Blog - Improve your Current Awareness Strategy

Marketing is typically one of the first items to be slashed by management in hard times. During the 2008 recession I...

We are currently in the midst of unexplored territory and life as we know it is changing. There have been few global...

Today I wanted to inject some lightness into COVID-19 current awareness. I will declare up front that I am a big fan...

I have always been a big believer in the benefits of cross-pollinating ideas – of picking up concepts and techniques...

What a difference a few weeks make! Earlier in the month I said that "the whole library and information world seems...

I want to convince you that you should be involved with creating content. Why?

Nothing in life is certain, except for death and taxes. However, for today’s internet-savvy world, the phrase should...

There has been a lot of talk amongst law firms about agile working as a way of improving workflow and collaboration....

In January there is always a sense of optimism about what the year will bring in terms of continuing professional...

As I read the various articles outlining legal tech trends for 2020, one article stood out. It inspired me to...

Here we are again, bouncing into a brand new year and towards a new decade!  The Vable team is currently finalising...

These longer evenings give me time to reflect on an eventful year - for legal tech as well as the broader political...

The final case study that I presented at the KMInsight Legal Libraries 2019 event illustrated how aggregated current...

“OK Boomer?” If you have been following Twitter over the past month or so, you’ll be aware that social media...

Creating engaging and powerful images and videos can be a real challenge for library and information people....

I had the privilege to speak at the KMInsight conference recently and thought that it would be helpful to publish an...

In my previous post on legal tech sources I enjoyed demonstrating what I want to explain in this post. A recent Jinfo

I spend a lot of time curating the various law and tech community websites and blogs. In order to get the best legal...

There has been plenty of Twitter discussion recently about mentoring in the library and information profession -...

This article on digital curation made me think about this IFLA session from last year. The reminder that we are all...

Information sharing and dissemination goes to the heart of what legal information professionals do, so why has it...

We’ve recently enjoyed library and information conferences, such as CILIP, BIALL and AALL, and yet, there are more...

Your organisation’s success depends on information and, without an efficient flow, organisations face insurmountable...

I was reading through my #BIALL2019 notes and decided to amalgamate two related sets. The first is the excellent...

AALL is the largest legal information management event of the year so it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the many...

The focus of BIALL 2019 was “Past Present Future”. Press releases are continuously pushing buzzwords like AI,...

Manchester 2017 saw us welcome David Allen Green for the first plenary session/ Willi Steiner Memorial Lecture on...

Jargon is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are...

Conference season is almost upon us once again, and Team Vable are busy making plans for some exciting upcoming...

Keeping up to date with library and information colleagues has never been easier. Everyday I find a new blog to read...

Twitter is a reliable bellwether of organisational pre-occupations. With confidence, I can report that client...

We didn't see COVID-19 coming. But we have had the opportunity to implement all the solutions that we need for...

Competitive intelligence research is a standard requirement for most library and information professionals. Whether...

My colleague Emily is looking forward to welcoming LMA Conference attendees to her vibrant and historic home city of...

Content curation is no longer just a library management skill. It has been the epitome of cool for some time; from...

We all know how important it is to attend the right conference and we are excited to announce that Team Vable will...

We all have quirks in our writing. For many years I enjoyed constructing long sentenced, semicolon studded, purple...

I have to thank my friends overseas for introducing me to International Women’s Day. We’ve marched, sung, cried and...

Marketing & business development (MBD) and client relationship management (CRM) are central to the ongoing growth...

A lot can happen in a week. The Vable team always have their ears to the ground and want to highlight a couple of...

Libraries and information centres are rarely featured in traditional travel guides unless they are flagship or...

Successful client engagement is about making connections with your current awareness strategy. With this in mind I...

As an information professional I am fascinated by the way in which information spreads across an organisation. And -...

Why fix what you don’t think is broken? Once upon a time a single organisation-wide internal newsletter was good...

As the Vable team look forward to an exciting new year of current awareness and premium news aggregation...

The information industry has never been more aware of the importance of current awareness provision. Keeping up to...

We live in a hi-tech world where even the simple act of reading can depend on electronic devices. You catch the news...

Carrying out research is something we are all familiar with, but we might not necessarily be up to date on the laws...

Working directly with news content can feel overwhelming due to the sheer quantity of information. As such, two...

Networking can be challenging for many information people but it is a skill you can acquire. Following on from the ...

This post has come out of an initiative to improve communications with our clients here at Vable. As a client you...

August doesn’t mean holidays for many library and information services. All professional service providers - banks,...

This BIALL 2018 Conference post has been on my mind for the past month because of the current COVID-19 pandemic. As...

At Vable we believe that business skills for librarians are as essential as research skills. Through conferences and...

These notes are taken from a most satisfying CLSIG event with Alex G Smith. It was a timely wake up call for how...

Nothing should be read in isolation. As I was putting together notes from Robert’s recent webinar, this article...

This is the second in a series of blog posts which will come out of the recent BIALL conference in Birmingham. There...

This is the first in a series of blog posts which will come out of the recent BIALL conference in Birmingham. The...

As an information professional, you’re essentially managing the current awareness component of the email inboxes of...

As information professionals we play important roles in their organizations’ competitive intelligence program, but...

I’ve attended more BIALL conferences than I care to think about but discovering the theme for each never gets old....

At Vable we’re as excited about BIALL’s annual conference as you are. With plans underway we’ve taken a look at the...

By now, you’ve probably received dozens of emails - from every company you’ve ever interacted with - either asking...

Last month, a remarkable story went viral. The New York Times profiled¹ a man who after November 8, 2016 refused to...

As we head to the next century, libraries have to think about the possibility of shared space. My previous post...

Have you deleted your Facebook account? Be honest. Have you even reviewed your privacy settings on any other social...

One commentator recently noted that the fastest growing market at the moment is for personal information.¹ Everybody...

March 31st is upon us, and this has prompted us to think about budgets. Even if your annual library budget for next...

By Clare Brown and Remy Maisel

Despite premature reports of the death of librarianship, law librarians continue to be in high demand - sometimes in...

It’s impossible to talk about libraries these days without talking about change. As the needs of users change, and...

Most professional jobs require at least an element of management, and being a librarian is no exception. Yet, a...

You might think that you shouldn’t still need to make a case for your continued existence, and I understand your...

You already know that your library can offer other departments within your organisation invaluable help. But do they...

Your kids, your peers, and even your bosses might not understand what you do as a librarian. However you know that...

A newcomer to the information and knowledge management field like myself - whether you are entering the KM field or...

We tend to think of fake news¹ as a modern problem, thanks to the increased focus on fake news generated by events...

Ah, new year. Time for our annual barrage of “new year, new you” adverts and the never ending pressure to create a...

The one thing that surprised me about being a Librarian is that while we serve many knowledgeable people, our value...

It’s sadly all too rare these days for the library to feel like they’re centre stage. Even in the media, it can...

Most people can picture what “a Librarian” is, remembering them as the guardians of books at school or university....

In a world where girl scouts are able to earn badges in robotics and cyber security¹, it pays to keep up with...

Professional services organizations are in possession of specialized superior knowledge that their customers simply...

It’s that time of year again. The stores are filled with tempting stationery supplies, the weather is turning a...

Library design is a very particular thing. It has to fit with the building in which it is contained, whilst also...

Putting together your library budget can be a daunting task to say the least. With few Librarians coming from a...

Now you know where to go in Austin, what will you do at #AALL2017 itself? From library marketing to the very latest...

The fastest growing city in the United States is playing host to #AALL2017. With a population growth rate of 3.15%...

Much of the reporting on the future of libraries discusses the rise of digital content, shrinking budgets, and the...

Continuing the theme of recapping #BIALL2017 we’re back this week to relive another fantastic session, this time...

Last week at #BIALL2017 I was lucky enough to find the time to attend some of the sessions from this year’s...

I have two goals for this blog post, dear reader: to persuade librarians who are already tweeting to join a...

Following the events of May 22nd, Manchester has been in the thoughts of many of us around the world - not just for...

If clients aren’t asking for it, you’re not getting it. Or so the saying goes. There is currently much talk in the...

What’s the deal with current awareness? The term is such a buzz word throughout the professions but what does it...

We’re seeing a growing trend towards a closer alignment between the marketing department and library teams as the...

Communications and promotion are the biggest challenges that information professionals face today. This is why...

It’s clear that there is no set path to becoming a Librarian. Many Librarians will have started out with careers in...

It often takes a crisis to highlight client-vendor relationships. A revolution in legal tech is currently unfolding...

To succeed in life, in fact to simply live, we need food to fuel our bodies. This food must be of sufficient quality...

A quick LinkedIn search reveals that there are 158,455 Librarians, 71,224 Information Officers and 10,479 Knowledge...

When I was asked to write this guest blog about the relationship between marketing and the library in law firms, I...

Last week I attended a fascinating webinar from the team at LibSource, exploring the theme of the deep web and its...

There is much hype and discussion in the professions at the moment surrounding the topics of artificial intelligence...

Earlier this year, 17 US public libraries were hit by a ransomware attack. It took several days for the St Louis...

Information Professionals and Librarians are tasked with finding and curating information to support the development...

Recent global events have generated an influx of discussions surrounding the issue of fake news and the impact it...

Whereas the world historically used to depend on visible capital in the form of land and labour, as economies have...

The last few weeks have seen a wave of inclement weather across the US and UK with many offices being forced to...

New Year, new you new library. What if you made 2017 the year that you transformed your information service?  

As the holiday festivities draw to a close and the new year celebrations fade away, we find ourselves facing 365 (or...

For lawyers as for everyone, information is more readily available than ever before. But it has also never been more...

Late October saw Vable head to Washington DC, as part of our USA Roadshow, for a very special collaboration with the...

In a recent Librarian interview project conducted by Vable, 75% of respondents listed effective communication skills...

We live in a world of too much. Too much information, too much work, too much to do, too much time spent on things...

Those social media fans amongst you may well recognise the hashtag in the title of this post - #iamalibrarian....

Librarians are unique workers in that, for them, there is no typical day. A Librarian could well plan out their full...

Last week I had the opportunity to be a delegate at the first ever Taxonomy Bootcamp to take place in Europe....

In an environment so fast-paced as the information sector it’s all too easy to get caught up in your day-to-day,...

Recent years have seen a gradual metamorphosis of the traditional library space as print goes out of fashion, the...

None of us like to admit that we don’t know the answer to something. Yet, it can be incredibly frustrating (and, at...

For Librarians and Information Specialists, efficiency is absolutely paramount. Budget cuts (that I’m sure we’re all...

We all know that to succeed at work one must be constantly innovating - keeping up with the latest technologies,...

Working agile and remote working are now the new normal for library and information teams, and learning how to deal...

On the banks of Lake Michigan sits the windy city, home to Barack Obama, Harrison Ford and, for a weekend this July,...

Every minute, Google receives over 4,000,000 search queries, and email users send 204,000,000 messages. To say that...

Librarians are facing an explosion of new technology resources, leading to pressure to move away from traditional...

Earlier this month we were lucky enough to attend the first BIALL (British & Irish Association of Law Librarians)...

In our recent rundown of the Top Summer Events for Law Librarians we posited that the most prominent advantage of...

As the sun peeps further out from behind the clouds, conference season is soon to be upon us. This is such an...

We’ve heard it time and time again, we are living in an information age. Never before have we had so much...

We are living in a knowledge economy. In an increasingly competitive industry, the one true differentiator left...

There is a common misconception that, as the online information age ploughs on everstrong, libraries are going to...

We all know that in today’s society you get what you pay for. The more you pay, the better quality of product you...

So I hear you’re a marketing superstar. You’re doing every single thing within your power, and knowledge, to keep...

In a high pressure environment such as law firms it’s to be expected that, on occasion, tensions are going to run...

Does your job feel like trying to keep your head above heaps of content? It’s time to take action to stop wasting...

"Content is king" - that saying, coined by Bill Gates in 1996, is true now more than ever before. However, the value...