Communities Offer Many Perspectives on Learning

A book club discussion about Ozan Varol's Think Like a Rocket Scientist. An interactive training session on how to understand and use Robert's Rules of Order. A panel discussion on how librarians can support scholarly research and communication. A presentation on how financial analysis can be a valuable addition to a competitive intelligence practitioner's toolkit.

These are just a sample of the many learning opportunities offered by SLA's communities, which are formed around geographic areas (such as the Washington, D.C., Community and the Asia Community), disciplines (e.g., the Engineering Community), and skill sets (including the Taxonomy Community and the Competitive Intelligence Community). These communities develop education and social programs for their members that augment SLA's association- and profession-wide offerings such as the SLA Annual Conference, InfoTrends, certificate programs, and virtual roundtables.

To enhance the learning experience, SLA and its communities use a variety of delivery platforms, some more conducive to direct instruction while others encourage interaction and even relationship building among attendees. And most of the offerings are posted to SLA's Learning Hub after they air, so those who miss the live events can find the recordings in one centralized location.

To ensure its learning programs meet the needs of information professionals, SLA offers members opportunities to influence the content of those programs. For example, all SLA members have until Friday, March 12, to review and comment on the 130-plus education session proposals submitted for SLA's 2021 Annual Conference. Their feedback will be included in the final review process conducted by SLA's Annual Conference Advisory Council.

Whether your tastes run to multi-session conferences with hundreds of attendees or one-off online discussions in small groups, SLA has a learning community for you. Find out more at sla.org/learn-2/.