Virginia Chapter of the Special Libraries Association
Home President's Message About VASLA Meetings / Events VASLA Bulletin Discussion List Resources Join SLA	Message from the President February 2008 Dear Virginia SLA colleagues, Greetings from Charlottesville! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that your new year is off to a good start. The SLA Leadership Summit will be taking place in Louisville Kentucky this week. The conference allows SLA chapters and divisions leaders to get together to share ideas, best practices, and learn about SLA initiatives. Janet Holly and I will be spending a good deal of the time planning for our chapter’s upcoming year. My commitment as president is to offer opportunities for our members to grow in professional knowledge and skills while developing a strong network of colleague friends statewide. Janet Holly will be serving as the Vice President Elect and Program Chair for 2008. She will be planning and scheduling the programs for the upcoming year. It is our plan to make it easy for members to get involved in program planning roles both large and small this year. A more involved opportunity would include hosting a program or coordinating catering for meals. Other opportunities would require a smaller time commitment such as; helping with creating registration forms, greeting members, or handing out name tags at the beginning of meetings. One of the greatest challenges of our chapter is the distance between our members. With a focus on this challenge the board will also be hosting several “Dine Arounds” throughout the year. “Dine Arounds” are local dinners that are planned to allow members the opportunity to informally get together and network with colleagues in their area. It is our hope that the “Dine Arounds” will allow members who are not able to travel to all of the meetings the opportunity to participate in a local VASLA events. Networking continues to be one of the best reasons to belong to our professional organization. I find that often it is through conversations with fellow librarians that I arrive at my best ideas and strategies for my library. It is also were I can find comfort in the midst of challenging work situations. It is my hope as president this year that I can continue to support you in the development of your professional network. I look forward to seeing you at our next VASLA event. --Karen King, President, VASLA