Under the leadership of ILEX chair, Nancy Bolt, the Independent Librarians Exchange had a stellar year!  During Annual Conference, the ILEX Executive Committee began consideration of an “ILEX Consultants Code of Ethics,” which will be posted on ALA Connect along with other tools of interest to library consultants.  ILEX leaders invite new and experienced library consultants to visit ASCLA/ILEX space on ALA Connect where you will find (and can share with colleagues) resources and tools to help you in your work.

A highly successful day-long ASCLA preconference, “Assembling a Consulting Toolkit” was led by ILEX members Nancy Bolt and Sara Laughlin and had 41 participants.  ILEX is now exploring offering this training online instead of or in addition to a pre-conference.   In addition to the pre-conference, ILEX also sponsored two successful programs and a lively discussion forum during the Annual Conference.  Plans are also in the works for a Facilitation Skills program during the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim.

So what else did you miss in New Orleans?

“Consulting from Both Sides of the Fence:  Why Libraries Hire Consultants and How Consultants Get Jobs” focused on teams of a consultant and a client.  Three well-known consultants with their clients shared valuable insights.  Consultant Bill Wilson was joined by Tennessee State Librarian Chuck Sherrill.   Consultant June Garcia was joined by Lynn Wheeler, Director of the Carroll County Maryland Public Library.     Consultant Kimberly Bolan Cullin was joined by Mary Hougland, Director of the Jennings County Indiana Public Library, and Edra Waterman, Director of the Plainfield Indiana Public Library.  Clients discussed why they chose the consultant, focusing on proven experience, a clear description of the proposed methodology, and a clear and reasonable budget.  Consultants indicated how they decided whether to respond to a Request for Proposal.  Some of their reasons included whether the amount budgeted for the project was in the RFP; whether the scope of the project was doable; and whether they felt they could offer relevant services. 

About half of the 50 people in the audience were consultants and half were librarians looking for consultants.    The audience participated in a lively discussion about the consulting process. Nancy Bolt moderated this informative program.  

Some 25 ALA attendees benefited from an hour of free consultation during “Consultant’s Giving Back, An Opportunity for Free Consultant Advice” on Sunday, June 26.  Consultants appreciate the work they receive from libraries and this unique program offered the library community up to an hour of free consultation with a consultant of their choice.  Some consultants were also available at other times. At least 30 people signed up for free consulting advice.  An unknown number made appointments directly with a consultant.  For a list of the seventeen participating consultants, visit:  http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/ascla/asclaourassoc/asclasections/ilex/2011consultantsgive.pdf . This program, organized by consultants Nancy Bolt and Paula Singer was cosponsored with PLA. Plans are to offer this opportunity for free consulting advice at PLA and at the ALA 2012 Annual Conference. 

And finally, marketing and promotion were among the topics at the ILEX Consultants Discussion Forum on Saturday, June 25. New and experienced consultants brought questions and experiences to this informal sharing session moderated by ILEX Executive Committee member Jeannette Smithee.  Many ALA members who attended the ASCLA/ILEX “Assembling a Consulting Toolkit” preconferences look to the Consultants Discussion Forum for continued networking. Plan to attend the ILEX Consultants Discussion Forum at the 2012 Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. What are the challenges you face as a consultant? Visit the ILEX space ALA Connect and suggest some topics for future discussions!

Check out the outstanding programs offered by ASCLA at the Annual Conference!

ASCLA President’s Program: Prisoners’ Right to Read: Balancing Intellectual Freedom and Correctional Security
Saturday, June 25, 2011, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MCC-Room 285
Hosted by ASCLA LSSPS and the Library Services to Prisoners Forum
Librarians serving the incarcerated and detained face daily challenges to provide library services. They struggle to balance the library’s mission to ensure access to information while respecting the facility’s goals of safety and security. Program participants will learn to use positive communication skills and the new “Prisoners’ Right to Read: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” (PRTR) to help correctional administrators craft improved policy and correctional line staff to consistently interpret policy. A Q&A session surrounding the PRTR is also part of the session.

Marketing Libraries to Diverse Communities
Saturday, June 25, 2011, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
MCC-Room 342
Hosted by ASCLA
Language, cultural differences, and different perceptions of the role of the library all present a challenge for libraries trying to connect with diverse communities. What are the multicultural marketing trends and practices put to use by other types of businesses, and how can we apply the most successful tools, techniques and principles to the library setting? This program will prepare you to reach out to culturally diverse, fast-growing and information seeking populations of library consumers.

Behavior Issues in the Library: Strategies for Successful Responses
Saturday, June 25, 2011, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
MCC-Room 349
Hosted by ASCLA LSSPS and ALSC
Librarians deal with a wide variety of patrons and patron behaviors. This program offers strategies and resources to help librarians coping with customers whose behaviors are associated with mental health issues, including autism spectrum disorders. The panel, which will include self-advocates and professionals in the field of mental health and autism spectrum disorders, will provide practical approaches on this topic, including how to de-escalate situations.

Managing Membership
Saturday, June 25, 2011, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MCC-Room 349
Hosted by ASCLA
Successfully communicating the value of membership and its benefits is more important than ever–especially for library consortia. Learn how one consortium has implemented a membership management system and its subsequent impact on communications about the benefits of membership–with outstanding results!

Open Source Integrated Library Systems in Consortia
Saturday, June 25, 2011, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MCC-Room 333
Hosted by ASCLA ICAN
Open source integrated library systems are no longer cutting-edge technology, but managing dozens of libraries on the same system is still a task left to a few brave souls. This program examines five consortia of varying size, type and complexity from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan and Georgia, who are successfully using either Koha or Evergreen Open Source systems in a union catalog environment.

Displaying Partnerships: How to Successfully Build Partnerships with Other Agencies
Saturday, June 25, 2011, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
MCC-Room 349
Hosted by ASCLA
For the last two years, a regional library consortium in Ohio has partnered with the local division of the American Cancer Society to provide information, ideas and resources to all types of libraries in the state for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, held each October. Spurred by its success, the consortium plans to expand their reach to other types of cancer awareness. This program will review the successes of the partnership, and shed insight on how to foster similar partnerships between your library and local community organizations.

Consulting From Both Sides of the Fence: Why Libraries Hire Consultants, and How Consultants Get Jobs
Sunday, June 26, 2011, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MCC-Room 339
Hosted by ASCLA ILEX
Getting a consulting job requires a masterful mix of attention to detail and creative flair–from drafting a detailed proposal and submitting it on time, to being selected for the project and finalizing a contract. Learn about the process from the viewpoint of the director and from that of the consultant. You will have a chance to participate in a mock proposal review. Presenters Beth Bingham and Nancy Bolt are currently consulting after distinguished careers in library leadership positions; Sara Laughlin was a consultant for ten years before becoming a library director in 2007.

American Sign Language Literature Programming @ Your Library
Sunday, June 26, 2011, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
MCC-Room 333
Hosted by ASCLA/LSSPS
Attendees will learn about existing quality resources that support deaf people’s efforts to be understood by the public as people first and who have their deaf culture and language called American Sign Language (ASL). Librarians will learn about the differences between Deaf and ASL literatures and about the latest and greatest in contemporary literature to bring into the library’s reading and discussion groups. Sources for locating books, videos and films, funding, speakers, authors, deaf library friends groups and tips for programming librarians will be shared.

Library Snapshot Day: A Nationwide Success Story of Library Advocacy -New Jersey State Library
Monday, June 27, 2011, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MCC-Room 334
Hosted by ASCLA
Library Snapshot Day provides a way for libraries of all types across a state, region, system or community to show what happens in a single day in their libraries. This initiative provides an easy means to collect statistics, photos and stories that will enable library advocates to prove the value of their libraries to decision makers and increase public awareness. Library Snapshot Day was initiated by the New Jersey State Library; similar programs are taking place in 27 states across the country. This session will provide an overview of results from different states, and also prepare participants to easily hold their own Library Snapshot Day.

All Annual Conference participants are invited to engage with ASCLA’s discussion groups. These sessions are an informal opportunity to connect with peers tackling the same issues who are interested in learning about available solutions. Come spend time with your colleagues and leave refreshed and reinvigorated with new ideas and solutions for your toughest problems.

Physical Delivery Discussion Group
Sunday, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
DOUB-Crescent B
This discussion group is for those interested in and involved with physical delivery systems for library materials. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about each others’ projects and make valuable professional contacts.

Virtual Library Discussion Group
Monday, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MCC-Room 238
Provides a forum for discussion of library services that can be provided in an electronic format. This group also provides an opportunity to discuss cutting edge pilot projects as well as established services that promote a 24/7 library that is accessible anytime, anywhere.

Collaborative Digitization Discussion Group
Saturday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
DOUB-Crescent B
The resource for collaborative digitization discussions within ALA. In 2010, the group will take up “Librarianship and Traditional Cultural Expressions,” a set of principles developed by a workgroup led by the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. Following presentations on this main topic, all representatives of collaborative digital projects will also have an opportunity to provide brief status updates.

Consortia Management Discussion Group
Sunday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
MCC-Room 242
This group is home to consortia and systems, a discussion of their challenges and sharing of service experiences including automated virtual union catalogs, aggregated purchases of databases, virtual reference services, region-wide platforms for digital assets, resource sharing, training and central processing. Participants engage in conversations about important topics such as service delivery, value of services, system viability and the future of systems and consortia In 2010, we’ll talk about the formation of the New York Alliance of Library Systems (NYALS), and what the system has learned about demonstrating their value to members, funders and other key stakeholders.

LSTA Coordinators’ Discussion Group
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
MCC-Room 263
LSTA coordinators convene for an opportunity to share updates on current activity in their states, and share problems in need of a collaborative solution. The session typically includes a presentation from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Come prepared to collaborate!

General Library Consultants’ Discussion Group
Saturday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
HIL-Burgundy
Discussion topics for this group cover the full spectrum of the areas that library development bureaus typically handle or are involved in: state and local library budgets, marketing and public relations activities, changes in their state library or local libraries and new initiatives, to name a few. All librarians who function as consultants at their state library agency are welcome, and state librarians interested in participating are also welcome.

Youth Services Consultants’ Discussion Group
Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MCC-Room 241
Our meetings at Annual and Midwinter typically consist of a round robin of state level youth services representatives on what is happening in their state, good speakers they have had, grant programs they are running, and various other activities. Please come and report on what’s happening in your state.

ILEX Consultants Discussion Forum
Saturday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
W-Studio 56
New and experienced consultants can bring their questions and experiences to this informal discussion forum. The conversation will begin with the topic of marketing and promotion by consultants, but can include other topics as well.

Submitted by Nancy Bolt, ILEX Chair

ASCLA’s Independent Librarian’s Exchange (ILEX) will host exciting programs in New Orleans:  the last Assembling a Consulting Toolkit preconference; Consulting from Both Sides of the Fence: Why Libraries Hire Consultants and How Consultants Get Jobs, our Sunday morning program; Consultants Giving Back, a chance for a private, free, one-on-one with an experienced consultant; and an ILEX Forum, where new and not-so-new consultants can informally discuss any topic of interest to them.  Also in this article, learn about the new ALAConnect page for library consultants, chock full (soon) of helpful articles, power points, and tools for successful consulting.

 ILEX in New Orleans

Ilex will be sponsoring its last preconference on Assembling a Consulting Toolkit: What You Need to Know to Become a Successful Library Consultant.  This immensely successful all-day preconference has received glowing reviews from participants, many of whom have already received consulting contracts.  Experienced consultants (Sara Laughlin and myself) will again be teaching the workshop, complete with a notebook of useful handouts and worksheets to take home with you.  More information is on the ASCLA website at http://www.alaannual.org/content/ascla.  This preconference is scheduled for Friday, June 24^th from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in MCC 242.

The Sunday morning program is Consulting from Both Sides of the Fence: Why Libraries Hire Consultants and How Consultants Get Jobs scheduled for Sunday, June 26, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., in MCC 339.  This program will focus on teams of a consultant and a client.  What was the client looking for when an RFP was issued?  Why did the consultant respond?  What did the consultant feel he/she could offer?  Why did the client hire this particular consultant over other possible consultants?  What worked and what were the challenges of the consultant/client experience and relationship?  This will be a truly informative program for consultants bidding on Requests for Proposals and there a lot out there now.

Consultant’s Giving Back was first held at the last annual conference and was successful enough to be repeated.  Consultants appreciate the work we receive from libraries and this is our chance to give back to the library community.  Librarians can request 30 minutes to an hour of free consultation with a consultant of their choice.  Consultants have set aside time on Sunday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Hilton, Magnolia room.  Some consultants are also available outside that time frame.  A list of participating consultants will be available on the ILEX website soon (www.ala.org/ascla).

ILEX will sponsor another forum for consultants to get together.  New and experienced consultants can bring their questions and experiences to this informal discussion forum. The discussion will begin with the topic of marketing and promotion by consultants, but can include many other topics.  At Midwinter we had a lively discussion that we hope to continue in New Orleans.   The ILEX Forum will be on Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the W Hotel in Studio 56 Room.

Finally, ILEX has opened a community page on ALAConnect.  All ASCLA ILEX members can visit ALAConnect for helpful tools on consulting.  We are asking ILEX members to populate this site with articles, papers, slides, etc., that they have written.  The first one up is a set of slides on Moving into Management that I prepared for a series of workshops I led.    Library consultants who work in a library may be interested in more management responsibilities or consultants may be interested in some of the research and other background materials that are included in the package.  ASCLA/ILEX members can go to this ALAConnect page for continuous information about consulting. If you are not now an ASCLA/ILEX member, by joining ASCLA  and ILEX, you automatically will have access to this wealth of information.  Membership information is also on the ASCLA website.

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you in New Orleans.

Submitted by Nancy Bolt, Independent Librarians’ Exchange Chair

ILEX conducted its third successful pre-conference, Assembling a Consulting Toolkit:  What You Need to become a Successful Library Consultant, for 33 librarians interested in becoming consultants. The fourth and final preconference on consulting will be held in New Orleans. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the basics of becoming a successful library consultant. Workshop content covers deciding what kind of consultant you want to be, marketing yourself as a consultant, the business of consulting, and responding to an RFP. Participants in this interactive workshop leave having made basic decisions about their consulting future. (See more on this pre-conference in the related article in this issue of Interface). (more…)

We need to know more about what is going on at ILEX.  If you are interested, please contact the editor and contribute something!