Adding Value

Things are moving along at a very fast pace here at SLA HQ. While the staff works to implement a new Association Management System (AMS), our leaders and committees are making great progress on the activities occurring in 2008 and beyond, and I have been traveling to some very interesting conferences and meetings.  Be sure to read the September issue of SLA Connections in which I talk about my recent trip to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress in Durban, South Africa.

I continue to meet with members and industry leaders, and I continue to be amazed at some of the things that you are all doing!  As the profession changes, it seems almost daily, info pros are reinventing themselves, as well as they way they provide resources to their customers.

I saw one such example of this recently coming from the librarians at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis who have created the Liber8 Economic Newsletter- and excellent resource on the issues of the day.  This tool is timely, relevant and can be useful to all of their colleagues and customers.

Check out their inaugural issue on problems in the sub-prime mortgage market.  The issue contains links to articles with more detail as well as data sources and other resources for those who are interested in this topic.

As it turns out, I WAS interested, but I didn't KNOW that I was. I didn't wake up this morning wondering about it, but the newsletter answered some questions the consumer media never reported. My point is, I think this is an excellent example of how a librarians can use their skills and resources to create a new and valuable tool based on what they see happening in their world. 

Noticing a lot of people coming to your reference desk requesting information on genocide in Darfur? Put together a two-page briefing on it and push it out to clients who might have an interest in the topic.  I think you will find that your customers will quickly recognize the value you bring to the organization. You just need to take a few extra steps to remind them!   

I am interested in hearing from those in the trenches who are doing this and seeing results! What are you doing in your organization to showcase the value you can bring to the table?