"There's such a thing?" Nurturing Information Imagination

In a few days, a licensed optician will arrive for the second time at my doorstep - this time with a finished pair of eyeglasses ready for the final adjustments.  The frames were examined last week at my dinner table from a selection she had assembled based on a phone conversation and my website photo; the final choice rested on her ability to use  examples of my business wardrobe to demonstrate the suitability of certain frame colors.  

 

In accomplishing the transaction effortlessly at home, and in getting frames I would have passed over had I been on my own in the store, I am the beneficiary of information a colleague offered me as I casually mentioned the wear and tear in my current glasses. "There is such a thing as an optician who makes house calls?"  was my surprised reaction.  Had I thought such a practitioner existed, I could easily have looked for her.  Not in my imagination, no search.

 

In the world of information and communication services, such a dynamic is common:  If it is not conjured up in thought, it cannot be requested.  Knowledge workers are not in a position to look, or ask information professionals to look on their behalf, for materials, tools, and services they are not even dreaming of.  Nor can knowledge workers be expected to imagine and hence inquire about the full sweep of implications arising from our innovative uses and combinations of existing or emerging web services.

 

Information and communication professionals - taking their own wizardry for granted - may be underestimating the there's-such-a-thing?  factor.  (On the other hand, it is a concern for some that we might overdo the "did you know" outreach; but upon reflection, I believe it is better to verify that our knowledge worker clients know of the opportunities we enable than to make the assumption they know.)

 

We cannot insert visions in the minds of knowledge workers.  We can work on building relationships to help them experience how airing concerns, ideas, and plans with us usually results in the discovery of some new advantage they had not imagined.

Comments

[Jessie Farewell]

Hello Ulla,

Thank you for this posting. I whole-heartedly agree with you in that knowledge workers have a wealth of information that is often grossly under-utilized (either within an organization, academic arena, or general public service outlet). Since beginning the Library and Information Sciences program at Western University last January my eyes and ears have been opened to portals of information that, prior to my start here, I had not even known existed. I have also become much more aware of the importance of quality when searching for information (particularly on the internet), in terms of where the better sources are and how to properly determine what is and might not be valid.
One particularly useful experience I had during this past semester was the CLA Networking event. Hosted by FIMS, this event brought IM professionals from various fields (traditional reference, corporate, purchasing, as well as liaison and tech services librarians) and LIS students together to showcase potential careers and provide advice. The event introduced me to positions that I had been previously unaware of. It is a good example of precisely what you are talking about, in that improving and developing relationships, between service providers and those in need is the key to successfully assisting people reach their information goals. Good communications and marketing are essential to all successful businesses and the information management sphere is not exempt!