On March 6, 1922, a group of special librarians meet at the Realty Board Room in Los Angeles and decided to organize. They elected a President and appointed a liaison to SLA. They adopted a constitution on April 10th, and appointed a Periodicals Committee on May 8th. Pretty remarkable, just 3 years after a global pandemic, right?
So while the timing with the present day pandemic didn't work out quite right for us to plan a big celebration on March 6th of this year, there are many other milestones to celebrate between now and 2027 - 100 years after SCC officially became part of SLA.
This initial brainstorming session will commemorate that fateful first meeting 100 years ago, and kick off planning for how to use our legacy to empower special librarians in the future. Some potential tasks for committee members might be:
- Reviewing the SCC digital archive for significant figures, milestones, and for local response to current events (there are newsletters going back to 1938 - how did wartime impact this profession? - when did the internet enter the conversation? - what types of institutions had libraries in 1958? - how did we gather to network and develop as professionals over the years?)
- Collaborating with the Archives Committee (more info coming soon) to review/exhibit significant items from the physical archive to commemorate our history
- Brilliant ideas you bring to this session which help fulfill your needs for experience in this area – if you’re looking for a project to build your resume, this might be it.
