Information Center Connections

Social media and you

I've been catching up on my professional reading, and I picked up the July 2009 FUMSI Report on social media in the enterprise.  The issue includes the results of a survey on how social media is used in organizations, integration of social media with business processes, and the culture surrounding social media in the workplace.

Respondents indicated that internal blogs were the most popular "official" social application (external blogs were rated second most popular).  However, LinkedIn proved the most-used tool when both "official" and "unofficial" uses are included.  Least popular overall?  MySpace and Second Life...not a surprise. 

What is distressing are the results related to social media integration.  Overall satisfaction with how social media is at work in the organization was rated an average of 1.91 out of 4.00.  That's pretty low.  Seems that, in general, some staff "get" it (2.24 out of 4.00), but the marks for senior management are lower (2.07 out of 4.00).  And 53% of respondents indicated that the atmosphere surrounding social media is "very restrictive" or "somewhat restrictive."  And respondents are frustrated.

Here at SLA we use blogs regularly to communicate with members (and non-members) and have also incorporated Twitter (me, too), Facebook, and LinkedIn (here and here) in our arsenal of devices.

How are social media (blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) taking off in your organization?  Do you feel free to use these tools?  Are you encouraged to use them?  Most importantly, have strategies been developed to maximize their power? 

How's your resumé shaping up?

You've researched.  You've coordinated.  You've blogged.  You've even cataloged.  What's left to put on that resumé?

Have you thought about doing more than just attending SLA 2010, 13-16 June?  SLA is now accepting proposals for contributed papers, which will be presented at one of several sessions during the annual conference.  It's a perfect opportunity to share your knowledge and experience with your colleagues from around the globe.

The proposal deadline is 18 December, and selected presenters will be notified by 29 January.  Final papers are due 7 May.  That's plenty of time, right? 

If you're interested in submitting an abstract, or even if you're still not sure, take a look at the SLA Web site or this SLA Blog post, which outlines the requirements, submission details, and deadlines.

Worth a click

Prospects for Specialized Libraries: Comments from Colleagues is a report from our friends at SMR International.  What it comes down to is:  what challenges will we be facing, and how do we deal with them?  Read about roles, the collaboration imperative, value (yes), change (and change and change), access issues, and staffing.

More of us are doing Web content and design work.  Need some info on typography?  Look no further than this Speckyboy post.

FUMSI, a FreePint service, offers free articles and a fee-based magazine and research.  Have you taken a look?  Topics of recent free articles include image findability, information risk management, and intranet 2.0.  And, in case you weren't aware, FUMSI = Find Use Manage & Share Information.

Confused about international dialing?  Be confused no longer.

Global trends in special libraries

Although the aim of the report Emerging Trends in New Zealand Special Libraries is to explore the evolution of special libraries in that country, the thoroughness of the research also gives a global snapshot of the special libraries sector.

There are several familiar names in the literature review section (Stephen Abram, Bill Fisher, Guy St. Clair, Priscilla Shontz, Jim Matarazzo, Toby Pearlstein, José-Marie Griffiths, among others), and you'll see the trend towards online services and expanded roles for information professionals.

Library closures, a persistent trend, are explored in depth.  According to the report, in New Zealand, while the number of libraries within commercial entities decreased, the number in non-commercial organizations increased.  Interesting tidbit:  most special librarians in New Zealand work for a governmental organization.

The "Ideas for Further Research" might give us all some direction regarding what to write about and study:  employers' perception of skills, reporting structures, corporate library consortia, recession strategies, what happens after libraries close?

Very interesting.  Take a look.