Today I am summarizing the process initiatives submitted by readers responding to the Start Stop Poll.
The 2016-17 initiatives focus on: visibility outreach, targeted marketing, lawyer training and collecting attorney feedback and measuring value and satisfaction with resources and services. The more surprising response was a plea for the retention of print resources.
Could we have reached the end of “the end of print?”
I have been reading a book called “The Revenge of Analog” which offers a fascinating catalog of “dead” analog formats which are being revived and re-positioned in new higher end niche markets: phonographic records, 35 millimeter film and yes… print magazines and books. Today my Sunday Washington Post – yes I read a paper newspaper –included a new “ Weekly TV Guide.” I thought they eliminated the TV Guide over 10 years ago.
And then… there was in this year’s survey responses I discovered a plea to slow the relentless elimination of print. “Stop eliminating print treatises that lawyers want to read the
old-fashioned way. Enough of the architects and finance people driving this: Our associates want print copies of the best books, and research shows that full absorption of knowledge is best achieved when reading print media.”
old-fashioned way. Enough of the architects and finance people driving this: Our associates want print copies of the best books, and research shows that full absorption of knowledge is best achieved when reading print media.”
While every firm is at a different stage of migration from print to digital some firms may have reached the bone – there is no more to cut. Other firms will continue to eliminate print – but perhaps print will stabilize. There will be a core set of resources that will be deemed by firms and practices as necessary and worth the cost and the overhead.
Describe any ORGANIZATIONAL (task/process/initiative) that you STOPPED in 2016 or plan to STOP in 2017?
- We stopped buying about 50% more of our print
collection. - We stopped using ref tracker as we found it no
longer worked for us and are looking at other ways to track reference requests. - KF call numbers
- Posting upcoming training sessions on our SharePoint
page (No one ever read them.) - We stopped creating a separate “classes
with online materials” page on the law school website - Since we have reduced our collection, we no
longer have a need to outsource our filing. - No longer keeping any ABA periodicals in print
- Retired our legacy news delivery home-grown
service. - Research team to focus on complex research. All Document
retrieval to be handled by
paraprofessional team - Stopped daily review of new cases files.
- Stopped doing new client intake research for new
business department.
Describe any ORGANIZATIONAL (task/process/initiative) that you STARTED in 2016
·
We began analyzing usage of Courthouse News and its effectiveness in acquiring new business.
We began analyzing usage of Courthouse News and its effectiveness in acquiring new business.
- Improved data tracking of invoices to better see
practice group allocation of resources. - Started tracking filing time/budget by title to
target high maintenance print resources. - Started to revamp desk book distribution methods
in effort to turn some titles digital. - Expanded the content and number of Lexis Advance
Resource Centers (eLibraries) - More streamlined accounting
- We added several more custom curated newsletters
for practice groups - Switched
news aggregation platform. - Systematic procedures to “market” the
library’s services using “triggers” such as a new client, lawyer
promotion. - We started getting in front of attorneys
more. Our plan is to do a ton of travel
in 2017. - Replacing Manzama with EOS
- We’ve started including the clinic in our
technology lectures - Enhanced data Collection
- Supporting legal project manager
- Competitive Intelligence team moved from
marketing to Research and Knowledge team. - Litigation History Checklist Legal Research
Competencies Self-Assessment Tool (based on AALL competencies)
Describe any ORGANIZATIONAL (task/process/initiative) you plan to START in 2017
- Legal Research Platform RFP eLearning Modules
- Adding a 4-question survey to responses to requests, encouraging customers to comment on our service.
- We are looking into KM and the also how to possibly apply AI to our practices.
- Re-vamp the intranet and increase the library’s offerings of practice-group specific resource links and suggested research starting points.
- Creating an internal knowledge repository for the library.
- Writing procedure and policy manuals and cross training staff.
- We are starting to drive use to specific online resources over print on a practice group basis
- Improve real-time client pages using Thomson Reuters Intelligence Center
- Knowledge platform revamp.
- Focus will be on a number of knowledge management tools that bring efficiency to the practice.
- Launch a new firm Intranet.
- Launch SmartTasks
- Launch LexisNewDesk and BNA Convergence dashboards
- Relaunch a newly envisioned Knowledge services bulletin
- Move off of CNS dockets to Bloomberg Enterprise dockets/Westlaw Dockets.
- Install Research Hub
- We plan to start including the incubatees in our technology lectures
- Redesign our library’s Intranet page
- Space planning
- Reboot KM
- Migrate from RefTraker to Quest
- Making more presentations to practice groups and surveying the attorneys to find out what they use the most and what they would like to learn.
- GeniePlus [Lucidea product] library management system. Upgrading from Inmagic DBTextWorks.
- All document retrieval shifted away from research specialists and sent to document retrieval team in low cost center.