tfpl blog

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)

Conference announcement: 'Evidence, Value and Impact: the LIS Research Landscape in 2010'

Author: Darron Chapman
TFPL, Managing Director

'Evidence, Value and Impact: the LIS Research Landscape in 2010'

 

Monday 28th June, 10:30-16:15

British Library Conference Centre, London, UK

Organised by the Library and Information Science Research Coalition

£100 (including VAT, lunch and refreshments)

http://lisresearch.org/conference-2010/

 

 

The Library and Information Science Research Coalition conference ‘Evidence, Value and Impact: the LIS Research Landscape in 2010’ takes place on Monday 28th June at the British Library Conference Centre in London. This one day event will consider perspectives on the LIS research landscape and will appeal to all LIS research stakeholders, ranging from funders to publishers, as well as practitioner researchers and academics. 

 

There will be access to expert speakers and peers from public, academic, special and corporate libraries, the health service, higher education and the corporate sector. Delegates can develop their knowledge and increase awareness of different aspects of research in the context of the conference themes - evidence, value and impact. Related research priorities will also be considered on the day e.g. identification of research opportunities, collaborators and funding; methods for enhancing the relevance of research outputs in services delivery; avenues for publishing research output; techniques for integrating research activities into everyday work practice.

 

The conference format includes a number of presentations including two keynotes and a "one minute madness" session in which delegates may opt to actively participate . There will be facilitated breakout sessions and opportunities to discuss LIS research issues informally during breaks. 

 

For more detailed information, the conference programme and delegate bookings please see the conference web site at http://lisresearch.org/conference-2010/, and the registration page at http://www.event-logistics.co.uk/lisrc10/lisrc10_registration.html

Secondary Private Equity - What is important now?

Crises in the financial markets has led to an influx of sellers of private equity assets into the market,  understanding this market, how it works and the deals involved I believe has become more important in recent times  as deals take longer to go through and in some cases buyers walk away from deals they were happy to agree to only weeks earlier. 

According to peHub the market is busy but this is not reflected in the amount of closed deals.   Neuberger Berman, recently formed from an MBO from its failing parent - Lehmans invested only 15% of its pool in the  secondary private equity market last year - 
http://www.pehub.com/40502/neuberger-berman-secondary-deal-flow-at-an-all-time-high-only-called-15-of-fund-last-year/

Caution is clearly rife and good information is more vital than ever so in addition to understanding the Private Equity market one must have an excellent research information department to provide key information on companies and  deals. However, as previously noted many jobs and so skills are being cut in the market place.  So what is the solution to ensure that deals can be made effectively and to change the balance between the amount of sellers and buyers?

Sylvia James, our trainer in this area with a wealth of experience and expertise in the Corporate LIS marketplace says that "even though the large LBOs have dried up, there is still activity in the MBO market and good research is needed more than ever to back all deal decisions. There may also be opportunities for LIS professionals to offer services to PE firms, who have previously not had formal information and research in-house"  What are your thoughts?