Competencies for the Information Professional
I attended part of a talk at Simmons College tonight with Janice Lachance, executive director of the Special Libraries Association, and Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science Dean Michele Cloonan. I missed Dean Cloonan’s talk and only caught the end of Ms. Lachance’s remarks. I understand that Dean Cloonan related the competencies for special librarians to library science education and described them as an important framework for library and information science educators to educate future information professionals.
Ms. Lachance advised that invisible librarians are not good for the organization. She gave us a few challenges, like adding someone to our network at least every ninety days and doing something each year we can add to our professional resume.
At the beginning of questions, moderator and SLA President Ethel Salonen called on some students in the room to give their perspective about being Gen-X librarians and asked something related to whether they were currently looking for jobs. One of the students answered they just began the program and weren’t looking for professional positions yet, though a course they were taking required them to update their resume and look for a position.
A man in the audience asked about SLA’s efforts to reach out to information professionals working outside of traditional library/librarian settings. Lachance answered by talking about people approaching her to find out whether beginning new associations for certain types of information professionals would be a good idea. She also talked about the new government information division for information professionals working in government settings. A business librarian added to what Lachance said about gathering people with similar interests together and the importance of forming synergies.
Salonen said there’s now a group for content management professionals that costs $50 a year to join. It’s very technical and non-librarian. (Salonen gave an aside about why she doesn’t like to use the “l-word” because of all the stereotypes it includes.) They decided not to be a part of SLA because they didn’t think they would fit well with the association and its potential members. SLA, of course, is reaching out to network with them.
A knowledge manager addressed the positive aspects of librarians and using the “l-word.” She also emphasized that if we want organizations tangential to librarianship to be involved with us and our organizations, we should get involved with them.
How can we keep up with our professional development, wondered a corporate librarian who is amazed at how much the profession keeps changing. Cloonan and Lachance addressed her comments by reviewing programs available through Simmons College and SLA to keep information professionals up-to-date. SLA Boston Chapter President Hope Tillman also mentioned professional development opportunities at the local level.
This post is an example of a benefit of blogging. After the talk ended, someone asked me if I could write an article for a newsletter. I told her I missed most of the talk, so I couldn’t, but I could report what I learned here with a note that I missed most of the talk. Collaborative news may be a good thing.
