ACRL New England Chapter News Online
Winter 2001, No. 92

When you have the privilege of being President of ACRL/NEC, you get to observe a great many of our colleagues "doing their thing." It never ceases to amaze me how many terrific people we are fortunate enough to have in librarianship.

We worry way too much about our image, in my opinion. Who has time to care what others may think about us when we are working as hard as we can to stay in front of our clientele to provide state-of-the-art services. It is not rocket science to figure out that the "information world" is changing almost daily. And it is obvious to most of those we serve that we, as a profession, are committed to dealing with such change ­ as they say, we are a "focused" profession.

We have a fair number of special interest groups in ACRL/NEC. At every Board meeting, I hear about their plans and activities and am delighted that these people are my colleagues. We put on excellent conferences and workshops that cover not only what we do but the ways in which our work is likely to change. We anticipate the future and embrace it (our "image" would not have you think this). We meet and deal with technology, services, planning and even explore such exciting topics as mold and preserving our materials.

We have colleagues giving up many precious personal hours, doing the behind the scenes work of planning and holding events. This is no modest commitment!

Why mention all of the above? Well, it's just one librarian's way of saying thanks to everyone who is indeed "professional" ­ to acknowledge colleagues who care way beyond just doing their job.

The view from the president's chair allows me to see the overall picture of ACRL/NEC and how our membership works. From this perspective, the weather is always sunny and clear with light winds and a promise of a great day!