Taking the Lead on Strategy

An article in Information Outlook spoke about the need for special librarians to take the led in educating clients and co-workers about how to find information. This applies to traditional sources together with how social data can be used. While this additional responsibility falls on the special librarian, social media--Facebook, Twitter, blogs provides many new ways of getting information. There are 3 real problems with this. The first is that social media is a mess for anyone who tries to analyze it. The second is the overwhelming amount of data....when Bin Laden was killed, there were 4,000 tweets per second. The third is the confirmation bias; people tweet what they often hear, but what if it is wrong information to begin with?

Special librarians need to develop a strategy, tied to the mission of the organization. To develop an effective social media strategy, a good starting point can be to look at places that have successfully adopted one, such as universities, Zappos, Dell Computer and financial groups interested in the Occupy Wall Street movement are other examples. The point is that social media is a untapped source of information that can be put to good us.

Etlinger, S. (2012). Taking the lead on strategy. Information Outlook 16 (12),14-16.

Recognizing innovation

An article by Stephen Abram, Recognizing Innovation gave 10 points on how to recognize innovation in libraries. A few include:

1. If the innovation/change makes you uncomfortable, then it is affecting you at a gut level, and therefore it is a real change.

2.Is the thing, idea, service, process disruptive, then it is most likely innovative, but this doesn't always mean it is good.

3.Does the idea come from inside the organization or from outside sources. Be open to new ideas and playfulness.

4.Does the innovation solve the problem, does it reduce friction or increase it, but don't confuse personal behavior with actual innovation that reduces fiction.

5. Innovation is not necessarily governed by technology, technology often advances change, but it is perceived by humans as worthwhile. Openness is the key to identifying innovations.

It is necessary for libraries to remain innovative to retain relevancy. I think most recognize this, but the big question is always, how to pay for it.

Abram, S. (2011). Recognizing innovation. Computers in Libraries 31(5) 14.

21st Lending Libraries: Books in a Cloud

Publishing is changing, and an article from Searcher 21st Lending Libraries: Books in a Cloud relates that the publishing industry is at a crossroads. "Consumer driven market forces are driving publishers to reduce capital in inventory and infrastructure and concentrate on content development (Herther, 14). Multipublisher ebook vendors, including Overdrive, MyiLibrary, ebray and Net-Library are the clear choice for many libraries to provide ebook content. Some of these use the 'ceiling' model for downloads, rather like Freegal with music downloads or subscription, like Overdrive. The ability to self publish is also a new reality of the publishing industry, where budding authors can totally sidestep the traditional methods and can use the internet and ebook format for their works. The challenge to publishers is shared with libraries, who need to stay current in the reality that people can satisfy their information needs via the internet. Libraries need to stay valuable to the organizations and people they serve.

Herther, N. (2011). 21st Century lending libraries: Books in a cloud. Searcher 19(7),12-13, 48-51.

Employees Social Media Use

In a short article in Information Outlook, Employees Social Media Use has Upsides as Well as Risks notes organizations should evaluate employees use of social media, and that the needs of communication and seamless collaboration conflicts with access management and best practices. Security is major concern, since the information posted on these sites often have considerable information. A Gartner study says that 30% of large organizations will block access to social media sites, although this number is declining. The report also said that use of social media has some positive results such as confirming identities of job candidates and customers.

I believe that most people who use social media are aware of the consequences of their posts, and that a wide number of people can read them. Security of the organizations business, information and products are always a concern, but the advent of instant communication to a vast number is a reality.

something to tweet about

An article in Information Outlook, Something to Tweet About spoke of the need for information professionals to network about the new ideas and challenges of the profession. From the comfort of your laptop or smartphone, you can join conversations on Facebook or Twitter about copyright, social media, or effective powerpoint. These forms of communication make it easier than ever to stay connected to other info professionals in the field. As a coincidence, FLA is hosting a Shadowing event this week where public libraries tweet about a day in the life. The objective is to show students in LIS programs, and those interested in joining the profession what it is like to work in a library.

LaChange, J. (2012). Something to tweet about. Information Outlook 16(2), 2-3.

Future Ready Libraries are Diverse

This blog post spoke about the need for libraries to represent the diverse population that they serve. For hiring committees, instead of asking if the candidate fits into the organizational culture, leadership needs to embrace differences and be willing to change.

This is an important consideration for all libraries in Florida. The growth of Hispanic populations in Florida is evident, and professional librarians who reflect this culture are necessary for the profession.

Future Ready: Libraries are Diverse by Charlene Johnson

http://futureready365.sla.org/12/13/future-ready-libraries-are-diverse/

Quotable Notables

From Information Today, it had some pretty interesting quotes about e-books. David Prichard, CEO on Ingrams said "People think of the world as being digital or print, but it really digital and print."

David Bowers, VP of Oxford UP said "In the future, libraries will provide apps as much as they are providing ebooks to today."

Tracy Armstrong, President of Copyright Clearance Center said "Usage is no longer stopping at the border, so neither is licensing."

Some pretty interesting ideas about the futures of libraries. The one overriding message is that libraries are dedicated to providing information to people, it is just the means of delivery is changing.

Think tank creativity

This interesting article from the New Yorker speaks about the history and need for creativity and shared ideas. The concept of the think tank is that for creativity to flow, a safe, non-judgmental envirnoment must be nurtured. Despite the outlandish ideas that can be proposed, it is important to permit the free flow of ideas. Studies have concluded that brain storming doesn't led to improved creativity, but group think is still popular and increasingly important in team oriented organizational structures.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/01/30/120130fa_fact_lehrer

Leadership by Capt Kirk

This interesting article talks about leadership lessons learened from Capt Kirk. Some advise was to go on away missions, blow up the Enterprise occassionlly, enjoy those bickering arguments between McCoy and Spock, and keep learning. While whimsical, there are some good lessons. Go on away missions translates to get out the office, get out from behind the desk, and find out what is going on. Blowing up the Enterprise is a metaphor to do a radical change, if what is status quo is not working, regardless of the emotional attachments involved. As a leader, it is important to get differing points of views (McCoy and Spock) and always keep learning.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/03/05/five-leadership-lessons-from-james-t-kirk/

Cloud Legislation

Microsoft in Jan 2010 pushed for more legislation of cloud computing. Because of the nature of the cloud, it has legal problems. Firstly, the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act is woefully outdated and needs serious revisions. Also, jurisdiction of cloud correspondence is a quagmire. If someone in NJ sends an email to someone in FL, but the cloud server is in NY, who has jurisdiction? It is even more tangled if the cloud server is located internationally, since there is no standardization.

Since different nations have various concepts of privacy, companies, like the medical providers are very reluctant to go to the cloud, for fear of violating patient confidential records. Different jurisdictions in the US have different laws about sharing personal information. Shared standards would be important for this.

The Cloud Computing Act, still be drafted, could address many of these issues, at least in the United States. Getting international legislation that is standardized is another question.

It is more than obvious that updates in electronic communications laws are critical. Cloud storage is estimated to be a many billion dollar industry, lets get the laws in place to regulate this.

Is this Seat Taken?

In the article from future ready 365 Is this Seat Taken, the author makes the point about meetings....are the meetings only with information professionals, or is there a cross-functional group representing business units and other functions. The article notes that it is in librarians best interest to get out from the desks and the backrooms and let everyone know about the value that information professionals can provide to the organization. Demonstrate your value to the company/organization...be the person that can provide answers for strategic (long term goals) needs, and not be a passive player.

The article also notes that it is time to break the stereotype of the librarian who waits for people to come, it is time to be aggressive in selling the worth of the information professional to the organization. I do wonder if this is the past of history of the profession, or if it is the expected behavior of a gender? I would venture that women make up the majority, perhaps the vast majority of the profession and gender expectations have frequently been for women to be the modest, submissive, supportive of others. In these days of really restrictive budgets, where all organizations are looking to eliminate the unnecessary, it is critical that all information professionals, regardless of gender, promote and inform the parent organizations of their value.

http://futureready365.sla.org/12/09/is-this-seat-taken/

As the Web Fades Away

An article in American Libraries "As the Web Fades Away" spoke of the end of the Web as a browser. From an article on Wired, "The Web is Dead" that the Web constitutes only 23% of internet traffic. The article believes that the shift is from open, web browsing to more specific, closed platform that are available on mobile devices, smart phones and the growing app market. These apps are specific, special purpose devices rather than the general, open searchable web.

This article from American Libraries notes that this seems simplistic. Migration away from web browsing to apps, widgets, gadgets, etc. negates quality, depth, and accuracy. This is especially true for all librarians who practice mobile or roving reference. The latest thoughts on good customer service is to get librarian out from the desk, removing barriers, and going out to meet patrons. True in public libraries, academic libraries and special libraries, it is common belief for librarians to go where the clients are, rather than the other way. But to accomplish this, the new technology of tablets is key. Again this device is mostly app driven resources. Although tablets can search the Web, it does seem like a laborious process. I occasionally use an I-Pad as a mobile staffing initiative... the amount of time to access the libraries webpage, resources, databases, and reader advisories is not easy. Technology can solve this problem....something that is portable, light, Web responsive but also has all those clever apps.

Janes, J. 2010. As the Web Fades Away. American Libraries, October, p. 35.

FEDLINK

After reading an article in SLA Information Outlook, I got interested in FEDLINK, the website for federal librarians. Through Library of Congress, this site has all kinds of information for special librarians. It included the core competency report, which was an article in the Jan/Feb edition of Information Outlook. The website also included links to digital preservation newsletters, the directory of federal libraries, content management resources. Also, links to best practices for telework programs, the handbook for federal librarians, and information on copyright, including a brief lecture on the legal basis of copyright laws. There were also links on material preservation and care of collections. An important link for Floridians was disaster planning.

With the exception of the Library of Congress, I had not realized the nature and scope of federal libraries. This site was very informative and had loads of useful information.

www.loc.gov/flicc/

Library Competencies

I read two different articles in the current issue of SLA Information Outlook, that both addressed the need to document library competencies. The first article by Sandra Hirsch Preparing Future Professionals through Broad Competency Planning, addresses the need for the graduate LIS programs to provide coursework necessary for the graduates to meet the competencies for the libraries and also the wide range of professions that information professionals can be valuable. Employers spoke of the need for recent graduates to have effective written and verbal skills, a passion for continuous learning and adaptability to new technology and proficiency with current and emerging information technology. Furthermore, San Jose State University LIS program has listed 15 core competencies that all graduates should have proficiency that also reflect these interests. One of the competencies was to design, evaluate and query information retrieval systems. These seems extremely specialized technical knowledge. It seems redundant for a library professional to design an information retrieval system when Millennium, Sirsi, TLC, etc have already done that. It is relevant to understand what parts of these integrated systems fit best with the organization's needs. Another was to "understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization of and representation of knowledge." This, I believe is original cataloging. Again these seems like very specialized knowledge.

The second article Updating Competencies for Federal Librarians by Carol Ramkey spoke of the need to have documented competencies for federal librarians. The working committee for FEDLINK (federal library and information network) devised levels of competencies:

agency and organization knowledge

collection management

content organization and structure

library leadership and advocacy

library technology management

reference and research

specialized knowledge/skills/and abilities.

While working on these competencies, the working group realized that they were falling into a organization pitfall of referring to job requirements determined by the grade system of the federal government. Federal librarians are hired at grades 9, 11, 13, 15 and each grade has specific levels of responsibilities and knowledge. The FEDLINK working group reevaluated their work and established basic, advanced and expert competencies. They also realized that depending on the position, an individual might have expert competencies in one area, but basic in another.

This seems like a realistic approach to core competencies. It seems logical that all librarians, particularly those who work in special libraries would have these knowledge, skills and abilities. The very technical skills to create a information retrieval system or to accurately do original cataloging does not seem a skill set that all librarians must possess, although depending on the particular job, could be necessary.

Hirsh, S, (2012). Preparing future professionals through broad competency planning. Information Outlook 16:1, p. 9-11.

Ramkey, C. (2012). Updating competencies for federal librarians. Information Outlook 16:1, p.12-15.

Ineffective Leadership

An interesting article Identifying the Presence of Ineffective Leadership in Libraries by Steven Staninger spoke that if effective leadership, particularly in libraries, includes open communication, staff development and ethical decision making, the ineffective leadership must be the absence of t these elements. Staninger argues this is not necessarily true.

The presence of certain factors, moral disengagement ( disregarding the negative effects of workplace actions) and micromanagement are key elements to ineffective leadership. The article argues that hierarchical power structure, which centralizes the authority in one person (director) or a few so that the rest of the organization is disenfranchised is a telling sign of ineffective leadership. Studies have shown that team dynamics which involve all share holders Moral disengagement can include public humiliation and/or delay of decisions. Inflexibility and control are the hallmarks of micromanaging. Also included in this article is the advice that effective leaders must think institutionally. All libraries are a part of larger organizations: with academic libraries it is the university, with special libraries it is the host organization, with public libraries it is some form of government.

This article was shared by the library director of Martin County, who is new to the job. I believe he saw the previous leadership as ineffective, all of the hallmarks of poor leadership were evident, and he is making a very conscious effort to remedy this. He is very focused on team structures and shared communications. I also believe he is very thoughtful about what makes an effective leader, a vibrant organization and engagement. I know that I am now very aware of elements of leadership.

Staninger, S. (2012). Identifying the Presence of Ineffective Leadership in Libraries. Library Leadership and Management, 26 (1).

http://journals.tdl.org/llm/article/view/5782/5815

Elephants in the room

An article in Association Management, Evict the Elephants, spoke of the need to get rid of the elephant in the room for associations, and any organization. Using a phrase from family therapists, to discuss the "elephant in the living room" among family members that deal with destructive behavior, the concept has been applied to organizations. This article identified three types of elephants: gossips, mediocrity and negative politics.

Gossip, by the practice ,undermine productive communication and is often toxic. The article suggested for the organization leaders to engage in open, constructive communication and to hold everyone to these standards.

Negative politics in the organization result in factions, a lack of productivity and bad feelings. The organization leaders must listen to the different opinions, addressed these problems head on and permit employees communication avenues.

Mediocrity is contagious and promotes negative workplace behaviors. The article recommends to establish clear guidelines and expectations about work productivity.

Expect, engage and equip were the three common methods to get rid of the elephants.

I think some of this is for leaders of the organization and supervisors to be extremely proactive about their staff. See who is busy at the water cooler, or makes the rounds between offices and then redirect that behavior. Look at the employees who can't seem to get the work done, or the work is incorrect. A supervisor must look for ways to improve that job performance and put the fire back into the worker. Office politics is unavoidable, but open communication with everyone can minimize it. In short, be a vigilant, mentoring, motivating supervisor to keep the elephants out of the room.

law library in Martin County

In a conversation among various staff members of Martin County Library, we were discussing the importance of the law library in Martin County. MCLS recently hired a new director, after the position had been left vacant for nearly 2 years. The former director did not believe that the law library should be a part of the library system. Her objections were primarily that although the idea behind it was for the citizens of Martin County to find legal resources, in reality attorneys were the majority of the patrons. The previous director also objected that the law library was extremely specialized in terms of resources, databases and staff, and not appropriate for a public library system.

Staff speculated on the what the feelings of the new director might be. I ventured that the current director might have a different opinion. He has very strong ideas that one of the primary goals of the public library is to foster the well being of the community and to be very engaged.

In the conversation with other staff members, I remarked that the law library is a valuable resource for everyone in Martin County. While it is used extensively by attorneys, and also has needed information for patrons who wished to research the law, or file motions pro se.

Mobile Reference

I have gotten interested in the benefits of mobile reference for libraries. The ability to embrace new technologies to help provide information for the patrons present new challenges and opportunities for librarians. I believe that providing information, regardless of what format it occurs, has always been the heart of librarianship.

The brief article, Apple, Google Upending Enterprise Mobile Strategies mentioned the BYOD, Bring Your Own Device with the popularity of the smart phones and tablets. Previously, the employer supplied the technology at the workplace. With the rise of these devices by Apple and the android platform, employees are embracing BYOD.

http://www.sla.org/io/2011/12/1074.cfm

Revolution Isn't Just Digital

An article in ALA, the Revolution Isn't Just Digital spoke that libraries in the 20th century had the monopoly on organization of knowledge: librarians decided what to add to collections and how to catalog that information. Information access has changed dramatically with the introduction of digital material. Publishers, like Macmillan and Simon & Schuster have refused to publish e-books, and Harper Collins devised a strange 26 checkout limit for ebooks. Online info is subject of restrictions and a licensing fees which libraries have little chance to negotiate. Archiving and preservation, critical to special libraries, is also threatened by digital content.

The challenge for all libraries is to embrace this new revolution and make the leap from analog to digital according to the values and missions of libraries. How do we go meet this challenge for special libraries and maintain the relevance and importance of libraries.

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/01112012/revolution-isn-t-just-digital

Fun in the Workplace

An interesting article, Benefits and Challenges of Fun in the Workplace mentioned the difference between manufactured fun and organic fun. Manufactured fun, as the name suggests, is imposed. Organic fun is a part of a positive workplace culture. The article also states that workplace fun leads to job satisfaction, high morale, and improving customer service. Google is known as the leader in creating workplace fun, with the concept that the organization wants the staff to be happy on and off the clock. Job satisfaction can enhance productivity, creativity, and reduce absenteeism, which the converse is also true. Overworked, unappreciated staff can lead to tardiness, absenteeism and burnout...all of which is expensive for the organization.

A second interesting part of the article discussed the different characteristics of the generations, all which can be in the organization. Baby Boomers (born between 1945-1960) are competitive, workaholics who tend not to value fun in the workplace. Gen X (1961-1981) need a balance between work and play, value fun, informality and creativity. Millennials (1981-2000) are ambitious, high-achievers, confident and narcissistic. They too appreciate fun in the workplace.

The challenge for all organizations then, is how to incorporate some fun organically into the workplace without it seeming like an additional burden, artificial or too time consuming. Winston Churchill once said that if you find a job you love, you'll never work again. How can libraries make work fun and a place you love to go to?

Everett, A. (2011). Benefits and Challenges of Fun in the Workplace. Library Leadership and Management, 25 (1).