By Mark Allcock

OCLC is the world's largest member-owned library collective, and our flagship website is WorldCat.org. I'm based in the Sheffield office of OCLC and am the only member of the Business Development Team outside North America. The advantage of this is that as my work involves desk research, I can get to it in the morning, before the phone/Skype starts, the meetings and the email blizzard!

Google and Wikipedia are frequent ports of call for all my work, but only for starters. I once worked for a colleague who said I should set up a networked web of contacts, so that when one of the web strands twitched I would know about it immediately. Apart from the slightly creepy spider metaphor, the underlying advice was sound and I have tried to incorporate it into my thinking since.

• I use MyYahoo to aggregate a collection of RSS feeds into one space, which is my homepage. I scan this every morning, and during the day at times, to get some kind of view of what's going on in the industry. As I investigate new services, organisations and ideas both outside and inside "traditional" library technology, I have become a "constant gardener", weeding and planting new feeds as the need arises.
  
  
• Starting with library-facing information sources, there is, of course, the excellent Library Technology Guides and Automation Update compiled by Marshall Breeding. This is a real trove of accumulated stats and information, about the global library technology space. It's a good feed for keeping your eye on new events, but also the site rewards in-depth investigation.
  
  
• JISC News Web Feed is a useful tool for keeping abreast of the UK HE research environment which combines well with the Research Information newsfeed, which has a global view of the same space. The benefit of following these feeds is that they help inform my thinking on the broader horizon of issues facing academic institutions, as well as libraries.
  
  
• Loughborough University's LISU site is an authoritative ("the" authoritative?) source for statistics and information on UK public and academic libraries. Anyone who is conducting UK library research should invest time here. Again, it partners well with the CILIP site's feed – which is aimed at professionals in librarianship and information management in the UK.
  
  
• Being OCLC, there are a number of services which we provide publicly which are valuable assets too (sadly, daily access to our excellent library and market research team is limited to staff so I will raise a tipple to them by directing you to OCLC's publications) but for everyone else there is a global jumping off point at our Global Library statistics page – but the OCLC Office of Research, the Hanging together blog and Lorcan Dempsey's web blog all provide deeper insight into issues facing libraries, researchers, students and indeed anyone needing to manage their information needs – which is most of us.

Happily, this brings me to the "tipples" that inform my own wider horizon. A lot of what I do is to assess how libraries, researchers, publishers, e-tailers and technology providers relate to the process of content creation through to content consumption and new knowledge creation. As you might imagine it is a complex and dynamic world, with new services and ideas surfacing all the time. Hence the need to constantly add, and in some cases subtract, knowledge sources.

Feeds that inform that broader view include Bookseller news which covers the waterfront from authors, agents, publishers, wholesalers to booksellers and libraries. Looking at the e-book revolution, and its impact on the supply chain just referenced, is Digital Book World which addresses digital publishing, self publishing, ebooks and e-readers and the impact of the digital supply chain on the whole publishing industry. Taking a step further, latest articles from Information World Review looks at IT and publishing from a hardware to bytes perspective which helps to provide some content for all of the above.

Increasingly I use the valuable resources listed here to signpost me to serendipitous new finds. I am planting up my information garden, or supping from new tipples if you like, in LinkedIn – becoming members of various groups as diverse as M&A discussions, management theory and UKSG, as well as Facebook and Twitter where up-to-the-minute views are easily followed – including those of Guardian Books, Penguin Books, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield Libraries, as well as the British Library.

Having ingested all this work, and stood on the shoulders of giants, it's time to get creating again...

Mark Allcock is Business Development Director, EMEA, for OCLC. His personal interest in new roles for libraries informs his work where he supports the enterprise by: analysing a range of new services and new markets; conducting M&A investigations; and managing partner accounts in EMEA. He has worked in libraries and the information industry since leaving London University in 1990, first at the English Faculty Library, Oxford University, then BLCMP (subsequently Talis), Fretwell-Downing Informatics and OCLC. He's always been interested in new roles for libraries - from digitisation and community information, through to the exciting opportunities of personal library creation and self-publishing.

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FreePint Features offers the latest commentary on trends, issues and opportunities in the information world, as well as examples of how organisations use FreePint resources to raise the value of information.

Selection of the latest FreePint Features articles:

• Big Data - Where are the Boundaries?
  By Keith Cooper on Tuesday, 7th May 2013
  Big data is, by definition, big. But what do we mean by "big"? Keith Cooper, CEO of Connotate, explains how setting boundaries and having clear business goals is essential when working on big data projects.
  
  
• Big Data... And the Information Professional
  By Victor Camlek on Friday, 3rd May 2013
  Big data undoubtedly presents opportunities for information professionals. Victor Camlek looks at FreePint's recent articles on the topic to examine how info pros can demonstrate that their skill sets make them ideally suited to a career involving big data.
  
  
• Competitive Intelligence: Analyse Company Information to Understand Corporate Strategy
  By Milan Dalal on Thursday, 2nd May 2013
  Milan Dalal of the Brook Intelligence Centre discusses the research and analysis you need to conduct in order to understand your competitors' and clients' corporate strategies. Historical and current context are essential along with major events and third party views and Milan discusses which information sources can help you identify these key elements.
  
  
• Printable FreePint Subscription Articles
  By Robin Neidorf on Thursday, 2nd May 2013
  In the latest FreePint development, a new option is now available for FreePint Subscription articles. Complementing the existing sharing and starring/saving options, FreePint Subscription articles are now printable, allowing you to share more easily with colleagues or to keep them in hard copy for future reference.
  
  
• Imaginative and Interactive Research Resource: Infographics
  By Jan Knight on Thursday, 2nd May 2013
  Even experienced researchers will benefit from paying closer attention to infographics and infoposters. They often present solid facts and statistical data in an "At a Glance" format, which is at once easy-to-understand and pleasing to the eye. Plus these non-text resources are seemingly everywhere you turn, so why not use them?
  
  
• Internal Communications in an Attention-Deficit World
  By Robin Neidorf on Wednesday, 1st May 2013
  This collection of FreePint articles on internal communications presents a fascinating range of topics. Communications professionals now have a plethora of choices both of device and tool. Identifying the strengths, weaknesses, appropriateness and security of internal tools from SharePoint to email is essential along with familiarity with external tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn. And presentation of information is just as important - interactive figures or multimedia can be much more effective than lines of text...
  
  
• Defining Big Data: The Four Vs
  By Victor Camlek on Friday, 26th April 2013
  Security and speed of data transmission, accuracy of information stored and where to store vast amounts of data are just some of the issues that need to be tackled when considering big data projects. In his second article on the topic, Victor Camlek looks into the detail of the four Vs: Volume, Velocity, Vaulting and Validation and how they define the essence of big data.
  
  
• Living (and Coping) with Big Data
  By Victor Camlek on Thursday, 25th April 2013
  As we launch our series devoted to big data we begin to see that many articles and features, even when they are not tagged as "big data", definitely fit within this domain. Victor Camlek reviews recent FreePint articles and features and presents his view on three developments related to big data, in fields ranging from sales to social media and academic publishing.
  
  
• Do You Really Want to Send Your Data FedEx?
  By Matt Benati on Tuesday, 23rd April 2013
  Moving data, and in particular, big data, is a specialist task. Matt Benati explains why it's essential that the transfer of large datasets be carried out speedily and efficiently - and how analytics rely on the freshest data for competitive advantage.
  
  
• Sourcing Engineering Products & Services with ThomasNet.com
  By Victor Camlek on Tuesday, 23rd April 2013
  Designed for those in the manufacturing and supply side of engineering, ThomasNet.com offers a supplier directory, a product search, CAD search and product news components. Recent developments have ensured that the database is vital to the engineering and procurement needs of enterprises across numerous vertical markets - and it's free to use.
  
  
• FreePint and BST America Explore the ABCs of ROI
  By Robin Neidorf on Monday, 22nd April 2013
  Measuring value and return on investment of content purchases is undeniably important but the metrics are difficult to pin down. Robin Neidorf introduces FreePint's new Webinar series, Identifying and Measuring Value, where a number of interactive sessions will focus on understanding, measuring and reporting on the value and ROI of content purchase.
  
  
• Improving the Sales Process with InsideView
  By Jan Knight on Friday, 19th April 2013
  A good sales intelligence tool can make a huge difference to a company's sales and marketing success. Jan Knight explores how InsideView performs and gives her opinion on the 50 million people and company profiles, trigger event options, and integration with CRM and social media.
  
  
• Understanding Big Data
  By Victor Camlek on Friday, 19th April 2013
  In the first of his series of three articles introducing and defining big data and its importance for the information professional, Victor Camlek posits the notion of the "Four Vs" as they apply to big data and explores how the big data phenomenon came into being.
  
  
• Make FreePint Your Source for Sources
  By Robin Neidorf on Thursday, 18th April 2013
  Keeping on top of additions and deletions in databases, new articles, reports and information nuggets published, and tracking new sources and developments in source functionality is a tough call. FreePint's focus on "source awareness" aims to address this need and - combined with the recently-introduced Alerts feature - should ensure you stay on top of the sources and content essential to your organisation.
  
  
• ... More ...

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Selection of FreePint Subscription articles and reports:

• Credit Where Credit Is Due
  By Tim Buckley Owen on Tuesday, 7th May 2013
  In contrast to investment ratings agencies such as Standard & Poors, consumer credit reporting services get a relatively clean bill of health, according to a report by the United States Policy & Economic Research Council (PERC) which compares its own assessment with another by the Federal Trade Commission. However, the low percentage of errors could still amount to a lot of missed business opportunities considering the number of credit subjects involved - a situation quite likely exacerbated by findings from FindLaw showing that over 20% of Americans have never bothered to check their credit scores for accuracy.
  
  
• Source Update May 2013: What's Happening with Eureka.cc and Europresse.com?
  By Anne Jordan on Tuesday, 7th May 2013
  This month's additions and takedowns in Eureka.cc and Europresse.com, researched and compiled by Anne Jordan. Europresse.com is the European version of the Eureka.cc solution.
  
  
• IMS Acquires Semantelli, a Potential Big Data Booster Shot
  By Victor Camlek on Tuesday, 7th May 2013
  Supplier of pharmaceutical trending information, IMS Health, has acquired social media analytics firm Semantelli. Victor Camlek examines the possibilities for big data analytics from the deal and the likely benefits for IMS customers.
  
  
• Is It Time to Give Google+ Another Go?
  By James Mullan on Monday, 6th May 2013
  There are still a lot of misconceptions about what Google+ is and how it can be used. James Mullan asks whether it is time to give Google+ another go and explores facets such as Communities, Circles and Sparks and how they can be used in a professional context. He also looks into the way that Google+ lends itself to smartphone and iPad use.
  
  
• Source Update May 2013: What's Happening with Factiva?
  By Anne Jordan on Monday, 6th May 2013
  This month's additions and takedowns in Factiva, researched and compiled by Anne Jordan.
  
  
• Searching Biomedical Literature: An Alternative Way
  By Yulia Aspinall on Thursday, 2nd May 2013
  Yulia Aspinall introduces GoPubMed, a free tool from PubMed which aims to bring statistical and visualisation features into research results to help speed up literature evaluation, conclusions and concept building for researchers in the biomedical field. Users benefit from using Gene Ontology and MESH classification in a more refined way and GoPubMed offers the potential to significantly speed up the process of literature evaluation.
  
  
• Competitive Intelligence: Deciphering Corporate Strategy using Secondary Sources
  By Milan Dalal on Wednesday, 1st May 2013
  As part of FreePint's series of articles on competitive intelligence focused on helping information professionals gain a competitive advantage over technology, Milan Dalal of the Brook Intelligence Centre explains how piecing together the clues contained within secondary sources can surface a company's strategy. He details why there is an increasing need for this type of analysis, the sources to consider, and how to critically evaluate them. He also demonstrates how your opinions can add value to the process.
  
  
• Has LinkedIn Got its Finger on the Pulse of its Contacts?
  By James Mullan on Wednesday, 1st May 2013
  There have been a number of very interesting announcements from LinkedIn recently. Amongst these was their purchase of Pulse, a newsreader application that aggregates news sources. How will this acquisition and other announcements such as the new LinkedIn Contacts App enhance our LinkedIn experience?
  
  
• FreePint Report: Internal Communications
  Published on Tuesday, 30th April 2013
  This collection of FreePint articles on internal communications presents a fascinating range of topics. Communications professionals now have a plethora of choices both of device and tool. Identifying the strengths, weaknesses, appropriateness and security of internal tools from SharePoint to email is essential along with familiarity with external tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn. And presentation of information is just as important - interactive figures or multimedia can be much more effective than lines of text...
  
  
• Infographics: The "At a Glance" Research Source
  By Jan Knight on Tuesday, 30th April 2013
  One might think incorporating non-text sources into a research strategy of any sort would be almost a given considering the large amount of visual data available both online and in print but it does remain a neglected area. Infographics can be a valuable source for identifying and visualising trends, obtaining a quick picture of a situation, determining a starting point for research and much more. Jan Knight also highlights some of the popular tools for creating your own infographics.
  
  
• The Importance of Context in Search and Big Data
  By Keith Cooper on Monday, 29th April 2013
  Keith Cooper provides an insight into web data extraction and monitoring in the field of big data and explains how unstructured big data can be turned into actionable information. He also explains the importance of context in search and why narrowing the field of enquiry produces the most relevant data for subsequent analysis.
  
  
• Whistleblowing - Are You Getting the Help You Need?
  By Tim Buckley Owen on Monday, 29th April 2013
  Reportedly there is now unprecedented awareness of anti-corruption regulation but the UK fraud prevention service finds that the incidence of whistleblowing is still exceptionally low. Perhaps the current staff oversight model is broken; maybe information companies may face special challenges in dealing with internal corruption? Meanwhile consultation is underway on ways to better protect whistleblowers. This could present opportunities for information professionals to have their say and cement their place in their organisation's risk and compliance function.
  
  
• The Inexorable Rise of Social Knowledge Management
  By James Mullan on Friday, 26th April 2013
  One of the biggest challenges faced by information professionals is getting the right information to the right people at the right time. Whilst traditional knowledge management techniques have worked for many years, we're beginning to see a new trend: the use of Social KM techniques. James Mullan asks why social is so important and questions how employers can encourage staff to share information in the legal sector and elsewhere.
  
  
• FreePint Report: Information Services Management Monthly Update (April 2013)
  Published on Friday, 26th April 2013
  This monthly update collects the current content relevant to those responsible for information service management, information strategy and content procurement in a convenient PDF package for download and offline reading.
  
  
• An Array of Needs in Mobile Content: A View from the FreePint Community of Practice
  By Robin Neidorf on Thursday, 25th April 2013
  The mobile environment is a dynamic one. Robin Neidorf offers an update into how organisations are tackling the challenge of making content mobile, which devices are proving the most popular and which barriers to implementation remain. Security and authentication issues are discussed alongside BYOD and softer challenges such as users' lack of information literacy skills.
  
  
• Social Media Disclosure Means More Headaches for Info Pros
  By Tim Buckley Owen on Wednesday, 24th April 2013
  The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has ruled that companies may use social media to disclose company information so long as investors know to look for it there. But, despite services like Thomson Reuters' Accelus Disclosure Solutions, there's always the risk of unauthorised premature announcements. Pressure from Ovum on European banks to improve their social media presence, and new UK rules on directors' remuneration reporting, could also complicate the situation - not to mention findings from Pew that social media comment may not even be representative of opinion generally.
  
  
• The Importance of Knowledge Management and KM roles
  By James Mullan on Wednesday, 24th April 2013
  In an organisation that has been using knowledge management for a while there are likely to be several roles that facilitate the creation and dissemination of knowledge, identify the KM strategy, choose the KM tools, help users make the most of the KM system, and much more. The question is, "Why are these roles so important?" James Mullan explores KM in organisations and identifies key roles and responsibilities.
  
  
• Mini Review: ThomasNet.com
  By Victor Camlek on Tuesday, 23rd April 2013
  Victor Camlek reviews ThomasNet.com, a free resource for those in the manufacturing and supply side of engineering. The comprehensive resource offers a supplier directory, a product search, CAD search, plus product-related news, IMT (Industry Market Trends) journals and a forum for engineers.
  
  
• Transferring Big Data by Bullet Express Train
  By Matt Benati on Monday, 22nd April 2013
  Analysis and outputs are the two issues usually associated with big data but there is another one which is just as important: data movement. Matt Benati explains why speedy data movement and skilled data scientists are essential to successful big data projects.
  
  
• Product Review of InsideView: Executive Summary
  By Jan Knight on Thursday, 18th April 2013
  If you're a sales person or marketer interested in prioritising leads, researching what's going on in your target markets and obtaining warm introductions to prospective buyers then InsideView could be the product for you. Jan Knight's executive summary of sales intelligence tool InsideView finds that the product would be an excellent addition to any sales strategy.
  
  
• Do Legal Firms Need Client-Facing Systems?
  By James Mullan on Thursday, 18th April 2013
  Law firms are under increasing pressure to provide more services to clients for less money. In this context you would expect to see innovative client-facing solutions being developed. But this doesn't appear to be the case. Why is this? James Mullan explores the drivers and blocks to development of systems such as extranets and collaborative platforms for the legal sector.
  
  
• FreePint Report: Product Review of InsideView
  Published on Thursday, 18th April 2013
  Prospecting for sales leads and the inevitable cold calling is a tough task but it's a vital part of any business operation. Jan Knight reviews InsideView, an award-winning sales intelligence tool which aims to make the process more effective by providing sales and marketing specialists with critical business insights to allow them to contact the right person at the right time... and with the right message.
  
  
• LinkedIn Purchases Pulse & Moves Closer to Being a Publishing Platform
  By Penny Crossland on Wednesday, 17th April 2013
  LinkedIn's purchase of the Pulse news app is the company's latest move in news aggregation, building on its introduction of LinkedIn Today and the Influencer discovery tool over the last couple of years. The acquisition of mobile news specialist Pulse is the next step towards the business networking site becoming "the definitive professional publishing platform".
  
  
• ... More ...

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