Passive Research

With the new gig, different groups of clients want different things.  Some groups actively ask me to investigate issues of interest to them.  Other groups I just kind of send case studies, research papers, news, etc. based on what I know about the individual (or team) and the work they’re engaged in. 

While it ebbs and flows, a lot of my day-to-day work seems to come from providing what I call “passive research.”  This is information I happen to see from blogs, news feeds, research organizations, other people in the department, etc.  Sounds simple?  It’s much less happenstance, of course.  I’ve spent the last two months learning what my clients are interested in and just listening to them in their natural habitat.  Based on what I’ve overheard them talk about in passing, at meetings, and from previous research requests, I’ve either established RSS feeds through specific sources or alerts through services like Lexis.  

I’ve also created a running list of who is interested in what topics.  If more than two people have expressed an interest in a topic, or if someone has specifically requested research on a topic, the name and topic goes on the list.  The topics need to have a bit of staying power, however.  Right now I’m going off my gut feeling with what topics have “staying power” although I’m guessing if I thought about it long enough certain factors would rise. 

Selfishly, I tend to like passive research for my own reasons.  It lets me move at my own pace without necessarily being on a deadline.  And it’s a great learning opportunity.  Essentially it gives me the excuse to read about things I’m already interested in.  (So admittedly there may be a bit of bias present in what topics have “staying power.”) 

More importantly, however, I wonder if this is a niche that will allow anyone working in the non-public sector of librarianship to continue into the next century.  It makes the librarian an “Information concierge” as one of my clients calls it.  At a certain level of modern society, information is plentiful. Too plentiful.  Acting as a human filter for a specific audience helps sort out the information from the good information. 

I sometimes wonder if I’m really adding value with this kind of service.  I kind of assume that because my clients are doing the hands-on work in the areas I’m only researching, they are already tied into the same resources I’m sending them.  But feedback from both employees and management suggests that’s not the case.  They really like getting the information I send along and it helps guide them.  A lot of my clients are so busy doing the real work they may not have time to seek out the information I’m sending them.  Delivering information specifically tailored to them provides them with context of the larger environment and helps them do their jobs better.