If we're going to take information seeking/info lit seriously in the big picture, you can't ignore this bunch. Hell, they're getting hammered as much if not worse than the obvious public library targets. The difference is most other librarians don't seem worried or aware. - kendrak

i LOVE govdocs libs. I very nearly became one. I will say I rarely come into contact with them...a lot of places were doing away with sudoc librarians and subsuming that under other areas when i was first jobhunting :( Agreed with you that theyre getting hammered as much as anyone else, and in some cases more because theyre considered (wrongly, in many cases) niche. - ωαřмaiden ❤Marrit Woman❤

Oh, I'm not talking about govdocs librarians, I'm talking about government libraries. They're not one in the same. - kendrak

#Ernk - ωαřмaiden ❤Marrit Woman❤

Does anyone remember the war over the EPA libraries a few years ago? That's really the perfect example of what Kendra's talking about: http://www.sla.org/content... - Chris Z.

I'm aware of it. I remember the big problems related to the EPA libraries I imagine others are, too. I won't say that I'm fully conversant in everything they do, because I'm not, although I imagine it covers a pretty wide range of things. I suspect it's more an issue of not quite knowing what to say aside from the obvious about not cutting the jobs. - Katy S

Yes, I remember that - I didnt know SLA was so involved with rekindling them. That is awesome. - ωαřмaiden ❤Marrit Woman❤

SLA is really a great but unfortunately overlooked organization. - kendrak

Is it overlooked? I got the impression that it is fairly prominent, but maybe that's just b/c I know people involved with it. I could very well have a skewed view of it for that reason. - Katy S

I often feel like it's overlooked on big-picture stuff, though prominent to those involved. I say this as an SLA shill who unfortunately has to remind librarians that SLA exists (and special libraries as well). Break the ALA hegemony. - kendrak

That makes sense. I'm sort of on the periphery of all of this since I have the MLS but I don't work as a librarians (although I'm doing some grant writing for a public library). It's too bad that all of the types of libraries that fall under the category of Special Libraries aren't more visible. I know a lot of people (who aren't librarians) are surprised when I mention that certain types of institutions have libraries. - Katy S

Yeah, I agree, Kendra. I think part of the reason why SLA leadership has wanted to do a name change/rebrand for so long is because they really want to make it clear what the organization is about. - Chris Z.

Kendra: I sometimes wonder whether SLA could do a better job of lobbying for/protecting the interest of special librarians as a division of the world's largest library association, ALA, rather than as a tiny little association with lots of even tinier subassociations. (I've spoken twice at SLA. The strangest damn library conference I'm aware of...) - Walt Crawford

I should say that the *second* strangest library conference I've spoken at was IAMSLIC, the International Association of Marine Science Libraries & Information Centers...or maybe the military librarians' conference. Loved 'em both. - Walt Crawford

On a related topic, there was an article in portal a couple of years ago about what academic libraries could learn from the then recent wave of closures of corporate libraries: http://muse.jhu.edu/login... - John Dupuis

The...strangest? - Meg V. Meg

Walt, you have a narrow view of libraries. - kendrak from FFHound(roid)!

Not true. SLA felt strange because it felt like a dozen little conferences, one for each division, that just happened to be at the same site. I know libraries are a diverse bunch, and I treasure that diversity. I do wonder, though, whether SLA is more effective isolated from the larger community. And, in fact, what acad. & pub. librarians aren't learning from special librarians as a result. - Walt Crawford

Meg: See previous response--both felt like two whole bunches of simultaneous mini-conferences. And the organizers of my session one time, with only a dozen attending, seemed pleased, even though I was appalled that they'd paid my expenses and an honorarium to talk to twelve people. - Walt Crawford

Technically, ALA does have an "SLA division," ASCLA. It's an orphan division, with so few members that it has to be partly carried by the organization as a whole. Theoretically, I belonged in ASCLA as an RLG employee. Realistically, that was never going to happen. And, if SLA thinks it's better off separate, then it probably is. - Walt Crawford

I really am curious about government librarians (and gov docs librarians) and I'm looking forward to attending a pre-conf get up at ALA in June. There isn't a lot of talk about them in school and they seem like some distant, far off thing. I don't know what my future hold other than I want to be really good at reference and I'm on an academic track, but I wouldn't be put out by working for Uncle Sam. - Derrick

GODORT seems to do some really good work, based on my intermittent exposure. I'm assuming they're sponsoring the preconf? - Walt Crawford

What would more "engagement with/awareness of government librarians" look like? - Steele Lawman

I believe I wrote some letters about the EPA libraries thing. I think almost everyone in any kind of niche feels left out of "librarianship" as a whole. - laura x

Federal and Armed Forces Library Round Table (FAFLRT) is sponsoring the pre-conference session, which makes more sense then GODORT, which is really just about government documents & depository libraries. - Chris Z.

SLA wouldn't work as a subunit of ALA. But, I do know what you mean when you say that all of the divisions of SLA seem like they are putting on dozens of conferences that happen to be at SLA. We are working hard on coordinating more sessions among the various divisions. - Joe Boone

Walt, advocacy isn't the only reason a professional organization exists, and I think the strangeness of the SLA conference reflects the other reasons. We all break into our groups to network and share info & knowledge pertinent to the type of library we work with. You're right that ASCLA is like ALA's SLA division, and I would suspect membership is low because SLA better covers the needs than ALA. - Chris Z.

Agree with the Zamms, wait, wut? - Joe Boone

Laura, I think you're right. I didn't dig ALA when I was a member because I felt the conference was way too geared towards the public/school/academic sector. But, credit where it's due, the Careers in Federal Libraries session Derrick's going to was really bloody good when I went to it. So I don't want to sound like I'm saying that there is NOTHING for specialized librarians in ALA. - Chris Z.

Steve, is there any awareness you would like engage in with me? Wait, that sounds dirty. - Chris Z.

In the words of Picard, ENGAGE! Seriously though, I think SLA provides a pretty good home to lots of niche librarians. The problem a lot of more general librarians act like we're unicorns or something. Also, gov docs/repositories != government libraries. GODORT is really important, but what about the information needs of an agency? It will probably use gov docs but also traditional reports and the like. Joe, I think SLA is improving coordination between units, but then again I am involved in two different divisions with very different "sister" divisions, so I get a wider view than some. - kendrak

Kendra, I'm thinking less of the info needs of agencies, and more of the information-related jobs of the agencies. There are a lot of traditional-style library jobs (both in DC and nationwide, if you look at agencies like NOAA that have a nationwide reach), but there are also of... I hate the term, but I'll use it... "embedded" jobs as well. For example, I spoke to some UMD students late last year, and the concept of librarians as foreign service officers blew a lot of minds. - Chris Z.

Maybe (and this is the board candidate talking now) SLA needs to do more to reach out to schools and show students what kinds of government and other specialized librarian jobs are out there. I mean, I had more info about government librarian jobs at one pre-conference session at ALA than I did in two years at library school. And I went to school in the DC area. I'm betting that this is the case elsewhere too. (And correct me if I'm wrong. Please do!) - Chris Z.

(And yes, I realize those last two posts sort of contradict each other.) - Chris Z.

I like the idea of mingling with all sorts of librarian types, but when it comes to the day-to-day stuff, it's hard to find much of a need to get out there and converse. I usually have my head deep in licensing/statistics/collections management issues that are very specific to my institution, not to mention undergraduate libraries in general. I care about what's happening to government librarians because I care about specific government librarians (ZAMMS!), but like most everything else, if it's not relevant to what I'm doing right now, it's hard for me to put much effort into it. - Royce's favorite Anna

As for SLA, I've thought about joining, but I don't have the time or energy right now to make the most out of my membership, so I'm holding off for now. I would not join it if it were a part of ALA because I hope I never have to join ALA ever again. Too much overhead for too little value -- I'd rather be a part of a smaller, more nimble organization that can really benefit the members directly. - Royce's favorite Anna

I'm certainly into heightening my Zamms Awareness Proficiency (ZAP). - Steele Lawman

I stand corrected re GODORT vs. FAFLRT. And note that I never said SLA shouldn't exist, just that there are tradeoffs in its being independent. In fact, whenever I've been at a conference for a group composed of special libraries (three or eight times, depending on how you count music and medical libraries), not including SLA, I've been impressed and delighted. - Walt Crawford

I just posted to the Collaborative Librarianship blog, riffing off Kendra's post, about pub/academic librarians thinking about how special/government librarians can be useful in collaborative projects... a concerted effort on the part of both sets of librarians could help bridge some of the divide. - WebGoddess

Yes! More collaboration! I guess I'm used to it since the transportation librarians come from gov, corporate, and academic, so it seems natural to me. - kendrak

Geez, Kendra, nice job of mis-stating what's been said in this thread. So now "SLA's a strange conference" (summarized) becomes either "SLA is strange" or "special librarians are strange." Maybe a new low in uncharitable reading. - Walt Crawford

Well, if we are talking about Kendra, Zamms, Meg, and Jambina as the LSW - SLA connection, I'll say it: SLA librarians are strange. Strangely compelling. And I tend to think that y'all do a pretty good job of making sure the SLA/special librarian viewpoint is represented in LSW discussions, but I guess it doesn't feel that way to you? - Steele Lawman

(And Joe!) - Marianne

Ah yes, how could I forget my man Joe? Cuz' he's plenty strange. - Steele Lawman

Damn you people! Now I have a Doors earworm - Katy S

"Once for tomorrow, once 'cause I got AIDS." - Meg V. Meg

@Meg LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL - a Dead Milkmen reference? sooooo sweet! - WebGoddess

Walt, SLA formed as a splinter group from ALA approximately 100 years ago, and is pretty proud of that, so I think it's unlikely to come under the ALA umbrella anytime soon. This is interesting, since other organizations have "merged" with ALA (ACRL, PLA, etc.) I'm not sure which is better - being a subsection of a big association, or being alone as a smaller one. - Elizabeth Brown