A "Tumultuous" Year Reaches Some Resolution

Despite a big-name keynote speaker (management guru Peter Drucker), a host of outstanding program offerings, and unanswered questions about management and governance, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference in Los Angeles, June 8–13, drew a disappointing 4600 people, nearly 1000 of whom were exhibit personnel. The total attendance was 5,217 in San Antonio in 2001, a time when the economic downturn was beginning to impact the corporate sector of SLA membership. Attendance in Philadelphia in 2000 was 7,391.

There were several major issues on the SLA agenda. A total bylaws replacement has been under discussion for a prolonged period and was due for a vote. The Branding Task Force broached preliminary recommendations at an open meeting. Association finances and declining membership were also of concern. The process to select a new SLA executive director—to replace Roberta Shaffer, who resigned in February after only five months in office—is in motion, although apparently on a slow track.

At the Winter Meeting in January, replacement bylaws presented to the limited membership in attendance met with strong and vocal resistance. A stunned SLA board withdrew its proposals and launched a campaign to inform members about the intent of the changes and to gain feedback. The significantly revised bylaws presented in Los Angeles excised an unpopular provision that would have empowered the board to select the president, president-elect, and treasurer from among its own ranks.

Despite the importance of the bylaws—perhaps the most significant issue to be put before members in a decade—attendance at the Annual Business Meeting was sparse. The several hundred people who gathered to hear closing session speaker Doris Kearns Goodwin immediately preceding the meeting exited en masse.

The handful of stalwarts remaining eventually approved the bylaws, with several amendments, during a protracted session. An attempt to set the official quorum for business meetings at 300 members was defeated. Critics noted that there were not 300 people left in the room at the time. Therefore, the quorum was set at 100 members, with a simple majority, or 51 votes, required to transact business of the association. The bylaws will be mailed to the full membership for a vote in late August.

Membership categories and the functions of chapters, divisions, and caucuses were among the segments removed from the bylaws and placed in a "policy" document approved by the board in Los Angeles. The contents of that document can be changed by decision of the board, without approval from the full SLA membership.

A virtual member category was added in an effort to appeal to those who want access to SLA publications but do not wish to affiliate with a chapter or division. This is limited to people outside the United States and Canada, SLA's major base of support. Debate of this concept on various SLA discussion lists suggests that colleagues in developing countries, the major target audience, are most interested in joining the discussion lists of subject divisions, a benefit that would be denied to them.

Prior to the bylaws discussion, outgoing president Hope Tillman gave her report of a "tumultuous" year, citing the events of September 11, the economy, the drop in members and finances, and the unprecedented resignations of three board members. The changes that SLA is attempting will build from the best of the past, she said, with a recognition of "the importance of hearing from members."

Tillman noted the departure of Executive Director David Bender after a 22-year tenure and Shaffer's short stint as contributing to the tumult but did not shed light on the reasons behind Shaffer's departure. Members speculated whether the fault was Shaffer's unrealistic expectations, board interference, a lack of communication between the board and the chief executive, or a combination of these and more. They stressed that the board should take extraordinary care in the next search process.

At the close of the business meeting, newly installed president Bill Fisher (SLIS, San Jose State Univ., CA) announced that the search committee for a new executive director is in place and the board is mapping search strategy and a timetable and shaping the position description. The new leader should be in place by next spring.

Financially, SLA suffered a $519,000 net operating loss, said Treasurer Richard Geiger, due in part to "overzealous membership goals, the cancellation of post–September 11 courses, stock market fluctuations, and other challenges." Membership stood at 11,799 in May, a six percent drop in a year.

The Branding Task Force, which has been at work for two years and has migrated to its second consulting firm, held an open forum to update the membership and to solicit opinions—though no specific action plan or time line has been announced.

The process stems from concern that the name Special Libraries Association does not reflect the mission, vision, or membership of the association; does not represent the diversity of membership; and does not facilitate increasing membership. Communicating the value of SLA members to their organizations, the international nature of SLA, and the future of technology and innovation are additional goals.

Two suggested names, presented at the open forum along with tag lines and a variety of potential logos, were:

• International Association of Information Professionals: Linking Information to Innovation
• SLA: Connecting Information Professionals Worldwide

During the branding discussion and in a recent poll of SLA members there was significant support for retaining the word librarian. However, most dislike the term special. Incorporating the words specialized and librarians into the traditional name has been suggested as the least drastic revision. Alternatively, the acronym "SLA," with a tag line that can be altered with changing times, might be used.

Members encouraged the task force to avoid business buzzwords (economy, professionals, markets, innovation, knowledge) in favor of words like service and ethics. Librarianship connotes service, quality, neutrality, and expertise, while innovation, for example, was seen as too trendy.

Another participant hated the tag line "connecting information to innovation" but (to applause) supported wording that "demonstrates that we connect information to people." Others suggested retaining the traditional SLA tag line "Putting Knowledge to Work." The bold statement "Get rid of the name SLA" was also applauded. Another participant warned that the name is just a symptom of problems faced by SLA, given that other associations with library in their names are increasing membership.

The conference featured three "keynote" speakers, a luxury that reportedly cost more than $150,000 in fees. Mary Boone, billed as a consultant on strategic technology applications, spoke at the Leadership Day on interactive communications. Too often, Boone warned, leaders act as "idea killers," as if they have all the answers. "It's all about listening," she said. The SLA board learned those lessons the hard way beginning with the Winter Meeting in January.

Goodwin's presentation was met with diametrically opposing views. Those who have heard her before found her speech/storytelling to be "canned" and old. Others said she was enlightening and inspirational. Some picked up on her discussion of how the mobilization for World War II compared with the "mobilization" for the current war on terrorism.

Many in the audience were disappointed that she did not comment on the recent charges of plagiarism that were leveled against her regarding her books The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga and Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir. In a preconference interview in Information Outlook, SLA's magazine, Goodwin admitted to being at fault for poor research techniques. She declined to label it as plagiarism.

Drucker focused on the conference theme and SLA slogan "Putting Knowledge to Work." I don't know how we can put knowledge to work, he said. "First you have to get knowledge, and that's your job." He described librarians as "competitive tools" for their organizations, since "equipment can only answer questions you've already asked."

The term chief information officer is a misnomer, he added. "He is really the chief data officer.… [CIOs] learned how to get information from you without giving you credit. Increasingly, you are the information officers." For some companies, he said, the best source of "early warnings" on what competitors are doing or where an industry is headed is to check on inquiries received by their libraries.

Drucker said the major impact of information technology over the past 30 years is that now every institution—not just businesses—must be globally competitive. While the first large multinational firms were held together by management, now such firms are held together by strategy. Alliances, joint ventures, and outsourcing are the relationships that determine the new order. "I see the library—once all print and now many formats—as the center of where to get information about all these relationships," he said.

The 2003 annual conference will be held in New York, traditionally an attractive draw. Three keynote speakers have been invited: author David McCullough, technology futurist Stewart Brand, and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright. The impact of the economy and world events on membership in the association and attendance at SLA meetings is yet to be determined. Still, if all continues smoothly, a new executive director will be in place, the bylaws question will have been settled, the elected leadership will have continued communication with membership, and the branding initiative should be presented to members.