NJSLA Blog

Outsourcing

Hi, everyone,

After attending a recent panel discussion on “Outsourcing – 5 Years Later” presented by the SLANY – Business and Finance Division and seeing several posts on this topic on other SLA lists, I thought blogging a little about outsourcing on our new tool would be timely.

Outsourcing is an issue affecting every special library and information professional today, and many of us personally know people affected by this practice.  Offshoring isn’t the only answer to outsourcing, however.  Think contract positions, outsourcing your literature search needs to research firms due to staff reductions, or even using vendors to fill your document delivery requests. 

Whether you call it by any other name - rightsourcing, offshoring, or nearshoring - the practice is here to stay and has experienced several transformations since the first pilot programs launched.  For example, the burgeoning use of captive models – instead of traditional offshoring contracts – in global organizations encourages new growth and fresh perspectives in current information professional and paraprofessional roles here in the States.

The following links on this topic might be of further interest:

The Consultation Services Committee developed CONSULT Online as a directory of SLA members who are library consultants. A search on this database is free and is available to members and nonmembers interested in locating a consultant who may assist, on a normal commercial basis, with such areas as library management, technical services, and subject specialty.

http://www.sla.org/consultonline/index.cfm

Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP)

http://aiip.org/index.html

Offshoring: Exploring the Captive Center Model

An offshore captive center offers complete control over offshore operations and may boost savings. But it's not right for every company.

http://www.cio.com/article/20137

Outsourcing, co-sourcing and core competencies: what's an information professional to do?

Information Outlook,  Dec, 1997  by Mary Ellen Bates

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FWE/is_n12_v1/ai_20152148

Thanks to the Business and Finance Division in SLANY and postings by Ron Rader to the SLA-DPHT listserv for inspiration!

Best regards,

Anne Marie

Save the Date--May 5th Alice Rankin Distinguished Lecture

Save the Date!

May 5, 2008

Alice Rankin Distinguished Lecture Series

Stephen Abram--2008 President of SLA

Reality 2.0: Transforming Ourselves and our Associations

Rutgers Univ. Inn and Conference Center

more details and flyer to follow!

President's Letter

February 7, 2008                                                                                                                

Dear NJSLA Member:

I have some New Year’s resolutions for NJSLA for 2008.  Don’t worry-- they do not involve losing weight, exercising or cleaning out the garage!

In fact, I just have three simple goals for the year as well as ideas about how to support them.

Photos from Louisville

Photos from the recent SLA Leadership Summit in Louisville, KY held Jan Jan 23-26, 2008.  NJLSA President Barbara Burton and President-Elect Eric Schwarz were able to meet and learn from other SLA Chapter and Division leaders.

Report from the 2008 SLA Leadership Conference

Report from the 2008 SLA Leadership Conference

Eric & I just returned from the 2008 SLA Leadership Summit held in Louisville, KY. The annual meeting provides a great opportunity for Chapter and Division leaders from the entire organization to get together and share ideas. We were hosted in a most hospitable manner and had networking time at the Louisville Slugger Museum and other meals to get to know each other.  SLA CEO Janice Lachance reported that the Association operated in the black in 2007 and gained 127 new members.
We heard several excellent speakers. 
Futurist Andy Hines spoke about ‘Anticipating the Future.”  He outlined several global trends that are influencing the future including:
•    Personalization and Co-Creation
•    No “McWorld” (American culture is not taking over the globe)
•    Ethical consumption (voting values with consumer choices)
•    Increased time pressure

SLA President Steve Abram urged us to “Innovate in 2008”.  Dressed in a tuxedo, he challenged the leadership to “dress up SLA and take it on the road.” (FYI, we have invited Steve to address  NJSLA in April or May).  He contends the conventional wisdom that “content is king” and stated that now “relationships are king.”  He introduced an exciting initiative called the SLA Innovation Lab (www.sla.org/innovate) that will provide cutting edge technology tools for the SLA membership. 
In other association news, SLA has engaged the consulting firm Fleishman Hilliard to position SLA for the future. They are studying 5 key areas including:
o Growth opportunities for SLA & the profession as a whole
o Primary activities to drive & sustain membership
o Growth outside North America
o Key value drivers for the Association and profession
o Consistent & compelling language
As a tangible example of their results to date, they noted that there is sometimes a disconnect between the information professionals who place high value on detail, depth & thoroughness and their customers who place high value on speed & convenience
The project is being timed to coincide with 2009 which is SLA’s Centennial Year.
The Association adopted a green policy in November 2007. Some visible signs of the initiative in Louisville were the reduced number of printed handouts and the emphasis on using public transportation or walking to get around the city. More information at http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/pressroom/pressrelease/08pr/pr2801.cfm
There was a presentation on the tools that SLA makes available for chapters and divisions, most of which are included in the Leadership Resource Center.  The highly anticipated new Association Management System (AMS) which is going to streamline and update membership information has been delayed due to vendor problems but should be available in mid-February (2008).
SLA Treasurer Sylvia James reported that new auditing standards which have arisen out of the recent accounting scandals (think Enron) will mean higher expenses for SLA to do business.  There is also a movement to consolidate finances and banks to meet these new standards.  The entire association may need to use one bank in the future; more to come.
The emphasis on International Special Librarians Day has been replaced by an new initiative called Ethics Ambassadors.  SLA is in the process of gathering data to support the role of the special librarian in holding high standards for information use, especially in the areas of copyright protection and privacy. 
The meeting closed with a brainstorming session on how to appropriately mark SLA’s centennial in 2009.  The conference will be in Washington, DC that year.  Many ideas were floated so stay tuned!