San Diego, California is home of beautiful weather, spectacular beaches- and a group of highly motivated, driven and future-ready information professionals. The SLA-San Diego Chapter is proud to join in the conversation with our SLA peers about what it means to be Future Ready.  Our San Diego membership boasts a wide range of professional experience and expertise, and we hope that you find our contributions to the FutureReady365 blog to be both thought-provoking and useful!

by Dolly Goulart, San Diego Chapter, Competitive Intelligence, Engineering, Legal, Leadership & Management, and Science-Technology Divisions

At your next meeting, look around. Who do you see sitting at the table? What roles do they fill? Are you regularly sitting amongst librarians or information providers, or are you regularly sitting with a cross-functional group, representing various business units, roles, or functions? If your answer is the first, why isn’t it the latter?

The overused stereotype of the librarian as a back-office or behind-the-scenes support person makes it easy for those in our role to resign ourselves to a position of reactiveness. As highly knowledgeable professionals within the organization, it is in the best interest of everyone involved – you, the client, and the organization – for information professionals to recognize their value and forge themselves a seat at the table.

Recognizing one’s value doesn’t always come easily. It takes self-reflection, future awareness, and the ability to part with comfort. Understanding the importance of our role is not enough. If you understand, but don’t demonstrate your value, you are not any further ahead. Consistently demonstrating your value requires one to evaluate the role they want to fill. The way we present ourselves determines the success we’ll encounter. Do you want to be an advocate for comprehensive information that answers strategic needs, or do you want to be a fill-in secretary, providing transactional-based support without building an equally respecting relationship with your clients? I know which role I want to fill and work every day to make sure the team I manage is viewed in the most professional capacity possible. I don’t fight for a seat amongst other highly competent business professionals. I let the work of our team speak for itself, resulting in strong partnerships across the company and strategically aligned participation. Do we still have work to do on this front? Yes. Is there alignment that we still need to strengthen? Yes. Do we increase our value almost daily, thereby increasing the level of respect and ultimately inclusion? Absolutely.

Back to the stereotype. Why is that we spend so much time evaluating old stereotypes and using them as crutches to keep us from moving forward? It’s so easy to think that someone doesn’t need a librarian in the room, or that they’ll come to us when they need us. Isn’t it more important to look towards the future, forget about the past, and for each and every one of us, determine the best approach to making sure we’re included in the discussion, whatever that discussion is? Personally, I get excited about tomorrow. I get excited about the possibilities and the potentials. I don’t dwell too much on why or why not and I don’t look too far back. Am I a risk taker? Maybe, maybe not. More than anything, I’m passionate about my role and the role librarians can fill. I don’t apologize for that passion because that is what keeps me engaged. It is also what gets me invited to the table.

Dolly Goulart has over seventeen years of experience in the information industry, including more than ten years of corporate experience in wireless and telecommunications. She is currently the manager of Research & Analysis for Qualcomm Library & Information Services, leading a team that supports a global population of Qualcomm employees. In addition to providing industry research and competitive IP intelligence, the team partners heavily with strategic and cross departmental groups to provide business critical research deliverables.

San Diego, California is home of beautiful weather, spectacular beaches- and a group of highly motivated, driven and future-ready information professionals. The SLA-San Diego Chapter is proud to join in the conversation with our SLA peers about what it means to be Future Ready.  Our San Diego membership boasts a wide range of professional experience and expertise, and we hope that you find our contributions to the FutureReady365 blog to be both thought-provoking and useful!

---

When librarians talk about what it means to be “future ready,” the topic of conversation often turns into a discussion of the latest and greatest technology. In broader terms, though, doesn’t being “future ready” really just mean preparing your library to best serve your users in the future? At the San Diego Zoo Global Library, we’ve spent most of the last year thinking about just this—how to position ourselves in order to provide the best service possible. This has involved assessing our abilities, focusing on what we’re good at and envisioning what we want to achieve (rewriting our mission and vision statements), and, yes, adopting new technologies.

This two-part post will explore both librarians’ perspectives on their work at the San Diego Zoo. Part I comes from Talitha Matlin, Associate Director of Library Services, with Part II authored by Amy Jankowski, Assistant Librarian with responsibilities for the San Diego Zoo’s archives.

Part II — Amy Jankowski, San Diego Chapter, Museums, Arts & Humanities Division

When I graduated with my MLS degree in May 2011, I never could have guessed that within two months I would be moving cross-country for a dream job focusing on the archives collection at the San Diego Zoo Global Library. After the anticipation of relocating, starting anew, and assuming a professional title abated, the reality of my situation gradually sunk in. Like many new information professionals, everything was the “future” to me, and it seemed like quite a lot to feel ready for after going straight from graduate student to solo archivist in one gleeful leap. At the same time, I realized that the future was going to come whether I felt ready for it or not. I just needed to take a few deep breaths and simplify. Before taking on any big projects or making any major decisions, I stepped back to think about how my position fits within my organization and how I may grow to better serve my users.

In contemplating where to start, I looked at two key aspects of the archives that will be vital in remaining viable for the future: collection management and opportunities for use and outreach. First, I analyzed how the archives collections could be best housed and managed to align their organization, description, and accessibility with professional standards. Like many special libraries, the SDZG library and archives have a modest budget in comparison to larger academic and research institutions, yet there are a number of affordable ways that we could move toward optimal archives management. These include gradually setting aside money in our budget for archival quality housing, translating legacy finding aids to comply with current professional standards, and exploring implementation of popular open source archives management software. Together, all of these changes would enable me to provide better archival reference service and help potential researchers explore the contents of what are now relatively hidden collections.

Beyond basic physical and intellectual organization, I also recognize a big opportunity for expanding use of SDZG archival materials. To approach this objective, I analyzed how the archives collection fits within the organization as a whole. The majority of work at the zoo focuses on innovative, forward-thinking animal management, education, and conservation research with little focus on the past. However, the archives lends historical evidence to the organization’s development, progress, and change over time; the collection’s presence is a source of pride documenting the zoo’s legacy, which fuels nostalgia and appreciation among employees and the visiting public alike, who come together through common memories of a shared past.

Historical materials have long been a point of pride for the San Diego Zoo and a popular stop during backstage facility tours, plus they periodically serve as a reference for development and public relations department projects. However, public access to unpublished archival documents at SDZG is extremely limited. Therefore, I recognize a major opportunity to expand our user base by connecting with the public through various social media and digitization outlets. I will soon be working with the zoo’s social media guru to explore incorporating historical themes, facts, and images into regular rotation on the zoo’s Facebook and Twitter feeds. I am additionally considering creative ways by which to employ digitized archival documents on the library’s webpage—for example, creating a dynamic timeline or digital exhibit using an open source web publishing platform.

As time goes by, ideas seem to pop up faster than I can jot them down. Clearly a little momentum seems to be the best preparation I could have asked for in terms of jumping in to meet the needs of my niche position. I am gradually learning that a big part of being “future ready” in a special library means being creative, adaptable, doing the best you can with available resources, and maintaining a vision of the role you seek to play within your larger organization!

Amy Jankowski is the Assistant Librarian at the San Diego Zoo Global Library, where she focuses on managing the archives collection. Amy received her MLS with a specialization in archives and records management from Indiana University in 2011. In addition to the Special Libraries Association, Amy is a member of the Society of American Archivists and Society of California Archivists.

San Diego, California is home of beautiful weather, spectacular beaches- and a group of highly motivated, driven and future-ready information professionals. The SLA-San Diego Chapter is proud to join in the conversation with our SLA peers about what it means to be Future Ready.  Our San Diego membership boasts a wide range of professional experience and expertise, and we hope that you find our contributions to the FutureReady365 blog to be both thought-provoking and useful!

---

When librarians talk about what it means to be “future ready,” the topic of conversation often turns into a discussion of the latest and greatest technology. In broader terms, though, doesn’t being “future ready” really just mean preparing your library to best serve your users in the future? At the San Diego Zoo Global Library, we’ve spent most of the last year thinking about just this—how to position ourselves in order to provide the best service possible. This has involved assessing our abilities, focusing on what we’re good at and envisioning what we want to achieve (rewriting our mission and vision statements), and, yes, adopting new technologies.

This two-part post will explore both librarians’ perspectives on their work at the San Diego Zoo. Part I comes from Talitha Matlin, Associate Director of Library Services, with Part II authored by Amy Jankowski, Assistant Librarian with responsibilities for the San Diego Zoo’s archives.

Part I — Talitha Matlin, San Diego Chapter, Biomedical & Life Sciences Division

In March of this year, the previous library director retired, leaving me with some very large shoes to fill. As the first professional librarian for the San Diego Zoo, she had developed the library and archives into the valuable resource it is today. When she retired, I felt honored and extremely fortunate—I can only describe working as a librarian at the San Diego Zoo as my “dream job.” However, I will admit to moments of being overwhelmed, feeling like there was no way I could maintain, let alone improve upon, the services my predecessor had provided. As a new librarian with almost my entire professional career ahead of me, I had to step back, assess the situation, and take responsibility for my own future.

Throughout this last year, an overarching theme has been present in my work—setting realistic goals based upon honest self-assessment. When I first became a librarian in 2010, I was excited about everything NEW. I was going to innovate and bring about change! However, the future I wanted for myself and for the library was one in which we best supported the zoo’s important research. For our library, this meant we had to re-focus on the basics, not reinvent ourselves. I asked myself two questions:

• Were we meeting our users’ basic needs?
• How could we best leverage our available resources to reach more users?

For the most part, I thought we were meeting our patrons’ needs, not only providing what people wanted, but also anticipating what they might want. However, taking an honest look at my weaknesses, I knew I didn’t have the training to care for our rare books and archives. The San Diego Zoo will be celebrating its centennial in 2016, and the library definitely wouldn’t be meeting our patrons’ needs without greatly improving access to our archival holdings. By being realistic about what I could and could not accomplish, I realized that I had to hire a self-motivated librarian who could take on this responsibility. Doing so has proven to be invaluable—I know without Amy (the newly hired librarian) and her archival expertise, we would never be able to provide our current level of value-added service.

In regards to expanding our patron base, I have so far relied upon tried and true methods. With only two full-time librarians and a half-time research assistant, we don’t want to overreach and set unattainable goals—better to first go for the “low-hanging fruit” and affect the biggest change with the least effort. So far, this has entailed keeping statistics on our patrons for the first time, revising our library’s website without a complete overhaul, and adopting simple outreach methods such as a monthly e-newsletter. However, the most effective tactic so far has been to position the library as a friendly, welcoming space—comfy chairs, attractive book displays, and a full candy jar has worked wonders to entice people to linger and take advantage of all we have to offer. Decidedly low-tech, yet so far highly effective.

I hope you will check back tomorrow to read about Amy’s experiences at the zoo!

Talitha Matlin is the Associate Director of Library Services for San Diego Zoo Global. Talitha received her MLIS from San Jose State University in 2010 with a focus on instruction in academic libraries. Her other professional activities include adjuncting at MiraCosta College and serving on the board of CARL-SCIL (California Academic and Research Libraries – Southern California Instruction Librarians).

San Diego, California is home of beautiful weather, spectacular beaches- and a group of highly motivated, driven and future-ready information professionals. The SLA-San Diego Chapter is proud to join in the conversation with our SLA peers about what it means to be Future Ready.  Our San Diego membership boasts a wide range of professional experience and expertise, and we hope that you find our contributions to the FutureReady365 blog to be both thought-provoking and useful!

by Kathy Elliott, San Diego Chapter, Biomedical & Life Sciences Division

Anticipation … no, not the 1971 hit song, and not the feeling you get sitting down to a Thanksgiving feast. I am talking about the act of preparing for the future before it arrives. As information specialists, we often find ourselves juggling too many tasks, struggling to keep them all up in the air. Who has the time to look into a crystal ball? But that just-in-time attitude only has us treading water in tough economic times. Anticipating future trends can give our clients the added value they need to succeed and thrive. This is true for businesses, academic institutions, hospitals, museums … every type of organization that uses information.

What can a special librarian do to anticipate future trends? Obviously, research plays a critical role. But we’re information specialists, not necessarily subject specialists. So I have one more word for you: networking. An idea may start out with one or two people, but librarians are connected to a world of colleagues who are in this business because they love to help others. As a former scientist retooling for a career in libraries, I’ve been struck by this supportive culture. And when librarians reach out to non-librarian specialists, synergy happens.

What does this model look like in the real world? I’ll offer one example. My sister, Judy Kammerer, is the managing librarian for the health sciences library of University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Center for Medical Education and Research and the hospital library of Community Regional Medical Center, while I have experience doing genomics research in the lab. We decided to collaborate on a project that anticipates the application of new genomic medicine discoveries to clinical practice.

As a first step, I am writing a paper on this topic for a Medical Librarianship course at San Jose State University. I started by collecting background information from the literature. Then I posted a questionnaire for hospital librarians on several listservs, asking if clinicians (doctors and nurses) were requesting information in this field, and what resources the librarians recommended. The survey feedback was great. It suggested that this hot new field has not yet made significant inroads into clinical practice. Next, Judy and I plan to network with clinicians and genomics researchers. A key step will be to design an algorithm that can identify articles about clinical applications of genomic discoveries. Finally, we will create a website with links to these articles, relevant RSS feeds, and other resources that will enable clinicians to monitor and understand new applications as they arise.

Experts in the field predict that translation of genomics research into clinical uses will accelerate rapidly. We hope that our website will help doctors and nurses learn about new applications without delay. Reducing the time lag between discovery and application may save not only money but also lives.

For the future-ready librarian, just-in-time is not good enough. Anticipation rocks!

Kathy Elliott is a graduate student in the MLIS program at San Jose State University. She received a BA in Zoology from Humboldt State University and an MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. After teaching high school biology, Kathy returned to the laboratory, performing molecular biology research at SIBIA Neurosciences, Merck Research Laboratories, TorreyPines Therapeutics, and in 2009 she played a major role in the start-up of Pathway Genomics. Her career change to librarianship is providing new opportunities to apply her scientific background. Kathy is currently Student Liaison for the San Diego chapter of SLA.

Kathy shares her home in San Diego, California, with one husband, two dogs, and three lizards. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, singing, hiking, and volunteering for American Brittany Rescue and the San Diego Zoo.

Image: By Courtesy: National Human Genome Research Institute (http://www.genome.gov/17516876) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons”

San Diego, California is home of beautiful weather, spectacular beaches- and a group of highly motivated, driven and future-ready information professionals. The SLA-San Diego Chapter is proud to join in the conversation with our SLA peers about what it means to be Future Ready.  Our San Diego membership boasts a wide range of professional experience and expertise, and we hope that you find our contributions to the FutureReady365 blog to be both thought-provoking and useful!

by Britt Mueller, San Diego Chapter, Business & Finance, Engineering, and Leadership & Management Divisions

Years ago I was told a third hand story that had a huge impact on how I thought about my career and defined success in my work. In essence, it was one of the best pieces of advice that I have been given to make me “future ready.”

The story was about a person in a large company who was working on a project with a lot of visibility. Quite a few very bright and highly competent people were on the project and worked tirelessly on it for several months. They had great communication skills and worked effectively as a team but in the end the project did not fulfill the objectives that were laid out and failed to impress senior executives. When discussing the project with an executive, the lead described the significant teamwork, the long nights, and how hard people had worked. The executive listened to the project leader and simply said, “You are confusing effort with results.”

Although I was hearing this story third or fourth hand, the clarity and simplicity of this statement rang true. The fact that it came from someone who was in a high level position was also critical in that it clearly delineated what was important to leaders. Getting results counts – both personally in terms of what I deliver as an individual and also for the Library as an entity within the larger organization. I can develop personal and professional skills, my team can work hard, we can be busy – but in the end gaining and developing skills or trying hard is meaningless if you cannot produce results that matter.

I think there is a lot that library and information professionals can learn from this statement. I have attended many conferences, communicated with peers, read our literature over more years than I would wish to admit and I am often disheartened by the emphasis with which we work to define ourselves. I am sure many people would agree that they cannot attend a library conference without some mention by attendees of how nice a group of people we are, that we need to position ourselves for the future and develop new skills, or the oft cited lament on how people outside our profession don’t understand us and we have to get better at communicating our value. These are all good and often true observations in and of themselves, but they should never be how we define our success or our ability to be meaningful. These are attributes, tools and approaches that should help us do the final necessary step – get results that matter to our organizations, our leaders, and our clients.

I personally use the idea of results over effort to define what I work on, what strategic initiatives the organization I manage focuses on, and to communicate value to my leaders. It also requires me to be my own worst critic – to look for continued opportunity to produce results that matter. The outcome of focusing on results creates the best use of resources, assures that the work I do is meaningful and important, and positions the Library as a critical and necessary service – not a nice to have. Never confusing effort with results actually creates outcomes (or results) that we can all consider successes including recognition, support, resources, and growth as we position ourselves, our libraries and information centers as critical to the success of any organization.

Currently serving as President of the SLA San Diego Chapter, Britt Mueller is the Sr. Director of Qualcomm’s Library & Information Services department. Serving a global employee population of over 20,000 people, the Qualcomm Library provides just-in-time information, research and analysis to enable employees to increase performance and productivity for competitive advantage.