In a 2002 article in College & Undergraduate Libraries, entitled “Attending Conferences Outside of Librarianship” (vol.9(2):75-81, 2002), Cynthia Tysick wrote, “Sometimes it is beneficial to step back from librarianship and see where the areas we support are going.” For years, the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) and its National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) have recruited staff and volunteers to work at the NLM information booth during health professions’ conferences. Librarians also have been health professionals’ coauthors in conference presentations and posters.
An interesting experience awaits librarians who take advantage of opportunities outside of their usual professional realm, and these opportunities to be “out of the building” may require little to no advance preparation. By happenstance, two librarians (one who works for a book jobber, one an academic medical librarian) were among the attendees at a workshop this past April at Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg, IL, campus on “Books and the New Learner.”
Designed more for publishing and editorial staffs than librarians, it was the second in a series of workshops that grew out of the consulting arm of Doody Enterprises, Inc. (The inaugural workshop in 2013 focused on the migration of publishers from a print-first to a digital-first framework.) Most of the 35 attendees at the April workshop worked at health-related associations, while some were from the commercial publishing and service provision sectors (sales, ebook platforms, and consulting, etc.).
Why was this workshop intriguing for librarians? Because it not only featured presentations on book publishing trends by publishing veterans and consultants, Dan Doody and Rich Lampert, it also included a panel of three health sciences faculty members and two students from three different institutions. Participants also broke into smaller groups to discuss case studies that elicited comments on strategic publishing practices. So, in one workshop, librarians could hear points of view from across the continuum of health professional education publishing, teaching, and learning.
Encouragement to venture out is everywhere. During a Medical Library Association webinar on systematic reviews in April 2014, the panelists encouraged librarians to get out of their comfort zones. In March 2014, the Public Library Association’s annual conference featured a panel presentation with the title, “Do You Know Where Your Librarian Is? Building Relationships Outside the Building,” and, as we know, some embedded librarians may not even work in libraries most of their work days.
Experience gained from being out of the library is a return on investment when it is brought back to the information science “academic home,” a phrase used by Elaine Russo Martin in the “Professional Identity Reshaped” panel during this year’s Medical Library Association annual meeting. In her guest article for the December 2013 DCT Newsletter, “Professional Development: What’s Not To Like?!” Mary Pat Harnegie shared a list of activities that can build librarians’ credibility with their customer bases, peers, and institutions’ management. Taking advantage of opportunities to network with, collaborate with, and learn from professionals outside of one’s workplace and outside of one’s field, also can build credibility. On top of that, these activities can result in positive personal, professional, and institutional outcomes. Who knows what further opportunities may result from taking that first step?
