I’ve belonged to SLA, the Special Libraries Association, since library school. While the organization itself has been through some turbulent times—two rebranding periods and the fiscal blow of paying off the former CEO’s golden parachute—membership has been consistently beneficial to my continuing professional development.
When I began my career, over 25 years ago, ALA (American Library Association) service required a commitment to attend two conferences annually. I couldn’t obtain adequate travel funding, since I worked as a medical librarian. MLA, the Medical Library Association, offered service opportunities contingent on completing several years of prior regional service. SLA, however, was progressive enough to offer virtual service opportunities to early career professionals.
I’ve served on and even chaired SLA committees for years, primarily for the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division (DBIO), and also for Physics-Astronomy–Mathematics. Because of my history of involvement with DBIO, I’ve been nominated to its executive board three times.
SLA service has offered leadership opportunities difficult to obtain at my current workplace, and provided chances to manage projects from conception to completion (with delivery on schedule!). This year, I will be able to present at the conference for the first time, in a round of information literacy instruction lightning talks. I find attending SLA conferences rewarding, as they generally focus on new and evolving developments in librarianship. Through my service and conference attendance, I’ve been able to build a professional network of fellow academic science librarians, who are few and scattered in my large, sparsely populated rural state.
I plan to continue my affiliation with SLA unless something extreme happens in my professional or personal life. Maintaining my intermediate level of activity strikes the right balance between involvement and over commitment.
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