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Editorial
By Robin Neidorf
She's lost in the woods, but Alice tells the Cheshire Cat that she doesn't much care where she ends up. Therefore, the Cheshire Cat tells her, it doesn't much matter which of many paths she takes. If you don't care where you end up, then any route will get you there.
But we don't live and work in Wonderland: We have to choose every path with care, based on what our objectives are. Both recent FUMSI articles featured in this issue of FreePint highlight the importance of a clear-eyed understanding of desired outcomes in creating and implementing an effective project plan.
Networking groups abound, but the founders of LIKE (London Information & Knowledge Exchange) created their own route to success by identifying their 'rules' for success: relevance, inclusion and variety. One of the founders, Virginia Henry, presents the full story of planning and launching the network.
The thing about any pathway, though, is that it can turn. And indeed, in business, it must. All businesses evolve over time, and the only way to stay on track is to constantly evaluate the track itself and where it's leading.
One way FreePint tries to follow the curves in the path is through research. We regularly hear from subscribers about what their concerns are. Some of these topics have turned into significant research efforts, enabling us to gather information on a larger scale and feed it back to you. Watch for publication of our report on copyright policies and practices later this month, and if you haven't yet completed our survey on products and services to maintain regulatory compliance, please do so now.
We're also creating a few turns on our own path, and you'll see some enhancements across the publications in the FreePint Family between now and the FreePint Newsletter's 300th issue, scheduled for publication on 22 April. As a start, the FUMSI Focus will now come out weekly, bringing you tips from our contributing editors, as well user tips and Q&A from the new FUMSI Forum.
More exciting developments are in the works, and we look forward to bringing them to you. If you're feeling lost in the woods and need directions, define your objectives. Then turn to FreePint Family resources to help you get there.
Robin Neidorf
General Manager
FreePint
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2010
My Favourite Tipples
Submit your list of up to five favourite tipples to support@freepint.com for publication with your byline and photo in the FreePint Newsletter. Have a single tip to share? Post it to the FUMSI Forum.
McKinsey Quarterly
Keeps me abreast of the latest company thinking and they often have goods article related to knowledge management
Headshift
Social media business consultancy with a good blog and good links to other relevant sites and articles about social software.
Straits Knowledge
Excellent blog and videos about knowledge management techniques and processes
The Economist
The world this week: business events of the past week - keeps me clued in!
Lesley Robinson set up Lesley Robinson Consultancy Services Ltd in 1999, specialising in advising organisations on information, knowledge and records management strategies, the marketing and development of information services and the coaching and development of information teams. She works in both the public and private sectors helping clients to run their information services more efficiently and effectively and maximise their value to the organisation.
Would you like to add your Favourite Tipples suggestions for the FreePint Newsletter or write an article for FUMSI (Find, Use, Manage or Share Information?).
Today's knowledge economy is powered by information but operates on Internet time. Knowledge workers have access to more information than ever, but less time for decision making.
Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group combines respected reporting with innovative technologies to drive additional value from news, data and information.
For our customers, this means increased productivity and competitive advantage, all of which lead to a more intelligent - and profitable enterprise.
See a round-up of recent conversations below and click through to join the discussion. Post your research dilemmas to the FreePint Bar »
FreePint Bar sponsors make this resource available at no cost. Current sponsors include:
Great ideas and great resources: that's what FreePint is all about. Subscribe to Bar postings via RSS, or follow our Twitter feed to stay informed on the latest. Then make the Bar part of your regular route for finding answers.
We add new articles to the FUMSI database in each practice area every month, which are free to read, browse, email, print or save. Here are the most recent additions:
In establishing the fast-growing London Information & Knowledge Exchange (LIKE), Virginia Henry and her cofounders sought to create relevant, inclusive events on a variety of topics, in order to take the perceived sting out of networking. Here she shares tips for creating your own professional networking group.
WHAT'S INSIDE: 'It can be truly daunting to walk into a room full of strangers. It doesn't matter how friendly and welcoming they turn out to be if that sinking feeling as you walk through the door stays with you for much of the evening.'
With so much focus on the cost of high-value information, corporations may overlook an even higher cost - that of failing to manage information adequately. Bob Bater believes corporations are finally understanding the risk, and presents alternative frameworks for information professionals for co-managing information and knowledge.
WHAT'S INSIDE: 'Simply stated, the new kind of problem we face is that information needs knowledge and knowledge needs information - a truism that seems to have been largely ignored by the recent histories of both information management and knowledge management. Without information to feed it, we can have no knowledge. And without knowledge, information is useless.'
For a wide array of hands-on training and resource materials, turn to Quantum2, an innovative skills development programme provided *free* by Dialog. The programme helps information professionals:
Expand your services through strategic and business competencies
Improve flow of information in your organisation
Gain visibility and build value for your work
Discover best practices, *plus* the know-how to implement them.
Free monthly newsletter and further information at: http://quantum.dialog.com/
Over 500 respondents shared information on the FreePint Copyright
Policies and Practices project. Learn from their wisdom on:
Copyright Policy
Resources and Tools
Training
Evaluating and Auditing
And More
Respondents receive a summary report. Preorder the full report, with detailed analysis, graphs and supporting news coverage, at a 10% discount off post-publication price: http://digbig.com/5bbctd
This project was sponsored by the Copyright Clearance Center, Dow Jones, Dialog and the Financial Times.
Copyright risks, inflation beating salaries and automated translation in VIP Magazine No. 75
In the monthly VIP magazine, specialists offer practical advice for business information professionals and VIP's team of contributing editors comment on what's happening in the industry.
VIP Insight feature this month...
Copyright law and policies have lagged behind the rapid changes in content publishing and delivery - and users' actions may be putting their organisations at risk of copyright infringement even though they're trying to be well meaning. In a preview of FreePint's major research project on copyright policies and practices, Robin Neidorf reports that respondents are regarding copyright as more important and organisations have tools at their disposal to address copyright compliance. But end users are much more confident in their own understanding of copyright than information managers are, suggesting that organisations may be at risk from overconfidence.
Special Libraries Association figures show that information professionals' salaries seem to be continuing their inflation beating trend for the third year in a row - in North America at least. A forthcoming SLA survey on how business information purchasing is re-tooling to meet the challenges of the 'new economy' may possibly
explain why.
Copyright is 'the biggest usage killer in today's information environment' according to a controversial statement by Pharma Documentation Ring president Henning Nielsen, speaking at the recent Content Workflow 2010 event in Frankfurt. And William Hayes of biotechnology firm Biogen called for more 'integgregation' - the practice of aggregating and integrating information - calling it 'the last mile' in information delivery, where information was most valuable to its end-users.
As with other automated translation systems, Dow Jones Factiva's new translation tool, now available in beta, gives mixed results, and a human translator is essential for mission critical information. But it's welcome nevertheless - it's a free service, fully integrated with Factiva and consequently a time saver, and will open up a significant volume of international content to business researchers.
Horizon this month considers the implications of mobile devices shortly overtaking PCs as the internet access tool of choice, looks at the latest twist in the argument over charging for use of web links, and reports the counter-intuitive finding that routing information direct to users' desktops actually increases content costs.
VIP contributing editors comment daily on what's happening in the industry. Visit the LiveWire for their insights, and subscribe to the free VIP Wires Weekly for regular alerts.
VIP Wires Weekly is generously sponsored by Dow Jones.
Most Read Postings on the LiveWire Recently...
The New York Times reported this week that Westlaw and LexisNexis are both introducing sweeping changes to their legal search services, in a bid to make it easier and faster for users to find the information they need.
Read the full story at: http://www.vivavip.com/go/e27853
For those of us whose daily bread involves searching for and analysing snippets of business information, it is easy to forget that for the large proportion of information professionals employed in the scientific and medical sectors, the traditional library function of retrieving and disseminating entire documents remains an important part of their responsibilities.
Read the full story at: http://www.vivavip.com/go/e27852
Last week saw a further development in the battle between news aggregators, specifically NewsNow and newspaper publishers. Rupert Murdoch's News International, which had not joined the Newspaper Licensing Agency's web licensing scheme decided to take action into its own hands.
Read the full story at: http://www.vivavip.com/go/e27712
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, recently launched Datastore, a new initiative to open up information from the Greater London Authority and its functional bodies. Hundreds of data sets about the capital are now available in prototype format. The formal launch is at the end of January 2010 with a larger number of data packages and an improved user interface.
Read the full story at: http://www.vivavip.com/go/e27753
Always feel free to comment on any item on the LiveWire, and if you do not yet have a free subscription to the VIP Wires Weekly, you can sign up now »
ByWater Solutions Celebrates One Year of Providing Open Source Services to Libraries ByWater Solutions...
Read the full Press Release at: http://www.vivavip.com/go/w84450
Axiell develops world's first mobile application for dual access to library information via iPhone AND Android...
Read the full Press Release at: http://www.vivavip.com/go/w84418
Relieving budget pressures on libraries and information centers can be done year-round rather than during once-a-year budget reviews and is most easily initiated by evaluating external document delivery services and configurations, according to a new white paper by Reprints Desk...
Read the full Press Release at: http://www.vivavip.com/go/w84389
Jinfo is the central location for supporting your information career. The Jinfo Jobs database lists vacancies, and the Jinfo Events database lists workshops, conferences, training, webinars and other professional development opportunities.
Start a free subscription to receive the weekly Jinfo Update, with a complete list of the latest vacancies and events, or search the databases at any time (free).
Jinfo Jobs in the FreePint Newsletter are supported through our partnership with Quantum2, an innovative skills development programme offered by Dialog. Learn more at <http://quantum.dialog.com/>.
Jinfo Jobs:
Here is a selection of the latest featured vacancies in the Jinfo database:
Area Sales Manager
Sales experienced Danish, Dutch & Norwegian speaker sought by information partner offering research solutions to manage & cultivate new & existing business...
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited
Country: United Kingdom
Appraisal Archivist
Applications are invited for the two posts of Appraisal Archivists at the Bermuda Government Archives. Under the direction of the Director the post holders will be key members of a team responsible...
Recruiter: The Cabinet Office
Country: Bermuda
Director
A Director is required for a newly created not-for-profit Foundation. The Foundation is active...
Recruiter: TFPL Intelligent Resources
Country: United Kingdom
Researchers (3) ideally with second language
Bilingual Researchers with fluency in at least one other European language and online database knowledge for new Business Intelligence vacancies.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
LILAC 2010
LILAC is the Librarians' Information Literacy Annual Conference, organised by CILIP's Information Literacy Group
Organiser: LILAC
Date: 29-31 Mar 2010
Country: Ireland
ICI-28 - Financial Analysis
Organiser: Institute for Competitive Intelligence
Date: 22nd Mar 2010
Country: United Kingdom
CMMI Made Practical Conference
This Conference explores the benefits realised of the practical application of CMMI.
Organiser: Lamri Ltd
Date: 20-21 Apr 2010
Country: United Kingdom
ICI- 34 Counter Intelligence
Organiser: Institute for Competitive Intelligence
Date: 19th Mar 2010
Country: United Kingdom
Institutional repositories and metadata
Improve the performance and retrievability of material from institutional repositories.
Organiser: CILIP
Date: 17th Mar 2010
Country: United Kingdom
Using social networking and UGC websites
Learn to promote yourself and library, service or organisation using social networking & other user generated content websites.
Organiser: CILIP
Date: 29th Apr 2010
Country: United Kingdom
ECIR 2010 Industry Day
We are pleased to announce the European Conference on Information Retrieval (ECIR) 2010 Industry Day...
Organiser: British Computer Society
Date: 1st Apr 2010
Country: United Kingdom
Buying & Selling eContent: Reigniting the Content Economy
At Buying & Selling eContent, leading content industry information providers, enabling solution providers, and buyers from large institutions and organizations come together to shape the industry.
Organiser: Information Today, Inc.
Date: 18-20 Apr 2010
Country: United States
Jinfo - the best place for information-related job vacancies and professional development opportunities.
RECRUITING? - Advertise a vacancy for just £195 - 10% discount for agencies - 50% discount for registered charities
RUNNING AN EVENT? List it on Jinfo to reach a targeted audience seeking professional development opportunities
- Get started at <http://web.jinfo.com/events/load/>
- Partner events listed for free; enquire at <support@jinfo.com>.
DocuTicker publishes citations of full-text, free reports available on the web. Visit daily for new postings, or subscribe to the weekly DocuTicker Newsletter.
We are big supporters of nonprofits in general both here on ResourceShelf and over on DocuTicker, our sister site. Thus, we are huge fans of the Foundation Center. This is a venerable institution; in operation since 1956, it's currently supported by roughly 550 foundations and is widely recognized as a pre-eminent authority on 'organized philanthropy.'....
FreePint No. 132, 6th March 2003 "And the winner is ... Our experience with selecting a CMS" and "Information Literacy in a Corporate Environment"
FreePint No. 107, 7th March 2002 "Fossicking for Information ... or ... What to do on Sixpence" and "The Death of the Intranet. Long Live the Corporate Portal Quantifying ROI"
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She's lost in the woods, but Alice tells the Cheshire Cat that she doesn't much care where she ends up. Therefore, the Cheshire Cat tells her, it doesn't much matter which of many paths she takes. If you don't care where you end up, then any route will get you there.
Networking groups abound, but the founders of LIKE (London Information & Knowledge Exchange) created their own route to success by identifying their 'rules' for success: relevance, inclusion and variety. One of the founders, Virginia Henry, presents 
By Virginia Henry
By Bob Bater
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