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Nothing says “Friday afternoon in July” like an email from SLA about the Revised Recommendations and the proposed Roadmap for the Future of SLA. (You’ll need to login to access the documents.)
So I read them and I’m still not really happy or comfortable with the recommendations. The revisions make them more coherent and easier to understand, but I’m still not agreement with the tenor or direction entirely. I understand the association’s in a tough place, and I agree that we need to move quick and show value to members to survive. I still feel like the Recommendations skew corporate and focus on the value SLA can provide for members in service. The Recommended Strategy in 3.2 is a good example of the language that makes me uneasy: “A viable niche for SLA in the marketplace of associations for information professionals is created by defining SLA as being the place for individuals who care about their professionalism.” First, the overuse of professional does seem like an acrobatic stunt to avoid saying “librarian” which really only shows up in the section comparing SLA to other associations, which in turn sounds like buzzwords. Second, and more importantly, what does focusing on “professionalism” actually mean? Is it about my ability to be a nimble information professional in a changing landscape? Is it about my ability to operate in an antiseptic corporate world? I don’t know but it gives me the visions of people in business suits. Am I not an information professional when I’m wearing faded jeans and a t-shirt?
But that’s kind of nit picking. Really, the main concerns I had are still there. I don’t agree with the language to “adopt a competency based board” (7.1.e) because it implied the Nominating Committee doesn’t currently do that, which is insulting. I also have reservations about giving weight to self-nominations, but that’s because I fear we’ll be an association of thought leaders. I also don’t like the parts about “business partners” because the relationship still seems one sided. My reservations about the conference planning also remain and educational offerings, but some of that has to do with do with the mechanics given resource constraints.
So basically go read my other blog posts for that.
The Roadmap however is a much more interesting read and somewhat more reassuring. I like that it proposes assessment of what we have to see where the gaps are. Do we have the resources to get there (right now? probably not), do we have the skills? If not, what steps need to be taken. Let’s have contingency plans. That’s realistic.
So I guess overall, I still have major concerns but the roadmap gives me an idea of how it’s going to play out. I still do not want SLA to be an organization focused on passive learning. I am a member for the community and I want that community to thrive and interact and learn from one another. I still worry the emphasis on formal offerings and programs from HQ might be stifling and not what I need, but I sort of hope that it might support the rest of SLA to do cool things together.
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