FreePint Newsletter 199 - Languages and Bar Orphans
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FreePint
"Helping 77,000 people use the Web for their work"
http://www.freepint.com/
ISSN 1460-7239 2nd February 2006 No.199
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IN THIS ISSUE
-------------
EDITORIAL
MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Lee McLean
FREEPINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
Business Process Analyst
Legal Information Officer
Senior Information Manager
Graduate Research Assistant
TIPS ARTICLE
"Learning languages online"
By Emma Thompson
REVIEW
"Knowledge-based working: intelligent operating
for the knowledge age"
Reviewed by Jela Webb
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Bar Orphans: Getting your questions answered at the FreePint Bar"
By Jane Macoustra
EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
FULLY FORMATTED VERSION
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*** Thomson's flagship product reviewed in VIP ***
The January 2006 issue of VIP reviews Thomson Business Intelligence,
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*** ABOUT FREEPINT ***
FreePint is an online network of information workers. Members receive
this free newsletter twice a month, packed with tips on finding and
managing quality and reliable work-related information.
Joining is free at and provides access to a
substantial archive of articles, reviews and events, with answers to
research questions and networking at the FreePint Bar.
To read the fully-formatted version visit
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EDITORIAL
By William Hann
When I studied for my information science degree at Aberystwyth
University here in the UK, I remember we had a module on the
'reference interview'. It was in the 'information consultant' module
and taught how to ask an information enquirer questions to qualify
exactly what they are looking for.
I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to be an 'infomediary',
able to tease out (through a process of gentle interrogation) the real
underlying information need. Little did I know that the Web was about
to be launched and, just a few years hence, that most information
searching would be reduced to just one- or two-word searches in a
handful of centralised information-seeking launch pads.
With a background in the mechanics of information storage, retrieval
and dissemination, I marvel at the speed and quality of the search
algorithms of the major search engines. However, there is still a big
problem with finding very specific information. For that, you need to
be able to formulate search questions precisely -- not only
technologically (through advanced search syntax) but by articulating
exactly what you need (with alternative keywords) and why you need it.
The lack of such skills is nowhere more evident than at the FreePint
Bar, which has become a focus for tricky research questions that
require human intervention. Information requests at the Bar are often
made without any of the necessary contextual information, and
therefore a 'virtual reference interview' needs to take place to find
out exactly what is required and what has been tried already.
Jane Macoustra examines this behaviour in today's newsletter, where
she explains how to get the most out of the information questions that
are being posted at the Bar. There have been almost 30,000 questions
and answers since the Bar's launch in 1999, but it's still the less-
definable, non-technical queries which are the hardest to help with.
As we approach the bicentennial edition of the FreePint Newsletter
later this month, do remember that there is a fully searchable archive
of newsletters and Bar postings on the FreePint Web site
, plus the last call for your
comments in our member survey .
Although I do believe that a professional qualification in
'information' can stand you in good stead for an interesting and
rewarding career, basic information-literacy training is vitally
important now for anyone using the Web for work-related purposes.
Thanks to professionals like Jane Macoustra, this basic information
training is becoming freely available, which helps to plug the
hole of purely technologically-based information-seeking solutions.
William Hann
Managing Editor and Founder, FreePint
e: william.hann@freepint.com
t: 0870 141 7474
i: +44 870 141 7474
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2006
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MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Lee McLean
* After receiving strategically useful feedback from library users in
our 2004 LibQUAL survey we are repeating
the process in 2006. The site also has an excellent collection of
related publications.
* Content creators are watching the BBC mp3 downloading and podcasting
trial with interest. Try it out now yourself
.
* Whether organising an office party or client event, or just planning
your next meal out, London Eating's customer reviews will tell you
what a restaurant is REALLY like .
* - I'm a 'DVDs by post' convert. Compare
options, sign up and never be stressed out by an overdue rented film
again.
* From the 'How To Library' to its Quick References, I use Webmonkey a
lot. The HTML cheat sheet in particular is very helpful
.
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Lee McLean is Business and Multimedia Librarian at London Business
School and a Masters student via distance learning with Victoria
University, New Zealand.
Submit your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at
.
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*** Survey :: Understanding FreePint as an Online Community ***
We're trying to build a better understanding of the
composition and needs of the FreePint community.
Please take two minutes to complete our survey:
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FREEPINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
There's a lot to get your teeth into this week: with such a wide range
of postings, there should be something for everyone.
Let's start off with an unusual question: Do you know where to find
posters featuring airlines, aircraft and airports, and holiday
destinations that strongly imply airliners?
.
Or have you ever set up a 'learning zone' within a corporate
information environment?
This FreePinter is looking for an 'estimated population of information
professionals by sector' . Perhaps
you know of a list of all trade associations and industry bodies
or a list of construction
companies that provide international aid (for example, by building
schools and hospitals in deprived areas)?
.
The latest issue of VIP Eye has just been published; it includes
news on the Google and Motorola partnership, and the potential for
mobile search .
A number of VIP subscribers have requested a comparative review of
market research products. Is this something that interests you? If so,
please let Pam Foster (VIP's Editor) know which products you'd like
her to include .
These postings are computer-related queries:
Whenever an email is sent from a Hotmail address to an Ntlworld
address it bounces back. Any ideas why?
The St John Ambulance in Berkshire has a website but it is not
showing up on search engines. Is there a cheap/free way of fixing
this? .
And finally, these dissertation-related postings at the FreePint
Student Bar should get you thinking ...
The first is on the effectiveness of corporate governance in publicly
owned enterprises and the second is
looking at how Google is used by university students for their
assignments . Do you know where to
find material to help with these projects?
Until next time.
Penny Hann
Production Editor, FreePint
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The FreePint Bar is where you can get free help with your tricky
research questions
Help with study for information-related courses is available at the
FreePint Student Bar .
Subscribe to the twice-weekly email digests at
.
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For more details call 020 7745 7245 email
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JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
The Jinfo service enables you to search and advertise
information-related job vacancies.
The Jinfo Newsletter is published free every two weeks, and contains a
list of the latest vacancies along with job-seeking advice. The latest
article is entitled "The Emotional Side of Career Transitions". Read
it online and subscribe free at .
Here are some of the latest featured jobs:
Business Process Analyst
Assess business needs & develop procedures to support business
processes, using your requirements gathering & report writing skills
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment
Legal Information Officer
Take responsibility for the provision of library and information
services deputising for the LIS manager in her absence.
Recruiter: City Professionals
Senior Information Manager - One year Contract
Top information professional in central London to implement
major library relocation and provide strategic advice on changes.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Graduate Research Assistant
The successful candidate will have a mix of assignments
within the Digital Library Applications team.
Recruiter: Los Alamos National Laboratory
[The above jobs are paid listings]
NB: There are 42 other jobs in the current edition of the Jinfo
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TIPS ARTICLE
"Learning languages online"
By Emma Thompson
Introduction
------------
According to the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area
Studies there are 700 reasons to learn
languages. There are also, however, plenty of reasons why learning a
language can be difficult, despite good intentions. Common reasons are
lack of time, or unavailability of classes, or even bad memories of
how you were taught at school.
The Internet can offer you instant access to authentic written, spoken
languages and even whole language courses, depending on your available
time and interest. Whether you are a complete beginner with "learn
Spanish" on your list of goals, or someone who learnt French at school
and has become rusty, the Internet offers you possibilities to learn
and improve your language skills.
Much has changed since my last FreePint article on this subject in
1999 - the increased
adoption of broadband has made online audio and video manageable, MP3
players have entered the mainstream and now podcasting opens up huge
possibilities. It seems a good time to revisit some sites to see what
they now offer, and to showcase some of the new sites that can help a
language learner. Obviously, I cannot cover all languages and all
levels, but I hope to inspire (or kick-start) those who want to
explore the possibilities for brushing up old skills or learning an
entirely new language.
The basics
----------
Are you a complete beginner, or did you study a language a long time
ago? Perhaps you are not sure how good your language skills are now.
You can gauge your current level online. BBC Languages is an excellent
first stop . It has a quick test to
gauge your level in French, German, Spanish and Italian. Depending on
your results, you will be directed to appropriate resources for your
level and language.
For other languages, try Dialang .
Dialang is a European Union project, free to use, which tests and
assesses your language level in 14 European languages.
You may need the basics quickly; for example, greetings and
introductions for a conference or a quick break abroad. You can also
download key phrases from the BBC Languages site in 37 languages -
these can be printed out or downloaded as an MP3 so you can take them
with you on your MP3 player and hear the pronunciation spoken by a
native.
For languages not covered by the BBC, try I Love Languages
, which is a huge eclectic collection
of language resources, linking to many online courses including
lesser used languages.
Online courses
--------------
A portal such as I Love Languages will point to sites that have
courses in specific languages - some charge a fee, but many are free.
A couple of good ones are: German for Travellers
; The Cervantes Institute Aula de
Lengua for Spanish . The aforementioned
BBC site has a wide variety of courses including videos that complement
their programmes shown on the BBC Learning Zone slot. They can be used
independently of the TV series, such as German Steps
. For beginners, it is
useful to reinforce basic phrases and master pronunciation by
listening to key phrases spoken by a native speaker; these online
offerings include audio and video that help the learner do exactly
that.
Media sites - podcasts and television
-------------------------------------
We all learn to speak our native language through listening, so it
makes sense to use the many possibilities on the Internet for audio
language learning. Radio stations have been available online for some
time now, and if you have a broadband connection you can listen, at
your leisure, to stations from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe. Find the
station to suit you at . The
disadvantage is that unless you are quite an advanced learner, dipping
into a random broadcast can be more frustrating than enjoyable. It can
be tricky to pause or rewind, and it is easy to lose track of the
speaker. You may miss some vocabulary or struggle to keep up with a
presenter who has a strong accent or speaks fast. The other
disadvantage is that you are limited to listening on your computer.
For the language learner, Podcasts overcome many of the difficulties
associated with radio online. Podcast was the word of 2005, according
to the New Oxford American dictionary. Podcasting has certainly jumped
from obscurity into the mainstream in the past year
. Many radio
stations and individuals are now making podcasts available to
download, and all of these resources are in many languages other than
English. Podcasts are a tremendous resource for intermediate to
advanced language learners. To find a list of many podcasts available
go to podcast.net . You will then need to
download software to organise your downloads - for example iTunes
from Apple, or ipodder
.
With podcasts you can listen when it suits you, as many times as you
wish, pause to look up a word, or repeat a small section until you
understand it. Personally, podcasting allows me to indulge my love of
Spanish cooking by signing up to the fortnightly podcast of
Guisando.org and improve my Spanish at the
same time. For beginners, there are also podcasts specifically
designed for learners, offering regular advice on grammar and
pronunciation, for example: Let's Speak German
to find newspapers by country.
By using TV station websites from other countries, you can watch and
listen to news and current affairs from abroad
. The French
Television station TV5 has pages that are made specifically for
learners, including language games and quizzes. Also for French, the
Swiss TV channel TSR streams much of its news
content to view on-demand - with excellent quality pictures and audio.
For Italian, the RAI site allows you to watch streamed news broadcasts
.
Email and online shopping
-------------------------
We all use email daily, and online shopping is very well established.
Both can be used to the advantage of language learners. For help with
writing, why not find an email pen friend in your target language? The
Tandem server is based in
Germany, but enables partnerships between language learners speaking
dozens of languages. You can link up with a native speaker for an
e-tandem partnership using email, or even sign up for phone tandem if
you want to practice your speaking skills. Tandem language learning
can be face-to-face, email or on the phone - the idea is that you help
someone learn your native language in return for helping you with
their native language. It is an excellent way of (virtually) meeting a
native speaker and getting personalised help, for free. You make an
agreement with your tandem partner; for example, you may agree to
email once a week, half in your own language and half in the language
of your partner - and then in your replies you correct each other's
mistakes.
Aficionados of international cinema can also use films for language
learning. When buying DVDs online, look carefully at the available
subtitle options - depending on where you buy the DVD the options can
change. For example, if you buy region 2 DVDs from abroad, for
example, from Amazon Germany , you may find you
have many more subtitle options than those you buy in the UK. The
price difference, even with the additional postage costs, is not
prohibitive. You can then view in the original language with subtitles
in the same language - enabling you to follow the narrative without
depending on English.
Of course, it is not just DVDs that you can order from abroad; you can
also order books and music, which in the past were difficult to get
hold of unless you had access to a specialist bookshop or were
visiting the country.
With opportunities available to watch, listen and read in your target
language, you don't need to have 700 reasons for learning a language,
with the possibilities offered by the World Wide Web, there is simply
no reason not to try.
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Emma Thompson is a Hispanic Studies graduate and Information
Specialist. She manages the Business and Languages Information Service
(BLIS) at the University of Plymouth, a multimedia library within the
Plymouth Business School. Emma has worked in free and fee-based
business information in the public and private sector, and most
recently in higher education. Contact Emma via
.
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Related FreePint links:
* 'Training - Industrial/Vocational' articles in the FreePint Portal
* Post a message to the author, Emma Thompson, or suggest
further resources at the FreePint Bar
* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
* Access the entire archive of FreePint content
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REVIEW
"Knowledge-based working: intelligent operating
for the knowledge age"
Written by Steve Ellis
Reviewed by Jela Webb
The author Steve Ellis has a number of years experience in Knowledge
Based Working (KBW) both as a practitioner and an academic. Drawing
upon personal experience, coupled with his doctoral research studies,
he has written a very readable text, which focuses on the topic of
'knowledge work' from a human-relations perspective, rather than
focusing on KM from a technology-led perspective.
In the 'knowledge age', many organisations are facing challenges
- their most important and valuable assets are their people and the
knowledge they use in day-to-day operations. For many, this calls for
new HR management techniques, and this book is aimed at providing
advice and guidance to those who find themselves managing 'knowledge
workers', as well as those who need to have an appreciation of KBW to
support their studies (professional qualifications and continued
professional development).
The book is divided into four main chapters:
1. An introduction to Knowledge-Based Working - this covers
definitions of KBW, how it is reflected in today's organisations
and what it may mean to employees
2. Managing KBW and knowledge workers - this considers how knowledge
workers should be 'managed' and how this differs from the ways in
which managers have traditionally managed and motivated employees
3. The new rules of organisational behaviour for KBW - here, Ellis
refers to a consultancy model to assist the reader (practitioner)
to complete further analysis of KBW - referred to as the "4C's"
of KBW - Commitment, Culture, Confusion and Convergence
4. The implications of KBW - in this final chapter, Ellis considers
the immediate and future consequences of KBW from the perspectives
of individuals, managers and organisations.
Readers will learn about the implications of the new knowledge
economy, how KBW has the capacity to affect all organisations, and what
impact this will have as KBW becomes the dominant model of working in
the 21st century. The book also helps senior managers and executives
to understand how KM affects them, their employees and the broader
organisation. Organisations that have focused heavily on a KM systems
approach will find this book provides them with some
alternative/complementary methods that will help to support their
present KM activities.
Chapters are interspersed with 'reflection points' allowing the reader
to consider issues raised and each chapter concludes with a set of
self-assessment questions. The book contains some practical case study
examples, drawn from the author's experience, and these are presented
in a way that reinforces learning points.
The book is a slim volume (136 pages) and written in a style that
makes it accessible to both the novice and the expert. Ellis is a firm
believer in the positive benefits that KBW brings. He shows very
clearly how the vast majority of us are being exposed to KBW in these
changing times and how we might adapt to the new ways of working.
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jela Webb, via her business, Azione, is a freelance strategic advisor,
consultant and trainer in information and knowledge management,
working with private and public sector clients. An associate of
Ashridge, Learnership and TFPL, she has implemented KM programmes in
FTSE 100 companies and has a particular interest in how best to manage
and motivate knowledge workers.
She is also a Visiting University and Business School Lecturer and
presents at KM conferences. As a writer, Jela has contributed articles
to KM journals and last year published a report 'KM for SMEs:
Solutions and Strategies'.
She may be contacted via .
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Related FreePint links:
* Find out more about this book online at the FreePint Bookshelf
* Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
or Amazon.com
* "Knowledge Based Working: Intelligent Operating for the Knowledge
Age" ISBN 1843341212, published by Chandos Publishing Oxford Ltd.
* Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the FreePint
Bookshelf at
* Read about other Internet Strategy books on the FreePint Bookshelf
To propose an information-related book for review, send details
to .
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*** Compare pay-as-you-go services in VIP ***
The December issue of VIP compared pay-as-you-go services from four
major providers - Alacra, Dialog, Factiva and LexisNexis.
VIP compared coverage, search options, results, usability and more:
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FEATURE ARTICLE
"Bar Orphans: Getting your questions answered at the FreePint Bar"
By Jane Macoustra
[The comments made in this article are solely the opinion of the
author and are not representative of any other person or company.]
Why don't some questions get answered at the Bar?
-------------------------------------------------
I often log into the FreePint Bar to
see what questions are being asked, and I think the response from the
tippling community is very good. But I have noticed that some of the
questions end up with a long stream of responses, while other
questions are all but ignored and turn into 'Bar Orphans' - lonely
queries with nary a response. My assumption has been that the
IT/technical type of questions generated the most responses.
Not long ago, I decided to make a special effort to try to answer the
unanswered Bar questions, as an exercise in keeping my research skills
honed. When I began this process it occurred to me that maybe the
FreePint community didn't respond to some of the questions because the
questions themselves were, in a sense, unanswerable.
Creating answerable questions -- information literacy
-----------------------------------------------------
One aspect of the discipline of information literacy is knowing how to
ask a question in such a way that a researcher can respond without
having to ask for clarifications. Asking questions is a skill that
comes naturally to some; for others, however, it is not so easy.
Many libraries and information centres rely on systems for research
requests that require the requestor to complete specific fields. These
systems allow the library or information centre to compile statistical
data on what work is being requested, as well as how much time is
spent on the research work; for institutions that charge back their
time and/or costs, this step is a must. They also ensure that the
researcher has basic, clear information before the work commences.
Sometimes the requestor does not have a clear idea of what he/she
really needs to complete the assignment. Sometimes it's hard to know
what you need until you know what's out there, but you can't know
what's out there until you start the research.
One reason the Bar is popular is that many professionals, who need
information to do their work effectively, do not understand how to
undertake the research. But if the responses they receive are off-
topic from their real needs, requestors may feel frustrated by the
experience as well as the answer provided. Yet they may not realise
that they need to frame their requests differently in order to get
better results.
Asking a question
-----------------
Many people start a query by thinking about what they expect the
research results to be. This is not necessarily the correct strategy
to take when formulating a question. For example, if you need
information on the shoe manufacturing industry in the UK, you'd
probably be expecting someone to send you a link to a shoe
manufacturing association portal. Fine, but what if you can enhance
that research by looking a bit closer at the industry? Rather than
thinking about those ideal end results, think laterally and divide the
industry up into sectors: children's shoes, women's shoes, men's
shoes, industrial wear, and (come to think of it) where do the
emergency services obtain their footwear? Consider both the big
picture and the details in order to come up with an answer that is as
valuable as possible. Look for the bigger picture, otherwise the
answer is quick and dirty and does not hold as much value.
The sort of questions that requestors should ask themselves, before
taking any further steps, are:
* What do I need?
* Why do I need it?
* How can I make the question more explicit? Is there more than one
description (synonym) for what I need?
* Is there an acronym for what I am looking for?
* What search terms would narrow down or expand the results?
* What don't I want? Are there any antonyms that can describe what
isn't required?
* Is this a specialist subject?
* What additional information can I provide that may assist the
researcher?
* Where have I have already looked?
* Is all the spelling in my request correct?
* Is the grammar in my request correct?
A number of requests at the Bar for information have proven
unanswerable without additional information, including:
* Region, country, county, or city
* How recent the information needs to be
* How detailed the information needs to be
If the query was, for example, "information on the development of the
number of manufacturing jobs in Japan, China and India", the following
information could be used to formulate the question:
Manufacturing what?
Manufacturing where?
Competitors are who?
Litigation pending?
Good/bad press?
Statistics?
Then, the question could be asked as follows:
"I need to locate statistical data on the number of jobs in the
manufacturing of white goods/washing machines/fridges/microwaves
/tumble driers in Japan, China and India in the last two years to
enable me to see what trends are occurring within this industry. I
don't need this information for Macau, Hong Kong or Taiwan. I have
already checked on Google, but did not find much that was relevant".
The results you get depend entirely on what you ask for and how you
ask for it. You may require a quick response or a more detailed
answer.
Before asking a question, it is a good idea to produce a mind map
around a Venn diagram of what you need, and
also a reverse mind map on the same page in a different colour,
showing what you don't need or what may be useful. A mind map would
enable you to formulate the questions posed above much more easily. If
you don't know enough about your subject, use a dictionary such as
Onelook . Onelook has almost 1000
dictionaries indexed, and also has a great reverse look-up facility
that is still in Beta testing mode. Some of the dictionaries are
specialised and can assist with difficult topics.
Also consider how the response to one question can enable you to
answer other questions. If you need information for six
countries/industries/legal systems, etc., why not ask for information
on just one area and then apply the information provided to the rest
of the other areas yourself? That way, you learn more about what goes
into a research plan and can opt to do the work yourself - or at least
be better informed about how to frame the questions for best results.
Bar responders are generous in providing not just answers to questions
but guidance on sources, approaches, and research know-how.
If you try the suggestions I have given above, you may eventually find
that you have focused your ideas enough to do the research yourself.
If you still prefer to ask, then at least you will know that you are
asking as well as possible and not creating a Bar Orphan.
Conclusion
----------
Unanswered questions languish at both the Bar and the Student Bar,
although the Student Bar does not appear to have as many non-
respondents. I suspect this could be mainly because the students are
usually asking for assistance with a subject for their dissertations
and not asking specific research questions. Still, some Student Bar
questions go unanswered, which suggests that although students have
been inducted at Higher Education level on how to use the library and
what is available to them, some are not attending the information
literacy classes which are freely available to them. A large number of
students expect to find everything they need on the Internet and don't
appreciate the free use of the proprietary databases that are
available to them while they are studying. Therefore, some students
struggle to use the databases and they don't know the best way to
formulate a question for research assistance.
Information practitioners are happy to assist at both Bars, and
frequently do so. Using the tips in this article will help newcomers
and veterans alike ask the kinds of questions we most love to devote
our (free) services and energies to: answerable ones.
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Jane Macoustra has over twenty five years experience as an Information
Professional, working for large corporations, investment banks and law
firms including one of the magic circle law firms. She has recently
worked in the public sector for a large County Council, and in the
academic community teaching information literacy. During her career
she has covered every aspect of librarianship. She runs her own
consultancy business, Tai-Pan Research.
Jane is a member of CILIP, the AIIP and the Special Libraries
Association where she is currently serving as the President for the
Asian Chapter. Prior to this, Jane also served as a Director for
the SLA Asian Chapter.
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