Lucidea’s Virtual Libraries Focus Group – Will You Join Us?

As we interact with special librarians, we observe a trend toward the virtual library—where librarians do not have a central, physical department, yet exercise a broad sphere of influence within their organizations—and serve clients remotely, with content, products and services.
We see this trend as presenting significant opportunities and challenges for special librarians, and are launching a focus group as a means to discuss and share proven practices for virtual library success, and strategies for overcoming obstacles.
The focus group also presents an opportunity for us learn more about virtual library trends, success factors (and challenges) from practitioners—resulting in a better understanding of the capabilities, features and functionality most important to you. In this way, we can continue developing products that contribute to virtual library success and help overcome constraints.
Deliverables resulting from this initiative will include a white paper, a series of blog posts, and possibly an eBook, all promoting the focus group and its work. Ideally, the process will lead to a Hot Topics session at next year’s SLA conference.
Approach
We have developed a preliminary list of 10 topics, and we propose a series of virtual meetings that will take place between now and the end of October. There will be an introductory session with all members, a final meeting with all members, and several smaller meetings, each with a focus on 2-3 topics.
Preliminary Discussion Topics
Our list is below; we anticipate that the introductory session will result in additions to this.
Context
- Define Virtual Library
- Drivers of Going Virtual
- What are the Pillars that Support a Successful Virtual Library?
Benefits and Challenges
- Upsides of Virtual Library
- Challenges of Virtual Library
- Success Factors
Fundamentals
- Supporting Processes
- Supporting Technologies
Professional Development
- Skill Building
- Embedded Librarians in the Virtual Library
The Future
- What services/products/processes are you currently unable to provide, that you want/need to provide?
Happily, a number of people immediately signed up to the focus group when we announced it at SLA in Cleveland, but we want to make sure that everyone who is interested has the opportunity to participate. Will you join us in this important effort?

Similar Posts
The Pros and Cons of Sticking with an Ill-Fitting Museum CMS
This post breaks down the pros and cons of an ill-fitting museum CMS and delivers talking points needed to make the case for a better museum CMS.
Interview with an Author: Open Access Literature in Libraries
Interview with a co-author of a book that explores important topics related to Open Access literature in libraries and offers practice guidance.
Digitization Basics for Archivists
Archivists embrace the digital world as they transform their physical holdings into electronic records through digitization projects.
The Five Cs of KM: Capture, Part 3 Information
Knowledge capture includes making entries into databases; examples of this information include personal profiles, repositories, and knowledge bases.
Leave a Comment
Comments are reviewed and must adhere to our comments policy.
0 Comments