I cannot say how many times I have heard the phrase, “I didn’t know you could do that” when speaking with attorneys and law firm administrators about engaging an information professional.
Some years ago, a law firm CFO was pacing around his firm corridors, holding some notes and references with a perplexed look on his face. An Accufile librarian approached the CFO asking what was concerning him. The CFO responded that he needed to find an obscure medical article to support a presentation he was set to make at a local business chapter meeting and so far, after three hours of searching, he came up empty-handed. The librarian kindly asked for the materials in his hand, and told him, “I’ll be back soon.” Thirty minutes later, the librarian surfaced with not only the exact article, but commentary and additional relevant resources. “Wow, I didn’t know you could do that, and so quickly,” was his response.
While this may appear to be a simplistic example and it’s not always that easy to find an item, I hear the same phrase, “I didn’t know you could do that,” time and time again. Do you understand the value of an information professional? If not, you should; you could be missing out on significant value to your organization. Here are some other examples of the ways in which your information professional may deliver value:
- Current awareness and business development
- Library staff curate practice area and client-based alerts to keep attorneys and staff abreast of emerging and critical issues.
- Research librarians are vital to the firm’s marketing and business development efforts, providing information about prospective clients and industries.
- Competitive intelligence
- Librarians offer litigation analytics related to competitor firms.
- Law librarians conduct background and market research to support a firm’s strategic decision-making.
- Knowledge base and the intranet
- Librarians are content managers and participate in the development of intranets.
- Information professionals often curate the firm’s organizational archives and historical documents.
- Innovation management
- Librarians often play key roles on innovation teams at firms and corporations.
- Conflicts search
- Information resources can be used for conflicts searches. Your librarians are expert in their use.
These are just a few examples of the expertise and contributions of librarians. Don’t miss out on the value that your information professionals can bring to your firm!
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