Tag Archives for " innovation "

Innovation and Value: The Modern Library

By Michael Feit | Modern Law Library , Surveys

Cutting-edge… State-of-the-art… Unconventional… Using the most up-to-date techniques, technology and metrics…

While all these ideas are traits of the Modern Library, the first step to modernization really starts with you, the administrator. Flexibility and an openness to change are necessary traits. Ask yourself: How can I change my habits to actually facilitate change? How can I move out of my mindset of “but we have always done it that way“? What can I do differently to steer the law library team in a new way? Can I provide the space/opportunity for the law library team to innovate and transform?

While law firms have always depended on library and information professionals to support the research needs of their lawyers, the Modern Library is undergoing a paradigm shift. Success now depends on the library taking a more active role in the organization to help support the day-to-day business of law. The law-firm administrator is instrumental in paving the road for that new role.

It is no secret that the legal sector is in flux and change, which is the only constant in our organizations. There are changes we can forecast, and there are those we must be able to react to in order to function as a fiscally responsible unit in our organizations. The Modern Library, a business within a business, is not passive in its approach, but rather utilizes metrics and analytics to forecast, predict and analyze data as changes occur.

Rather than be a target of downsizing or outsourcing, the Modern Library is innovative and forward-thinking. Librarians have a variety of skills that can be utilized in innovative ways such as:

• Conflicts support for new business intake
• Partnering with marketing to provide competitive intelligence to support the RFP process
• Partnering with IT to identify and beta-test software
• Driving Knowledge Management

Allowing the law library to collaborate with other departments is a win-win for the library and the firm.

The Modern Library is a trend-setter, evaluating and embracing new techniques, ideas and technology to help support business processes. It strives to carve out new roles within the organization while showcasing the value of resources and staff.

Feit Consulting is interested in learning how modern you see your law library, and what obstacles stand in the way of modernization. Click here to get started on our 10-minute survey.

The Modern Library Defined

By Michael Feit | Librarians , Surveys

Cutting-edge…state-of-the-art…unconventional…using the most up-to-date techniques, technology and metrics…

While all these ideas are traits of the Modern Library, the first step to modernization really starts with you, the librarian. You need to be flexible in your approach and meet change head-on. Ask yourself, “How can I change my habits to actually facilitate change? How can I move out of my mindset of but we have always done it that way? What can I do differently to offer value to my organization and make them see me and my library in a new way?” While law firms have always depended on library and information professionals to support the research needs of their lawyers, the Modern Library is undergoing a paradigm shift. Success now depends on the library taking a more active role in the organization, to help support the day-to-day business of law.

While librarian skill sets remain the same, the methods used to apply those skills are vastly different from those of the past. The Modern Library is a nexus for interdepartmental support, including, but not an exhaustive list:

• Embracing new roles in Conflicts Support for new business intake
• Partnering with Marketing to provide competitive intelligence to support the RFP process
• Partnering with IT to identify and beta-test software
• Driving Knowledge Management

Be enthusiastic about new ideas. The Modern Library is a trendsetter, evaluating and embracing new techniques, ideas and technology to help support business processes.

It is no secret that the legal sector is in flux and change, which is the only constant in our organizations. There are changes we can forecast, and there are those we must be able to react to in order to function as a fiscally responsible unit in our organizations. The Modern Library, a business within a business, is not passive in its approach but rather utilizes metrics and analytics to forecast, predict and analyze data as changes occur.

Preparing and monitoring annual budgets and working with Finance on cost and recovery of client-related research are important fiscal initiatives. With the cost of resources continuing to rise, data-analysis tools such as Electronic Resource Management (ERM) are invaluable in analyzing usage, preparing for contract renewals and general collection development. No longer a nice-to-have tool, ERMs are essential as the Modern Library moves away from print towards virtualization.

Rather than be a target of downsizing or outsourcing, the Modern Library is innovative and forward-thinking. It strives to carve out new roles within the organization while showcasing the value of resources and staff.

Feit Consulting is interested in learning how modern you see your law library and what obstacles stand in the way of modernization. Click here to get started on our 15-minute survey.

PLLIP Summit 2017: Nexus of Knowledge and Legal Tech

By Michael Feit | Associations , Events , Librarians

The PLLIP Summit pre-conference–always timely and ever-interesting! This year’s day-long meeting was no exception. If there was one takeaway, it would be that change is the only constant in life, and with that change comes new and exciting possibilities for our profession. What we do with those possibilities is up to us. We need to build on our established alliances and push outside of our comfort zones as we navigate the shifting landscape of organizational reporting, new technologies and artificial intelligence. Librarians must remain flexible and rethink how we apply library skills to create knowledge management solutions–solutions which help further the goals of our organizations and aid our users as they face an increasingly competitive legal landscape.

As collaborators and communicators, librarians need to devise new ways to insert themselves into the daily activities of the firm outside of legal research. Utilize your library skills differently to spread your message, and raise library visibility by supporting daily firm activities like client intake, providing competitive intelligence support during the RFP process, portal and dashboard creation, producing curated client newsletters and becoming seen as the go-to place for data analytics. Assist IT as beta-testers and software implementers. When presented with opportunities to change, meet the challenge, and grow as a person and as a professional. Evolution means moving forward, so don’t be left behind.

Follow Monice’s latest takes on the AALL Conference on Feit Consulting’s LinkedIn page.

FEIT Consulting will be attending AALL; we want to know what our clients want to know!

By Michael Feit | Associations , Events , Modern Law Library

It will be a whirlwind few days of educational events, starting with the PLLIP Summit 2017: Nexus of Knowledge and Legal Tech. Always a one-day intensive experience, the summit, now in its seventh year, will once again provide an offering described as “thought-provoking insight and practical application to the private law librarian community”.

The summit examines the rapid pace of change in legal technology and how information professionals can leverage that change in their organizations. This is of particular interest to FEIT Consulting as we work on our upcoming white paper, Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Law Library. Summit panelists will explore how reporting up to the CIO has redefined the way librarians are viewed in their organizations and provides leverage for library innovation.

While choosing from the multitude of program offerings will be difficult, we want to attend programs on issues where clients look to us for solutions. What exactly is the role of outsourcing in the modern library? Does it have a place, and how exactly do we approach the so-called “elephant in the room” when our legal administrators bring up the topic? Interdepartmental cooperation and leveraging librarian value are hot topics and certainly have a role in the Modern Library.
We are also focused on the basics:
– Showcasing value of the library to upper management
– Developing a budget that allows you to achieve your strategic goals
– Understanding the library’s ROI for value and strategic purposes

It will be an exhilarating week as we attend informative sessions, go to fun events, and network with clients and peers. For Feit Consulting, we will be excited to share our library modernization survey at the conference. Looking forward to seeing you in Austin!

Artificial Intelligence: A New Niche for Librarians?

By Michael Feit | Best Practices , Librarians

Artificial Intelligence has been around since the 50’s, ebbing and flowing with success and failure. Not until the advent of e-discovery has it really been seen as a possible solution in the legal industry. But with the adoption of e-discovery, AI has taken hold, and legal vendors are pushing solutions into mainstream legal technology.

AI discussions are trending in legal blogs, webinars and what seems like monthly new product announcements–consider FASTCASE and their new product announcement of SANDBOX, or LEXIS and Ravel.

Many librarian information professionals are involved in knowledge management; thus it seems a logical next step for these professionals to evaluate, recommend and train attorneys in the use of AI solutions.

As information professionals, we need to take a proactive approach and look for problems faced by our organizations that may have possible AI solutions. It doesn’t have to be some grandiose approach; start small, and present something simple that can solve a problem showing ROI. As more and more of the online legal vendors we currently use add Artificial Intelligence options and analytics to their products, we should be taking the lead on presenting these solutions to Management. Don’t wait until they become add-ons to a contract renewal and you have to scramble to evaluate and get approval. A new niche for law librarians–we think so.

Paradigm Shift for Legal Information Professionals

By Michael Feit | Librarians , White Papers

The concept of library modernization is more than downsizing space, cancelling print and right-sizing resources. It is a paradigm shift in the way law librarians and knowledge managers assess and deliver services within their organizations. As clients demand efficiency of services and lower costs, firms have been forced to take a closer look at how they themselves do business.

The role of library services within firms has shifted. No longer passively waiting for requests for assistance, librarians have taken on the role of innovator and change agent as they assist their organizations in assessing and creating information strategies to improve workflow and cut expense. Librarians have become interdepartmental collaborators taking on new roles in competitive intelligence, client intake and knowledge management, to name a few. Staffing models run the gamut from embedded researchers in practice groups to outsourced services. And as library responsibilities continue to evolve, so do the core competencies demanded of library staff.

In Feit Consulting’s future white paper, Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Modern Library, our team of experts will discuss challenges and opportunities as well as the various approaches to the changing role librarians can play in the context of the modern library.

Click here to learn more about this upcoming resource.