Would you do your job without trying to understand the views of your clients, students, faculty, engineers, patrons or information end-users? Of course not and neither would SLA. In trying to learn how best to position information professionals, the Association and the profession, SLA sought to understand the needs and perceptions of both info pros (us) and our clients / patrons.
In short, the Alignment Project set out to learn:
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How librarians and information professionals view their own jobs
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How those jobs are viewed by executives
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Which activities performed by info pros are valued most
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What language can be used to effectively communicate the value info pros bring to their employers
Key Finding: Corporate executives acknowledge the value and importance of good information. To resonate with this critical audience, information professionals must make the connection between their product and their company's strategic goals. Executives want more than information--they want to know how that information will create competitive advantage and benefit the bottom line. Before you decide that this doesn't apply to you, continue reading to learn about the phases of the Alignment Project and which sectors were included in the research and testing - you may be surprised:
Phase I – Define: Before any new research was initiated, a wealth of existing research and surveys were reviewed to identify strategic issues and knowledge gaps:
- Task Force Reports
- Alliance and Partners Task ForceChapter Modeling Report
- Executive Growth, New Visions, Professional Value, Recognition, Research Now, and Branding)
- SLA Member Profiles (Source: Information Outlook)
- Board of Director Profiles (Source: Information Outlook)
- Exhibitor Surveys (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
- Attendee Surveys (2005, 2006, 2007)
- Information Outlook Surveys (2004 & 2005)
- Peer-Reviewed Journal Survey and Follow-up Survey (2004)
- Board Survey (2003)
- Member Survey (2002, 2006)
Next came an International Online Survey designed by Outsell and Fleishman-Hillard in collaboration with SLA. Survey participants included SLA senior staff, board members, and Association members from various backgrounds categorized by geography, vertical, function and sector. It was designed to take no more than 20 minutes to complete, and contained approximately 30 questions. The survey was fielded from August 13, 2008 to September 11, 2008. A total of 846 responses were received, which represents the findings at a confidence level of 95% +/- 3.4%.
Who participated in the survey?
Geography
US - 40%,
UK - 23%
Canada - 22%
Australia - 15%
Job Function
Info Pros, 34%
C-level execs, 19%
IT, 13%
HR, 12%
Marketing, 12%
Strategy, 11%
Sector
Corporate, 74%
Academic, 12%
Government, 8%
Health Care, 6%
For a more detailed breakdown by industry, see the Alignment Ambassador Q&A on the Alignment wiki at: http://wiki.sla.org/download/attachments/33587698/Alignment+Ambassador+QandA.doc
Phase II - Translate:
International Language Analysis - A qualitative analysis of recurring key words, phrases and themes that emerged from the international online survey were further tested to gauge impact on respondents. All terms were measured on a language matrix which categorized terms by “most liked” and “least liked”.
International Dial Testing – Deeper qualitative analysis of key words, phrases and themes identified during Phases I and II, including “librarian”, “Special Libraries”, “SLA” “information” “knowledge” and others were tested in dial sessions. Sessions included 25 – 30 participants each and were designed to capture audience reaction to specific words and phrases. Audience was comprised of two main categories:
- C-suite executives which included manager level or above. Most C-suite participants were at the VP level or higher.
- Information professionals which included SLA members and potential members based on their job functions.
Who participated in the dial testing sessions and name focus groups?
Geography
US, 50%
UK, 50%
Function
Info Pros, 50%
C-level execs, 50%
Perspective of a Member in Academia
"I agree with you to this extent: it is clear that the Alignment research tried to target “managers who might hire us” -- after all, that’s the group (along with the managers who did hire us and to whom we’re responsible) that we need to communicate with and explain our value to. The alignment project is very much about helping members find the language to communicate with those individuals.
On the other hand, I don’t agree that the alignment research excluded the academic sector. I think SLA is very concerned with addressing the needs of members in academe and in government along with the for-profit and nonprofit corporate sectors."
- David Shumaker, clinical associate professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Catholic University and recipient of the the 2009 Rose L. Vormelker Award
Jill--
Can you point me to where the dial testing actually includes the word "librarian"? I can only find results for "special libraries" and "special libraries association". It's not clear to me that the words "libraries" or "librarians" were ever evaluated by themselves.
Posted by: Dave Shumaker | 12 November 2009 at 08:33 AM