Ha…now that I have your attention (398 views last month…Awesome!)
Many great leaders have noted, “…change generally does not happen without some struggle…”
Now that voting is underway and members have the right to make a decision on whether they are for or against the name change, I just hope we can all get along…LOL
But seriously, whether the name Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals is selected or not, we will still need to move forward with change. Reflecting on the next steps of the association and the changes to come, I really would like us to change the way we state our business. Here are some of the things I would like to see the association improve…
· Using the website, brochures, and other collateral do a better job of explaining what the association represents. For example, on the main page of the website provide a concise statement that says,
“The Association represents librarians and information professionals who work in large and small corporations, information centers, knowledge management services, professional online information services, consultants’ services, government Institutions, law firms, specialist agencies, organizations, departments, and much more.”
I am sorry but the statement, ” Through innovative learning, successful networking…” does not tell me anything about the members of the association.
· If SLA remains the name or not, provide a definition of “Special”. For example, accompanied with imagery we could say…
“The term "Special" refers to the specialized or specialist services that librarians and information professionals provide to the businesses, institutions, organizations they work for and help strategically improve decision making in an effort to generate or retain revenue through knowledge management and/or dissemination of information which may include information collecting, gathering, administrating, managing, referring, researching, analyzing, collaborating, marketing, web designing/developing, implementation, purchasing, and testing.”
· Concisely and with imagery, state who we serve. For example, we could say we serve…
o Members
o Businesses that employee librarians and information professionals
· Clearly state what we offer to our members:
o Knowledge Sharing
o Continued Education through course work, e.g. UClick
o Information Standards & Certifications regarding:
§ Collecting, gathering, administrating, managing, marketing, referring, researching, analyzing, collaborating, web designing/development, implementation, and/or testing.
o A conducive atmosphere for networking
o Job Referrals (Full time and Temporary Projects)
o Annual Salary Survey; Publications (i.e. Information Outlook, E-Newsletters)
· Finally, clearly state what we offer to businesses we serve:
o Venues for…
§ Lead generating
§ Advertising
§ Business and Product promotions
o Referral Services
o Employment Advertising