The Park Library - Special Libraries

My Chapter recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Next year, the News Division, of which I am a member, will launch its Diamond Jubilee. From Thomas Hill I learned that your Chapter will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2000, just as SLA concludes its 90th year. It seems that generations of information pros all over have cause to celebrate on the eve of the millenium. Congratulations and continued success to you all.

South Carolina is one of my favorite places to visit. Certainly there have been memorable occasions in the past and there will be in the future. "Networking 2000," the SLA Regional Conference scheduled for March 1999 in Charleston should be an extraordinary event for all information professionals in this region. .

I've come to know and appreciate some of your outstanding leaders in South Carolina. Thomas Hill has been most helpful in getting me on target with your program this month. Your Chapter has had SLA conference planners, Division officers, Web masters and Fellows among its distinguished members. Standouts come to mind such as Fred Roper, Kathleen Eisenbeis, Carolyn Edds, Patsy G Moss, Leon L Gyles, Sherry B Davis, Alice Warner, Michelle Harmon, Dargan Richards, and a host of others. Frankly, I'd say that the South Carolina Chapter has a lot to be proud of, except that with leaders such as yours, actions speak louder and more eloquently than my words.

The approach of the millennium has prompted many of us to take a closer look at what the future holds for ourselves, our profession and our association. It's exciting and more than a bit overwhelming.

I find myself asking: "Will we (info pros, knowledge managers, database designers, archive architects, online engineers, and librarians) be ready, willing and able to make the changes, understand the issues, and anticipate the trends? What's new? What lies ahead? What's worthwhile? And, who knows?

Then, just as quickly I start wondering: "How did I get here? Where were my professional origins? Who were my influences? Did I change or did the circumstances? Did I use a guide? Find a coach? Have a mentor? Enroll in courses? And, what compass did I have to navigate this uncharted territory?

For me, and I suspect others as well, the answers are covered in our professional associations, our networks of colleagues, friends, mentors who have coached us all from "first jobs" to "next opportunities." The world of information is simply too big to get your arms around it (metaphorically speaking) and certainly too enormous to navigate by yourself. Doing it alone is no longer an option.

"THE LIBRARIAN AND THE PRINTER"

It happened that a librarian wanted to print a brochure to promote the library’s collections and services.

Working thoughtfully, the librarian emerged with a suitable design to convey the information.

A print shop was found.

The librarian inquired if the brochure could be printed as designed.

The printer considered the materials and replied, "Yes. But the job depends on three choices."

"What are they?" replied the beginning to be suspicious librarian.

"Well," the printer responded, "the choices involve quality, speed, and price. For example," the printer continued, "if you want the job done well and quickly, then I control the cost. If you decide to select price and quality, then I set the speed of the job."

"Oh," wailed the librarian, "I wanted to choose all three!"

Options and choices. How we respond to them define us. Consequently, I believe that today's information professional, 20 years later, would take a different approach.

After thanking the printer politely, the present-day info pro would depart in search of another printer with whom a more advantageous contract could be negotiated. Or come to the conclusion that he (or she) could create the brochure on his own desktop. Or perhaps, develop a dynamic, interactive Web site capable of reaching and attracting the desired market. Hmmmm. The possibilities are expanding.

And how did those options emerge? From educational programs, new knowledge, and more sophisticated technology, certainly, but also through the leadership of professional associations such as the Special Libraries Association.

So much for twenty years ago, and even today! But what about the future? The next 20 years. Where will we be then? I wonder about the year 2018, but not for long. Let me go back a bit.

Who among us realized in 1978 that in 1998 we'd be part of an Information Economy? What happened in the world to make the quantum leap into Information Commerce?

Whenever I think about the future, I return to the past seeking clues, patterns to what might be projected beyond the present. SLA's earliest origins are illustrative of the creativity, courage, and inspiration in our profession. We needed those talents then; we need them now; we'll need them even more in the future.

In 1904, John Cotton Dana, Newark NJ's Public Librarian, created a new Business Branch of the Free Public Library. As far as we know, he did it largely on his own. This branch was developed to attract corporate executives into the library and make it easy for them to make use of reference and research services. This new concept was enhanced with skilled staff on hand to help guide these executives. Sound familiar?

Then in 1909 Sarah Ball, in charge of the Newark collection, attended a joint conference of the N. J. Library Assoc. and the Pennsylvania Library Club in Atlantic City. There she met Anna B. Sears, librarian of the Merchants' Assoc. of New York. Together, they explored the idea of close cooperation between their libraries and the librarians in the New York Metropolitan area. This pair of "change agents" allied themselves with Dana. Imagine being the FIRST to recognize the need and then to build a solution! They were among our profession's first "evolutionaries!" Others were to join them.

John Cotton Dana delivered a paper at the ALA meeting that year titled "Municipal, Legislative Reference, Commercial, Technical, and Public Welfare Libraries." (Now THERE'S a comprehensive title.) Are you beginning to see a pattern? Mr. Dana then extended an invitation to interested librarians at that meeting to join him in Bretton Woods, NH. This meeting was later to become known as the "VERANDA Conference." A group of 26 venturesome librarians accepted his invitation. Soon they were breaking completely new ground. They felt they had everything to gain by forming a working group to tackle their problems and serve their collective specialized interests. They recognized early on that this was not a job for an individual. Thus, the Special Libraries Association was formed on July 2, 1909 with John Cotton Dana as its first president and the term Special Library was born.

SLA "hitched its wagon" to the era responsible for, at that time, the most spectacular scientific and industrial developments the world had ever known. The very year of SLA founding was the year that Henry Ford set up the first assembly line to produce his revolutionary Model-T automobile. The decades that followed saw the birth and development of aviation, motion pictures, radio and television. An industrial age was born that produced, among other things, the material to win two world wars, split the atom, discover the polio vaccine, and land a man on the moon. But in reality gave rise to more questions.

The information produced from these monumental developments led to an overwhelming flood of knowledge. Access to this knowledge, this data, has become as vital to industrial and scientific success as inventive machinery, new materials, and inspired management. And it was talented, knowledgeable, specialized librarians who brought access and structure to this vast, ever growing information. Catalogers, indexers, abstractors, bibliographers, collection developers, and reference librarians were all in high demand. In short, putting knowledge to work required librarians with special skills. Or as one noted author, Robert A. Heinlein, observed:

"Library Science is the key to all science, just as mathematics is its language--and civilization will rise or fall, depending on how well librarians do their jobs."

Then, the Industrial Age evolved into the Information age. Online public access catalogs emerged. Electronic journals made their debut. Full-text databases appeared. Competitive intelligence, digital copyright, image database design, Dublin Core meta tags and much more took center stage in this scenario. Surely our profession had gone about as far as it could go? Not yet.

In a very short time librarians "morphed" into database designers, web architects, knowledge engineers, internet coaches, data marketers, product developers, copyright specialists, contract negotiators, and independent information consultants. Our job titles changed along with our job descriptions.

Well, that seems to be a pretty clear as far as it goes. But recently information professionals have started to produce, market and sell information. It seems that we've gone beyond the Information Age and entered into the Information Economy. Information specialists are more involved in commerce than ever before. And are we prepared to cope with the ethical and legal challenges that accompany that shift?

The ethical issues involved in selling, repackaging or repurposing data will certainly be critical. For one thing, who will be liable when incorrect, incomplete, or out-of-date information is sold? Who will be responsible for insuring the quality and accuracy of information in its myriad formats? These are certainly not easy questions; equally important they do not have easy answers. The only encouraging word on these issues is that they are being addressed in classrooms, board rooms, libraries and SLA conferences and workshops.

In my view, it is much easier for me, and I suspect others as well, to face this Next Frontier in Information with the support of friends and colleagues in SLA. I need its publications, regional conferences, management workshops, distance learning seminars, scholarships, but most important of all, I need this network of super smart people who understand the questions involving issues, trends, technology, management, and economics.

I'm facing ethical issues on information distribution, professional identity challenges, freedom of access to public records, privacy erosion, collection security, diversity in staff and clients, fee for services, staff empowerment and advancement, software and hardware evaluation.

I also suspect that the 21^st century will also have some surprises for me. But knowing that I have a professional reference point from which to chart my future career options, well, that kind of partnership offers strength and courage to face the best and worst of times. And what better instrument to use as a compass than SLA's

[Note: Speaking of the term "special librarians," prepare yourselves for a change in the future. The Association will be reviewing name change options for SLA. Members' input is eagerly sought. The January meeting in San Francisco will feature a "town meeting" to start the discussion. And for those of you concerned about the "definition" of special librarian be advised that SLA is working with the U. S. Bureau of Labor Standards to address the professional shifts in job classifications for information professionals. Check the October '98 issue of Information Outlook for examples.

To continue: I need the Association (Chapter, Division, Caucus) to help me enhance my leadership talent, flex my mentoring ability, and expand my professional skills. Surely I'm not alone here.

But perhaps most importantly I need the role models the Association provides me and others in such abundance. Special librarians are people on the move. And here are some excellent examples:

Now then, what are these critical issues that will be facing us and SLA in the future, say 2009, when SLA will be celebrating its centennial? And who will be responsible for addressing them? Here's my "blue sky" thoughts.

These are just a few of the issues I've been wondering about. Now, let's suppose that the futuristic equivalent of the "VERANDA MEETING" was on the program for SLA's centennial conference in 2009. That's just a decade from now. I wonder what topics, issues, concerns would be on the agenda? And who would be leading the discussion? I have the feeling that I may be looking at some of the participants right now. Who among you all will be the likely leaders? Who will be the future equivalent of John Cotton Dana? Or Anna Sears? Now is the time to prepare yourselves for the professional challenges ahead. Remember, you don't have to do it alone. There is a wide network ready to support you.

In the years that followed my graduation in 1976 from UNC-CH School of Information and Library Science, I discovered the enormous value of the friendship of my former classmates, the inspiration of my SILS student interns, the educational leadership of the faculty, many of whom I continue to keep in touch, and my SLA colleagues.

The true web, as far as I can tell, is not just the virtual variety; it is the real, genuine network of personal and professional associations which sustains me. Add to those connections the "can do" attitudes of super searchers I find in my travels, and I uncover a powerful, responsive network of info pros.

This is a web is strong yet flexible, expanding but stable, enduring yet constantly reinventing and renewing itself. Certainly I can, we all can, face the 21^st century with such a supportive professional network.

Thank you for listening. I look forward to answering any questions now and talking with you individually later.