Erin Lanham (Chair Elect) and Deborah Garson (Co-Chair) attended SLA’s Leadership Summit in sunny but cool Savannah, Georgia, January 14th – January 17th, 2009. The Leadership Summit is a great opportunity to be part of the Association's leadership momentum, connect with other Division/Chapter chairs and chairs-elect, learn about and have a voice in our Association's issues, and plan for the upcoming conferences. This Summit was particularly significant as it kicked off the Association’s Centennial celebrations. As the host chapter, the Georgia Chapter membership provided us all with a very warm southern welcome to Savannah.
Summit events included: meetings of the 2010 Conference Committee and planners, tabletop exhibits, an update on SLA Alignment and charge to units, a keynote by S. McGarvey on leadership and communication in a time of change, a Centennial kick-off reception, ten best leadership tips session by Tom Rink, spotlighting of cool Division programs, Chapter planning highlights, and chapter and division board meetings.
Erin attended the 2010 conference planners meeting, where she brainstormed and made contact with other planners for the 2010 conference. She’s planning to co-sponsor with other divisions such as Sociology, Museum, Arts and Humanities, and Academic to bring highly relevant topics to the conference.
In order to support members during these difficult economic times, Janice Lachance announced at the Leadership Summit Welcome strategies SLA is implementing to support professional development:
- Click U! Live sessions and replays will be free to all members
- CI Courses – now 15% off
- Registrants for the SLA annual conference will receive $45 off when registering in January
- New Masters/PhD program discounts
- New dues tier ($35 for members making $18,000 or less) has increased membership by 150 members outside of North America
- SLA staff:
o No staff cuts are planned, and staff will not receive raises in 2009.
o Information Outlook will be cut from 12 to 8 issues in 2009.
o There will not be a 2009 salary survey
- SLA will encourage and participate in more virtual meetings.
John Cotton Dana’s “avatar” (portrayed by Richard Geiger) and Gloria Zamora, SLA President, discussed SLA’s alignment update. The alignment update seemed to focus on terms and words best used to support the image of special librarians and information professionals. The research done by Fleishman-Hillard in 2008 will be used in conjunction with member-driven input to move forward in marketing SLA and its members. We will probably also see a new mission statement from SLA in the near future.
It is important for us as SLA members to be informed about the Association's issues, and Leadership Summit is an opportunity to learn and to contribute the Division’s ideas and challenges to the Association. As always the Summit was very informative and provided several networking opportunities which can give attendees a very strong sense of what the Association is all about - great people and great ideas!
For more detailed information you can find the 2009 January Board Meeting Agenda and Documents at
http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/governance/bodsection/bodmtgs/09BODMtgs/0109mtg.cfm
A post-Summit tip from Tom Rink, Division Cabinet Chair.
“the tip:
We will start with a very basic question: Can anyone lead?
The answer (at least in my opinion): No, not just anyone. But please
allow me to clarify this. For if you have the desire (to lead), are
willing to make the commitment (to being a leader), and prepare
yourself properly, you can become a leader.
Leadership requires more than just showing up and saying that you are
in charge. You must obtain the requisite knowledge to understand
your leadership role; you must acquire the proper training so that
you can perform the day-to-day responsibilities of a leader; and, you
must have a sound experiential base on which to base your decisions
(current or future).
And while all of these preparations are absolutely necessary, the
most important quality remains your desire to lead! You must want to
lead, to tackle the difficult problems, to go a step beyond. With
this desire, and the proper foundation and training, there are no
limits to your success and development.”
You can find Tom’s presentation “Survival Guide to Your New Roll and Ten Best Leadership Tips” slides posted at SLA’s Division Community of Practice.
Next year, the Leadership Summit will be hosted by Erin’s chapter, the St. Louis Metro Area Chapter. ‘Hope to see you in St. Louis!
Respectfully submitted,
Chair-Elect, 2009
Erin Lanham
Paul and Helen Schnare Library
St. Charles Community College
4601 Mid Rivers Mall Dr.
St. Peters, MO 63376
636/922-8798; 636/922-8433 (fax)
elanham@stchas.edu
Co-Chair, 2009
Deborah Garson
Gutman Library
Harvard University
6 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138-3704
617/495-3421
deborah_garson@harvard.edu
