Tag Archives: Information Services

2011 a year of many possibilities!

This past year has been one of many changes and transitions, all with the framework of a horrible economy and other world challenges. Even so, being an information professional enables us to be a part of moving things forward, whatever can be defined as ‘things’. I finally bought an iPhone 4 after several years of using an iPod Touch with its WiFi capabilities. Yes, I know many of you already have an iPad and I likely will too after the next generation becomes available sometime in 2011. It is important for us to know and use these tools so we can understand when, and when NOT, to use them for information services enhancement. More on that as the year progresses!

Meantime, I look forward to the ALA Midwinter conference in San Diego to explore the exhibit hall and meet many colleagues there to commiserate on where we are and where we are going. Then a few short weeks later will be the SLA Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. where I formally become chair-elect of the Museum, Arts and Humanities Division. Now working as chief librarian at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, I firmly believe there is so much information housed and being developed by researchers in such institutions and we need to creatively find ways to take advantage of that knowledge and get it more ‘active’ in the educational process and the community learning environment. Let’s see what we can do!!

Me in temporary digs at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Marketing our value: the SLA Alignment Initiative

Be sure to check out part one of my article in the March/April 2010 issue of  MLS Marketing Library Services on marketing the value of librarians and information professionals. In it I talk about the background of the SLA Alignment Initiative, the highly discussed and volatile proposal for a name change to SLA, and how the initiative has provided information and tools to help us market our value to our managers, leadership or whomever.

MLS Marketing Library Services Newsletter March-April 2010

In the second part of the article, to appear in the May/June issue, I will discuss the next phase of the Alignment Initiative and how you can apply all this information to your own working environment. Watch for it!!