de Stricker

When Access to Information Specialists Bites the Dust

As an example how elimination of library services is not a rarity, a colleague shared this February 11 article in Editor & Publisher dealing with the upcoming closure of the Wall Street Journal news research library:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003940607

Such an announcement is unhappy news in our profession.  Two snippets stood out for me.

First, as I often get questions dealing with the ROI of information services, I pay attention whenever any measure is ventured.  The librarian is quoted as saying about the reporters' access to various databases that it cannot replace "knowledge about how to research using all the tricks we've learned over the years. We figure that the reporters will probably spend 10 times our compensation trying to do their own research." 

Second, as my work frequently brings up examples of the value of access to information from the more distant past, this quote points to a gap that could prove to be a greater barrier than it may seem: "I'm ... worried about the microfilm. Between where the Proquest historical database leaves off and our PDF archives begins, there is about 10 years where the only physical form of the paper exists on microfilm."  Given typical newsroom deadlines, microfilm may be impractical to use.  I see many illustrations in day to day work how inconvenience in access translates into no access because there simply isn't time.

Information specialists regularly discuss the matter of quality in research and trade examples how their specialized training and experience enable them to dig up nuggets no one else was able to find.  Let's hope, as the WSJ librarian does, that there will be a rehire later this year - for her sake certainly, but mostly for the sake of the reporters.

Creative Class: Me? Yes, You!

At the recent annual Ontario Library Association Superconference I had two key privileges over and above being able to roam though an exhibit hall with hundreds of publishers and information service providers: Chairing a well attended session featuring library technicians who have taken untraditional paths in their careers, and attending celebrated economist Richard Florida's keynote session in which he presented highlights of his work.  The two events were a perfect pair.

At the morning session (see http://www.accessola.com/superconference2009/showSession.php?lsession=400&usession=499 and scroll one page to session 402) the focus was individual:  How does a personal drive to make a difference for stakeholders and clients make a difference in one's career?  Pam Casey, Nanci Abbondanza, and Linda Pauloski engagingly told the stories of how their innate creativeness and desire to "do more" had taken them in career directions they had not envisioned when they obtained their professional credentials. Let me thank those attendees who posed such questions as "if you were 22 now, what would you do?" and in so doing created interesting reflection on the part of the three presenters who made their careers supporting knowledge workers.

In Richard Florida's speech, the focus was societal:  How does personal creativity makes a difference in how communities and economies evolve? (see http://creativeclass.com).  There we were - a huge ballroom full of information professionals - watching a vivid articulation of our economic role:  Though we manufacture no tangible goods and though we perform services unrelated to or somewhat removed from physical objects or processes, we contribute heavily to the economic life of our community.  I found his summary of extensive research fascinating in the way it points for me to the impact of the role of every person whose work is evident in the content of intranets, in the riches of databases, in myriad web based services, in research activities, in the services offered by libraries.

I am such a person, as are you my readers.  At first, we may have thought "creative class" referred to people in the arts or in advertising (etc).  But in fact, we information professionals belong to the groups who, according to Richard Florida's research, feed development in society and economic growth. 

Let us all take his findings to heart and use the supporting evidence in our communications with our stakeholders - as we exercise our own personal creativity.