This document discusses the benefits of membership in the Special Libraries Association (SLA). It begins by introducing SLA, noting it has over 9,000 members from every continent working in libraries, information consulting, and business. The author then shares their personal experience with SLA, having attended annual conferences for over 20 years, which expanded their network and skills. SLA offers professional development through webinars, conferences, and leadership training. It also advocates for the profession and provides networking opportunities both online and in-person. Volunteering has career benefits like job advancement, connections, and professional growth. In closing, the author asks if the audience has any questions.
The Impact of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) on Higher Ed.
It’s Your SLA
1. It’s Your SLA
Jill Hurst-Wahl
Member, SLA Board of Directors
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2. What 3-5 areas or
topics related to your
work (or professional
experience) could you
teach others about?
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3. My Goal…
To make SLA more compelling to you.
If it is more compelling to you, then it will be
more compelling to those that you touch!
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4. Who is SLA?
• ~9000 members from every continent
• Library and information professionals
• Students
• Information consultants
• Business partners
• 56 regional chapters
• 26 divisions
• Organized by subject interests & fields
• 10 caucuses (more informal)
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5. My Story
• 1988 – Became a corporate librarian
• 1992 – Attended my 1st Annual Conference,
San Francisco
• Have attended every Annual Conference
• Attended Leadership Summits in Reno,
Louisville, D.C., and Atlanta
• Some years, I paid my own way entirely
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13. The Impact (1)
• Bigger network = more global resources
• New learning opportunities
• Knowledge I could put to work immediately
• Led to new volunteer and work opportunities
• Helped to build my leadership, project
management, time management skills
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14. The Impact (2)
• Became a more well-known professional
• Positive impact on:
• Publishing opportunities
• Consulting work
• Volunteer opportunities
• Professional opportunities
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16. What Does SLA Offer to You?
• Professional Development
• Webinars from HQ, divisions & other
chapters
• Sessions and CEs at the Annual Conference
• Leadership training at Leadership Summit &
through SLA activities
• What the Kentucky Chapter says…
• Publications & online resources
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17. What Does SLA Offer to You?
• Professional Development
• Employers want to know you are investing in
yourself
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18. What Does SLA Offer to You?
• Advocacy
• Public Policy Advisory Council
• Public Policy Platform
• Association advocates on our behalf
• Informs us when we need to raise our voices
• Provides relevant info through conference
sessions, articles/blog posts, etc.
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19. What Does SLA Offer to You?
• Networking
• In all things, it is both what you know and
who you know.
• Online and in person
• At events
• Through volunteer opportunities
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20. About Volunteering
• SLA survey (527 responses)
• Volunteering paid off in:
• Job / advancement (35%)
• Building connections, networking (30%)
• Career development, prof growth (30%)
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22. What 3-5 areas or
topics related to your
work (or professional
experience) could you
teach others about?
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23. • Write a blog post
What 3-5 areas or
• Write for Information
topics related to your Outlook
work (or professional • Give a f2f presentation
experience) could you • Give a webinar
teach others about?
• Lead a discussion
• Mentor a colleague
• Talk to students
• Get better known
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24. QUESTIONS?
All photos used are from Jill Hurst-Wahl and carry a
Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).