Changing times - a FUMSI Editorial

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I recently took a trip down memory lane and reread several issues of FUMSI, including the first, published in January 2008. In the digital age, four years is a very long time, and a lot has changed. After reading the most recent FUMSI, though, it's clear that some things have not.

Not surprisingly, FUMSI continues to provide useful articles for information practitioners, which has been the editorial team's goal from the very start. But FUMSI's also done a great job of helping define what info pros do, while spotlighting the diversity of our work. We find, use, share and manage all kinds of information in all types of settings, and it's fascinating to learn new possibilities in each issue of this magazine.

Unfortunately, we still struggle with carving out an identity and expressing our value, as pointed out in this month's Manage article, “From Fragmentation to coherence: building an information professional community for all”. The author contends that we still lack a “big tent” – an all-encompassing association or agenda – to help ours become a respected and much-needed profession.

I'll never debate the need for such resources to help info pros raise our profile and broadcast our value. There is, however, just one way to gain respect – we have to earn it. We can't tell people how great we are. We need to show them. Value is displayed over time, through our day-to-day work – at the office and in our volunteer roles.

We also gain respect by “getting out there”, a lesson learned many years ago from the founder of an international non-profit organisation. Her philosophy was that the only way to get the word out about what we do and the value it has was to stop spending so much time with ourselves, and start spending more time with others. We need to join associations outside our industry, write for different publications, and show our value in everything we do. In time, she said, we earn their respect.

Fortunately, information professionals are starting to move out of libraries and work side-by-side with our clients. Rather than viewing the internet and the social web as threats, info pros have embraced these tools for communicating with and showing our value to a wide and diverse audience. We continue to find new ways to deliver the right information at the right time.

Once again, this issue of FUMSI provides the perfect forum for ideas about demonstrating our value and earning the respect we deserve. In Find, I'm pleased to spotlight fellow AIIP member Joann Wleklinski, who writes about the GuideStar websites and how to use these resources for gathering information about non-profit organisations and philanthropic trends. Our Use article shows how social media are improving communication in emergency services. In Share, you can read about best practices in “frictionless sharing”. And our Manage feature article reminds us that we can be most effective in our quest for respect by working as a cohesive group.

Speaking of changes, this is my last column as contributing editor. I've enjoyed being part of the FUMSI team since its inception, and I thank you for visiting Find all these years. Stay in touch at MarcyPhelps.com, my blog about turning information into insights.

Marcy Phelps is the contributing editor for the FUMSI 'Find' practice area.

This Find editorial appeared in FUMSI Magazine 49 (January 2012)

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