Ok, so I’m getting married this year which means I’m not going to ALA and I’m not going to SLA which kinda makes me sad. Especially since SLA looks so freaking cool and is about basically what I’m doing. I’ve been breaking the rules to status quo stuff to provide excellent services. I’ve been building bridges with partners to make our services relevant. It’s a lot of work, but it pays off, and we all have to do it.

So, should I really have been dismayed about SLA? I mean, I’m getting married that week and my best friends will be in town staying at my house! Well, I am not that sad, I just wish SLA was a different week this year.

First - VINT CERF IS SPEAKING. Second.. see below…

Does age matter?

A brief dialog between two librarians from different generations on applying information literacy standards is followed by several small table discussion on how generational views and experiences affect the work of academic librarians.

Ethical Competitive Intelligence

CI professionals abide by applicable legal and ethical norms, such as the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) code of ethics, distinguishing CI from industrial espionage. This presentation explains the law and ethics of CI. Learn how to collect CI in a legal and ethical manner, how to identify what makes an act illegal, and how to recognize the line between law and ethics.

Future of Librarians in the Workforce

Following presentations in Toronto, Baltimore and Denver the speaker will give an update on the progress of the IMLS-sponsored study that will identify the nature of anticipated labor shortages in the library and information science field over the next decade. She also will assess the number and types of library and information science jobs that will become available in the U.S. either through retirement or new job creation; determine the skills that will be required to fill such vacancies; and recommend effective approaches to recruiting and retaining workers to fill them. The study is expected to result in better tools for workforce planning and management, better match of demand and supply, and improved recruitment and retention of librarians. The presentation will discuss the data collected to date and any conclusions that may be drawn at this stage.

Government Librarians Get Savvy! Metrics, metrics, metrics!

What does Outsell’s latest benchmarking survey reveal about trends impacting information managers? How can benchmarking, ROI, and other metrics illustrate value to users and stakeholders? At this session facilitated by Outsell analysts, diverse government librarians will share challenges and best practices for applying metrics to quantify and justify their operations.

So, I’m still getting married, yes, he still loves me though I am tempted by great conferences, but there is always next year…