Final thoughts on SLA name change: Optimism & Hope

The last thing I expected to be doing with this rare day off was writing another piece on SLA's proposed name change. However, voting has now opened and much has happened in the weeks since I first voiced my opinions. Suffice it to say that time is of the essence AND my feelings have shifted. I am doing something I had not expected weeks ago. I am voting YES on the proposed name.

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Opposing the Name, But Supporting Alignment

October 26, 2009

For those of you who follow my iBraryGuy blog, these reflections will look familiar.  My original response to the proposed name was posted there.  I have since accepted the invitation to post an opponents perspective to the SLA Blog and have edited my original piece accordingly.

SLA, the venerable Special Libraries Association, is my favorite organization for librarians and information professionals.  I belong to others.  But I have not given them the years of dedication and active volunteerism that I have given SLA.  SLA helps to define who I am as a professional and a person.  Certainly, you can appreciate that I have taken a keen and outspoken interest in its proposed name change.  I have been participating in the Twitter discussion about this change for several days now.  Rather than Tweet myself silly, I thought I would set out my own reaction to and thoughts on this proposal.

First, let me sat that I really admire the Board for undertaking the Alignment initiative.  It is bold and forward-thinking. I am also sure it has been and will continue to be a great deal of hard work . . . more work than many of us are capable.  Kudos to such dedication and activism.  This is exactly what we need right now and for tomorrow. However, I have decided that I cannot support the proposed name . . . not after my experiences several years ago when we voted at the annual meeting.  I stood up at a mic and spoke in support of change.  We did not get it then and for months I heard from members who were upset that "librarian" was being removed from our name.  What I came to believe is that if that term is not winning with execs and others, it is because we have failed to reclaim it for ourselves.  The new SLA name should be inclusive, yes. But not at the disadvantage of those who have labored so hard to raise the status of this wonderful profession.  How do you tell the folks, whom you claim to be your core, that their title is too much of a drag on the association that they built to be retained?

My title has not been "librarian" in years.  But I did an interview for Information Outlook just a few years ago in which I said, "I am and will always be a librarian".  I meant it then and I mean it in earnest now. Changing the name for the sake of raising our stakes feels like window-dressing.  It seems like a bandage that masks a much bigger wound.  Changing the name will not change minds or understandings.  This is especially true when we use buzz words that sound so corporate and kitschy.  The discussion on Twitter has been telling.  Members do not know whether "strategic" describes "knowledge" or "professionals".  In fact, supporters and Board members have given conflicting answers!  Either way, the full name "Strategic Knowledge Professionals" simply sounds contrived to me and to many others with whom I have shared it. How long until we have to try to explain what that mouthful means or what we do?  How long until we again have to consider another name change because execs and others don't get it?  To those who say that others do not have to "buy it"...you only discredit your own process.  If that is so, then why change?  Execs and others do have to buy it if we want them to help cover our dues and convention costs. 

I have long believed that name change is necessary and inevitable.  However, I think a name with "librarian" in it somewhere shows far more courage and more promise than the purposeful dilution of who we are for the sake of image.  It shows that we are ready to take this profession into the future for what it is.  Have we ever stopped to consider that sometimes, reinvigoration is far more powerful than reinvention? Reinvention may be easier in tough times, but it costs more and wastes more resources in the long run.  Many of the newer titles have come and gone over the years (as have their organizations).  Yet the librarians are still here in title AND spirit.  The proposed name dampens that spirit.  It tosses out the baby with the bathwater and leaves us an empty tub.  Is this really what we want?  I will not be making the same mistake I did a few years ago.  I am ready for change . . . but not for change's sake (since some think we cannot afford to fail again) . . . but courageous, bold, and proud change.  That's what makes me a librarian.

I encourage everyone to speak up on this important issue, whether you support or oppose the proposed name.  Part of what makes SLA such a wonderful organization is that there is room for all of us and our opinions.  I also urge those voicing opinions to do so with civility and respect.  Remember, those with whom you disagree care as much for SLA as you do. If we cannot have rational and respectful dialog as peers and professionals, then we might as well not have an organization!  Name change or no, the Alignment must move forward.  We need the talents and voices of each and every member if we are going to succeed at raising the profile and prospects of our industry.  Mutual respect and calm discourse will ensure that.  Please, think before you post that blog, send that e-mail, or tweet.

Finally, to our Board and Staff . . .  we cannot function without your hard work and dedication.  But please remember that you too cannot function without the rank and file members.  The more transparency you bring to this process, the better the discussion will be. 

I plan to be here for my organization, regardless of how the vote on our name goes.  In the end, SLA is more than just its name.  It is the sum of its amazing members and the services they and their association offer. That's a sum beyond measure, my friends. Call it what you want, but in the end, a group like that is still the place for me.

Respectfully, John J. DiGilio, MLIS, JD

(Proud SLA Member & Librarian . . . The "iBraryGuy" )