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Rebecca Jones posted this in Conferences, Lib, IM, KM on June 8th, 2011 This blog post is being posted to Future Ready 365 today. Are you a future ready information professional?
A few weeks ago Jane Dysart, Kim Silk and I were fortunate to hear Daniel Pink talk at the Rotman School of Management Life-Long Learning Conference for Leaders, ‘How to Get Your Business Back to Reality.” His latest book, Drive, bases “the surprising things that motivate us” on 40 years of human motivation research (here’s a pdf summary of Drive). It wasn’t his discussion about what does or doesn’t motivate us that caught my attention, although that is fascinating and worth a blog post(!); it was his discussion about the need for organizations to challenge and re-think base assumptions on which they are building their strategies.
I’m increasingly concerned that that the library sector and information profession must do just that: challenge, re-frame and quite possibly re-think our base assumptions and the practices and approaches built on those assumptions. Pink re labels assumptions “orthodoxies”. Labelling and viewing what we, as a sector and profession view to be truths as “orthodoxies” rather than assumptions forces us to see the deep-rooted concreteness of these “truths”. It is these deep roots that make it somewhat painful to question the validity of these orthodoxies today and, more importantly, tomorrow and into the future.
I laugh, both because laughter is healthy and because for a profession that has an orthodoxy (yes, a truth – an assumption!) of finding and delivering answers to any question, we aren’t
Continue reading Curious Enough to Question “Orthodoxies”
Fantastic SLA PH&T Division conference at the Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando, began with Kevin Davies, Chief Editor Bio-IT World and author of The $1,000 Genome (Free Press 2010). He’s an unbelievably engaging, articulate, funny & informed speaker. And he explored the revolution in DNA sequencing technologies, personal genomics and the evolving environment of personalized medicine. Yep. Personalized medicine. Today, for $200, you can spit in a cup & have your DNA screened; this isn’t the detailed DNA sequencing that identifies EVERYTHING about your physiological make-up, but it can identify significant abnormalities in your DNA — such as a man whose screening revealed he had advanced prostate cancer with NO symptoms. Talk about customized — he was able to take the results to his doctor and steps were taken (surgery, cancer treatment) to save his life. As the price point of DNA sequencing continues to drop, how will people handle this information? what’s the impact on the medical system? on the insurance system? Certainly DNA sequencing will help with drug develop, patient stratification and tailoring treatment; it will also raise huge questions regarding how organizations and insurers handle this information. Davies ended with the premise of “the 15 minute genome by 2014″.
Yo. That’s a premise. Holding much promise & peril. Every evolution, revolution & innovation brings promise & peril.
And that’s what struck me as I gave a talk about Thinking Strategically & Critically. As we consider & question our assumptions regarding access and resources, we open up possibilities. And, with possibilities —
Continue reading Innovations bring promise & peril
Jane Dysart posted this in Uncategorized on June 25th, 2009 Isn’t it interesting that as the Special Libraries Association, a 11,000+ member organization representing corporate, government, industry, medical, hospital, and legal libraries as well as other specialized libraries residing in larger institutions, discusses once again a possible name change to the 100 year old organization that a there is an organization called The Corporate Library. Out of Portland, ME, The Corporate Library is a 10 year old research firm that tracks corporate governance issues. Huh.
Jane Dysart posted this in Uncategorized on April 22nd, 2009 SLA is 100!
It must have been a very interesting world in 1909. Here are three immediate (to me) organizations celebrating their centennials. The Special Libraries Association, an organization representing 12,000+ librarians with specialized collections and services in corporations (law firms, banks, pharmaceuticals, manufacturers, hospitals, ettc) around the work, celebrates their centennial this year. The Toronto chapter of SLA is having a gala to celebrate next month — I’m very excited about attending. The association’s 100th annual conference is being held in June in DC (where SLA’s HQ has been for many years, including when I was President in 1995/6). Should be a great event starting off with keynote speaker Colin Powell.
And now we are into ice hockey NHL playoffs and the Montreal Canadiens are 100! Check out the many jerseys and logos from their past. I am not a Canadiens fan but I certainly respect their longevity and strength over the years. It will be interesting to see what’s in their future.
Leons is a furniture store in my area and it is 100 years old too. Quite a history. I was most impressed that the current CEO went across Canada celebrating with all the employees. Nice.
Jane Dysart posted this in Conferences on March 27th, 2009 Congratulations to Donna Scheeder on her new appointment as Acting Law Librarian of Congress. The Law Library of Congress is the largest law library in the world with over 50% of its collection in languages other than English. The Legal Reseearch Directorate advises the US Congress on foreign and comparative law. Here’s a recent interview with Donna that Mary Dee Ojala did about the Global Legal Information Network, GLIN, an international co-operative that is headquartered in the Law Library of Congress. The Law Library is the content owner of THOMAS, the database of congressional bills, documents and laws. Staff of the Law Library reading room remain available to Congress whenever they are in session.
Donna is also very active in her Capital Hill community and is currently the Chair of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee. The market will be moving back to its historic building in July following rehabilitation after a devastating fire in 2007. Donna will be receiving the Capitol Hill Achievement Award at a dinner benefiting the Capitol Hill Community Foundation on April 22, 2009.
Donna is very active in the library community. She is a past president of the Special Libraries Association, a former member of the Governing Board of International Federation of Libary Association and Institutions (IFLA), and on the advisory committees for Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian.
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