Not to ingore them...

I decided to focus one blog on special libraries, although I do not have a lot of interest in special libraries and do not plan on working in one. I had to do a little research and I ended up on the Special Libraries Association's webpage. I found it interesting that, "Eighty-five percent of the companies ranked in the top 100 on the Fortune 500 list employed information professionals, compared to less than fifty percent of the companies ranked in the bottom 100" (www.sla.org) Apparently to be a really successful company you need to have a special library and "information professionals" to provide you with knowledge that keeps the company competitive. I never thought of special libraries being so important to a company's success. It makes sense to have employees completely devoted to finding and supplying information to your company. It takes a lot of time and knowledge in order to do this, so who better to have working for you than a librarian in your company's own library? "In today's fast-paced world of business, the need for information is an international commodity. Information, both internally and externally produced, is the lifeblood of an organization and essential for innovation and continuous learning" (www.sla.org). Even some of the most intelligent businesspeople in the industry are not adequate information seekers, so companies choose to have experts on the job. "Information professionals play a unique role in gathering, organizing, and coordinating access to the best available information sources for the organization, understanding the critical need of turning that information into usable knowledge" (www.sla.org). I do not think many people think about getting into a career in a special library, but I could actually see how it could be an interesting job for some people, especially if the library you are working for is focused on something that you are interested in. That would be a definite advantage to working in a special library over any other type of library. I can also see how there would not be a lot of people that are qualified to work in most of the special libraries, so they would be great jobs for people graduating with LIS degrees to consider.
Special Libraries Association. (2007) Value of the Information Professional. Retrieved April 10, 2008 from www.sla.org.