by Laura Woods, Europe Chapter, Legal and Leadership & Management Divisions

I’m still a fairly new librarian, but thinking about how much I’ve learned just over the past four years makes my head spin! I would never have guessed, when I applied for my first library job, just what a fast-moving career I was entering. To me, being Future Ready means continually learning and adapting to new challenges.

If you’re at the start of your career, and the above sounds like a daunting prospect, here’s a few things I’ve learned that I wish I’d known when I was starting out:

1. Develop a network

Librarians are helpful people, so get to know as many as you can! Have a look for SLA chapters in your area, and just turn up and start talking to people. If there’s not much local to you, or if you’re more comfortable chatting online, try joining an online network like LISNPN (the LIS New Professionals Network) to get to know other people in the same position as you. Whether you do it online or off, building a network of fellow information professionals gives you an invaluable source of support, advice, and friendship. I’m a natural introvert with a dislike of asking people for help, so when I started off as a librarian my instinct was to keep my head down and get on with things by myself. It wasn’t until I started getting to know people within SLA and other professional bodies, and getting involved with committee work that meant I had to ask other people for help and advice, that I realised that a) no one was going to think less of me for needing help; and b) sometimes other people needed my help too! Developing a network is about building reciprocal relationships, and offering help as well as asking for it. It’s easy to assume that as a new professional you have nothing useful to offer those with more experience, but you will have skills and insights that other people lack – even if you don’t know it yet!

2. Say yes to everything you can

There are tons of awards and sponsorships available for LIS students and new professionals. I first became involved with SLA when I received an Early Career Conference Award from SLA Europe, co-sponsored by the Leadership and Management Division. However, I very nearly didn’t apply for that award – mainly because I thought that there would be so much competition, I wouldn’t stand a chance! I applied anyway, on the basis that it was worth a try, and was thrilled when I won. The lesson I learned from that was never to rule myself out of anything. Sure, there was a lot of competition, but if I hadn’t applied, I definitely wouldn’t have won. I’ve tried to carry that over into every other area of my professional life: I never say no to something, and thus count myself out of the running, unless I have a very good reason for not saying yes.

3. Everything is worth learning about

When I was at library school, there was a module on libraries in different sectors. Each week, a guest speaker from a different sector would come in to talk about their job and opportunities in their sector. I was pretty certain at that point that I wanted to work in law libraries, so while I was keen to attend the week a law firm librarian was the guest speaker, I didn’t have much enthusiasm for the rest of the module. However, after attending the first couple of lectures and realising that there were so many career paths in librarianship that I’d never even heard of, let alone considered, I was so glad to have the opportunity to hear from and talk to people in those many and varied jobs. As it turns out, I have stayed in law libraries since graduating; however, I still take every opportunity I can to learn about aspects of librarianship that have nothing to do with my current role. I take the view that even if I do stay in law libraries for the rest of my career, having a broader view of the profession as a whole, the issues librarians in other sectors face and how they deal with them, can only improve my own knowledge and strategic thinking, and thus improve my future readiness.

Those are just a few ways I’ve learned to be future ready; what would you add?

Laura Woods graduated from City University London with an MSc in Library and Information Studies in January 2010, and is currently working as an Information Services Adviser at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. She has been involved with SLA Europe since winning one of the Early Career Conference Awards in 2009, and attending the 2009 Annual Conference in Washington DC. Laura blogs about her professional development activities at Organising Chaos, and you can find her on Twitter as @WoodsieGirl. She is interested in networking with her peers, particularly fellow new professionals, and in innovative ways to promote library services and the information profession.

by Pamela Wall

OK, already! I get it. I really do.

In order to be Future Ready, you have to be actively getting ready. You (and when I say you, I really mean me) can not be on the sidelines anymore believing that the skills gathered and gleaned to prepare the library and the library professional for the twenty-first century and centuries to come should be put on a shelf somewhere awaiting some perfect time.

According to a blog post I read recently, the future is now. Waiting for some mystical, magical, and mysterious time is not the wisest course of action and continuing to wait while not putting any of my hard-earned professional skills to use is tantamount to malpractice. Malpractice was the theme of another post. I just want to let you (this time, I really mean you) know that I’ve been inspired by someone else’s original thoughts. The rest that follows really is mine. With this post, I am not trying to revolutionize anyone. I am only trying to revolutionize myself. Keeping that in mind, this is what I resolve to do.

I will work hard to organize my library. I inherited the library at the engineering firm for which I work from another co-worker. You may be saying “OK. Big deal!” To those of you who uttered that thought, allow me to tell you that the co-worker who organized the library was not a librarian. I am not sure that she has ever worked in one. I am sure that she’s been to one because she worked for months to get the collection in order. She used what skills she had to generate call numbers for each of the books. She got the library together without the assistance of any library professional and for that, I commend her. She subsequently left the company, and the library became my responsibility. I had absolutely no idea how to manage it. I knew that the call number system of Book1, Book2, etc. was no longer appropriate especially since materials were coming into the library that belonged between Book1 and Book2. One thing I did was to enroll my pretty self in an accredited Library Science program. I have also begun to broker discussions with a real librarian, and she helped me to select a real, viable system for organization. With other relationships I will develop and the techniques I will learn, I will analyze what is done to manage collections and use those methods to manage my own.

The engineering firm for which I work has four engineers in our office. You may be thinking “Four engineers? Big deal!” To you I say that they are some of the best I’ve ever worked with, and in our town, my little firm has an excellent reputation. I can certainly say that they’ve been able to keep this sister in soft shoes for the past nine-plus years. They are not walking around the office saying, “Well, when we get 15 P.E.’s on staff, then we’ll really be awesome.” They are not waiting for that. The standard of care for engineers states that they will exhibit quality workmanship for all projects on which they work. The standard of care does not say that they have to have a labor force of a certain size to produce quality. This principle works for one as well as it works for 1,000. As the engineers in my office are doing, I will most emphatically do. I am the only librarian (well, not a real librarian. I don’t have my degree yet) on staff, but I will not wait for an increase in the company’s labor force or the library’s collection before I can exhibit the quality of my profession. I will do these things and more so that my library and I are Future Ready. My co-laborers in the information field, this is my standard of care…my resolution.

Pamela Wall is a student in the MLS program at the North Carolina Central University.

by Liz Wallach, Washington, DC Chapter, Environment & Resource Management Division

As we work to demonstrate our value to our organizations, we may be asked to participate in projects with other groups or divisions. Being asked to contribute to a project is an opportunity to showcase our skills and knowledge as information professionals. Here is a new project management concept that I recently learned about.

Agile Project Management gives a flexible framework for completing a project with an iterative approach. Agile is not new (only new to me) and it is not something that you learn quickly. There is a whole industry devoted to training seminars, consulting, and software tools. I had never heard about the Agile concept before attending a 3 day “boot camp” seminar last summer. I realized very quickly that I had a lot to learn.

The main advantage of using an Agile approach is that it allows you to make changes to your concepts as you move through the process. Agile participants accept that there is no way for you to know exactly what the end product will look like – no matter how many requirements you write. Ideas should evolve as you gather more information. So Agile allows you to refine and revise your concept as you learn more about the possibilities. These few sentences are just scratching the surface of how the Agile method works.

There are 2 reasons that I connect this with our FutureReady blog:

1. It’s healthy to be challenged by learning about something with which you have no experience.
2. I am building new relationships with other groups within my company by working on these projects.

I am an SLA member who has always worked in a “nontraditional” library position, but I have strongly associated myself with the information professionals in SLA. As we move into the future, we should remember to challenge ourselves by learning about new ideas to keep our profession “agile”.

Liz Wallach has worked at BNA for 22 years in various research positions, most recently as a Manager of Special Projects. She has been a member of SLA for almost that long, since completing her M.S.L.S. at Catholic University.

by John Digilio, Chicago Chapter, Legal Division Chair

Nervous energy.  It is everywhere these days.  It is that feeling in the pit of your stomach or at the back of your mind that something might not be quite right.  As discussions on the future of libraries become more pressing, there is nervous energy.  As we continue to reel from the library closings and job losses that seemed to gain momentum during the recent global economic crisis, there is nervous energy.  In fact, there is so much nervous energy in our industry these days that I dare say it is palpable to each of us as library and information professionals.  The good news is that we have an important choice to make.  We can let this energy weigh heavily upon us and drag us down or we can choose to harness and channel it in ways that make us truly future ready.

What is gripping so many in our industry these days is nothing less than a real and warranted fear of the unknown.  What is to become of libraries and librarians in a world that is increasingly dominated by virtual interaction, technological interfaces, and instant electronic gratification?  It is an almost overwhelming contemplation.  It is also a necessary one.  In his excellent series on management skills, The Leadership Pickles, Bob Pharrell talks about the negative impact this fear of the unknown can have on workers and productivity.  If left unchecked, it can sap some of most integral human commodities: enthusiasm, confidence and integrity.  In his course, Pharrell urges managers to meet this fear of the unknown head on.  As a librarian, I believe this is not only sound advice for managers but an urgent call to action for each one of us, regardless of level or title.  As the old adage goes, “When life hands you lemons . . . “.

I believe that when it comes to the future of libraries and librarians, the tech-laden world of tomorrow is still very much our oyster.  There are plenty of pearls to be had and nobody – I repeat, NOBODY – knows how to find them better than we.  The trick is to not let nervous energy and fear of the unknown drag us down in our pursuit.  When we are having these vital discussions in our meetings with colleagues, on discussion boards, and with our bosses and employers, we have to come to the table prepared.  I personally recommend a three-pronged attack.  Take that nervous energy by the horns and channel it into optimism, activism, and creativity.  If you can do that, tomorrow and all of its unknowns will not know what hit them.  Note that I am not saying this will be easy.  I am saying it is essential.  Here’s the breakdown:

by Camille Ann Brewer, New York Chapter, Museums, Arts & Humanities Division

I have been working as curator of contemporary art for the last 12 years.  Three years ago, I decided to return to school to earn a MLIS degree.  My thought was to have a “back-up” plan of working as a librarian as I watched employment opportunities dry up in the museum and gallery world.  Far more than a back up, the training has greatly augmented and enhanced my work as an art advisor and curator.  The entire program was conducted on-line; therefore I learned the course material in tandem with technological tools used by the university.  This exposure to new technologies has provided me with options that I had never considered before entering the degree program.  I am now creating blogs to support special exhibitions and their ancillary educational programs, building databases for private collectors that are designed in accordance with Getty Research Institute metadata standards for art objects, and exploring the possibilities of designing mobile device applications that make cataloging objects easier for small institution and private art collectors.

I currently spend a great deal of time traveling to clients to manage and appraise their collections.  After a series of bad airline flights and endless airport security “theater,” my hope over the next year is to minimize my travel by developing new and improved methods of collection management using the new tools being developed now in today’s market place.  One of my goals is to bring newly developed museum metadata standards to private collectors.  As art objects move from private hands to major cultural institutions, the respective metadata will migrate seamlessly into the larger database systems.

In my mind, being Future Ready means keeping abreast of the latest developments in technology while engaging creative thinking as to how these new tools and systems can augment what I do as an arts professional.   I am more excited now than I was five years ago about the opportunities that are presenting themselves as I approach my career from an interdisciplinary perspective.  It is in the intersection of these disparate disciplines where the excitement and hope for the future begins.

Based in New York City, Camille Ann Brewer is a fine art advisor and appraiser of contemporary American art and traditional African art. She is a member of the New York Chapter of SLA.  More information about Ms. Brewer can be located at www.cabfineart.com

by Kate W. Flewelling

A colleague recently dubbed me the “nomadic, geriatric librarian.”  At 32, I am hardly geriatric, but I do provide information support to those who treat our hospital’s oldest patients, and I leave my office (and the library) as often as possible.  I am mobile, and busy clinicians and students need me to be where they are.

At my institution, an academic medical center, the “ACE Team” (Acute Care for the Elderly) meets once a day in a hospital conference room (geriatrics patients can be on any service–cardiology, neurology, medicine–making bedside rounds impractical).  ACE Team members include an attending physician, a post-residency fellow, a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, a pharmacist and residents/medical students on two week geriatrics rotations.   As cases are presented, I listen for clinical information needs.  Often, attendees will have additional literature search requests or a request for “one good article on….” or “clinical practice guidelines for….”  If I think a question can be answered in less than five minutes, I look it up on the spot on an iPad (I have also used an iPod Touch).  Other questions are taken back to the library for prompt response.

Schedule permitting, I have been attending rounds twice a week since October 2010.  In that short time, I have been accepted wholeheartedly into the ACE Team, including being invited to the division’s holiday potluck.  I send welcome emails to residents and medical students as they start their rotation.  The welcome emails contain a link to a reading list on RefShare that I created in consultation with the team.  I have received questions from all members of the team and have had in-office consultations with a number of them.

While I feel like I am providing a valuable service, I am constantly learning myself.  Going to rounds is like visiting another country whose language I can read but am not yet fluent.  I have a much richer understanding of the context in which clinicians work and am able to hear in real time their thought process.  I am a better librarian to all my health sciences professional patrons as a result.  I have also gained invaluable life lessons on what kind of “old age” I want for myself and family members.

Some advice for those who would like to start rounding:

• Ask for a meeting with the department chair to discuss how the library might better serve the department and mention rounding as an option.
• Before the meeting, do some reading on the specialty and current issues.  Attend the department’s grand rounds a few times.
• Become an expert on point-of-care databases, especially those with mobile versions.
• Be as mobile as you can with available technology.
• Be prepared to explain what you are doing there and the services you provide.
• Listen, listen, listen.

Kate W. Flewelling is Coordinator of Instruction at the  Upstate Medical University Health Sciences Library, Syracuse, NY.  Her email address is flewellk@upstate.edu.

by Rachel Wangerin, SLA Minnesota President

Had someone told me in library school that I would one day go on to become the president of the SLA MN chapter, I would have thought they were crazy. But here I am, 6 years after graduation, doing just that. The main advice I heard, whether just out of undergraduate school, or after receiving my Master’s degree, was network, network, network. So much so that it almost felt like a dirty word. One secret that they don’t tell you is that once you start participating in a professional organization (and I mean participating, not just joining) the networking starts to come naturally. Another secret that isn’t apparent is that participating in a professional organization can add to your professional development every bit as much as work inside your own organization.

I had the opportunity to begin my information career working with individuals with a huge amount of experience and knowledge. I learned so much those first couple of years. My boss was very supportive and constantly looking for opportunities for me to grow. During that time, I sat back and let her help direct my professional development. She is the one who recommend my name when the SLA Chemistry Division was looking for a program planner for the 2008 Annual Conference.

As that boss moved towards retirement, I began to realize that there would be no one left to drive my professional development. In school, we are used to teachers and professors telling us what we need to do to succeed. However, in the workplace, that isn’t always the case. We need to figure it out for ourselves and take the steps that will help us have new experiences and grow. So, I started to seek out ways to drive my own success.

The SLA MN chapter drafted me as I finished my stint as a program planner to step into the four year commitment that included President of the chapter. As I begin the third year of that commitment, I look back at how much I have learned and am amazed. My confidence is much higher and I have had the opportunity to make connections all over MN and the rest of the world.

While SLA has been a huge part of my professional development, I also do many other things. I monitor numerous blogs and websites for new ideas. I try to attend online and live seminars when they are applicable and available.

While I was very lucky to have someone to direct my early career development, this is not the case for everyone. We are the only ones responsible for our professional development. We have to own it and continue owning it throughout our career. This will help us to be “Future Ready.”

Rachel Wangerin is a corporate, technical information specialist working for a global research and development company.

by Tom Rink, Oklahoma Chapter, Advertising & Marketing Division

This is the definition of “Future Ready.” When you stop to think about it, the future is really only a second away.  We spend out entire lives preparing for our futures. And while we cannot predict what these futures may be, our hopes, dreams, and desires help us steer toward our possible futures. 

Continuous learning is the key to being “future ready.” Informally, we learn from our parents and we learn from our environments and experiences; formally, we attend schools (and later colleges) to prepare ourselves for our individual futures. Our “futures” become our “presents” as we begin careers, but the learning doesn’t stop here; we continue to learn through in-service training, continuing education, and other professional development opportunities in order to stay abreast in our chosen fields.

Being an information professional was not my first career. Once I decided that this was the direction I wanted my life to take, I had to take the necessary steps to prepare myself for this new future. How did I make myself “future ready” for a new career? It all started with a plan. Having a plan/goal (i.e., knowing the direction that you’d like your future to go) certainly helps you transition from the present to the future. I went back to school to attain the formal education required, I read the important journals, I joined the professional associations, I attended conferences, and I networked with other professionals in the field. I immersed myself into the culture of my desired future so that when the opportunity presented itself, I’d be ready to grab this future with both hands and move forward. My plan worked. After a twenty-five year career in one field, I was “ready” for and successfully transitioned to the “future.”

How do I plan to stay “future ready?” I will continue to learn and take advantage of every available opportunity.  For example, I’m not the most “tech savvy” person in the world, but a couple of years ago I understood the importance of the whole web 2.0 and social media movement and completed the 23 Things program just to get up-to-date. I’m hoping to stay up-to-date by embracing and using these web 2.0 and social media tools (blogs, RSS feeds, etc.). 

The only constant in life is change and to be truly “future ready” you must conquer your fear of change, envision your future, and never look back.

Tom Rink is a member of the Oklahoma Chapter and the Treasurer of the Advertising & Marketing Division.  In 2005 he was named SLA Fellow. He is 25-year veteran of the Tulsa, Oklahoma police department who successfully transitioned to academia in late 2007.  He is currently an Instruction Librarian at Northeastern State University – Broken Arrow Campus.  Tom has been active in SLA since 1996 holding numerous leadership positions.