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.

SLA Makes It Easier to Volunteer

SLA President-elect Anne Caputo has launched a 2010 Call for Volunteers, that makes it very easy to see and apply for volunteer opportunities using a Web-based form. They new volunteer form (linked from Anne's letter to members) will help you find opportunities you may not know existed, apply in one place without worrying about whom to contact, and focus your thoughts on why and how you'd like to get involved. (Don't worry: It's a short form, not a job application.)

For example, SLA currently is looking for volunteers to serve on the following association-wide groups:

Committees:

• Bylaws
• Cataloging
• Association Governance
• Diversity Leadership Development Program
• Research and Development
• Technical Standards

Advisory Councils:

• Emergency Preparedness and Recovery
• First Five Years
• Information Ethics
• Information Outlook
• Professional Development
• Public Policy
• Public Relations
• Student and Academic Affairs
• Virtual Worlds

(I had heard of most of them, but not all of them!)

Also, volunteers for opportunities other than committees and councils will be forwarded to the appropriate division, chapter, caucus or nominating committee without any vetting by Anne or the advisory group members.

If you're interested in volunteering with the New Jersey Chapter, you could fill out the online form, or just ask me or 2010 President Sandra Baker. We'd be happy to welcome you. Two opportunities that come to mind are: Membership (welcoming new members and pointing people in the right direction when they have questions about their membership) and Program Planning for our chapter's 75-year anniversary.

Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President

Survey About Information Outlook

Earlier this year, Gloria Zamora appointed eight SLA members to an advisory council charged with helping set the editorial content and direction of Information Outlook. Now, all SLA members are invited to answer a few questions to provide the advisory council and the editor with guidance on how to improve the magazine and increase its value to information professionals.

The survey is posted online through Friday, 20 November, and takes less than five minutes to complete.
 

Stuart Hales
Publications Editor
SLA
331 S. Patrick Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3501 USA
Tel. +1.703.647.4919
Fax +1.703.647.4901
[email protected]
www.sla.org

Alignment and Name Change Resources: 'Getting to the Heart of SLA's Alignment Project'

The horizontal navigation bar at the top of the NJSLA Bulletin blog now includes a link to the SLA's Alignment Project wiki. The wiki contains comprehensive information on SLA's Alignment Project and Name Change.

The Alignment Project Portal may be the most easily grasped resource, especially by people outside SLA, and is prominently featured at www.sla.org. Note that the Portal features Advancing Knowledge prominently — but not the name SLA.

The wiki features a page, Getting to the Heart of SLA's Alignment Project, which answers the tough questions. Jill Strand, Chair of SLA's Advisory Council and Alignment Ambassador for the Minnesota Chapter, put together that page, where you'll learn:

• What is the SLA Alignment Project and how did it come about?
• Why is Alignment so important?
• Is the Alignment research truly reflective of all SLA members?
• I've heard that it is mainly a way to push a name change for the Association.  Is that true?
• How would a possible name change be handled? What's next and when will we learn more?
• The core of what we do hasn't changed, so we should still be calling ourselves librarians. Terms such as "info pro" and "knowledge manager" are inaccurate and have hurt the profession.
• Why doesn't the Alignment Project stress the value of an MLIS?
• Some long-time members or those who have had budget cuts seems to be against Alignment, saying that no matter what we do decision makers aren't going to value us.
• Where do we go from here?

As with other wikis, you can join the conversation by logging in or signing up from any page or the main page.

Eric Schwarz
President and Alignment Ambassador, New Jersey Chapter

New Name to Come Soon

I reported yesterday about SLA's potential new name, and that it could be announced as soon as today (Oct. 8). The good news is that the SLA Board took definitive action today. The flip side is that we have to wait a few more days to learn the chosen name. 
 
SLA President Gloria Zamora sent this note to the "Alignment Ambassador" team on Oct. 8: "I am happy to report to you that the Board, earlier today, voted on a new name for the association. It will be presented to the entire membership next week along with details about the voting process. All members will get a chance to vote on the name before the end of the year."
 
As a reminder, SLA's Alignment Project Portal is at http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/alignment/portal/index.html. The portal has tools to help us Explore, Define and Express our value as knowledge professionals.
 
Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President
 

Alignment and the SLA Name

SLA is getting ready to introduce a potential new name for members to consider as we start our second century. The SLA Board is discussing the issue tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 8), and may have an announcement on www.sla.org later in the day Oct. 8. Check it out!

The association's name is only part of the Alignment Project, which is meant to give members the tools to show their value to employers and other audiences. We have about 50 people attending tonight's session with SLA President-Elect Anne Caputo, where Alignment will be the topic of the evening.

These are some points to consider regarding Alignment and the name change proposal:

1. We need a name that reflects our value and our passion for providing actionable information and analysis that moves our organizations forward.

2. Pride in our 100-year legacy is important, but nostalgia has no worth to our organizations. If the terms "special libraries" and "special librarians" are of little value to our clients, we can't hold on to those terms.

3. Changing our name and changing our game this time is backed by thorough research readily available on the SLA site and via communications to members. Take the time to read the research so you can make an informed decision.

Eric Schwarz
NJSLA President

SLA Announces Results of Board Election; Cindy Romaine to Lead as President-Elect

SLA has announced the results of the election for leadership of the association and board directors.

Cindy Romaine will lead your organization as President-Elect in 2010 (President in 2011 after Anne Caputo).

SLA members also elected:

• Treasurer Dan Trefethen.
• Division Cabinet Chair-Elect Mary Ellen Bates.
• Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect Liz Blankson-Hemans.

Complete details and a link to the new leaders' bios are on the SLA Blog.

The Info Profession: Changing and Realigning (Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. in New Brunswick)

Rutgers University Special Libraries Association Student Group (RUSLA) (in association with the New Jersey and Princeton-Trenton SLA Chapters) Presents:

The Info Profession:
Changing and Realigning

A Discussion with SLA President-Elect Anne Caputo

Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 2-4 p.m.

Rutgers University

Graduate Student Lounge (part of the Rutgers Student Center, behind Au Bon Pain)

126 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=278).

Free and open to the public. If you are from outside Rutgers and need a parking pass, please contact Eric Schwarz by Friday, Oct. 2.

Note: This is separate from Anne's presentation at IEEE later that evening. That session is a dinner session and the joint annual meeting of the New Jersey and Princeton-Trenton Chapters of SLA. Registration is required for that event. See http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/njsla/2009/08/joint-meeting-registration.html.

In special libraries and information centers, as well as traditional libraries, there is a lot of discussion about the future of the profession and how info pros can market and position themselves. The SLA has conducted research into all these issues, because “special libraries” as a term no longer represents the breadth and depth of skills info pros bring to market. Anne asks students to consider these questions as they prepare to go out into the field:

• What's in a name?  What do you think you should call yourself as a professional?  What should SLA call itself?
• What do you see yourself doing 5 years from now - in an ideal world and assuming you can achieve your dreams?
• What is the most valuable thing you wish you could learn in your graduate program?  Is it happening or likely to happen?
• Do you see value in professional associations like SLA?  Are we meeting your needs - why or why not?
• How do you define your value to potential employers?  How do you measure that value?
• Do you have an elevator speech?

Anne Caputo is Executive Director of Dow Jones' Learning & Information Professional Programs, where she is responsible for the planning and development of learning initiatives for Dow Jones Content Technology Solutions group.  She is also responsible for strategic planning, marketing and the creation of alliances with and for information professionals.  Additionally, Anne is a faculty member at the I-schools at the University of Maryland and the University of Tennessee. Within SLA, Anne has served in leadership roles at the chapter and board levels. In 2004 she was named a recipient of SLA's Rose L. Vormelker Award for mentoring students and practicing professionals and was named a Fellow of SLA at the 2008 Annual Conference. She will serve as association president in 2010.

For more information, please contact Madelyne Burr (madelyne AT eden.rutgers.edu).

Want to learn more about SLA? Check out http://rusla.rutgers.edu or www.sla.org.

Refreshments sponsored by GSA (Graduate Student Association), LISSA (Library and Information Science Student Association) and RUSLA.

Ask Your Candidates for SLA-President Elect: Two Call-In Opportunities (Tuesday, Sept. 22)

The information below is from Anne Caputo, 2009 SLA President-Elect.

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SLA is trying something new this year with respect to the two candidates for President-elect of SLA.  A call-in opportunity for all SLA members will take place next Tuesday, 22 September. 

This is unprecedented as it is happening after the elections have begun, but very important particularly because these calls are scheduled at times friendly to SLA members outside North America. In the Eastern/New York time zone, the calls will be held at 10 AM and 9 PM EDT.

Both Agnes Mattis and Cindy Romaine will be on the call to make brief introductory statements and respond to member questions.  Any other candidates for SLA Board offices are welcome to join the call and may respond to questions if time permits.

 
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SLA Call-In for 2010 President-Elect Board Candidates
 
Please join us for a lively and interactive call with SLA President-Elect candidates Agnes Mattis and Cindy Romaine who will presenting their candidacy, qualifications and ideas as well as responding to your questions.  The calls will conducted twice on 22 September.  This is the first time candidates forums have been held with our global membership in mind.  Please participate and let us know your issues, questions and concerns.
 

For your local call-in conference phone number and equivalent time zones throughout the world, please see the complete list at http://wiki.sla.org/x/GoFQAg. No login is required. NOTE: The referenced page will be deleted after the calls have taken place.

 

SLA Changes Member Dues

SLA sent the following email to members on Sept. 16:

Dear SLA Member:

In order to continue to deliver the services members expect, the SLA Board of Directors has voted to increase dues by 15 percent for most members and add a new dues tier for members with an annual income of US$75,000 or greater, effective 1 January 2010.

In the four years since it last raised dues, SLA has done much more for members with far less funding, introducing an array of new member benefits to ensure that information professionals have the tools they need to remain competitive in today's marketplace. These include greatly expanded online and in-person professional development opportunities, free online libraries and webinars, discounts on conferences, publications and higher education, and much more. In addition, SLA has vastly extended member networks by adding access to new communications technologies as they emerge and is aggressively building the global membership so important in the new economy.

The cost of delivering these member services each year is now almost US$600 per member. SLA has worked hard to reduce and offset that cost by becoming more operationally efficient, obtaining sponsorships, and building partnerships. Over the past year, SLA staff have forfeited raises, paid a larger percentage of their medical benefits, and lost professional development opportunities, and we have reduced staff by 18 percent, among many other measures. We were also able to fund one of our most important efforts ever, the Alignment Research Project, with funds reserved from the sale of our previous headquarters building.  SLA dues continue to be substantially lower than those of most comparable organizations, and there is more value in SLA membership than ever before.

Dues rates will be as follows:

Category of Membership	2010 Dues
Student/Retired Members	US$40.00
Full Members
Annual Salary under US$18,000	US$40.00
Annual Salary US$18,000-US$34,999	US$114.00
Annual Salary US$35,000-US$74,999	US$185.00
Annual Salary US$75,000 or greater	US$200.00
Organizational Members	US$750.00
Honorary/Life Members	$0.00
Retired Members/45 Years	$0.00
Extra chapter/division fee	US$20.00
Caucus	US$12.00

We have created a Web page with questions and answers about the dues increase and more information about membership finances.  We will add answers to new questions as they emerge.

Sincerely,

Gloria Zamora, President, and the SLA Board of Directors