by Guy St. Clair, Australia & New Zealand and New York Chapters, Knowledge Management Division

I was honored recently to be asked to speak for SLA’s Information Technology Division. My presentation – which we’ll continue with in a second session at Chicago in 2012 – had to do with the future of knowledge services and the role of specialist librarians in the next decade. It was my privilege to share with colleagues my perceptions about our future.

None of us has a crystal ball of course, and we’re all wondering what the resolution – when it comes – to the current financial crisis and global insecurity will be. That said, though, we also can’t let these negative influences distract us from the goals that originally brought us into specialized librarianship. We chose librarianship – and particularly specialized librarianship – because it is a profession that enables us to excel in bringing knowledge development and knowledge sharing (KD/KS) into the companies and organizations where we are employed. We didn’t call it “KD/KS” – the acronym had not yet come into our professional vocabulary when most of us chose our careers – but the tools, techniques, and professional service delivery built into that acronym were certainly what delighted us about our work. And they continue to do so.

But the workplace has changed. And keeps changing. And we are constantly challenged to manage KD/KS in ways that meet the needs (also ever-changing) of our employing organizations. It isn’t easy, and some folks are just about ready to give up on being specialist librarians. But we won’t give up. Not when we’re getting advice from some of the smartest people in the world about how we can manage our own future. Did you get the point of Tom Friedman’s Keynote Speech on Sunday night at the Annual Conference in Philadelphia? He was clear: today’s (and future) employees create their own jobs.

It is an important message (so important, in fact, that Friedman devoted his July 13 column in The New York Times to the subject). As we think about being Future Ready and preparing ourselves for continuing our careers deeper into the 21^st century, we need to think about some of the people in our field who are doing just that, people who are creating (Freidman uses the term “inventing”) their own jobs.

From my perspective, these are people who are succeeding because they’ve been able to analyze what their managements require from information and knowledge professionals. Then they fit their contributions to match the corporate need. They have realistically identified their role in the larger organization, and when they look at the organizational “big picture,” they understand what their organizational leaders are looking for in information management, knowledge management, and strategic learning. Indeed, those three elements (found in every organizational function) are the very basis of what enterprise management wants from those of us who work in the knowledge domain. Combined, they make up what we call knowledge services and their successful performance is fundamental to organizational effectiveness. The people doing this work – whether in specialized libraries or not – are the organization’s knowledge thought leaders.

So we ask the question:

Can I – as a specialist librarian – be a knowledge thought leader for the company?

Absolutely.

Here’s how:

First: Start with taking a look at the organization’s “big picture.” And at your own (this is where the ambition comes in). Think about your personal goals, your ideals, what you want to do (meaning “What do I really want to do?”). And as you look at your professional life, it’s pretty well defined:

As an information and knowledge professional, you’re working in what we call “the knowledge domain.” You work with knowledge, with strategic knowledge for your company or organization, and your job is to focus on how knowledge is used to advance – to move forward – the goals of your employing organization, to ensure that the company succeeds in achieving its mission. And since your work is part of the knowledge domain, your career is a career in which you direct KD/KS in your organization. Your career is impacted by (and is going to be further impacted by) how well you work with knowledge management (KM) and knowledge services.

Now: Step back from your day-to-day activities and think about how you can match your company’s information and knowledge needs to your own ambitions and your own professional abilities. Connect all that with what you want from your professional life and create the job you want. You can do that by working in one of two roles (these, too, I identified in Philadelphia):

Your first opportunity is to continue what you’re doing, working as a strategic knowledge professional. These are people who are often thought of as “information professionals,” “content professionals,” records managers, archivists, specialist librarians, or similar employees working in related roles, all supporting the management of the organization’s knowledge domain. They are knowledge professionals who can usually be counted on to contribute to an enterprise-wide understanding of a subject or group of subjects (strategic knowledge) through focused analysis, design, and/or development. They use their research skills to define problems and to identify alternatives, and they generally connect to professionals in other disciplines and work (generally) with captured knowledge – tangible information – in physical or electronic repositories. Their work is distinguished by the fact that the knowledge these professionals manage is strategic, directly connected to organizational or corporate effectiveness.

At another level, you take on the work of the organizational or corporate knowledge strategist. Your area of specialization is now knowledge strategy, the discipline that, naturally enough, closely connects to the work of the strategic knowledge professional. There is a difference, though, as SLA Member Andrew Berner notes: one of the most distinguishing characteristics of knowledge strategy is that it is not a collection-based approach to KD/KS. Knowledge strategy – as a discipline – is management-based.

As a knowledge strategist, your work becomes – at the strategic level – the management of knowledge services. With knowledge services usually defined – as I’ve noted – as the convergence of information management, KM, and strategic learning, or, perhaps better put, as developing and implementing strategies for managing information, knowledge, and corporate or organizational learning, these activities allow the knowledge strategist to focus on matching the corporate knowledge strategy with the organization’s business strategy. As employees, knowledge strategists are expected to design and plan knowledge-related activities and policy, and they are particularly expected to give attention to future knowledge-related roles and activities that affect corporate or organizational success.

Choose: So what’s it to be? Strategic knowledge professional or knowledge strategist? It’s your choice, and either choice is a good one (and a valuable one) for your employer. One role, perhaps, is more service-oriented and the other is more managerial, but either is a good choice, and it all depends on what you want from your career. Both options allow you to respond to your ambition and – at the same time – use your expertise to lead the company as a knowledge thought leader. That’s a good scenario for any specialist librarian. Good luck.

Guy St. Clair (guystclair@smr-knowledge.com) is President and Consulting Specialist for Knowledge Services at SMR (Strategic Management Resources), a management consulting practice in New York, NY. In his “other” career, St. Clair teaches two courses for Columbia University’s M.S. in Information and Knowledge Strategy program and consults as the program’s Subject Matter Expert (SMR). Guy St. Clair was SLA’s President in 1991-1992.

The role of information services in global/IT consulting companies (6/16/2011)

Reposted with permission from DC/SLA Radio

by BP Prakash, Asian Chapter, Business & Finance, Competitive Intelligence, Science-Technology Divisions

On June 16, 2011, BP Prakash, General Manager of the Library & Information Center at Tata Consultants spoke about managing a global information center from an international perspective. Mr. Prakash is also the President of SLA’s Asia Chapter, the fastest growing chapter in the Association and has a compelling vision of the future of the profession!

To play the podcast, please go to the DC/SLA Radio site http://dc.sla.org/2011/06/16/mumbai/

At TCS, Mr Prakash, directs one of the largest and diverse informational professional team in Asia.He has successfully lead his team to win SLA B&F’s ” Centre of Excellence Award”, in 2009. He has PG degrees in Development planning and Library Science from Univ of Mysore, Karnataka state, India. An university gold medalist in library science, he is also a Fulbright scholar from Univ of Wisconsin, USA.

Mr. Prakash has 27 years of experience across national institutes, manufacturing sectors, global IT firms & research environments. He enjoys professional interactions & believes that learning is a continual process. He is a life member of Indian library associations and has been a member of SLA since 1999. He feels librarianship is at crossroads today and organizations like SLA have a major responsibility in shaping the future of librarians.

by Kama Siegel, Oregon Chapter, Solo Librarians Division

Without being overly derivative of all of the posters who have come before me, I’m going to discuss many of the themes you’ve heard throughout the life of this blog. Except that I’m going to apply it to recent events in my own professional life by making it into a story. Don’t worry, though, the themes will be easy to spot.

Once upon a time, I was content — if a teeny bit bored — at my position as a law librarian at a mid-sized firm. Particularly in this economy, in the extremely competitive city of Portland, Oregon, I counted myself lucky to have a job at all. But I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to be a law librarian for the rest of my career.

Someone close to me has a position in a small company whose mission and structure I admire very much. After a few years, I decided I wanted to also work at this company, so I set about figuring out how. (Theme #1: be proactive!) I had met the president of the company a few times at non-work events, and had actually gone in and spoken to a few staff members about how to maximize their use of social media. (Theme #2: show them your “extra” — thanks, Thomas Friedman!)

Then a setback: they didn’t think they’d have money in the budget to hire me until the beginning of 2012. (Theme #3: be flexible!) I dug into my duties at the law firm with renewed vigor (Theme #4: give your very best service to your patrons!) and waited to hear from the other company. A few weeks later, I got a call from the CFO, asking me if I’d like to come in and talk to him about a different project, one for which I had very little experience. (Theme #3 again.)

Long story short, I was able to convince the CFO that I could without a doubt do this extra project about which I knew next to nothing (Theme #6: be confident! Also, Theme #7: step outside your comfort zone!). Successful completion of the project will subsequently make me indispensable to the company, and we will live happily ever after (Theme #8: be optimistic!).

The purpose of this post is not to toot my own horn about my new position, but rather to illustrate that taking on an opportunity that drops into your lap = future ready. Being willing — note that I do not use the word “unafraid” — to dive into unfamiliar territory = future ready. Knowing you can machete your way through that territory = future ready. And in my case, plunging my career into glorious chaos = future ready (Theme #9: blaze your own trail!)

Kama Siegel is the President of the Oregon chapter. She recently left her stable, cushy, 16-year career in the legal field to plunge headlong into the unknown at Alta Planning & Design in Portland, Oregon.

by Amy Maule, Oregon Chapter, Competitive Intelligence and Information Technology Divisions

At our annual conference last month, Thomas Friedman talked about the challenge of standing out in a world where potentially thousands of people are ready to do your job better and for less money.  Employers aren’t looking for someone who can DO the job, they’re looking for someone who can invent and reinvent the job based on the needs of an evolving organization.

His statement really hit home for me.  I work with a small consulting team at a major engineering firm doing primary and secondary source research, writing, editing, information and document management, a bit of intranet support, and whatever else comes up.  I see my job as a kind of extreme-embedded-librarian gig, but my business card says “Analyst,” and my coworkers couldn’t care less about librarianship.  My boss recently told me that I’m appreciated most for my adaptability–I’m always ready to learn a new skill or contribute in a new way. I’m constantly inventing and re-inventing my job.

For example: Earlier this year, I helped a co-worker with some statistical research, writing and editing of a report for the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.  A few months later, we were asked to do similar analysis of a specific site in the province.  Because I had helped write the previous report, I was asked to co-author the second report, which included a trip to Newfoundland for in-person site analysis.  The initial report opened the doors for exciting travel and more direct project involvement.

I’m sharing my experience with you because I’ve learned that being Future Ready can mean more than staying on top of new technology or developing the skills needed to run the library of the future.  It can mean thinking outside the library and inventing and reinventing yourself as a professional.  The skills that make you a good librarian could help you to stand out elsewhere in your organization–you just need to reinvent your job in a way that lets you shine.

Here are my tips for being Future Ready in the uncertain climate of today’s special libraries:

• Look for ways to use your skills outside the library.  You might discover that skills we take for granted will set you apart in other groups.
• Think about how you can adapt your skills set to contribute in new ways.
• Do even the most routine tasks quickly and well, because sometimes the little things lead to big opportunities. (But do have boundaries.  I only make coffee when I’m hosting an SLA event!)
• Worry less about whether the bosses think libraries are valuable.  Make sure they know that you are valuable.
• Stay actively involved in SLA.  Contact with like-minded professionals is even more important when you’re venturing into unexplored territory!

I hope that next time you browse the job listings or ponder ways to advance with your current employer you’ll remember that in addition to being a librarian, you are a highly skilled, adaptable professional.  There are great opportunities for enthusiastic, creative, organized people like us inside the library and out.

Amy Maule is most recently known to her coworkers as a “Business Location Analyst” for CH2M HILL’s Industrial & Advanced Technology group.  She worked in public, academic, law and corporate libraries prior to becoming embedded in an engineering consulting team.  Amy is also president elect of the Oregon Chapter of SLA.

By Montrese Hamilton, Washington, DC Chapter, B&F, CI and Solo Librarians Divisions

In 2010, I ran a 12-month experiment to figure out how I might evolve as an information professional. Combining the example of talented colleagues, lessons from SLA professional development opportunities, and a patient employer, I learned the following important lessons:

Admit to wanting security and certainty. Stop wanting security and certainty. Career experts encourage clients to visualize an ideal job, employer, etc., and I took that idea all the way to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. Honest assessment identified a yearning for THE career path with clear steps leading to guaranteed job and financial security. Letting go of the wishful thinking freed me to focus on making smart choices while being aware of challenges and opportunities in front of me.

Say goodbye to the career I assumed I would have. There was a moment of genuine sadness when I realized that some skills upon which I built my professional identity had no place in my evolving portfolio. Less original cataloging and more marketing, less database design and more SharePoint site building … I remind myself that clinging to fading status quo hurts more than trying to create something new.

Expand my identity beyond career. In his book “Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life”, Bruce Rosenstein described Drucker’s “total life” philosophy: contentment through investing time and talents across a myriad of relationships and activities. Finding the right balance among my domains is difficult but invigorating; when life gets hard in one world, I find succor and restoration in another.

Don’t attribute my good fortune to my abilities. I like to believe I owe any success to high performance and savvy but luck was there at every turn. My employer values having a librarian on staff, my director appreciates my work, and my clients want to include me in their projects. I can influence these variables but they can change in an instant so I try to welcome each day with gratitude.

Become resilient. Taking chances invites the risk of failure but learning how to manage adversity returns some control to us. This article about the upside of adversity is worth noting:

“Adversity … can help people develop a ‘psychological immune system’ to help them cope with the slings and arrows that life throws, while those with no experience of adversity may have a hard time dealing with tough times.” (Landro, October 2010)

The study notes that too much adversity can overwhelm even the best coping mechanisms, so weaving a safety net of community and social bonds is crucial. This seems obvious yet it is easy to focus on the pressing issues of life and work and allow our human networks to fray.

Landro, L. October 2010. The Wall Street Journal. “Study finds adversity does make us stronger.”

Montrese Hamilton, MSLS, is librarian for the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, VA. Contact her at montrese [dot] hamilton [at] gmail [dot] com.

Reposted with permission from SLA Europe Blog

by Sam Wiggins, Europe Chapter, Legal Division

Before I outline of my impressions of SLA 2011, I’d like to explain the difficulties I have had writing about it. I’m normally pretty good with words, and when I have an idea I am usually able to run with it for some length. Upon returning from SLA, kindly sponsored by SLA Europe and SLA Legal Division as an Early Career Conference Award (ECCA) winner, I was full of ideas. I filled an entire notebook with them. I sat down to write, and then became stumped. The conference filled me with ideas, passion and excitement for the library and information profession beyond belief  (I was already pretty passionate about it to say the least), but it also provided me with so many things I want to say that becomes difficult to know where to begin.

SLA 2011 was not only my first time in the USA, but also my first conference, and consequently my expectations were of BIG things. It certainly delivered; big names delivering big talks with big ideas. I had numerous fears and trepidations before heading out to Philadelphia, some exacerbated, and some calmed, by the vast quantities of information I received regarding conference proceedings, etiquette and preparation advice. As someone due to become a fully fledged information professional when I finish my MA in September, it is with some shame that I admit to suffering from information overload prior to the conference. This soon subsided with some encouraging words from my mentors, Sara Batts and Liz Polly, as well as discussing the events programme with the other wonderful ECCA winners.

My principle concern leading up to the conference was how I would apply theory from my MA to practical examples provided by SLA 2011. Whilst I have library experience from various sectors, but am still very much a ‘new’ new professional. Thankfully SLA provided me with a melting pot of librarians with a diverse set of practical examples to problems I had contemplated.

Networking is something I have been interested in throughout my MA year, learning about theories such as ‘open twos’ and ‘closed threes’ and I was keen to try and implement all that I had mused upon. The First Timers and Fellows Reception provided the perfect opportunity for this. It was designed so that we first timers could gain some last minute conference tips, and enable the fellows to see that we are an enthusiastic library related bunch with much to give to the profession. Whilst the reception was excellent, it left a large dent in the networking theory I had researched. I quickly realised that determining how to enter a conversation and who to enter it with was quite simple, no theory needed. Instead, it was far simpler to just be natural, and talk to people! This may seem overly simplified, but I think a bit of simplification is exactly what the theory is missing. I had been placing a lot of focus on situations from a very objective position, without considering that others in the room will be in the same position as myself, also looking for a conversation.

This isn’t to say that the theory didn’t have its benefits. It was indispensable when attending some sessions; I realised that my MA has given me a strong grasp of many library related concepts that I had not come across whilst working, and if I had, I might have passed them by with little consideration. Even networking theory found its use for helping me to move on from conversations. The other SLA attendees provided me access to a whole host of information roles that I had never dreamt possible, making it easy to fall into the trap of spending a great deal of time speaking to one person, and without sounding too objective, limiting the networking connections that could be made. I tried to remain aware that it was important to make the most of the diverse set of librarians that were present at SLA; unfortunately this meant limiting the time I spent in some conversations. It was here that a little bit of practical theory became handy. Making use of business cards to exchange contact details and exit a conversation politely meant conversations could be continued at a later date where time was less pressured.

I was also keen to learn about practical solutions to enhance the visibility of the library service, and was able to do from a range of perspectives. Firstly through the sessions organised by my co-sponsor, SLA Legal. I was very impressed by the variety of sessions organised, ranging from networking opportunities such as the BNA breakfast and an open house (a great way to discuss libraries with people who have similar interests, and a fantastic leveller – I was able to talk to some fantastic professionals whom I never would normally be able to talk to), panel sessions, and an un-conference. Secondly through attending sessions by other divisions such as those by Mike Linksvayer, Mary Ellen Bates and Gayle Gossen enabled me to think about visibility from a personal perspective. Marketing the individual, in addition to the library itself is an idea I’m keen to take with me into future employment. The sessions have really got me thinking about how library professionals are perceived, and the differences the various cultures create for them. I hope blend the theoretical aspects with the diverse range of sectors and practical ideas SLA provided me with to ‘future proof’ my upcoming role as a law librarian, and ensure both the library service and its information professionals receive the visibility they deserve.

Samuel Wiggins is currently studying for his MA Librarianship at the University of Sheffield and upon graduation will take up the position of Information Officer for a London law firm. He can be found on Twitter (@LibWig)and writes a blog at libwig.wordpress.com.

by Toby Pearlstein, Boston Chapter, Business & Finance, Leadership & Management Divisions
by James Matarazzo, Boston Chapter, Leadership & Management Division

“The Future is Not Set. There’s no fate but what we make for ourselves.”¹

Since the most recent recession began in late 2007, all types of libraries and especially corporate libraries, have found themselves struggling to weather ever more turbulent times. In fact, turbulence seems to be the one constant we can all count on in a business environment that has become increasingly ambiguous.

Beginning about two and one-half years ago, we began writing a series of articles for Searcher Magazine addressing the topic of Survival Skills for Librarians and through our research, trying to understand to what extent IS professionals allow themselves to be victims of this turbulence and how they might proactively contribute to their own survival. Whether writing about the dangers of misunderstanding the kind of business case your management expects², or being caught by surprise when your management pulls the rug (i.e. staff and space) out from under you³, or how IS must drive the analysis of the benefits of alternate sourcing⁴, or figuring out the implications for your IS of a corporate takeover⁵, or taking risks in applying your IS skill set in entrepreneurial ways within your organization⁶, or thinking about what’s going on in the information professional as a whole so you can decide whether or not you need to repurpose your existing skills or learn new skills to match up with the opportunities that are available⁷, our central theme continues to be the absolute requirement for IS professionals to be tuned in to what’s happening in their organization so that they may own and be responsible for the means of their survival. This can only be accomplished through the overarching principle of alignment with the parent organization’s vision and mission. A critical component of ensuring alignment is strategic planning: the right kind of strategic planning.

Writing in the Financial Times on July 7, 2011, Professor Hans H. Hinterhuber calls the reader’s attention to the general definition of strategy espoused by Helmuth von Moltke, chief of the Prussian general staff and considered to be one of the greatest strategists of all time. Hinterhuber quotes von Moltke: “Strategy is the evolvement of the original guiding idea according to continually changing circumstances.”⁸

We would argue that strategic planning helps bring the imagination and creativity so necessary for survival into focus. Four actions form the basis of the kind of pragmatic and ongoing planning process that von Moltke
endorses.

• Develop an internal vision statement (one the mirrors that of your organization and outlines IS’s contribution to that vision)
• Refine this with the involvement of your stakeholders (so that it is their needs, rather than your perception of their needs, that drives the process)
• Create a 360 degree view of the information needs of your organization (understand thoroughly how IS contributes to bottom line success)
• Identify and prioritize target audiences (trying to be all things to all people is a recipe for disaster).

There are two survival tools that can inform your strategic thinking on an ongoing basis as outlined below. Both the Predictive Model and the Balanced Score Card can help you frankly assess your situation. The
Predictive Model identifies 5 red flags that you need to be constantly watching for:

• Decisions are being made at the top without consulting IS users
• There has been a reduction in the number of IS customers
• Outside resources (both within your organization and outside) are competing for your customers
• You are not evaluating your services on a regular basis in ways relevant to your organization’s vision and mission
• There is evidence of a financial crisis in your parent organization.

Using the Balanced Score Card (illustrated below) on an ongoing basis can help you figure out if elements of the Predictive Model exist and can help you measure what you do so that you’ll have the data to inform your strategy for providing the services your organization values.

Von Moltke suggests that strategy is an ad hoc system of expedients and “nothing else than the application of good common sense.” Strategic Planning can no longer be a three or five year exercise. The organizations we support and the work environment are simply changing too quickly. We find ourselves having to prove our worth every day. The increased information literacy of our clients is driving us to “up our game.” In today’s tumultuous environment, self-defense is the best offense, if you want to survive. Thinking and planning strategically on an ongoing basis so that you can be the master of your own fate is a critical tool for that survival.

Source: Pearlstein & Matarazzo. May not be reproduced without permission

ENDNOTES
¹ Terminator 2, Judgement Day.
² Matarazzo, James and Toby Pearlstein. “Resuscitated! The EPA Libraries’ Near-Death Experience.” Searcher, May 2009.
³ ——. “Survival Lessons for Libraries – Corporate Libraries: A Soft Analysis and A Warning.” Ibid., June 2009.
⁴ ——. “Survival Lessons for Libraries – Alternate Sourcing: A Critical Component of Your Survival Toolkit.” Ibid., September 2009.
⁵ ——. “Scenario Planning as Preventative Medicine: The Case of the Unexpected Takeover.” Ibid., December 2009.
⁶ ——. “Survival Lessons for Librarians – Staying Afloat in Turbulent Waters: News/Media Libraries Hit Hard.” Ibid., May 2010
⁷ ——. “Survival Lessons for Libraries: A Microcosm Points to Broader Implications. Positions Advertised in For-Profit Libraries in New England 2006-2009.” Ibid., December 2010.
⁸ Hinterhuber, Prof. Hans H. “Dose of common sense helps make the best strategy.” Financial Times, July 6, 2011, p.8

Toby Pearlstein is retired Director, Global Information Services, Bain & Company, Inc. a global management consulting firm. James Matarazzo is Dean and Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College.

Cindy Romaine is the current SLA President and is focused on Future Ready 24/7 in 2011.

Have you ever watched the TV show “Man vs. Wild?” It follows a British Special Forces veteran who survives in all manner of extreme environments. For example, one scenario might feature the frozen Arctic tundra or a humid equatorial jungle.  Listening to the show’s star describe the challenges he faces, with no food, shelter, or fresh water, I had an epiphany. Everything he was saying about being in the jungle metaphorically applies to modern information professionals. We have to be alert, we need to know the terrain, and we have to know how to adapt our tools to the situations we face. The Future Ready Video is inspired by the “Man vs. Wild” TV show with a bit of “Indiana Jones” thrown in.

In talking to SLA members and visiting chapters, several members have shared stories about new roles for their MLIS—roles that our predecessors never would have imagined. Some information professionals are now working in data management jobs, and some librarians are pulled into archiving and curation.

We all know, it’s a jungle out there and this video, sponsored by Reprints Desk, is all about finding the information explorer each of us. Sit back and watch as Mia Finder, a fictional information professional, sleuths out high-value content for her clients—without going bananas. It really is a jungle out there, and librarians can help their clients survive it. As information professionals we know that if we use our wits and our high-tech analysis skills, we will find that we are indeed, Future Ready!

Behind the scenes of the Future Ready video, the director’s perspective

by Mike Greene

It’s 6 a.m. and like most directors, I’ve got a camera bag and sound setup layered on my back, a folder carrying the well thought out Future Ready script in my left hand, a hot cup of joe in my right, all while doing a balancing act with a cell phone against my ear. Meanwhile, my sound guy is going over the checklist so we don’t forget anything important… like a microphone to capture the sound. Trust me, things get a little crazy on the first day of a shoot.

Upon arriving we meet with our lead, Mia Finder, played by Catalina Lavalle, and the rest of the crew. Griffith Park is the picture perfect location, full of lush forests and vegetation to hide us from the real world. Filming was as smooth as butter: the actors and crew really brought their A-game. At one point, Catalina was climbing a jungle vine, our office workers were jumping out of trees, and Cindy Romaine,the President of SLA was imitating a chimpanzee. Talk about a fun set! Even after hearing me say, “That was great, back to one, let’s do it again,” everyone brought just as much energy as the first take. Working on this production was a treat, and I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Cast & Crew with Cindy Romaine

I joined SLA members at the first screening of the Future Ready video at the SLA Annual Conference in Philadelphia. There’s nothing more gratifying than sitting with a live audience for your video’s premiere. Future Ready is an adventurous piece that brings out the Mia Finder in all of us: someone who is determined, eager to use technology, ready to climb the fallen trees, push the brush aside and accomplish their goals.

Viewing the Video at SLA Annual Conference 2011

Mike Greene is the owner and director of GreeneCastle Entertainment; his vision to compel and inspire his audience is reflected in the projects he undertakes. After graduating from Texas A&M University, Mike ventured to Los Angeles to pursue directing. Mike’s training and creative eye integrates business and entertainment into projects that exceed the norm. Furthermore, his ten years of formal training in both the acting and modeling industry provides innovative avenues to his vision as a director. GreeneCastle Entertainment is a source through which he can illustrate his vision by capturing his audience and inspiring imagination.

By Iris Jastram

Imagine walking through the stacks in your favorite library. The slightly worn spines creating that familiar regular irregularity on each side, that distinctive smell of books and dust and filtered air, everything promising far more to explore than you could ever chart out in one lifetime, everything beckoning you toward its own particular rabbit hole of interconnected facts and ideas. Imagine pulling several books off the shelves to take with you, either to check out or to spread in front of you in the reading room.

Now imagine that each book you’ve selected comes with different usage rules. This one only allows you to see one chapter at a time. That one only lets you check it out for 24 hours, and no more than three times over the course of the year. This other one opens itself and all of its contents to you, while the fourth will only let you see its table of contents until a full 24 hours has elapsed since the last reader cracked its pages. Each book’s publisher has decided just how much of the book you can see and for how long based on the publisher’s idea of what’s fair.

Imagine the work on the library’s side to keep track of all these different usage and loan rules for items in the collection and to guide its readers through the various hoops each publisher requires. Imagine the librarians returning to antiquated roles as gatekeepers of information as they’re forced to ensure compliance with all the various publisher rules lest the publishers swoop in and remove all of their books from the library’s shelves.

Hard to imagine?

Now imagine walking through the digital stacks of an ebooks collection.

Iris Jastram is the Reference and Instruction Librarian for Languages and Literature at Carleton College. She also blogs about librarianship and instruction at Pegasus Librarian.

by Darron Chapman, Europe Chapter, Academic, Business & Finance Divisions

Earlier this year, TFPL used its extensive networks to take a snapshot of how organisations are assigning Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) responsibilities and to see what trends are emerging. Key to the survey was the concept of ‘responsibilities’ rather than job titles and the KIM Responsibilities Framework. The Framework was developed following TFPL research in2006 and provided a structure for the survey. Respondents came from global, national and local organisations and were predominately UK based. The full report based on the survey is available on the TFPL website http://www.tfpl.com/resources/reports.cfm but the following key points standout.

Organisational strategy for innovation and investment has become a significant driver for assigning KIM responsibilities, suggesting that KIM is regarded more as an essential, rather than discretionary, business function.  This is a discernible shift towards KIM roles reporting into the business, as KIM needs are identified on an enterprise-wide basis. A model has evolved towards the dispersal of KIM practitioners throughout organisations supported by a central team. A matrix approach also means that dispersed practitioners are also part of a KIM team. So, in spite of rumours to the contrary, KIM teams still have a place in what’s often called the “future ready” business.

KIM headcount is remarkably stable, having not significantly fallen over the last five years. There is evidence of patterns of growth and decline in public and private organisations; however there is a net gain overall, with a wider range of sectors employing KIM staff.

There is a modest growth predicted in roles across the Framework with some areas more dynamic than others. The apparent loss of some traditional roles and responsibilities has been mitigated by creation of other, enriched roles calling for a continuing development of new skills and novel application of traditional skills.
There is a clear move towards the core KIM disciplines – information management, records management, library and information services, business analysis, and knowledge management,– coming together or merging. However, some relevant functions — such as Research, Competitive Intelligence and Information Technology – do not generally align themselves with KIM community.

The personal impact of individuals, team members as well as KIM Leaders is increasingly important. It is crucial to be able to align with, and understand, the organisation, to have the ability to develop skills, and to recognise how the role contributes to corporate success.

Questions raised

Inevitably the survey raised a number of questions in our minds, and we are sure that there are many more. So, for example:

• Should KIM professionals focus on aligning themselves to corporate strategy, innovation and investment?
• Will the KIM profession develop into a multi-disciplinary but cohesive group, or will it become a federation of different disciplines?
• If KIM roles are increasingly dispersed within organisations, will individuals continue to identify with the KIM community as a support network? Or, as new people are recruited into these roles, will they identify with their business community first?
• How far are we experiencing a step change or continuing to evolve as a profession?
• Have some functions, such as Research, began to split off from KIM as a career path?

We would welcome feedback and any further questions you might have at info@tfpl.com.

Darron Chapman is the Managing Director TFPL Ltd and President Elect of SLA’s Europe Chapter. Darron has been with TFPL since 1990, initially focusing on recruitment, becoming Managing Director after TFPL’s acquisition by IDOX Plc. Darron’s work as Director of Recruitment gave him a broad and unique view of developments in the information and business world. An established member of the executive team he helped shape the direction of the company and launched the first recruitment service dedicated to knowledge management.
Darron can be reached at darron.chapman@tfpl.com and followed on Twitter @DPCHA.