Hello from Wisconsin! We are delighted to contribute a week’s worth of postings from the Midwest! You’ll see that Wisconsin isn’t just about the cheese—our chapter boasts 120 members from diverse environments: corporate, law, academic, and other settings, many of us from unique national companies and associations. Our state’s two library schools have renewed focus on special librarianship and growing interest from our student members is evident. We are an active, enthusiastic chapter and happy to contribute our thoughts on future readiness! It’s great in the Dairy State!

When I decided to participate in the SLA Future Ready 365 blog, choosing a topic was a challenge. My background is diverse, but I am new to the field of library and information science, recently receiving an MLIS and am a job seeker. I wondered what I could offer SLA’s experienced, educated and varied readership. There are many things that are exciting about the field of special libraries including sharing information and revelations about personal and professional development. “Write what you know” said Mark Twain (and others); so, I reflected on the past few years.

The knowledge that not everything can be learned in the classroom is apparent – now, even more so than when I received my undergraduate degree (many years ago!); academic study does not fully prepare us for the real world of work, fulfillment and success. It is even clearer to me that the responsibility is on the individual to expand his/her knowledge base in creative ways. Some take part in fieldwork and internships, some do volunteer work, some blog, and some create entrepreneurial businesses. Social media offers many ways to connect with people of like minds, and networking is even more crucial today. One significant opportunity, however, is often forgotten or set aside for a later date: membership in a professional organization.

Organizations, especially SLA-Special Libraries Association, have diverse memberships with rich backgrounds and wide-ranging responsibilities, interests and personalities. Becoming a member is (and should be) more than paying a dues statement. Taking advantage of all an association has to offer takes work, but reaps huge rewards. Students and professionals alike should be reminded of the huge number of programs and the assistance that associations offer. Here are a few of the benefits of an association membership – especially our own SLA.

• Learn: Industry knowledge is enhanced by understanding competencies, ethics, trends, and salary and other surveys. Understand what your association stands for and offers its members.
• Research: Associations offer wide and deep industry materials, LIS developments, resources, and scholarships and internships information via websites, blogs, newsletters and job postings. Access, read and use them.
• Network: Connect with library professionals, peers, students, faculty, industry experts, friends and potential employers. It is critical for success.
• Participate: Be active in SLA. Join divisions in your field of study and others groups that interest you, local chapter leadership teams, national committees and discussion boards. You truly get back a lot when you give of your time and knowledge.
• Share: Get involved in mentoring programs, LinkedIn Groups and Discussions. Meet with those outside your career field to advocate for special librarians. Spread the good news about who we are and what we can do.
• Grow: Develop new skills, expand your knowledge, gain confidence and have fun at local, state and national chapter meetings, seminars, webinars, conferences and committees. Professional and personal development is a life-long learning process.

Through my membership in professional associations, I have been involved in many worthwhile and enjoyable activities. I attended the SLA national conference in Philadelphia – a wonderful experience! I also gave a presentation to a faculty-student group on my international and independent study experiences; organized a educational seminar co-sponsored by an association and my library school; developed programs for a women’s networking group; attended numerous sessions at a state library conference; joined a mentoring program in SLA’s CID (Competitive Intelligence Division); and am a member of a steering committee in a field that interests me. I also continue to participate in many university alumni and other networking groups, contribute to several LinkedIn Groups, consult for a real estate board of directors, and volunteer at my local library and in a childhood development program. Have I done all that I could to become an active association member? No, not yet… that is an ongoing process and a goal to keep in my sights. The benefits of being involved in an association are endless. Get (more) involved in SLA today. Enjoy your membership!

Marilynn Manross received her MLIS from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Information Studies in August 2011. A non-traditional student, her graduate school experience included a study abroad in Paris, an independent study “Corporate Librarianship in France” and three scholarships (one to attend SLA 2011 in Philadelphia). With administrative and financial experience in diverse industries — research, operations, office management and investment portfolio administration — she is currently exploring opportunities in a corporate research department, library or information center. Her next job may be located in her native Milwaukee or as far away as New Mexico, Virginia, Canada or Europe. Marilynn highly values her memberships in SLA, ALA, WLA-Wisconsin Libraries Association, SCIP-Strategic & Competitive Intelligence Professionals, Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity and Alliance Française de Milwaukee.

Howdy from the beautiful Rocky Mountains! The Rocky Mountain chapter of SLA is thrilled to contribute this week’s FutureReady365 posts. We are a small, diverse community of 150+ members spread across a four-state region (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota). We have a medley of posts from public school, government, higher education and independent professionals that we hope will prompt conversations, comments and thoughts on being future ready. Happy reading!

I work in a nursing school. My primary users are faculty and students. One of the main obstacles in nursing is lack of time. As an information specialist I am Future Ready because I can save my users time.  All librarians are future ready because that is one of the main things we do, save our users time. Everybody wants to save time in this busy high technology world.

Many of the faculty and administration are looking for specific information that can only be found in the library databases. Since I am considered an expert searcher and search more than the faculty and administration, I can find articles quicker than they can.

When questions arise if I cannot find the answers quickly and easily I can email my colleagues on the library listservs. There are always experts in the field with various opinions that help answer my questions.

The information that I receive from local and national library associations keeps me aware of trends and issues. Therefore, I am being proactive versus reactive. This saves my college time.

With the time that I save my faculty this is saving the college money overall. The faculty is not taking their time by searching and can use their time on other things that can be addressed at the college.

I am keeping college retention of students by assisting them in the library with APA citations and technical assistance for computer issues. This helps ease their anxiety and creates a less stressful environment.

Overall, I feel that I save my faculty and students’ time and I am a real asset to the College.

Laura Cullerton, Information Specialist, holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Denver. She is a member of Medical Library Association (Nursing and Allied Health Resource Section), Colorado Council of Medical Librarians, Special Library Association, Rocky Mountain Special Library Association and Colorado Association of Libraries. Her particular interest in librarianship is in Evidence Based Practice and Business Research.

by Dr. Sandra Hirsh, Silicon Valley Chapter, Leadership & Management Division

Tomorrow’s information professionals, who are in graduate school today, need to be ready for the rapid changes facing our profession. When they complete their degrees, will they be prepared to enter a profession that’s evolving so quickly? I encourage students (and those who mentor them) to start thinking creatively and flexibly about future career opportunities as early as possible in their graduate program.

Today’s MLIS students need to think broadly about their skillset and how they can apply their knowledge to a wide range of career pathways. LIS professionals have valuable and unique skills that are in growing demand, yet many of today’s students don’t recognize the value of an MLIS degree. During their MLIS program, students should take the time to network with faculty members, practitioners, and industry leaders, who can inspire them to think more broadly about the range of career opportunities for tomorrow’s LIS professionals.

Students need to be strategic as they choose their courses, thinking about how the knowledge they gain in graduate school can help them pursue tomorrow’s jobs. They should take advantage of their program’s academic advising and career development tools, and read blogs about emerging trends for LIS jobs. As our field is quite broad, before selecting courses, students need to understand the relevance of specific electives to potential career pathways they may want to pursue. Students should also complete an internship, where they can make connections with practitioners, gain real-world experience, and see how their skills can be applied in a variety of professional settings.

I also think it’s critical for today’s MLIS students to be comfortable exploring and adapting to new technology, as technology will continue to play an important role in our profession. Students should seek out opportunities to use technology in their learning activities. For example, students should be comfortable using web conferencing, blogs, wikis, and social networking sites. They should make it a priority to explore how technology is impacting our profession so they emerge from graduate school ready to share their ideas with their employers.

Today’s MLIS students also need to develop a lifelong learning community, made up of a diverse group of colleagues, who are eager to collaborate and explore solutions to changing priorities. While still in school, students should take time to build their professional network. One way this can be accomplished is through participation in professional associations, including student chapters based at their university.

In the past, attending professional conferences has posed challenges because of difficulties getting time off work and affording travel expenses. However, many professional conferences are now offered virtually, opening up new opportunities to get involved in conference planning, presentations, and networking. For example, the upcoming Library 2.011 worldwide virtual conference in November will bring together a global audience to explore how the digital age is impacting the roles libraries and librarians play in how we learn and consume information. These types of conferences provide excellent venues for students to get involved in the professional community and learn about new trends in our field.

It’s an exciting time to be preparing tomorrow’s information professionals. I look forward to feedback from any of you who would like to engage in further dialogue about how MLIS programs can help today’s students be future ready.

Sandra Hirsh is Professor and Director of the School of Library and Information Science at San José State University. Prior to joining the School as Director, she worked in the Silicon Valley for more than a decade at major technology companies: Hewlett Packard and Microsoft. As an industry user experience researcher, leader, and manager, she contributed to R&D research projects and influenced the user experience of web, mobile, and TV consumer products resulting in 5 U.S. patents. She was previously an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, and has taught courses for San José State University and the University of Washington.

Hello from the nation’s capital!  DC/SLA is excited to be contributing all of this week’s FutureReady365 posts (thanks to our future-thinking Communications Secretary, Chris Vestal).  We are a diverse community of 800+ information professionals, with members from D.C., Maryland, Virginia, as well as 30 other U.S. states and 12 countries.  You’ll see this diversity reflected in the range of future ready ideas presented in posts throughout the week.  We hope our posts will spark some thought and conversation and, of course, your comments. Most of all, we want to help keep the spark of the FutureReady blog alive  – a spark that’s become a fire, gathering us around it to brainstorm our way into the future. — Mary Talley, DC/SLA President (2011)

by Kristin Whitman

I am solo librarian at a company that performs scientific and technical literature searching for customers with intellectual property research needs. The most important aspect of staying future ready in my role is to anticipate how digitally accessible content, and product platform offerings from vendors, will improve in upcoming product releases – not just next month, but next year and beyond.

Unlike many librarians tasked with electronic collection development, my goal is not only provide access to the *best* sources of information on a certain topic, but also to the most *comprehensive* coverage of that topic. In addition, my users need product interfaces and content indexing that can support deep dives into this material. Because of these many requirements, I can never be satisfied with a subscription product that simply offers baseline coverage. I must constantly investigate the field of available products, and keep my eyes on the horizon for news of exciting new offerings that vendors may be plotting for next year’s release.

Accomplishing my collection development goals means developing positive relationships with vendor representatives, and speaking to them often. Maintaining an active role in relevant professional societies provides many opportunities to develop these relationships, which I value (personally as well as professionally – many of them are wonderful people!). I am always open to new vendor contacts: active participation at conferences increases my visibility helps make me a target for cold calls and check-in e-mails alike, which I welcome. And I almost always accept the opportunity to view a product demonstration. For me, conference exhibit halls aren’t just a place to drop my raffle tickets – basically, if you’re demoing a product, I’ll stand in line to see it regardless of the free swag incentive (but I’ll be happy to take your branded stress balls and sticky notes as well, thank you!).

In addition, monitoring industry news publications, both print and digital is an absolute must. I regularly check my RSS feeds for news across the field, and if I don’t take a peek at the frequent e-mail news blasts I receive from vendors, I’m doing my patrons a disservice. I never know when someone will come to me with a request for an unusual source or an unusual search function.  I strive to be one step ahead of these requests, and am always pleased to hear news that vendors are keeping one step ahead as well!

Kristin Whitman is a reference librarian at Landon IP, a leading intellectual property research company. She was one of the founding members of Intellogist (www.Intellogist.com), a publication which reviews search products, and is a contributor to the Intellogist Blog at http://intellogist.wordpress.com.

by Robert Hulshof-Schmidt, Oregon Chapter, Government Information Division

The old adage says “it’s not what you know but who you know.”  For 21stCentury professionals, I would amend that to acknowledge that what you know and who you know are inextricably linked. This is especially true for information professionals.

In an age of rapidly increasing sources of information and reduced resources for most libraries, noone can afford to go it alone. Fortunately, librarians are, by and large, a collaborative bunch. We use interlibrary loan to supplement our local collections; we rely on cooperative licensing to drive down the costs of information tools. A future ready information professional needs to remember to apply these same principles more broadly to succeed.

This is especially true for solo librarians or people who work in small libraries where they are the only person performing a specific task. Even the best, most well-trained person can benefit from other insights. So where do you turn?

This is where your professional associations are a great resource. The members of SLA and your state association are your peer support network.

Take advantage of discussion lists, blogs, and forums to post your tricky questions. Someone else has almost certainly faced the same issue; even if they can’t give you *the* answer, they can give you great advice on where to turn. (Or, perhaps even more helpful, where *not* to turn!)

In the crush of staying on top of every day’s deadlines, it is easy to hunker down and just try to get things done. It’s also easy to say “I know my mission and business, I can handle this.” When facing a new challenge, an unexpected assignment, or a tough question, stop for a minute. Take a deep breath. Think about who else might be able to help you.

I recently took on the task of redesigning my team’s performance measures. I know a fair amount about statistics, but I wanted to get a sense of what other people measured and why. Numbers should tell a story, and I wanted to be sure that my story was compelling. I reached out to my Oregon Library Association colleagues and to other state managers from a training cohort. I received dozens of great examples, not just of what data to present, but how to frame it for my audience (in this case, the Oregon Legislature). I also got some great ideas for getting an MBA intern to help with the project, including a sample workplan. By asking one question twice, I had a much clearer path and built a much stronger set of measures than I could have done alone.

Oregon’s library workers have access to a good, old-fashioned email distribution list called Libs-Or. The topics that flow through that list every week are fascinating and the answers that people take the time to provide are insightful, often ingenious, and frequently entertaining. A recent question had to do with libraries maintaining traditional reference desks (and what to call them), a topic that has also been featured on this blog. A constant refrain is “thanks for asking, this helps me, too!”

Networking for your own benefit will almost always benefit your colleagues.

It’s great if you can attend a conference or training, spend some networking time, and learn all kinds of things to take home with you. But there’s nothing like just-in-time collaboration to feel the love of your profession.

The future is all about connections, and being future ready means being ready – and willing – to collaborate.

Robert Hulshof-Schmidt is the Program Manager for Government Research Services at the Oregon State Library, a position he has held since 2005.
Robert is currently the President of the Oregon Library Association and Past President of the Public Management Association of Oregon. A long-time SLA member, he has held leadership roles in the Georgia Chapter and the Gay and Lesbian Issues Caucus. He received his undergraduate degree in English from Willamette University and his Master of Library Science degree from the University of Washington. Robert has worked for a variety of government and research libraries and non-profit organizations ranging from solo library shops to managing member relations for SOLINET (now Lyrasis), all experiences that proved the value of collaboration.

Originally published in 2010′s “Best Practices in Government Libraries”)

by Chris Vestal, Washington, DC Chapter, Government Information, Leadership & Management Divisions

It all started with dinner. I was at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Issues Caucus’s (GLBTIC) annual dinner at the SLA Annual Conference in Denver 2007. I was about nine months into my MLIS program and this was the first conference I’d ever attended–but I’m getting a little ahead of myself. 

I was one of the students enrolled in Drexel University’s iSchool’s totally online program. One of the things that Drexel stressed was that being involved in a professional association was vital to staying on top of trends in the profession, furthering your professional development, and building a support network of colleagues so you could be in a strong position for an uncertain future. We were actually required to pick three different associations to research and then compare and contrast and see which ones could be the best fit for our interests. Most of the students that I talked to agreed that they could benefit from being a part of a professional association. 

What set me apart from most of my classmates though was that I had no library experience. I’d never even shelved a book in my life and because I also worked full-time in an unrelated field I didn’t have the time to take a part-time job or internship that would give me that experience. So to me getting involved in a professional association seemed like the only way to get some real world knowledge about the profession. I knew I was interested in working in a special library so SLA seemed like the right fit. I decided that year I’d attend the SLA conference. 

Like I said we’d already discussed the value of professional associations in one of my classes. Several instructors emphasized the impact that networking opportunities could have on our careers. But what we hadn’t talked about is what a shy person does at a conference where they don’t know anyone. All the faces were unfamiliar and the idea of randomly introducing myself to strangers was unthinkable–until I attended one session called “Networking for Wallflowers” and saw how many people felt the same way I did. After the workshop I did attempt to meet more people but it still felt awkward. 

That changed though when I walked into GLBTIC’s annual business meeting. Here were professionals I felt totally comfortable around. I took advantage of the brief networking opportunities there and promised myself I’d attend the no host dinner later that evening. At the dinner I met more people and told them about my limited experience and asked what I should to position myself for job hunting when I finished library school. The answers varied but all contained one near universal nugget of wisdom–get involved in SLA. 

A year went by where aside from reading Information Outlook I didn’t have time to be active in SLA. But I still had vacation time so I made a point of attending the SLA conference in Seattle. I found that conference was a much easier experience for me in terms of networking. Now thanks to the GLBTIC dinner and other events I recognized several faces and was much less hesitant to introduce myself to new people. I was closer to graduating at that point and was avidly seeking out job leads. At one dinner someone told me that the most valuable thing I could do would be to get involved with my local SLA chapter. 

I took this advice to heart and started attending as many networking and professional development events as possible. I subscribed to the chapter listserve and read each message that came across. 

An announcement about DC/SLA Young Professional’s and Student’s Happy Hour came across the listserv and I thought it’d be a fun event to attend. One of the attendees there told me about the company she worked for and I remember thinking it sounded like a really interesting job. A few weeks later I saw an announcement over the listserv about a federal government career fair for librarians at the Library of Congress. I went to the career fair and ran into a recruiter for the company I’d heard about at the happy hour earlier. Within days of chatting with the recruiter I’d been hired in my first library related position. 

But that was really just the beginning of my involvement with DC/SLA. A few months later the DC/SLA President contacted me saying she remembered meeting me at function and wanted to know if I was interested in being the chapter Dine Around (networking dinners for members and friends at local area restaurants) Coordinator. I agreed and went to work recruiting volunteers to host the dinners and then marketing them to the chapter. 

I was surprised by the enthusiastic response we received from the chapter. We had 22 Dine Arounds over the course of 2009. I met so many people I might not have otherwise. I got to know people who became friends, people who challenged me, people on the verge of retiring, and people just starting off in their careers–like me. There’s no question that I learned a great deal in library school but I learned so much more about the profession, the association, and about myself by having dinner with all those different people. It turned out that even people I never met at a Dine Around would “meet” me; they’d recognize my name from the promotional emails I sent to the listserv and then approach me at other events. 

One Dine Around attendee told me about the DC/SLA New Members Reception and I decided to attend. There I heard Current SLA President Gloria Zamora and President-Elect Anne Caputo talk about the Alignment Project and what it meant for the profession. Recalling their presentation I signed up to be an Alignment Ambassador later that year. 

As an Alignment Ambassador I responded to member concerns via Twitter, the listserv, Facebook, and at a Town Hall Meeting. While I was doing this I realized something about myself–that I really enjoy public speaking and writing. But maybe even more importantly is that other people noticed me and I was approached to take over the chapter’s newsletter, Chapter Notes. Working on Chapter Notes in many ways has been like an extension of the Dine Arounds–I get to meet many people with different views, experiences, and skills and learn from them all while doing something I enjoy. 

So my point is I can’t possible overstate how important being active in a professional association is to being future ready. You get all the benefits you’d expect like networking and professional development opportunities, but chances are you’ll benefit in countless other ways too. Subscribing to an association listserv provides you with opportunities to get support directly from your peers (especially important for solo librarians) and invaluable information about what’s going on either in your field or location. By taking on different roles in the association there’s a good chance you’ll learn something about yourself–what you enjoy and what you’re strengths are. You can develop skills (like event planning) you might not get to utilize in your paid job which translates into increased marketability when job hunting. The people you get to know can help you grow in ways you’d never expect–like approaching you for opportunities you didn’t even think to look for. Talking with experienced people in the field can prepare you for issues in your work life and keep you from having to reinvent the wheel. For me, informal stories from Dine Around attendees helped me when I transitioned into my first position supervising other professionals. But perhaps most importantly being involved in an association gives others a chance to get to know you and see how you shine. And it can all start with something as simple as having dinner.

Chris Vestal is a Supervisory Patent Researcher with ASRC Management Services on its contract at the US Patent and Trademark Office. Chris is also DC/SLA’s 2011 Communication Secretary.