CAREER DEVELOPMENT

In January 2017, Dee Magnoni set “Experience SLA for Career Success” as the theme for her year as president of SLA. “I strongly believe in an association and a board that listens to, engages with, and serves its members,” she wrote in a blog post. “My theme this year is ‘Experience SLA for Career Success.’ We experience SLA through networking, learning, becoming involved with our chapters, divisions, caucuses, and other units; through writing, speaking, mentoring, and coaching; and in so many other ways.”

The following resources provide information and insights on developing a successful career as an information professional.

• Volunteering 101: What’s In It for You? Tom Rink, Amy Sarola, and Rebecca Vargha. Information Outlook, September-October 2014, pp. 22-23.

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS

In April 2016, the SLA Board of Directors approved a revised version of the Competencies for Information Professionals, a document that lists and describes the core and enabling competencies that special librarians use to accomplish their work. The goal of this document is to provide a common platform in which each information professional can find his or her unique competencies represented.

The following resources shed more light on the competencies and on skills that complement them. Some resources discuss methods (such as volunteering) that can help special librarians acquire the competencies and skills.

• A Strategic Roadmap for Professional Sustainability? James M. Matarazzo and Toby Pearlstein. Information Outlook, November-December 2017, pp. 3-6.
• Communicating Competencies for Information Professionals. Deborah Everhart. Information Outlook, November-December 2017, pp. 8-11.
• Making Information and Knowledge Easy to Find and Use. Jaye A.H. Lapachet. Information Outlook, September-October 2016, pp. 17-18.
• Network Like Nobody’s Watching: Demystifying Networking as a Skill for the Librarian and Information Professional Community. Leslie Howerton-Hicks and Tracy Maleeff. Contributed paper presented at the SLA 2015 Annual Conference.
• SLA’s Revised Professional Competencies—and You! David Shumaker. Information Outlook, July-August 2016, pp. 22-23.
• Tackling Training: Is It for You? Denise Chochrek. Information Outlook, November-December 2015, pp. 4-6.

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

The following resources may be helpful:

• Asking the Right Questions When Hiring. Marjorie Hlava. Information Outlook, January-February 2016, pp. 3-5.
• Conducting Performance Reviews and Setting Goals. Debbie Schachter. Information Outlook, September-October 2014, pp. 30-31.
• Hiring Librarians and Ensuring Their Early Success. Kathel Dunn. Information Outlook, January-February 2016, pp. 6-8.
• Hiring the Ideal Job Candidate. Debbie Schachter. Information Outlook, January-February 2014, pp. 24-25.
• Succession Planning: Developing Our Next Generation of Leaders. Debbie Schachter. Information Outlook, November-December 2013, pp. 30-31.

JOB SEARCHING

Check out SLA’s Career Center for job listings and other career resources. The following sites also post job openings:

• I Need a Library Job
• LibGig

ROLES FOR SPECIAL LIBRARIANS

In November 2013, SLA published The Evolving Value of Information Management, a report summarizing the results of research commissioned by SLA and the Financial Times. The report, which was based on surveys of and interviews with information professionals and senior information users, identified 5 essential attributes of modern information professionals and set forth 12 key tasks they must perform.

The following resources may also be helpful in regard to roles that special librarians can play in their workplace.

• A (Not So) New Career Frontier? Rana Salzmann. Information Outlook, November-December 2013, pp. 11-13.
• Academic? Corporate? Public? All of the Above! A Preliminary Look at Librarianship Career Path Movement. Tina Franks. Contributed paper presented at the SLA 2016 Annual Conference.
• Transitioning from Student to Professional. David Cappoli and Rachel Bates Wilfahrt. Information Outlook, November-December 2014, pp. 20-21.