Thing 21: Pay it forward: Professional Groups

I am a member of the School Library Association in the Republic of Ireland (SLARI) which is a branch of the UK based School Library Association. It provides support to primary and secondary school librarians.  SLARI is very much a Dublin based organisation, so getting involved at committee level is not practical.  I did volunteer to get involved but meetings are held during working hours which would involve taking most of the working day off because of the commute.  At present there are 5 JCSP librarians on the committee of 9.  So I feel I am well represented! Perhaps in the future if this organisation grows there may be potential to have regional representation.   Whilst SLARI provides many support services for librarians in schools through their website, it is heavily influenced by the UK association.  Continued Professional Development comes through the UK branch.  Although SLARI is small it holds an annual conference which I attend.  In 2016 they started the "Great Reads Award."  The aim of this is to highlight new authors and diversify the reading of young adults.  It's also an opportunity for Irish students to voice their enthusiasm about good writing for their age group.

I am not currently a member of LAI.   My focus to date has been collaborating with lots of different associations who are interested in literacy and numeracy.  This is not exclusive to education or libraries.  For example, I am a PLICS (Promoting Literacy in Communities and Schools) committee member.  This is a local organisation in Waterford city and county whose participants are made up of schools, public library, charities and government agencies. 

On a final note I do think it is important to join professional organisations, to be a member and to contribute.    Many years ago..... I was a member of American Library Association (ALA).  My qualifications were from an Irish University and required interpretation for potential American Employers.  I contacted ALA looking for guidance.  They put me in contact with Dr. Norman Horrocks who at the time was Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor at the School of Information Management at Dalhousie University.  He verified that my qualifications and 4 of my classmates were legitimate.  This letter allowed my colleagues and I to work in libraries in the US.

I suppose I think the greatest strength of Professional Associations is Networking and making contacts. I feel strongly that librarians in general subscribe to Pay it Forward!!!  and being part of an Association makes this easier.