SLA Establishes Australia and New Zealand Chapter

SLA Australia and New Zealand Chapter to Forge New Ground for Information Professionals

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) has formed a new chapter in Australia and New Zealand, the 59th geographically-oriented network within its membership. The SLA Board of Directors approved the motion to create the new chapter during its meetings held last month in conjunction with the SLA Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

SLA member Sue Henczel (CAVAL, Ltd., Bundoora, Australia) organized the effort to support SLA members in Australia and New Zealand. "For many years now information professionals in Australia and New Zealand have had the opportunity to affiliate with SLA for professional support, networking and professional development. Now that we have our own regional chapter, we can gain leverage from SLA's resources, support services and infrastructure, including its effective global communication and networking channels. It will enable us to become more involved in international events, activities and discussions and to share our expertise, knowledge, innovative practices and experiences with information professionals throughout the world." Henczel has also committed to leading the chapter -- she now serves as its inaugural President. Sue is also a nominated candidate for the 2005 SLA Board of Directors.

"SLA is poised to grow rapidly in this very important region of the world, and build on our existing membership of 12,000 information professionals," declared Janice R. Lachance, Executive Director of SLA. "Australia and New Zealand are important to the SLA community because they represent a very strategic area of the world. We must continue to grow globally, and establishing a chapter there just makes sense for the Association and for the worldwide community of information professionals."

To date, the chapter has acquired 48 members in just four weeks of existence, and is expected to continue growing rapidly.

For more information on the SLA Australia and New Zealand Chapter, visit its Web site at http://www.sla.org/

About SLA The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves more than 12,000 members in 83 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit us on the Web at http://www.sla.org.

SOURCE: Special Libraries Association

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