by Samuel Wiggins, Postgraduate Student, The University of Sheffield, 2011 ECCA Winner (Published August 4, 2011)

I attended SLA 2011 as an Early Career Conference Award (ECCA) winner thanks to the co-sponsorship of SLA Legal Division and SLA Europe, creating a trio of firsts for me: my first SLA experience, my first conference, and my first time in the USA. Whilst at the conference, I was truly mesmerised not only by the scale, diversity, and depth of sessions provided, but also of the welcoming nature of those within the Division and SLA as a whole. I was lucky to receive two fantastic mentors, Rising Star and SLA Europe President Sara Batts, and LDQ Editor and Legal Division Director Liz Polly. They helped to guide me throughout the conference and provided some much needed advice to help me make the most of my time in Philadelphia.

By attending the Annual Conference, I had hoped to gather ideas for my MA research project relating to the use of electronic materials in law firms and gain practical examples of increasing the visibility of a library service within a legal environment. The strong links between sectors within SLA enabled me to do so, but also provided a host of other unexpected ideas and inspiration. Too often libraries appear stuck within their sector, occasionally learning from the experiences of their peers, but often failing to consider advancements in other sectors. The Annual Conference and structure of SLA proved that this need not be the case. I was able to take ideas from a range of sectors, as well as draw comparisons between US and UK library services to see how services can be improved as a result of others’ advancements. Some of these ideas are outlined below.

Increase Your Visibility

SLA’s “future ready” theme provided the perfect setting to explore another of my interests: library visibility and promoting library services. The Annual Conference provided the opportunity to expand on theoretical ideas I had explored as part of my MA and pepper them with practical examples and new ideas. Sessions such as “Cost Recovery vs. Cost Prevention,” chaired by Colleen Cable, provided concrete ideas for a service to promote itself and ensure that it is aligned with the goals of its organisation. Among the ideas discussed in the panel session, it was suggested that connections are made between a firm’s librarians and accountants. This idea of a “personal touch” ran through many of the sessions I attended and emphasised the importance of librarianship as a people profession. When coupled with ideas taken from sessions such as Mary Ellen Bates’ and Gayle Gossen’s “How to conduct an elevator speech,” I was able to contemplate visibility beyond promoting library services and extend it to how we market ourselves as librarians and information professionals. The efforts pertaining to visibility for the library and information services must be practiced by promoting not just services, but the librarian as an extension of these services. This is especially true where embedded librarianship is practiced or where a sizeable hardcopy collection is lacking.

Keep An Eye On New Products

Another new experience for me was the INFO-EXPO Exhibit Hall. This provided me with a chance to discuss the latest products vendors were promoting, as well as discover and talk to some of the smaller, lesser known companies that were also exhibiting. This was of particular use for my dissertation, investigating the changing uses of electronic resources in law firms. As a result of the INFO-EXPO Exhibit Hall, I was able to discuss the latest mobile technology and databases, informing my research and providing me with new ideas to consider. It was also interesting to learn about the services providers are developing to stay ahead of cheaper or free alternatives. The gulf between the usability of databases provided by different providers surprised me, as did an apparent lack of extensive user testing before the implementation of new products. Sadly, I felt that many of the big retailers were not “future ready,” but rather relying on their weight and size to provide for their future.

Learn From Other Sectors

A great deal of discussion was held regarding the cost of resources and the procurement of published articles from fee earners and know how officers. The large costs associated with attempting to buy articles back from publishers were discussed, often with a tone of despair, at the monopoly vendors hold over libraries. I felt that this could act as a classic case of learning from other sectors. Academic libraries also face a similar problem, with scholars still preferring to publish in high impact, subscription journals as opposed to open access alternatives. Rather than re-purchasing the article from a vendor, repositories are set up, often collaboratively between various universities (e.g. White Rose Research Online) and a pre-print version of an article is deposited within. Law libraries could use a similar idea to gather their firm’s know how and prevent the loss of information behind pay walls.

A Little Bit of Enthusiasm Goes a Long Way

My biggest takeaway from SLA 2011 is the most important, but least tangible. I have been inspired by so many of the speakers and delegates that I met, sending my levels of enthusiasm and excitement soaring. Through engagement and by attempting to convey my genuine passion for librarianship, I received valuable help and advice from information professionals at all stages of the career ladder. As a new professional, the chance to encounter so many enthusiastic people and interesting ideas is invaluable. It has stimulated passion and excitement at a time when the profession faces so many challenges. The conference theme may have been intended to prepare libraries as organisations, but for me it has created excitement for my future career as an information professional and confidence in the LIS community.

Finally, I wish to offer my greatest thanks and appreciation to SLA Legal and SLA Europe for giving me the opportunity to attend the conference, and for the many benefits I have been able to glean from it.