Constant Change:Constant Change:Habits for “Experts”Habits for “Experts”

D. Gail Stahl

The Boston Consulting Group

Internet Librarian International

March 22, 2000

DefinitionsDefinitions

Constant changeHabitsExperts

Constant ChangeConstant Change

“Internet Time”Learning organizationsLife-long learning

HabitsHabits

AttitudeNot necessarily instinctiveA matter of choice

““Experts”Experts”

Experts may not know the answer off the top of their heads, but know where to locate it.

Share knowledge efficientlyAlways interested in learning

Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development

Historical definition– An annual plan of activities and conferences– Activities– Events– Tangible evidence– Static, measurable, not ”real time”

Oscar WildeOscar Wilde

“It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.”

TechnologyTechnology

Push or pull?Network of friends and colleaguesEnables new habits

Information ResourcesInformation Resources

Association websitesWebsites for journals and “e-zines”Discussion lists or listservsAutomatic e-mail updates

Guides to New InformationGuides to New Information

Your organization’s intranet – people & information

Association websites for your industrySites for our professionGeneral Internet/e-commerce sites

Professional SitesProfessional Sites

LibraryLand – Index to Resources– http://www.librarylandindex.org

Librarians’ Index to the Internet– http://www.lii.org

SLA-Toronto, Canada - Librarians’ Resource Center – “The Toolbox”– http://www.sla.org/chapter/ctor/toolbox/

resource/cover.html

Professional SitesProfessional Sites

BUBL Link (Strathclyde University)– http://bubl.ac.uk/link

Libweb – Library servers via WWW– http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/

Buley Library, Southern Connecticut State University (USA) – Resources on WWW– http://library.scsu.ctsstateu.edu/libbib.html

Professional SitesProfessional Sites

Internet Library for Librarians– http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/index.

html

Berkeley Digital Library– http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/

Librarian’s Internet– http://merlin.cflc.lib.fl.us/libinter.html

Internet/E-CommerceInternet/E-Commerce

The Industry Standard– http://www.thestandard.com

Business 2.0– http://www.business2.com

E-Commerce Times– http://www.ecommercetimes.com

Internet News– http://www.internet.com

CIO (Chief Information Officer)– http://www.cio.com

ListservsListservs

Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences– http://www.n2h2.com/KOVACS/

CataList, catalog of LISTSERV lists– http://www.lsoft.com/listref.html

Business Librarians’ E-mail Discussion Group– http://www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/buslib-

1.html

Internet/E-CommerceInternet/E-Commerce

Tech News World– http://www.technewsworld.com

Internet.com/CyberAtlas– http://www.internet.com– http://www.cyberatlas.internet.com

Nua Internet Surveys - worldwide– http://www.nua.com

U.S. Bureau of the Census: Retail e-commerce sales– http://www.census.gov

Habits & GoalsHabits & Goals

Keep a list of “sites to explore” – and explore them

Host a “Surfing Brown Bag Lunch”Ask colleagues for news of useful new

websitesShare new discoveries with othersExplore a new site every day/week/etc.Utilize the “push” of e-mail updates

T. H. White’s The Once and T. H. White’s The Once and Future KingFuture King

“The best thing for being sad, replied Merlin, is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails….There is only one thing for it then—to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.”