Presented at International Conference of Asian Special Libraries, Manila, 10-12 April 2013

1. Future
Strategies
for
Special
Librarians
Stephen
Abram,
MLS
International
Conference
on
Asian
Special
Libraries
Manila,
Philippines
April
11,
2013

2. Librarian
Magic

4. The Complex Value Proposition
Smelly Or
Yellow Sex
Liquid Appeal?

5. 5
SLA
Alignment
Research
Highlights:
• Relationships,
Networks,
Collaboration
• Speed
–
Save
Time
• Packaging
for
Added
Value
Answers
• Educate
and
Train

6. Grocery
Stores

7. Cookbooks,
Chefs
.
.
.

8. Cookbooks,
Chefs
.
.
.

9. Meals

10. Remaining
Relevant
and
Having
a
Positive
Impact

11. Up
Your
Game
• Know
your
local
community
demographics
• Focus
on
needs
assessment
and
social
assessments
• Outreach
versus
engagement
and
partnerships
• Prioritize:
Love
all,
Serve
all,
Save
the
World
means
nothing
gets
done
• Priorities
are
SMART:
SpeciUic,
Measurable,
Attainable,
Relevant,
&
Time
bound
• Look
for
partnerships
that
add
value

12. Up
Your
Game
• Mobile
• Content
• Merge
with
records
management
and
archives
• Sensemaking

13. What
are
the
real
issues?
•
Craft
versus
Industrial
Strength
•
Personal
service
only
when
there’s
impact
•
Pilot,
Project,
Initiative
versus
Portfolio
Strategy
•
Hand-­‐knitted
prototypes
versus
Production
• e.g.
Information
Literacy
and
Fluency
initiatives
• Discovery
versus
Search
versus
Deep
Search
• eLearning
units
and
program
dissemination
• Citation
and
information
ethics
• Content
and
repository
archipelagos
•
Strategic
Analytics
•
Value
&
Impact
Measures
•
Behaviours,
Satisfaction
•
Economic
and
strategic
alignment

14. Up
Your
Game
• Start
offering
diplomas
and
certiUicates
• The
Non-­‐credit
Course
• Look
for
internal
partnerships
that
add
value
• Offer
real
educational
opportunities
not
just
adjacencies
• What
courses
to
you
offer
or
recommend?
(TED,
Khan
Academy,
MOOCs,
etc.)
• Play
and
connect
yourself

15. Up
Your
Game
• Learn
how
to
reach
and
teach
online
• Teach
how
to
learn
online
• Teach
how
to
research
online
• Everyone
in
academic
libraries
should
be
focused
on
teaching/
researching
Uirst,
then
library
• Learn
more
systems
than
one!
• Be
obsessive
about
consultation,
recommendations
and
advice
• Social
alignment
rules
and
use
the
tools

16. Up
Your
Game
• Align
with
Collections
–
But
add
virtual
experiences
• Start
being
Mobile
in
the
extreme
• Look
for
partnerships
that
add
value
• Focus
on
relationship
management
/
liaisons
• Ensure
the
program
delivery
person
is
embedded
including
librarians
• What
are
your
top
learning
or
research
domains?
Start
there.
• Don’t
go
it
alone.
Build
scalability
and
sustainability.
• Look
for
replicability
–
look
for
commonalities

17. The new
bibliography and
collection
development
Ask Us, KNOWLEDGE
PORTALS
KNOWLEDGE,
LEARNING,
INFORMATION &
RESEARCH
COMMONS

18. Up
Your
Game
• Take
the
strong
‘library’
brand
and
add
dimension
of
“Librarian”
• Personal
branding
–
Who
are
you
and
your
team?
Promote
them.
• Program
branding
• Take
risks
for
attention
(AIDA)
• Embed
your
brand
beyond
the
library
walls
and
virtually
• Go
beyond
the
information
brand
to
informing,
creating,
and
social

19. Up
Your
Game
• Grow
collections
investments
in
strategic
areas
• Develop
hybrid
strategies
that
are
consistent
and
integrated
for
digital
and
print
and
programs
• Be
obsessive
about
consultation,
recommendations
and
advice
• Integrate
virtual
and
physical
–
hybridize
• Social
alignment
rules

20. Up
Your
Game
• OCLC
Linked
Data
&
APIs
• DPLA
Vault
&
APIs
• 3D,
learning
object,
LibGuides,
audio,
or
streaming
media
repositories
• Understand
Pedagogy
in
the
context
of
student
experiences
and
educational
goals
• Understand
human
development
from
teens
to
adult
learning
• Understand
the
projects
• Makerspace…
laboratories
–
onsite
relevance
• Consider
partnerships
to
put
librarians
into
real
liaison
• Consider
coaches
and
tutoring
partnerships

21. Up
Your
Game
• Embedded
team
member
• Embedded
teacher
• Embedded
research
coach
• Embedded
personal
librarian
• Reintermediation

22. Up
Your
Game
• Dog,
Star,
Cow,
Problem
Child/?
• Reduce
investment
in
successes
–
This
isn’t
a
typo
• Increase
investment
in
future
successes
–
learn
from
failing
• Look
at
TCO
-­‐
Do
NOT
value
your
own
time
at
zero
• Look
at
all
costs
incurred
and
not
just
hard
costs
• Review
opportunity
costs
in
soft
costs

23. Being
Open
to
Ambiguity
Be
the
Change
We
Want
to
See

24. Stephen
Abram,
MLS,
FSLA
Consultant,
Dysart
&
Jones/Lighthouse
Partners
Cel:
416-­‐669-­‐4855
stephen.abram@gmail.com
Stephen’s
Lighthouse
Blog
hJp://stephenslighthouse.com
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Abram
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