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 Betty Story

Developing research/technology curricula for International Baccalaureate and Middle Years school library programs the last few years has given me reasonable expectations of research and technology capability for middle and high school students who have continual practice with technology.

Fortunate young people have moved way beyond simply using Power Point for presentations. In elementary years they are mastering Glogster, Prezi, Story Bird, Garage Band, and pod casts. Innovative teachers use Moodle and Webquests for Internet enhanced lessons. Some middle and high schools use Noodleworks to craft research papers and citation software to create bibliographies. Electronic grammar and spell checks are taken for granted.

Although these students may be “future ready” with navigating software, how much they comprehend and adequately assess what they Googled or found on databases is a concern. Some students have learned writing by completing “report writing” and grammar worksheets; crafting sentences and paragraphs is an undeveloped skill. Plagiarism detection software as such as Turnitin are now part of high school and university teachers’ tool kits.

Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog, by William Badke, talks of “remedial information literacy”, that is needed to provide methods for students to sort and synthesize the overwhelm of information. From the my perspective, with capable librarians and teachers, motivated students (especially those in private schools or public school college prep programs) will rise to expectations of independent and critical thinking required for online research. Unfortunately, while these students learn to ably sort out information and go beyond paraphrasing, under served public high school students can lack information literacy.

Since public school library positions are being cutback, the digital divide may widen. A recent statement from the American Association of School Libraries ( AASL) and case studies backing up the report, School Libraries Work!, examines the impact of public school libraries that are under staffed. ( The impact of public library cutbacks and loss of computer access to many is a whole other post.)

Regardless, to end on a positive note, this digitally able generation is constantly evolving but does need guidance. Students can and will learn to understand a research problem, find relevant content, and transform the information. Finding the solutions to developing these skills for all young people is a piece of the future ready puzzle.

Betty Story has been a school librarian, school library consultant and trainer for 25 years. She has worked with several private international schools and colleges, but knows that our public school librarians are unsung heroes.
Also an independent information professional, she is also a member of AIIP  on their board as Membership Development Chair.

by Justin Yuen, Oregon Chapter, Knowledge Management Division

We live in the information age. A multitude of data streams to us in emails, text messages, instant messages, voicemails, blogs, status updates, and tweets. Still more data exists in endless shared drive folders, magazines, newspapers, books, TV, videos, iPods and smart phones.

How do we make sense of it all? Simply, we do it by being human and getting a little help from our friends at work, and friends at home.

In this never-ending universe of information, we reach out a helping hand to people around us. We recommend articles. We tell people we “like” what they’ve shared. We carry on a dialogue about topics of the day, or post questions that trigger immediate answers.

Over the past several years, collaboration has shifted dramatically from being document or data centric to people centric. Trusted advice or a quick take on complex issues are just a friend away. Technology has not only made the world of information a smaller place; it’s strengthened and broadened our social networks to help make sense of the world.

What does this mean for you as a knowledge management professional?

The importance of people who facilitate collaboration and forge connections to relevant content is critical to our knowledge economy. When it comes down to it, an organization is more than the products or services it produces. It is about the depth of its social network, breadth of knowledge, and the speed by which it can bring its ideas to market.

You are the catalyst to helping your organization make the shift from document or data centric to people centric. The solutions you bring today need to deliver strong social networks, a nimble way for people to share content everyday, and a faster fast for making dreams come true to make the world a better place. It’s time to be powered by human energy.

Justin Yuen is President of FMYI [for my innovation], a social collaboration software company with a commitment to the triple bottom line (people, planet, and profit). Prior to starting FMYI, Justin had a seven year international career at Nike which involved aspects of knowledge management each step of the way. He has been involved with SLA since presenting on best practices in emerging web technologies at an Oregon Special Libraries Association meeting last year.  You can read more at http://www.fmyi.com/company/team_page_content/

by Webb Shaw, Wisconsin Chapter and Government Information Division

In a sense, folks at a publisher like J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.®, specializing in regulatory and compliance information, have always been Future Ready – or at least future-oriented. We’re always looking ahead for the next relevant regulation to be published in the Federal Register.

But of course, it’s not that simple. Not only do we need to know the regulatory agendas for the agencies we cover, we must understand the impact a given regulation or law will have on our customers. Then we need the right delivery methods to provide the information that will help them deal with it, and that usually involves technology. For us, Future Readiness requires the best efforts of both compliance wonks and content-technology geeks.

There’s no shortage of important regulations in the U.S. federal agency pipeline. And if you think your organization doesn’t need to worry about regs, think again.  Many requirements, including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and wage and hour laws, cover all employees – even if only one person is on the payroll.  When new regulations are promulgated (OSHA alone issued eight final rules and 21 proposed rules last year), info pros have the opportunity to help their organizations be proactive in managing risk and potential costs. In other words, to be the hero!

For example, OSHA is expected to issue later this year a final rule that will change the U.S. Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align with the U.N.’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The new rule will require many changes in the ways employers classify and label chemicals, and in how information is disseminated to employees regarding chemical hazards and associated protective measures. (You might be more familiar with the HCS than you realize – it’s the regulation that requires Material Safety Data Sheets and those multi-colored labels on chemical containers of all sizes.)

Even more far-reaching, the Department of Labor’s Plan/Prevent/Protect (P3) initiative is based on the notion that employers must “find and fix” violations, rather than relying on agency inspectors to catch compliance issues. OSHA’s injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) rule is considered the prototype for P3. Under I2P2, which is expected to be published in proposed form in 2012, employers would have to find and fix safety hazards unique to their workplaces, including hazards not covered by any other OSHA standard. This is expected to result in much more employee involvement in enforcing safety compliance.

Other potential changes advancing under the P3 banner include requirements for employers regarding the status of independent contractors, the status of exempt (vs. hourly) employees, Affirmative Action Plans – and recordkeeping for all three.

Understanding the precise impact these regulations may have on the businesses that rely on J. J. Keller’s information involves many factors, including our customers’ size (employees) and industry type, as well as how actively the agencies are likely to enforce the regulations.

Being prepared to deliver the information in the most effective ways requires an understanding of – and investment in – technology.  For decades, J. J. Keller has used technology to continuously improve our ability to find, acquire, manage and distribute content. Advances in the latter two capabilities have been particularly important in making the company Future Ready.

Webb Shaw is Director of Editorial Resources at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.®, a leading provider of risk and regulatory management and information solutions. To learn more, go to www.jjkeller.com/infopros.

by Quincie Rivers, Washington DC Chapter, Knowledge Management Division

InfoCurrent has had a ringside seat watching the library and information science world change over the last few decades. As the Information Management Division of CORESTAFF Services, InfoCurrent has a 40-year history of providing library services to a broad spectrum of business, industry and government clients.

While InfoCurrent continues to place traditional librarians, technicians and clerks, we are constantly being asked to find highly skilled professionals who can manage digital archives, content management systems, web content, digital rights management, taxonomy, e-learning, competitive intelligence and analysis and more.

To be “future ready” in today’s market means more than being proficient in traditional Library Sciences.  It means being futuristic, strategic, and quick to adapt to change. Employers are looking for librarians who are creative, flexible, innovative – who are at ease with technology and understand how that technology can help an organization manage their resources better. Information is key to a business’s growth. Hiring managers expect a librarian to be team oriented, collaborative, people focused. They want and need librarians who can become thought leaders, strategists and innovators.

As companies are exploring ways to recover and expand in the current economic climate, budgets continue to be under strict scrutiny.  Often with limited resources, library services must continue to evolve and become leaner, smarter and faster as the new age of technology and social media transforms our markets.

Organizations and businesses realize that the management of knowledge is a valuable commodity and necessary for growth.  It is not enough, however, just to manage information and provide a service but rather to proactively adopt new technologies and economies of scale.  Businesses who have sought skilled personnel to cost effectively deliver and streamline information now view these individuals in a far less traditional role.

How does one become future ready?  Become innovative and adapt to the evolution of business strategies as it relates to your specific industry.  While the demand for MLIS/MLS professionals remains high, the work environment will be a far less conventional business.  As long as you are flexible and have a curiosity for life-long learning, there will be a place in today’s future ready business world by translating traditional skills and adapting new technologies to their best and highest use.

The day of the back office librarian is vanishing. Professional Librarians are embedded in the teams they service. They are managing virtual researchers and collections, orchestrating the delivery of these valuable resources in whatever form they take. Expect to be part of a team collaboratively working to provide innovative solutions in a dynamic environment.

It’s an exciting time to be a librarian. At InfoCurrent we see the future every day.

InfoCurrent, with offices in Washington, DC, New York City, Boston and Houston, is the Information Management Division of CORESTAFF Services specializing in library and records management services.  InfoCurrent is a full-service, nationwide staffing firm offering temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire and project management for almost every industry, on projects large and small, and on items from legal documents to art collections.  We keep pace with trends in both Library Sciences and Records Management, sharing best practices to help our clients build faster, nimbler – and smarter – organizations.

by Nora K. Stoecker, Rio Grande Chapter

Future Ready Toolkit

This post is from SLA’s new Future Ready Toolkit. The Toolkit was constructed by SLA members who have drawn upon substantial professional experience and alignment research to help you hone your skills in a way that is relevant and global. The toolkit is collaboration, alignment, adaptation, and community put into action.

To quote Kim Dority in Rethinking Information Work: a Career Guide for Librarians and Other Information Professionals (2006), finding a job is a matter of persistent effort, lots of research, and ongoing colleague connections.

Social media or other emerging technologies, used in partnership with traditional job search methods, will play a strong role in your job search by providing opportunities to grow and strengthen your network, enhance your professional visibility, and supplement your research efforts.   In addition you’ll be putting yourself in the same space as recruiters and potential hiring managers.

Let’s explore how.

5 ways to use social media in your job search.doc

Nora K. Stoecker, MLIS.  Senior Information Researcher/Analyst.  Nora is a 32-plus year veteran of the world of work, with an early 14 years in human resources and a recent 18 years as an information professional both as an employee and a freelancer.  She is a long-time active member of SLA.  You’re welcome to contact Nora at n.stoecker@nksinfoservices.com.

by Kristin McNally

Growing up on The Jetsons, I thought the future would include a house in the sky, travel by flying car, and fulfillment of every need at the push of a button.

While I don’t have Rosie the robot to keep my home in pristine condition and my car’s rubber tires are still firmly planted to the ground, Hanna-Barbera was heading in the right direction with the theme of micro technology. My wall is adorn with hanging flat televisions, my phone is a miniature computer with applications like video chat, navigation and even a way to see which local gas station has the best price.

I may not have my every need at the push of a button, but I can find the answer to almost any question in a matter of seconds. Knowledge is easier than ever to disseminate, access and share, which means the information industry is rapidly evolving to keep up with the progression of technology. Are we still relevant? Useful? Needed? With the right tools, the answer is yes.

I am so proud to work for a company focused on innovation. Every day I learn more about how Swets is paving the way for libraries to fit in the future. With less than a year of experience in the industry, I have found myself amazed with the complexities involved in running a library. I always the thought the books just appeared on the doorstep, a sticker was slapped inside, and someone shoved it where it was alphabetically appropriate. Needless to say, I have been proven wrong.

Swets has designed our platform, SwetsWise, in such a sophisticated manner that it is easily accessible and fully functional through a smart phone browser.

eBooks in SwetsWise has recently integrated a Google Books Preview, providing users with added values like reviews, ratings and suggestions for related content along with basic information including a cover shot and in most cases the table of contents, literary introduction, and publishing details.

We also have a cutting edge search product boasting the latest technology in federated search. This second-generation development introduces speed to amazing quality, offering clustered, relevance-ranked results to appear in seconds. Its affordability compared to Discovery is even more appealing. There will always be value in the technical and organizational support of information and information users.

Swets has carefully developed the tools you need to excel despite the many hurdles you currently face. Our customers have helped immensely in turning this dream into reality. We have made it easier than ever to hear your needs by implementing User Voice in SwetsWise. This enormous worldwide suggestion box allows customers to offer suggestions for improvement and continued development. Plus, you can vote on your favorite or most agreeable recommendations to help us to rank your requests.

Bubble car or not, the future is here. Providers, publishers and information professionals need to join forces to effectively develop, evolve and survive. At Swets, we are leading the effort to help you compete in a technology driven market with expectations of mobile access and immediacy. We hope you’ll join us for the ride.

Kristin McNally is the Communications Specialist at Swets. As the world’s leading Information Service provider, Swets powers the work of thousands of academic, corporate, medical and government organizations, simplifying the way you acquire, access and manage your resources. To learn more, visit www.swets.com.

by Chris Zammarelli, Washington DC Chapter, Government Information & Taxonomy Divisions

My place of work recently announced that we will be having mandatory social media training. Because so many of the people we are trying to reach out to are heavily engaged in social media, it is important for us to understand what they are using and how we can use it to forward our mission.

Traditionally, I’m not someone who says anyone has to use a particular something. Nothing makes a wary person more averse that saying, “If you’re not using this, you’re not ready for the future” or words to that effect. I know it makes my skin crawl.

But enough of our clientele are using social media that by not using it ourselves, we are making ourselves invisible to them. For those of us who do any sort of outreach work, social media are a part of our jobs now. Learning about social media is as important as, say, learning how to use Outlook.

And I think that’s a way to present this to anyone who is reluctant. Social media are just another type of software in our workplace, like accounting software or integrated library systems. I wouldn’t suspect everyone who takes the social media training to become tweeters to rival Amanda Palmer or Kanye West. Social media might just be tools that a lot of people use at work and then don’t think about after they leave the office at the end of the day.

I consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to social media, and I could complain that I have to take the training too.  But while I know how I use social media, I don’t necessarily know how our clientele is using it. That’s something we need to keep in mind moving forward: if using this stuff is going to be a part of our jobs from now on, then it is also part of our job to know how it’s being used.

Chris Zammarelli is a contract cataloger on behalf of ATSG at the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs’ Office of Information Resources. He is also a 2011 candidate for the SLA Board of Directors. Follow him on Twitter @cmz1018.

By Janice C. Anderson, Texas Chapter and SLA 2011 Conference Advisory Council

You may or may not have recognized the grey-haired female on the top banner on the SLA 2011 Philadelphia Conference registration page a few weeks ago. Well…it was lil’ol’ me. I wasn’t even aware that I was photographed, let alone that my mug had made it to the website. When Cindy Romaine reached out to me and suggested that I was the ‘poster child for the Future Ready Conference’, I could not refuse to share my thoughts for the 365 Blog?

As a member of the 2011 Conference Planning Advisory Council I was immediately drawn to the ‘Future Ready’ theme that Cindy presented to us. In many ways I have been living in the future for most of my career as a librarian/information management professional turned entrepreneur and business owner. I have challenged myself to think broadly and creatively in how to apply the principles and practices of library and information sciences in the business environments of my customers. I have challenged my colleagues and co-workers to create and apply effective and relevant techniques for managing information assets, and in an environment of constant change and continuous learning, to deliver value and transfer knowledge to others.

My emphasis has always been on technology and daily activities to keep up with the rapidly changing regulatory environments and tools that our customers use and need to manage and access information assets.   That emphasis is critical to both the present and the future.   You might ask yourself what else a 60-something grandmother, aka ‘little librarian lady’, could say or do that would help her and others be ‘Future Ready’…maybe prepare for retirement and ultimate wind-down? Coming out of a deep economic recession with Medicare and Social Security in trouble, what can we Baby Boomers do to be ‘Future Ready’?  After all, we see the good times in the rear view mirror, right?

Not so much!  You see, from where I sit the future is now for information professionals; my success and that of many folks a third of my age depends not so much on what we know, or even what we can learn. The bright future for all of us is shaped by our thinking and being, by our ability and willingness to dream and adapt.  There’s no time for looking back or whining; it’s time to jump onto the court and grab the ball.

So then, what does ‘Future Ready’ look like to me? It looks like

• Eliminating self-imposed limits and worn out thinking that cause us to hesitate, avoid risk, and postpone getting started.
• Learning something new every single day, even if that learning is that we are not as smart as we once thought.
• Working hard to remove barriers that limit our abilities to access information, learn, grow and contribute in meaningful ways.
• Sitting on the edge of our seats, working to make a difference, expecting great things to happen, and then celebrating when they do!

Are you in the game?  Get the right uniform attitude on…we’re playing in Philly.  See you there!

Janice C. Anderson is founder and CEO of Access Sciences Corporation, a 26 year-old information management consulting and technology practice. She serves on the 2011 SLA Conference Planning Advisory Council.

by Aaron Tay

“Always in motion, the future is” — Yoda, Jedi Master

QR codes are 2D barcodes that can be scanned by phones to provide a link between the digital and the physical world. A typical example would be to scan a QR code with your smartphone and be brought immediately to a relevant instructional video. With mobile becoming increasingly common and the possibility of QR code adoption going mainstream, any future ready library or librarian should be prepared to adopt this technology to serve their community.

As such, recently a co-worker asked me whether we should consider going into QR codes given that there is intense interest about QR codes in the library community (I summarized some ideas here). More importantly a recent Mobio report suggests QR codes usage has increased by 1200 percent suggesting that possibly a tipping point is approaching for usage. With powerful companies like Google seemingly throwing their support behind QR codes , it seems to be a good time for libraries to explore them.

How then do we take the following recent piece of news? That Google is ending support for QR codes in Google Places? Does this spell the end for QR codes?

With Google adding NFC (near field communications) to their Android phones and persistent rumors that Apple is doing so for their line of iPhones (but not iPhone 5 it seems), it seems that QR codes could be a short lived piece of technology that is destined to be replaced by the far more efficient and capable built-in NFC scanners built-into future smartphones. Not everyone agrees of course since the number of phones supporting QR codes will always exceed NFC equipped phones in the near term.

So should libraries go ahead and spend time and effort trying to promote QR codes? Or should we adopt a wait and see attitude? In general, dilemmas of this nature aren’t new and are constantly faced by libraries that are “future aware” and aim to be future ready.

One example: Consider the situation a year ago, where it was clear that Facebook would eventually weigh in with location based check-ins which they eventually did with Facebook Places. Being aware of this, libraries were faced with the dilemma, should we support FourSquare knowing that Facebook Places is just around the corner and may perhaps crush the opposition? Or even further back MySpace versus Facebook.

by Aaron Tay

I don’t have any pat answers, whether a library chooses to support cutting edge technologies is a function of their risk appetite, available resources, strategic focus etc.

I would add, however, while the exact implementation of technology may change, the trend itself is often pretty clear. While QR codes may or may not catch on, no one doubts the fundamental idea of creating a quick link between physical objects out in the real word and digital objects will pay off. Similarly, FourSquare may or may not survive (though NYPL seems to be doing great on it) but the idea of adding location based data is definitely sound.

No one can reliably predict the future, but that’s the price of being future ready: you make your bets and see how it turns out. Maybe you might decide to hold off on QR codes, or maybe you might decide to try since it requires no investment of money. Whatever you do keep thinking of how the future might be which will have you well posed to take advantage of any sudden shifts in environment.

Aaron Tay works as an academic librarian at the National University of Singapore. He was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker for 2011. He blogs at http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/.