Library "Pearls of Wisdom"

The Toronto chapter of CASLIS (Canadian Association of Special Libraries and Information Services) held its annual general meeting May 18.

Since the event marked the 30th or "pearl anniversary" of the chapter, the executive invited prominent members from the past and present to share some of their "pearls of wisdom" for doing well professionally and more generally.

Here is a summary of some of the advice offered:

Mary Cordeiro, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto:

• Long-standing association members should spare a though for people who are new to professional organizations, who’ve taken the big step to come out to their first meeting, and they should extend an invitation to newbies to come visit their workplace
• As for newcomers, they have the responsibility to take the first step and mingle. Even better, they should bring a friend to their first meeting and mingle separately so they can share contacts

Rick Sage, Ontario Legislative Library:

• if you volunteer, do your best and don’t complain
• remember, “service not servitude”: insist on reciprocity in the workplace, on being treated as a professional, so don’t be afraid to probe and to question your clients: this will avoid wasting time and producing crap
• and if you’re going to disagree with your boss, do not do it in public

Jane Maxwell, Micromedia:

• whether it is welcome or not, foreseen or not, change is going to happen at all levels so accept it and grow
• what doesn’t change are professional organizations that remain forums to exchange information, vent frustrations, laugh, network and learn new things
  

Greg Barber, Rotman School of Management:

• it is important to cultivate the habit of optimism, not just in our professional lives but generally
• we need to see the good in what we’ve done, in where we are and where we’re going – medical research in fact suggests that the optimists live longer

Susan Morley, Canadian Standards Association:

• embrace variety: she has worked for the same employer for 26 years, in which time she started a library database in DOS, created departmental web pages when HTML first became popular, implemented a SAP purchasing system, redesigned web sites and became involved in competitive intelligence
• it is important to stretch beyond one’s day-to-day responsibilities through projects, professional development activities and/or involvement in associations
• all of this can lead you down a serendipitous path of discovery