Transforming Librarians Into Content Management Experts: Embracing ECM Practices

1. If You Don’t Do It, Somebody Else Will: Why Librarians should become Content Managers Presented by: Susan Tyrrell, B.A., M.L.S ECM Practitioner

2. Agenda • Introductions • What is ECM? • Typical responsibilities of an ECM practitioner/specialist • Skills special librarians bring to ECM • Skill gaps and how to overcome them • Why ECM needs special librarians • Questions/Discussion

3. Introductions • A bit about myself and what led me into a career in ECM • How many of you work in : • Traditional special libraries? • Records management? • Web content systems? • “Enterprise Content Management”?

4. What is ECM? • Current buzzword of choice for describing a variety of related disciplines • Enterprise Content Management • “the technologies used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes.”(AIIM, the ECM Association)

5. What is ECM? (cont’d) • Focus is on “unstructured” information – content as opposed to data residing in data bases, systems • Documents – hard copy and electronic, including email, instant messaging • Images • Voice recordings • Video • Records • Web pages

6. ECM-Related Disciplines/Technologies • Electronic Document Management (EDM) • Imaging • Records Management (RM) • Web Content Management (WCM) • Collaboration

7. ECM-Related Disciplines/Technologies (cont’d) • Business Process Management (BPM) aka Workflow • Electronic Forms Management • Digital Asset Management (DAM) • Digital Rights Management • Information Access/Enterprise Search

8. Content Management Systems are a Lot like Libraries • The content is stored in repositories - in some systems, even called “libraries”. • The content is “catalogued”. • The forms used to capture the metadata may resemble “catalogue” cards.

9. Content Management Systems are a Lot like Libraries (cont’d) • Classification (taxonomies) may be applied to the content. • Controlled vocabularies (thesaurus) may be used for assigning descriptors to the content. • Content may be viewed or “checked out”.

10. Content Management Systems are a Lot like Libraries (cont’d) • Users can look up and retrieve the content they need, but they frequently need help from an expert who knows: • The breadth of the content • How the content is organized • Search and retrieval techniques • Alternative sources of information, where appropriate

11. Librarian Determines classification, thesauri, cataloguing rules to be used. Provides training & assistance in using library resources Monitors library usage and trends Identifies and targets potential new users Actively promotes library’s role in the organization ECM Practitioner Determines taxonomies, metadata, etc. – “Content Governance” Provides training & assistance in using system Monitors system usage, trends Identifies and targets potential new users Actively promotes ECM system’s role in the organization The ECM Practitioner is a Lot Like a Librarian!

12. …But with Some Additional Challenges • Technological • Software doesn’t always work properly • Integration/compatibility issues • Compliance • Security issues • Records management issues • User resistance • Must learn to use system • Assigning metadata can take time, thought • Less control over the content

13. Some Hats Worn by ECM Practitioners & Specialists • Project Manager/Project Team Member • Business Analyst • Governance Specialist • Systems Administrator • Support Analyst • Trainer • Technical Writer • Evangelist! • … and more

14. Project Manager/Project Team Member • Delivers ECM projects such as: • Product selection and pilots • Implementation in specific business areas • Customizations & enhancements • Upgrades • Integration with other systems, e.g. financial systems • Content migration from and to other systems

15. Business Analyst • Identifies ECM-related business problems and propose solutions: • Liaises between the business and IT department/vendor • Analyzes current processes; identify potential improvements • Determines and prioritizes user requirements • Assesses feasibility of potential solutions • Recommends improved processes

16. Governance Specialist • Sets the rules for: • Types of content – in scope and out of scope • Types of users and access capabilities • Taxonomy • Metadata – how much, controlled vs. free format • Forms design and standardization

17. Systems Administrator • Maintains the ECM system on a day to day basis: • Set ups new accounts, user permissions • Maintains controlled metadata • Monitors usage • Identifies and corrects usage problems • Provides preliminary trouble-shooting; reports and communicates outages

18. Support Analyst • Assists ECM users experiencing technical and usage problems • Trouble-shooting • Ad hoc training • Content availability

19. Trainer • Ensures that users know how to use the ECM system through • Training sessions for pilot and new implementations • Training for upgrades, enhancements, customization • Focused training for specialized groups • Informal sessions, e.g. "Lunch & Learns” • Ad hoc training as required

20. Technical Writer • Produces ECM Training Materials such as • Manuals – System-wide and specialized • Presentations • FAQ’s, “Tips & Tricks” • Web training courses

21. “Evangelist” • Actively promotes the benefits of using the ECM system through • Marketing initiatives • Tying in ECM with other systems and projects • Listening for ideas for improvements and acting on them • Identifying and mentoring “champions”

22. Traditional Library Skills:How they fit into ECM • “Technical Service Skills” • Knowledge of Classification Systems »Taxonomy Design • Cataloguing » Metadata assignment, data integrity control • Information Retrieval Skills » knowledge and experience with search engines; how to assign metadata so that information can be retrieved quickly and accurately

23. Traditional Library Skills:How They Fit into ECM • “Public Service Skills” • Reference Interview Skills>> useful in systems selection design and in support • Training/Orientation skills • Marketing skills

24. Where are Our Skill Gaps? • Project Management • Scheduling • Scope definition • Change management • Information Technology • IT Infrastructure • Networks • IT jargon

25. How Can These Gaps Be Bridged? • Courses • Local institutions • Seminars (for-profit and non-profit) • Online e.g. AIIM, the ECM Association • Coworkers in IT • Reading & research • Practice!

26. Why Consider a ECM Career? • Varied job opportunities • All types of organizations using ECM • Many types of jobs – implementation, support, training, etc. • Long-term stability • ECM is now a “mature” but still developing technology • Many systems to support, change, migrate • Content continues to explode! • Field is wide open in terms of qualifications expected • Opportunities to use and further develop our unique skills

27. Why Does ECM Need Us? • ECM projects frequently fail! Why? • ECM implementations often led by IT personnel, who: • May favour products for technical, rather than business reasons. • Don’t understand content governance issues, information retrieval challenges • May not use ECM once it is implemented and don’t understand user frustrations. • May consider technological fixes only.

28. Why Does ECM Need Us? • Business users may have input, but they: • May not understand ECM’s full capabilities. • May not have time, interest or skill for content governance. • May not have the “big picture” of the organization’s information needs. • Librarians have the skills that can bridge the gap!

29. Parting Advice… • ECM is a natural career path for librarians – especially special librarians! • If your organization has an ECM initiative or an ECM system in place, get involved. It needs you! • An ECM system without knowledgeable people providing governance and support is like a library without a librarian… • Over time, not very useable!

30. Parting Advice… • Don’t be afraid that you’re not expert – there aren’t many of them out there ….

31. …And if you don’t do it… Somebody else will ….. (And probably not as well.)

32. Questions? Any additional questions or comments, or a copy of this presentation, please contact me at: sj-tyrrell@shaw.ca Thank you!

33. Related Articles • “TheLibrarian As CM Leader” by Lynn Blumenstein, Library Journal, Volume 130, Issue 15 (15 September 2005), p. 38 • “Enterprise Content Management” by Debbie Schachter, Wired West, Volume 6, No. 2 (Winter 2003) http://units.sla.org/chapter/cwcn/wwest/v6n2/schachter.htm

34. Related Articles (cont’d) • “Corporate Librarians & Their Role inEnterprise Content Management” by Susan Stearns, presentation at the Internet Conference & Exhibition for Librarians & Information Managers, November 3-5, 2003. www.infotoday.com/il2003/presentations/Stearns.pps

35. Useful Websites • AIIM, the ECM Association: www.aiim.org • e-content Institutewww.econtentinstitute.org –Toronto based organization, sponsors “Information Highways” conference

36. Useful Websites (cont’d) • The Enterprise Content Management Blog:http://feeds.feedburner.com/ecmblog • Gartner: www.gartner.com for trends in ECM players, ECM adoption by organizations, etc.