Sarah Long at MLA

When Sarah was president of ALA from 1999-2000, her theme was "Libraries Build Community." She has worked in every type of library from starting out as a school librarian, to working in the Ohio State Library, to a stint as an academic librarian, to several public libraries and library systems. She is also a past president of the Public Library Association.

• Sarah challenged us that it is no longer enough to keep the book -- something has to be "going on".
• Talked about the difference between marketing and PR. She says marketing is research, what you do before. PR is telling the story.
• She said (1) get rid of the old stuff; (2) build on your assets; (3) try some new stuff (don't be afraid of failure)
• Her take on the future of libraries (my question): get more IT and marketing staff. Library has got to change. "Will we change fast enough?"
• We have a “fearsome” future – both fearful, but also wonderful. Left us with “this is the best time”