Summer is over and the splendor of fall is once again here. With fall comes the return to school and a regular routine. Everyone is fresh and eager after a relaxing in the hot dry weather to get back to his or her activities.

During the summer this year, SLA Headquarters staff has been working on testing the new AMS system. Daniel Lee and I were introduced to this new system back in January 2007 at the leadership summit. You, the member should have been receiving updates from HQ on their progress. The rollout and training will occur for the leadership of the chapters at next January’s summit (2008) and then for the association as whole after that through “Click U”. I think that you will find this new system amazing.

Another initiative that our President-Elect – Stephen Abram has been working on is “Call for Volunteers 2008″. This is an association wide call for volunteers. Each of you should have received an email from SLA promoting this and giving you the opportunity to volunteer for the association on one of the committees, or there is a section that allows you to express your interest in the chapter as well. Our chapter President-Elect, Daniel Lee, is in the process of forming his executive and advisory boards for 2008 so please take the opportunity and volunteer for either the chapter, division or association at: http://www.sla.org/content/community/committe/volunteer.cfm. Volunteering makes your involvement in the association so worthwhile and looks great on the resume.

At our September board meeting we discussed a new initiative for 2008. We are establishing the “Student Sponsorship Fund”. By donating to this fund, you can help offset program costs and therefore allow students to attend our programs for free. It is sometimes very difficult for students who are trying to cover their university costs and at the same time live, to spend on our programs and events. With this new fund you, the member, can help the student or students attend for free. This will open up a whole new avenue for them to network and learn from top-notch speakers & programs. Watch for more information on this and other items of interest starting in January 2008.

With September also comes a wide range of events and programs for the fall and winter from the chapter. Sandra Craig, our events coordinator has been working with the board to put together the list. You can find this at: http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/events/default.asp. Also included on the list are the monthly board meetings. Each of you is most welcome to attend and monitor what goes on during this meeting. The dates, times and locations are listed on the events page and all you need to do is email me pcasey1@cogeco.ca and let me know that you wish to come. Coming to the meeting allows you to have more information about how we make our decisions and what we talk about.

If you have any comments, questions or concerns please do not wait until the next event to speak with me, just drop me a line.

Pam Casey, CTT+
President, SLA Toronto Chapter

The days are shorter, the leaves are turning colour and although right now the weather says otherwise, autumn is here.

Welcome to our Fall issue. In this issue, President Pam Casey discusses some early plans for 2008. Our local group members have been busy so be sure to check out the latest installment of “People on the Move” to see who’s been up to what.

Also in this issue, regular contributor Peter de Jager offers some insight into the ‘secret’ of becoming a great manager. Anyone in the position of managing others should check out this article – how do you measure up?

As always, we are looking for writers, occasional and regular, to contribute ideas, comments, thoughts, and news items. Share your experiences with your colleagues. Contact us directly anytime for more information.

Enjoy!!

Heather Postill
hpostill@sympatico.ca

Elizabeth Malak-McMullan
elizabeth.malak-mcmullan@vaughan.ca

SLA Board Of Directors Candidates
http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/governance/bodsection/bodcandidates/07candidates/index.cfm

The candidates for the 2008 SLA Board of Directors are:

President-Elect: Lynn Berard and Gloria Zamora
Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect: Susan Fifer Canby and Lisl Zach
Division Cabinet Chair-Elect: Tom Rink and David Shumaker
Director: Deb Hunt,R. James King, Martha McPhail, Ty Webb

The election runs September 12 to October 11, 2007.
SLA eVoting – http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/governance/2008bodelect/evoting.cfm

Leadership Summit
23-26 January 2008
Louisville, KY, USA

http://www.sla.org/content/resources/leadcenter/LeadershipSummit/08leadsummit/index.cfm

When SLA’s leaders gather in January, it’s more than a meeting; it’s a Leadership Summit. Chapter and division cabinets, committees, the board of directors and many division boards will come together in Louisville, Kentucky, for the event. The schedule for the Summit and important exhibitor information are now available. The keynote speaker is futurist Andy Hines.

Cultivating SLA’s Future Leaders
A Message from the Chief Executive Officer, Janice R. Lachance

As I speak with many of you at chapter meetings and other SLA events, I often hear a common concern expressed. How do we at SLA recruit the association leaders of tomorrow? While there is no easy answer to this question, I believe strongly that these future leaders are out there and that they will play an important role in our association. I am thinking
specifically of the generation of young people who were born between 1980 and 2000 and are often referred to as “Millennials.”

In her book, Connecting Generations: The Sourcebook for a New Workplace, author Claire Raines describes these young people as being most like their grandparents. This older generation, which lived through the trials of World War II and were the children of the Great Depression, has been dubbed appropriately the “Greatest Generation” for its strong sense of civic responsibility and volunteerism. And, according to Raines, it is this spirit of duty and service that Millennials seem to have inherited.

Raines goes on to make the point that each generation experiences a “defining moment.” The defining moment for Millennials, she says, was the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. This, she says, resulted in an affinity for heroism and community involvement unlike anything we have seen in recent generations.

If Raines is correct, this attitudinal shift among Millennials could have significant implications for volunteerism in the future, particularly with regard to recruiting future association leaders. For this reason, I believe it is important to reach out to these young people and communicate with them in ways that will resonate with their service-oriented values. They are unquestionably excellent candidates for membership and for leadership positions in our units.

While Millennials have strong belief systems surrounding community service, they also view authority differently than their older counterparts, according to Raines. For example, they take a more relaxed, (if polite) view of authority and may be less inclined to follow direction if not inspired by the person offering it. For this reason, successful communication with these young people will be less formal, take a multimedia approach (read “electronic”) and appear more collegial rather than authoritative.

They also are much more likely to be motivated by organizations that advance their own personal agendas. They tend to follow high achievers and turn away from individuals or organizations that fail to deliver on the promises they make. Not surprisingly, they can be swayed by positive, hopeful, and forward-looking messages.

I urge you to continue cultivating these future SLA leaders. Is your chapter involved with a nearby student group? Do you offer orientation sessions? SLA’s Leadership Department will be coordinating leadership training WebEx sessions later this year and early next year. Consider including these young people in leadership training as part of a fast-track professional development program. According to Raines and others, young members will expect to be involved at the highest levels of the organization very quickly and may be unwilling to follow a more traditional leadership track that
sometimes takes years to complete. And while this attitude may sometimes appear brash and unrealistic, it is worth bearing in mind that it is driven by an enormous desire to do good and fuelled by a passion that will make the difference between good and great organizations well into this century.

I encourage you to read Claire Raines’s book or another book on the differences in attitudes between the generations. I also would like to hear your thoughts on the subject. (jlachance@sla.org)

New Proposed Section – Content Buying
The Leadership and Management Division is in the process of forming a new section to focus on content buying. The division has had a content buyer’s roundtable for the last several years and now is seeking signatures to it petition to formally organize it into the Content Buying Section. The scope of the new section follows:

The Content Buying Section of SLA’s Leadership and Management Division includes buyers and sellers involved in the many aspects related to managing enterprise-wide content, such as supplier relationship management, contract negotiations, budgeting and funding of licenses, training and communications, risk management, and measuring and maximizing an enterprise’s return on the investment in content licenses.

The section provides a forum for its members to network and share information and insights related to managing enterprise wide contracts-enabling them to advance their professional development and at the same time add greater value to their own organizations. The section also provides a forum for discussions between content buying professionals and content suppliers.

Meetings and programs focus on issues pertinent to content buying, the skills required by information professionals working within this area, and trends in the information industry.

If you have any questions, please contact Janice Keeler or Division Cabinet Chair Agnes Mattis or Chair-elect Robyn Frank.

Bloggers Wanted
We’re looking for members to contribute their thoughts, expertise, and opinions to the SLA Blog. Started at the conference in Denver, our plan is to make this blog a year-round source of information about the organization and the profession. If you want to participate, write to John Adams (jadams@sla.org). Write “Blogger Invite” in the subject line.

Here are some of the upcoming events presented by SLA Toronto Chapter. For details see the Toronto chapter website (http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/).

November 22, 2007: Knowledge Management
Heather Ritchie, Karin Heiss, Laura Purves, Laura Knapp
20 Queen Street W., Toronto

Laura Knapp

Laura joined the Ontario Securities Commission on July 23, 2007 as Manager of Knowledge Services. She oversees the library and is tasked with developing and implementing a knowledge management strategy for the Commission.
Her contact information is:

Laura Knapp
Manager, Knowledge Services
Ontario Securities Commission
Tel: 416-593- 2303
Fax: 416-593-3692

Peter de Jager, Speaker/Writer/Consultant

Peter has launched a daily blog which SLA members might find of interest: http://technobility.wordpress.com/

People on the Move will be a regular column highlighting the achievements of our members and help keep us all in touch. Please share your career changes, retirements, life changes, volunteer work.

Submit your news to Frances Wong at FWong@blgcanada.com or Radikha Jaggernauth at rjaggernauth@hsf.on.ca.

Because the directory is no longer being  updated it has been removed from the site

As a student of history, architecture and library science, when I travel I love to visit libraries; while my travel companions don’t always understand my enthusiasm, so far they have put up with me. On a recent trip to Boston, Massachusetts I was fortunate enough to visit two of the oldest continually active libraries in the United States – both with completely different mandates.

Founded in 1848, by an act of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts, the Boston Public Library (BPL) was the first large free municipal library in the United States. The present central branch was opened in Copley Square in 1895 and has been nicknamed the “palace for the people”.

Designed by Charles Follen McKim, the McKim building is the oldest part of the library and houses the research collection. The stately entrance is flanked by two female statues representing the Arts and Sciences. Inside, the walls and floor of the hall are lined in honey-toned marble and murals, painted by the renowned French artist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, adorn the walls of the grand staircase and second floor gallery. The central mural depicts “The Muses of Inspiration Hail the Spirit of Light.” Eight stairway murals representing the main disciplines of poetry, philosophy, and science complete this allegorical cycle.

Located on the 3rd floor are spectacular murals painted by John Singer Sargent based on the theme of the development of world religions. Sargent considered this effort to be his most important work. The main reading room has a domed ceiling and is filled with light.

The Moorish-inspired courtyard complete with water fountain is the perfect place for contemplation or reading. The library serves High Tea just off the courtyard every afternoon.

In 1972 the Library expanded its Copley Square location with an addition designed by Philip Johnson which holds the circulating collection; this modern addition, filled with light and open spaces was constructed of the same stone as the earlier McKim building, giving the two buildings a complementary appearance.

I was even more pleased to come across the Boston Athanaeum (an Anthenaem is an institution for the promotion of learning), one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It was founded in 1807 by members of the Anthology Society, a group of fourteen Boston gentlemen who were editors of The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review. Their goal was to create “a reading room, a library, a museum and a laboratory” to be used by members of the Society. Past members of the Athenæum include John Quincy Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Amy Lowell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Daniel Webster, and Lydia Maria Child.

The Athenaeum continues today as a membership library; the original structure of the Athenæum remains in the form of shares owned by Proprietors. Today its collections comprise over half a million volumes, with particular strengths in Boston history, New England state and local history, biography, English and American literature, and the fine and decorative arts.

The library has been located in fashionable Beacon Hill next to the Granary Burying Ground since 1850 and a recent renovation of the historic building has returned it to its glory. Although the collection and galleries are restricted to members, the main floor gallery is open to visitors. Guided tours can also be arranged.

Photographs: Heather Postill

Additional Resources:
http://www.bpl.org
http://www.bostonathenaeum.org

Heather Postill is a graduate of University of Toronto, Faculty of Information Studies and is the co-editor of the Courier.

Here’s the secret to becoming a great manager. Management isn’t a profession for the impatient.

Forget everything you learned in business school, hide your certificates and MBA, and put down all recent business best sellers. The key to long term success as a manager is; learn how to watch a pot of water on a stove come to a boil without ever wishing it to hurry. Better yet? Learn to watch that same pot of water, without ever checking to ensure you switched on the burner.

Unlike inanimate objects such as pots of impossible to boil water, and even plants, people have minds of their own. Dig a hole in the ground; throw in some Tulip bulbs before the first snowfall, and in the spring we’re almost guaranteed to see the beautiful results of our labors.

People, bless their brittle little hearts, are less predictable. They’re endowed with this thing called free will, something designed and intended to thwart all of our plans and aspirations. People do what they want, when they want, and for the most part, how they want – regardless of those plans and aspirations.

There are those who believe the very title of “Manager” will gift them with the ability to overcome the “Free Will” of their staff. If it were not so sad to see young delusional managers flail about in their new role, it would be amusing. On second thought, it’s mostly amusing. True, it’s only amusing in the sense of Three Stooges slapstick comedy, but it is amusing never-the-less.

It’s almost immediately obvious, even to a young novice manager, that there is something very different between “managing” and “doing”. We’re not exactly sure what’s different, but the moment we step into the title of “Manager”, the world changes even if we can’t explain the change.

The most common “new manager” mistake is to act as if little has changed. We do what we did before and devote a small amount of our time to just telling others to do some other things.

When that strategy fails to deliver all that a manager is supposed to deliver, (unfortunately it sometimes works for a while) then we’re faced with two immediate choices.

We can 1) Work harder to compensate for what our staff isn’t doing, or
2) Start wrestling with this problem of why the title of “Manager” didn’t have the effect we expected. What did we expect? We expected people to do what we told them to.

The “work harder” strategy is eventually self-correctable as it is inevitably terminated by stress, burn-out and unexpected tours of medical facilities with expensive hands- on demonstrations of sophisticated shiny medical equipment.

Our second option, the one where we begin to “wrestle” with the heart of the management problem is, “Why don’t, and why do, people do what we tell them to?” is our first shaky step on the path towards becoming a Manager.

This path towards management is where “patience” begins to come into play. When we work with “things”, we can make a change in our approach to a problem, and then almost immediately determine if our actions have improved or degraded the situation. When we work with people, our problem solving efforts are more complicated. A management strategy that works for John, won’t necessarily work as well with Susan and might not work at all with Jim, and we won’t even talk about James. He scares us.

The challenge for the new manager is that none of this knowledge is readily available in books. There are too many variables involved, too many unique situations, too many conflicting priorities. With all due respect to the management gurus of the world, a lot of what makes a good manager is experience, piled on common sense, and then sprinkled with intuition, fairness and gut instinct. All of which differs from one individual to another.

In case this all sounds too pessimistic or daunting for a newly appointed manager? Here is half a dozen tried and true, though seemingly simplistic, guidelines;

1. Treat others as you’d like them to treat you. Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s out of date.

2. Trust is management’s most important asset. Always do what you said you’ll do.

3. If you don’t know… ask, don’t assume, or worse… pretend. Ignorance isn’t a crime, and it’s always curable.

4. When you do know… ask anyway. Their answers may surprise you. When you give others the chance to answer questions, they become involved in the solutions.

5. Give praise when it’s deserved, it’s not a limited resource. Just because positive feedback works with puppies, isn’t reason enough not to use it with people.

6. Create an environment where there are truly, no dumb questions. In order for staff to contribute to your success, they must feel comfortable contributing.

Oh… here’s the bad news… all of the above are the things you have to integrate into your own behavior, before you have any hope of changing their behavior!

One final note on this article. The above six suggestions are the essence of ‘obvious’, but for some reason which I don’t understand, we can trace the source of most management problems back to a violation of at least one, if not more, sometimes all of them.

© 2006 Peter de Jager – Peter is a Keynote Speaker, writer and consultant focusing on issues relating to Change Management and the Future. You can contact him at pdejager@technobility.com