Member Resources

Sponsors

Wired West: Volume 8, no. 4

A First-Timer's Reflections on SLA 2005 

By Linda Yan.

Attending the SLA conference in Toronto reminded me of a Chinese idiom. It goes "There is always a mountain beyond a mountain; There is a person beyond a person." (Shan wai you shan; ren wai you ren.) Sometimes idioms in one language are not really translatable to another language and this is a very good example. In plain language, it means that there is always something, or someone, that is bigger and better beyond. This idiom teaches modesty and humility, it also teaches us to aspire to seek bigger and better results and to strive to be a bigger and better self.

One of the first conference events I attended was the First-Timers Fellows Reception on Sunday afternoon. Here, past and incoming SLA Board and Executive members and SLA Fellows welcomed us with games, pretzels and popcorn. As each one was introduced, and during their individual speeches, I kept thinking to myself, "one mountain, beyond another mountain, beyond another mountain, beyond another mountain… " 

Facing all those incredible special librarians, I had a real sense of being a small drop of water in a big ocean. Each of them had an impressive resumé and title, yet every one of them extended their hands to us -- the First-Timers of the SLA conference and mostly new librarians.  They energized me with their positive and inspirational speeches that all shared the same themes: networking, professional development and volunteering for SLA. SLA is our association, together we make it bigger, better and stronger, and we do it through networking and mutual support.

The First-Timers session opened my eyes to SLA at a different level. What is our role in our own association? As new members, we are here to learn, to network and, for some, to find employment. However, we should not stop our involvement when we get to be comfortable in our jobs. It’s important for experienced, established SLA members to volunteer their time and skills to mentor and guide new members, to share their  immense pool of knowledge, to champion for new programs, and to promote SLA at a higher level.

The same theme was brought home to me again at a Leadership and Mentoring breakfast session on Tuesday morning. Three mentors from SLA welcomed new librarians or new SLA members with an abundance of enthusiasm and advice. I learned that in order to grow professionally as special librarians, we cannot afford to isolate ourselves. Individually, we are all isolated mountains and hills. Only through networking and knowledge sharing, can we build bridges and foster collegial support. Only through mutual support and professional development, can we each become bigger and better than ourselves.

Throughout the different workshops and seminars, I had the feeling that I had finally met many long lost-cousins, the fellow librarians who do the same type of work as I do and who share the same lingo.

To be surrounded by a few thousand confident, talented and knowledgeable special librarians is a very humbling experience. On the one hand, I feel like greeting everyone, acknowledging everyone, and telling them that I am happy to be a part of the family. On the other hand, I remind myself again and again that the road ahead is long and winding. I know that only by reaching out to other special librarians and by constantly learning new skills can I stay in the same league.

I have mountains to climb and hills to hike. I am happy to know where I am and where I am going. I am also very grateful to my forward-thinking manager for the opportunity to attend the SLA conference. It was  a great experience at the start of my career in special librarianship.

"I am part of all that I have met." – Lord Alfred Tennyson

Linda Yan is a Client Services & Systems Librarian at Canada Revenue Agency.

© All articles are copyright by the authors.