By David Shumaker, Washington, DC Chapter, Academic, Education, Knowledge Management, Leadership & Management Divisions

Once upon a time, there was a young information services manager named Dave* who heard about embedded librarianship and decided to put it into practice. To begin, he embarked on a campaign to raise information and knowledge services’ visibility at the executive level of the corporation where he was working. He made appointments to go around and brief the executive councils at each of the major operating units of the company. He planned to show them how valuable library services were already, and how the librarians were planning to do even better with embedded librarianship. Starting with a unit led by a senior vice president /general manager he had already worked with, he prepared a briefing all about the value of the librarians’ work, what they were doing and what their plans were. After listening to his presentation, the senior vp turned to him and said, “Dave, what do you need from us?” It was a question he actually wasn’t prepared for. He had thought only in terms of what he and his team had to offer – not about what they needed from senior management.

Fortunately, he recovered, and he and his team went on to implement embedded librarianship and expand their value to the corporation, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Moral: SLA-funded research indicates that senior management engagement is one of the key attributes of successful embedded librarianship initiatives. When you’re preparing your elevator speech or your presentation about your value, also think about what senior management can do to help you be successful. Whether it’s funding, space, support for continuing education, visible communication, assigning mentors to new librarians, constructive feedback – ask for what you need!

*Name not changed to protect the guilty.

For details about embedded librarianship, see the SLA research report at http://www.sla.org/pdfs/EmbeddedLibrarianshipFinalRptRev.pdf , Information Outlook Jan-Feb 2010, or the embedded librarian blog at http://embeddedlibrarian.wordpress.com.

David Shumaker has served as Clinical Associate Professor at the School of Library and Information
Science, Catholic University of America, since August 2006. Dave’s teaching interests include the present and future roles of librarians in society, the management of libraries and information services, marketing, information systems, and library public services. His research and writing explore the changing roles of librarians in organizations of all types. He and his co-investigator, Mary Talley, were awarded the 2007 Special Libraries Association Research Grant for their project, “Models of Embedded Librarianship.” The final report of the project is available on the SLA website, and related articles have been published in Library Journal, Reference & User Services Quarterly, and Information Outlook. Dave is a frequent speaker and panelist on embedded librarianship. Follow his blog at http://embeddedlibrarian.wordpress.com.

by Laura Dushkes, Pacific Northwest Chapter, Solo Librarians Division

In your graduate work, you learned how to catalog and conduct a reference interview; you learned about databases and collection development. And, you brought with you all the experience from your previous work life.  Now you have a job. Of course you’ll do a good and conscientious one, but that’s not enough. You must continuously prove your value.

But they hired me! They must know my value! They have a library, so they must know the value! Or, They hired me to start an information center, so they must know the value of that!

True, but you’re working for a business. Whether for-profit or not-for-profit, your company has a mission other than getting books and information in the hands of citizens.  Your library’s mission is the mission of the organization.  If you don’t show that your work adds to this mission, you might be seen as expendable. You can go a long way to preventing that. It’s a three-step process:

1. Track itTake a “snap shot” of your library. Pick data that make sense for your setting. Such data might include:How many books/journals does your library hold?
   How many people use your services (pick a period of time)?
   How many questions did you respond to? (pick a period of time)?
   How many hours is the library staffed?
   How many square feet does the library use?
2. Better itLook at this information and see where you can improveCan you move from check out cards to electronic check out?
   Can you create a presence on the intranet to show your new holdings?
   Can you start a blog with items of interest to a work group?
   Can you attend staff meetings and introduce yourself and your services?
   Can you weed to create needed space?
   Can you work with another department that needs help with research or organizing their work?
   Can you digitize copyright-held materials to make widely available?
3. Communicate itNow you have a “before” and an “after.”  Everything you did to improve your library – processes, materials, relationships – can be demonstrated in numbers or statements. Don’t just say what you did. State the benefit.I created an intranet pageso that our satellite offices can get the same new information as our main office.
   The catalog was paper; I created a digital catalog, making it accessible to everyone.
   Last year 40 books were checked out. This year the library circulated 350, increasing the use of already-purchased materials.
   I helped marketing do the research for a proposal that won a $1 million account.

Bring this to the attention of your boss or board in the way they like to get information (even if it means a PowerPoint!). They will quickly see you as more than “overhead.” They will see you as a vitally important part of the organization.

Laura Dushkes is the solo librarian for NBBJ, the 3rd largest architectural firm in the U.S. and 10^th largest in the world, with six offices in the US, as well as offices in the UK and China. She also teaches Special Librarianship at the University of Washington’s iSchool. She has an MA in History as well as her MLIS from the University of Washington.

by Linda McKell

This is a question I am frequently asked since I work in a library staffing company. It is an interesting question, involving understanding people, organizations and what they need to keep viable.

In the library world, we have for-profit special libraries, non-profit academic and public libraries as well as an entire array of free-lance contract workers/consultants and vendors. While there are differences in funding sources for all of these entities, it still boils down to “where’s the money?”

That is why it is helpful to know about the overall structure, funding sources and directions for any organization, employer or customer that you are trying to work with.

How do you find this out? There are certainly unlimited amounts of information on the web; however, making connections with people inside the company can give you more insight on that and many other aspects of the organization.

Understand the Environment.

First, use your research skills to understand as much about an organization before applying and interviewing. Then you will be able to convey some understanding of their situation rather than just come across like a deer in the headlights.

Some possible questions to research are:

1. How is the organization doing financially? Have they experienced layoffs, downturns and how have they handled them?
2. What achievements, successes and goals do they have?
3. What challenges, obstacles and set-backs have they experienced?
4. Who does the library/dept. serve in the organization?
5. Who does the library/dept. report to?
6. What size staff do they have in the library? Do they have satellites, branches and other locations that they serve?
7. What services are offered by the library/dept.?
8. What is the job description for the advertised position?
9. What other services could be supplied if appropriate skills and resources are available?
10. How can you make a contribution/difference and generally be an asset to the library/dept.?

Get to Know People.

Second, explore your people network. There are more ways to network now than ever before. Now, in addition to just getting to know your immediate neighbors, you can explore the following areas:

1. Get social. Visit Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and other social and professional networking sites like listserves to find people who work where you would like to work. Ask them some of the above questions or others to more fully understand the environment.
2. Get professional. Attend professional meetings. Mingling with people in the profession provides information and direct connections. The programs also give you a heads up on what is currently going on in the field. Getting information virtually is great, but meeting and greeting live provides additional advantages.
3. Broadcast to your local network. Let people know that you are interested in certain organizations, venues or types of jobs. You will be amazed at how even your local network has connections. I once asked the head of an academic library who had worked in a corporate library originally what it was like to work in academia. She told me a few things and then said, “Why, are you interested in working in academic?” I said I would be interested, but now I was working full-time as an engineering librarian in a corporate setting. A few months later she called to ask me if I would like a part-time job in their engineering library while one of the staff worked on a special project somewhere else. I jumped at the chance and learned a lot even though I ended up working both jobs at 12 hour days!
4. Set up informational interviews. Find someone in an environment where you would like to work and ask if you can interview them about their job over coffee or an ice cream cone! Stop by the reference desk at your local library, find a willing person and start talking to them. Don’t monopolize their time, but you can glean a great deal of information from many small interactions over time.
5. Look for problems that need to be solved. See if you can volunteer in an area of interest and do a special project for which there is no funding or no time. This will not only give you a chance to see what the environment is like, but to gain some experience. Who says you have to be paid for work to list it on your resume?

By doing these things before you begin talking to a prospective employer, you will distinguish yourself from others by knowing something rather than little or nothing about them.

Make the Employers’ Job Easier.

You might think that looking for a job is the most stressful situation, but employers are under stress as well. They have to cope with work overloads, staff shortages, budget restrictions while conducting a candidate search. They have to justify their need for a person; handle recruiting activities directly or work with their Human Resources department which can be more of a wall than a door. They then either filter through a mountain of resumes and applications or find that too few qualified people are responding to ads. Lastly, they have to conduct myriad interviews with candidates who either know little or nothing about the job or they are faced with too many qualified candidates making the decision difficult. After making the hiring decision, they have to train and orient the new hire and hope that the person is not only what they seem to be, but, hopefully, better and not worse!

Keep in mind that the employer may be distracted or unskilled in interviewing, as well. You can help them along by creating a friendly atmosphere as you start talking to them. Make them feel comfortable with you. Don’t monopolize the conversation, but be relaxed and try to put yourself in their shoes. Try to make the interview a conversation and not a monologue on either side.

Meanwhile, what employers are really looking for is a person who can not only do the job, but who can bring more to the table, fit in with the work group, and generally make the services rendered the best they can be! They are not looking for people to do the minimum, don’t mix well with the existing work group, and are focused on what’s in it for me versus trying to achieve the goals of the department/organization.

In short, employers are looking for good employees. And that is the best thing you can be!

Linda McKell is President and Founder of AIM Library & Information Staffing headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information about the library job market, visit the company website at www.aimusa.com.

by Michael Haynes

As a consultant who works with organisations to improve their performance, I can definitely say that I am in total agreement with the four key components required for future readiness.

Collaboration: It is imperative now that all elements within the value chain (companies, customers, suppliers) work together to deliver the products and services that are being sought after. The ability to effectively develop and deliver sought after offerings is often best achieved through such efforts. As a result, many organisations are starting to do this with their product development. Boeing is an example that quickly comes to mind. Given the added complexity, cost and risk of developing and delivering products and services…this will really need to continue to be the way forward.

Adaptable Skills: Also another imperative that must be met. The way business is being conducted is constantly changing. Hence a much broader and deeper skill set is required in many areas of business. Marketing and Sales are two examples. Both now require a data driven analytical and strategic skill set. The distinctions between various functional areas of business are becoming more and more blurred. Again referring to marketing for instance, today and future marketers need to have solid foundations in marketing, strategy, finance and even IT and statistics. With the heavy emphasis on technology and information (and the increasing sophistication of both) moving forward, continued adaptability and expansion of skills will be critical for both one’s survival and success.

Alignment: Establishing alignment both within organisations as well as among other members of the value/supply chain is critical. Gaining internal alignment is often quite a daunting and challenging task for many large corporations. Senior leaders in the organisation must spearhead and drive this. Unfortunately all too often there is difficulty in gaining alignment to meet common objectives. I suspect this is due to the various internal agendas which exist.

Community: Again given the added complexity that now exists given technology, establishing a community among those with common goals and interests is going to be key to success. They will be able to pull their skills and resources together (ie collaborate) to achieve the desired objectives.  I think a “win win” attitude must be adopted more within the business setting to allow more progress and achievement to occur moving forward.

Michael Haynes is Director of 2Excell Consulting, an international firm that positions B2B organisations to maximise their bottom line performance by empowering them to systematically understand and respond to customer needs. He has over 14 years experience in the areas of customer insights, strategy development and execution working for large corporations in various industries including automotive, financial services and telecommunications in Australia, Brazil and Canada. Michael can be reached at michael@2excell.com