Business and IT: Collaboration Benefits Business

May 27, 2009

The inspiration from this post came from this quote:

While I couldn’t agree more that IT organizations need a track where technical excellence is rewarded with a solid career path, I still think those technical experts need to spend real time with business peers. ( Practical Analysis: Reaquaint Yourself With Your Changing Business by Art Wittman)

In recent years I have seen the blending of library and IT due to the fact that digital information is growing.  This forced collaboration has not always been comfortable.

Librarians as a general rule enjoy working with others and try to make all relationships work.  (Note: as a general rule…there are those of us who just want to get down to business and avoid the touchy feely stuff.)  IT, as a general rule, has seemed more comfortable with the technology than the technology users.  Taking the strengths of both and blending them to benefit business is the ideal situation.

Each service provider, and librarians and IT truly are service providers, must recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their colleagues and partner to maximize business investments.

Understanding how users seek and apply information is the librarian specialty, providing the technological infrastructure to deliver the information is the IT domain.  Users don’t care who is making it happen behind the scenes as long as they get the data they expect and need when they hit enter to send their search to the data wasteland.

Collaboration between IT and Librarians is becoming smoother.  IT is learning how informaiton users seek and apply content.  Librarians are raising their awareness of the infrastructure and programming demands on making search work.  Optimizing the skills of both groups to deliver content efficiently is good business.

If your organization is not combining business goals with content management practices, you are using resources inefficiently.  In the current economic climate businesses should be assessing internal practices, evaluating current information resources and ensuring the collaboration of IT, librarians and business peers to maximize resources.

The collegial relationships that are growing between the tech and management side of information is a strong company asset.  Are you using it for your benefit?

Constance Ard May 27, 2009

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Finding Content

May 20, 2009

There is a lot of data out there that states that business suffers because information can not be located.  Is this a problem? Yes!

If you are working and trying to use internally created content to advocate, sell, or succeed, it is critical that you are able to find organizational content.  All of my regular readers know that I strongly support the telephone as the number one most powerful research tool.  Unfortunately, information users get frustrated by the need to use the phone to find something they perceive to be a simple task.

If you work for an organization and want to find content created for and about you, can you do so without picking up the phone?  Even if you use Google or Cluuz are you satisfied with the results?

If not, is lack of findability caused by the the “search engine” (internal or external) or is it because of content distribution?  Are the two mutually exclusive?

In my opinion, digital content is so easy to create and upload that no one thinks beyond the upload.  In today’s cloud computing environment, tags are easy to create and content abounds. The million dollar question is:  is content findable?    I don’t really care if it’s “searchable”  because the search is just an action to get me to the data I’m seeking.  I want to FIND information so that I can use it.

So do the tags I use make my content on this blog “findable”?  I think so…I do pride myself on being a good taxonomist.   (So if anyone needs a good custom taxonomy to make your content findable…give me a buzz.)  I aim for descriptive tags that are consistent and fit into categories.  Of course, the more content you have, the more complex your tags/taxonomy/categories become.  Consistency in applying those tools is important.

If you are a digital content creator, you must be flexible and structured.  Growth of categories and tags is inevitable but consistent application increases the findability.  If you are an organization that has multiple content creators it is important to findability to establish procedures that ensure consistency in “tagging”.  It’s hard for content creators to keep at the forefront of their minds as they work, that other people, complete strangers, need to be able to find their content.  Thinking about how to bring people in and give them the content they need ensures success in advocacy, sales and success.

There is more to the digital revolution than uploading content.  Metadata is important, no matter the process of adding to your information.  Metadata helps make content easier to find so that decision makers can locate the information they need to support their work.   So if you are publishing content, either internally or externally to/for your organization think strategically about the processes and procedures that will make your content findable and usable…having it just sitting there defeats the purpose of creating content.

Constance Ard May 20, 2009

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Firm Libraries & Sea Change

May 7, 2009

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending some time with an old colleague.  We discussed how the economic downturn was forcing transformations in law firms.  Traditionally law firms are slow to change and usually do so only when circumstances force their hands.

Law firm libraries are a part of the trend of downsizing.  This colleague stated that while the library budget had not been cut staff had been cut.  The result was that the budget was cut because staff efficiencies were forcing the reduction of personal copies.  I find it interesting that the current economic crunch is succeeding in implementing a sea change in collection development and library services within some firms.

Statutes and rule books are popular titles for “personal copies.”   Firms that provide “personal copies” generally also have Westlaw and/or Lexis.  The information contained within the personal copies is available through various electronic resources and is more current.

Firm librarians know that these “personal copies” are a significant line item in budgets.  The material is duplicative and a convenience rather than a necessity.  The personal copies require staff time to process.

Cutting “personal copies” reduces costs and forces attorneys to use the electronic resources that are a permanent part of firm services.  These electronic resources are another part of the sea change.

Many firms bill back the costs on online research.  As clients continue to look for ways to cut their owns costs the push back on billing electronic research costs will continue to grow.

Firms did not bill for print collections and clients know that fact.  Some specialty technical reports may have occassionally been billed to clients but standard resources used to support the firm’s work were not.  As firms de-duplicate their collections and improve efficiencies by maximizing use of available electronic resources they are, or at least should be, reconsidering the practice of online research bill backs.

Bill backs take staff time and like the personal copies, efficiencies can be improved by changing this tradition.  Corporate clients are saavy and expect value added service not line item charges.

Smart firms will embrace this sea change and maximize the value of their professional library staff through project and/or hourly billing.  Firms should consider the experience and educational level of their information professionals and set billing rates at a proper reflective rates.  Does a one-year associate really research more efficiently than a five year or even first year librarian?

Marketing the value-added efficient service provided by your firm librarians is a must for firms who wish to transform client services.  Firms who wish to survive should consider implementing the sea change of using the firm librarians as a major selling point for high quality and efficient service sooner rather than later.

Constance Ard May 7, 2009

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Creativity in Crisis

May 4, 2009

Over the weekend I learned of another colleague who has been thrust into the throes of the unemployed. It prompted me to think about the fact that talented, experienced and engaged employees are suddenly finding themselves in a position that they probably had not expected at this stage in their career.

There is a lot of advise out there about how to do the job hunt and how to survive unemployment. When I found myself in the same situation last year one of the most useful resources I read was: Landing on the Right Side of Your Ass.  This book provided me the practical advise I needed to move on and out.  This, combined with my launch of Answer Maven kept me moving forward.

I recently had the honor of speaking at the SEALL 2009 Conference on the topic of Recruitment and Retention with a distinguished panel of law librarians from various organizations.  I spoke from the context of the law firm perspective.  While the economic realities are forcing changes that may not be desired, nothing is guaranteed.

So money is tight and the work is slow in some areas and hectic in others.  Management issues are a primary concern and you are awake at night wondering how to survive or if you should move along before the axe falls.

Maybe you are already primed for a change and are just to hesitant to make the jump.  No matter your situation a few things are important to relate to your management and/or potential new employer.

  • Creative and effective budget control measures
    • Can certain titles be eliminated for the duration of the crisis and shift in business and then reinstated?
    • Can you work-share with other departments to retain staff and share costs?
  • Ability to apply your skills beyond the library.
    • Are you the CI expert?  Bill out the services internally to the Business Development team.
  • Quantify your value.
    • Employ the Annual Report to quantify the value.  Everyone loves you but management needs to justify the expense.
  • Reconsider your billing status.
    • If you do bill:  can you change the scope beyond hourly to project?
    • If you don’t bill explain to management how you can generate fees at a rate that is more effective and cheaper than associates for research.  Convince clients and management that the associate value is in analysis not research and your value is in information gathering and dissemination.

Those are management tips that reference librarians and other library staff can employ as well.  You have a different chain of command but you still must quantify your value and think creatively to retain or regain employment.

Move up and on by remembering your knowledge and skills.  Be creative in applying those assets to your next venture whether it is a new title and company or an adjusted role within your current company.

Constance Ard May 4, 2009

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