Electronic Resources & Libraries 2013 Conference – My Notes
The Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference was held March 17-20th. Along with several other colleagues from my institution, I attended virtually. Here are some of my [long overdue] conference highlights.
Conference Highlights
Day 1
Session: "Electronic Resources Workflow Analysis and Process Improvement"
Presenters
Rosalyn Raeford, Duke University
Beverly Dowdy, Duke University
Rosalyn Raeford and Beverly Dowdy spoke about how Duke University used a non-library solution (IBM’s Business Process Manager) to solve electronic resource workflow and transparency problems. It was interesting to hear how Duke is able to communicate and keep track of conversations within the BPM. This has allowed them to measure the amount of internal discussion required to move resources through the electronic resource life cycle. Although I am still not certain how (or if) Duke integrated BPM with their ILS (specifically their Acquisitions module for purchase orders and cost information), their talk provided insight on how implementing new systems can help identify and solve bottlenecks and quality issues.
Day 2
Session: "Getting to Know Your Electronic Resource Workflows"
Presenters
Rafael Escobar, University of Michigan
Emily Campbell, University of Michigan
While Raeford and Dowdy’s talk showed how a new tool/system can help identify workflow problems, Rafael Escobar and Emily Campbell discussed how they addressed gaps and inconsistencies in their electronic resource workflows at the University of Michigan through formally mapping them. Through one-on-one interviews and focus groups they created more than 20 Electronic Resource flow charts, established a staff responsibility matrix, and made network diagrams to visualize the impact of their work. Ultimately, the flow charts provided them with visual proof of which processes were over-complicated or causing duplicate work. The network diagrams then showed the dynamism of electronic resource work. Escobar and Campbell finished their workflow-mapping project in six months – which did not surprise me. It would have been interesting to see how they mapped some of the more unstable electronic resource workflows – such as access problem-shooting, where a variety of steps can be taken depending on the issue being reported.
Day 3
Keynote: "The Courage of Our Connections: Thoughts on Professional Identities, Organizational Affiliations and Common Communities (Keynote)"
Presenter
Rachel Frick, Digital Federation Association
Rachel Frick’s keynote talk pulled together a lot of the conference’s themes. It was engaging, and made me reflect on my own work and what I hope to do over the course of my career. She spoke about change in terms of the opportunities it creates, and encouraged networking and network-building. It wasn’t surprising that Frick touched on the growing influence of data (data-driven decision making, research data, data curation, and linked and open data), but I did appreciate that she asked attendees to separate the content from the container and to think creatively about how data is used and analyzed. Frick also argued for data and local content to be a part of everyone’s job – that we shouldn’t silo data/e-resource work to specific job descriptions. Instead, we need to harness the power of our local network. Frick also asked her audience to own the responsibility of the success and longevity of the library profession. We need to interact, lead and not just focus on what is easy to count. We can’t wait for other people to figure out what we should be and how we should move forward. Instead, library people need to collaborate and communicate with lots of different [non-MLIS] people and organizations. Frick finished her talk by stressing the importance of building in time to learn, play, and explore new ideas.
Frick recommended the following books/resources during her talk:
Networked: the new social operating system by Harrison Rainie and Barry Wellman
"Breaking the barriers of time and space: the dawning of the great age of librarians" by T. Scott Plutchak
Too big to know : rethinking knowledge now that the facts aren't the facts, experts are everywhere, and the smartest person in the room is the room by David Weinberger
Brené Brown's TED Talk, "The power of vulnerability"