I am not going to discuss the proposed new name for SLA. Okay, I hope most of you are still with me! 8-) I am going to talk about the critical concept of alignment.

Way back in the last century, for the SLA 1998 annual conference in Indianapolis, my coauthors of the 4th edition of Special Libraries: A Guide for Management  and I devised the “Special Librarian’s Alphabet for the 21st Century.”  “S” was “Show value or die”!  I think that is what alignment is all about, demonstrating (first by doing, then by discussing) our value to the organizations we serve as information professionals.

The most important point at the core of the SLA Alignment Project, to me, is (quoting from the “Positioning Info Pros for the Future” slide set on the wiki):

“Information professionals must align their value and contributions with the strategic goals of their organizations.”

This is not a new concept, but the astronomical growth of Internet-based information and communication technologies, coupled with the current economic slump, have brought the meaning home more clearly to more information professionals, which I see as a silver lining.

Gone are the days (did they ever REALLY exist, or is this some halcyon false memory?!) when a library was considered a given.  In my experience, public librarians and academic librarians have been more accustomed to having their libraries considered a de facto necessity than special librarians ever were.  Some of this attitude still lingers -- in my past 5 years back in academe, I have occasionally encountered some shock and disbelief from colleagues when they are asked to explain their contributions to the University.  My response is that we should welcome rather than fear this opportunity to demonstrate our value!

I think that is what SLA leadership and the researchers of the alignment project are driving at in part – reminding us of the joy in proving our worth.  If we are good at our jobs of hooking people up with the information resources they need, and helping them create knowledge, it is straightforward to prove our worth.

I believe I was hired by the University of Southern California (USC) in part because of what I call my “SLA sensibility” (agility, willingness to change, responsiveness to the parent organization) and have been successful at least to some degree in imparting that value-based sensibility to colleagues, which helped in the lengthy process of updating our “criteria document” for librarians.  This document directs us towards excellence in our profession:

“Librarians achieve excellence by having a significant impact on the development and/or implementation of high quality collections and/or services.  In this manner they enhance the scholarly endeavors of USC faculty, students and/or staff. . . .Ultimately, it is up to each librarian to demonstrate the impact and significance of his/her accomplishments in contributing to the fulfillment of USC’s mission.”

This is not threatening, simply clear -- the demonstration of our “impact” which can be considered synonymous with “value” in this context.

Lori Goetsch, President of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) recently wrote about “impact” in her October President’s Column “What is our value and who values us?” (Available to members at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/crlnews/2009/oct/presfocus.cfm ) I believe Goetsch very succinctly states our purpose, and it warrants being said – we do not exist for ourselves:

“Our service ethic and professional expertise are central to answering the question, What is our value and who values us? It may be stating the obvious, but libraries and librarians do not exist for themselves. Our primary goal is to support the institution’s mission. ….each of us can make a meaningful impact by helping individuals and the institution achieve their goals. I encourage each of you to consider how you add value as you move through your work day.”

It turns out that ACRL is examining the value proposition as well!  Goetsch reports that:

“[The] ACRL Board of Directors approved funding for an in-depth, comprehensive, and systematic review and analysis of the current state of research on library value and return on investment. The results of this review, expected in spring 2010, will identify research and data gaps and help the board determine tools to be developed, as well as other research that needs to be conducted.”

I am eager to see the ACRL results, and compare and contrast them with SLA’s.  There should be many similarities.

To continue to provide strategic value to our organizations, we must stay up-to-speed with key information skills and trends as well as with trends in our parent organizations, nations, and planet.  Thus competencies to me are the individual core of value, and I have been writing and teaching about them for years, especially my favorite one of the current SLA competencies, A1:”

“[The Information Professional] aligns the information organization with, and is supportive of, the strategic directions of the parent organization or of key client groups through partnerships with key stakeholders and suppliers.”
 
Well, I could write a whole ‘nother, lengthy post about competencies, maybe another time.  For now I will close by saying:

Now, more than ever, is the time to align!

Sara Tompson

• SLA member since 1990
• Currently Professional Development Chair for the Southern California Chapter
• Chair, Engineering Division (2003-2004)
• Secretary, Physics, Astronomy, Math Division (2005-2007)
• President, SLA-IL (1999-2000)