SLA Alignment Study

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SLA Alignment StudyName Change Proposal

• Washington DC Chapter
• Town Hall
• November 9, 2009

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Washington DC Chapter Alignment Ambassadors

• Shirley Loo
• Dave Hemingway
• James King
• Mary Talley-Garcia
• Chris Vestal

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How We Got Here

• A quick history of SLAs effort
• to provide value to our members

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(It) seems evident enough from all that has
been said, that the old type of library must
MODIFY ITSELF IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NEW
NEEDS which the EVOLUTION OF KNOWLEDGE and the
growth of print have created John
Cotton Dana, Librarian at Large
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• What is alignment?
• Focus and cohesion around who you are, what you
  do, and what you deliver
• Communicating with clarity, credibility, and
  consistency about your value

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• Why must we align?
• Information professionals are losing jobs
• The role and value of the information
  professional is not fully understood by hiring
  managers
• The field is growing to include a wider range of
  career tracks beyond traditional library workers
  and information professionals
• Information professionals must align their value
  and contributions with the strategic goals of
  their organizations
• Information professionals must change their
  professional communications and words to align
  with their audience of employers

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• What are the goals of alignment?
• Express the identity and the value of the
  information professional
• Create a cohesive communications framework for
  the information professional
• Provide information professionals with clear and
  compelling language to communicate their value
• Help SLA advocate for the information
  professional
• What are the benefits of alignment?
• Clear, compelling communication of the role and
  value of information professionals
• Stronger recognition of information professionals
  in the marketplace and among employers

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How We Got Here

• Jan. 2000 Started branding research
• June 2003 Branding name change vote in NY
• Jan. 2006 Board approved Alignment project to
  help celebrate the Centennial
• Jan. 2007 Futurist Andy Hines, Outsell
  Fleishman-Hillard start working on alignment
  effort
• Jan. 2008 Preliminary research findings
  presented

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How We Got Here

• Spring 2008 Focus groups explored findings
• June 2008 - Fleishman-Hillard presents findings
• Jan. 2009 Final report issued
• June 2009 Alignment presented
• July Sept. 2009 Proposed name tested
• Dec. 2009 Name change vote and results

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Alignment Research Findings
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International Survey
Research spanned

• 4 countries
• 5 key audience categories
• 4 key areas of research findings
• Roles of the information professional
• Habits of the information professional
• Perceptions of value of the information
  professional
• Perceptions of role of the information
  professional

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Alignment Research

• Began with existing information on value of
  profession
• Leadership roundtable discussions focus groups
  held
• Using this data, constructed global survey on
  value of information professional
• Surveyed executives across academia, business,
  government, health care, consumer services and
  more
• Included key audiences of information
  professionals, IT, HR, marketing and strategic
  planning
• Discovered words and concepts that work or dont
  work across the board
• Then retested strongest concepts through a
  sophisticated dial testing process

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Key Finding 1

• Knowledge is the bridge between information and
  action
• Knowledge implies a deep understanding of
  information. You provide context and analysis
  that turns information into knowledge and results.

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Key Finding 2

• Corporate executives acknowledge the value and
  importance of good information
• To resonate with this audience, link your product
  with their strategic goals. Help them see how
  information will create competitive advantage and
  benefit the bottom line.

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Key Finding 3

• Information professionals should promote rather
  than defend value-driven benefits
• Emphasize what you can deliver rather than
  pointing to the shortcomings of do-it-yourself
  research.

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Key Finding 4

• The word librarian sends a mixed message
• Librarian has positive connotations but is not
  associated with positive attributes employers
  value. People like librariansbut they used words
  such as dusty and antiquated to describe
  them.

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Key Finding 5

• Information professionals must focus on - and
  value - results, accountability, leadership and
  service
• You save your organization time and money. You
  provide value-added intelligence that is
  accurate, reliable and relevant. That gives your
  organization a competitive advantage.

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Name Change Proposal
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Name Change Proposal

• Findings of Alignment Research prompted the SLA
  Board to consider changing the organizations
  name to one that better expresses the value of
  information professionals in the workplace.

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Name Change QA

• Why is a name change necessary?
• Why doesnt SLA focus on the value Librarians
  provide instead of changing the name?

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Why is a name change necessary?

Name Change QA

• Research Findings Name does not reflect true
  value of profession
• Research Findings Name lacks positive attributes
  stakeholders value most
• Research Findings Name limits SLAs ability to
  advocate for us!

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Name Change QA

• SLA has 100 years of brand recognition behind it.
  Why would we want to change it now?

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Name Change QA

• What about the brand?
• Brand is valued by library community
• Brand is not recognized outside library
• Brand does not convey full value and relevance

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Name Change QA

• Didnt we already vote on and reject a name
  change in 2003?

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Name Change QA

• What about the earlier name change vote?
• Voting limited to those at 2003 conference
• Multi-step voting process
• Vote to change name of SLA passed
• Vote to amend bylaws required 2/3 majority did
  not pass

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Name Change QA

• How was the proposed name chosen?

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Name Change QA

• Process
• Establish critical concepts
• List possible names
• Narrow to 3 names
• Monitor member input
• Thoroughly research 3 names that emerge

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Name Change QA

• Process Critical Concepts
• Knowledge Leadership
• Insight through Information
• Knowledge Sharing through Global Networking

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Name Change QA

• Process Name Choices
• Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals
• The Knowledge Society
• Knowledge Information International Association

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Name Change QA

• Process Name Testing
• Survey 226 respondents in the US and UK
• Information users and providers in 4 sectors
• Rated names on key metrics
• Overall Preference, Liking, Relevance,
  Attention Grabbing
• Credibility, Goodness of Fit, Likelihood to
  Join, Association Attribute

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Likeability and Relevance
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Credibility and Fit
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Likelihood to Join
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Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals

• Strategic highly important to or an integral
  part of a strategy or plan of action
• Knowledge "The sum or range of what has been
  perceived, discovered, or learned
• Professional "A skilled practitioner an expert."

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Name Change QA

• Why wasnt Special Libraries Association or
  another name with librarian in it tested?

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Name Change QA

• What about special libraries or librarian?
• Words tested poorly
• Special is no longer relevant or positive
• Words do not convey full core value of the
  profession

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Why choose the term knowledge over
information in the name?
Name Change QA

• Value-driven vs. Functional Language
• Information functional and static
• Knowledge actionable, conveys value-added,
  broader, more inclusive
• Knowledge tested better with employers, ties to
  value associated with info pros

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Name Change QA

• What happens next?
• Association of Strategic Knowledge Professionals
  vote on full name
• Voting Nov. 16-Dec 9
• Results Dec 10
• No other name change initiative
• SLA will continue with alignment work under the
  name of SLA

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www.sla.org/content/SLA/alignment/portal/index.htm
l
Alignment Portal
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Some Useful Resources

• FAQ www.sla.org/content/sla/governance/namechan
  ge/qa.cfm
• Wiki http//wiki.sla.org/display/align/SLAAlig
  nmentWiki
• SLA Blog http//slablogger.typepad.com/sla_blog
  
• Alignment Timeline
• www.sla.org/content/SLA/governance/namechange/time
  line.cfm
• Board of Directors SLABoardofDirectors_at_sla.org
• Twitter slaname

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Questions?

• Dave Hemingway DNHemingway_at_gmail.com
• Mary Talley-Garcia mary.talleygarcia_at_gmail.com
• Chris Vestal
• cmvlibrarian_at_gmail.com

James King James.King_at_nih.gov Shirley
Loo SLOO_at_crs.loc.gov