SLA Blog

Trying to Keep Pace with SLA Members

Yesterday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, one of the most storied names in the newspaper industry, announced that it would cease its daily publication schedule and instead print only three days per week--Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Advance Publications, the publisher of the Times-Picayune, disclosed that it was taking similar measures with three other daily newspapers, in Birmingham, Mobile, and Huntsville, Alabama.

These newspapers are simply the latest victims of a trend that has upended and reshaped the news industry. Printed publications incur significant production and distribution expenses, which for years were offset by advertising revenues and subscription fees. But ad revenues have been falling as new communications technologies have offered vendors more avenues for reaching readers, who have been deserting printed media for online sources of information.

Information Outlook has not been immune from these developments, and at the end of this year, it will join the large and growing number of publications that have moved entirely online. This change has been contemplated for a couple of years, but SLA has continued to print Information Outlook to allow members more time to become comfortable using online media to meet their information needs.

Articles and columns in Information Outlook have been available on SLA's Website for several years, but starting next year, the full magazine will be online. It will be accessible on mobile devices, searchable, and able to transmit RSS feeds. It will also allow readers to comment on, and join conversations about, topics addressed in articles and columns. In so doing, it will leverage the knowledge and ideas of SLA members and further enhance our efforts to build community through social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

SLA members have long been leaders in the information profession in using new technologies and adopting new methods to improve customer service. With its transition from a printed to a digital version, Information Outlook will take a big step toward trying to keep pace with its readers.

 

Needles in a Haystack

The term information overload was popularized in the 1970 book Future Shock by Adam Toffler, who correctly foresaw an era of rapid technological and sociological change that would leave many people feeling disconnected and disoriented. But even a futurist as prescient as Toffler probably would have been unable to comprehend the volume of information being produced and transmitted every day on Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media.

As Susan Etlinger notes in her article in the March/April issue of Information Outlook, "... when Beyonce went on the Video Music Awards and showed she was pregnant, that generated 8,000 tweets per second." Granted, it's unlikely that tweets about pregnant celebrities will be of interest to the average SLA member or his or her organization. Nonetheless, comments and discussions on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media are information resources, and Etlinger believes that information professionals should not flinch from trying to extract value from them.

"The librarian needs to be the strategist, the first line of defense, in understanding and recommending how social data should be used," she states. "... There's an incredible artifact of social data out there ... that encapsulates opinions in a way we've never really seen before."

Etlinger cautions that much of the social data being produced are "a mess," but David Milward and Guy Singh have plenty to say about how to make sense of it. In their article, "Clarifying the Social Media Blur," Milward and Singh offer guidance and case studies on using agile text mining to identify not only the content of social data, but also the sentiments being expressed, the impact of those sentiments, and the key opinion leaders in various communities.

According to Milward and Singh, the imposing volume of social data is actually a blessing in disguise. "In the text mining world," they write, "the more documents there are, the better the results are likely to be."

To read more of what Etlinger, Milward and Singh have to say about making sense of social data, read the March/April issue of Information Outlook.

 

Copyright and Libraries

CCM500 Library & Special Library Copyright Issues starts on Wednesday, March 28th, and we'd like you to be there!

This online course focuses on the copyright-related concerns that arise in libraries, including fair use, photocopying by library staff and by others, interlibrary loan, working with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center (United States) and Access Copyright (Canada), working with digital content vendors, the impact of copyright court cases and statutes, and the role of librarians and information professionals in copyright management.

Instructor Lesley Ellen Harris of Copyrightlaws.com is the author of several books on copyright, including Digital Licensing: A Practical Guide for Librarians, 2nd edition, and Canadian Copyright Law, currently undergoing its fourth revision.  She also writes the Info Rights column in SLA's Information Outlook magazine.

Dates:  March 28 - April 23 (course schedule)
Format:  live online sessions, discussion list participation, independent reading
Price:  $395 members/$495 non-members; member discounts available

Register today! 

Questions? Contact Click University.

 

Competencies: Not as Cut-and-Dried as Might Be Expected

"If I'm going to bother going to a special librarian, I want to find an incompetent one."

Granted, that's Seth Godin talking, and Seth is known for making provocative statements. And it's unlikely the task force appointed recently to update SLA's competencies for information professionals will heed Seth's remarks.

But even a cursory glance at the January/February 2012 issue of Information Outlook will show that Seth isn't the only one with an unconventional take on competencies. Business strategist Geoffrey Moore has one as well--competencies, he says, should set you apart, not merely reflect what you do best. Kare Anderson, a consultant and former Wall Street Journal reporter, says collaboration should be a core competency; Bruce Rosenstein, a student of Peter Drucker, says innovation is essential.

Clearly, competencies are not as cut-and-dried as might be expected. And developing and revising them aren't simple exercises either, as Sandra Hirsh and Carol Ramkey make plain in their articles. What is clear is that competencies matter, and not just from a philosophical perspective. As Geoffrey Moore notes, "To shift the ground of your core, and thus your core competence, is a leadership challenge of the highest order."

To read what these thought leaders have to say about competencies, take a look at the January/February issue, posted online at sla.org.

 

A Global Disconnect?

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a seaman who has just returned from a long voyage recounts a scene in which there was "Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink." The same might be said of today's online environment--people communicating constantly, but not building a sense of community.

That's one of the key messages of the four theme articles in the October/November issue of Information Outlook, which is now posted on sla.org. The theme, "Working across Geographical Borders," practically invites discussions about how technology has rendered many national, cultural and language differences obsolete. But as Sean Smith of QUOSA writes in his article about the challenges facing global information vendors, "There is at least one drawback to using technology--it facilitates communication, but not necessarily connection."

Margaret Ostrander, manager of search at Thomson Reuters, takes a slightly different angle in her article about conducting user testing with clients in dispersed locations. "More than anything else," she writes, "a human connection is needed within a meeting. Absent the aid of Webcams or other videoconferencing technologies, simply having a picture of the person's face can help humanize a colleague who otherwise is a disembodied voice on the other end of a teleconference."

So, what can librarians do to build community in an increasingly wired world? Stephen Abram offers some suggestions in his "Info Tech" column. One, he says, is to give a gift.

"When working in different cultures or when attempting to gain introduction, trust, or entree, give a gift," he writes. "I'm not talking about a presentation piece of lovely Inuit sculpture--the gift should be appropriate and generous. Good answers, advice and information are gifts."

To read more about how librarians can work across geographical borders, read the October/November issue of Information Outlook.

 

Several Pieces of the Puzzle

Recognition from management. "Face time" with senior leaders. Customers who consider you to be critical to their success.

Sound too good to be true? Not if you know how to advocate for yourself and your library team. That's the message of the theme articles in the September issue of Information Outlook.

From James Matarazzo and Toby Pearlstein's thoughts about using "key competencies" to elevate the status of the profession to Cindy Sullivan's tips for securing regular, personal interactions with senior leaders to Stephen Abram's advice on marketing your value and skills as an information professional, the September issue is packed with ideas about how you can ensure that your customers recognize and understand your worth. Add Anne Caputo's discussion of how Dow Jones decided that it could best advocate for librarians by creating a place for them to learn from each other, and you have several pieces of what Agnes Mattis calls the "much larger puzzle" of advocacy in her introduction to the topic.

The September issue also takes a look back at the SLA 2011 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO, which attracted more than 4,000 information professionals and industry partners to Philadelphia for four days of education and networking. An overview of the conference, excerpts from five Spotlight Sessions, and a description of a new video that made its debut at the opening session combine to give those who couldn't attend a taste of what they missed.

There's more, of course--examples of how to develop your own professional narrative, a study of how a university assessed the ways in which it provides library services for the sciences and builds science collections, and a provocative letter to the editor. So why wait for your hard copy to arrive in the mail? Start reading the September issue now!

 

Finding Middle Ground on Licensing E-Resources?

In real estate, the three most important things are location, location and location. In the world of electronic resources, the three most important things are licensing, licensing and licensing.

That's the conclusion of Michael Newman, head librarian at the Falconer Biology Library at Stanford University. In "Collections Strategies for Electronic Books," published in the June issue of Information Outlook (now available online at sla.org), he writes:

When e-journals were new, licensing terms were not standardized and licensing was a complex and time-consuming process. E-books are more popular now, but until e-book licensing becomes more streamlined, content will remain secondary to licensing considerations in driving collection development decisions in the selection of digital monographs. E-book selection and acquisition must become as easy as they are for printed monographs, and this requires simplifying licenses and licensing.

Can librarians and vendors find common ground on licensing? George Scotti of Springer, in his article about the impact of e-resources on proving value and return on investment, says vendors are beginning to accommodate librarians' needs, at least in the areas of pricing and content:

I think our industry is going to see more and more ... flexible arrangements that address specific cases. I'm not sure the amount of money librarians pay will be different, but the way they buy will be different--for example, instead of a package option, they may have a pick-and-choose option, and they may use tokens and deposit accounts. The business model will change, but at the end of the day, librarians will still get access to everything they need.

Although Scotti doesn't specifically address licensing, his comments suggest that there's some movement toward resolving the e-issues dividing librarians and vendors. Let's hope this movement continues.

Going the Way of the Dinosaurs

Remember the Gary Larson cartoon titled "The real reason dinosaurs became extinct"? It showed three dinosaurs huddling behind a large rock, puffing on cigarettes.

An updated version of this cartoon could be titled, "The real reason newspapers and magazines became extinct" and show a person lining a birdcage with computer disks. But the cartoon would have a limited life--future generations probably won't get the joke.

Still, there's no denying that newspapers, magazines, and other print publications are having a difficult time surviving. More and more consumers are going online to get their news and information, and advertisements (and advertising dollars) are following them. Publications that used to be revenue centers are becoming cost centers, forcing publishers to cut staff, publish less frequently, and even close their doors. Association publications, including Information Outlook, have not been immune from this trend.

And yet, notwithstanding these developments, some magazines are thriving, gaining new readers and attracting advertising. How are they doing it? By focusing on what magazines do best--providing in-depth coverage and analyses of topics that are narrowly targeted to specific audiences. Whereas the Web excels at casting a wide and shallow net, magazines are better suited to mining a narrow but deep field of information.

To be successful, then, magazines must know their readers--their needs, their concerns, their interests. Information Outlook has already taken a step in this direction by assembling an advisory council of SLA members to help provide editorial direction. The next step, to be taken later this year, is to survey the SLA membership about their information needs and wants. The survey answers will be used to evaluate existing content and determine whether a different mix of articles, columns and departments will better meet the information needs of special librarians.

In an association with a wide range of communication tools at its disposal--a Web site, blogs, wikis, discussion lists, e-newsletters, and more--a printed magazine has to be able to make a strong case that it is providing a valuable benefit. By completing the survey when it is posted on sla.org later this year, you can help ensure that Information Outlook keeps you apprised of the latest thinking on issues that affect your job and career.

Under New Management

Each issue of Information Outlook is unique, but the October/November 2009 issue (Vol. 13, No. 7) will differ from its predecessors not only because of the content it contains but also because of who's determining that content.

SLA President Gloria Zamora has appointed eight information professionals to serve on the new Information Outlook Advisory Council (IOAC). The council will work with the editor of Information Outlook to set the editorial direction of the magazine and determine theme topics. The council will also provide feedback on article proposals and recommend article topics and authors.

The members of the IOAC, who will serve staggered two-year terms, are as follows:

• Doris Helfer (chair)

• Susan DiMattia

• Dennie Heye

• Betty Jo Hibberd

• Jill Hurst-Wahl

• Renee Pope

• David Shumaker

• Tony Stankus

The council held its first meeting at the 2009 SLA Annual Conference and will soon begin work on determining article topics for the October/Novermber 2009 issue, developing an editorial calendar for 2010, and creating an online survey of SLA members to determine how they use the magazine.

Feel free to contact an IOAC member if you have any suggestions for improving the magazine or if you would like to recommend an article topic or write an article.

Eight Will be Great

What’s so great about eight?

I’m sure many of you were asking that question when you received your January/February issue of Information Outlook. A flier included with the magazine stated “Eight is Great!” and announced that SLA will publish eight issues of Information Outlook in 2009, down from 12 issues in 2008.

This change was prompted by legitimate financial concerns, but most of you probably saw it as a reduction in service and membership value. Fewer magazines mean fewer articles mean fewer opportunities to learn from peers and subject matter experts. Where’s the greatness in that?

I won’t try to spin the change to eight issues as a positive development. I will, however, make this pledge: Information Outlook will be a better magazine at the end of 2009 than it was at the end of 2008.

As I write these words, a new advisory council of SLA members is being formed to help shape the editorial direction and content of Information Outlook. Later this year, SLA members who visit the Web site will be invited to complete a brief survey about the magazine. The survey answers will help me and the members of the advisory group plan the editorial calendar for 2010.

Information Outlook, like all SLA products and services, is intended to help information professionals better understand and take advantage of trends and developments in their profession and industry. Your input can ensure that Information Outlook becomes the must-read source of information about issues affecting special libraries, their staff, and the clients they serve.