In early June, I attended the SLA Annual Conference in Baltimore and the opening keynote speaker was Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, speaking on “Special Libraries are the Special Forces of Libraries”.  Dr. Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. She is the first professional librarian appointed to this position in over 60 years, and is the first woman and first African American to serve in this role!

What caught my attention during her talk was how she compared the Congressional Research Service Librarians to “Special Forces” that serve congress by delivering unbiased, nonpartisan information. This phrase hit home for me as the MSK Research Informationist team strive to deliver the best search results based on the clinical or research questions submitted. They focus on developing search strategies that will uncover the evidence and don’t let their own opinion influence the end results that are sent to the client.

The theme that encapsulated her speech was about service and she ended her talk with a question for the audience – What can the Library of Congress do for you? This question applies to all information professionals – whether they work in a public library, special library, or research library. A Library is made up of more than just the collections that are acquired, managed, and made accessible. It truly is the “special forces” or staff that not only bring these collections to life but support their user communities for all their information needs. Our challenge is to determine the services that will meet the needs of a diverse group of users with differing information-seeking behaviors through conversations and engagement.

Donna Gibson
Director of Library Services