By Elizabeth Lieutenant, MSL(I)S Candidate
As a current library school student, my history with SLA is relatively short. Prior to the start of my first semester at The Catholic University of America (CUA), I attended my first CUA/SLA planning meeting in August 2013. Being a new student, I was interested in learning more about what CUA/SLA had to offer. While I had no intention of assuming a formal leadership position at the start of that meeting, I agreed to serve as Secretary thanks to the encouragement of CUA/SLA’s leadership team. Unbeknownst to me, my attendance at that meeting would set me on a path to discovery, connections, and opportunities at the student chapter, chapter, division, and association levels.
SLA has helped me rediscover my natural leadership abilities. Coinciding with my term as CUA/SLA Secretary, I was a writer for the Social Science Division’s “What I’m Learning in Library School” blog series. As the only writer who was in their first semester of library school, I was grateful for the guidance and mentorship provided by my fellow bloggers, our blog series coordinator, and the Division’s Social Chair. In an effort to pay this mentorship forward, I have actively encouraged new students to embrace connecting with other SLA members online.
As CUA/SLA Secretary, I enhanced my experience in program and event planning, communications, and team-building. While each of our officers have official titles – President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer – our team-based, collaborative leadership styles ensured that everyone contributed to our events and initiatives. As but one example, I organized a tour of the Pentagon Library with a librarian whom I had met at a DC/SLA Open House after a fellow officer expressed interest in visiting a military library. Our leadership team’s collaboration was essential in organizing a number of well-received programs, for which we were graciously recognized with a Certificate of Merit from SLA’s Student and Academic Affair Advisory Council.
In fulfilling my CUA/SLA Secretary responsibilities, I recorded our meeting minutes and assisted with meeting organization and facilitation, student leadership recruitment, and communication with the CUA student body. This was invaluable preparation for my responsibilities as a Graduate Assistant, which included co-reestablishing the LIS Advisory Board with the CUA LIS Department Chair (currently on leave). The Board was inactive for more than 2 years, and I capitalized on the opportunity to diversify the Board’s membership by recommending a DC/SLA leader, who graciously agreed to serve on the Board. In preparing the Board’s meeting agendas, recording its minutes, and facilitating member feedback and input between meetings, I was able to apply the skills I had enhance through SLA/CUA to fulfilling my professional responsibilities.
This symbiotic connection between DC/SLA and the CUA students is one of the CUA LIS Department’s greatest strengths. DC/SLA is a welcoming community that actively encourages CUA students to engage in the life of the association. I had the privilege of attending the SLA 2014 Annual Conference and Military Libraries Workshop 2013 thanks to the generosity of DC/SLA and the Military Libraries Division, respectively. As a current student, I could not have afforded to attend the Conference or Workshop without financial support. I believe strongly in the need for LIS professionals at all levels – managers, practitioners, students, and support staff – to receive professional development support and have actively sought to extend this type of support to my fellow CUA students. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of our students, staff, and administration, students are now eligible for conference funding from CUA’s LIS Department and student organizations. I hope they will take advantage of this financial support, along with applying for DC/SLA’s Annual Conference Stipend Award, to attend the SLA 2016 Annual Conference in Philadelphia.
While I’ve been fortunate to have so many opportunities extended to me by the SLA community, I know that this will is only the beginning of my engagement in SLA. The path of CUA/SLA’s faculty advisor serves as an exemplar of the continued professional development and leadership opportunities SLA provides its members. After more than 25 years of involvement in SLA, he has agreed to serve as Chair of the Professional Competencies Task Force, which has, in the words of one of SLA’s Presidential Candidates, “struggled for a few years.” I will personally be paying close attention to how the Task Force’s community-driven approach will be used when the CUA LIS Department revises the School of Library and Information Science Professional Competencies Statement, which was adopted in 2008 and scheduled to be revised in 2011.
At this point, I’m unsure what opportunities I’ll pursue in SLA. I’ve been observing, albeit from a distance, how the association is addressing its various challenges and capitalizing on opportunities to improve. As a new SLA member, I lack the institutional knowledge many other members bring to these conversations and initiatives. In many ways, my situation as a new SLA member mirrors the experiences of many library school students. We are entering an environment that is simultaneously facing employment and funding challenges and abundant opportunities to advance the future of the information professions. While I do not know what the future of SLA will hold, I am confident that the support I’ve received from SLA and its membership has played an invaluable role in my professional preparation.
[Photo credit: “Compass Study” by Calsidyrose used under CC BY]
[You can read other chapter member Reflections here]