2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries
2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries
2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries
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32<br />
BEST PRACTICES <strong>2012</strong><br />
Trans<strong>for</strong>m Knowledge and Expertise into<br />
Strategic Value: How Will We Get There?<br />
By Deb Hunt, MLS, ECMp<br />
Principal, In<strong>for</strong>mation Edge and SLA President-Elect<br />
I see my colleagues struggling with layoffs and job insecurity. Many LIS jobs<br />
are not coming back or are coming back in a whole different way. Yet there<br />
are vast opportunities <strong>for</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation professionals. I want to see us benefit<br />
from those opportunities.<br />
“I can't say there aren't jobs out there--they may be less traditional<br />
jobs, but our skills can transfer to them. There are plenty of<br />
transferable skills that we have as in<strong>for</strong>mation professionals that can<br />
go with just about any environment, and we need to embrace that<br />
rather than letting it stop us in our tracks. I'm not saying it's easy,<br />
mind you; it involves reframing and lots of introspection.”<br />
“10 Questions: Dianna Wiggins” by Forrest Glenn Spencer.<br />
In<strong>for</strong>mation Outlook, June 2010, p. 27.<br />
Over the years, my career has taken many turns. In 2009, I was laid off<br />
from my job at the Exploratorium after 14 years of working there. I was able<br />
to ramp up my consultancy firm, In<strong>for</strong>mation Edge, but it was still a big<br />
adjustment. Over the years, my consulting work has evolved in a way that I<br />
think mirrors what I see happening in the job market <strong>for</strong> us as in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
professionals. When I started consulting many years ago, I mostly did valueadded<br />
research and library design and automation. Soon my library<br />
automation clients asked me how they could organize their internally created<br />
content so it would be as easily accessible as the library collection. That is<br />
how I added document and digital asset management to the services I offer.<br />
(I continue to learn by attending and presenting webinars and professional<br />
conferences.) Most of my clients are not libraries.<br />
As Stephen Abram noted (I’m paraphrasing here): “LIS skills are good<br />
currency, but only <strong>for</strong> those with the flexibility and insight to exploit the<br />
opportunities. “<br />
In<strong>for</strong>mation professionals have core skills and the resources to add to them<br />
and our value. We have the tools at our disposal to chart our career path<br />
rather than let others determine where and when we are needed. There are<br />
online courses and resources <strong>for</strong> members of SLA, AALL, ALA and AIIP, not<br />
to mention other associations such as AIIM and ARMA.
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