Two interviews

1. Two interviews Andrew Mancuso LIS 770-Dr. Crowley 12/05/2012

2. Who I interviewed • Shane Beers • Digital Preservation Librarian at DePaul University • Kate Takcik • Information Specialist, Business Research Group • BMO (Bank of Montreal) Capital Markets A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

3. Shane Beers • Earned his MLIS at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006 and did some post-masters work specifically related to Digital Libraries • Worked as the Digital Repository Services Librarian at George Mason University from 2007-2009 • Worked as the Digital Preservation Librarian at the University of Michigan from 2009-2011 • Has been employed at DePaul University as the Digital Preservation Librarian for ten months. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

4. Descriptions don’t always matter • Original job title was for a “Digital Archives Librarian.” • The direct supervisor for this position was out on leave when he was hired and a number of the stakeholders that wrote the description were no longer around. • Shane requested the title be changed to “Digital Preservation Librarian”as to not be directly associated with the archives department. • He feels his position requires more of a philosophical standpoint and wanted to be able to work on a broader range of tasks.The skills set lies in philosophical underpinnings, not necessarily in technological data manipulation, developing software etc. • Says it has taken a lot of effort to learn what his priorities would be. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

5. What does a digital preservation librarian do? • Role I: Development of an infrastructure/workflow for preservation of digital assets in regards to special collections and archives and give the University the capability to preserve digital objects A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

6. What does a digital preservation librarian do? • Role II: Consults on digital projects that are taking place at the university, not just the library: Updates and maintains digital standards, archival package specifications, digital preservation policies/procedures in relation to digital objects and digitization standards. • EXAMPLE: • DePaul is approaching their centennial celebration so Shane is charged with overseeing much of what will be digitally showcased and other tasks that will aid in promoting interest through digital means. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

7. What does a digital preservation librarian do? • Role III: Stands as a technical/digital preservation consultant between content providers around the university and library/special collections and archives. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

8. Chain of command • Shane reports to Megan Bernal- Associate Director for library information and discovery systems. • She does a lot of work related to innovative library system (technical systems that drive collection development/management) • She manages only five or six people • No one reports to Shane and he says that the management structure is somewhat flat because it is a small university. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

9. The typical day • Vast majority of time spent at desk • Responding to emails, testing workflows/software/doing research on things that are happening in digital preservation • BEING UP TO DATE AND CURRENT WITH TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS AND PRACTICES • Installing/looking at tools to develop and implement the digital infrastructure • Random meetings/problems with things that aren’t working. • EXAMPLE: A department on campus wants to put some scans up for an online exhibit A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

10. The typical day • Shane says his role is more about consultation: he knows more about these fields than others he gets pulled in to talk about that. • Claims that describing a typical is hard because it depends on the project at hand. • A metaphor given to him was “developing a digital shelf for special collections and archives.” He has deems it far more complex than having a place for digital objects to live- one must take in, process, analyze, mark-up these items and they must be searchable and discoverable to be any use at all. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

11. Budget? • No clearly defined budget for Shane’s position/department. • He does not need to purchase anything at the moment but when looking at fairly expensive software to use he was encouraged to find other options. • Says that the university will sponsor his attendance at relevant conferences if there is a fee. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

12. Kate Takcik • Recently graduated from Dominican University and this is her first job in the field. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

13. Job description & chief responsibilities • The group of researchers supports the investment bankers in the deal process. • They research companies, industries, commodities, etc. • They field a high volume of requests (mostly email) each day and their work is very often extremely time sensitive. • They have access to dozens of databases (some very expensive, very slick databases) and they are able to provide the bankers with unique, relevant information which is not generally publicly available. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

14. Job description & chief responsibilities • She has to keep her head down, 8:30-5 and do research. • Her main tasks include preparing company booklets and finding relevant research reports or news stories specific companies/industries. There's always another assignment to cover, so she really just keeps up with requests throughout the day. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

15. Chain of command • They have a team manager in their Chicago office, and the manager of the entire group is in Toronto, where their counterpart Canadian team works. • Other than supervising the research group, the managers have the important responsibility of handling all the database subscriptions and contracts for their group and for the different bankers who have access to their own databases. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

16. The Space & Employees • In a very typical office setting. Open pods of cubicles. • They do have a print reference collection with vertical files nearby which they reference on a weekly (not usually daily) basis. • Research services are available 8-6, Monday through Friday. • The average age of the employees is 40+ (She’s the exception at 27). • Over 75% of them have their MLS. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

17. Working for BMO Capital markets • Not sure how long the research group has been around, but it's been several decades at least. • It's actually pretty wonderful how well valued the research group is by BMO. • During all the economy issues, no librarian lost their job. • The banking analysts are dependent on their services to provide them with the best information so they are well prepared to meet with new clients. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

18. Typical user population • Their users are investment banking analysts. • Many of them are very young, newly graduated, and very panicky. • Bankers are under a lot of pressure from their bosses to do good work. • They mostly hear from them on email, but bankers will call or come up to their floor when things get really important. A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

19. Proving your worth • They have a webpage and brochures/handouts for new bankers. • There is an annual lunch meeting with new analysts/bankers. • They meet with the analysts/bankers, their manager explains who the research group is and what we can do for them. • It is a really important meet-and-greet to demonstrate what their value is/could be to banker’s work. • It is also important to set expectations for their requests of us. • i.e. They need to give us reasonable deadlines, understand that we don't have access to everything, that we won't be performing non-research tasks for them (arranging PDFs). A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12

20. Questions? • Thank you! A.R. Mancuso LIS770 Dr. Crowley 12/05/12