Hello from Wisconsin! We are delighted to contribute a week’s worth of postings from the Midwest! You’ll see that Wisconsin isn’t just about the cheese—our chapter boasts 120 members from diverse environments: corporate, law, academic, and other settings, many of us from unique national companies and associations. Our state’s two library schools have renewed focus on special librarianship and growing interest from our student members is evident. We are an active, enthusiastic chapter and happy to contribute our thoughts on future readiness! It’s great in the Dairy State!

I remember Atari: Little square blob flies around the mostly blank screen while you and a friend wrestle with the joystick and its single red button to score points and win. Then came Mario (and a few more buttons)… Eventually, video games came with a mandatory start tutorial where you guided your character to jump and run around the screen to demonstrate you had sufficient skill to begin playing the game!

Remember when you could walk into a library and just use the card catalogue to find the stuff you needed? Simple, easy‐to‐grasp, low‐tech. And no, cataloguing did not spring fully formed from the ground; there was so so much work put into making that card catalogue system easy, usable, predictable, standardized… And finally we seem to have gotten through the dark ages of figuring out how to get our records web‐accessible in a way that makes sense to users. In many public libraries, records are now married to Amazon or LibraryThing records to better utilize the very familiar navigation that web‐saavy patrons intuitively understand.

Yes, one can also argue that a physical card catalogue requires training to use properly – how many kids these days would know how to use one? – and you’d be right. But it used to be the adage “teaching someone to fish and you’d feed him for a lifetime” held true. Nowadays, you can teach someone to fish but next week you’ll likely watch in frustration as they attempt to harpoon an angry bird with their fishing rod – the evolution is that fast and varied.

Example: This past month I ran two identical training sessions, one week apart, on the use of free online resources. My presentation had screen shots and hotlinks to the websites I was highlighting… During the second session, I was surprised to discover that one website’s entire layout had drastically changed, already outdating the information I’d passed along to the previous group! Also close to home: how many times have you run a training session on a digital resource and found that you need to explain how the print or save button will behave because it doesn’t behave as you would “normally” assume it would? (Yes, I’m talking to you, [Insert favorite subscription database with a wonky interface here]!)

Again, for the most part we’ve gotten through the messy period of databases finding themselves: the My Account button is now generally located in the accepted upper‐righthand location, etc etc… but there are still no standards. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve logged into a subscription resource only to spend more time trying to find the log out button than it took to locate, print, and deliver the article I sought. To their credit, many mainstream databases are currently ditching their old layouts (and even algorithms) to give people a Google‐y experience. Several major publishers that come to mind actually have touted in training sessions how “like Google” their simple layout is. (Though some have, sadly, buried Boolean searching in the process.) Overall, navigations are improving – partially as the web matures (long live the dynamic web!), partially as different tech for accessing the web matures (huzzah for smart phones!).

One saving grace, oddly enough, may be the mergers. I recently attended a LawLibConversation on legal publishing mergers, where the panel discussed positive and negative outcomes of such mergers. One major benefit discussed at the time: the navigation of these interfaces can sometimes drastically improve after a merger.

Cue my “Future Ready” bit. Librarians – be a part of this conversation. As platforms boil down to certain standard looks/feels/tastes, it would behoove us, as people who know information seeking behavior better than most, to try to engage in this process when possible. And if it’s not possible to get in that door, we should at the very least make sure we’re on top of the industry buzz. E.g. I’m keeping an excited eye on responsive web design *hint hint*.

Megan Wiseman is the Librarian for Weiss Berzowski Brady LLP in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is currently the Vice President for the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin and tweets @LibraryatLaw.

Info-entrepreneurs, represented by the Association of Independent Information Professionals, stand out as innovative, forward thinking, and client focused information professionals.  This series of posts delivers future ready solutions and strategies from current and past presidents of AIIP.  As industry thought leaders they have much to share about staying ahead of the curve and delivering cost effective solutions to clients worldwide.  In this insightful series of postings readers will learn how to create a job for life by listening for opportunity, watching for changes, stretching to acquire new skills, finding a balance, planning for the long term, and drawing on your strengths. — C.S.

by Jane John

Over the past ten years as an independent information professional I have provided services to numerous small and mid-stage companies in high tech sectors. One key to being future ready for serving these clients is to envision how their business environment will evolve. Here are five ways I try to envision what’s next for business clients. 

Imagine future business decisions. Currently I might ask: “What is the next business decision you must make and how will you use this information to make it?” How will the decisions made by businesspeople change in the future? I have watched companies produce prototypes of products or services only to discover that market acceptance was less than enthusiastic – where in the business cycle should those companies seek research to validate their hunches? Companies typically pay for independent research to save money, make money, or reduce the risk of business decisions. How are the decisions that affect their bottom line evolving and where in the business cycle can information play the most pivotal role?

“Get connected – stay connected.” This was the theme of a recent business workshop I saw advertised. Being future ready for delivering information may mean connecting with clients in new ways. I recently had a client phone from a meeting asking for data related to a presentation he was making. He was able to integrate my updates in near real time. LinkedIn, texting, phone and email are some current modes of staying connected, but what will connectivity and conversation look like in the future? Voice? Text? Video? Other? And at what point in the client’s business day can we have the most impact in terms of providing information via various connections. 

Watch for new, more modular, formats. Many research clients don’t know what they want in terms of research results, but like other kinds of shopping or exploration, they’ll recognize it when they see it. Currently I may offer samples that help a client visualize research results – enough for them to realize they can choose between a list of citations, a do-it-yourself tutorial, a PowerPoint summary, a comparison chart, or a 50-page analysis. Increasingly clients want modular formats – information presented in ways they can disassemble, reassemble and use for multiple purposes. I assume basic elements of content, design, and usability may remain, but the format those elements take will likely change. I keep an eye out for compelling formats, especially the modular presentation of information, from other professions.  

Focus on all types of key players. When I started in the information field I often created competitor profiles. Now I call this type of research ‘key players.’ In the current world of partnerships, collaboration, co-creation and “co-opetition” the idea of competitors seems less relevant. Watching all types of key players in a niche industry, not just competitors, will likely continue to be important to the future of small and mid-sized businesses.  

Get onsite and observe. I often look for ways to be out among my clients observing their work environment. If I have the option of meeting a client at their workplace or instead at an offsite location, I choose the workplace. It is much easier to understand how a client functions, and how to best integrate information into their workflow if you can envision their workplace. Observation is key. What information do your users seek, absorb and use? How do you observe them handling business decisions while you are visiting? In larger organizations there has been a trend towards embedded librarian roles to facilitate this first-hand observation. Being future ready will mean tracking how people use information by direct observation of information habits.

In the future it will be up to us as information professionals to suggest to clients new ways they may choose to interact with information and how it fits with their work environment.

Jane John is owner and principal researcher at On Point Research (Brunswick, Maine, USA), a company that produces customized Market Views for technology firms seeking to commercialize new products and services. The research helps companies reduce risk in their many business decisions. Ms. John is a past president of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (2007-2008), and a member of the Business & Finance, and Engineering divisions of SLA. On Point Research, jjohn@onpointresearch.com, 207-373-1755, www.onpointresearch.com.