Beyond Keywords to the Valuable Professional: Essential to Business Decisions

February 1, 2012

The write-up “Can Search Replace the Perfect Secretary?” is a bit older but is still worth some reflection. Critical business decisions are being made without proper time, reflection, or even the correct data in hand.

The write-up provides a reflection on several reports related to the importance of finding information for business decisions. In a report by the Economic Intelligence Unit one very significant reiterated the importance of the need to find the right data in a timely fashion.

Almost half the businesses surveyed for the Economist Intelligence Unit report Game Changer say that the complexity of the environments in which they operate have forced them to extend decision making times over the past five years, with only about a fifth saying that times have fallen. They’re reasonably confident about collecting and analysing data, but much less comfortable when it comes to making decisions based on it.

In short, so much information exists that it hard to trust that the “right” information has been located and thus a decision takes more time. Most knowledge workers can search within the enterprise but it is not efficient searching and it may not be the most accurate.  And while the promise of “keyword” searching is grand, the more valuable investment is that of a knowledgeable information professional.

Constance Ard, February 1, 2012

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The Argument for Content Not Containers: EBooks Get a Challenge

January 30, 2012

Sarah Glassmeyer continues to prove herself a thought leader in the world of librarianship. In a recent post from CALI.org we see her views on “The Enhanced Book”.

She takes the discussion about eBooks to a broader view with her move away from pros and cons and into the world of possibilities. I too taught content not container in the old days of my law firm service so her message resounded.  I do think that the methods taught within print created better researchers because the framework was defined.

Often today’s electronic researchers are limited because they think about keywords and miss methods that could open up new avenues of content discovery.  If publishers take up Glassmeyer’s challenge and “up their game” in production the possibilities will continue to grow.

And until most traditional publishers – both mass market and legal – up their game when it comes to producing ebooks, this debate isn’t going to end any time soon.

The eBook challenge is about ownership, sharing and consumption. The container offers broad scholarship and research opportunities. From an information management perspective, understanding restrictions, limits and abilities is most definitely a service that information professionals can use to add value to their institution.

Constance Ard, January 30, 2012

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Knowledge Economy Information Professionals Should Market Value – Not Skills

January 6, 2012

“Content Curation for Marketing” on the Slaw blog certainly gave me food for thought this morning. (Hat Tip to Nina Platt’s Law Librarian Daily Digest for the alert.) After months of being immersed in research about value and relevancy in today’s knowledge economy I have an affinity for new roles for the information professional.

Today’s information explosion certainly makes it plausible for information professionals to have an expanded role in today’s information rich work environments.

Colman offers a great summary of the session and some lessons learned through her own trial of aggregation tools.  She cautions that:

Content curation, whether used for internal or external purposes, is a very effective way to filter through the enormous amount of information that is being published on a daily basis. It helps you distinguish the signal from the noise.

Content curation is not a new role for information professionals.  Since time eternal the role of finding, organizing and distributing information has been a central function. It is the value gained by the activities that needs to be emphasized in today’s competitive environment. Without understanding the contributions they are making to the overall process and products of their requestor, information professionals are missing opportunities. So know the value of the skills and market that to maintain a competitive edge in today’s knowledge economy.

Constance Ard, January 6, 2012

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Information Audit Meets Talent and Possibility Audit

December 13, 2011

I just recently finished drafting the text of my upcoming study from the Ark Group, Adding Value to Corporate Libraries and Information Services. I’m excited because I had  great input from various information experts such as Ulla de Stricker, Beth Maser, Connie Crosby, and so many more. (Yes this is a tease.) One of the things I determined as I wrote the book was that not only are information audits critical in corporate libraries but so too are talent audits.

Understanding the talents, interests and abilities of the information professional’s staff affords a world of possible new services, or at the very least, new and better ways to do those core functions that are so important to an organization’s ability to use information effectively.

So I encourage you to create an opportunity to assess the  possibilities that  will benefit your organization and inspire your staff.  Challenges are a great way to boost morale and employee engagement.  And new possibilities delivered by current staff, that is a definitely path to adding value.

Constance Ard, December 13, 2011

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Taxonomy: It Just Isn’t Easy

November 17, 2011

I was intrigued to read a post over at TaxoDairy, a blog hosted by my friends at Access Innovations. “One Size Fits All Taxonomies” caught my attention because I’m a firm believer that all taxonomies, especially those at the enterprise level, need custom fits. Then I realized that the author was really calling into question WAND Inc.’s behemeth solution to taxonomies.

Many of the companies I work with are so small that the great and accurate work that can be done by Access Innovations isn’t the best answer. As the author explains:

Pre-set taxonomies and automated classification and tagging can be tempting, but as we all know, cookie cutter indexing isn’t comprehensive.

I totally agree that cookie cutter indexing has its flaws. However, after having created several custom taxonomies, I see the joy of a machine assisted taxonomies.  I think the blend of human and computer can work in the right environment.

Constance Ard November 17, 2011

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Social Media Meets Intelligence Analysts aka Librarians

November 15, 2011

It’s hard not to take the opportunity to discuss the recent AP Exclusive: CIA Tracks Revolt by Tweet, Facebook. Librarians have hooked this live fish and held it up as the prize winner. And I agree this is a great example of the power of librarians.

I want to take a step back and talk about why the work that this particular team is important.

1) Open Source Content Through Social Media

Focusing on the wealth of information made available through Twitter and Facebook truly takes an expert because they have to be able to sift out the garbage effectively.  And while software can help it takes the human analyst to make a proper and accurate interpretation.

2) It’s not just th information skills that matter.

The article focused on the necessity to be proficient in foreign languages too.  Again geotagging could be helpful but its unreliable. In addition, it takes the human element to discern connotations in language.

3) It’s the complete picture analysis that matters.

Without context gathered from additional open source items such as news stories, the lone tweet is not useful.

From Arabic to Mandarin, from an angry tweet to a thoughtful blog, the analysts gather the information, often in a native tongue. They cross-reference it with a local newspaper or a clandestinely intercepted phone conversation. From there, they build a picture sought by the highest levels at the White House. There might be a real-time peek, for example, at the mood of a region after the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, or perhaps a prediction of which Mideast nation seems ripe for revolt.

It is encouraging to note that the director, Doug Naquin of the center is confident that the team ” will find a way to adapt, as the enemy does.”

Constance Ard November 15, 2011

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Inaccessible Information? Companies Must Show Proper Proof

November 9, 2011

The Gibson Dunn Mid-Year Electronic Discovery Law Update – Part 1  from Advanced Discovery gives a great overview of the report .

Sanctions, Legal Hold Processes, Cooperation and Inaccessible Information are looked at in this first blog post.  The author talks about one item of particular interest to Answer Maven: Inaccessible Information.  Since we are so interested in good information management practices, knowing where data lives and how users access data that caught our attention quickly.

What stood out from the overview was the advice that:

 Firms and corporations needing to claim inaccessibility should be prepared to prove that the data at issue is truly inaccessible, before making such a claim.

The Gibson Report points out that the courts have little tolerance for a failure to search ESI.

As in the past, courts continued to have little patience for claims of inaccessibility when a party simply failed to search relevant ESI. See Star Direct Telecom, Inc. v. Global Crossing Bandwidth, Inc., 272 F.R.D. 350, 358-59 (W.D.N.Y. 2011) (Payson, Mag. J.) (holding that ESI was not inaccessible “simply” because the producing party “elected not to search for archived [ESI],” particularly in light of failure to inform movant of that decision); IOWI, 2011 WL 2038714, at *4 (holding that producing party could not use inaccessibility as a defense for failing to search for ESI “more thoroughly than they apparently did” when they should have “explain[ed] why such a search would be too burdensome, costly or difficult” at the outset).

Thus Answer Maven is confident that Data Maps, good governance and appropriate information management practices and guidelines will serve companies well.  In today’s business environment there are few companies that do not create information electronically and the proof is in the pudding when it comes to proving good due diligence in production.

Constance Ard November 9, 2011

 

 

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Librarians, Metadata Specialists, and Taxonomist Oh My

November 8, 2011

There has been a bit of discussion about librarians and the role they play in taxonomy and meta data. Some good some bad.  In Taxonomy and Metadata and Findability Influence Traditional Roles a good argument is made as to why librarians are important to these information activities.

The use of content management systems to store data makes metadata and taxonomies important to improved findability.  Information scientists are well suited to creating the organization for these systems.

With so many different systems to find information, it will be important for systems to talk to each other. In terms of taxonomies, information scientists can even get into building ontologies and using these to build relationships between different taxonomies.

It’s good to hear sensible explanations of why librarians are important in today’s information economy. Jeff Carr got it wrong in his discussion of Five Myths about Taxonomy and Sharepoint blog post. Librarians are the right people to build the access indexes in today’s information rich environment.

Constance Ard November 8, 2011

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Fair Use and Orphan Works Get Discussed in New Mass Digitization Report

November 4, 2011

Hat tip to Nina Platt at Librarian News Digest for alerting me to  “Copyright Office Report Outlines Issues Surrounding Mass Digitization of Books” I haven’t had time to delve into the report itself but I look forward to doing so.  The issue of copyright as it related to digitization projects came to my attention while I was working on a very special project with the American Printing House for the Blind.

It is good to know that APH’s Migel Library continues to offer a very unique collection and the digitization plans they have are of great interest. Fair use and orphan works are two areas that really need some additional guidelines for special projects such as the one at Migel.

The legal status of orphan works also has a significant impact, the paper said. The Copyright Office noted recent efforts to get orphan works legislation through Congress and its own advocacy of such legislation. “If adopted, the proposed legislation on orphan works would greatly improve access to copyrighted works,” the agency said. However, at the time the legislation on the table was developed, inadequate consideration had been given to mass digitization. The paper suggested that Congress reconsider this legislation in the light of mass digitization.

It will be interesting to see if new legislation does come forward.  It will be a topic I continue to follow.  And as I get more time I’ll dive into the report so more posts may follow.

Constance Ard November 4, 2011

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Complicating Factors of Standards: It’s Not As Simple as It Looks

November 3, 2011

In a recent Law Technology News article there was a good discussion that captured my attention. E-Discovery Technical Standard at Crossroads lays outs some interesting arguments about why the call for standardization in eDiscovery is a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

Let’s begin with a definition of the standards that are being called for. EDRM-XML was called for by the EDRM organization to standardize the sharing of data especially as related to load data.  The ideal is that building on open source code provides greater accessibility.  In an ideal world everyone would take this to heart and embrace this model and as the industry grew everyone would be on the same page.

Now I’m not a Pollyanna but I have my doubts as to whether or not even she would buy into that ideal.  The adoption rates and availability of the EDRM-XML from eDiscovery technology companies is low.  EDRM continues to work on it but as the article points out a 2010 upgrade has been delayed until at least 2012.  That seems to point to development issues – a not uncommon problem when it comes to some open source solutions.

There may be a bright spot in this call for standardization if you buy into the theory presented by Dera Nevin:

She added that EDRM as an organization needs to do better at externally communicating the advantages of electronic document exchange — “There’s wars to be fought on a whole bunch of fronts. It’s one thing to say, you’ve been working on this for 3.5 years, give up, but it’s way too soon to give up because we’re still fighting the fight of getting people to use electronic exchange of documents in the first place.”

Open source and eDiscovery, two very hot tech trends combined with a push for standardization seems to make sense. But then again when does technology and sense really stand up to the test of implementation and usability.

Constance Ard November 2, 2011

1 Comment | Business, E-Discovery, Information Management, Open Source | Permalink
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