Blog - Improve your Current Awareness Strategy

I had the privilege to speak at the KMInsight conference recently and thought that it would be helpful to publish an excerpt from my presentation. My overall theme was ‘how can we use tech to empower the legal librarian role and unlock value’ and my 3 case studies illustrated some of the challenges that organisations are facing due to information overload.

Maintaining and building trust with end-users remains an important issue for information professionals so this is my focus here. In my role at Vable I regularly share information so I need to know that my sources are reliable, trustworthy and well researched. The conference was an excellent opportunity to discuss ‘trusting one’s judgment’ in the face of a growing amount of 'fake news'.

There has been plenty of Twitter discussion recently about mentoring in the library and information profession - especially amongst those working towards fellowship of CILIP. This is a challenging topic for library and information people working in the commercial sector because organisational structures vary wildly. This difference was apparent in the various sessions at the IFLA CPDWL Satellite Meeting 2019, and it was interesting to learn what approaches people were taking. 

I combine two lots of session notes in this post; (1) librarian mentoring and (2) the Italian experience with CPD and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). These two are fundamentally linked because the development of people within - and those wanting to join - the profession is dependent on communication and shared learning experiences.

Whenever a group of information professionals gather to share ideas, I generally experience a shower of thoughts and an immediate stimulation of “the little grey cells”. The IFLA CPDWL Satellite Meeting 2019 in Zagreb was no exception. With its international outlook and 160 attendees across different LIS disciplines, as I predicted in my conference preview, I learned something new in every session.

Although I will return to the sessions on (1) mentoring, (2) online CPD and (3) the importance of political advocacy, there was one presentation that really caught my imagination. Lotta Wogensen from Malmö University Library shared her team’s experience of creating a librarian-curated exhibition space.

Information sharing and dissemination goes to the heart of what legal information professionals do, so why has it taken so long for legal business development teams to use the information we can generate? It seems the tide is finally turning. A recent webinar confirmed that a combination of internal and external information - and clever use of data -  is needed to make the shift from a reactive to predictive marketing strategy. 

The blurb for the webinar  “The modern CMO: Advancing marketing from reactive to predictive” stated that “Chief Marketing Officers who modernise business development strategies can accelerate revenue and market share growth with both new and existing clients. This requires unifying data across the entire client lifecycle, making that data transparent, and developing insights that drive better decision making across the board.”

We’ve recently enjoyed library and information conferences, such as CILIP, BIALL and AALL, and yet, there are more to come! Team Vable is looking forward to the London-based Internet Librarian and Legal Libraries conferences, as well as IFLA (International Federation of Library Association) in Zagreb on 20-21 August 2019. This last one is of interest to me not just because of its focus on continuous professional development (CPD), but its continental European aspect.

As a student of history, and regular visitor to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I am acutely aware of the region’s geopolitics. The unique cultural mix can be seen in the local architecture, the food, the languages - and the libraries. Having spent time in the national libraries of Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia, I’m aware that of their vital role within the historical, cultural, political and social identity of their countries.

I was reading through my #BIALL2019 notes and decided to amalgamate two related sets. The first is the excellent “Designing Client-centred Knowledge Services” by Sophie Thompson. The second is the case study on “Contingent Valuation Surveys” presented by the Middle Temple Library team. Both offered practical insights into providing - and improving - excellent library services.

AALL is the largest legal information management event of the year so it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the many sessions. As a way of navigating this conference, I have been inspired by our Business Skills for Librarians ebook, with an extra section on technology. Update your skills and get these sessions added to your app schedule - don't forget to come visit Vable at booth 234!

The focus of BIALL 2019 was “Past Present Future”. Press releases are continuously pushing buzzwords like AI, legaltech, blockchain, fintech to generate public interest. But just how innovative are some of these tech initiatives? Whether it is establishing incubators for legal start-ups, appointing innovation managers, or partnering with tech teams at universities, the race for real innovation is on. But at what cost? How many of those systems are actually going to solve your problems in a practical way?  

Manchester 2017 saw us welcome David Allen Green for the first plenary session/ Willi Steiner Memorial Lecture on 'Informing the debate about Brexit'. Because this is still a relevant and contentious topic, BIALL invited him back to Bournemouth 2019 to give a follow up talk. Anyone who follows David on Twitter knows that he cuts through the political bias to give a clear, considered explanation of the legal issues. This was a good opportunity to get an overview as we head towards 31 Oct 2019.

Conference season is almost upon us once again, and Team Vable are busy making plans for some exciting upcoming events. For my part, I am looking forward to BIALL in Bournemouth where the theme is the past, present and future of the legal information profession.