Elizabeth Nelson, Knowledge Analyst at UOP and Adjunct Reference Librarian at McHenry County College, is this year's recipient of the stipend to the SLA Leadership Summit taking place January 27-29. Read on to learn why she desired this stipend.
Elizabeth writes:
I have held many leadership positions – many of them formal roles, but I have found that true leadership does not always come with a title. The leaders of a group are those who motivate the group to be more than the sum of its parts. So, while I will detail a few of my formal roles, I do not think this tells the whole story, as I have often stood outside of the spotlight and filled a more supporting leadership role.
Most recently I have been involved with two efforts in SLA to help newer librarians become part of the field. One of these is SLA’s First Five. I have taken a role on this task force to create a web solution that will allow new librarians to learn and connect with others in the field. The SLA KM Division Student Liaison Committee has a similar goal, and part of the work that was done last year was to develop a mentoring program that would connect newer librarians with the larger field of librarianship.
In the workplace I have led the effort in our Expert Interview process, expanding the program from one expert per year in 2006 and 2007 to 19 experts in 2008. Working on cross-functional teams is even more challenging than leading groups that have the same big-picture goals, since there are sometimes conflicts in expectations of a program.
Even though I have had good experiences in leadership roles, I believe that true leadership begins with being a good role model and mentor to others. I have already begun my journey to becoming a leader in the library field by having several articles published in our professional literature and being a member of the 2009 class of Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership Initiative, but the next step is to become more visible through more formal leadership roles in the library community.
My professional development goal for this coming year is to take on a formal leadership role in SLA Illinois. From my committee work with SLA and ALA I have developed an understanding of the process and Synergy has helped me to explore my own leadership style. The SLA Leadership Summit would give me the tools to apply my experiences to leadership within SLA.