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What is the SLA Consultation Committee?
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Libraries and the library profession have changed a great deal since the Consultation Service
was set up in 1956. Planning libraries is now a full-time occupation, and the job of a
professional library consultant. The focus of SLA's free consultation service has changed.
Although we no longer plan full scale libraries free of charge, we have an excellent opportunity
to help the profession grow and help create new opportunities for employment. Today the purpose
of SLA's free consultation service is to provide management with strategic guidance on
whether to establish a special library/information center, whether to abandon an existing one or
whether to change an existing one. The consultation focuses on the strategic issues necessary
for operating a library. We hear and discuss both problems and solutions. In most cases, we set
the stage for step two - hiring the professional consultant.
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Who can take advantage of the service and what is the cost?
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Are you aware of the consultation services provided free of charge by the DC chapter?
Did you know that your library is able to benefit from such a service?
Do you know of any organization that could use this type of professional advice?
Please use the following link to see what the services encompass and how to benefit from them:
www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/manual/consult.html
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Who is the Consultation Committee?
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The committee consists of volunteers from the DC Chapter of Special Librarians. The consultation
officer this year is Gail M. Kouril of the Rand Corporation and she can be reached at
gkouril@rand.org
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How will I implement the suggestions of the Consultation Committee?
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Step Two - Hiring a professional consultant. It is easy to identify consultants using the SLA database, CONSULT Online. For those not familiar with CONSULT Online, a search on the database is free and is available to members and nonmembers interested in locating a consultant who may assist, on a normal commercial basis, with areas library management and services by subject specialty. There are over one hundred search criteria to help find the most suitable consultant. CONSULT Online members may check their profiles by using "Update or Submit a Profile" to CONSULT Online on the introductory page at http://www.sla.org/consultonline/instruct.cfm
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What is the value of a librarian to an organization?
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As an example view the publications below:
- "Higher Ranked Fortune 500 Companies Significantly More Likely to Have Libraries", Information Outlook, Vol. 4, No. 3, Mar 2000. (Only SLA Members have online access.)
- "Creating Value: Building the Strategy-Focused Library", Information Outlook, Vol. 5, No. 9, Sept 2001. (Only SLA Members have online access.)
- A determination of the bottom-line value of libraries : measuring the bottom line contribution of librarians and information professionals, by Frank Portugal. (Washington, DC : Special Libraries Association, 2000)
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