Blog - Improve your Current Awareness Strategy

This is the second in a series of blog posts which will come out of the recent BIALL conference in Birmingham. There were a couple of sessions which demonstrated that law firms and libraries are on the same page when it comes to working agile. But with a twist...

This is the first in a series of blog posts which will come out of the recent BIALL conference in Birmingham. The theme of ‘Designing our Future’ has never felt so full of possibility and excitement as we head into the third decade of this century. The session on ‘the career revolution’ spoke to us all in a particular way; a show of hands demonstrated that none of us had been unaffected by changes in the sector. No more is there such a thing as a job for life.

As an information professional, you’re essentially managing the current awareness component of the email inboxes of your entire organisation. It’s no easy task - but at least you can be grateful that you probably deal with more digital sources than hard copies.

As information professionals we play important roles in their organizations’ competitive intelligence program, but often neglect applying that same rigor to our own information environments. Just like others in our organizations, librarians must understand precisely who their competition is, the library “owned” products and services provided to a client base, the words and mechanisms employed to persuade prospective clients, the degree of product/service satisfaction, and most importantly, the value your clients place on each.

I’ve attended more BIALL conferences than I care to think about but discovering the theme for each never gets old. The theme for this year’s BIALL conference ‘Designing our future: debate, develop, deliver’ put me in a thoughtful frame of mind because it goes straight to the point, with a practical three point plan. Inevitably it is not a new topic. From 1970 when Law Librarians were thinking of their next ten years, our conferences have always enjoyed exploring where we - and the industry - are headed.

At Vable we’re as excited about BIALL’s annual conference as you are. With plans underway we’ve taken a look at the schedule and highlighted some of the sessions and speakers that look especially interesting. Clare Brown, Vable’s resident information professional, will be attending BIALL as a delegate - and although we think she’s magical, she can’t be in two places at once. Here’s a look at some of the events that we feel are Must Attends.

By now, you’ve probably received dozens of emails - from every company you’ve ever interacted with - either asking you to confirm that you’ve opted into receiving their emails (did you?) or just reiterating their privacy policy. I’ve personally received emails from an estate agency whose only contact with me previously was ignoring an email I sent them about a property in Chiswick two years ago.

Last month, a remarkable story went viral. The New York Times profiled¹ a man who after November 8, 2016 refused to learn about anything in the news. He even went as far as to listen to white noise in public to avoid overhearing anything. The reaction on Twitter² was harsh and well-deserved: ‘Today in White Male Privilege’ seemed to sum up the radical selfishness of the subject of the profile.

As we head to the next century, libraries have to think about the possibility of shared space. My previous post about libraries of the 22nd century discussed how space and cost will drive libraries to share facilities and resources. The possibilities are endless but one of the more intriguing options is the burgeoning field of telemedicine.

Have you deleted your Facebook account? Be honest. Have you even reviewed your privacy settings on any other social media site, let alone Facebook?