About Us
SLA@SLIM is a student group of the Special Libraries Association at Emporia State University in the School for Library and Information Management. While Emporia State University is located in Emporia, Kansas, the SLIM program includes students across the state of Kansas, as well as distant learners in cohorts in other states.
SLA@SLIM's mission is to foster the mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and information between established practitioners and our geographically diverse student population.
SLA@SLIM History
In 1998, Lu Dayrit was a SLIM student, and the membership chair in the Heart of America (HOA) SLA chapter. She saw the need for a student SLA group, but needed a SLIM faculty member to serve as the group's advisor.
When Dr. Cathy Perley, an SLA member, joined the SLIM faculty full-time in 2002, the dream started to bear fruit. Dr. Perley agreed to be the advisor, if there was enough interest in creating a SLA student group. It turned out that there was.
SLIM students Christine Barrett, Hilary Berndt, Jill Chance, Donna Cuevas, Scott Curtis and Bobbi Levien, and doctorate student Rebecca Miller, volunteered to form a student planning committee late in the fall semester of 2002.
On January 24, 2003, the planning committee and other SLA student members met in Emporia, KS to put together a petition and elect interim officers.
In March, 2003, SLA announced its acceptance of the petition and the SLA@SLIM student group became official. In November, 2003, the governance structure changed to an executive council, with representation from Kansas and each of the SLIM cohorts.
2004 SARC Awards
SLA@SLIM received third place nationally for Outstanding Leadership, and was the third runner-up for Innovative Programming. They also submitted a nomination for the Heart of America chapter as an Outstanding Supportive Chapter. The Heart of America chapter received third place nationally.
What We Can Offer to SLIM Students
Access to the experiences, network of connections, and knowledge of practicing information professionals. We do this through:
Unique learning opportunities including workshops, virtual seminars, panel discussions, and professional development sessions.
A great excuse to socialize with other SLIM students in your cohort and to meet and interact with SLIM students in other cohorts.
The opportunity to contribute as much (or as little) as you want to the planning, development and coordination of YOUR student group!
To Join SLA@SLIM