The College and University Business Libraries (CUBL) section of the B&F Division is continuing with its Member Spotlights. This month, we’re featuring Laura Leavitt, the Assistant Head of the Gast Business Library at Michigan State University and current Division Secretary. Please visit the CUBL website to meet Laura, and don’t hesitate to check out the rest of the CUBL materials for more information about what the section is doing.

Nancy Anne Brydges, one of the newer Executive Board members, serves at the Vendor Relations Chair for the Division. Nancy is a bilingual librarian (fluent in English and French), starting her career with the Canadian federal government before moving to the corporate sector. Nancy recently joined Dow Jones & Company as an Enterprise Consultant.

Nancy has directly benefited from the Business & Finance Division throughout her time as an SLA member. “B&F programming at SLA annual conferences has helped me develop the knowledge and skills I need to do my work in various positions throughout my career so far. The professional competencies required for my work have evolved since I first started attending the SLA Annual Conference in 2007. I started out needing tools and techniques for business and industry research, moved to a leadership role that involved contract management and negotiation, and finally started to focus in on return on investment in information services and understanding the value of strategic information for the enterprise. I see my involvement in B&F as the foundation for my developing career in the information industry.”

Of course, it has been her involvement in the Division’s leadership that has delivered even more impact to her as a professional. “In order to make the most of your experience with the Business & Finance Division, I would encourage you to get involved and make it happen! I attended the conferences for years before I finally became a member, and my involvement in B&F has taken my SLA experience to a whole new level. Join the conversation on our web site, follow our group on LinkedIn, and register to attend the annual conference in Chicago in July 2012!”

While Nancy hasn’t been on the Board for a full year, she has already begun to feel the effects of involvement. “One highlight of my experience in the Division so far, is my first Leadership Summit that I attended in Washington, D.C. in January of this year. At the summit, I gained a better understanding of how the association works and the relationship between headquarters, divisions and chapters. It was a great opportunity to connect with fellow members of the Business & Finance Division and the Eastern Canada Chapter, and to get a glimpse at the incredible amount of consideration, discussion and thoughtful planning that goes into the programming to meet the professional development needs of our members.”

In person, she’d love the chance to meet members and network with them. “If you see me in Chicago in 2012, please come over and say hello!”

Eric Schwarz serves as the Membership Chair for the Division. He keeps himself very occupied professionally with three positions. In his day job, he is a Customer Service Executive for Dow Jones & Company, where he helps customers with search and account questions related to several product lines (Factiva, Newswires, and Private Markets). He has also just began his fourth semester as an instructor, teaching Principles of Searching, a master’s-level course in Library and Information Science at Rutgers University. As if that weren’t enough, he moonlights as a part-time reference librarian at the Clarence Dillon Public Library in Bedminster, NJ.

Eric is relatively new to a leadership role in the Business & Finance Division, beginning in January with his current position. However, that’s not to say that he hasn’t benefited from being a member. As he says, “I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the smartest and most gracious people around. Amy Affelt, my predecessor as Membership Chair, slyly recruited me to step up when I interviewed her for the class I teach.” [If you'd like to read the interview, it is available on Eric's website].

If you’re new to the Division, Eric recommends putting yourself out there. “Make sure to introduce yourself to your colleagues in B&F at conference events, especially the social events. If you can’t make the conference, you can also join us via social media,” he suggests.

He also has some tips for getting the most out of being a part of the Business & Finance Division:

• Don’t be shy in volunteering; you can get a lot of good experience developing career skills as you work with B&F colleagues to plan programs, write for the newsletter, or participate in another project.
• Make sure to read the B&F Bibliography. It’s a great resource, showing the work and scholarship B&F members have contributed in the previous year. If you’ve written any professional or scholarly works, or made any presentations related to B&F work, make sure to get your name and work in the list for the next year.
• If you don’t understand something about the Division or SLA, or if you have any suggestions for programs or projects, just ask me or any of the other board members.

Eric can be reached at eric@ericthelibrarian.com or via social media.

Christopher Hoeppner is Chair-Elect of the Business & Finance Division. He was the Division’s Treasurer for three years ending in January 2011 and served a two-year term on SLA’s Finance Committee in 2008-09. He previously served the Division for three years as Bulletin Editor and for two years as Director responsible for continuing education programs. Chris is Associate Director – Administrative Services in the Libraries at DePaul University in Chicago. In his 18 years with the Libraries at DePaul, he has also worked in reference, instruction and collection development. Prior to choosing a career in librarianship, he worked as a CPA and tax adviser with KPMG.

“Editing the Division’s Bulletin and attending B&F’s 75th anniversary celebration more than a decade ago gave me a sense of the Division’s rich history,” Chris recalls, “and it was particularly gratifying to be able to meet and talk with a number of members whose published work I had read as a student and young professional.”

“SLA in general and B&F in particular have been a cornerstone of my professional life for many years. As valuable as it is to read about changes and trends in our field, there is no substitute for making contact with the people who are creating and responding to those changes and trends, and I know of no better way to do that than through SLA.” Chris urged newcomers to B&F to find a way to get involved by contacting a member of the Executive or Advisory Board. “There are no shortage of ways to be active in the Division. Before long, you’ve met a large number of members and at Conference every room has at least one familiar face.”

But the benefits of being active go well beyond the Annual Conference. “I’ve long been a believer in the notion that the leaders in any field are self-selected,” Chris said, “and one of the key ways they self-select is by joining and being active in a professional association where they can share their expertise with and learn from their peers. Being able to pick up the phone and get advice from a colleague you know through SLA and whose judgment you trust is an invaluable benefit. The relationships developed through SLA can last the length of one’s career, and there’s nothing like knowing you’re part of a larger body of professionals working toward common purposes.”

Terri is Chair of the Business & Finance Division for the second time. Serving as Chair-elect in 2008, her primary responsibility was Program Planning for the 2009 Conference which will be held in her “hometown” of Washington. Prior to that, she served the Division as Treasurer for 4 and a half years. Her service on the B&F Advisory Board included being Co-Chair of the Mentoring Initiative and serving on the Strategic Planning Committee. Her other SLA affiliations are the Washington, DC Chapter, Leadership and Management Division, IT Division, Competitive Intelligence Division, and Association Information Services Caucus. She is an SLA Fellow and has served as Chair of the Diversity Leadership Development Program Committee and the Bylaws Committee, and was a member of the SLA 2006 Baltimore Conference Planning Committee.

Professionally, Terri retired in 2009 from the Investment Company Institute, the trade association for the US mutual fund industry, where she held the position of Director of Library Services. It marked the fifth special library that she managed during her 30-year career. She earned her Master of Librarianship at the University of Washington.

Terri and her husband Art have been married for almost 40 years. They have two married daughters and four grandchildren. In addition to family fun, they enjoy spending time at Wintergreen, their weekend retreat in the mountains of Virginia. Terri especially finds great joy in participating in the activities of the Nature Foundation – hiking and learning with the residents and visitors. Her other interests include reading, crocheting, walking around Washington, and gardening.