Three key ideas from Conference 2009:
Wow, only three? I thought this was a fabulous conference - and the Twitter feed (#SLA2009) enabled me to take in so much more of what was going on in the other sessions, knowledge of resources & key points and such that I got a real strong appreciation for the power of the hashtag! As someone posted on the feed: We seem to have found a new paradigm for conference communication! (By the way, that wasn't one of my key points, but perhaps it should have been!)
1. Michael Edson's vision of new media implementation as pathway to a "commons" for sharing knowledge...his description of the dance we're all doing between "control and autonomy" rings so true as we find ways of empowering our networks and engaging stakeholders with emerging tools, while at the same time allaying internal fears of proprietary knowledge leakage and legal repercussions. He provided a lot of thought around this, and I am extremely impressed with the fact that the Smithsonian's social media strategy is being developed and shared in an open wiki (http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Strategy+-+-+Pulling+it+All+Together)\! I particularly liked his quote that "unnecessary restriction of content is a barrier to innovation." I plan to enlist that one in my own fight for the cause of transparency and the empowerment of networks!
2. Need for a re-energized name for SLA that speaks untuitively to our stakeholders about the work that we do. It's not that we aren't librarians, it's that our stakeholders hang on to a stereotypical view of what a librarian is, and that perception is working against us in keeping our rightful place at the center of the ever-expanding world of knowledge-sharing. Each time I attend the SLA conference and inhale the efforts of our wonderful and talented colleagues from across the country and the globe, I am so impressed with our breadth of experience and our collective energy for learning new things and passing them on to one another. We need to embrace the research that is being shared with us by HQ and align our name, whatever that may be, with whatever our stakeholders need to hear to pull out the chair and seat us at their table!
3. How fun is it to be with other information junkies? I mean, seriously, from CE workshop with Mary Ellen Bates to 60 Sites in 60 Seconds and a rundown on Mashups, we get our own findings validated and gaps filled in at the same time and meet up with kindred spirits who think our thirst for this stuff is normal - does it get any better than this?
Then there was the unbelievably gorgeous dinner at the Library of Congress in the Great Hall....stunning in every respect, and honestly something I doubt I'll ever get another chance to do again! Thanks to SLA for setting that up and seeing it through down to each detail. I'm exhausted, my feet are swollen, I'm still looking for a permanent job, but wow, I had a great conference and I think SLA is a great association!
Cheers to all,
Dianna
@dwiggins