by Marie Kaddell, DC/SLA President

Ah, Spring! Everything looks bright and fresh at this time of year. It’s a time for new beginnings, new perspectives, and new opportunities. 

No matter how tough the winter, spring puts everything in perspective. 

BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

Winter does end.  Ending are okay. They can get us to beginnings.  Beginnings are exciting and sometimes they are a bit scary. They can bring us to new opportunities. They can also bring us to new challenges. And of course, beginnings are a sort of change. Any new grad can tell you the bittersweet feeling of stepping away from the academic life to move forward to new goals and careers. It’s wonderful, it’s exhilarating, and sometimes, it’s a little daunting.

There should always be a little bit of a new start in our life and there should always be a graduation in the works – whether it’s learning how to tweet or getting a degree.  As information professionals, we have an innate desire to continue to grow. Be true to that desire. Don’t let the winter coat and boots and sudden snowstorms of life keep you from finding ways to do that. It’s imperative to your professional success. Spring is a good reminder that we can push through the challenges in our professional and personal lives to shed those coats and boots and enjoy a little spring sunshine.

In May and June, SLA and DC SLA are providing many opportunities for professional growth and expanding your network. Take advantage of them! Coming up:

Legislative History Research 101 – Brown Bag Lunch In Person Sponsored by LexisNexis – May 7, 2013  and Legislative History Research 101 – Virtual Viewing Sponsored by LexisNexis – May 7, 2013

Public Speaking Demystified…Tools, Tips and Tricks for Special Librarians – May 29, 2013

And of course, the SLA Annual Conference – June 9, 2013.

CHANGE

One major lesson spring provides us is about change because spring is all about glorious in-your-face change—change that we embrace gleefully, fully. Aha! Change doesn’t have to freak us out. Looked at from the vantage point of a beautiful spring day, change looks pretty good, totally manageable, just what we needed. Let’s keep that in mind from a personal and professional perspective. Look around you. Find the change. Give it a little hug. It may turn out to be your best friend.

RENEWAL

Spring refreshes our minds and spirits and prompts us to look at the same old things with new eyes; to see things in a new light. When you walk out your door on a beautiful spring morning, don’t the things you see every day:  the grass, the trees, the streets you walk down, all feel a little different?  They’re the same grass, trees, and streets though. Spring infuses everything with a fresh feel. We need to pay attention to what a fresh perspective can do for us as professionals, as individuals. Where can that take us? To opportunities. To discoveries. To insights. To our goals.

So, spring is a time of awakening to our opportunities or renewing our attention to them. What are your opportunities? What have you been waiting on doing? What fresh steps – big or small – can you take to drive your professional and personal development? Are there obstacles to overcome? Can you look at those obstacles with fresh eyes? Don’t forget about the value of your colleagues’ perspectives – take advantage of your DC SLA network.

SPRING CLEANING

And don’t forget to do a little spring cleaning in your life to make room for some of those opportunities. I highly recommend DC SLA member and author, Bruce Rosenstein’s article:  Creating Your Total Life List for 2013 to get your started on that. 

News, nibbles and notables from the DC-SLA/LLS joint happy hour April 18, 2013 at One Lounge:

BRUCE ROSENSTEIN has a second book coming out this fall, “Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way” (McGraw-Hill); www.BruceRosenstein.com–Look for a book talk soon!

SHARON LENIUS says BLM is moving to M St, NW, and they’ll be open for tours (currently in Springfield).

MIKE TIMPANI and CHRIS VESTAL are talking about a Game Night in the Fall at Orrick @ 15th Street downtown Mike also says he’s looking forward to the joint trivia night this summer (date TBA)!

On the scene wisdom from RAMONA HOWERTON, Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”): “Information architecture rocks! Organization is our game!”

KATHY KELLY is taking the recertification exam from the Academy of Certified Archivists in August in Connecticut–what a great combination, a Certified Archivist (C.A.) and Information Professional! Currently, she’s a FOIA Specialist at the Federal Reserve Board–good luck, Kathy! Note: Their office will be temporarily moving to Farragut North during upcoming renovation … Think better lunch options, Kathy!

SCOTT BAILEY, Prez of LLSDC, says, “Why not have joint membership? More joint activities, and don’t forget the baseball game Thursday, June 20 @ 7:05pm (Nationals vs. the Colorado Rockies)! Register with Kelli at <kpeterson@doc.gov> for tickets ($21). We’ll have our own section, with our name on the board–first come, first served!!!

JENNY WOOD of Corporate Executive Board) just made 10 years as Associate Director of Research and Development! She’s also on the DC/SLA board (and helped find today’s sponsors). In her 10 years at CEB, she’s expanded from doing in-person research for ~800 to global training for 3,500! …Congratulations, Jenny!

And finally, JANE MEYERS, our guest of honor and Lubuto Library Project Director, has been helping to build libraries in Africa since 2005 to increase literacy (the organization which our event is supporting with tonight’s fundraiser, sponsored by Bloomberg BNA and EBSCO). With over 700 reading lessons with audio files, and digital archives of repatriated Zambian stories from the Library of Congress, Boston University, Northwestern University and others, Lubuto is looking for volunteers, especially those with technical skills, to help. See http://Lubuto.org  and http://LubutoCollections.org to learn more, and email Jane at mayazi@verizon.net to get involved.

Until the next event,
Jan Zastrow, DC/SLA communications Team

And here’s a pic from Alicia Pappas, SLA and LLSDC member, and Secretary of (national) SLA Legal Division: it’s of all the sponsors, presidents, and planners. From left to right: Scott Bailey (president of LLSDC), Alicia Pappas (event planner–LLSDC), Tom Van Zoeren (EBSCO sponsor), Jane Meyers (Lubuto), Marie Kaddell (president of DC/SLA), Kelli Peterson (event planner–DC/SLA), Mike Bernier (Bloomberg BNA sponsor), and Laurie Green (LLSDC Global Giving Committee Chair).

DC/SLA members got their creative juices flowing at the “Librarians Can Act!” class January 23 with Theatre Lab, a local nonprofit school for the dramatic arts.  The group tried improv, creativity exercises and dramatic readings, all helping them with the “acting” we all have to do every day.