ABSTRACT
If nothing else, managing a special library is an exercise in variety and diversity. One has only to look at what a special librarian is, or think about what a special librarian does, to understand the value of flexibility and change implementation in the professional life of a special librarian. The Special Libraries Association (SLA), well known for it advocacy work on behalf of specialist librarianship, has its own definition of the special librarian, and it, too, reflects the variety and diversity of the special librarian’s work. SLA, with some 15,000+ members, defines a special librarian as ‘a knowledge professional who provides focused information and service to a specialised clientele having an impact on their success, mission, and goals’ (SLA, 1999). The definition continues by noting that the term ‘special librarian’ is used interchangeably with the term information professional’, and describes the association as having as members information professionals who work in corporations, media, finance, science, research, government, academe, museums, trade associations, non-profit organisations, and non-traditional enterprises (SLA, 1999).
