One Person Library

The founder of the One-Person Library movement, Guy St. Clair, librarian at the University Club of New York of New York City, defined the One-Person Library as “one is which all the work is done by the [single] librarian” (1976). The SOLO Librarians Division of the Special Libraries Association defines a SOLO as “an isolated librarian or information collector/provider who has no professional peers within the immediate organization.” Other names for an OPL are "solo librarian" (in the U.S., the UK, and Israel), "sole-charge librarian" (in Australia and New Zealand), or "one-man band" (used by Aslib in the UK).

Milestones in OPL history

1972 Guy St. Clair leads a discussion at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, on “The One-Man Library.” He said he would do so only if the title was changed to “The One-Person Library.” This is the first instance of the term OPL being used. Hundreds of OPLs attend the session, overflowing the room.

1984 St. Clair publishes The One-Person Library newsletter with Andrew Berner, also of the University Club of New York.

1986 The OPL Support Group is formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada by solos in the local chapter of SLA. This is the first known organization of OPLs.

Late 1980s Aslib forms the One-Man Bands group in the U.K.

1988 Martha (Marty) Rhine forms the SOLO Librarians Caucus of the SLA with an initial membership of about 100.

1991 The SOLO Librarians Caucus becomes a full-fledged division of SLA, with Judith Siess as the first chairperson. http://www.sla.org/division/dsol/

1995 One-Person Australian Librarians (OPAL) was formed as a special-interest group of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) after the Health, Law and Specials Conference in Sydney. Georgina Dale, Toni Silson (now Kennedy), and Therese Bendeich were its first leaders. http://www.alia.org.au/groups/opalsnat/

1996 The first German OPL roundtable was held, organized by Evelin Morgenstern of the Deutsches Bibliotheksinstitut (German Library Institute), Berlin, Germany. Morgenstern formed the Initiative for Continuing Education in Academic and Research-Oriented Special Libraries and Related Institutions" (Initiative Fortbildung für wissenschaftliche Spezialbibliotheken und verwandte Einrichtungen e. V.) when DBI disbanded. http://www.initiativefortbildung.de/html/praeambel_engl.html

1997 "The SOLO Librarian’s Sourcebook", by Judith Siess, was published.

1997 First meeting of SLIM, Special Librarians (many of them OPLs), in the Midlands, was held in Birmingham, England; Chris Crabtree and Margaret Brittin were the founders.

1997 A One-Person Library Group formed as part of the Private Law Libraries Special Interest Group of the American Association of Law Libraries. (U.S.) http://www.aallnet.org/sis/pllsis/Groups/oneperson.asp

1997 In Germany, Verein der Diplom-Bibliothekare an wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken (VdDB), later Berufsverband Information Bibliothek formed a Commission for One-Person Librarians. Regina Peeters was the first chair until 2007. http://www.bib-info.de/komm/kopl/

1999 An electronic discussion list just for OPLs was established by the Library Association (LA) (UK). subscription address: mailto:[e-mail]

2001 VoeB forms a Commission for OPLs and Special Libraries formed in Austria. Sonja Reisner was the first chair, followed by Heinrich Zukal in September. http://www.uibk.ac.at/voeb/opl/opl.html

Resources

Books

cite book
last=Bryant
first=Sue Lacey
year=1995
title=Personal Professional Development and the SOLO Librarian (Library Training Guides)
location=London, UK
publisher=Library Association Publishing
id=ISBN 1-85604-141-7

cite book
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
coauthors=Andrew Berner
date=1990
title=The Best of OPL: Five Years of The One-Person Library: A Newsletter for Librarians and Management
location=Washington, DC
publisher=Special Libraries Association
id=ISBN 0-87111-357-0

cite book
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
coauthors=Andrew Berner
date=1996
title=The Best of OPL II: Five Years of The One-Person Library, 1989-1994
location=Washington, DC
publisher=Special Libraries Association
id=ISBN 0-87111-438-0

cite book
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
coauthors=Joan Williamson
date=1986
title=Managing the One-Person Library
location=London and New Brunswick, NJ
publisher=Bowker-Saur
id=ISBN 0-685-39253-8

cite book
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
coauthors=Joan Williamson
date=1992
title=Managing the New One-Person Library.
location=New York, New York
publisher=Bowker-Saur
id=ISBN 0-86291-630-5

cite book
last=Siess
first=Judith A.
year=2005
title=The Essential OPL, 1998-2004: The Best of Seven Years of The One-Person Library: A Newsletter for Librarians and Management
location=Metuchen, New Jersey
publisher=Scarecrow Press
id=ISBN 0-8108-5429-5

cite book
last=Siess
first=Judith A.
date=2006
title=The New OPL Sourcebook: A Guide for Solo and Small Libraries
location=Medford, New Jersey
publisher=Information Today, Inc.
id=ISBN 1-57387-241-5

Articles

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
date=1976
title=The one-person library: An essay on essentials
journal=Special Libraries
volume=67
issue=3
pages=233–238

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
date=1987
title=The one-person library: An essay on essentials re-visited
journal=Special Libraries
volume=78
issue=4
pages=263–270

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
date=January 1988
title=Commitment, Courage and a Lot of Heart: Management Strategies for the Small Library
journal=Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana
volume=9
issue=3

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
date=1991
title=The One-Person/One-Professional Librarian in the Future
journal=Future Competencies of the Information Professional
location=Washington, DC
publisher=Special Libraries Association

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
coauthors=Ann Lawes, ed.
date=1993
title=Management Concerns for the Minimal Staff Library
journal=Management Skills for the Information Manager
location=Aldershot, UK
publisher=Ashgate

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
date=September 1994
title=The One-Person Records Management Department: The Advantages Outweigh the Disadvantages
journal=The Journal of the Records Management Society

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
date=1995
title=The One-Person Library: Tasks and Management
journal=SMR Special Report
volume=2-5
location=New York
publisher=SMR International

cite journal
last=St. Clair
first=Guy
date=1995
title=Finances and Value: How the One-Person Library is Paid For
journal=SMR Special Report
volume=5
location=New York, New York
publisher=SMR International

cite journal
last=Siess
first=Judith A.
title=Many articles
journal=The One-Person Library: A Newsletter for Librarians and Management
publisher=Information Bridges International, Inc.

External links

* [http://www.ibi-opl.com/solosites/index.html Information Bridges International (publisher of "The One-Person Library" newsletter)]
* [http://opls.blogspot.com OPL Plus blog] - A blog for librarians in all smaller libraries, not just for one-person or solo librarians--all kinds of libraries, anywhere in the world. Management information, links, and marketing tips that you can use right now.
* [http://www.sla.org/division/dsol/ The Solo Librarians Division of the SLA]