by April Kessler, Texas Chapter, Business & Finance and Academic Divisions

It is easy for us to get bogged down in the day-to-day activities and not really plan for the future. That takes time and energy that most of don’t have the luxury of these days. The SLA Annual Conference gives me the opportunity and incentive to make that time. It’s a time for me to re-energize and to make plans for new services and new approaches.

This conference was even more special to me because I was honored to receive the Achievement in Academic Business Librarianship Award for 2011 from the Business & Finance Division and College & University Business Section. The award recognizes the accomplishments of librarians who are new to the field of academic business librarianship with 3-7 years experience in an academic library position.

I have the privilege of working with the research faculty, staff, and 6,000 students at the highly ranked McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Serving this large group of users as the only business librarian can be challenging. We have a huge number of undergraduate students and our executive MBA students are in evening, weekend, and Dallas and Houston programs. To improve services I’ve been creating popular online tutorials that demonstrate how to best utilize the library’s business resources. The videos are available for the public on the UTBusinessLibrarian’s YouTube Channel. I also worked closely with the instruction librarians here at UT to create an interactive business research tutorial to help the undergraduates get a better understanding of the research basics for their Business Communication writing class.

I’m looking forward to implementing some of the new things I learned in Philadelphia at SLA 2011. This year I saw creative ideas for instruction, resources for looking into emerging markets, and innovative ways to collaborate with faculty. I also did a little primary research of my own on the best Philly Cheesesteaks. Although, 2 sandwich shops does not a scientific study make, my vote for best cheesesteak goes to Jim’s wiz wit.

Thank you B&F and SLA for this amazing award and for another great conference!

April is the Business Librarian for the University of Texas Libraries. As a solo librarian she supports the research needs of 193 faculty members, 4,300 undergraduates, and over 1600 graduate students at the McCombs School of Business. April has introduced many innovative ways to provide instruction and research help to her user population including very popular and useful online tutorials. April was chosen to participate in ACRL’s highly selective Immersion Program for instruction librarians in 2010 and is currently the president-elect for SLA’s Texas Chapter.

by Marianne E. Giltrud, Librarian and Adjunct Faculty, The Catholic University of America

I recently posted to the Future Ready, Linked In group the following:
We’ve just gotten back from SLA Annual Conference and the ideas, creativity and connections are still fresh in my mind and the energy was palpable…Where do we go from here? What is our next step to solidify our knowledge and participation in the future? What trends, impacts and disruptions do we need to be keenly aware of so that we can ride the wave of the future??? What does it mean to be an International Organization? What cultural norms and ethnic considerations do we need to be aware of so that we can bridge the gap in a flattened, connected and success based world?

I have been asked to expand on my comments and I am awed and amazed at the opportunity to do so. To that end, I would like to tease out each question above with the hopes that this will provoke ideas, discussion and questions that serve to shape our future now.

Where do we go from here?
I ask this because it seems incumbent upon us to advance our knowledge, skills, and abilities derived from the conference experience. To me, a blog post is a venue to articulate, envision and brainstorm about the future while learning from our past.

In library school, Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat was required reading at a time when many business schools read and discussed it like the Bible. Friedman’s opening session focused us on the question of, “How do we compete in a world that is Flat, Crowded and Disrupted?” He asked us to reach down within ourselves to meet the challenge of the future today by thinking critically about thechallenges and opportunities we face in a global economy. Moreover, in today’s world we confront an unprecedented paradigm shift in the realm of labor and economics. For example, during the Great Depression (1929-1939), jobs creation did not face the significant technological disruptions that we find today. In the economic downturn of 2008-2009, the jobs that were eliminated, are today only being replaced by one technical position whereas before there may have been seven jobs performing that function. That’s a 14% permanent reduction in jobs! We can no longer sit idly by and wait it out. We need to become entrepreneurs in our profession. Inherent in this process, is the need to leverage our creativity, engagement and participation from a global perspective.

What is our next step to solidify our knowledge and decide our participation in the future?

I believe continued discussion in this and other frameworks provides an insightful medium to brainstorm, share knowledge and reflect on the myriad skill sets, that library and information professionals bring to the table each and every day. We are conveners of knowledge who collaborate, facilitate and advance wisdom inside and outside the walls of our organizations. Larry Prusak challenged us to articulate the why’s and how’s, in order to enhance judgment and decision making in a world overwhelmed with knowledge alone. We need to be the lens of “Cognitive Diversity.” This is done through our innate ability to read between the lines, synthesize and evaluate our biases hence render decisions framed in the context of understanding the differences in disparate and opposite ideas. As a profession we are highly skilled to consider the issues and provide arguments grounded in reason, intellect and yes, even virtue.

What trends, impacts and disruptions do we need to be keenly aware so that we can ride the wave of the future???
Thomas Friedman speaks about “Cultural Diversity” and how having individuals from very different cultural backgrounds can bring insight into issues, events and considerations in the world today. What this means is that we may not always be aware of our biases and how they filter how we see the world and our relationship to it. Unfortunately, this limits our viewpoints and tends to shape our thinking in avery narrow way. Moreover, technology has disrupted the world and will continue to do so. Looking to the events in the Egypt, where Facebook was integral to the overthrow of the government shows exactly how intelligent, passionate and informed individuals can shift the outcome of a nation in real time. What does that mean to us? These uprisings are reflective of a global world economy that seeks to level the ground and prove that they can make a difference. If we can anticipate the future and be ready to adapt, then we can move forward and ride the wave into the future.

More disrupters…..
Bruce Rosenstein challenged us to “Live in More Than One World” by following Peter Druckerian Management philosophy and create a bucket list in key areas of our life to expand upon our skills, reflect and prepare for the future today. I spoke with Bruce at the conference and he said that in his new position at the Leader to Leader Institute, he works locally, engages internationally and is networked to accomplish his priorities across the nation. He has experienced first-hand the economic and technological disruptions today. That experience has provided him with a unique insight not only into his process but recommendations for us to reflect upon as possible ways to manifest the agility necessary in our world today.

What cultural norms and ethnic considerations do we need to be aware of so that we can bridge the gap in a flattened, connected and success based world?
In my undergrad studies, I took organizational psychology from a professor who was writing a book andstudying the perception of Aborigines, the indigenous people of Australia. The purpose of the study was to determine if the subject could identify and replicate the pattern of placing round blocks on the rods inserted on a piece of wood. The tester and the subject faced each other with a wooden plank that had wooden dowels placed upright about an inch apart. The tester placed blocks on the rods, and the subjects not only replicated the pattern but anticipated the next move…What they found out was that, instead of trying to remember the order of placement which we might do, i.e. center first, then right side,left side, etc. that the subjects were reading micro-expressions and nuances in body language to determine where to place the next block. That takes body language and reading a person to a whole new level. My point is that if we are competing with people who have that level of skill as it relates to human relations, negotiations and other interactions do we have that level of insight, awareness, and emotional intelligence to succeed?

To be successful and remain relevant, it is incumbent upon us not only as an organization but also as individuals who are part of the greater whole, to articulate meaningful strategies derived from a “CrowdSourced,” “In the Trenches,” and “Ground Truth” aggregated knowledge framework to improve judgment and decision making on important issues impacting us every day. In order to do this we need to rethink the “aboutness” of our profession and move forward on the path of future ready.

Marianne E. Giltrud, is a Librarian and Adjunct Faculty, at The Catholic University of America where she combines her extensive experience in knowledge services, technology, business, and program planning in support of the University Libraries.  Marianne is a member of the D.C. Chapter of the Special Libraries Association Program Planning Committee and Steering Committee Head, the CUA School of Library and Information Science, “A Century of Knowledge, Service and Discovery” Centennial Celebration.  A graduate of Catholic University School of Library and Information Science, she has written social science reviews for Library Journal, spoken and made poster presentation at research symposia on a variety of topics including mobile technology, information literacy and digital media and emerging technologies.

By Stephen Abram, Toronto Chapter, Business & Finance, Information Technology, Leadership & Management Divisions

Part 1

And the future is still in front of me and always will be! Cindy Romaine asked me to write a guest post for this blog and I am honoured to do so. I believe that her future ready theme is right on. The only thing we need to prepare for is the future. The past is gone and the present disappears in the blink of an eye. By coincidence I’ve just passed my 30th anniversary of graduating from library school and it’s caused me to reflect. I tell myself that I probably have another 30 years left. So I’ve decided that I am still mid-career. What have I learned in the first half of my library life about preparing for the future that may be in any useful?
Listed below are some personal insights that I’ve learned and have found them personally meaningful over the years, so I pass them on to you here in the hope that it helps us all become more future ready. Honestly, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and it’s probably better to learn that way, but here goes:

1. Watch the Banana: When it comes to observing user behaviour and changing behaviours it is wise to remember the banana. I was once forced to watch primates for days as part of a bachelor level primatology course. We often watched them eat. Upon returning to class, the professor gave us all bananas and asked us to peel them like an ape. North Americans grab the banana by the stem and pull it open. This method crushes the top. The whole class proceeded to do it this way. He then showed a film of an ape peeling a banana. If we carefully observe chimpanzees and bananas we can see that they carefully pull the skin of a banana from the softer non-stem end and the white fruit is pristinely unwrapped as a thing of unbruised beauty. The lesson for us budding primatologists and ethnographers that I never forgot: Observe carefully. Don’t look for what you expect. When you’re looking for insights into human behaviour or the direction of the world, you’ll find it in what you don’t see at first.
2. Play with Vigor and Intent: Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge proponent of play in the workplace. This isn’t just playing with all of the new technology toys and websites that are presenting us with opportunities on a daily basis. I love that as much as the next person. What I am also advocating is that we also include ensuring that fun and humour enter our work lives on a daily basis (or more) too. Secondly, focus is good but focusing too intently is not as great. You can see opportunity in new things when you play. When you research or investigate something for work alone with your workplace goggles on, sometimes you miss the biggest opportunities in the innovation. Occasional undirected play at work loosens the unconscious and frees the mind to explore new ideas. Successful people and work teams leave time for play – alone and together. Play is not frivolous but remains one of the most potent learning strategies there is. And, frankly, it makes it fun to go to work every day. Happy teams, having fun together, is, I believe, a predictor of workplace success, employee retention, and lifelong health. Do you make time to play? Relax. You will see more opportunities for a better future in a relaxed state than all of the moments of intense concentration combined. Are you laughing and giggling enough all day? Live intentionally.
3. Hang out with different people and people who are different than you: Lately, I’ve been thinking about the echo chamber that is librarianship. I worry that we are listening too much to each other and not enough to others. I am not advocating that we listen less to eachother but that we adjust the balance to include more voices. How do our real customers talk about their encounters with the new information technologies? If we talk about ‘e-books’ and they talk about ‘reading’ (see the difference?), are we framing the issues correctly? And, how diverse is the community of people you deal with? Are there enough non-librarians, non family members, in your circle? How about the wonderful demographic mosaic of gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, language and geography in your conversation zone? Is it diverse? Do you have personal experience with young librarians and young people or vice versa? Do you travel enough to challenging experiences and places? Don’t sit with friends all the time at events or conferences – you already know them! People from diverse backgrounds can approach issues, decisions and problems in different and still valid ways. If your peers are non-diverse, I believe that it affects the quality of your insights and decisions. Mix it up.
4. Avoid the Eeyores! Some people add no value to your life and you run the risk of damaging yourself by being around them too much. People who are negative or critical in the extreme, but devoid of critical thinking are negative influences in your life. I love being around people who bang away at ideas aggressively to make them better. They’re awesome. I am talking about avoiding people who are joyless. As the economy gets worse, there seem to be more of these negative folks. Critical thinking allows for seeing weaknesses in an idea or argument and working toward correcting or improving or disproving the thinking. People for whom criticism, devoid of a context to improve ideas, where snark and name calling rule the day, are best avoided when the time can be spent with others who focus on making the world of ideas a better place. If you’ve ever met a person who is a black hole and sucks all of the life and happiness out of the room and conversation, you know what I mean. Run towards the light! The future needs to be somewhere where you want to be, and some people just can’t make that voyage. They’re locked in the ambiguity of the present tense.
5. Fail and Fail Often, but Fail Safe: You’ll discover the future by trying to invent it yourself. There are two kinds of people – those who create the future and those who live in their own personal, endless Hell of the present. Make the choice to be an animator in life. The avoidance of risk is death to growth and adaptability. Take small and manageable risks in order to learn. You’re not learning to ski or skate unless you’re falling down. How many small risks of failure did you take today? It can be as simple as meeting someone you don’t know, trying a new website, changing your
   personal style of interaction or something even bigger like loading new software or temporarily changing a work process. Try to recall when you learned to ride a bicycle. Remember the failures and then the heart floating feeling of balance and movement? I remember when I first tried public speaking with some embarrassment but I got better over time with my supportive SLA network. The opportunities to try new things are endless and, yet, we seem to partake of them too rarely. Can you schedule a daily potential-risk-of-failure-event until it becomes a habit and part of your work life? Grow pearls when you discover an irritant. Start small, pilot and experiment. Nurture and incubate. You’ll be a better professional for it.
6. Listen to your Gut: Bio-feedback works. I have learned to listen to my gut and persevere when I don’t feel right about something. Not every technology is future ready. Many have severe shortcomings or run the risk of damaging the world of information, knowledge, learning and more. Some just aren’t ready for primetime or anyone other than the early adopters. My subconscious tells me things if only I’d listen to it. I am not saying that it is telling me in black and white to do or not do something. It is often telling me things that affect the direction and experience. My gut senses distrust faster than my mind. It tells me when something might be conflicting with my personal or professional values or morals. My gut tells me when I’m not quite ready. My gut tells me when I have lingered too long in a lovely past paradigm that is now failing me. Trust your gut.
7. Do and Try: It’s not enough to be just an observer. Participate in the world as it changes. Comment and learn. Share – write, blog, tweet, and have deep conversations. Experience comes from participation. The person watching the gold fish in the bowl does not understand the goldfish.
8. Encourage the Heart: One of the most delightful aspects of librarianship is our supportive networks. Also our workplaces tend to be clean and safe. We have a personal responsibility to take this gift and improve upon it. We have potentially thousands of interactions a month. With each interaction, with each moment of truth, we represent the best of what we have to offer to the world. We can make a huge difference in people’s lives. And, with our attitude we can encourage the heart. Wake up every day choosing to make a difference in your end users lives, and, for that matter, all of your co-workers, neighbours, and colleagues.

Watch for part two and 10 more!

Stephen Abram, MLS is a Past President of SLA and is Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Markets, for Gale Cengage Learning. He is an SLA Fellow and the past president of the Ontario Library Association and the Canadian Library Association. In June 2003 he was awarded SLA’s John Cotton Dana Award and the AIIP Roger Summit Award in 2009. In 2011 he is Canada’s CLA Outstanding Librarian of the Year. He is the author of Out Front with Stephen Abram and Stephen’s Lighthouse blog. Stephen would love to hear from you at stephen.abram@gmail.com.

by Cynthia Hetherington

“Future-ready” in my business means work in the pipeline. As a business owner and private investigator, I spend a lot of time nurturing my clients and waiting for their calls. As much of our work is reactive, we have to be ever-ready. To prepare for this, my team and I are always updating and re-sharpening our skills. Like first responders, when you don’t see us working on active caseloads, we are strengthening our skills by practicing on our search tactics and reviewing new vendors. This is not unlike the librarian, who is in a constant state of learning. However, applying these librarian principals to the private investigative industry is a new and unique approach.

There’s the rub! Being unique in your area of expertise is truly future-ready. That uniqueness will always allow for you to stand apart from the competition and, thereby, make you a more attractive resource. For example, when I’m in librarian circles I tend to emphasize my security and investigations work. Conversely, when I’m with law enforcement or investigative groups I remind them of my library background. Simple as that. I’m always remembered by those with whom I come into contact.

Once you’ve pinpointed your unique feature, it must be marketed as such. Get out from behind your computer and meet, in person, with clients at conferences, luncheons, and other networking events. Meeting in person once is worth a thousand tweets!

Future-ready has to be made to happen, so start building your brand and marketing your unique self.

Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, has been coaching, training, and working alongside private investigators, security specialists, and law enforcement professionals for nearly twenty years. She  has found a niche in the investigative industry, assisting in online and Internet research. A widely-published author, she has written Business Background Investigations and The Manual to Online Public Records. Cynthia founded Hetherington Group, a firm dedicated to private, corporate, and government investigation and security, utilizing the industry’s most highly-regarded and nationally known investigative experts.  It also publishes the Data2know.com: Internet & Online Intelligence Newsletter for investigators and security professionals, and provides one of the industry’s most trusted private investigative services, geared toward the private business sector.

By Karen Huffman, Washington D.C. Chapter, Knowledge Management Division

Future Ready Toolkit

This post is from SLA’s new Future Ready Toolkit. The Toolkit was constructed by SLA members who have drawn upon substantial professional experience and alignment research to help you hone your skills in a way that is relevant and global. The toolkit is collaboration, alignment, adaptation, and community put into action.

Overview

Organizational growth is closely correlated to individuals who are willing to network and collaborate outside their normal sphere of influence. People able to span the organizational hierarchy and build internal and external networks cannot help but grow and adapt. Growing adaptive organizations, transformational leaders realize the importance of blurring organizational lines, supporting collaborative communities and breaking down silos to encourage transparency. (Image on right: Wordle.net word cloud based on a Wikipedia article on “Stakeholder Analysis.”)

Definitions

Engagement

An act where two or more parties agree to a predetermined commitment.
Related terms: User adoption; collaboration; benefits.

Networks

Interrelated connections that can be physical, virtual, or both. Networks are relational-based. See also articles shared on the Future Ready 365 blog tagged “network.”
Related terms: Relationships; connections.

Partnerships

Two or more parties who have agreed to work towards a common vision, mission, purpose, and/or goals.
Related terms: Purpose-driven relationship; actionable, accountable relationship.

Project Management

A purposeful process that includes planning, organizing, securing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. The success of a project often relies on an analysis and involvement of stakeholders.
Related terms: Structured goal-oriented approach; task breakdown and analysis.

Stakeholders

Organizations and/or individuals who are positively or negatively impacted by decisions and/or actions. Anyone with a vested interested in a project, event, and/or outcome. Related terms: Users; clients; key, primary, and secondary stakeholders; stakeholder analysis.

Key Elements and Ideas

Crossing Boundaries for Growth and Collaboration

One of my ongoing goals is to foster collaboration and learning opportunities as well as continually grow personal and professional competencies. Last fall at KMWorld 2010, the speakers who spoke about “Optimizing Organizations through Collaboration” discussed the idea of “boundary crossing” which relates to some key elements and ideas around this topic on building a network to engage and partner with stakeholders:

• Analyze social and organizational networks to understand knowledge gaps.
• Ensure communities of practice are aligned to the business goals and encourage sustainability through people to people connections and participation.
• Capitalize on the power of social networks to build effective and adaptive learning organizations.
• Grow expertise and competencies requires knowing your current proficiencies, setting goals, and crossing many boundaries to grow new ideas and expand your knowledge.

The mind map (below) developed by Karen Huffman is based on David Snowden’s ASHEN framework (2000) and Patrick Lambe’s KM competencies for knowledge managers (2008).

SLA Members Shared Ideas

• Being there – being present: It’s an ongoing process of growing and cultivating relationships, building networks, gaining trust. ~Mary Talley
• Forming a community/building a network is a process that harnesses on-going process development and refinement as well as project management skills. ~Aimee Babcock-Ellis
• The goal and criteria for success when developing a network is to make it equally useful to both individuals and corporate management. ~Peggy Watkins
• Informed opinions about the possibilities and measured objectives that are jointly agreed upon. ~David Stern
• Stakeholder analysis – figuring out what they want – as well as marketing and negotiation skills. ~Vicky Platt
• Crossing Boundaries for Growth and Collaboration. ~Karen Huffman

To read more about their ideas, click here.

Models and Templates

Stakeholders

• MindTools offers some great “getting started” models/templates on Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Management. It includes information on stakeholder analysis, winning support for projects and building communication from stakeholders. Great templates to employ with any project.

Project Management

• GovLoop’s Project Management Guide – the templates that capture the essential aspects of project management.
• Project Management Institute (PMI) website.

Resources

Books

Levin, Ginger (2008). Improve Your Interpersonal Skills to Achieve Greater Management Success! (Url: http://www.facebook.com/notes/management-concepts/are-you-connecting-with-your-stakeholders/422512295431.)

Sampson, Michael (2010). User Adoption Strategies: Shifting Second Wave People to New Collaboration Technology. (URL: http://www.michaelsampson.net/useradoption.html target=”_blank”.)

Blog

Boxes and Arrows: The design behind the design

• Setting Up Business Stakeholder Interviews, Part 1 by Michael Beavers on 2007/03/26. (URL: http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/setting-up-business.)
• Setting Up Business Stakeholder Interviews Part 2 by Michael Beavers on 2007/04/01. (URL: http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/setting-up-business22.)

Karen works for National Geographic Society as part of the Software as a Service (SaaS) team in the Information Systems & Technology division. She supports the enterprise’s business needs with hosted solutions such as Google Apps for Business as well as develops customized solutions for targeted customer groups within the organization. She has been a member of SLA since 1999, serving in various roles including chair of the KM division (2009-2010) and developing resources for SLA-sponsored initiatives like 23 Things.

by Deb Hunt, San Francisco & Silicon Valley Chapters, IT & KM Divisions

When SLA’s 23 Things premiered at the SLA 2008 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in Seattle, it became one of the most popular benefits of membership in SLA. In 2010, it was time to re-establish the opportunity for collaborative learning, and I, who chaired the original effort, worked with graduate MLIS student Kim McGrath to rejuvenate the package. 

Now, 23 Things is making a new debut.

Some outdated links and resources have been removed, existing lessons have been updated, and completely new material has been added to the package.

A few highlights: Week 6 was remodeled to introduce “Social Media and Networking.”  Now included are Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and how each one can be used to help you find a job, advertise your business, or gain competitive intelligence. Read articles and watch videos that point you to valuable resources you can put to use right away! If you’re a seasoned veteran, we’ve got next steps covered too.

With the Future Ready 365 blog in full swing, try out a few of the weeks, learn something new, and become Future Ready yourself. Spend as little as an hour a week, and reinvigorate yourself with fresh ideas and a mastery of tools like RSS, Tagging and Folksonomies, and more. If you’re new to 23 Things, all you need to do is create a username in SLA’s wiki dashboard to get started.

So what are you waiting for? Jump in and try out all 23 Things, sample a baker’s dozen, or just start with Week 6. No need to go in order, but it helps you experience the full effect. There is something here for everyone to increase employability and career skills, so don’t delay!

Sincerely,
Deb Hunt
Chair, 23 Things

Deb Hunt is a member of the Professional Development Advisory Council. She has held positions in the San Francisco Bay Region chapter and the Board of Directors.