Dear ORSLA members,
Today's Alignment Project interviewee is chapter member Amy Maule of CH2M Hill. Amy recently had her thoughtful article "Corporate librarian or corporate climber?" published in the latest issue of Information Outlook (link -- login required). Amy is a relatively new professional, but has been working in libraries for about 12 years.
Amy, what is your job title and how long have you been working in your field?
"Information Specialist" is the title I made up for myself. Tech Specialist is what HR calls me, but that's a catch-all for people with jobs they don't understand. I've been a post-MLS professional for just over 2 years, but have been working in libraries of one type or another for about 12.
How would you describe what you do today?
Research (technology, business, competitive intelligence) and information management, plus some writing and editing, technical support (mostly SharePoint and LiveMeeting), cat-herding, etc.
What are some of the significant changes you have experienced during your career? Does the Alignment Project speak to these changes?
I've gone from academic/public libraries to corporate, and from a physical library to an embedded-type position in our strategic-planning and future technology group. I've experienced the change from hand-typed catalog cards to online everything. In the corporate world, I'm seeing less reliance on the physical library and more reliance on online resources.
I think the findings of the realignment process are in line with the changes I'm seeing. In terms of follow-up, I haven't seen anything more than talk so far, so what comes from those findings remains to be seen.
After taking some time to look at the Alignment Project's findings, do you think they relate to you and your professional goals? If so, how?
I hardly know what my professional goals are anymore, I'm so far from where I ever thought I'd be. The Alignment's findings are in line with my current path.
From your perspective, where do you see the profession going in the next 10 years?
Honestly, I hate to say it, but I see "corporate librarian" as a profession ceasing to exist. I think the companies that keep librarians will not keep them as "librarians" for too much longer, but as embedded researchers, records managers, database administrators, CI pros, etc. I'm not sure that's something we should be fighting against. Rather than spending all our energy arguing that librarians are still relevant, maybe we need to look to our own skill sets and make ourselves useful in the areas that are still valued by our employers.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I like the idea of broadening the scope of our association to include other info pros, but I fear that there is so much history of exclusivity in the profession that it will be difficult. In hiring for "librarian" jobs, we require an MLS and refuse to acknowledge that people with different backgrounds could be as skilled at research and information management as someone with an MLS. At the same time, we want non-librarians to see how valuable we really are in all of these other areas. To broaden the scope of our association, we need to broaden our concept of what it takes to be a librarian (or whatever we call ourselves).
As a credential, the MLS is basically meaningless outside of library circles. As long as we rely on it to prove how qualified we are to do all the things we do, we will never convince any non-library people of our value outside of traditional libraries. In my current work, a strong knowledge of business and marketing principles, a broad understanding of new technologies, and strong computer skills are all as or more important than research or info management skills. I think SLA would benefit from taking a more skills-based approach to our field.
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Once again, if you haven't checked out the Alignment Portal, take a moment to read the research and think about how *you* would answer these questions. I'd love to hear your ideas.
Sincerely,
Reece Dano
ORSLA Alignment Ambassador
Posted 12-Oct-09 by:
Kama Sue Siegel
Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt
