 Welcome to this Information Services Today webinar on Managing Data, Communications, and Marketing. This webinar addresses content from Part 4, Managing Information Organizations, specifically focusing on Chapters 26 and 27. This webinar is part of a 10 webinar series representing the diverse authors and topics of the second edition of my book, Information Services Today, an Introduction. As the editor, I am thrilled to be presenting this webinar series in conjunction with my book, Information Services Today, an Introduction. Hearing directly from the contributing authors as they reflect and share their insights on today's information landscape is a unique opportunity to glean from their expertise, both the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead on the horizon. Stephen Bell stated that it's important for leaders to harness their own creative potential, but they should also pay attention to creating the right culture and environment that leads to a creative library organization as a whole. Part 4, Managing Information Organizations explores the profession's ethical code and the ideals of intellectual freedom, including how those principles have been challenged in the past and how they are likely to be the focus of controversy in the future. It also examines some legal issues related to information access such as copyright and information licensing. Chapter 26 demonstrates the importance of data management and data analysis for information professionals and provides different techniques and tools for recovery, preservation, visualization, and data governance. Chapter 27 discusses the factors that affect interpersonal communication and the skills needed for information professionals to become effective communicators. Of tremendous value to this book are its contributing authors. These authors were specifically chosen for their expertise, passion, and commitment, not only to the field of information science, but also to the professional development of tomorrow's information leaders. I would like to now introduce the panel for today's webinar. Dr. Frank Cervone is the Director of Information Technology and College Information Security Officer for the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His expertise includes more than 25 years of leadership in libraries and information organizations developing systems and services that have helped to advance teaching, learning, and the management of knowledge and information. Dr. Sue W. Alman teaches courses in interpersonal communication and marketing public relations for information professionals at the San Jose State University School of Information. She is the author of Chapter 27, Communication, Marketing, and Outreach Strategies. There are six key themes for the second edition of Information Services today, an introduction. Chapters 26 and 27 address four of those key themes. These chapters all provide an overall state of the field beginning with the history of the information organization and key influencers to forecasting future trends and issues that will require information professionals to remain forward thinking. They also address how libraries and information centers will remain valuable entities in their communities, but to thrive, they will need to remain creative, innovative, and technologically advanced. Additionally, they address new competencies, roles, and opportunities for information professionals, and they address challenges and key issues of the field and for the sustainability and essentialness of the information organization. So Frank and Sue, what is your interpretation of these themes and how do you specifically relate to your chapter's content? Frank, let's begin with you. So I think when we think about data management and data analysis, one of the aspects of this that I think is the most interesting is that it really is very contextual in that it depends significantly on the nature of the organization and what role people play in that particular organization. As the amount of data has expanded, this has become one of the largest issues that organizations are facing because our concept of data is evolving. So in the past, we used to think of data in very defined terms. So for example, in a library, we thought about mark records in a commercial organization, we thought about counts receivable records, but today we have all sorts of data that are coming into our organizations that we would have never imagined even five years ago. And so our practices need to evolve as well. Because we have so much new data coming into our organizations, really our ideas related to data analysis are expanding. And a lot of this has to do with the increased computational ability that we have. I mean, we can collect data from devices that, again, we would have never thought about 10 years ago. Who would have imagined that wearing something on your wrist would result in literally terabytes of data that might be of use in analysis. The other thing that is changing in the world of data management and analysis is that our work is becoming increasingly outside of traditional environments. So for example, the concept of the embedded librarian is very common. But this is also true for data analysis as well is that it's moving out to the functional units within organizations. And also, as this happens, our ideas related to preservation and particularly the massive amount of data that we're collecting are a very fluid concept as well. Because when we're talking about managing data at a massive scale, the idea of just simply preserving data, preserving everything is not really feasible. And we really have to think about that. In addition to what our regulatory compliance issues may be in preserving data, in some cases we have to preserve data, in some cases we shouldn't be. Thank you very much, Frank. Sue, let me turn to you now. What are your thoughts? Well, thank you. There are new competencies, roles and opportunities in the field of communications and marketing. Some of these have been around for a while but have some new twists to them. I want to direct everybody's attention to a study that has been done at the San Jose School of Information about MLIS skills at work. And as you can see, this study in 2017 and in 2016 has defined the most in-demand skill across all jobs as communication and interpersonal skills. And this study has been done looking at job ads from across the spectrum, taking a snapshot. So they are very important and there's something that all information professionals should aspire to increase their competency in this area. Also, the most frequently listed job duty is collaborating and liaising so that you need to have your communication skills, marketing skills, very top notch in order to meet the demands of positions today. So some of the other in-demand skills that fall into this category are collaboration and teamwork, customer and user service, diversity and sensitivity, and training and instruction. And this goes with face-to-face communication. There's verbal communication, body language, and written communication, which we've always had, longhand electronic chats. But there's now a new language of emoji and we may be expected to interact with others in an electronic environment using these different languages. But social media is changing so rapidly that we need to keep up to date on all the different platforms that are available and what our users and the people in our workforce want. And as you can see on the next slide, that this discipline, this specialization is increasingly complex as information professionals interact with users in both the physical and virtual spaces. Face-to-face interactions rely on body language and tone, in addition to the spoken word, and it may be in very different languages. The increasing use of social media platforms require information professionals to understand which ones are relevant to their users and how to transmit messages. One platform may be limited to a certain number of characters, another may allow graphics and images along with text, and as I mentioned before, some may just use emojis. So our challenges are to understand our users and our people in our workforce to know what they need for interpersonal communications and the way we market to them. And we do need to pay attention to whether it's going to be print, digital, audio, video, which languages we'll use, and whether we're going to be using website, email, social media. As I said, very complex and things that we need to explore individually and in our workplace. So thank you. Thank you so much, Sue and Frank. So I'd like to see if you have any further reflections about these key themes and how they relate to either of your chapters or if there were any observations or comments you would like to make at this time about what you heard today. Well, I jotted down a couple things that Frank said, and it would be fun to discuss them at more length. But he talked about the data that you can get from your wrist, things that we've never even thought of before. And this all plays into communication and marketing. How can we reach people that have the new technologies and how can we use the data that's coming out to be more effective. And he also mentioned embedded librarians. So there are more positions that are using the data and also changing the way we communicate and the way we market to other groups. Thank you, Sue Frank. Did you want to add anything? Yeah, I think what was actually very interesting for me in something that we really didn't discuss a whole lot in the chapter itself. But the nature of work in information technology and in various areas in libraries is changing. And so positions that we used to think that perhaps we didn't really need or weren't necessarily geared toward folks who were great communicators or needed to communicate a lot. That's not really true anymore. It really doesn't matter what position you're in and what type of organization. The need to be able to communicate well is critical for success in any role, whether it's data management, embedded librarianship, what have you. Great. Thank you, Frank and Sue. Let's let's move on to the next question. So I'd like to now direct our attention to today's information landscape. The first edition of the book came out three years ago. And as you know, the field of library and information science is in constant flux. So what are some of the key changes as they relate to your chapter's topic that have occurred since the first edition came out three years ago. So Frank, we'll start with you. Well, I think probably the biggest change has been just the absolute explosion of data, both as a result of the Internet of Things and the ability to collect all types of data from all types of devices. But also what I think is particularly interesting is that a lot of the data that we are collecting now is essentially unstructured. And really what we mean by that is that rather than sort of the traditional data that we might get as a result of feed from some other system or data that we create. So for example, again, a mark record, much of the data that comes in through the Internet of Things and from other types of devices really isn't structured. So for example, just think of a Twitter feed. Well, there are some clearly defined fields within something like that. The actual text itself is not structured. And so the way that we analyze that data is going to be significantly different from what we've done in the past. The other aspect of this, of course, is the increased reliance on analytics to make sense of data because there's so much data we can't do traditional reporting and have that really provide us with information that is going to be useful for decision making in our organizations. Concurrently with that then is that the presentation of data in written form because again of the explosion of the amount of data is less meaningful in many contexts as well. And so there's an increased emphasis on using visualization as a tool for understanding. And it's critical for us as information professionals to be able to work with data in ways that will provide it in visualizations that will help folks make sense of what they are actually experiencing and seeing in their data. And then finally, of course, the focus on security and data protection disaster planning is increasingly critical for all types of organizations and then also compliance with the increasing regulatory nature of how data is used both within the United States and internationally. So there are a lot of different things that are going on in the current environment that are very different from three or five years ago. Thank you very much, Frank. So Sue, what are your thoughts? Well, there are some key changes in marketing and communication. And as I mentioned earlier, it's the increased use of social media that there are so many different ways to communicate with groups through the different platforms. We need to be able to provide information to our users to the workforce and understanding what is their preferred method for getting that information. It's also in promoting our resources and services. Not everyone who comes into our organization uses social media. So there's got to be a balance in understanding your audience and knowing what's going to be best for them. What I see the biggest change, though, in the last three years are social issues and there are many of them. There's homelessness, there is abuse, but one issue that is viewed in every type of organization for both users and employees is drug overdose and the opioid epidemic. And there's so much in the news about what libraries are doing to inform the public, to train their staff, and how this comes into play with both communication and with marketing is your collaborating, your liaison with health and welfare organizations, and your promoting services to those in need. So you're looking at informing the public, informing your employees, and trying to deal with this social issue in a meaningful way. So those are what I see as the biggest changes in our profession. Thank you very much, Sue. Frank and Sue, I wondered if there were any further thoughts that you had on this on this topic about some of the changes that have been happening and you both identified some really important significant changes that are impacting our society and the way that we do our work in organizations. Well, if I may, some things that Frank said really point to the need to communicate within the organization with everyone there. So whatever role you have, talking to the people who are collecting the data with Frank's group, understanding what they have, making our services more in line with what the data shows. So we need to be able to communicate within the organizations and outside the organizations. Thank you, Sue. Frank, did you have anything more? I think my comments would be very similar to that in that, particularly in an interdisciplinary or even a transdisciplinary environment, the need for communication and working across boundaries is increasingly critical to the success of any organization. Thank you, Frank. Thank you, Sue. So now let's direct our attention to the future. What trends or and or emerging issues will impact the field of library information science as it relates to your chapter's topic. So Frank, again, we'll start with you. So I think if we look specifically at the issues related to data management and analysis, clearly the biggest issue right now and in the future is going to be managing the scale of the amount of data that we have, both in terms of just simply storing but also preserving it and making sure that it is available in ways that is actually useful to the people who need that data. But I think another issue that is really critical and very interesting are the increasingly conflicting requirements related to some traditional concepts that we may have and what is expected today. And so I think the best example of this really is the idea that, you know, traditionally we thought that, you know, most things should be preserved. But when you look at new regulations like the GDPR, which is the general data protection rules in the EU. In fact, one of the things that those rules say is that if you have information about a person and that person wants to be forgotten, you must delete that data. And so this really raises some very interesting both technical and philosophical issues related to what does preservation mean in today's world and in the future. Of course, information security is, has been, will be a huge issue related to data analysis and management. Increasingly, as we start collecting more information that can be personally identified, we have to take more consideration into how we're storing that data, are we storing it securely, are we making sure that only folks who should have access to the data do. And that's where really this idea of data governance comes into play is that we have to have a governance model within our organizations that allows us to address all of these different issues. And I think particularly where we need to think about in the future what sort of skills we need to develop. It really is, and obviously I'm somewhat biased, but it's in areas of data science, you know, related to analytics, visualization, statistical methods and machine learning. Traditionally, these things haven't been necessarily the core topics of what we've embraced, but I believe in the future they are going to be critical for us to be good partners with our public as well as the other folks within our organizations to help them address their information needs. Thank you very much, Frank. And Sue, what about you? I think there is going to be more of an emphasis in many larger organizations on focusing on communication and marketing, some new job titles that we are seeing now, but we're going to be more prevalent. Communication specialists and writers getting the word out to individuals about what our organizations are doing. Conflict analysts and those in HR working with the diversity in an organization to make sure that everything runs smoothly. And doing more marketing with smaller budgets in many instances, needing to get the word out to users. So there's going to be more of an emphasis on the need to market our services and resources. And we need to have a very strong understanding of the needs and communication preferences from a wide range of our users and within the workforce. So we need to know what is most effective in face to face in email, electronic, whether some people prefer chat, whether some people prefer Twitter. It's things that I've said before, but we're looking at the very best ways to communicate to make certain that we all get along. And earlier, one of the slides, there is a an increased diversity in our users and in our workforce. So we need to pay attention to generational issues, cultural issues and preferences. So I think those are the key emerging issues in communication and marketing. Thank you, Sue. Frank and Sue, did you have anything more that you'd like to add or comment on? I think the only thing that I would add is, I completely agree with everything that Sue said, we are in fact engaging in multiple efforts in both at the college level and at the university level to figure out what are the most effective communication strategies. Because indeed, there is no one strategy that's going to be successful for all of our audiences. Thank you, Frank. And I think that people moving into the profession, people who are there already, our skills need to be increased. We have to have an understanding of all the many factors that affect the people we serve and the people that we work with. Thank you, Sue. So we've addressed the changes of the past few years and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. At the core of the information landscape are the people who work in these organizations providing the services to the communities that they serve. This leads us to focus on today's information professional. So what advice do you have for the new information professional to meet the needs of tomorrow's information landscape? And based on your area of expertise, what are some of the key competencies that information professionals will need to succeed in meeting the needs of the communities and organizations that they serve? So Frank, what do you think? I think obviously when you're talking about data analysis and management, it tends to skew more towards the technical side. And I think that some of the things that folks should be thinking about if they're particularly interested in this particular aspect of library and information science is developing skills related to database. And traditionally we've thought about SQL type databases, but today with unstructured data, we're working with no SQL databases. Of course, we don't have time to go into what the differences between those two are. But also in the world of visualization, I know that many folks are very interested in the commercial product Tableau, but there are other products as well. But just the basic skills in understanding how to create an effective visualization and what really needs to go into that because you can't just go into the data and, you know, put a couple buttons and have it be meaningful. And that's really sort of where this data analysis kind of comes into play. So looking at tools like RapidMiner and Canine that allow you to really do some machine learning to understand what might be hidden in the data that isn't necessarily obvious. And then of course, if you're working with a large amount of data, thinking about some of the tools and techniques related to that such as, you know, Hadoop and Spark. And also some of the things that need to be considered as well is the whole area of security and compliance. This is a huge developing area. And regardless of what type of library or information organization you may be in, this is going to be a key skill, I believe, in the future, as well as disaster recovery and emergency management. In fact, actually with in IFLA, which is the International Federation of Library Associations, there's a new special interest group on libraries and emergency management situations. So clearly the role and the scope of librarianship and information science is rapidly expanding. And that will also require an additional set of skills in order to meet the needs of our publics. Thank you, Frank. Sue, what about you? Well, the amount of skills that professionals need is overwhelming and can almost take your breath away. And as we saw when I first started out, that the number one skill that is requested is the interpersonal communications. And you've got to be able to be a team player, and then you can learn some of these other skills, maybe not as in depth, but as you progress through the organization. But what I wanted to focus on is highlighting your communication and collaboration skills. And to make sure that your resume and any correspondence that you have with a prospective employer needs to be polished and professional. That you need to be able to describe successful collaborative experiences, making certain that you do give specific examples. So I always talk about the bar example where you give background, you give the action that you took, and then the results that came from that. So that you can do this in a classroom setting with group projects, something that you've participated in professionally, but make sure that you let the prospective employer know that you do have these communication and collaborative skills. And you also need to demonstrate your commitment to professional growth. There is so much to be able that needs to be learned as a professional. So participate in activities that demonstrate your dedication to ongoing professional development and be an active member and professional associations so that you can learn what is important what's needed in your organization and be ready to acquire those skills. Thank you Sue, and thank you Sue for highlighting some of the approaches that you might take to demonstrate some of the skills that are needed. Frank, I wonder if you have some suggestions to around what somebody might be able to do to develop some of the kind of more technical skills that you highlighted as being important for information professionals today. Well, I think, and not to be somewhat self serving, but you know, a number of schools of library and information science so for example San Jose State have programs and certificates in these emerging areas related to data science and data analytics. If you're just trying to look at the field and see what I'd be interested in that there are a number of courses available, both from commercial vendors as well as online open source open access types of things that would allow you to do that. And also for many people, I mean, it sounds whatever but I mean just going and getting a book and starting to look there and say, hey, you know, I could learn a lot from this, or at least enough to be able to have intelligent conversations with folks. So that you can at least be part of the conversation, even if you don't want to actually do it yourself. Great. Thank you, Frank. Sue, did you have anything more that you wanted to add? I was going to say, along with what Frank had said about taking areas of specialization, I do think that the one fabulous thing that San Jose State School of Information offers are the one and two unit courses that you can learn a little bit about the topic. I want to see if you're interested but also to give you a head start in different jobs so that you can be ready to move ahead in that area. Wonderful. Thank you. I think Frank Cervone and Sue Almond for joining us today in this webinar on managing data, communications and marketing. I am very grateful to both of them for the insights and the advice that they have shared in this webinar and also for their contribution to information services today and introduction. To the listener, thank you for joining us. I hope you've gained a deeper understanding of the changes and challenges and opportunities within the field of Library and Information Science. For more information, please check out this online supplement materials that are available and thank you again.