Environmental Scan
2009 Environscan #2
The NALS Think Big! campaign encourages NALS members to think big in all ways, be it within NALS, professionally, or personally. In order to plan and strategically guide NALS’ future, the questions of this scan were designed to be broad in nature, and to cover all experiences, whether connected to NALS’ programs and/or services or to some other experience. Below is a summary of the scan results.
Can you identify an educational opportunity that you recently took advantage of that you thought was exceptional? What made it exceptional?
From the responses received, it is clear that the respondents enjoy hands-on seminars or seminars where the audience participates. The respondents value their continuing education opportunities, but do not care for simple lectures. Seminars that are timely and relevant to their practice areas and that provide information useful to them outside of the workplace, such as seminars relating to today’s economic climate are best received.
The respondents pointed out that speakers must know their material to make a topic interesting. Further, respondents appreciate receiving seminar materials ahead of time and learning practical tips and shortcuts from a seminar.
Can you identify an educational opportunity that you recently took advantage of that you thought was terrible? What made it so?
One of the common themes in the responses to this question was that the respondents expect to receive what is advertised. Many have attended seminars thinking they would learn about a certain topic, only to have the presenter discuss something different. This may be avoided by clearly communicating what is expected of the presenter, such as: (1) what topic they expect to hear; (2) exactly how long their presentation should be and how much CLE credit will be awarded to the attendees; (3) even if the speaker is a vendor, they need to be mindful that their presentations do not turn into sales pitches; and (4) that NALS members are a diverse group and speakers should be careful to keep political or religious discussion out of the seminar.
However, most respondents agreed that what makes or breaks the seminar
is the presenter, and they appreciate a presenter who is entertaining and
knows their subject matter well.
Can you identify something that is important to you that you recently became
aware of? How did you find out about it?
The respondents provided great insight in response to this question since they related this question not only to NALS, but to issues affecting them on a personal level. That being said, the responses directed to NALS showed that marketing NALS’ many programs and opportunities has improved. In addition, it is interesting to note that some respondents became aware of programs outside of NALS through NALS’ publications or seminars, showing that respondents view NALS as a valuable resource.
What do you read most often? What is the appeal of that publication that causes you to continuously refer to it?
From the responses received, it is clear that respondents’ reading habits are varied. Newspapers, religious books, bar and trade journals, novels, self-help books, magazines and all levels of NALS publications were among those listed. Also noted for regular reading were reference books such as The Gregg Reference Manual and The Blue Book.
The NALS Strategic Planning Committee wishes to thank all those who participate in the environmental scans. Your responses help to shape and guide the future of NALS. Thank you for continuing to Think Big!