SAVE THE DATE!  February 25, 2012

Plan to attend Spotlight on Your Career:  Capitalize on Change on February 25, 2012 at the University of Denver’s new education building, Ruffatto Hall. This joint program, offered by the Colorado Association of Law Libraries (CoALL) and the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (RMSLA), will benefit librarians of every type, no matter where you are in your career path. Speaker Mary Ellen Bates will discuss the future of library services and how we can capitalize on changes in our profession to make ourselves and our libraries more integral and valued parts of our organizations. She will also lead an interactive panel discussion of librarians from many types of libraries to discuss what does (and doesn’t) work in making effective and longstanding change.

This program will enable you to do the following:

• List 4 ways changes to library services would add value to your organization to help it grow

• Discuss 2 methods of promoting library services to increase patron use

• Plan 3 strategies to make your library and yourself more visible within your organization

• Predict 2 technologies that will change the way you deliver library services in the future and at least 4 ways you can utilize those technologies to provide integral information and research services to your organization and your patrons

If you have questions regarding this program prior to the dissemination of our registration information in early February, please feel free to contact Kelly Fanning at kfanning@international.edu.

RMSLA hosted a January 19, 2012, Virtual Lunch webinar on SLA’s Strategic Vision. SLA past-presidents Anne Caputo and Cindy Romaine discuss SLA’s new strategic vision and how it is being implemented. This program is free to all SLA members and non-members who would like to learn more about where SLA is headed.

>> Updated April 29, 2012: View the recorded program. (This link goes direct to the .wmv file on the SLA website. Allow a few moments for the program to load.)

Strategic Vision

SLA is a vibrant, global association of professionals who are employed in every sector of the information and knowledge economy. Our members thrive where data, information, and knowledge intersect, and our strategic partners support SLA because they believe in the association’s mission and the future of its members. The goal of SLA is to support information professionals as they contribute, in their varied and evolving roles, to the opportunities and achievements of organizations, communities, and society.

Focus for Action

SLA has identified five priorities to guide the association’s leaders, volunteers, and staff toward fulfillment of this vision. (See full post from Cindy Romaine, Nov 14, 2011.)

1) Annual Conference (see Nov 28 blog post from Mary Ellen Bates, Division Cabinet Chair), with attention to collaboration across SLA’s divisions to provide more focused, refined, and learning-relevant content.

2) Professional Development (see Nov 29 blog post by Sara Tompson, Director) through improved in-person offerings and a year-round, virtual education program in partnership with schools of library and information science.

3) Richer Volunteer Experiences (see Nov 30 post by Daniel Lee, Director) that provide stepping stones to learning, a promotion, or achievement at work in areas such as web development, marketing, and program management.

4) Opening New Markets (see Dec 1 post from Brent Mai, President-Elect) to expand SLA’s partnerships and visibility within the broader information industry.

5) Growth Through Diversification (see Dec 2 post from Richard Huffine, Division Cabinet Chair-Elect), aimed toward expanding SLA’s already diverse membership by reaching competitive intelligence specialists, IT development specialists, and others outside the traditional library/information field.

Join the discussion and contribute your insights for making the vision a reality.

Register!

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/962840464

System Requirements

PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

RMSLA writers were recently featured on SLA’s Future Ready 365 blog (http://futureready365.sla.org). Check out the posts to see chapter members’ contributions:

• Nov 21, Shelley Walchak, Take a Risk, Reap the Rewards
• Nov 20, Joseph Kraus, Collaborative Librarianship
• Nov 19, Recca Larson, Economic Gardening
• Nov 18, Ellen Naylor, How Cooperative Intelligence Will Make You Future Ready
• Nov 17, Laura Cullerton, The Value of Information Professionals
• Nov 16, Charles Leckenby, Introducing eBooks into the Denver Public Schools
• Nov 15, Connie Clem, Who Is SLA?

This group of posts joins several posts earlier in the year from RMSLA writers.

• Nov 12, Lee Ann Benkert, Playing It Smart: Letting Data Drive the Future
• Oct 8, Marcy Phelps, Stay Focused with Long-Term Planning
• Oct 6, Mary Ellen Bates, Adding Intrapreneurship to Your Toolkit
• Sept 16, Joseph Kraus, Future Ready: The Pace of Change for Technology and Culture
• Sept 15, Marcy Phelps, Build Your Network Now for a Future Ready Career
• May 28, Lark Birdsong, Be Ready and Unafraid
• May 24, Christine Hamilton-Pennell, Think Like an Entrepreneur
• Feb 6, Kim Dority, Rock the Future: Create Your Own
• Jan 31, Ellen Naylor, The Future Is NOW
• Jan 26, Christy Confetti Higgins, Just Connect!
• Jan 10, Scott Brown, Saying “Yes”

To find posts from chapter members, go to the blog’s calendar of posts and enter “rocky” in the search box. Or, use the “rocky mountain chapter” tag to pull up the November series of posts.

If you’ve been meaning to write your own 250+ words of experience and insight, there’s still time. Let us and SLA hear from you.

Who Are You? How Do You Communicate Your Professional Brand?

Working in an “opaque” profession, information professionals (unlike, say, veterinarians) constantly must explain what we do and why it’s worthwhile for employers to pay us for doing it. Based on the opening chapters in the book she co-authored with Jill Hurst-Wahl, Ulla de Stricker covers such brand-related topics as:

• Determining a good professional “fit” (in what types of work environments are we able to leverage most fully our innate talents?)
• Getting used to promotional activities
• Fashioning the value message
• Choosing and crafting a professional image.

>> Communicating Your Brand slidedeck (PPS file added 11/17/2011)

>> View recorded program (link added 4/29/2012)

About the Presenter

Ulla de Stricker co-authored the book, The Information and Knowledge Professional’s Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success, with her colleague Jill Hurst-Wahl. (Jill will be RMSLA’s Virtual Lunch speaker on Thursday, December 15.)  As a consultant in information and knowledge management (see www.destricker.com), Ulla assists her clients in a wide range of challenges such as corporate memory and intercollegial collaboration. She is a frequent contributor to the profession through articles and presentations at conferences, and she frequently offers support and guidance to her colleagues in career planning related matters. Ulla also is currently Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect of the Special Libraries Association.

RMSLA welcomes Constance Ard, presenting our August 18 Virtual Lunch webinar, starting at 12:00 noon Mountain daylight time. Her topic –

Value Plus: Getting and Receiving the Value of Information Professionals

>>> Addendum: View the slidedeck.

In this session, Constance will talk about the value of information professionals from the perspective of what is provided by the skills and experience of the profession. Discussion will center on methods to use when having the value conversation with management and clients. Communication, strategic partners, working relationships, and technology are the tools needed to create, carry, and deliver the message.

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/713975249

Free or Fee?

This session is free to all SLA members (RMSLA chapter members and others).

People who are not SLA members are welcome to attend for a $20 registration fee. Use the PayPal link here to pay for your registration. You’ll receive the program link after we receive your payment. Please allow 48 hours for our committee volunteers to approve your registration.

System Requirements

PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

About the Presenter -

Constance Ard has an extensive background in content management, research, and law librarianship. She was a founding member of The Seed 2020, a grassroots business networking organization in Louisville, Kentucky, that fosters the development of women and minority owned business. She is a past Chair of the Legal Division of the SLA and Chair of the Kentucky Virtual Library Advisory Committee. Read more at http://www.answermavensolutions.com.