The OLA SSD Board and why YOU should join

We've been pretty focused on the annual OLA SSD Conference lately, as I'm sure you've noticed. With all the planning, prepping, and organizing it takes to make an event like that happen, it's easy to get laser-focused on it. And what an event! The 2016 conference had record attendence (by a very wide margin), a new format, and plenty of other new and positive changes that we hope added value to it for you. I know I had a great time and learned lots!

But that's not all OLA SSD does, and we're always pushing to do more. The Conference Committee is one sub-group of a larger SSD organization, and SSD has room for YOUR skills, whatever they may be! We have a number of vacancies to fill on the SSD board if you're interested in an official position, including:

• Chair of the OLA SSD Board
• Continuing Education Committee Chair
• Continuing Education Committee Member
• Conference Committee Member
• Outreach Team Member
• OLA SSD Webmaster
• Board Member-At-Large
• ...plus a number of other positions that will probably open up soon!

Not to mention opportunities to write a guest post here on the blog, offer suggestions for next year's conference, set up a local meet-up between SSD members, and more. We need you!

"So what's in it for me?" you might ask. That's the best part! Not only do you get a chance to work with other people in your field (we're a pretty cool group, if I do say so myself), you'll be beefing up your résumé, expanding your skill set, getting leadership experience, networking like crazy, and doing your part to help out support staffers across the state. If you have time for a meeting every few months and a few minutes a week for some extra work, this really is a golden opportunity. 

If this sounds good to you, send us an email! olassd@gmail.com will reach us directly and we can discuss details and answer any questions you may have. We are excited to meet you!

Works Well With Others

Today we have a message from Susan Gilmont. It sounds like a great opportunity!

I don’t know how you folks are evaluated these days, but here’s a criterion that goes into my annual evaluation:

“Cooperative effort to achieve common goals; ability to work well with others”

Here’s a suggestion for a way to meet this goal:  join the SSD Continuing Education Committee.

If you’d like to meet and work with top-tier library employees from all over the state, this is the place.  If you’re looking for a growth experience, or to enhance your resume by showing how you can “work well with others,” then this is a good opportunity.  If you have a boss who is pushing you to expand your horizons, this could be the answer.  If you are just looking for a place to make a contribution, boy do we have a spot for you.

The Continuing Education Committee finds presenters for OLA and sponsors sessions there.  There are two flurries of activity around this – one in September, when we propose sessions, and one just before OLA.  Most meeting and planning is done by e-mail, calls or Skyping.  Easier than ever.

What it does for you:  I’ve been on this committee for a lot of years. It’s very energizing.  You find yourself looking at educational offerings in a whole new light:  would this speaker be good for OLA?  What sessions have I always wanted to see?  What do we all think about but nobody talks about (like money)? It turns you outward, makes you look around in a new way.  Very good for a person.  You have a reason to go to that workshop that made you curious.  It’s also justification for you to attend OLA, if you need something like OLA involvement to back up your attendance.

So, please consider joining us.  We’ll have a good time, and we’ll make a contribution.  If you are interested, please contact me at:  susan.gilmont@oregonstate.edu  .