Tomorrow, I’ll be embarking on a new professional networking mission.
Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to my first SLAV event. It’s a cocktail party, celebrating SLAV’s 50th anniversary, so I can safely assume that most people whom I should know from the School Library industry – all the movers and the shakers – will be there.
Since moving to this sector of the library and information industry, it’s slightly perplexing as to why there are multiple organizations that have the same goal. Here, we have SLAV – the School Library Association of Victoria – but the qualification is accredited by ALIA, with whom I have been an actively participating member for a number of years. Surely it makes sense to have one central point of contact for all library and information professionals. This just strikes me as double-handling.
And, indeed, it’s no surprise that declining membership is a major concern within our professional associations. ALIA has, amongst its many duties, the responsibility of maintaining quality control of the profession, through the accreditation of its courses. It relies primarily on membership revenue to operate. And this is one of the main reasons that I support ALIA.
But all of this costs money, usually out of the pocket of the individual. Why should I join another association, when I’m already a member of one. One that already contains professional peer networks which address my needs.
Why? Professional networking. I need to connect with my peers in the school library industry.
The unfortunate reality is that ALIA seems to be somewhat devoid of school librarians. Why this is, I don’t know, but I’m told that if I want to network with them, I should go to SLAV. I already feel somewhat conflicted about this – almost like I’m cheating on a partner, but I guess I’ll get a clearer perspective of the situation once I go along tomorrow.
Personally, I’d like to see a stronger crossover between ALIA and SLAV members. If both can work together, and, for example, offer reciprocal benefits to members, then it’s going to be a big win all around. There’s a lot to be gained from partnership I think it’s so important for all professionals to support their association, and if, for whatever reason, there’s some schism between the two associations, then it’s ultimately counterproductive for everybody.
