Presented by Toby Pearlstein ‘77LS
Retired, Director of Global Information Services

Abstract
2009 is the 100th anniversary of the Special Libraries Association, making this an ideal time to consider if there is a future for special libraries (and the skill set of librarians who work in them). Are we prepared to answer the question of whether in the struggle for our survival we will be "the fittest" or if special libraries will become a casualty of the ongoing information revolution? In exploring these questions Dr. Pearlstein will take a look at the roles special librarians have typically played as intermediaries and arbiters of information and knowledge in their parent organizations, discuss the increasing challenges to these roles from both within and outside the profession, and conclude by taking a pragmatic look at some ways to position ourselves for survival and success in a future of ongoing economic and social turbulence.

Speaker Biography
Toby Pearlstein retired from the position of Global Director of Information Services for Bain & Company, an international management consulting firm, in December 2007. During her 14 years at Bain she was responsible for oversight management of Bain's information centers including global vendor contract negotiation, budgeting, evaluation and acquisition of print and electronic products and services, and coordination of global information services policies and global IS team professional development standards. She was actively involved in Bain's early knowledge management program and the development of its intranet platform including a portal for end user desktop access to contracted research resources.
An historian by training with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and an M.A. in American History from the University of New Hampshire, she also holds a Masters of Library Science and Doctorate degree from Simmons GSLIS.

Dr. Pearlstein is a Fellow of the Special Libraries Association and became a member of the SLA Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2007, she was the recipient of the Boston Chapter of SLA's Distinguished Service Award. She has been Chair of both the Transportation and Business & Finance Divisions of SLA as well as Chair of the Association's Professional Development Committee and a member of the Research Committee and the Finance Committee. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and contributor to professional publications including most recently a series of articles co-authored with Jim Matarazzo for Searcher Magazine focusing on survival lessons for special libraries.

RSVP
http://gslis.simmons.edu/signup/
by November 10, 2009

CHANGE OF DATE: Thursday, December 10th, GSLIS Assistant Professor Melanie Kimball, Ph.D., presents "Teaching Children ‘To See Beauty and to Live It': A Library/Museum Collaboration, 1914-1918."

Are you a new library school graduate or mid-career and looking for a change? Are you wondering how to improve your career skills or ready to try a certificate program? Looking to refresh your resume? We invite you to join us for the first annual LIS Online Career Fair. Join us online on Tuesday January 12, 2010 for an exciting day of learning how to start or to rejuvenate your library career in tough times! Conference takes place online. 11 a.m. — 5:30 p.m. For more information and to register visit http://liscareerfair.org.

Bill Barnes, creator of the popular comic "Unshelved", will be visiting GSLIS this January. Check out the comic at http://www.unshelved.com. Talk begins at 2 p.m., signing at 3 p.m. Boston campus, location TBA.

This year, Alumni Day will be Alumni Night, so please mark your calendars for the evening of Thursday, May 6, 2010.

Details will be available soon.