This involves questions about shared interests and values, other philanthropic commitments, corporate giving programs, etc. The goal is to find opportunities to match individual interests and commitments with programs needing funding, either financial or in-kind (for example, technology contributions).

Recently, Daniel agreed to answer questions about his job so others can learn more about what this career path entails, and whether it might be of interest to them.

Title: Associate Director of Development Research

Organization: Stanford University

Educational background: BA, English, University of Kentucky; MSLS, Library Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Type of work you do: A typical day will involve interactions with major gift officers and other staff members of the Office of Development (OOD). The OOD is the fund-raising division of the university, and as a member of the development research team, my goal is to identify and then research individuals who might make a gift of financial support to the university. I generally interact with other staff via email, and I conduct the majority of my research online. There are numerous databases that target development research, and at Stanford we have access to several of them. I research news and business information, real estate transfers, gifts to other nonprofits and charitable organizations, and other topics as needed.

How did you get this job? I learned of this job through a personal connection.

What LIS and other professional skills do you feel are most important in this type of work? The most important skills in development research are a methodical approach to the research effort, as well as the ability to write well, and also to convey information in person.

Is there anything you wish you had learned in graduate school to help prepare you for this work? Not specifically.

What do you especially like/dislike about this type of work? I like the challenge of finding information that a major gift officer will find relevant. I also enjoy working with people from across the many departments that make up Stanford’s Office of Development, and sharing information about the different roles those departments play.

What do you read to maintain professional currency? Information Outlook; general news publications; resources related to development research and fund-raising.

What professional organizations do you belong to/recommend for this type of work? Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA); California Advancement Researchers Association (CARA); Special Libraries Association.

What would you tell students about your job and/or the type of work that you do to encourage or discourage them in this professional choice? Development research is a growing field, and it opens up many possibilities, including: performing general news, business, and financial research; conducting statistical analysis on prospect populations; moving into direct fund-raising.

What other types of LIS work have you done and/or would you look forward to doing? In the past I have worked in public libraries (on the reference desk); a medical library (in the interlibrary loan department); and in a private law firm. One growing area I am also interested in is digital asset management.

Anything else we should know? Don’t focus on job titles, and instead look for environments that you find interesting. Be open to new possibilities, and learn how to communicate your ideas effectively and concisely. Build your network early, and maintain it. It is a valuable resource.

Note: Daniel Isaacs is a member of the LinkedIn LIS Career Options group, and will be happy to answer questions there!

What is your current position or professional role? Research Analyst at an investment firm in Boston.

How long have you been doing this work? I started as an intern in January 2010 and then as an 80% (4 days a week) full-time employee in September 2010. In July 2011 I will go to 100% (5 days a week).

How did you get your job? I found my internship through a posting on the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners job site.

What career path led you here? From age 15 I wanted to work in the finance field. I only applied to undergrad programs where I could get a B.S. in Business Administration and I ended up at Northeastern University, which has a thriving cooperative education program. It’s a 5 year program but every year after your freshman year, you work for 6 months and go to school for 6 months. By the time I graduated I had worked at State Street Bank, Fidelity, and Goldman Sachs, and had 2.5 years of work experience on my resume. I was offered a full-time job at Goldman Sachs shortly after graduation as a securities lending trader. I worked for Goldman for 3 years in Boston and then transferred to the London office for another 3 years.

It was probably about 2 years into my time in London that I realized I was feeling a bit complacent in my role and that I was ready for a new challenge. So after much discussion with my family and loads of wonderful librarians, I applied to Simmons to get my MLIS. Simmons was the only school I applied to because part of this transition was to also get back to the States and to Boston. I got my acceptance letter to Simmons the week that Lehman went bankrupt. It seemed the stars were aligning for me to get out of banking!

The funny thing is, though, I thought I had left the corporate world behind. I spent the summer before starting Simmons volunteering at my town’s small, but thriving, public library. I absolutely loved working in a small town library as I was able to take part in so many different tasks and responsibilities. However, when I got back to Boston and started my program I realized that not only was it going to be a bit more difficult to find a volunteer position with a public library than I had anticipated, but also that I would need something that paid, at least a bit.

I spent my first semester in two volunteer positions – at a school library and at the State Library doing a variety of things. While I learned from them both, I wasn’t entirely excited about either location. And then in December 2009, I found what seemed to be a “perfect” position for me – an internship at a local investment firm working in the Research Library. All of a sudden I realized that my resume and past work experience might not be as irrelevant as I was starting to think after being rejected by so many more “typical” pre-professional library jobs.

And I was right! Working in this library has provided an incredible opportunity to combine my skills from my past career along with what I’m learning throughout my MLIS program. And after 6 months of working really hard in my internship role, when a full-time researcher position opened in the library, I was offered it. I couldn’t have been happier. It felt like such a good fit.

What do you like most about your work? Every day is different. I come in and I usually have no clue regarding what kind of research request I’m going to receive. I have certain industries that I cover, but within those industries the requests really can be all over the place. And I really value that variety.

What least? Sometimes it can be a bit exhausting not knowing what to expect when you get to work! It can feel overwhelming at times. But I’m definitely getting better at prioritizing, organizing, and taking lots of deep breaths when necessary!

What do you see as the various career paths LIS professionals could follow with this type of skill set? That is something I want to know! I feel as though I am just starting to see the possibilities of non-traditional librarian roles in the world and I am so excited to find that there are others like me who value the fact that librarians have an incredible skill set that could be hugely influential in other settings. I really look forward to exploring where this current role takes me professionally.

What personal characteristics do you feel are important for someone doing this work? You need to be able to prioritize and to work under pressure. And to not take things personally.

I often do research for people who are under incredible deadlines and pressure, so it’s not uncommon to not always get huge praise for what I provide. However, when I do get praise and even just simple “thank yous” it is amazing how far that can go to make my day! It also is great to see the positive impact I may have on the business.

Why type of LIS (or other) courses would best prepare someone for this type of work? Any kind of advanced searching or advanced reference courses. In my time during my MLIS I was only able to take the basic Reference course but I know that business reference and other similar classes were offered that I wish I had had the time to take.

What advice do you have for someone thinking about this type of work? Try to find out as much as you can about the office culture before taking the job. Whether through your own research or through the interview process. If you haven’t worked in a corporate setting before, it can really be a shock to the system (as some of my colleagues have told me). There is usually a fairly standard way of “how things are done” so if you know you don’t function well in an environment like that, it may just be something to keep in mind. Also- the hours can be long. My typical day is 8am – 5:30pm with an hour for lunch if I have time. For many, that may seem like a long day but I came from a job where I worked at 7am so…!

Also, in this type of setting, I have really learned that if you want to be more involved in something, ask! You will not necessarily be offered new challenges and tasks. If you want to do something, talk about it and do it! You cannot be shy.

What associations do you belong to and resources do you monitor to stay current? I belong to ALA and SLA. Would imagine that I will continue with those professional organizations post-student life as well. I would love to become more active in the Boston Chapter of SLA once school is finished.

I subscribe to what feels like 100s of blogs in my Google Reader. However, most are library-world related. The ones that really help me to stay current in my job and in my professional development are:
www.bespacific.com/
www.hbr.org
www.mckinseyquarterly.com/
http://people-press.org/
http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/
http://www.readwriteweb.com/ – FANTASTIC blog for technology and what’s current

I am also very active on Twitter and find that I get a lot of my information professional info there. And one more thing! This is where a lot of my blog influence comes from :
http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/follow3/

What is your current position or professional role?
Technical Documentalist for Cirque du Soleil

How long have you been doing this work?
Approximately 2 ½ years although I’ve been with Cirque for eight years.

What career path led you to this work?
I had a very varied path to get here. I studied communications as an undergraduate, concentrating in corporate media but also had a theatre minor. Upon graduating with my B.A., I realized that theatre and media jobs were going to be hard to come by, so I packed up and moved to Florida where I studied show production and touring for 18 months. From there, I obtained a job at Walt Disney World as a stage technician. It was a great experience because I had the opportunity to try a bit of all aspects of stage work: audio, automation, lighting, props, pyrotechnics, maintenance, inventory, and ordering.

Since theatre shows tend to come with very little documentation, I found a niche in creating spare parts lists, updating paperwork and plots, keeping a library of manuals, etc. This led me to document the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show’s lighting refresh while I was there, culminating in a “bible” and CD with all the information needed to keep the show as the designer intended it. I had a blast on that project!

But, as often happens in jobs, soon I was back to regular stage work and finding myself no longer challenged. I took a job down the street at Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba as a followspot operator, and after six months I still found myself unchallenged. I did some searching, talking to friends, and skills inventories to find that I’d really like to be in library work. I began volunteering at the local public library approximately 5-10 hours a week, and was then offered a part-time page job. In the mornings I worked at the library, and in the evenings I worked in the theatre (is this the opposite of moonlighting?). Fast-forward a few years: The librarians convinced me to get my MLIS. I applied and was accepted into my top two schools.

After starting my MLIS at Florida State University in August 2007 – at the speedy pace of one class a semester – I decided to update my employment profile with Cirque. Around Christmas of 2007, I received a phone call inquiring if I would be interested in discussing a contract position doing documentation for a new show. Three months later, my home was boxed up and shipped to Las Vegas where I began my full-time career as information professional with Viva Elvis.

Even though I do full-time LIS work, I found it helpful to still volunteer on Saturdays at the local public library. It helped me to see the parallels between corporate LIS-work and traditional library work. Having both experiences gave me a unique view in some of my MLIS classes and a perspective not often found in grad school.

What do you like most about your work?
I love the digitizing and digital media aspects of my work. I also enjoyed the taxonomy and creating the controlled vocabulary for the show’s structure and elements. I also really enjoyed the initial research of the project, either in the existing electronic document management system or otherwise.

What least?
That no matter how hard I tried, I cannot obtain every critical piece of information needed to keep the show’s technical information at 100%. As with all knowledge management initiatives, you can only gather the information that the content specialists are willing to divulge.

The fact that information can quickly become outdated. Designers often change their minds. Project managers make daily changes on the type of materials used. The equipment is modified so that it requires less maintenance. All those things get documented. Change is the only constant!

The need to do hard copy documentation in triplicate so that the information can be stored in various locations as back-ups and in case of emergency.

What do you see as the various career paths LIS professionals could follow with this type of skill set?
So many! Digital archives management, metadata specialist, corporate archivist, knowledge management, emerging technologies librarian, digital libraries, content management systems analyst, information architecture, usability specialist, search and semantics specialist…

What personal characteristics do you feel are important for someone doing this work?
Tenacity. Inquisitiveness. The ability to work with a wide range of people and tailor your communication style to their voice and needs. Very strong writing skills. Intermediate computer and networking skills and a basic understanding of file structures and file securities. A very strong sense of humor, especially when things keep changing.

What type of education would best prepare someone for this type of work?
Taxonomy, cataloging, digital libraries, information architecture, usability, management, marketing (yes, learn how to “market” to get the information for the content specialists!), metadata, SharePoint 2007-2010 webinars, search theory and practice, business infomatics (BI).

What advice do you have for someone contemplating a career doing the type of work you do?
Documentation is a Jekyll and Hyde style profession since you’re either seen as the savior (Yay! We have the information we need!) or the devil (Why are we missing this information?). It’s not something you can take personally if the content specialist doesn’t convey the information to you. Ask many, many, many questions about whatever your documenting. People love to talk about their projects, so even a question over lunch or happy hour can provide you the information you need. It’s also good to keep up on current digital archive and knowledge management trends since the field is progressing very quickly.

Anything that, looking back, you wish you’d learned in grad school that you didn’t?
What is needed to build a good corporate library. Most MLIS programs are still centered on public and academic librarianship, tending to glaze over the alternate LIS careers. The need for knowledge management and corporate digital archivists is increasing every year, yet very little is mentioned in higher ed. Also, the study of infomatics. It’s still a new field, but it combines information studies, business practices, algorithms, some economics, and psychology to apply it to systems.

Where can we follow your career?
Blog/website: http://saramooney.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/saramooney
Twitter:@Sara_Mooney

Following is Part 1 of a two-part interview with Stephen. Be sure to also see Part 2, LIS Career Insights from Stephen Abram.

KD: Can you tell us a bit about your role as Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Markets, at Cengage Learning?
SA: I’ve only been in this role for just over nine months as I respond to this interview. It’s an evolving position. Cengage Learning, previously known as Gale, is one of the largest educational publishers in the world and the 13th largest publisher of any type. Gale is a solid division in the core library sector for all types of libraries. It’s an exciting place to work right now. The company has already undergone a major reorganization in the past few months to more effectively serve our customers in libraries, academia, colleges and K-12, among others.

My role is to bring a ‘librarian’s’ and the ‘library’ perspective to Cengage’s core strategies. We are on a major innovation curve to create new solutions for our clients. This is a very exciting time in the world of libraries and education as we engage in the invention of the next phases of knowledge portals, new content development, e-learning and e-books/e-textbooks. All of this change is happening in all parts of the world and every library and institution is struggling with the evolutionary and revolutionary challenges wrought by technology, changing expectations, and economic shifts.

My contributions are to create conversations and events that engage clients and libraries in discovering our combined future – quickly and with calculated risk.

The core of my job is to improve the communication between various parts of the library pie – vendors, technology companies, librarians, associations, and publishers. In addition I often work with the management teams of large library systems, associations, universities and colleges, national and state/provincial libraries and consortia on strategic planning exercises. I enjoy these sessions a lot.

Sometimes I am involved throughout the whole process and sometimes I come in at a critical step and contribute my knowledge, insights or expertise. One great benefit I have received from my last few positions is to have visited hundreds of libraries and talked with thousands of library staff and librarians. With this knowledge and network I can help by pointing to successful learning in other library situations and asking better questions. I like to help put more “stretch” in library goals and vision.

KD: Does your job also involve helping to identify new market opportunities?
SA: Yes, another part of my job is to do research, for example, conducting surveys and polls. I’ve been involved in major product initiatives in key areas of knowledge portal development for libraries by working with focus groups. I’ve participated in and lead focus groups of management teams and leaders. I’ve done polls such as one I am working on at this moment that focuses on where the new reference questions are coming from, what challenges libraries are facing, and what solutions are needed.

For example, if we know that career and job hunting questions are huge in libraries now and that good consultations can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, what can we do as a publisher to design information solutions that allow libraries to scale to meet the demand and improve delivery? The same thing applies to the emerging new healthcare environment and demographic changes in healthcare demand. I assist the teams in doing research and communicating the results internally and externally.

On a corporate level, at Cengage Learning, I am fascinated by the emerging new e-learning environment and hybrid education delivery models for K-12, college, career and academic learning. My wife has written a number of major textbooks and I have a vested interest in understanding and contributing to the evolution of new pedagogical support systems for students, faculty, teachers, and administration.

I’m also excited to participate in the development of greater synergy in resources between the classroom experience and the library experience, which is tied into the role of traditional electronic database vendors in supporting homework, research, discovery, invention, essay writing and development, That is where my partnership activities take place, as we engage cross-functional teams of clients and Cengage Learning (Gale) in co-development activities.

I like to think of myself as a change agent. I also like to think that I am multilingual in that I speak libarianese, publisher, techie, vendor, teacher and author and I can bridge communications between these stakeholders in the sector. Connecting people and making connections is part of my job.

KD: As is a substantial amount of speaking and writing, as well?
SA: Yes, to accomplish making these connections I do a few things that fall under the silly phrase ‘thought leadership.’ It’s not really leadership but it is making sure that all stakeholders are engaged in the conversation as we explore the opportunities and test tactics and strategies.

I give speeches – a lot of them. Lately it has been running about 100-120 speeches a year, often the keynote at major conferences. I do webinars and podcasts. I write books or parts of books. My latest is a chapter in ALA Editions’ Boomers and Beyond and my bestseller is another ALA Editions title, Out Front with Stephen Abram (2007). I’ve also written columns and articles that have appeared in Information Outlook, Multimedia and Internet @ Schools, and SirsiDynix OneSource.

In addition, I write white papers for internal and external purposes on topics under discussion. I often express my opinion or take a position, which can sometimes generate good debate within the profession. And sometimes it can be a negative experience, which is a learning moment, too. When you’re on the cusp of change, people’s reactions can range from religious fervour to anger. I’ve experienced the full range.

I also blog a lot and I’m happy to say that my blog, Stephen’s Lighthouse, shows up regularly on the lists of the most influential and read blogs in librarianship.

I try to share with the profession the key research insights that are driving changes among vendors, libraries, education, and publishing. To this end I track and share technology trends, user behaviour studies, library promotion strategies, library best practices, and leadership and management strategies. Also, since some of this stuff remains a little scary and threatening to many of our colleagues, I try to make it fun by adding the odd personal or silly things. I really enjoy writing every day. I also enjoy the feedback I get via comments, emails and letters.

KD: Before your current position, you were VP of Innovation at SirsiDynix; in what way did that experience differ from your current one?

SA: I did many of the same things at SirsiDynix. Again, it was a software publisher in transition from being an internal workflow system that managed libraries’ internal operations to one that was challenged by the need to address end users in their experiences with OPACs and databases and websites.

As such, we invested in a lot in user research, focus groups, and usability testing. We learned a lot as the users changed along with us. It was an interesting time for me as we moved to open up the SirsiDynix software suites to more integration using APIs and building cloud-based computing to reduce TCO (total cost of ownership) costs. We also did some great work in building content experiences for various kinds of libraries and schools.

During this time, I had the opportunity to do some very interesting leading-edge research there on personas and user goals using the leading Cynefin research process and team. To this day I still refer to the insights we gained and the differences between the goals of end users and librarians’ perceptions of those goals.

At SirsiDynix I was involved in a couple of major acquisitions and a big merger. I had done this sort of management strategy before but this one was more interesting since I saw it from the executive-level planning environment instead of as an implementation change agent. Boy! These events are complicated and complex, and it gave me renewed respect for those who lead these types of strategic changes.

I started my blog at SirsiDynix and brought it with me when I left. I learned a lot from my experience there, especially the differences between software vendors and electronic publishers. I expanded my writing activities there and discovered more of my personal voice, too.

My favourite activity there was being in charge of the SirsiDynix Institute. We were able to put on a lot of regular, free programming for hundreds of library staff and institutions through that vehicle. I’ve done a few programs for SDI since I left, as well.

KD: What other types of work have you done related to librarianship?
SA: I’ve had a lot of diverse experiences since I graduated from library school in 1980. This was largely in special libraries and the private sector. Maybe I just can’t hold down a job! But really I always changed jobs when the new job provided learning and growth opportunities. I always tried to work in intensive information and knowledge environments with lots of people smarter than me so that I got stretched. Hence I ended up in large consulting firms a lot where the diversity of work addressed my short attention span.

I started right out of school in a contract position in an oil firm’s records management center and library. After that I took a contract with Currie, Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), which evolved into my first full-time professional position as the company’s national librarian. I brought them into online searching and built databases that allowed them to retrieve their corporate memory. I learned a lot about business research, accounting, finance, mergers, and consulting and that has stood me in good stead to this day.

I was recruited from CC&L to lead the development of a new information resources unit at Hay Management Consultants / Hay Group, a very large human resources, compensation and organization development consultancy. I loved it there and grew as a leader. I finished my first automation project and was given increasingly complex tasks including managing marketing, graphics, and administration in addition to the library/information resource centre. In the mid-80’s I even managed the company move, added networked office automation, and won a major interior design award. Again, I learned a lot from the smart people I worked with.

KD: And then you became involved in the early days of electronic publishing?
SA: Yes, I ended up in the publishing industry in 1991 when this sector was trying to address the early changes being wrought by digital content and the web. I was the first Publisher of Electronic Information at Thomson Electronic Publishing (which is now Thomson Reuters).

I learned a great deal as we worked to reinvent legal publishing and to stay ahead of the curve of change. And it wasn’t easy. Many of the challenges were as much cultural as they were technological. I started this project before the web arrived and focused on early online and CD-ROM products.

Eventually I did a lot of web-oriented work in strategy development. I started out in the domains of law, tax, accounting, HR, and business information for online and CD-ROM product management and development. This position built on my core knowledge of the subject but we were largely inventing the electronic publishing systems as we went along. During this time I had the opportunity to work with very early versions of SGML and XML and their creators, including Tim Bray, co-inventor of XML. It was a very exciting and tiring time.

I left to join Micromedia Limited, then Canada’s major electronic publisher, to help them migrate the company’s crown jewel products to the web as well as to move from index to full-text publishing. Again, my understanding of libraries and librarians helped us to build the products. At this point they were largely ‘librarian’ products and needed to be more user-friendly for end-users.

It was great fun but quite a roller coaster as we weathered a few recessions and quite a few mergers and acquisitions. I learned about the standards publishing business when we were owned by IHS (Information Handling Services) Inc., and eventually Micromedia was acquired by ProQuest.

KD: Were there a lot of librarians working with you on the vendor side?
SA: Overall I was always amazed by the huge number of professional librarians employed in the vendor side of libraries. I know at one point there were over 300 at SirsiDynix, dozens in Micromedia, and an uncountable number in IHS, ProQuest and Cengage Learning (Gale). It has been rare that I have been working in a company where we did not have more librarians on staff than our client libraries. As such, I was always in an environment where I felt comfortable being a librarian and was supported as a librarian.

KD: What role has being involved in professional organizations played in your career?
SA: Throughout my entire career I’ve been materially involved and engaged in my professional associations. Really should enter a 12-step program as an association junkie! I have been on the board of the Canadian Library Association, the Ontario Library Association and the Special Libraries Association (SLA). I have been president of each and these were great learning experiences and increased the size of my professional network.

I might be the only person who has ever endured all of the presidencies of his local, provincial, national, and international associations. Involvement in SLA, CLA, OLA, IFLA, ITAC and others has provided a great sandbox for me to learn and try new skills. I made efforts to move the strategies of our associations along – especially in the areas of the virtual association, e-learning, communication, advocacy and promotion of libraries.

I’ve also had the opportunity to participate in six of the ten editions of the Northern Exposure to Leadership Institutes (NELI) in Canada. We focus as a team on creating a dynamic generation of new library leaders in Canada. These are always transformational and I always learn more about myself at every NELI. I’ve been very grateful for these experiences and the friends I’ve made there.

Lastly, I sit on a number of advisory boards, including those of four graduate LIS programs. I advise three journals on their editorial boards and also sit on a number of advisory boards and planning committees for conferences, which I enjoy very much.

I volunteer, a lot. I rarely say no unless I absolutely can’t.

KD: What do you find most rewarding about the work you do?
SA: The most rewarding thing for me is to know the people in our profession. It’s as simple as that. These are smart people who are fun to be around. They’re doing not just good but great work. We’re on the edge of achieving something very important – the creation of a society that has information- and knowledge-based decision-making at its core. And it’s the people in libraries who will be a big part of that.

Secondarily, I enjoy being immersed in change and ambiguous environments. I don’t enjoy jobs with simple, pat answers and rules. I am not so good at the bleeding edge, but the bruising edge is fine for me. It is exciting to be in a profession that has a history of adapting to change and making strides with technology. Too many librarians forget that some of our innovations are what made Google, Yahoo!, indices, e-books, and searching possible. It’s great to be at the confluence of technology, content, community and service in our profession and to be involved in inventing the new modes.

Lastly, what can you say about a profession and career where you learn something new every day and get to help people in a significant way every day? We might not be getting rich in dollars but in every other way . . .

If anyone has any questions I’ll try to continue this conversation through e-mail. My e-mail address is stephen.abram@gmail.com.

Amelia has had an amazing impact on the profession. She shares insights about her career here…

What is your current position or professional role?
I’m president of MarketingBase and specialize in industry, company and competitive and market intelligence research. I offer The Mentor Program for new Independent Information Professionals and teach successful business development, research methods, and cost and time-effective procedures using fee-based databases and advanced techniques for internet research. I also teach online research (beginning and advanced), competitive intelligence research, and information entrepreneurship at San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science and workshops for Simmons GSLIS CE.

How long have you been doing this work?
I’ve been a professional librarian since graduating with an MLS in 1971. I added an extra year of training by becoming an intern in medical librarianship at the UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library from 1971 to 1972. I moved to Sonoma County in 1974 and became an adult services reference librarian. I started my business (originally called A.S.K. Information Specialist – my initials) in 1982 and went full time in 1984. I co-founded my current business, MarketingBase, in 1984. I taught information brokering at San Jose SLIS face-to-face from the early to mid-nineties and have been teaching distance courses there since 2004.

What career path led you to this work?
After working as a medical librarian, I moved to northern California and was a reference librarian at the Sonoma County Public Library from 1974-1984. I wanted more challenging work and a different experience, which led me to starting my research business in 1982. I went full time in 1984 after working at it for two years (mornings, evenings, and weekends) while still employed. I was very careful to avoid any conflict of interest.

What do you like most about your work?
I like the independence and creativity of operating a business. I love online research and finding information.

What least?
Bookkeeping, which, by the way, I outsource.

What do you see as the various career paths LIS professionals could follow with this type of skill set?
I hope that those who love research and the hunt will follow a similar career path.

What personal characteristics do you feel are important for someone doing this work?
• Independence
• Determination
• Persistence
• Critical thinking
• Self-starter

What type of courses would best prepare someone for this type of work?
• Business and marketing courses
• Specialty courses in conducting various type of research

What advice do you have for someone contemplating a career doing the type of work you do?
• Assess your strengths and weaknesses and prepare a plan of action to overcome weaknesses.
• Carefully evaluate your interests and capabilities and decide whether you can commit to a similar career path fully.

Anything that, looking back, you wish you’d learned in grad school that you didn’t?
Grad school was challenging and enjoyable. New technology requires continuous learning but grad school laid an excellent foundation.

Where can we follow your career?
Join AIIP! That’s where I’m most active and share my secrets and successes by voluntarily answering dozens of questions and participating in AIIP-L, the private discussion forum for AIIP members. I love sharing with those just starting out and also with my colleagues and peers who already operate independent information businesses. I’m on LinkedIn and teach short courses for Simmons GSLIS CE.

What is your current position or professional role?
I am a management consultant for the library community. I speak at conferences, conduct workshops at libraries, facilitate meetings, and provide advice for groups and individuals. My topics are mostly what people don’t learn in grad school: personnel, management, leadership, strategic planning, project management, customer service, marketing, conflict management and career issues. I also help write, produce and market online classes in various formats. My main partner is the University of North Texas LE@D program, which provides online continuing education classes for libraries.

How long have you been doing this work?
I started in 1978; since 1989, about 85% of my clients have been people who for libraries and higher education.

What career path (in terms of previous jobs, education, volunteer work, etc.) led you to this work?
A series of well-timed accidents, a short attention span, and a love of books and writing. I did not follow a career path the “right” way. I was flexible, indifferent to status, interested in new ideas, willing to take risks, willing to work hard, and nice to everyone. Two paths converged: a desire to impact people with my work as a performance poet and playwright, and a belief in the importance of a marketplace of ideas. When I started presenting information, I listened to my audiences, so I am doing something different today than I was 30 years ago.

What do you like most about your work?
The best part is when I feel that the people I work with are able to take the information and make it their own, creating success for themselves and others – I want to put myself out of a job!

What least?
Watching people make themselves and others unhappy, without the ability and/or interest in changing. I feel frustrated, and I doubt my ability to do the work I was hired to do.

What do you see as the various career paths LIS professionals could follow with this type of skill set?
Anything in adult education, including training, coaching, supervision, project management, or organizational development.

What personal characteristics do you feel are important for someone doing this work?
I am told I am positive (self-motivating), a risk-taker, interested in new ideas, respectful, good-humored, articulate, able to think on my feet, eclectic in terms of professional influences (I don’t worship at one altar or discipline), energetic, and mostly kind. You have to like people, and think of other people as your equals, not that you are better than other humans.

What type of education (grad school courses, additional training, etc.) would best prepare someone for this type of work?
I favor a diverse liberal arts education with formal classes in adult education, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, history, and sociology. Also, I prefer that people have lots of job experiences in blue-collar and service jobs outside of libraries and academe, so that they can relate to everyone in the workplace and walking in the front door, not just other MLSs. I have washed dishes, worked in Headstart programs with toddlers, sold cameras and clothing, worked in print shops and warehouses, etc. Finally, I think theater training is more valuable than “speaker” programs – a good class in improvisational theater teaches you to be fearless.

What advice do you have for someone contemplating a career doing the type of work you do?
Start today. Don’t wait until you are perfect. You know stuff; find audiences and learn how you can improve. When I was first developing my practice as a trainer, I spent a year volunteering as a speaker and workshop leader for 50 different organizations, in exchange for feedback, while I earned my income elsewhere. At the end of a year, I had a stack of recommendations, lots of feedback, and real offers of work.

Anything that, looking back, you wish you’d learned in grad school that you didn’t?
I never went to grad school, but I know they don’t teach one how to run an enterprise. There is next to nothing in library schools about how to be an independent information professional: market oneself, run a business, etc.

Where can we follow your career?
Linked In is the best way – Look for Pat Wagner with Pattern Research, Inc, Denver

Following are the answers Mary Ellen gave to questions about her career path:

What is your current position or professional role?
It’s a personal point of pride that I don’t have a job title, but I will admit to being the founder and principal of Bates Information Services Inc. I help my clients make better-informed strategic decisions through research and analysis, and I offer business coaching for both new and long-time independent info pros.

How long have you been doing this work?
I started my business in 1991, after having worked in special libraries for more than a decade.

What career path led you to this work?
I worked in special libraries for 12 years, primarily managing corporate information centers. I loved the research, but didn’t enjoy managing people or working within large organizations. While attending a Special Libraries Association conference back in the late 1980s, I saw an exhibit booth for the Association of Independent Information Professionals, and I knew I’d found my future.

Before I started my business, I spent a year doing all the preliminary planning. I saved up an initial investment in the business, and I networked like crazy. Then I just set a date for my launch, gave my employer a month’s notice, and haven’t looked back. I have been an independent info pro for almost 20 years and I can’t imagine a better job.

What do you like most about your work?
It’s hard to identify just one thing. I love being able to challenge myself, to explore new ideas, to determine the direction of my career. I can create a living by doing what I find fun, stimulating and fulfilling. Who could ask for more?

What least?
Maybe I’m just a Pollyanna, but there isn’t anything about my work that I really dislike. While marketing is a constant, I have created a marketing strategy that feels comfortable and genuine for me. Cash flow fluctuates, but it’s just something I plan for. And although I’m doing this interview at 11pm, I was able to spend this morning hiking in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

What do you see as the various career paths LIS professionals could follow with this type of skill set?
For a number of reasons, most independent info pros start their businesses mid-career rather than at the beginning of their professional life. Interestingly, I have known a number of info pros who have gone the independent route and then, for any number of reasons, decided to close the business and become an employee.

Most of them say that their new employers particularly valued their entrepreneurial skills – the ability to negotiate, to manage clients, to develop and live within a budget, and to manage time. Once you’ve started a business, you realize that you’re capable of really stretching yourself.

What personal characteristics do you feel are important for someone doing this work?
I see three different skill sets being required of an independent info pro: entrepreneurial skills, the ability to run a business, and either a deep familiarity with finding and analyzing information or a strong set of subcontractors. There aren’t that many people who are naturally strong in all three areas. In my experience, the entrepreneurial instincts are the most critical. Both the ability to run a business and to provide the information services can be learned or subcontracted; an entrepreneur’s fire in the belly can’t be taught or outsourced.

What type of education (grad school courses, additional training, etc.) would best prepare someone for this type of work?
Becoming an info-entrepreneur is usually easier for someone who has worked in the information industry for at least a few years. If you are an LIS student considering this profession, take courses on entrepreneurship, marketing (particularly as it applies to special libraries or independent info pros), project management, competitive intelligence, and perhaps a course on business writing. Focus on the skills you’ll need in a few years, as well as the ones necessary to land a job today.

What advice do you have for someone contemplating a career as an independent information pro?
Being an info-entrepreneur can be the scariest job you’ll ever love. When I launched my business, I felt like I was stepping out into the unknown; I had no idea what to expect. I simply took the approach that failure was not an option, and I found a way to learn what I needed to know.

The best preparation for becoming an info-entrepreneur is to challenge yourself regularly. Seek out opportunities to stretch yourself. Volunteer to do public speaking, especially if the thought of it scares you. Take on leadership roles within your workplace or your community. Start adding value to everything you do – become familiar with writing executive summaries, creating charts and graphs from statistics, developing slide decks, and so on. In other words, get accustomed to the feeling of being at the edge of your comfort zone, and yes, it takes practice.

Anything that, looking back, you wish you’d learned in grad school that you didn’t?
Not really. I somehow had the foresight to take courses that would jump-start my career and make my résumé shine, and that had long-term usefulness. Back then, the key courses were in database design and programming; now, I would take courses in designing information services, strategic management of libraries and information architecture. Think about what you skills you want to bring to your next employer.

Where can we follow your career?

My various online selves are at
web site: batesinfo.com
blog: librarian of fortune.com
twitter: mebs
facebook: maryellenbates
linkedin: maryellenbates

I am the author of six books, most recently the second edition of Building & Running a Successful Research Business.

What is your current position or professional role?
I’m the taxonomy manager at First Wind, a wind energy company in Boston.

How long have you been doing this work?
I’ve been at First Wind only a couple of weeks, but I have been working in the field of taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, and thesauri for about 14 years.

What career path (in terms of previous jobs, education, volunteer work, etc.) led you to this work?
My career path into this field started as a database indexer of periodical articles at a library vendor, what was then Information Access Company (which then became Gale Group, then Thomson Gale, then Thomson Learning, now Cengage Learning).

I sort of fell into indexing, because the job title was posted as “abstractor,” and I had a writing/editorial background. They had a 6-week in-house training program for new-hire indexer-abstractors to learn how to use the controlled vocabularies and follow the in-house editorial policies. I indexed (and abstracted some) trade journals for the Trade & Industry database, and then for a change of pace switched to index Predicasts Overview of Markets and Technology (PROMT) before moving into the vocabulary group.

I really liked the work in controlled vocabulary: researching and adding new terms, suggesting terms to indexers to index current events, writing indexing policies, mapping our terms to those of third party vendors, and then restructuring large sections of the vocabularies when it was decided to put them into a true thesaurus form. One of the leading consultant experts in the field, Jessica Milstead, came in to train us vocabulary editors on correct thesaurus standards.

When I got laid off, I then started my own freelance business of indexing and taxonomy work and eventually training services as well. I also dabbled in website design and information architecture, learning more about how taxonomies fit into web site navigation and design. Freelance taxonomy projects included various information services and directory-type websites and designing some internal (enterprise) taxonomies.

For the latter I did some subcontracting for a taxonomy consultancy, Earley & Associates. It was quite a different experience to work as a consultant, coming into a company knowing rather little and having to ask the right people all the right questions in order to provide a taxonomy plan.

Preferring a steady paycheck, I left freelancing to work as the taxonomist at an enterprise search engine software start-up company. I developed standard taxonomies from scratch to integrate with the auto-classification and search engine to classify documents. I learned about the field of search engines and auto-classification and how to create taxonomies for automatic indexing instead of human indexing. The startup didn’t make it, though, so after a year and half I was back to freelancing, consulting, and writing a book on taxonomy work.

Last month I started in my most recent position. As the taxonomy manager at First Wind, I am responsible for both the design of classification of content in the intranet (SharePoint-based), the metadata fields for documents, and a new taxonomy to support the auto-classification system the company is starting to use. This position requires skills in all areas of taxonomy work I have had previously: web site navigation, hierarchical taxonomies, faceted taxonomies based on metadata, and working with information technology people, and interviewing users in different departments as I did when I was a consultant.

What do you like most about your work?
Taxonomists do not have to specialize in one subject area, and I’ve been fortunate to work with terms and content in all kinds of subject areas, learning about different things. I also appreciate that with this one career I’ve been able to work in different industries and with different kinds of professionals. Taxonomy work, especially for enterprise taxonomies, is also very much an analytical problem-solving type of work which makes it quite intellectually stimulating and challenging.

What least?
There are challenges in communication and understandings in this field. There are different perspectives and opinions on what a taxonomy is and what it should do, and how it should be designed. Sometimes people with less experience think they know better, because they know the customers or the technology better. Sometimes, especially in consulting with a new client, it can be difficult to determine what exactly the task at hand is and what the scope should be. It’s difficult to estimate how long it will take to build a taxonomy.

What do you see as the various career paths LIS professionals could follow with this type of skill set?
The career opportunities for taxonomies are really quite varied. There are the library vendors, which index vast numbers of periodical and reference content with taxonomies, which includes both the traditional, large vendors and newer niche specialty vendors. There are search engines and other software companies that may make use of taxonomies. There is consulting, whether on your own or as a subcontractor or employee of a consulting firm. Finally, increasingly, medium to large companies, nonprofits, and government agencies realize that they need a taxonomist on staff to design, create, and maintain internal custom taxonomies to manage internal content.

Career paths may be from a general corporate librarian, a subject matter expert, an indexer or cataloger, a web information architect, a database designer. It’s really quite varied.

What personal characteristics do you feel are important for someone doing this work?
I mention some of these in my book, The Accidental Taxonomist:
•Analytical skills
•Organization/categorization skills
•Language skills (dealing with words, concepts, and their meanings)
•Attention to detail
•Attention to user needs (as your goal is always to help users find information)
•Ability to work independently (often you will be the sole taxonomist)
•Ability to work with diverse people
•Communication skills (often to explain what taxonomies are and/or how they are to be used)

What type of education would best prepare someone for this type of work?
MLIS program courses in taxonomies, thesauri or controlled vocabularies are most applicable, although not all degree programs even have them. Other relevant courses would be in knowledge organization, classification, subject analysis, or organization of information.

Continuing education workshops, such as the one I teach (“Taxonomies & Controlled Vocabularies” through Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science), are another good option.

There are also conference full-day and half-day workshops on taxonomies offered at ALA, SLA, ASIS&T, the American Society for Indexing, and the IA Summit, in addition to commercial conferences, such as Taxonomy Boot Camp.

What advice do you have for someone contemplating a career doing the type of work you do?
Jobs that are strictly taxonomists are still relatively rare, but jobs that include taxonomy work are numerous. If you already have a job, see if you can start a taxonomy project as part of that job. You’ll gain invaluable experience just doing it. You may be able to design your own taxonomy job, or keep your eyes open for taxonomy job openings.

Join the Taxonomy Jobs list to see occasional job postings, and join the Taxonomy Community of Practice discussion group to learn more about the field. And read my book! It’s The Accidental Taxonomist (Information Today, 2010).

Anything that, looking back, you wish you’d learned in grad school that you didn’t?
Well, I didn’t study the right field in grad school, so I took an extra couple of years to get on track with my career, but that was 20 years ago, and after many years of experience, what I studied then doesn’t matter as much as the practical experience I gained.

Technology has also changed a lot in the meantime, and technology has a big impact on taxonomies. I do think that a course or training in metadata management would be very useful.

Where can we follow your career?
You can check out the website for The Accidental Tourist, which is a sub-site of my Heather Hedden website. Although I’m no longer freelancing, I maintain that site with lists of articles I have written and presentations I’ve given or plan to give.

I don’t have my own blog, but have contributed to The Taxonomy Blog, and to another blog here.

Lastly, you can check out my LinkedIn profile.