4 Must-Read Resources for Solo Information Managers & Librarians  

Whether working at a large, established enterprise or a fast-growing start up, it’s common today for corporate information professionals to be solo, or one of a few, library resources within an organization.  While the cost of library resources increases year over year, library budgets are flat or decreasing.  This often means that staff is the first to get cut, as librarians do not want to sacrifice high quality resources researchers rely on to advance innovation. Information professionals must do a lot more with a lot less, including being at the forefront of emerging technologies, satisfying  the unique information needs of multiple strategic functional areas within their organization, and regularly justifying their budget and communicating their value within the organization.

Looking for resources geared towards libraries without large headcounts? Here are four resources to bookmark:

Blog Post: Overcoming the Challenges of Solo Librarianship 

Jill Shuman, MS, ELS, who has managed both large and small special libraries, reminds us that “while being a solo librarian does have special challenges, there are also unique advantages.” This blog post offers tips for managing time, budget, marketing services, and making sure you don’t burn out in the process. 

White Paper: Proving Your Value – Making the Case for Information Services  

When you’re working on a small team, instead of talking about doing more with less, the conversation is now about doing something more valuable. How can you create insights that were not possible before, and contribute directly to the strategic business goals of the organization as a solo information professional? Information expert Mary Ellen Bates offers tips in this white paper.

Case Study: Inside Akzonobel’s Approach to Scientific Literature Management 

Jenny Kromhout is like many information professionals who once was part of a larger information department, and now operates as a team of one in the larger R&D division. As a solo librarian at Akzonobel, she is responsible for selecting the tools that hundreds of researchers rely on for reading and reporting on scientific literature to advance the R&D pipeline. She’s undoubtedly busy, and she needed a solution that provided self-service options, so researchers could access information without her intervention. Keep reading. 

Blog Post: 5 Reasons to Supplement your Information Management Services with Outsourcing 

When budgets tighten, hiring freezes become more common, and time and resources to effectively recruit and hire qualified information professionals decrease, many organizations struggle to staff vital positions. Supplementing information services, in these instances, might make sense. Check out why here.