SLA - Special Libraries Association

04/26/2021 | Press release | Archived content

Work, Technology to Converge at InfoTrends 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many new changes and accelerated others that were already occurring, and nowhere has this been felt more acutely than at work. Jobs have been eliminated, created, transformed, and reimagined almost overnight, while workers have learned new ways to perform their jobs and employers have begun to question many assumptions about work they long took for granted.

Against this backdrop, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) is hosting Infotrends 2021, a half-day conference on work and technology. When SLA debuted InfoTrends in June 2020, hopes that the COVID-19 virus would prove to be a temporary event-much like the seasonal flu-still flickered, and the audience of more than 300 librarians and information professionals was keen to hear about skills and resources they could put to use immediately, including better search strategies and new technologies such as virtual reality. Now, with the pandemic still gripping the world but vaccination efforts starting to make headway, attention is focusing on what the post-COVID landscape will look like and how special librarians and information professionals can best position themselves to thrive in that environment.

With this in mind, InfoTrends 2021 features four speakers who will address the intersection of work and technology and provide both high-level and hands-on perspectives on the skills and insights that can help librarians and info pros succeed in the years ahead:

Debra Jasper, Mindset Digital
The face of business is now a computer screen, segmented into squares with names and faces of colleagues and customers. To stand out in this virtual environment, you must be a savvy virtual communicator, able to develop and lead compelling virtual presentations and meetings on a small screen. Debra Jasper will give you tips and tricks on the visual approaches you need in today's 'new normal.' She'll show you how to 'Put the Power in Your Next Virtual Presentation' and get big results from a small screen. Debra has delivered keynotes and master classes in more than a dozen countries around the world, from Australia to Dubai, and was recently named one of the top 12 'Winning Women Entrepreneurs in North America' by Ernst & Young.

Jeff Schwartz, Deloitte
What does the future of work look like in a virtual age? Jeff Schwartz is the author of Work Disrupted and a recognized global advisor and thought leader on the future of work. He currently leads the U.S. Consulting Future of Work research and practice at Deloitte and has been the global editor and senior researcher for 11 years of Deloitte's Global Human Capital Trends report, one of the world's leading annual reports on the future of the workforce. In addition to his recent book, he has authored and contributed to more than 40 articles for The Wall Street Journal, the MIT Sloan Management Review, the Rotman Management Review (at the University of Toronto), and Wired magazine.

Brian Merchant, OneZero
Technology can help power work, but implementing new technologies can sometimes cause disruptions. Brian Merchant studies and writes about technology and work and is the author of a bestselling book about the iPhone, the One Device. He's the senior books editor for OneZero, Medium's tech publication; he runs Automaton, a site that examines the human impact of automation, for Gizmodo; is an editor at Motherboard, VICE's science and technology outlet; and is the founder/editor of Terraform, its online fiction site. His work has appeared in Wired, the Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, Fast Company, Fortune, and other publications.

Chrissy Geluk, Librarian at Your Service
Longtime SLA member and technophile Chrissy Geluk was first introduced to SharePoint more than 10 years ago, when she migrated a corporate library site using SharePoint 2010 Foundation. Since then, Chrissy has continued to learn and use other Microsoft O365/M365 apps like Power BI and Microsoft Teams to help her clients achieve their ultimate business goals. In 2015, she launched her own information services business, Librarian at Your Service, to provide literature searches and analyses, content management and development, and end-user training.

InfoTrends 2021 is being hosted on Remo, an all-in-one conferencing platform that offers real-time, face-to-face engagement. Attendees will be able to interact with speakers and fellow attendees during the education sessions (where they'll also join in small breakout discussions) and in the networking breaks that follow.

InfoTrends attendees will receive access not only to the event itself but also to the session recordings, which will be posted in SLA's Learning Hub approximately 10 days after the event ends. Register for InfoTrends today!