Lydia Middleton is the Executive Director of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). I interviewed her in July about ASIS&T as merger talks with the Special Libraries Association (SLA) were underway. Now that the merger is approved and official, I spoke with her again about what is to come and how SLA members can get involved with ASIS&T.
Please introduce yourself and describe your role with ASIS&T.
Hi, I’m the Executive Director of ASIS&T. I have been with the association for eight years and have spent most of my career in association management.
In August, SLA and ASIS&T members voted in favor of a merger. What are the next steps?
SLA is in the process of closing down its operations. In the meantime, ASIS&T has transitioned all active SLA members to ASIS&T membership so they can start enjoying the benefits. We are now in the process of mapping out how the many SLA communities will fit into or complement the existing ASIS&T SIGs (Special Interest Groups) and Chapters. Many members have started discussions about how to integrate the groups. Once SLA has finalized all its outstanding obligations, a dissolution and transfer of assets will be filed with the State of New York in order to transition the SLA Scholarship Fund over to ASIS&T.
What can SLA members expect in a joint organization?
SLA members can expect to receive the benefits they were already getting from SLA membership, plus a host of new benefits offered by ASIS&T. Many formerly SLA members are planning to attend the ASIS&T Annual meeting in November in Crystal City. Many more are already attending webinars and other ASIS&T events.
ASIS&T has an annual meeting in November. Will you please describe what attendees can expect?
Our Annual Meeting is on track to be the largest in many years with over 500 people already registered to attend. The meeting is largely research-focused, with more than 100 research papers, 120 posters, and 27 panel presentations from which to choose. In addition, several prior SLA exhibitors will be exhibiting at the meeting.
Do you expect the annual meetings to shift in content as SLA members join?
No, the ASIS&T Annual Meeting will remain a rigorously peer reviewed scientific conference. In addition to this meeting, we will be offering an early summer meeting focused on information science practice.
What is the best way for SLA members to get involved in the new joint organization?
Our new ASIS&T members should explore our iConnect platform to find groups of interest that they may join. Soon there will be calls for volunteers for awards juries, and in the spring we will have calls for volunteers for committees, SIGs, and Chapters. There are many ways to get involved!
Is there anything else you would like to share?
We are very excited to welcome our new members and we hope that they will reach out to us to find out more about how to engage and how they can contribute!
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