by Brent, Amanda, Devin

I finally made the decision to go to library school after a few years of back and forth in my own head.  I obtained my undergraduate degree in English so a few of my family members were thrilled when I told them of my acceptance into the University of Washington’s library program.

“Finally! Something that will prepare you for a job!” went the half joking jeers.

But then I gave it a few moments and really thought about how a library school prepares you for a future career. For the most part, people go to library school with the goal of eventual employment in some information related field.

Luckily, I wasn’t alone in my decision to take the plunge.

A few of my friends had made the same decision before I had. One friend had just finished school at San Jose State through the distance learning program, and another was in her first year at Pratt, residential.

I sent them each the same set of questions that I thought could benefit new and prospective students to the field.

Just what is a person getting into when they apply to library school?  I asked them the following questions about their library/information school experience:

1. What were your expectations were coming into it?
2. What type of preparation has it given you for your future job?
3. Are you enjoying your time or biding it until you’re finished?
4. What is the value of a library degree in today’s job climate?
5. How difficult is the work? Assignments and extra-curricular?
6. Online vs. residential. What are your opinions on the two forms?

Overall, They seem a bit leery towards distance learning. I’m interested to see how my first year proceeds since that’s my chosen course format. There is also a definite consensus on the importance of getting the MLIS for the current job market. I’m glad that they both are enjoying/enjoyed their time in the respective programs and that it wasn’t a trudge to the finish line!

Amanda

1)  I had very high expectations going into library school.  I knew I wanted to go to Pratt since senior year in college.  I expected it to be super techy, and more cohesive but found it to be similar to a trade degree.  It has definitely been easier than I expected and there is an emphasis on networking and schmoozing that I was not expecting.

2)  I think the best part of my program has been the emphasis on internships and fieldwork.  I will be leaving the program with a stacked resume and awesome work experience that has given me confidence in finding jobs.

3) It goes back and forth at times, I have had some classes that I have enjoyed immensely and others that I wish I never took.  I definitely feel like I am ready to be done with school and start working, though.

4) I think a library degree has a lot of clout these days and can be applied to many jobs outside of libraries.  The Internet continues to open many doors for information jobs.

5) Not that difficult.  It can be overwhelming to find the correct balance of school, work, and play but the actual work has never been particularly difficult.  I have also found that teachers are very quick to give As.

6) For me personally, I could never do an online degree.  I need to interact with my professor and classmates and be a part of discussions.  I also think giving presentations and expressing your ideas in front of a group of people is a really important skill to master which you cannot practice doing online.

Devin

1) I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming into the program. My only thoughts going into the program were that this was a way for me to break into the library and archives profession, and that it was a great way for me to get a better grasp on the information field as a whole.

2) Going into the program I had a very small idea of what a profession in Information and Library science meant. After my first semester in the program, I was able to grasp just how broad the profession really is. The classes gave me good base knowledge, great skills that I will be able to build off once I am working in the profession. I think I will learn a lot more on the job.

3) I loved my program. I had some great professors who have been in the profession for a long time. I loved what I learned, and I loved the people I met through the school. It is an amazing community of people. I learned a lot and for the most part, I enjoyed the classes I took.

4) I would say that having a degree is very important for someone just entering the field. People expect those entering the information profession to have a degree these days. In the past, that wasn’t always the case. Having the experience was good enough. The older generation didn’t need the Master’s degree. However, now you are seeing those people coming back to school to get their Master’s even though they’ve been in the profession for a while. I think that says a lot for just how important a degree is.

5) I wouldn’t say the work is difficult. It is very time consuming. You have to be willing to put in many hours of reading.

6) I highly recommend residential. It was very hard to stay involved with the program as a distance learner. I think I would have taken a lot more away from the experience if I have been a residential student. It is some much easier to stay disconnected when you aren’t interacting with peers face to face on a daily basis.

Brent Mills will be attending his first semester at the University of Washington’s MLIS program this Fall. He currently volunteers with the Talk Time program at the Multnomah County Library facilitating a non-native conversation group.

by Regina Mays and Gayle Baker

Today, many libraries find it necessary to demonstrate the impact of what they do and to illustrate how the products and services of the library contribute to the goals of the overarching institution. The future ready librarian must have an array of tools to accomplish this.

Return on Investment (ROI) is an approach that is commonly used in evaluating business investments. In the strictest sense, ROI is a quantitative measure expressed as a ratio of the value returned to the institution for each monetary unit invested in the library.  Since a library is not a business, however, and the value it provides is not always a direct monetary return, some researchers are broadening the conception of ROI to include returns that affect the bottom line downstream and measure inherent values.

Special libraries are no strangers to ROI. In fact, special libraries have been the frontrunners of this type of research. Griffiths and King performed numerous studies in both corporate and government agency libraries in the 80s and 90s using cost/benefit analysis and ROI. More recent ROI studies in special libraries have found returns of anywhere from 2:1 to 18.6:1 or even higher.

The first thing to ask when beginning to design an ROI study is: what constitutes value? A good place to start is by looking at the goals of your organization and identifying ways that the library might contribute to those goals. For example, two recent studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Tennessee on ROI of academic libraries to the grants process focused on the monetary return of grant funding secured partly through the help of library-provided citations. Another value in that equation is the support of faculty research and productivity in general, which may not have a direct immediate monetary return to the university, but contributes value nonetheless.  In the second study, 94.5% of submitted research proposals included citations obtained through the University of Tennessee Libraries.  Faculty members commented about how access to electronic journals helped them, not only with their research, but also with their teaching.

ROI is one of many approaches to assessment and is most effective as part of a suite of methods. Just as you wouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer a nail, ROI won’t be the best tool to use in every area. ROI is especially useful when there is an immediate return, for example helping your institution secure grants or contracts. But for those areas in which it is appropriate, it can be a very effective way of measuring the return on invested resources and demonstrating the value of the library’s contribution to the goals of users and to the goals of the organization as a whole.

Finally, these results should be communicated in ways that are meaningful and relatable. Often, putting a human face on the numbers is an effective approach.  For example, adding interviews to accompany the numbers or developing personas of typical uses and users.

Some useful links:

• Cornell University Library: Library value calculations: http://research.library.cornell.edu/value
• Lib-Value Project (IMLS grant # LG-06-0909152-09): Much information, including a free searchable database of over 800 items on value and ROI literature on all types of libraries: http://libvalue.cci.utk.edu/
• NN/LM MidContinental Region: Online tools for evaluating programs and services: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/tools.html
• ACRL Value of Academic Libraries Report: A good overview of value research in all types of libraries, including special libraries: http://www.acrl.ala.org/value/

Regina Mays is Program Manager for the IMLS funded study Value, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries (“Lib-Value”) based at the Center for Information and Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN.

Gayle Baker is Professor and Electronic Resources Coordinator at The University of Tennessee Libraries in Knoxville, TN, and has worked there since 1990. She is one of the librarians who is participating in the Lib-Value project.

Cindy Romaine, SLA President, has an AWESOME conversation with Neil Pasricha.

I’ve followed Neil’s blog 1000 Awesome Things for some time and feel that his perspective is especially valuable in a time of change and transition, so I was thrilled when Neil agreed to be interviewed for the FutureReady365 blog.

Neil Pasricha is the author of The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket and Other Simple, Brilliant Things. A self-described “average guy” with a typical 9-to-5 job in the suburbs, Neil Pasricha started his blog 1000 Awesome Things, as a small reminder — in a world of rising sea levels, global conflict, and a troubled economy — of the free, easy little joys that make life sweet.

He didn’t anticipate that his site would gain a readership of millions of people, win two Webby Awards (“the Internet’s highest honor” according to The New York Times), be named one of PC Magazine’s Top 100 Sites On the Internet, or become a place where people from around the world would come to celebrate the simple pleasures of daily life. His first book The Book of Awesome became a #1 International Bestseller for #38 weeks, and The Book of (Even More) Awesome comes out today, April 28, 2011.

I asked Neil a few questions about change and transition. Here are his remarks:

1. Neil, what strikes me about your blog 1000 Awesome Things is how unassuming and yet powerful your insights are. There’s something universal and appealing about snowy days, bakery air, and roller-coaster rides. And yet you’ve experienced some unpleasant things in life, too. How do you keep a positive attitude?
   

   Ha ha, well I don’t always! To be honest, I’ve never thought of myself as an optimist or someone who wears a clown-faced grin all day. And I don’t know if keeping a positive attitude 100% of the time is even possible…or desirable.

   The truth is we all have dark days, dark months, and even dark years. I started writing The Book of Awesome after my wife told me she didn’t love me anymore… and after my best friend took his own life. It was the darkest year of my life.

   When it comes to dark times I say … let them be dark.

   You just have to remember there are awesome things at the end.

   It’s all about enjoying simple pleasures like stepping on dry crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, flipping to the cold side of the pillow, or the smell of a bakery…waiting for you at the end.

2. In your Ted Talk on The Three A’s of Awesome, you say, “We are all going to get lumps and we’re all going to get bumps. None of us can predict the future. But we do know one thing about it — it ain’t going to go according to plan.” Library and information centers are changing very dramatically and corporate libraries have been closed or downsized around the world. What attitude do you recommend to make us ready for the future?
   

   Well, life is short.

   We all live for a blink of an eye on a tiny spinning rock…and we could go at any time.

   So when it comes to attitude I say embrace this temporary nature of life and embrace the fragility and instability of everything…embrace it by filling as many minutes as possible with simple pleasures.

   Because sure, when we’re on our last legs we’ll look back and remember the high highs of first dances at weddings and the low lows of losing loved ones and funerals. But dotting those major moments will be all the tiny seconds we spend appreciating the smell of an old book, the look on a kid’s face after they close their first paperback, or the inner satisfaction that comes from finishing up a new display in your front window.

   Awesome things add up to hours and days and months and years.

3. As library and information professionals, we’re actively working with social media services in an effort to connect with our clients and customers. Your blog has gone viral with millions of hits a day. Is there a secret sauce for such impressive growth?
   

   When I was 15 my friend Chad and I started a website called “When I Was A Kid” as an online collection of funny things people believed when they were little. Over the three weeks the site lasted we only got one submission…and it was from my sister. She thought fish lived in waterbeds.

   I think over the years I’ve had fun experimenting with tiny websites in school projects, with friends, and just while tinkering around online. And they all probably got a grand total of a few hundred hits, most of which were my mom and dad and me hitting the “Refresh” button over and over.

   Now http://www.1000awesomethings.com has had over 30 million visitors, won multiple awards, and has two books—The Book of Awesome and The Book of (Even More) Awesome—coming out of it.

   So what’s my secret?

   I say try a lot and fail a lot. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying, if you aren’t trying, you aren’t failing. But when you’re doing both you’re always learning and getting better…

4. In your Ted Talk on “The Three A’s of Awesome,” you talk about awareness and using new eyes to see the world. When it’s “permanent whitewater everywhere,” how might awareness help?

Well, I don’t have kids of my own but I always love hanging out with three year olds. I love the way they see the world because they’re seeing the world for the first time.

Whether they’re staring slack-jawed at their first baseball game, on their hands and knees looking at ladybugs, or spending an entire afternoon picking dandelions in the backyard for the Sunday dinner centerpiece.

And…we all used to be three years old! That three year old boy is still inside you, that three year old girl is still a part of you. They just grew into someone who doesn’t spend as much time looking at ladybugs anymore.

But that’s where awareness of the tiny things in The Book of (Even More) Awesome is meant to come in. After all, there was the first time you experienced déjà vu, the first time a baby fell asleep on you, and the first time you snuck candy into a movie theater.

Being aware of these tiny little pleasures helps remind us how awesome life is.

5. Thanks in part to the Internet, library and information centers are changing dramatically right now. Information professionals are learning they have to be consistently awesome with their clients in this fast-changing landscape. What advice do you have to help us become awesome?
   

   Well, I think you already are! You guys are some of my favoritest people ever. I’ve honestly spent a good chunk of my life in libraries. My mom took me every Saturday morning and we’d drive home with a stack of books sliding all around the back seat. I’d crack into them at night and finger peel my way through The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, and my sister’s Babysitter’s Club books when she wasn’t looking.

   I absolutely love books. They’re a record of everything! They’re the way we communicate with our past and the way we send messages into the future.

   You are already very awesome so there’s really no need to try…just stop and appreciate the awesome things around you already. Enjoy coming back to your own bed after a long trip, smile when you let go of the gas pump and land perfectly on a round number, and get into the moment when the cashier opens a new lane at the grocery store…and you get to be first in line!

   Thank you so much for the chat and thank you sincerely for the very gracious words of support for The Book of (Even More) Awesome. I hope you enjoy it. Sending lots of love from snowy Canada and have a very awesome day,

   Neil

by Kristin McNally

Growing up on The Jetsons, I thought the future would include a house in the sky, travel by flying car, and fulfillment of every need at the push of a button.

While I don’t have Rosie the robot to keep my home in pristine condition and my car’s rubber tires are still firmly planted to the ground, Hanna-Barbera was heading in the right direction with the theme of micro technology. My wall is adorn with hanging flat televisions, my phone is a miniature computer with applications like video chat, navigation and even a way to see which local gas station has the best price.

I may not have my every need at the push of a button, but I can find the answer to almost any question in a matter of seconds. Knowledge is easier than ever to disseminate, access and share, which means the information industry is rapidly evolving to keep up with the progression of technology. Are we still relevant? Useful? Needed? With the right tools, the answer is yes.

I am so proud to work for a company focused on innovation. Every day I learn more about how Swets is paving the way for libraries to fit in the future. With less than a year of experience in the industry, I have found myself amazed with the complexities involved in running a library. I always the thought the books just appeared on the doorstep, a sticker was slapped inside, and someone shoved it where it was alphabetically appropriate. Needless to say, I have been proven wrong.

Swets has designed our platform, SwetsWise, in such a sophisticated manner that it is easily accessible and fully functional through a smart phone browser.

eBooks in SwetsWise has recently integrated a Google Books Preview, providing users with added values like reviews, ratings and suggestions for related content along with basic information including a cover shot and in most cases the table of contents, literary introduction, and publishing details.

We also have a cutting edge search product boasting the latest technology in federated search. This second-generation development introduces speed to amazing quality, offering clustered, relevance-ranked results to appear in seconds. Its affordability compared to Discovery is even more appealing. There will always be value in the technical and organizational support of information and information users.

Swets has carefully developed the tools you need to excel despite the many hurdles you currently face. Our customers have helped immensely in turning this dream into reality. We have made it easier than ever to hear your needs by implementing User Voice in SwetsWise. This enormous worldwide suggestion box allows customers to offer suggestions for improvement and continued development. Plus, you can vote on your favorite or most agreeable recommendations to help us to rank your requests.

Bubble car or not, the future is here. Providers, publishers and information professionals need to join forces to effectively develop, evolve and survive. At Swets, we are leading the effort to help you compete in a technology driven market with expectations of mobile access and immediacy. We hope you’ll join us for the ride.

Kristin McNally is the Communications Specialist at Swets. As the world’s leading Information Service provider, Swets powers the work of thousands of academic, corporate, medical and government organizations, simplifying the way you acquire, access and manage your resources. To learn more, visit www.swets.com.

by Sue Wolper, President and CEO, Wolper Subscription Services

One of the challenging trends I see in the information marketplace today is that of relying on vendors to define your needs and to unilaterally develop the solutions that meet their interpretation of your needs.  As a participant in the information industry, I offer these recommendations to information professionals to ensure that you, your users and your organization are Future Ready:

Listen To Your Organization and Your Users When Defining Needs

Vendors and purchasers alike say that they are listening to user needs, but are we really listening?  Not only should we listen with our ears but also observe with our eyes what behaviors users demonstrate when seeking or applying information.  Be inquisitive and ask probing questions – why and how are more important than who, what and where.  Ask users how they would prefer to seek and apply information in a perfect world unbounded by today’s realities.  Then step back from the immediate interaction and ask yourself and others what information seeking and using behaviors will align best with the goals of your organization or community.  Is it really in the best interests of your organization to make finding information so simple that the user no longer has to think?  Shouldn’t users be questioning whether this is the best information, the right information, and accurate information to solve their problem?  What are the long-term implications for fostering user behavior that is satisfied with information that is the easiest to find?  Ask yourself whether user expectations are in alignment with the goals of the organization.  Temper the solution you choose to meet user needs with your own professional knowledge, expertise and experience.  Then seek a vendor that meets those needs, and is willing to modify their product offerings to truly meet the needs of your users and your organization.

Resist the Urge to be First

New technology is exciting, intriguing and addictive!  Instantaneous obsolescence is now built-in to every innovative advance.  Buy any new electronic device today and it is out-dated by the time you get it home and unpack it.  So resist that urge to be the first one to have the latest version just because it is new.  Don’t get overwhelmed by all the choices and options in the marketplace.  Evaluate the solutions in the context of what your users and organization really need.  There are noteworthy developments that do define future products, however, the time will come when that product is relevant to your needs.  On the other hand, don’t become complacent and satisfied with “good enough”.  But relax and don’t get caught up in the frenzy of “new and improved” cycles in product development.

Collaborate with Vendors in an Open-Minded Manner

Once you know what your true needs are, seek out vendors who are willing to listen to you.  Find vendors whose product development approach incorporates customer perspectives and involvement.  Discover the vendors who are agile, resilient, and responsive as well as have the vision and skills to deliver what their customers require.  Sometimes it is the smaller vendors who have these qualities because they need to in order to survive in the competitive marketplace.  Innovation often comes from the smaller vendors who recognize an unmet customer need and develop their offerings to satisfy that requirement.

Cooperate with Like-Minded Institutions

Too often it is the Big Players that define the market, whether they are the buyers or the sellers.  Seek out and join with other institutions that have similar needs, regardless of their size or purchasing power.  Speak up about your concerns regarding product functionality, desired features and unsatisfied needs.

Engage in more dialogue with your colleagues and with vendors to find collaborative solutions, after you have listened to your users.  Help vendors to meet your needs – now and in the future.

*”Seek first to understand, then to be understood” from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Sue Wolper is President and CEO of Wolper Subscription Services, a one-stop information management resource whose High Tech, High Touch® approach delivers the perfect combination of next-generation technology and time-proven, personalized service.  Learn more at www.wolper.com.

by Valerie Enriquez

Ask a humanities major to envision the concept of research and they would probably imagine long hours in a library or archive, perusing books and documents. However, ask a scientist to visualize research, and they will likely picture collecting data out in the field.

Open Science was born from Newton’s idea that scientific advancement relies on “standing on the shoulders of giants.” The sharing of ideas encourages the advanced development of knowledge. However, in the world of publish or perish, the shadow cast upon the shoulder is doubt: fear that in sharing preliminary data, a researcher may be scooped, to borrow a journalism term. As a budding archivist, I find the idea of preserving knowledge for future use appealing and the fear of being scooped short-sighted when considering the long game. What if raw data from someone’s research could be the missing piece to finding the cure for cancer, or at the very least, figure out why all the bees have gone and what we need to do to bring them back? What if important datasets faded to obscurity without anybody ever knowing about them?

What can we, as librarians, do to help encourage more sharing of research data? Article citation rate helps researchers by providing them with a way to measure their impact upon the literature within their field. DataCite is an initiative to help bring this level of prestige to data publication. So, why not help encourage data sharing and citation through outreach and advocacy? For example, providing handouts or workshops about data research and the proper citation of reused data (as per Altman 2007):

• Dataset Author
• Dataset Title
• Date the dataset was published/made public
• Unique Global Identifier (such as a DOI or Handle)
• Universal Numeric Fingerprint
• Bridge Service (such as the DOI resolver)

There are many tools available to help researchers share data. For example, OpenWetware offers researchers a wiki format lab notebook, where they can share their observations with each other and solicit feedback. Digital repositories such as ORNL DAAC (Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Archive) for biogeochemical dynamics, ecological data, and environmental processes; TreeBASE for phylogenetic information, GenBank for genetic sequences, and PANGAEA for geoscientific and environmental data help ensure that the data created through the hard work of researchers is preserved for future researchers to build upon.

Last summer, I participated in an internship with DataONE, where I attempted to find examples of articles citing data that had been created in prior studies. The experience was  like trying to find a friend on Facebook if all I knew about them was their hair color and favorite breakfast cereal. At first, I felt like a failure, since as an information scientist, what else could it possibly have been if I could not find the information I was seeking? However, this turned out to be an opportunity to prove the necessity of enforcing data citation standards and creating tools that track data reuse in the same way that we track article citation and journal impact factors.

What can we do? Ongoing evaluation is needed to determine the impact of data reuse and the need for citation standards. I am currently taking courses in evaluation and digital preservation and curation to learn more about past efforts and see how they have been refined over time. My internship mentor from DataOne is going to coordinate a related project that she refers to as the “Tracking 1000 Datasets Project.” Along with staying on top of trends in data research, we must also drive the creation of standards and tools to best serve our user populations. It is time to stop thinking of research and raw data as merely a step towards getting the end product of publishing. If it is truly a “publish or perish” world, we need to advance the idea of publishing, and helping faculty and students  find a place to deposit their initial data could be as much of an outreach and instruction opportunity as helping them find related articles or datasets.

It is little wonder that data librarianship is one of the fastest growing fields in library science. It is up to us to grab such opportunities and stay up to date about the resources available to our users, or risk falling off the shoulders of giants.

Thus, we should lead by example through:

• evaluation of the existing literature and of our own practices
• collaboration with our users, other institutions, and our vendors
• and instruction of our users, new librarians and with our own continuing education.

As I like to think of it, we are all in the process of building: building upon our individual base of knowledge, the knowledge of those in the library science field, and the knowledge of those who require our services. If we do not build upon past information and lessons learned from prior mistakes, our structure will fall with no foundation. If we do not build in conjunction with our present users and creators of tools, we risk having our great tower of learning fall to pieces, walling us in isolation and hindering communication. The past, present, and future of our profession are as inextricably connected as our relationships with researchers ought to be.

Valerie Enriquez is a Fellow with the Association of Research Libraries Career Enhancement Program pursuing an MLIS from Simmons College with a concentration in archives management.  Her internships have included the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Visual Studies, the Harvard Countway Center for the History of Medicine, and the DataONE Project.  Her career goal is to use the past to contextualize the present and shape the future of how we seek and process information.

by Chris Zammarelli, Washington DC Chapter, Government Information & Taxonomy Divisions

My place of work recently announced that we will be having mandatory social media training. Because so many of the people we are trying to reach out to are heavily engaged in social media, it is important for us to understand what they are using and how we can use it to forward our mission.

Traditionally, I’m not someone who says anyone has to use a particular something. Nothing makes a wary person more averse that saying, “If you’re not using this, you’re not ready for the future” or words to that effect. I know it makes my skin crawl.

But enough of our clientele are using social media that by not using it ourselves, we are making ourselves invisible to them. For those of us who do any sort of outreach work, social media are a part of our jobs now. Learning about social media is as important as, say, learning how to use Outlook.

And I think that’s a way to present this to anyone who is reluctant. Social media are just another type of software in our workplace, like accounting software or integrated library systems. I wouldn’t suspect everyone who takes the social media training to become tweeters to rival Amanda Palmer or Kanye West. Social media might just be tools that a lot of people use at work and then don’t think about after they leave the office at the end of the day.

I consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to social media, and I could complain that I have to take the training too.  But while I know how I use social media, I don’t necessarily know how our clientele is using it. That’s something we need to keep in mind moving forward: if using this stuff is going to be a part of our jobs from now on, then it is also part of our job to know how it’s being used.

Chris Zammarelli is a contract cataloger on behalf of ATSG at the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs’ Office of Information Resources. He is also a 2011 candidate for the SLA Board of Directors. Follow him on Twitter @cmz1018.

by Debi Beall, Oregon Chapter, Competitive Intelligence Division

Future Ready for a corporate library means being relevant to your company’s changing needs by staying nimble and looking for new ways to support the company’s goals and strategies. The Intel Library has always been focused on the needs of the company, but a couple of years ago, we tried a new, more proactive approach. As a result, we have undergone a transformation that has empowered our staff and increased visibility throughout the company.

The Intel Library has been publishing the Executive News Summary on a daily basis for the past 10 years. This publication was created at the request of Craig Barrett as a way to stay informed without having to scan endless news clippings. Two years ago, we decided to expand our publications with more in-depth industry newsletters, called Monitors. These weekly Monitors are specifically focused on Intel’s Global Strategy and key market segments and include an analysis of the news that week. The Monitors are a deeper dive into the areas of key importance to the success of the company. They have been wildly successful (we now publish 11 Monitors) and have resulted in several changes:

1. Fewer requests are coming into the library since the information people need is already being selected and distributed.
2. Each staff member has developed a deep understanding of the topic of their Monitor, becoming the experts that others turn to for insight.
3. Different business units throughout the company have linked the Intel Library Monitor that most applies to their business to their business unit web site.
4. The Intel Library is now more than an information repository. It is a place to gain critical insights into each of the Monitor markets.

Now that the Monitors have been institutionalized, we are looking to the future again. Next on our plate is improving access for mobile devices and a step into visual analytics. We have developed a rich data repository that is ready to be mined for insights. Visual analytics will take us to the next step, offering added value to Intel and contributing to the success of the company.

Debi Beall began her career as a Systems Engineer for IBM, then switched careers becoming a librarian with the Phoenix Public Library. Debi joined Motorola in 1992 as a Research Specialist, where she ultimately transitioned to a position as a Competitive Intelligence Analyst. She most recently joined Intel as a Research Analyst for the Intel Library in October 2008.

By Janice C. Anderson, Texas Chapter and SLA 2011 Conference Advisory Council

You may or may not have recognized the grey-haired female on the top banner on the SLA 2011 Philadelphia Conference registration page a few weeks ago. Well…it was lil’ol’ me. I wasn’t even aware that I was photographed, let alone that my mug had made it to the website. When Cindy Romaine reached out to me and suggested that I was the ‘poster child for the Future Ready Conference’, I could not refuse to share my thoughts for the 365 Blog?

As a member of the 2011 Conference Planning Advisory Council I was immediately drawn to the ‘Future Ready’ theme that Cindy presented to us. In many ways I have been living in the future for most of my career as a librarian/information management professional turned entrepreneur and business owner. I have challenged myself to think broadly and creatively in how to apply the principles and practices of library and information sciences in the business environments of my customers. I have challenged my colleagues and co-workers to create and apply effective and relevant techniques for managing information assets, and in an environment of constant change and continuous learning, to deliver value and transfer knowledge to others.

My emphasis has always been on technology and daily activities to keep up with the rapidly changing regulatory environments and tools that our customers use and need to manage and access information assets.   That emphasis is critical to both the present and the future.   You might ask yourself what else a 60-something grandmother, aka ‘little librarian lady’, could say or do that would help her and others be ‘Future Ready’…maybe prepare for retirement and ultimate wind-down? Coming out of a deep economic recession with Medicare and Social Security in trouble, what can we Baby Boomers do to be ‘Future Ready’?  After all, we see the good times in the rear view mirror, right?

Not so much!  You see, from where I sit the future is now for information professionals; my success and that of many folks a third of my age depends not so much on what we know, or even what we can learn. The bright future for all of us is shaped by our thinking and being, by our ability and willingness to dream and adapt.  There’s no time for looking back or whining; it’s time to jump onto the court and grab the ball.

So then, what does ‘Future Ready’ look like to me? It looks like

• Eliminating self-imposed limits and worn out thinking that cause us to hesitate, avoid risk, and postpone getting started.
• Learning something new every single day, even if that learning is that we are not as smart as we once thought.
• Working hard to remove barriers that limit our abilities to access information, learn, grow and contribute in meaningful ways.
• Sitting on the edge of our seats, working to make a difference, expecting great things to happen, and then celebrating when they do!

Are you in the game?  Get the right uniform attitude on…we’re playing in Philly.  See you there!

Janice C. Anderson is founder and CEO of Access Sciences Corporation, a 26 year-old information management consulting and technology practice. She serves on the 2011 SLA Conference Planning Advisory Council.

by Nettie Seaberry, New York Chapter, Leadership & Management, Solo Librarians Divisions

Several years ago, I had an idea that would have put my organization at the forefront of providing a service that our constituents would have wholeheartedly embraced. The research was done, interested parties queried, price structures developed and legal counsel consulted, but no matter how many times I sent emails or called staff meetings to discuss the concept, I couldn’t seem to move the needle. It was apparent that the timing just wasn’t right. Retirement and leadership changes were cause for this revenue generating idea to be placed on the back burner. It slowly simmered but I never let the flame die.

Fast forward, new leadership, new ideas for moving the organization into the future were beginning to unfold. The organization’s past has been recognized as the cornerstone in the industry, but new leadership wants to chart a new direction. The time was right to reposition the idea. I used this shift to reintroduce the project and it was enthusiastically embraced. The green light has been given and it will be launched in 2011. As we work through a strategic plan for the organization under the management, I have several ideas on tap that I envision will bring more value to the information center and benefit the organization.

If you have the good fortune of staying the course within your organization you’ll have the opportunity to show your value time and time again, but you have to put yourself out there. You can’t sit in a corner, you can’t hide your talents and creativity, you have to make your moves when the time is right, stay focused and position yourself and your services to show that you’re ready, willing and able to be future ready.

Nettie Seaberry is the Director of the Minority Business Information Center at the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) in New York City. As a solo librarian she is responsible for development, implementation and administration of the Information Center, which includes establishing policies, collection development and management, research, staff supervision, information technology management, Webmaster and Volunteer Coordinator for NMSDC’s annual conferences. She currently serves as a Director on the Board of SLA.