Alternative Careers For Librarians
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“You know I always wanted to pretend that I was an architect.”
- George Costanza, Seinfeld
Alternative Career Paths for Librarians
• 10 years as a Public Librarian• 7 years as a Corporate Librarian• 2 years as an Information Architect• 9 years as a Taxonomist• 1 year as a Consultant
my cred
nick berrycontent architect / taxonomist
REI
old man of the library
Your SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE as a librarian can be applied toward other careers.
Harness your powers for good:• Better salary• Greater respect• Broader knowledge• More job opportunities
we are gathered here today….
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
What other job titles can librarians aspire to?
Here they are, in order of coolness:• Information Architect (IA)• Information Management Consultant• Taxonomist• Crazy Cat Lady (just kidding)
who are these people?
lego library
what skills and knowledge do I need?
LibrarianTaxonomist
IA
Consultant
Librarian
Taxonomist
IA
Consultant
Librarian
Taxonomist
IA
Consultant
Librarian
Taxonomist
IA
Consultant
Librarian
TaxonomistIA
Consultant
Interpersonal
Visual
Research Database
Business
librarians: profile
librarian promoting useful skills
Librarians organize and locate information for patrons of the library.
Librarians’ skills organizing information makes them better finders of information, and…
…librarians’ skills finding information makes them better organizers.
Librarian skill: organization of data
librarians: profile
information architects: profile
architecture gone bad.
Information architects apply data from: • user research and testing• business requirements• content properties• analytical tools
They produce the following deliverables:• site map• wireframes• visual design mockup or prototype• site navigation• style guides
Web sites are libraries.
Customer service is the process of making libraries easier to use.
User-centered design is the process of making web sites easier to use.
It’s all about the user experience.
Users are patrons and the experience is finding information easily.
IA and librarians: shared goals
Representing information accurately in the user interface.
PP
PP
PP
PP
PP
Splash Page
Search Results Page
Top Nav Bar
Shopping Cart
why architecture?
Web sites are like buildings.
Pages are like rooms. Your info is in a room.
To find the room you want, you have to find the route.
Building a site with clear routes through the pages depends on links.
Links are nothing more than words. Which leads us to taxonomies….
PP = Product Page
Categorization.
Taxonomists find patterns in the content and break them down into components.
These are repeatable elements that can be used, measured, and adapted. Examples: content type, subject, and intended use.
Taxonomist must deeply understand the content and the business to which it applies.
Deliverables:• Content audit• Content analysis• Taxonomy• Metadata schema• Content map/Domain model
taxonomist: profile
Illustrates the danger of ivory tower navel-gazing induced by lack of user research.
the role of research
Taxonomists must stay in touch with their users, or else risk creating non-functional information systems.
Ways to stay in touch with users:• card sorts• site navigation analytics• Google keyword analysis• surveys• task analysis and other usability tests• direct comments
Metadata is the language used to identify digital resources.
LC or DDC defines the language used to identify books, articles, and print resources.
A taxonomist is a cataloger on steroids:• develops the subject headings• designs the cataloging rules
taxonomists vs. catalogers
For experienced professionals only. Don’t try this at home.
Librarian Information Architect
CatalogBusiness Information
System
AACR2LC/DDC
TaxonomyMetadata
Patron/Librarian User
information architects and librarians
• faceted navigation, AKA parametric search
• breaks down content into attributes (parameters)
• helps reduce search results to a manageable set
• Electronics• GPS Units• Altimeters• Heart Rate Monitors
• Activity• Cycling• Hiking• Travelling
• Price• <$400• $400 - $600• >$600
Brand axis
Activity axis
Price axis
productsTarget search result: Garmin 305GPS units used for cycling and costing less than $400
how taxonomists feed IAs
taxonomy is linguistics
functional label
taxonomy is linguistics
non-functional label
IA and taxonomy: shared goals
Complex data setbecomes a
simple picture,its meaning
apparent at a glance.
Consulting is a balancing act.
information management consultant
IM consultants • solve business problems• oversee system implementations• sell and champion IA• produce reams of paperwork
Deliverables:• use cases• business cases (justifications for work)• governance processes• implementation roadmaps
the content lifecycle
IM consultants must be able to:• Walk in the door of an unfamiliar company• Analyze their content resources and information flow• Learn the business across divisional boundaries• Recommend changes to workflow, often to hostile executives or directors• It’s not for the faint of heart, but experience breeds confidence
seeing it as you really are
IM consultants are challenged to see the big picture.
They have to be the visionaries in the face of entrenched opposition.
They must understand all parts of the information system, especially how information and content affect the overall business strategy.
1. Educate yourself (books/classes on business strategy, databases, etc)2. Find a good place to work: business or nonprofit3. Find a business problem that can be solved by organizing something4. Apply the principles and process (see the Polar Bear book)5. Document your steps and write up your findings6. Get in front of managers and different groups7. Learn from your own mistakes8. Learn other peoples’ jobs9. Go back to #3 and repeat
so how do I get there?
backup slides
userscontent
context
the lens model
Stakeholder information needs (business & user)
User Mental Models
Business & Technology Constraints
Metadata Model
Content Model, Domain Models
Indexing Paradigm
Findability, Usability, Brand Health
an IA methodology
IA process: details
1. Determining user information needs• Task flows• Mental models
2. Constraints and context• Technology• Domain model (how is the business organized?)• People
3. Content management• Content model/structure (taxonomy, metadata)• Content strategy (how do we get there?)• Governance, change management
4. User experience• Findability (faceted search)• Shareability (consistency of business data)• Collecting metrics for analysis
IA brings organization to content.