tfpl blog

The Annual SLA Winter Warmer Pub Quiz

by Helen Trudgeon, Contracts Recruitment Consultant

 

Last week saw SLA Europe’s Annual Winter Warmer Pub Quiz event take place, once again hosted by professional QuizMaster, AskTony and kindly sponsored by Swets and the Financial Times.

SLA President and TFPL Managing Director Darron Chapman welcomed the 16 teams, made up of SLA members and friends, all eager to be crowned Quiz Champions 2012.  So keen were staff at TFPL, that we were able to field 2 full teams – the IDOX Idles and TFPL & Back - competing not only for the main prize, but also to take home the honour of being TFPL’s own internal champion. Purely in the spirit of friendly rivalry, of course.

The quiz kicked off with an investigation of our knowledge of recent current affairs, which perhaps left a little to be desired, but the room soon warmed up as we were asked, amongst other things, to identify obscure television adverts, to get inside the heads of Sun readers  and to spot price an eyewateringly obscure range of commodities.  Smartphones were sadly banned, but our team nonetheless managed to achieve modest success, based on a sound knowledge of Asda pricing and at least one mathematical genius who knew the current price of Brent Crude.

The final round remains memorable, if only for the noise of over 80 people singing along to Chas n’ Dave and the Rocky soundtrack.  Possibly with more enthusiasm than any inherent musical ability. Or perhaps that was just me.

The eventual and well deserved winners were the Film Club, captained by Mark Haines, whilst both of TFPL’s teams managed a respectable mid-table ranking, with IDOX Idles pipping TFPL & Back by just 1 point.  We are already anticipating next year’s re-match.

Ultimate winners the Film Club https://picasaweb.google.com/asktony.co.uk/Sla2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUv8Dvu5285AE#5698928439449238770

https://picasaweb.google.com/asktony.co.uk/Sla2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUv8Dvu5285AE#5698928397971520194

Recruitment Update: Agency Worker Regulations, by Tracey South, Recruitment Manager

The regulations came into force on 1 October 2011 and give agency workers the entitlement to:

-  the same basic employment and working conditions as if they had been recruited directly;
-  if and when they complete a qualifying period of 12 weeks in the same job.

We have taken immediate action to ensure compliance with this new legislation:

-  Updated all of our contracts and procedures in line with Recruitment and Employment Confederation guidelines;
-  Updated our recruitment system;
-  Worked closely with current contractors and clients to ensure that they are aware of these changes and how they will be affected;
-  Trained our team and have been out to various AWR conferences and events;
-  Ensured all new vacancies are dealt with in accordance with the AWR regulations.
It has been a challenging couple of months for the team but we're confident that we are well prepared and fully briefed.

For more information about AWR, you can go to the information page on our website. For information about contract opportunities, please contact Tracey South - tracey.south@tfpl.com.

Join the experts in the Cloud

In putting together the programme for our latest event on 'the Cloud', we've had the opportunity to speak to a wide range of people, all with their own key challenges to address. The biggest one, aside from cost and efficiency benefits available in IT service provision, has been around realising attainable business improvement, for example, in reducing the cost of doing business whilst maintaining and improving information security and integrity.

Andrew Jordan, CTO from Thomson Reuters has been overseeing a huge data migration programme at Thomson Reuters, amalgamating the organisation's disparate business information sources into a centralised cloud based platform with the aim, in doing so, to reduce and ultimately eliminate duplication, gradually ensuring that business data is current and relevant.

A must have when the organisation relies on the quality of its data when its research is aiding companies avoid dealing with money launderers and ensuring that they conduct comprehensive due diligence. Andrew has been particularly concerned with the mapping of the information architecture and metadata to aid this process and make the migration to a successful new system. And rightly so. Without a sound information architecture which reflects corporate content requirements there is always the danger that the same old problems will be migrated to the Cloud with the data. Andrew will be presenting a really interesting case study on his work at our event in October.

Simon Smith, COO of Extrinsica Global has realised business benefits in both enhanced collaborative working in the cloud and solid security of data that can be accessed without an Internet connection but still using cloud services. Data security is a major concern for all those holding data whether on internal systems or at a data centre. His story reflects on both his own company, and his experience of working with large global organisations where he has been able to meet very high level security requirements through a cloud system.

It will be really quite interesting to see how what he's done at Extrinsica would weigh up against the dilemma of putting regulated data with its legal implications (which many of our clients face) on the Cloud

For further further information on the Cloud event programme which has now been finalised please visit http://www.tfpl.com/cloudevent 

aside from cost and efficiency  available in IT service provision

DREaM with the LIS Research Coalition and TFPL

I am pleased to announce our support of the Library and Information Science Research Coalition’s project – Developing Research Excellence and Methods (DREaM).  Last year the LIS Research Coalition was awarded a grant from the AHRC to support the DREaM project.  The project will comprise a number of events where researchers from LIS and other subject domains will review methods and provide overviews of their strengths and weaknesses.  A wide range of techniques are to be evaluated beyond the standard qualitative and quantitative techniques commonly used in LIS research.

The full list of DREaM project events is as follows:

1. Tuesday 19th July 2011 – project launch conference “Out of the comfort zone” at British Library Conference Centre, London (places for 100 participants) – please register here
2. Tuesday 25th October 2011 – workshop 1 (of 3) at Craighouse campus, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh (places for 30 participants)
3. Monday 30th January 2012 – workshop 2 (of 3) at the British Library Conference Centre, London (places for 30 participants)
4. Wednesday 25th April 2012 – workshop 3 (of 3) at Craighouse campus, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh (places for 30 participants)
5. Monday 9th July 2012 – concluding event at the British Library Conference Centre, London (places for 40 participants)

As part of our support we have sponsored two places for research students at the event at the British Library Conference Centre on 19th July.  This is an important project for all and something that LIS will be able to benefit from for the future.

 

Darron Chapman, Managing Director

Use of evidence and research information within Social Care

TFPL Health SIG meeting 17 May 2011.

TFPL is currently working on a jointly funded project for SCIE and NHS Evidence to better understand the use of, and need for, evidence based and best practice information by people working in social care for local authorities, the NHS, voluntary and private organisations. Jenny Collieson (SCIE) and Alexia Tonnel (NHS Evidence) described  the coverage of Social Care Information in their respective sources. Lively discussions, chaired ably by Veronica Fraser (DH), addressed some of the key issues around better understanding the requirements of people working in the sector, using SCIE or NHS Evidence as well as Local Authorities and the NHS working closer together in areas of social care and how the library and information professionals could help and sharing lessons learned and good practice between using health and social care information.

A full report will be published shortly. The evening wound up with wine and networking.

Public Access to Information Conference- 14 April 2011, UCL

Author:  Matt Woods, Contract Recruiter, TFPL

Members of the International Society for Knowledge Organisation (ISKO) met at University College London to hear about the challenges facing people managing, using and requesting information in and from the public sector.

On the panel were the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, Prof Charles Oppenheim, Carol Tullo of the National Archives and Paul Davidson, Chief Information Officer for Sedgemoor District Council and Director of Standards for the Local e-Government Standards Body.

Previous events at the London Information and Knowledge Exchange and other discussions, have touched on the theme that the boundaries of information sharing and access are now less technological and more likely to be related to human ability and human-imposed legislation.  The ISKO forum developed this idea very well, in terms of the effects and future direction of Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation. 

While many recent headlines have focussed on the expectation that local councils publish their spending, the panel all took this idea to the next logical step by imagining the possibilities of “innovator” in communities using the released data to present it to others in a useful way.  This could be information on schools, extensions of current initiatives on crime mapping or variations on some of the spending trackers produced by newspapers.

Obstacles to the effective use of this slew of information identified by the panel ranged from Conflicts between Data Protection and Freedom of Information requirements (discussed with great insight by Christopher Graham), practical considerations of handling these requests (Carol Tullo), the pressures of legislation, particularly the Freedom Bill on government bodies to open up their information to the taxpaying public (Prof Oppenheim) and, probably most interestingly of all from a Data Management and Information Processing point of view, a theme developed by Paul Davidson that following an initial focus on releasing financial information, government will move towards not only publishing other information, but setting all information in a context.  Paul Davidson expanded on the potential for using linked data to greatly increase the potential for “innovators” (individuals, businesses, interest groups) to create a plethora of applications and arguments.

A lively panel discussion followed, with ISKO members and guests pressing the panel on issues from DPA/FoI conflicts to the potential uptake of information among different parts of the population.  These issues appear to be changing all the time, with all information and knowledge professionals now looking forward to keeping a keen eye on legislative and industry developments.

TFPL Connect - Depaul UK Update!

Author: Nina Benscher
TFPL, Networks and Events Manager

Following up the outcomes of our last Connect meeting (see here) we held the first meeting of the Steering Group for the Depaul UK Knowledge Management (KM) Challenge at TFPL this week. As agreed at Connect, we are looking to pull together a package of support and advice that address some of the key information and knowledge challenges currently facing Depaul UK.

Over a working lunch, we had a very informative discussion that set into the context the challenges that Paul Marriott, CEO Depaul UK, had identified as the major areas for attention for taking his knowledge strategy forward.  This discussion lead to a decision that in order to create projects that are tangible and actively support Depaul UK, a visit to the charity to experience first hand how it works would be necessary. Therefore John Davies, TFPL Consultant and Connect member, Iain Simpson will be visiting both the London and Newcastle offices of Depaul UK next week.

Once they have seen how knowledge and information is shared through the organisation and spoken to a range of staff members and young people, an interim report will be put together to detail the best way to manage this moving forward. It should make for a very interesting and insightful read!

We would like to thank Emma King and Iain Simpson for their time this week and next, it was greatly appreciated by all.

Value and Impact

Author: Claire Valentine

TFPL, Training Manager

This was the topical subject of the recent LIS Research Coalition conference held at the British Library earlier this week.  The day was introduced by Dr Michael Jubb of the Research Information Network, followed by an informative and thought provoking talk by Andrew Dillon from the University of Texas.  Andrew’s points included: the importance of considering human behaviour and not technology as the focus for looking at adding value, the importance of collaboration across disciplines encompassing information science, human computer interaction, computer science etc.  Full coverage of his and others talks have been expertly recorded on the LIS conference page - http://lisresearch.org/conference-2010/

Next followed the ‘One Minute Madness’ which I was pleased to take part in. A fantastic idea organised by Miggie Pickton and Hazel Hall, where participants were given exactly 60 seconds to present their topic of research around the question – “Evidence, Value and Impact – What’s on your mind?”  21 people took part and most accomplished getting their point across in the required time, one person even experimented with music and another presented in the style of a fairy tale!  (It was filmed and you can view it on the LIS Research Coalition website). 

Despite it being a nerve racking experience waiting in line to go on stage, I felt it was a great exercise.  It meant I had to focus my mind to get important points across in order to develop interest for my area of research.  I thought this exercise was particularly important to the topic of the day.  It is definitely a key skill in promoting value and making an impact.   All too often time is short when getting to speak with key stakeholders to get your argument across, whether it is to avoid cost cutting or to get buy in for your service provision or new business idea.

After a delicious lunch and plenty of networking it was on to do some work in the breakout sessions.  These were facilitated workshops designed to discuss the challenges faced by Information professionals in today’s environment, where limited budgets and resources are fast becoming the norm.  There were discussions around measuring the value by first measuring use of services before new initiatives were implemented.  This then allows for a more accurate demonstration of the value added afterwards.  In addition, another topic was how we can take a different look at failure to learn from previous mistakes and how this knowledge could then be communicated in a confidential environment.  We also looked at the importance and benefits of research and how to gain benefits through promotion of services and collaborative work across disciplines.

For me, ways to work cross collaboratively to the benefit of all concerned, as well as looking at failure in a more positive way, were topics I could see really making a difference in today’s working environment.  I believe it would help us work more effectively to be able to learn from mistakes.  To work across organisational silos would really make a difference in what we do by incorporating different perspectives and knowledge making us more innovative.

The day ended with a summing up and review by Charles Oppenheim.  The day for me was valuable and a chance not only to connect with like minded researchers but also to gain different perspectives on the challenges posed in these tough times.  Thank you to all those who have offered help for my research topic for my dissertation and to Hazel for recommending the day to me.

Networking at SLA Europe

Author: Luisa Jefford
TFPL Intelligent Resources, Director - Public Sector Recruitment

As a Recruiter I have always understood the value of a network.  It's an essential part of my job, it's how I get to meet and greet the people I am working with, it's also how I build my own professional brand and that of my organisation.  We have an array of technical tools to help us network virtually these days, my preferred choices have always been and will always be Linked In for professional contacts and Facebook for friends.  However, meeting people face to face, particularly new contacts, is why I am a regular attendee at industry network events.

This week I have networked at the SLA European Chapter SLA(m) meeting.   The meeting was sponsored by SLA Europe, FreePint and TFPL and the venue was a funky bar in Blackfriars.  I was told it would be a great opportunity to build and cement existing relationships and indeed it lived up to expectations.
 
The evening kicked off in the usual fashion of being greeted by the SLA team.  I was presented with a badge which has space for me to pose two discussion points, one professional and one personal, was then handed a drink and off I went to work the room.
 
As a seasoned networker I find it relatively easy to approach old friends and colleagues at these events but the structure of this evening really did allow me to step outside my comfort zone and chat to new people.  There were certainly some common themes for the night, outsourcing and the future of the KIM profession and on a more personal note there was lots of discussion around the recent election, the ash cloud and holidays.
 
It was a great night, lively discussion, a great venue and many enthusiastic networkers so I am sure I wasn't alone in my enjoyment.

UKSG Conference 2010, Edinburgh, 12-14th April – Concerns raised over future of the ‘Big Deal’

Author: David Thew
TFPL Intelligent Resources, Director

The annual conference of the UK Serials Group brings together scholarly publishers of journals and, increasingly, e-book and other digital content providers and their customer base in corporate, public and university libraries and buying consortia, and is seen by many publishers as an essential event. Combining a conference and an exhibition, it provides a valuable forum for discussing a wide range of issues affecting scholarly journal publishing, from impact factors to pricing and the impact of social media.

As a provider of recruitment services to the publishing market, my main focus is the exhibition, a ‘captive audience’ of publishers and information providers which includes many of the top providers of information services to the academic, library and government markets and which is therefore a useful barometer of market sentiment. This year the mood was mixed; some publishers had enjoyed a fairly healthy 2009 and were predicting a similar outlook for 2010, whereas others had been harder hit by downturn in specific geographical markets (e.g. Eastern Europe) and fluctuations in exchange rates which had significantly raised subscription costs for many of their clients (one major publisher who prices in Euros mentioned a client whose annual subscription cost had risen by the equivalent of some £200k purely as a result of currency fluctuation).

One of the main topics of discussion was the future of the ‘Big Deal’, typically a multi-year deal to license a publisher’s entire journal output or a significant part of it. Here the uncertainty was about academic budgets post-Election; with public sector spending facing drastic reductions whatever the flavour of the next UK government, the scholarly market will have to make cuts somewhere and two likely areas are staffing and collections, the latter with obvious implications for subscription revenues even where institutions are technically tied into multi-year deals. Clearly this could be a serious issue for small and large publishers alike and publishers may need to be creative even with deals which are technically already in place.

From a recruitment perspective, the conference suggested clear signs of green shoots, albeit with a lot of caution and some organisations not predicting any new hiring before the second half of the year at the earliest. There is also (again, cautious) growing interest from candidates; there is a still a lot of risk aversion, but also signs of people beginning to consider their next career move, an indication of growing confidence in the market.

David Thew is Director, Publisher and Content Provider Recruitment at TFPL Intelligent Resources (david.thew@tfpl.com; tel: +44 (0) 207 332 6076)