On behalf of SLA New York, we would like to share our response to the proposals outlined in the consultants’ report to SLA.
We support change! To quote John F. Kennedy “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” We understand the serious issues facing SLA and that the organization’s survival is at stake, and we believe that many of the recommendations in the consultants’ report are valuable.
However, we feel strongly that the Chapters and Divisions should function as a laboratory for programming and networking event innovation, as well as having clearly defined representation at the national level and the opportunity to pursue sponsorship at the local level. We present our recommendations in the spirit of sharing our views and promoting alternative suggestions.
The attached document reflects the views of many of us here in New York. We invite you all to read and respond, and we look forward to continuing this conversation at the conference in Boston.
Regards,
Marcy Winkler
SLA NY President
slanypres2015@gmail.com
Emma Davidson
SLA NY President-Elect
emmadavidson2010@gmail.com
SLA NY Chapter Response to Consultants’ Recommendations Report
We support change! To quote John F. Kennedy: “Change is the law of life. And those who look
only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” We understand the serious issues
facing SLA and that the organization’s survival is at stake. We believe that many of the
recommendations in the consultants’ report are valuable. We also acknowledge that the
recommendations are to provide a toplevel
strategic direction and that the details will be
worked out in the implementation. However, we feel strongly that the Chapters and Divisions
should function as a laboratory for programming and networking event innovation, while
maintaining a clearly defined representation at the national level and the opportunity to pursue
sponsorship at the local level. We present our recommendations below in the spirit of sharing
our views with the National Board and promoting alternative suggestions.
We have read carefully the consultants’ recommendations report, submitted questions to and
dialed into the Town Hall meeting, reached out to and surveyed NY Chapter members, and met
with the SLA NY Board and Advisory Council.
We are concerned that the consultants’ recommendations are dependent on a Headquarters
that can provide quality programming to all members. This first requires the funding to revise
SLA’s outdated technology, followed by hiring qualified individuals to create programming. We
would like to know the projected cost of these actions that are required for any of the
recommendations to be effectively implemented. Will the money raised by the consultants’
recommendations be enough to make those changes? (See Section 4 paragraph 3 on p. 13).
Area IV Organization
Review: We propose to construct SLA as one association, with an equal
role for Headquarters and active units. Chapters and Divisions would function as a laboratory for
programming and networking event innovation. One of several ways for the SLA Board to
achieve this goal is by adopting the model used by AALL, MLA, and ARLIS, which offer
membership at both the national and local levels.
“It is [certainly] time to reconsider how SLA units function and how they might best contribute
broader value for all members.” (See Section 6.2.a bullet 6 on p. 29.).
SLA NY realizes that it has many advantages that smaller units do not have. It shares those
advantages through programming collaborations both online and in person, and these
collaborations often lead to replicable, innovative programs. We would like to see this sort of
collaborative work emphasized across all units. Units can act as sandboxes, similar to how
states act in relation to other states and the federal government. For example, we propose that
Headquarters pay for larger unit events to be streamed live to all interested geographies. This
would allow SLA members to participate in the event by submitting questions to a moderator via
Twitter or other suitable online platform, which would make the events interactive and not static.
We do agree that volunteer efforts should be concentrated “on high quality professional
development, networking & collaboration rather than on the administration of unit operations”
(See section 6.1 on p. 24). If there are Chapters that are struggling, we agree that they should
be folded into caucuses or other Chapters (See section 6.1.b bullet 2 on p. 27). We propose a
change to the SLA bylaws that if a Chapter or other unit membership goes below a certain
number (number to be determined), the unit would be disbanded and any remaining unit funds
would be disbursed to the unit that absorbs them or to SLA Headquarters. This would free up
Headquarters staff to focus on creating value for all SLA members as the consultants
recommend. In addition, this would allow Headquarters to give allotments to the units that
remain, as it would be far less difficult and time consuming to administer.
We believe that a strong member affiliation with a unit (when one is conveniently located) as
well as with the larger SLA entity provides the most benefit to the individual SLA member. For
members, networking is best when it comes from the place where people live, work, and seek
employment.
We believe that maintaining a strong unit also provides Chapter members with the opportunity
for professional development. T he opportunity to participate in local unit governance, manage a
budget, et cetera, fills in gaps in training and experience that many information professionals are
not receiving in their workplace.
Moreover, we believe that independent conferences do not detract from annual conference
attendance (see p. 30) but rather enable people who cannot attend the national conference to
go for a half or full day to a local conference that provides the educational and networking
opportunities they wish to participate in. We propose that SLA fund local conferences such as
the SLA NY Conference & Expo and replicate this model in other major metropolitan areas
throughout the country. The vast majority of our Chapter members are unable to attend SLA
Boston (despite close proximity to New York City) due to employers not paying for attendance,
travel, and hotel, in addition to the inability to take multiple days off from work.
The majority of members of the NY Chapter want more local events, not fewer, as evidenced by
these quotes received from our surveys: “ The local events are THE major positive point in my
membership. If this is significantly reduced, I don’t know if there would be reason to maintain my
membership.”
“It is imperative that Chapters be able to make their own decisions regarding programs and
events. No one knows its members better or understands its needs like Chapters. Each Chapter
is unique, the job markets are different and the needs of the members can be generic to a
region or state.”
Regarding the consultants’ recommendation to sunset Cabinet roles and require that units
needing assistance approach Headquarters or reach the Board via the Secretary (see section
6.1.e bullet point 2 on p.28), we feel that units need an official Cabinet role where their voices
are heard and included in the governing process. Without a participating Cabinet role, the Board
will be isolated from unit concerns and member needs. We understand the need for the Board
to be streamlined to improve agility, but the role of units must remain in the decisionmaking
process; we cannot leave the nuances of this to be worked out in implementation. To quote from
our Chapter survey, “I agree we need to do something drastic at the national level but think the
Chapters and Divisions should have representation.” A possible solution to this issue would be
to replicate the Chapter governance model, where a small Executive Board is supported by a
larger Advisory Council.
Area I Business
Partnerships & Area V: Revenue Model and Financial Review We
propose
an event franchising model where if a Chapter or other unit creates an event that is successful
and is duplicated in other geographies, that Chapter or unit would receive a fee as its programs
are adopted elsewhere.
A
franchise model for sharing revenue obtained by sponsorship (See section 3.1 bullet
point 3 on p. 9) presupposes a strong and successful business model and brand that the
franchisee pays for the right to use. We propose a new SLA event franchising model
where if a Chapter or other unit creates an event that is successful and is duplicated in
other geographies, that Chapter or unit would receive a fee as its programs are adopted
elsewhere. In order to allow that first innovation to occur, we propose an SLA “Shark
Tank” where members, Chapters, and Divisions can present their ideas and get their first
event funded.
In addition, regarding sponsorship we do support establishing an associationwide
centralized
process for obtaining revenues from business partners. However, this centralized sponsorship
process should exist only for the largest suppliers to the information profession—those that
operate on a national or global level (e.g., Thomson Reuters or LexisNexis). We also support
establishing a revenuesharing
model with units that contribute to the successful conclusion of a
sponsorship agreement (See section 7.2.a bullet point 3 on p. 35). However, we propose that
units should be free to pursue sponsors at the local and/or regional level and that those funds
should be kept by the unit because the SLA brand does not help capture local funds. Rather, it
is the SLA unit brand that has a unique value to a local or regional business partner. In addition,
for collaborative events with other organizations, we propose that the unit keep any funds
raised, as again, the SLA brand will not have helped obtain those funds.
In particular, the SLA NY Chapter holds approximately 30 events per year, including three
Chapter headline events: our membership event, annual meeting, and holiday party. The
Chapter’s signature events and innovative programming drive membership and fundraising and
offer a great return on investment for the Chapter as well as a benefit to our members. Although
the NY Chapter looks forward to gaining the support of SLA headquarters and to helping our
fellow SLA members, it is important to our Chapter members that these events and traditions
continue.
In summary, for a strategic plan to be successful in the long term there needs to be a measure
of autonomy and input at the national level for key Chapters and Divisions in order to enable
them to continue their valuable role as creators of innovative SLA events. Although we are all
one SLA, we are unit members as well. We recommend that for a lasting strategic plan to be put
in place, there must be a balance created between SLA Headquarters and the innovation and
local representation of the units.
Signed by the SLA NY 2015 Executive Board
Marcy Winkler, President
Emma Davidson, PresidentElect
Kara Masciangelo, Treasurer
Tom Nielsen, Professional Development
Helen Sobolik, Secretary
Nicole Dupras, Communications Chair
Nick Collison, Past President
Sarah Davis, Mentee
Jeanine McPartlin, Mentee
Select Members of the Advisory Council
Daniel Barron
Clara Cabrera
Vida Cohen
Eric Dillalogue
Sheryl Ramer Gesoff
Rebecca Hahn
Susan Hoover
Lisa LopezTerrones
Louise Masarof
Dorothy NelsenGille
Rita Ormsby
Brooke Raymond
Pam Rollo
Donna Severino