Jill Hurst-Wahl

BTW I am one who agrees that saying you have an MLS isn't always needed. In fact, in my corporate life, my MLS was less important than my ability to do my job. But I don't totally shy away from the L-word. - Jill Hurst-Wahl

For those who believe in special libraries (libraries focused on special topics and services), will they spin off into another association? Will the Veranda Conference of 1909 be repeated in 2010 on a virtual veranda? - Jill Hurst-Wahl

I hope they don't spin off. I always thought that SLA's strength and what made it different is its diversity. How did this ever turn into a "we versus them" discussion? - yankeeincanada

Daniel, I don't think the Association healed after the name change vote in 2003. - Jill Hurst-Wahl

I think the "we versus them" has come from members feeling left out, as Jill noted, and confusion over the place of many members under this new model. I still worry if it's just me, but then several other academic and government librarians have expressed similar confusion, it makes me think perhaps either the research excluded/ignored that sector, or that extra care needs to be made to make them feel part of this new direction. - Kendra K

Some of the split comes from the assumption that almost all members work in corporate / business based libraries. The SLAers I hang with are academics, govs and non profits for the most part. - Joe.... from iPod

The survey text given to the 226 people (concerning the 3 choices) was quite telling. - Joe.... from iPod

Yeah, that description blew my mind. - MegvMeg

You're right Jill - about a certain segment of the association. From many of the comments made over the last week, I'm left with the impression that most members now don't realize that a) there was a vote in 2003 and b) that the decision by the membership was to change the name. My point being that the board and consultants didn't decide - the members did - and it has taken this long to... more... - yankeeincanada

Oh sure, the question is whether *my* association will still exist. I am fine with a name change? Language has changed, and I am cool with that. This name (and process) is skewed against a good chunk of us, though. It's odd. If ultimately there is more dividing us than keeping us together, I have to honor that. It's just a bummer to feel so unwanted by an organization that I was actually excited about. - MegvMeg

Ok. What's going to be different? Who will be the face of SLA in five years if this passes? From what I'm reading you don't feel you will be. So, can I ask you to paint me the picture? - yankeeincanada

I would say that in 5 years, there will be fewer academic people and more corporate. It's not a house of horrors or anything. It's just disappointing to me, personally. - MegvMeg

I should maybe add that I'm in the SLA Academic/Chem/PAM divisions, and I've already ditched ALA for the most part because it's too big, broad and too public library oriented. And that I'm a (fairly) energetic new librarian who joined SLA because it seemed like there were similarly minded folks, and that it was a place where I could contribute to the profession. - MegvMeg

I'd be very happy ditching the SLA name. The "special libraries" moniker has been an albatross. I'm not sure I understand why some feel they won't be included with the proposed name? It's meant to be more inclusive rather than exclusive. I can still call myself a special librarian (although always hated that designation, to be honest). - Connie Crosby

Thanks for sharing Meg. If things continue as they are, the corporate sector is going to shrink - not grow. Corporate libraries are closing at an alarming rate - and what's worse - we don't often hear about them. Here in Toronto we've had two major research centers/corp libraries close this year - one in a bank and one in a consulting firm. And just like everyone else in SLA, they too... more... - yankeeincanada

Connie: it's not that "special librarian" suits me, and I'm fine with changing the name. It's that "strategic knowledge professional" suits me even less. Without getting into interpretations/semantics, at the very least it needs to be evident to my employer (and I'm tenure-track so this is potentially My Employer) that my professional development activities are relevant *to libraries*, especially as our travel money becomes more and more restricted. yankeeincanada: yep, totally. - MegvMeg

Thank you for clarifying, Meg. I guess it will take a bit of work at first (probably for many of us) to convey to our employers what this group is/does. You would still be able to point to the division names (which aren't changing I think) to show how they are aligned with what you are doing. Some of my past employers have also wanted to see descriptions of sessions that I would... more... - Connie Crosby

Meg, like ALA, could our division membership be the thing we mention? Like being a part of PLA (which is part of ALA), we could say that we're members in specific divisions which are part of this larger organization. Would that work? - Jill Hurst-Wahl

Daniel, like 2003, this may be that we - in general - agree that there should be a name change, and similar to 2003 can't agree on a name. (Yes, one of the names technically won, but there weren't enough people present for the vote to count.) In the vote, will there be a way for people to abstain or to say that they don't want a name change at all? (Or that they do want a name change, but not this one?) - Jill Hurst-Wahl

My impression is that even as heterogeneous as membership is, they could converge on a new name; if a less top down process were put in place. - carolh

Carol, how would a less top down process take place? I know I was part of a focus group of librarians and executives who worked on the alignment issues including the name, as were many in the association. I'm wondering what could have been done differently. - Connie Crosby

Connie, how many people from SLA were involved in the focus groups? You're the first person I've heard mention being involved in one. - Jill Hurst-Wahl

Jill, agreed. There's agreement to change the name, I believe, but no agreement on what the name should be. And that debate has raged since 1909. Voting no would equal a vote to keep the same name. Abstain by not voting. There will be no option to say you want to change the name but don't like the current proposal. - yankeeincanada

Jill, I'm not sure--it is probably on the Alignment Project wiki. Fleishman-Hillard did extensive focus groups across the U.S. and Canada. There were about 40 of us in the room, half SLA members and half executives. We did things like press indicators to show our feelings while watching people on the screen, discuss the various words used to describe librarians, discuss the role of... more... - Connie Crosby

Jill - round tables and interviews with SLA members took place in: Denver, Louisville, Seattle, Savannah, and Washington. Fleishman-Hillard has been at every SLA conference and leadership summit since 2007 talking to members (and non-members, partners, and vendors). Focus groups took place in Washington, Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto, and Los Angeles. The timeline on the SLA site, if you... more... - yankeeincanada

Thanks for the link, Daniel/yankee! - Connie Crosby

@ConnieCrosby Do not have a perfect path at my fingertips. All I know is that the huge number of email reactions on both sci-tech div and pam div lists yielded several suggestions. At least one or two had a number of folks saying "yes, to that one". It is hard work to do this. But think it could pan out. - carolh

I've seen similar discussions elsewhere. Unfortunately completely different suggestions come up. We are not going to have all of us love the name we come up with, we just need a good number of us to find it acceptable. I guarantee whatever other name people in one group come up with, other groups will object to it. I must say, I do find the number and intensity of conversations this has generated to be impressive. I've never seen librarians talk so much to one another online in my life! - Connie Crosby

Saw a tweet from Yankee (http://twitter.com/yankeei...) that he is trying to figure out the alienation amongst the academic crowd. For example, the questions given to the 226 people in the naming survey said -- "In today's global economy, success depends on having access to the right information for the best business decisions.... They are uniquely qualified to... more... - Joe....

Joe: The name proposed is too corporate and there's a segment of academic librarians who feel they weren't represented in the research. That I understand - fully. I don't have an answer (yet) as to how that feeling of alienation can be changed - and that's part of what I am after. Is starting the research again an option? Yes. Feasible? Doubtful. More to the point - what I don't... more... - yankeeincanada

The value I and my employers get from an organization greatly depends on whether there are other people in it who are at least kinda like me (generally speaking, librarians). If an organization is not interested in keeping/attracting librarians (as evidenced by a name and a naming process that seem to exclude librarians, and also that this name has been promoted as being fundamental to,... more... - MegvMeg

Meg, you bring up a good point. SLA has been trying to recruit more non-librarians. While this can be very beneficial, there are some who will be looking for a more pure "library" association. I also wonder what the conferences will be like with a broader mix of people. At first, we'll have non-librarians attending something that really is a library conference. Over time, will it be more of an info industry conference? - Jill Hurst-Wahl

Thanks yankeeincanada. What I get most out of SLA are the people in PAM, Sci-Tech, Eng Div, and the other sciency groups. Those tend to be academic centric, but it is great to hang with people who work for NASA, IBM watson research center, engineering/research firms, etc. for their varied experience and perspectives. What I was trying to say is that the text of the ppt... more... - Joe....

If SLA changes the name, will I drop my membership? Not right now. I've got too much invested. Long story. - Joe....

How can that alienation be changed? The word librarian needs to be used as much as the phrase "information professional". I can't remember the last time I heard Janice Lachance say the "L" word to the membership. - Joe....

I teach continuing ed courses, and have to take care not to say "librarian" because there are also library technicians, archivists, records managers, researchers, information managers, knowledge managers and information consultants who also take my classes. I say "information professionals" instead, to talk about us generally. I am trying to understand the need to be so exclusionary. - Connie Crosby