SLA UPDATE:OUR ETHICS GUIDELINES

AND THE ALIGNMENT EFFORT

October 17, 2010

These Remarks Are Based on…

• Materials from the Alignment Ambassador website– These materials are not formatted for easy printing or

downloading, so I suggest you visit: http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/alignment/index.cfm

– Email communications from SLA Align (these have become more regular over the last couple of months)

• Materials distributed by the Ethics Committee– “DRAFT of SLA Professional Ethics Guidelines,”

10/01/10

The Alignment Ambassadors met for the first time at the June SLA Conference

-While the SLA name change was not approved by the membership, the material collected by the consultants is still highly valuable and APPLICABLE. To refresh your memory please visit

www.sla.org/alignment for the final results. -MARY ELLEN BATES became the new chair of the Alignment Tools Taskforce. Check out the wiki to follow this taskforce’s work - the Toolkit Presentation is posted on our website.

http://wiki.sla.org/display/ALIGNFORCE/Table+of+proposed+alignment+tools

Recall: Original Key Objectives Guiding the Alignment Initiative

• Examine – Conduct a thorough examination of the future roles of librarians and information professionals amidst a new and evolving information landscape

• Explore – Explore SLA’s current position in the marketplace and define a platform—based on sound scientific research—that is relevant, differentiated and deliverable and will stand the test of time

• Develop – Develop a strategic framework that underscores SLA’s value for existing members and enables the Association to appeal to a broad spectrum of information professionals

• Align – Bring alignment to SLA’s diverse activities and offerings through a relevant and compelling platform that expresses the core values of the Association and the information profession as whole

• Identify – Identify the tools, programs and materials that uniquely express and amplify SLA’s positioning to members, employers, partners, regulators and the public, and highlight the value of information professionals in today’s information economy

Efforts to re-charge the members and move forward

• The Align SLA initiative would like to capture your input into the mission, vision and values statements

• A new mission statement – our raison d'être - is in the works

• The Alignment leaders will post statements for your feedback

• There are now two questions posted at:

http://www.slaalignmentportal.org/blog/share-your-

thoughts-express-your-value-and-win-kindle

http://www.slaalignmentportal.org/ This is the Mother Portal

We are currently at the Define stage

Mission Statement Options

• “To serve as the unified voice for the information profession, advocating its value, promoting best practices, creating knowledge sharing and global networking opportunities, and empowering members to become critical assets within their organizations through continuous learning.”

• Please visit the website and comment http://www.slaalignmentportal.org/blog/share-your-thoughts-express-your-value-and-win-kindle

• Polls close on October 26th

The following materials will be posted to the Bay Region Chapter website

• Mary Ellen Bates deck from the SLA Conference Alignment Ambassadors meeting

• The original SLA Alignment Process Overview (it says DRAFT, but it is posted on the Alignment website)

• Draft Ethics Guidelines for your comments

What’s Next?

• Unified Branding: Logos, Websites, Templates, etc. This may even include a new tagline – member feedback will be solicited

• The Alignment Team is seeking to bring consistency across the SLA organization

• Mary Ellen Bates’ team is working on practical templates for our use: resume templates, cover letters, how to build your internal brand, demonstrating ROI, etc.

Alignment Contest

• Develop your own case study: how have you or how can you apply the Alignment findings to your career?– What unique value do you bring to your organization?– How do you demonstrate the value you provide to your

employer?– The studies can be presented in essay form, blog, or videos– The results will be featured on SLA-TV as an “inspirational

resource for members to draw on for years.” For video entries see technical details at SLATV.org under “Submit a Video.”

– The Alignment Team looks for at least one member of each chapter to contribute

– The deadline is Nov. 10

SLA Ethical Guidelines Update

Good ethical decisions are not always obvious!

Ethics Advisory Council @ SLA Conference

• The SLA Ethics effort was unknown to me so I attended this meeting to offer my help and express interest

• Copious (and ethical) notes were taken by Toni Carbo, and Thomas Froehlich, co-chairs – these two work very hard, that much is clear

Notes from SLA Ethics Advisory Meeting at the SLA Conference

• A review and discussion of the draft guidelines

• Report-out of IEAC presentations from St. Louis, Sierra Nevada chapter

• Tom and Toni announced they were available to assist other chapters – Toni is available to speak at a SF Bay Area meeting

• The Draft Guidelines were recently received and will be posted to our website for comments

SLA Professional Ethics Guidelines

• Thomas Froehlich forewarded the draft guidelines

• It is suggested that these guidelines be circulated and discussed – they will be posted to our website

• Thomas is available to do a remote presentation (via “dimdim” with a PowerPoint presentation) and voice capability

Going forward…

• I’m unsure why, but communication has been efficient over the last two months

• I feel as though I know what’s going on in both the Alignment and Ethics area (smile)

• I’ll continue to post material and communications to our website