 ($350 if you registered by Jan 31)  http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2009/registration/index.cfm

[Editor's note: If you were one of the first 100 to register for SLA 2009 on Jan. 7, 2009, it was $295.]

Nancy A. Sansalone, SLA's COO/CFO, sent this note to the association's leaders today (Dec. 10) explaining the 2010 costs:

Dear Leaders,

Conference registration fees have risen for two reasons:

* The cost of producing conferences continues to rise.

*  Sponsorship funding, which heavily subsidizes registration fees, continues to fall.

Everything from the cost of electricity to food and beverage services for conference increases each year.  For 2010, we expect our expenses to increase by 20%. Based on conference surveys, attendees also expect, and receive, much more from their conference experience, from wireless connectivity ($20K) to more sophisticated audiovisuals to "unconference" sessions to more food in the INFO-EXPO ($150K), all included in the registration fee.  In New Orleans, we will incur additional expenses for busing ($40K), insurance ($20K) and to subsidize community service projects ($3K).  We will have to pay state sales tax, and we are adding a virtual conference component to our offerings.

At the same time, the revenue we receive from sponsors declines each year.  Last year, we were fortunate that some of our sponsors boosted their support in order to celebrate our Centennial; unfortunately, we do not expect that to happen this year.  This trend of reduced funding for sponsorships and advertising is affecting virtually every association.

Attendees will pay about $50 more than last year to register, but they will find that increase offset by much lower rates for hotel rooms and dining in New Orleans.

Nancy


Nancy A. Sansalone
COO/CFO, SLA
T: +1 703.647.4935
F: +1.703.647-4903
E: [email protected]
W: www.sla.org

 

SLA Name Will Stay: Alignment of Association to Continue (Twitter: #slaname)

Alexandria, Virginia, December 10, 2009- The Special Libraries Association (SLA) announced the results of its association-wide vote on a new name today. Voting in record numbers, SLA members failed to approve a proposal to change the organization's name to the Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals. 50 percent of those members eligible to vote participated in the referendum, with 2071 voting yes and 3225 voting no.

"The active discussions, online and in local meetings, are a testament to the passion and commitment that knowledge and information professionals feel towards their association and their profession," said Gloria Zamora, SLA 2009 President. "This level of engagement will help make SLA and its members more effective advocates for the information profession in the years ahead."

Read more.

Twitterfeed Back Up: Job Listings You May Have Missed

NJSLA Twitter followers: For some reason, the Twitter feed broke between Nov. 27 and today, Dec. 9. It's back up now. Here are the posts (all job listings) you may have missed:

• Library Media Specialists
• Library Media Specialist
• Researcher/Fact-Checker at Men's Health, PA
• Reference Librarian, New York
• Special Projects Librarian
• Special Projects Librarian
• Library Director, New York
• Librarian
• Library Assistant, Part Time

If you ever notice a problem with one of our Web sites, including Web 2.0 outreach sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, please email us. I apologize for any confusion. Remember, you can also get these updates via RSS and/or email:

• Job Listings
• Bulletin (News and Events)

Eric Schwarz, NJSLA President

Last Chance to Vote on the SLA Name Change Proposal #slaname (Polls close Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. EST)

SLA members have until 5 p.m. EST tomorrow (Dec. 9) to vote on the association's proposed name change to Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals. Click the big blue button to vote online.

For more information on the name change proposal please see a previous NJSLA Bulletin post.

See a new video just posted and created by SLA members:

Song lyrics by Tim Wolf and Richard Geiger played to a melody from The Wizard of Oz (If I Only Had a Brain by Harold Arlen [music] and E.Y. Harburg [lyrics]). Images based on ideas shared by leadership and members including SLA's blog, Knowledge Management Division listserv, Twitter #slaname, and comments posted on SLA's Alignment Initiative wiki.