Today we, Future Ready 365 and On Firmer Ground, are posting the same piece to demonstrate the collaboration we both highly value. Both blogs strive to share proactive solutions and innovative ideas to illustrate how to keep information professionals vital, ready for the future and on firmer ground.

by Joan Thomas, Heart of America Chapter, Legal Division

Newsletters are an effective tool to communicate information to users while promoting the library’s value. How do you make a newsletter Future Ready? At Bryan Cave LLP, the library staff struggled to consistently produce office specific newsletters. It became increasingly more difficult to find the time and enthusiasm to create content for subsequent issues. We needed a streamlined collaboration that evenly distributed the work between several offices. We needed to connect with attorneys and staff at offices with no library staff presence. We also wanted to drive users to the library’s page on eCave2, the firm’s Intranet. Our challenge was to determine how we could join forces to collaborate on a firmwide e-newsletter to highlight new subscriptions and interesting legal news.

In early 2010, we formed a committee to organize the work flow, design the template, and determine how to connect the newsletter to the library’s page. We wanted news blurbs that were short bursts of information. We decided to publish the newsletter every 3 weeks. Each reference librarian and library manager is responsible for contributing articles on a rotating basis. The team for each issue consists of three librarians. One of the three librarians serves as the editor. We posted a schedule to eCave2. The schedule ensures that we share responsibility.

Committee members worked with Creative Services to design the template. We wanted the newsletter to look modern and to reflect the firm’s design aesthetic. We wanted the contents inside the body of the email (no more attached PDFs). Our library’s logo is included. The library staff voted to determine the favorite, which we continue to use today.

Finally, how should we connect the newsletter to the library’s page? A Future Ready newsletter should be connected to the library’s online presence. The firm’s Intranet operates on SharePoint. As the library staff experimented with SharePoint in 2009, they started adding news posts to a section of the library’s page which is very similar to an internal blog. This seemed like a natural place to post the articles. During each three week period, the designated authors create content to post to the blog which we named L&RS News. The editor then selects 4-6 articles to include in the newsletter which is distributed to the entire firm. The newsletter includes links back to L&RS News on the library’s page. We named the newsletter in the KNOW which is a natural extension of our Just Say KNOW branding.

Measuring success is an ongoing endeavor. We continue to receive positive comments which sometimes include reference requests. The newsletter increased the library’s profile in offices with no library presence. The library is doing a solid job broadcasting information to our users. Our next Future Ready task is to shift from broadcasting information to initiating conversations with users. What can we do besides face to face communication? We are exploring how to use social media tools to engage with attorneys and staff.

Joan serves as the Manager of Library and Research Services for Bryan Cave LLP’s Kansas City office. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Missouri.  She can be found on twitter (@msjoanthomas).

By Qin Tang, Minnesota Chapter, Transportation Division

In the last few years, I have learned a great deal about what makes a great leader through intensive reading on leadership, attending workshops, interviewing leaders and witnessing a true leader in action. That leader is – Tom Sorel, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, where I serve as a librarian. I would like to share a few things I have learned.

Let’s start with the basics of what leadership is about.

In Leadership Challenge, authors James Kouzes and Barry Posner say leadership is not about position or title, power or authority, status or wealth, being a CEO, president or a hero. Leadership is about relationships. It is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. It’s about character and what you do.

The fact is, everyone can be a leader. You are a leader in some way even if you don’t hold an official title in the organization. You are the most important leader in your organization, in your family and your life. Learning leadership skills is everyone’s business. Leadership opportunities are everywhere.

To be a better leader and a future ready leader, we need to move away from the traditional leadership styles that are individual-centered and to a more relationally oriented style – transformational leadership, democratic leadership, servant leadership and collaborative leadership.

This new approach to leadership means rather than having a hero who tells us what to do, we need a servant who inspires us, empowers us and helps us do the work ourselves. Leadership is shifted from “power over” to “power with.”

A true leader is a transformational leader, not a transactional manager. A transformational leader helps his or her followers become self-empowered leaders and change agents. Transformational leaders can articulate vision and values clearly so their followers, the new self-empowered leaders, know where to go and what to do.

In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, author John Maxwell says: “To lead tomorrow, learn today. Leadership doesn’t develop in a day. It takes a lifetime.”

Starting today, cultivate the following characteristics of great leaders:

• Characters – “Leadership is character in action.” – James Hunter
• Competence – Your emotional intelligence is as important as your IQ, if not more important. Hire people who are competent and smarter than you. “Competence is doing the right thing, the right way at the right time.” -Sheila Murray Bethel
• Collaboration – Seek to forge alliances both inside and outside of the organization. “Including colleagues and constituents in decision-making and problem solving strengthens organizations and builds participants’ commitment.” – David D. Chrislip
• Compassion – Create a caring, respectful, people-centered culture within your organization. “Take care of your people and they will take care of your business, not just because they have to, but because they want to.” – Lee Cockerell
• Connection – Connect with yourself, connect with others personally, and connect to the world. Forging the bond between people can strengthen teamwork. “Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.” – John Maxwell
• Continued learning – All great leaders are lifelong learners.
• Empowerment – “Only secure leaders give power to others. Leading well is not about enriching yourself, it’s about empowering others. Believe in people and give your power away.”  - John Maxwell
• Humility –Have a humble spirit. Admit mistakes and learn from them. To be the best leader is to be the best servant. Choose service to others over self-interest.
• Humor and fun – Don’t take yourself too seriously. Have a sense of humor. Laugh at yourself so others will laugh with you. Celebrate and make work fun.
• Inspiring and motivational – “Leaders are to influence people and inspire people to act.” – James Hunter
• Mentoring and legacy – “When you invest in others, you gain the opportunity to create a legacy that will outlive you. The best leaders lead today with tomorrow in mind by making sure they invest in leaders who will carry their legacy forward.” – John Maxwell
• Openness and transparency – Openness in mind, heart, policies and dealings encourages curiosity, creativity and innovation.
• Trust – Character and competence are the foundations of trust; trust is the foundation of leadership. When you believe in people, they will believe in themselves and rise to greatness.
• Vision, purpose and values – “Leadership is getting people to want to do what you want them to do because they share your purpose, vision and values.” – Kevin Freiberg

Along the leadership development journey and in your practice as a leader, pay attention to the following pitfalls:

• Having tunnel vision
• Micromanaging
• Demanding perfection
• Having low self-esteem and confidence
• Having emotional insecurity and immaturity
• Making decisions based on emotions
• Acting as a roadblock between upper managers and employees
• Acting differently in front of their superiors and subordinates
• Blaming others for failures and taking credit for others’ successes
• Making assumptions without fact-checking
• Reacting negatively to criticism.
• Showing favoritism
• Being rules-oriented rather than people-oriented

Learning about leadership skills from reading and attending classes is important; learning from other leaders is equally as important. Both good and bad examples can teach us valuable lessons.

But what’s even more important in this process is application and practice. We become better leaders by applying our learning, knowledge and experience to our everyday lives. To become better leaders, we must be willing to change and grow.

Wherever you are in your organization and in your life, start the leadership journey today with the first step. Be the leader you were created to be and be future ready.

Qin Tang is a librarian at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. After graduating from college in China, she studied in Germany for five years on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service receiving her MA in German. She came to the U.S. in 1991 and fell in love with libraries as she spent countless hours reading and using the Madison Public Library to learn English. She received her MLIS from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1994. Qin has worked in public, academic, corporate and government libraries. She was profiled in the March 2007 issue of Information Outlook - “A roundabout route to Minnesota”. Qin is also a writer and blogger. Read her article “There is no place like the library” and connect with her via LinkedIn or Twitter @TangQin.

by John DiGilio, Illinois Chapter, Legal and Leadership & Management Divisions

Collaboration. It is not just a way of working. It’s a state of being and a means of survival. From the rise of empires to the advancement of science and technology, the biggest accomplishments of humankind have oft been the fruit of our working together. Collaboration is the chorus that carries forth the song that promises us tomorrow. To live and learn, prosper and proliferate, is to collaborate at some length or another. John Donne hit the proverbial nail on the head when he said that no man is an island.

Librarians have come to master the art of collaboration through both innovation and necessity. By sharing information, resources, and know-how, we have surmounted many great challenges over the years. Even today, we continue to learn how to reinvent and reinvigorate ourselves, as well as do more with less, through a carefully-crafted series of collaborations. The very existence of this Future Ready 365 blog is a shining testament to what we can accomplish when we work together.

The Legal Division is honored to be featured this week and to be able to collaborate with so many of you in propelling this Association and our profession forward. We are celebrating the success of a new collaboration of our own. We have joined with other organizations from around the world to create a blog to promote the value of law firm librarians in today’s information economy.  On Firmer Ground features the experiences and opinions of law librarians from the United States, Britain, Ireland, Canada, and Scotland in unprecedented unison. FLASH: just after I wrote this, the Organisation of South African Law Libraries (OSALL) signed on to our group! By lifting our voices together, we hope to forge a positive view of who we are and what we do that will carry our profession well into this new millennium.

As you read our posts throughout the week, we encourage you to speak up and get involved. From taking an active role in your local chapters to pitching in with the divisions and caucuses, it is only by working together that we can guarantee a future for this amazing association. We hear the call constantly at our meetings and on our listservs. The challenge is to not let it fall upon deaf ears. The Special Libraries Association has come to be one of the premier organizations for information professionals because of the collaborative hard work and sacrifice of so many of our colleagues and predecessors. The best way for us to show our gratitude is simply to emulate their dedication…their collaboration…and keep it that way for generations to come. Together, we can be truly Future Ready!

Welcome to Legal Division Week on FR365!

John DiGilio is the National Manager of Research Services for Reed Smith, LLP.  He has over 20 years experience in libraries and has written for numerous publications and taught college and graduate courses for attorneys and librarians. He has twice been awarded SLA’s Dana Award recipient. John blogs at iBraryGuy, and follow him via Twitter (@iBraryGuy).

Reposted with Permission from SLA Europe

by Sara Batts, Europe Chapter, Business & Finance, Legal, Leadership & Management Divisions

For the second year, SLA Conference brought its new Fellows and Rising Stars together for a round table session. This year’s theme was the four ‘pillars’ of Future Ready: community, collaboration, alignment and adaptable skills. Each pair of Star & Fellow took one topic, and presented their thoughts and perspectives. Webb Shaw from JJ Keller, sponsors of the Rising Star award ably chaired the session.

Kate and Sara from SLA Europe talked about Community. A few of the questions we answered about the value of community were:

• Do you have an “expert community?”
• What method did you use to build it?
• What about social media?
• What are the goals of your most important professional community?
• Have you taken part in a mentoring program, either as a mentor or “mentee”? How has that helped you build community?

It was a fun meeting to take part in. The preparation calls were also interesting, to see the group come together and get a sense of the way the session would pan out. It was particularly nice to get a laugh for one of Sara’s points, and to see a comment being retweeted across the conference, albeit slightly tongue in cheek from some. Other pairings addressed these questions below: what answers would you give, and how would they help you become Future Ready?

Adaptable skills
What are examples of non-tech skills that need to be adaptable?
How do you position yourself and your organization for adaptability?
What do you think is the next adaptation you’ll need to make?

Alignment
How have you gotten to know your users?
What’s an example of how you deliver information in a way you know to be user-friendly?
Have you identified your organization’s short- and long-term goals? How did you go about it?

Collaboration
How do you coordinate with other dept’s to meet goals of your organization?
What is an example of how you use communication and networking with outside groups to build your knowledge base and/or keep it current?

Photos (c) The Photo Group 2011 – All rights reserved

Sara Batts is currently SLA Europe President. She has recently taken on the role Library Services Co-ordinator in the London office of an international law firm. An SLA member since 2009, Sara was one of this year’s Rising Stars.

by Cherine Whitney, Rhode Island Chapter, Food, Agriculture & Nutrition Division

Inspired by Cindy Romaine to share an idea on 6/12, I am sharing my story. In April 2007 Emily Wild, a geographical librarian at US Geoogical survey presented a Powerpoint on GIS (Geographical Information Systems). Little did I know then that this knowledge would come in handy about 4 years later in ways I could have never anticipated. I was readying myself for my future.

July 7, 2007, my father died in Hospice Care of RI after complications of surgery. This was a significant event. Just as important, is that I used Hospice’s bereavement services for processing my grief.

Two years after his death, I became a Hospice Volunteer. I returned that love that came my way over those years. November 2010 I took a patient to a doctor’s appointment, and also delivered a food basket to him and his fmily. On that delivery, they shared with me that he had just been given 6 months to live. I hugged the wife saying let you find hope and peace for even one hour. April 2011, delivering another food basket (of course in my various seasonal hats ):) I found they had no volunteer to help. In middle May, weeks later, after helping them little, I was asked to find a map of a hiking area the patient had loved. The Hospice social worker wanted him to have meaning and a purpose in his life to help him not think of his impending death. She was planning to use this map for her own hike at a later date. So, using their tip to call the Town Hall, I asked for maps, picked them up May 20. I delivered them to the patient. Talking to him face to face, I found he loved these regular maps. But he needed something else. Using my information interview skills gently, I found out he needed a topographical and/or aerial view map.

After I left to prepare for Penelope Campbells’ talk/stay at my house, I called Town Hall from my car while still on their property. I asked the town clerks if they had this type of map. They said no, but GIS staff might. I called him. He was in. Explaining the urgent need for a Hospice patient, he asked me questions about the map requested. I said I did not know. Then I thought: have him talk to the patient. So, going back into the house, I told them I found someone to help the patient. They spoke. What an excellent, animated interaction!!! We all smiled and laughed! May 23, I picked up the map, a huge 36” by 36” topographical AND aerial. Delivering the information that day, the patient and family were overjoyed. I called the GIS staff person days later to thank him. He was away May 26-June 3! That was meant to be for me to be at that place at that time!

Wait, there is more! Best of all, the GIS guy waived the fee, and said he wanted to help make detailed maps of trails that existed and for non existing maps of trails. This patient’s knowledge, love of life, and nature would be his legacy for the future. He was doing it NOW! He had his purpose. He was making future ready trails! How awesome! I had helped him do this. What a connection!

Many thank yous came from the family, the social worker (who had sought the map for months from another volunteer), and the Volunteer Coordinator. I am honored to have given my skills, knowledge, love, for something that truly is important. The immediate need was met expeditiously. I used all of my skills. I did that EXTRA big time. Thank you SLA, Emily, and Chapter, filling Tony Stankus’, now a Fellow, shoes.

Cherine Whitney received her MLIS from the University of Rhode Island in 1998.  She has had a myriad of library experiences from children’s specialist at Providence Public Library, to special collections cataloger at Boston College, to her current position in Research Services at Providence College.  For more than five years Cherine has volunteered at Hasbro Children’s Hospital as a Childcare coordinator, reading and playing with patients in the Dental Clinic’s waiting area. With Home and Hospice Care of RI, she does vigils and visits with patients, and has worked with Camp Braveheart, for grieving children ages 4-17 (dressed in her marvelous hats, of course!) Cherine is President of the Rhode Island Chapter of SLA and has been so since 2009.

Joy Banks, Florida & Caribbean Chapter, Museums, Arts & Humanities and Solo Librarians Divisions

I recently started working as a solo librarian in a collection closed to just about everyone. As I have been thinking about being future ready, I find myself overwhelmed. My supervisor doesn’t own a cell phone, I only own a stupid phone (that’s the opposite of a smart phone, right?), and the audience I serve is not real big on technology. So how do I move all of us into this future?

Answer: baby steps. I start by maximizing our online presence. Since we are so small, I am seeking collaborative opportunities outside my institution to push our collection out to as many places as possible, shepherding my users back to the library. I want to meet my users where they are, slowly drawing them into digitization (they like paper), email (they like phone calls), and social media (social what?). If I take a huge leap into the future, ignoring the fact that they may need to take quite a few more steps to reach where I am now, I will lose them and the value that my collection can hold.

Being future ready cannot possibly mean the same thing to all people. Or perhaps it does, but we will each reach this future in our own way. No one process will be adequate to meet the needs of every institution. As a profession, we also need to recognize that the digital divide does not just impact our audience; it also influences the way that institutions are able to implement “future ready” ideas. I want to lead my users into the future on a path they (and I) can follow and take their hands when it seems they may be losing their way.

Joy Banks is the Librarian at the Anton Brees Carillon Library at Bok Tower Gardens and arguably has one of the best office views in central Florida. She is enjoying her new adventures in the world of music libraries after serving just over four years as the cataloger in an academic institution. She earned her MSLS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania where she was an active member of the SLA student chapter. Currently, she is serving as the President-Elect and First Five Years Ambassador for the SLA Florida & Caribbean Chapter.

Jonathan Leff, San Francisco Bay Region Chapter, Academic and Museums, Arts & Humanities Divisions

I recently read a FutureReady 365 blog post by Chelle Batchelor titled “The Future Ready Job Search,” in which she highlighted four elements of a successful job search: Community, Collaboration, Flexibility and Adaptability. I feel that these four elements are key to anyone working in the information field of the future.

Earlier this year, the SLA San Francisco Bay Region Chapter began a project to archive all the copies of its Bayline newsletter, which began in 1929. As a newly minted information professional, I jumped at the chance to contribute my skills to the organization, learn new skills, and to network with other info pros in my area. In our first meeting to assess the situation, we decided to look at the actual physical archives (located in the basement of a building in UC Berkeley), and then begin the process of indexing all of the Bayline issues up to the present day, with the goal of eventually being able to digitize all the issues that currently exist only in print form, so as to make them available for future generations.

What do bound volumes of newsletters from the Hoover administration have to do with being future ready? To me, being future ready is all about using the latest technological tools for dissemination of information to retrieve the past from remote cellars and bring it into the light of day where it can be accessed by all who wish to view it. While our eventual goal of digitization may be a ways off, we are still able to use online collaboration tools to give everyone a virtual common space in which we can share information and ideas about the project.

Two key traits that current and future information professionals must possess are flexibility and adaptability. In order to be able to deliver information to a client – or even to share it with collaborators – an information professional needs to know which are the appropriate tools for the job at hand out of the many tools he or she has at his or her disposal.

At our first project meeting, someone mentioned PBworks as a good platform for shared collaboration, and I volunteered to create a PBworks space for our project. I took the time to set up pages that I thought would be relevant to the project, including an instruction page to guide members to the site, after which I notified everyone that they now had access to the site. Soon, members of my group informed me that PBworks didn’t do what we wanted it to do, namely allow people to view each other’s work and collaborate simultaneously on documents. I realized that Google Docs would allow us to do this, and readily switched to it from PBworks and agreed to be the point person for any people who may have been unfamiliar with it.

In a sense, the other members of my group were also users, and as the person who set up the shared workspaces, it was my job to respond to their needs and provide them with the right tools so that everyone could easily access information about our project, and therefore be able to collaborate. It would not have done for me to say “my way or the highway” and insist that everyone use a platform that was not appropriate for the job. If I had done so, I would most likely have found myself off the project.

Information professionals do this every day. We assess the needs of our users in a wide array of situations where people need to have easy and efficient access to information to make informed decisions or to collaborate on group efforts. Through our possession of diverse tools and skills that can be brought into any situation requiring organization of information for easy accessibility, we are uniquely poised to contribute to the collective intelligence of the communities we serve.

Jonathan Leff is a recent graduate of San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science. He is particularly interested in the way people use information and the interplay between information and technology. He can be reached at jleff@comcast.net.

by Ruth Wolfish, New Jersey Chapter, Engineering and Leadership & Management Divisions

In my role as SLA Chapter Cabinet (Elect, Current, Past) I’ve learned to be more “Future Ready” myself and have smoothly transferred these ideas to my professional life, so I thought I’d share them with you as these tips will be very pertinent to attending  conference.

Do your homework — be prepared.

Always have business cards with you.

Listen, listen, listen…then speak.

At least once a day try to sit with/or talk to someone you don’t know.

Attempt what scares you, you fail if you don’t try but if you try you may succeed.

Anyone you meet may be important in the future, so treat everyone as you would like to be perceived.

“So, join us in Philly and learn how you too can become future ready!”

by Lark Birdsong, Rocky Mountain Chapter, Business & Finance, Competitive Intelligence, Information Technology Divisions

Musing about: What it takes to be ready for what comes at you in life; whether professional, personal or other…to be ready and not afraid of what will be asked or needed of you.

Thoughts: Having an untethered desire to learn what needs to be learned for the space and time a person is occupying. No limits on learning subject matters, technological innovations, client engagement concepts, new ideas, collaboration efforts or the tantalizing, bewildering at times, unknown; being ready for the future means embracing efforts to acquire and know the future.

Lark Birdsong Moniker
Making ideas and “things” happen with an entrepreneurial spirit. High ratio of productivity to resources executive with the unique capacity to drive business goals in alignment with the owner’s needs, develop new initiatives, and maximize the bottom line…a key leader in an organization with expertise and capabilities in three indispensable areas, information, financial, and entrepreneurial … Formal education with three master’s degrees; informal education of countless and priceless hours of on the job and off the “for credit books” education. Contact her at lark@larkbirdsong.com

WE WANT YOU! Participate in the SLA Strategic Vision Project

SLA President Cindy Romaine has tasked members of the Board of Directors with developing a strategic roadmap for the association. The “Strategic Vision Project” has as its goal to provide direction and a strategic vision for SLA through 2014. The Board has been divided into three topic-related sub-groups:

• Skills & Membership Sub-Group: What skills do association current and future members need, and how best can we assist them in acquiring these? How can we build and retain association membership?
• Collaboration & Community Sub-Group: Are there other associations, groups, and projects with which SLA can collaborate to achieve a new goal, which we could not create individually?
• Alignment & Services Sub-Group: How can we incorporate the SLA Alignment Project research and strategies into association and member performance? What services can the association provide to facilitate this?

So, we would like to pick your collective and individual brains. What advice and/or suggestions do you have on these themes? Kindly post here—or contact any or all Board members. The Board will continue discussing this at its June meetings in Philadelphia.

Thanks!

Ann Sweeney, Ulla de Stricker, & Sara Tompson

Over the past 18 years, Ann Sweeney has served the European Union Delegation as Librarian, Webmaster, and now Senior Information & Communication Officer: Electronic Publications. Ann’s 40+ years’ career as a librarian spans positions at the Columbia University Graduate Business Library, the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the Port Authority of NY & NJ, the National Academy of Sciences, and public libraries.
Ann is active in SLA: having held multiple leadership positions over the years including Social Science Division past Chair, and current International Relations Section Chair. She received the 2006 Member Achievement Award, the DSOC 2009 Gale Group Murray Wortzel Award, and has organized the Annual Conference’s International Reception for more than a decade. Outside of SLA, she provided guidance on EU materials for the American Society of International Law’s Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL) Editorial Review Group, and is a frequent speaker at TRB, the World Bank/IMF Joint Library, Georgetown University Law Library, and similar venues.

Ulla de Stricker is an Information and Knowledge Management Consultant helping clients address challenges and opportunities of discovering and capturing information objects and protecting and leveraging organizational memory. She is a well known speaker at professional events and frequent contributor to the professional literature. Her website www.destricker.com provides additional information and access to her KM blog.

Sara Tompson is serving as a Director on the SLA Board from 2011-2013.  She is a member of the SLA Finance Committee, and the Board liaison to all the California chapters, the Rio Grande, NM chapter, the SciTech Division, the Research & Development Committee and the Professional Development Council.  Currently finishing up a three year administrative appointment as a Library Associate Dean at the University of Southern California, Tompson will become the USC Libraries Head of Instruction and Orientation on July 1, 2011.  In her spare time she is an instrument rated private pilot, and enjoys flying her husband and friends around beautiful California.