Thing 5 - cpd23 - Reflective Practice

Thing 5 is upon us - in fact, as I write this, we are almost ready to start on Thing 6! I am feeling a bit happier this week though, as I finally got the chance to blog about some other things that have been going on - although there's still a bit of a backlog, at least it's a bit of progress!

Looking back at the first 4 Things, I am amazed at how my outlook on using many Web 2.0 technologies have changed in such a short time. Looking back at my very first blog post, I was VERY unsure and apprehensive of the concept in its entirety, and had no idea what I really wanted to get out of blogging, other than taking part in cpd23. I cannot deny how surprised I am at how every time I write a post, I feel just a bit more confident and at ease with the concept. I certainly still have a lot to learn, and I have no idea how much any of my posts are being read (with the exception of my two followers of course - thank you Kate and Jo!! :)) ) It is undoubtedly an encouraging feeling when people take the trouble to subscribe to the blog, because it makes me feel that I am not just talking into a great big black hole - and moreover, that what I am saying is actually of some interest!!

So already I have found that this is fantastic way of reflecting on my professional development, not just for the purposes of the cpd23 challenge, but also for my Chartership goals. What also - yet again - surprised me, was how interesting Thing 2 is on an ongoing basis. Checking out other blogs has been an excellent way of gaining an insight into such a variety of information roles - the only problem I have is lack of time in which to do a bit more browsing. But it's really interesting to read about how other participants are finding the programme, and also, it's quite enlightening to see the various styles of writing, and what people are writing about other than cpd23. I definitely feel that my professional awareness - that is, my understanding of the challenges faced by other information professionals in different fields - has increased purely from reading and commenting on other blogs. I really do hope to carry this activity on throughout the whole challenge - and hopefully beyond. Previously I had only followed the the BIALL (law librarian association) blog and that of a fellow legal professional: The Running Librarian. While I still follow these blogs, it's been nice to get a chance to sample such a huge assortment!

Looking back at Thing 3, where I considered my personal brand, I must admit that I still feel a little unsure as to what that actually is! I talked at length about my apprehension over writing this blog as 'me', and explained why I had chosen to write under a pseudonym. I have to admit that I still stand by that decision and I am going to continue writing in this way, as I do feel more comfortable and more free in what I talk about. At the same time, however, when I go along to one of the networking events, I certainly wouldn't go as far as to conceal my identity and deny that I am 'Law Lib Extraordinaire'!! I do realise that I am making it a bit harder to network, compared to everyone who writes very clearly as themselves, but nonetheless, I am sticking with it.

In addition to this, I definitely feel I am establishing my 'brand' with every blog post. I think I mentioned that I wanted to come across as informative, but in a chatty, informal way, and steer away from what I see as the more negative connotations of a typical 'librarian'....

Thing 4 led me into the world of Twitter, RSS feeds and Pushnote. I have to admit this is probably been the 'Thing' that I got the least out of. I was already pretty confident in my use of RSS feeds - I use Google Reader to follow a number of blogs that relate to work, and also to aggregate a number of Google search alerts I have set up to track particular things for fee-earners' current awareness. I did sign up for Twitter, and while I have to say, from just observing other cpd23 participants' tweets, I can see how it could be useful for short bursts of real time information or chat, it just hasn't been feasible for me to take part because the site is blocked at work. My aim was to 'tweet' of an evening, but as you know, I am struggling to find sufficient time to keep this blog updated - and also to be perfectly candid about it, when I am tired after work and I sit down in the evening, I simply don't feel inspired to come up with anything that would be of interest!! Just too tired I think. As you know I decided against Pushnote as I didn't really see any benefit to it in the workplace - not to mention the fact that I wouldn't be allowed to install the program at work anyway. So Thing 4 was a bit of an anti-climax for me - but it's made me look forward to what's next on the agenda even more!

Looking forward to Thing 5 on networking - will hopefully make it along to the London meetup as well....

Image courtesy of: Danilo Rizzuti - http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=851

Dealing with urgent requests

Another thing you may be learning about me is that I very much enjoy checking out the Harvard Business Review Daily Management Tips. Admittedly some are a bit less relevant to the law library than others - i.e. the very full-on, worthy of an MBA Grad/Apprentice candidate ones, but at least a couple of times a week, there's something that I can definitely relate to.

The most recent one fitting that category was called 3 Tips for dealing with an urgent request, and it immediately struck a chord with me; the reason being that working for lawyers who 99% of the time don't just want something now - they want it yesterday! The first tip that is given is 'don't assume urgent means right now' - and this is definitely something I can relate to.  It means that the environment we work in can be very high-pressured a lot of the time, as more often than not we are juggling a number of enquiries at once. However, over the years I have come to realise that given the chance, a number of lawyers will say that a query is 'urgent'; that they need something done by the end of the day, when in actual fact they won't be reading the work we send back to them for several days! Therefore in order to provide an efficient information and research service to everyone - and to ensure that we can prioritise the genuinely time-critical requests,  if we are really pushed for time we will try and tease out of the fee-earner if there is any capacity for flexibility in terms of the deadline they have given - and nine times out of ten, they are able to extend the deadline they originally gave. So while we always aim to get back to someone as quickly as possible, on the occasions where this is just not possible, you need to know how to best handle a stressed-out lawyer - it's important to show that you still consider their request as important as the others, and that in order to ensure you produce a comprehensive piece of research, if any leeway on the deadline can be given, it would be very helpful in achieving this.

The second tip given is 'respond, but don't necessarily act'. Again, this is incredibly apt! One of the things that we always do as a department is acknowledge every single email that we are sent, and if necessary, clarify the deadline and anything else that is unclear in terms of the task. I cannot emphasise the importance of this enough, because I think (and I realise this is something of a generalisation, but please just go with it!) lawyers are by nature the sort of people who like/feel the need to be kept in the loop at all stages - nothing seems to frustrate our lawyers more than the feeling that we might not be giving their request the attention it merits. What is also interesting is that I have several 'regular' fee-earners who come to me directly for research, and out of them I have a couple who, from time to time, will send me an email with a very vague request, and ask me to contact them to discuss in more detail. Dutifully I do so with haste, only to find I reach their voicemail. I leave a message asking them to call back, and offering to come and see them when it's convenient. I'll also back this up with an email, just to cover myself in case they miss the voicemail. Days, then weeks, will go by, and I won't ever hear any more about it! Earlier on in my career this would worry me terribly, as I would fear that for some reason, they may have missed my communications and be thinking that I just hadn't bothered to get back in touch, but now, I don't let it bother me at all, for I know that there are simply always one or two fee-earners who I honestly think just like to feel that they are my priority! And/or they have a grand idea about something they want to find out, but don't really think about it in any more detail, and so when I push for more information, they never come back to me because it wasn't really that important in the first place...!

The third and final tip is 'be prepared to say no' - now this one that I struggle with in all walks of life, not just in a professional capacity! I think it truly takes some effort to teach yourself how to say no to requests, be they from friends or colleagues, because for lots of people, it's natural for us to want to help out, even if it puts us out. As a department, we rarely ever decline a research request - in fact I would go so far as to say that the 'can-do' attitude of my bosses is the best I have ever known out of all the law firms I have worked for. I know that our Director takes pride in the fact that there is very little research that we won't carry out - and we are fortunate to have someone like this at the helm, for I believe such an attitude from the No.1 trickles down through to the rest of the team. The only occasions on which I have had to tactfully tell someone that we cannot assist him/her was once when we were extremely busy and a paralegal asked me if I would go through a manual and update any references - our Director felt that this was something the paralegal could easily do himself, in light of us being so busy with far more urgent work for fee-earners. I think there was also an occasion in the last year or so, whereby a fee-earner decided he wanted 'everything' on the internet that mentioned a particular phrase - 'everything' was clearly impossible, for where do you draw the line under 26000+ Google references?!

I think the upshot is that in our line of work, you should really only say 'no' sparingly, and not just because a task might take longer than you would like! Where there is a worthy reason, eg. you don't have access to the relevant resources, or a task simply isn't a good use of time at a particular point, then saying 'no' is often necessary - but always cushion the blow by saying 'no' in such a way that the fee-earner still feels he/she is your number one priority. After all, our main purpose is at the end of the day to support the fee-earners and provide a high-level and efficient research and information service, so in order to justify our very existence, saying 'no' should not be a regular occurrence.

So there you have it - an insight into dealing with all those 'urgent' requests in a law firm library. Respond to your fee-earners in a timely manner, but don't be afraid to negotiate a deadline that is still as soon as possible, but that doesn't involve you dropping every other matter you're working on. And if the request really is utterly outlandish/unfeasible, learning to say 'no' will also educate the fee-earners in what actually is a reasonable request to make.

Effectively Fighting Information Overload - Dow Jones Webinar: Some reflection...

For those who know me well in the information world, I have something of a fixation with the concept of 'information overload', having studied its effects on legal information professionals and PSLs (Professional Support Lawyers) in great depth for my MSc dissertation. So when I had the opportunity to take part in this free webinar offered by the new Dow Jones Knowledge Professionals Alliance, you can imagine my excitement....!

The session was hosted by Jonathan Spira, chief Analyst of BASEX, a research firm focusing on the issues faced by companies in what he terms today's 'knowledge economy'.

A common definition of information overload is 'an excess of information that results in loss of ability to make decisions, process information and prioritise tasks'. My interest in this concept stems from a realisation that just through being trained information professionals, we are not immune to the crippling effects of overload. The only difference is that we may be more aware of it and consequently be better placed to counteract it.

Jonathan began by telling us how a number of high profile individuals feel about the problems they face as a result of too much information. Peter Miles, EVP of BMW described it as 'a scourge on modern day society', with other executives from companies like IBM also maintaining that the volume of information they receive on a daily basis, through emails, instant messages and phonecalls effectively means that they are prevented from getting to the information which is relevant.

A survey conducted by Dow Jones revealed  that one of the most common problems faced by knowledge professionals (or information professionals if you prefer) is keeping up with the various channels of e-news that feed into them from various sources. Indeed this was my number one reason for experiencing information overload, therefore it's interesting to see that I am not alone in this feeling. Jonathan discussed the fact that some 10-15 years ago, we would never have foreseen this, because there was great excitement over the plethora of information out there - we revelled in the fact that we could send an email to hundreds of people all at once, if we so desired. But today it is a double edged sword. The almost constant stream of information, be it from emails, instant messages (apparently many big firms now have an Instant Message system), RSS feeds, Twitter and other social media, means that sometimes we are forced to sift through so much useless, irrelevant information, that we end up missing what is valuable. Furthermore, the feeling that we never have enough time to keep on top of it all can lead to frustration and/or fear, that we are unable to do our jobs effectively and that we are never quite working to our full potential.

A very interesting little fact that Jonathan also told us is that a 30 second interruption means you take 5 minutes to get back to where you were. It doesn't sound like much until you think about all those little 30 second interruptions caused by emails, telephone calls, messages on Twitter etc. In a nutshell, the 'recovery time' from an interruption is generally up to 10-20 times the duration of the interruption!!

Now I realise as I write this that it does seem like I am completely going against Thing 4 in our cpd23 challenge, which was of course to get to grips with things like RSS feeds and Twitter and so on. So please don't think I am discouraging this!! These tools play a valid part in my keeping up with current awareness on behalf of my fee earners, so I certainly won't be stopping any of them - but what is definitely important, is to develop skills to manage all the information that these tools provide, and NOT  to let the information manage you....

Which leads us nicely onto the last part of the session, which was looking at ways to combat information overload. One thing Jonathan highlighted was to be cautious in one's use of the 'reply all' button on emails, as very often, we include people on the distribution list who have no real need to be party to a particular email, which in turn contributes to other's overload.

He also introduced us to the concept of 'BLUF' - Bottom Line Up Front' - and said that this is a useful acronym to bear in mind when writing emails. In general, people often don't read beyond the 2nd paragraph of an email - not very good for those of us who keep all the juicy info to the 3rd, 4th and 5th paragraphs! But by following BLUF, we can ensure that people get an immediate idea of what the email is going to cover, and so they can decide within a matter of seconds if it's relevant to them. So it basically means spelling out that the email is going to cover X, Y and Z.

Finally another solution offered was one that, in theory, should be second nature to information professionals like ourselves, and that is, to control our search results - use BOOLEAN logic operators to narrow our search results to a more manageable number. Jonathan said that the majority of queries run on Google use no form of Boolean logic whatsoever, and instead are just natural language questions. This is where information professionals are trained to manipulate the huge amount of information out there more effectively than the average searcher.

All in all, it was a very interesting session and it definitely served to remind me why I have such an interest in examining the effects of information overload on my profession. As always, any thoughts/experiences on this topic are more than welcome, not just from legal information specialists, but from anyone who has encountered this in their working life...

An unusual enquiry...historical climate data...

I was recently asked to obtain very specific information with regard to the climate, over a specific period in a very specific part of the UK! And - of course - it was super urgent. Needless to say this wasn't something I had ever had to look for before, and because of the need for very precise data, even just (just!?! - ah the irony) obtaining copies of weather forecasts from old newspapers for that area would suffice.

After much Googling/general frustrated tearing of hair, it became apparent that all roads lead to the Met Office, if you want to obtain reassuredly authoritative and accurate data. I was delighted to find that they could indeed supply the data that I wanted, from a recording station that was as near to the area in question as possible. Brilliant. The downside was that there'd be a hefty charge involved, which never goes down well in today's cost-conscious environment...Anyway, the upshot is that owing to a lack of other options,we paid the fee and got the data, and in the process I learned a great deal about humidity and temperature - everyone's a winner!!! ;)

Just a little taste of the randomness of some of the things we are asked for here in the law firm library....

Take a grownup recess...why taking a break away from your desk is a good thing

Just came across this item from the Harvard Business Review Management Tip of the Day and it definitely struck a chord with me, because this is a habit that I am trying to acquire at the moment!

Harvard Business Review states:
"It's widely accepted that children need time to get out of the classroom and just play. Why do we assume adults grow out of this? The truth is taking breaks from work makes you more productive."

The reason I decided to change things - or at least try to - was after a conversation with a friend, following protracted discussions trying to arrange a simple lunch meetup. My friend was horrified that there were times I felt guilty over leaving the office for more than 15 minutes at lunchtime! She reminded me that getting away from your desk for a more substantial amount of time shouldn't even be regarded as a luxury, but rather a necessity! Since then I have tried on at least some days of the week, to take at least 45 mins, if not the full hour. I have to admit it's a struggle at times, because when we are all really busy as a team, it's hard to walk away from it even temporarily, while some others beaver away at their desk whilst gulping down a sandwich at the same time. However, I was also thinking recently about what the qualities of a 'good' manager are, and I realised that one of the things I admire most in current/previous managers are those who not only encourage their team members to take adequate breaks, but also those who set a good example by taking a break themselves also. I think this really helps to ease any guilt that team members may feel otherwise.

Consequently I am trying to look upon my taking a more adequate lunch break not only as something that will benefit my own health and wellbeing, but it's also something that is setting a good example to the others in my team - and since building up a more mentoring/supervisory role with them is one of my aims, I think that this can only be a good thing.

When I do take a prolonged break at lunch, I either go to meet a friend for coffee or a quick bite, or simply just take my book and sit outside (plenty of benches and walls to sit on near our office that are thankfully set a little bit away from the madding crowd of the City!). If I have telephone calls to make, I'll do that if possible too - although interestingly, one of the tips from Harvard Business Review was actually to switch your phone off!

I think the feelings of guilt that we often associate with taking a full lunch break are sadly part and parcel of working for an extremely busy firm in the 21s century...but I would be interested to hear if anyone else has encountered such problems, and how they have dealt with them...

I'll leave you with HBR's top 3 tips on 'grownup recess':

1. Take a cell phone break. Turn off your device for 30 minutes. Give your mind a rest from the stream of incoming messages.
2. Treat yourself to a weekly food splurge. You have to shop for food anyway, why not find ways to make it more fun? Buy an unusual food you've never cooked before or visit a new farmers' market.
3. Do a crossword or read a book at lunch. Again, no extra time involved. Use the 20 minutes it takes you to eat a sandwich to engage in a non-work activity.

Thing 4 - followup

Finally got a chance to post some follow up thoughts on my experiences this week with the current awareness tools in Thing 4! Been another manic week in the law library but got a few interesting things I would like to blog about whenever I get the chance! Anyway, back to Thing 4...

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I already used an RSS reader and found it really useful. This last week I decided to add a few more cpd23 participants' blogs, as I have been finding it difficult to find the time at work to explore other blogs and see how others are getting on with the programme. This has worked quite well and so I feel a bit happier in that I have actually had a chance to find out how others have found Thing 4.

One post I found particularly useful was from Palely Loitering - Laura's thoughts on Twitter really helped me. I was struggling to use Twitter in a professional capacity - I think I mentioned this in my earlier post - firstly I can't access it at work anyway, and secondly, I wasn't sure what I would actually Tweet even if I could! However, Laura reminded me that I can use it just as much to follow others and thereby aid my own current awareness on a real-time basis, as I can follow things as and when they happen, as opposed to, for example, waiting for a weekly newsletter rounding up developments in my field. I have since started following several people/institutions, and although I can only access it at home, I can definitely see there is a benefit there. I definitely want to try using it more actively at some point, but for now, I feel happier that I can at last see a purpose in it in a professional capacity! Following some fellow cpd23 bloggers as well as @CILIPinfo and @BIALL_uk....

Have to admit I am pretty glad there is a reflection week coming up, as I think I could do with some time just to consider all we have covered so far. I am really enjoying the programme, not least because I enjoy writing this blog. Now all I need are just a few more hours in the day.... :))

cpd23 - Thing 4 - Current Awareness

Can't believe Thing 4 has come round so quickly - or so it feels to me! We are busy beyond belief at the moment and I haven't even had time to do much more than scan a couple of other blogs with regard to Thing 3 from last week! Aaaagggghh!! I still really want to do that, but one thing I am learning from this programme is that my job is so full on that it simply doesn't allow me to write my blog at the same time every week, for example - so I am trying to go with the flow (ha!) and know that I shall get around to exploring some other blogs again, but it might not be feasible on a regular, weekly basis!

Aaaaand BREATHE....

Okay, so Thing 4. Yet again - really enjoyed reading the cpd23 blog entry - think it gives a fantastic overview of all three of these elements of current awareness: Twitter, RSS feeds and Pushnote. Prior to reading this post, I had a pretty good knowledge of RSS feeds, a working knowledge of Twitter, and absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about Pushnote! So already I have learned something from this Thing, which is a good feeling!

First off, Twitter.  I enjoyed having a look at the #cpd23 tweets on there and I can definitely see its value with regard to things such as following a conference feed or just sharing current awareness really quickly. I have therefore set up an account - feel free to come and find me @LawLibExtraord !!! Only thing is I do not have access to Twitter at work, therefore my 'tweets' may be limited to evenings and weekends only....nonetheless, I am looking forward to giving this a shot, as although I am on Facebook in a personal capacity, I have never ventured into the world of micro-blogging!!

Second thing - RSS feeds. This is one current awareness method that I have been using for about 18 months now and absolutely love it. I use Google Reader and I have a whole host of work-related feeds on there - some relate specifically to the work I do for fee-earners, as one of my ongoing jobs is providing a very tailored current awareness service to the IP practice, and I find RSS feeds are great for being updated on news on a particular topic/case/person etc.

I also use RSS feeds for my own professional development - namely following a number of blogs, such as The Running Librarian and the BIALL Blog;  I also very much enjoy the daily management tip from Harvard Business Review! I would like to add to this list and will try to find the time to have a look at some of the recommendations on the Thing 4 blog post, and hopefully find a few new feeds to add....will keep you posted.

The final thing to look at was Pushnote; however, I have decided not to take part in this aspect of Thing 4, simply because I feel that with Twitter and the RSS feeds, and knowing how limited my time is during the day at work, I have enough to be going on with - so for now, I am going to hold off on getting involved with Pushnote. Be interested to hear how others get on with it though...

My aim is to come back and post again at the end of the week and let you know how I have got on with all of the above, and what I have got out of it all...

Oh and in other news, I ran an induction session for our summer students today that I would quite like to blog about, so again, when I have time, I'll let you know how that went also...