EDITOR'S NOTES
Get Ready to Thrive
by
Dick Kaser
With the SLA Centennial celebration occurring in Washington, D.C., this month, I’m reminded that good things tend to endure.
It was in anticipation of the SLA celebration that many months ago we planned to focus this June issue on libraries in the service of the enterprise. At the time the editorial calendar was set, however, we had no idea what a twist the articles in this issue would be taking.
I will point you specifically to the piece by consultant Bill Noorlander (BST America), in which he discusses the current economic situation in corporate libraries as they struggle with high-level mandates to cut content and data acquisition costs in an effort to help their organizations get through “troubled” times and emerge healthy.
From public to corporate to special libraries, these times not only present challenges but also opportunities to shine.
No one can argue that it’s a good time to do more with less. And here’s where librarians with tech skills can really lend a hand. The articles in this issue, largely by special librarians, tout the use of blogs, APIs, flash videos, and even built-in PC software features to deliver services of high value to user communities and library patrons without having to spend more than a couple of dimes.
Most of our columnists this month also chose to talk about the economy and the appropriate responses librarians should have, suggesting that you should stress core values, take an enterprise view, and, perhaps first and foremost, simply be there for those who need you now more than ever.
I hope to see as many of you as possible at both the SLA Centennial this month and the ALA national meeting in Chicago next month. My fellow editors and I will be blogging both events this year. You can follow our reports during the shows at www.infotodayblog.com, or sign up in advance for an RSS headline feed.
Dick Kaser, Executive Editor
kaser@infotoday.com
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