Leadership and Information Management 1 of 5

Introduction – Is there a problem?

Tony RucinskiUniversity of Wales, Newport

Course / Twitter hashtag: #UWNLIM

AVOIDTHIS !

The Challenge

• Downward pressure on budgets

• Increasing costs of resources

• Increasing demand and user “empowerment”

• The ‘G’ word etc

• New tech

“there is a strong feeling among senior librarians that they have failed effectively to communicate the value of their services to those who fund and use them”

Challenges for Academic Libraries in Difficult Economic Times, Research Information Network March 2010 pg 16

The currentsituation ?

Why we don’t seem to get to where we wantto go

The brain is a wonderful organ - it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.

Robert Frost

The flywheel effect

MISperceptionMISperception

MISunderstandingMISunderstanding

MISinterpretationMISinterpretation

MIStrustMIStrust

Three questions

How important do you believe Information is to the future of your How important do you believe Information is to the future of your business?business?• 94% said EXCEEDINGLY94% said EXCEEDINGLY

How highly do you rate your own Information function?How highly do you rate your own Information function?• 46% said NOT VERY HIGHLY46% said NOT VERY HIGHLY• 32% said THEY ARE OK AT THE TECHNICAL STUFF32% said THEY ARE OK AT THE TECHNICAL STUFF

Is your most senior Information person considered to be a Is your most senior Information person considered to be a member of the “inner circle”?member of the “inner circle”?• 98% said NO98% said NO