What a wonderful moment to gather with so many colleagues and friends from all different areas in the profession!
On Wednesday morning, I had the opportunity to meet with Professor Jill Hurst-Wahl of Syracuse University and Dr. Michele Villagran of San Jose State University for an informal Special Libraries Association (SLA) breakfast gathering. Jill picked a nice quiet location called “Fourth and Roma Cafe” near the convention center so if you are looking for a quick bite in between sessions, be sure to check it out!
As members of the Special Libraries Association, we reflected on our work as librarians/information professionals in SLA and within our own professional careers in fostering diversity and inclusion. SLA has been very keen and interested in cultivating diversity within the organization and in the special libraries industry-at-large. For those who are not familiar with SLA, it is an association that is very much focused on non-public/academic libraries, although there are divisions that cover academic/education, many SLA members are professionals who work in the information services/library in corporate, government, business, medical, pharmaceutical, museum, arts, non-profit, legal, news and publishing sectors. SLA recently launched the Diversity, Inclusion, Community, and Equity (DICE) Caucus for members to discuss and explore issues including intersectionality, gender-pay equality issues, and other pertinent concerns.
Many sessions at #JCLC2018 were important, relevant and timely for all library workers and information professionals to attend. As someone who has worked as a business-liaison librarian in a university before, and now as an education librarian in a specialized graduate school, I’m always thinking about critical pedagogy, collection development, and outreach, and creating innovative ways to collaborate and to enhance the library’s services for marginalized communities. This was my first JCLC conference and I felt that my SLA colleagues who didn’t get to attend this conference are missing out. The conference discussions are not only illuminating but the connections to meet with people of all backgrounds, particularly from the ethnic affiliates, their perspective can provide interesting and helpful insights into our vastly changing field.
If you see any of us during the conference, please feel free to say hi, we are happy to chat with you about SLA and hear more about your work and interests!
Photo Credit: Jill Hurst-Wahl
Pictured Left to Right: Jill Hurst-Wahl, Ray Pun and Michele Villagran