The document discusses strategies for advocating for corporate libraries and information services based on research from CILIP. It finds that most effective strategies include demonstrating service usage, collaborating with other teams, nurturing champions, and contributing to impact measures and case studies. The research also identifies the top metrics and technologies used for advocacy, such as usage data, cost savings, and intranets. The session aims to help information professionals gain advocacy insights and strategies to apply in their own practice.

1. Advocating for corporate libraries &
information services
UKSG 2018 Breakout Session, Glasgow

2. Welcome!
This session has been organised by CILIP, the UK
Information and Library Association with grateful
thanks for the support of:
• Alex Pooley, CILIP Commercial, Legal and
Scientific Information Group
• Katherine Schopflin, Special Libraries
Association
• The CILIP Policy Unit
The session is based on original research
commissioned by CILIP and draws on material
published by SLA Europe, IRMS, the Financial
Times, Archives & Records Association and Sue
Hill/TFPL

3. Objectives
Thankyou for choosing to join this
breakout session. As a result of
attending, we hope you will:
• Have gained an insight into
successful strategies for advocacy in
corporate information services
• Have had an opportunity to share
your own questions, insights and
experiences
• Have taken away some actionable
insights that can be applied to your
own practice

4. Structure
1. Getting to know you!
2. Information professionals in
corporate environments
Overview of sector and key themes
3. Advocating for the value or impact
of information services
Key findings of research
4. What are the most effective
strategies for advocacy in your
institution?
Discussion session
5. Conclusions and next steps

5. How well are information professionals in
corporate environments doing in advocating for
their value and impact?
What can we learn from their experiences?

6. Libraries Archives Records IM KM
Workforce 52200 13000 5200 11300 6000
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
Distribution of UK information professional workforce*
* Source: CILIP/ARA 2015 Workforce Mapping

7. 0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
Distribution of Information Professional workforce by Industry Sector *
* Source: CILIP/ARA 2015 Workforce Mapping

8. * Source: 2017 IRMS/Sue Hill/TFPL Salary Survey

9. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Academic
Financial Services
Government
Healthcare/NHS
Legal
Public Libraries
Other commercial
Professional Services
3rd Sector
Salaries
• The Financial Services Sector has
the highest average salaries for
Information Professionals
• The lowest average salaries are in
Public Libraries and 3rd Sector
organisations, although averages
in Academic sector also
noticeably lower
* Source: 2017 IRMS/Sue Hill/TFPL Salary Survey

10. * Source: 2017 IRMS/Sue Hill/TFPL Salary Survey
Diversification
• Greater diversification of role types in
corporate sectors
• Marked tendency towards
‘Information Services’ over ‘libraries’
• Trend towards ‘decision-ready
information’ – providing insight and
analysis as well as research and
discovery

11. * Source: 2014 Financial Times Corporate/SLA Report The evolving value of information management
• C-suite and Senior Executives cite common ‘information’
challenges including:
• Information overload (17%)
• Filtering/sifting information (17%)
• Finding relevant information (17%)
• Accessing up-to-date information (15%)
• Speed/timeliness of information (14%)
Key challenges

12. So how are Information
Professionals in corporate
environments advocating
for their services?

13. Research project
CILIP represents Information
Professionals in more than 20 industry
sectors, including Legal, Financial and
Professional Services and other
corporate/commercial environments.
Between Jan-Apr 2018, we surveyed 46
commercial/corporate organisations
and businesses to understand the
strategies Information Professionals are
using to secure Executive/Boardroom/c-
suite support.
These are interim findings – the
research will be ongoing through 2018
Photo credit: Brooke Lark on Unsplash

14. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
CILIP Corporate Library & Information Services Survey 2018 – By sector
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

15. Scale
• 58% of respondents support
businesses with 500-4999
employees
• 22% of respondents support
businesses with over 5,000
employees
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018
7%
13%
58%
22%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
< 50 employees
50-499 employees
500-4999 employees
>5000 employees
Respondents by workforce size (overall)

16. Services provided
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018
Plus:
• Current awareness
• Training/User Education
• Content Management
• Subscriptions Management
• Business Information
• Archiving & Retention
• Quality & Environmental Management
• Recruitment
78% provide
Research services
67% lead on Acquisitions
& Licensing
62% provide Knowledge &
Information Management
23% support Information
Governance

17. Reach
• 59% of respondents answer queries
& provide services to a global
clientele
• 22% provide services specific to UK
clients
• An increasing number provide
information services internationally
to client’s firms as well as their own
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

18. Seniority
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018
Plus:
• Chief Engineer
• Outsourced (via Facilities Director)
• HR
• Chief Knowledge Officer
• Independent consultant
In 17% of cases, the Head of the
Information Service reports directly to
the Board
In 15% of cases, they report to the
Chief Executive or Managing Partner
In 46% of cases, they report to
someone in Middle Management

19. No ‘natural home’
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018. Photo credit: Rawpixel.com for Unsplash
“Where in the organisation do you work?
• IT
• Policy
• Embedded into a practice area
• Business Services
• Operations
• Support Services
• Outsourced
• Medical Directorate
• Knowledge Services Team
• In-house Risk Team
• Part of Learning & Development (under HR)
• Marketing
• Internal ‘University’/training function
• Business Development and Strategy

20. Qualifications
• 55% of respondents are expected to hold a
formal LIS/Information-related qualification
• 70% of employers support CILIP-Accredited
Qualifications
• According to IRMS/TFPL:
• 14% hold a BA/BSc in Library/Information
Management
• 16% hold a PgDip in Information
Management
• 31% hold an MA/MSc/MBA in Library of
Information Management or Governance
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

21. * Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

22. 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00%
Contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility activities
New opportunities/leads generated
Income generated/costs recovered
Physical footfall
Quantitative value-added for internal teams/colleagues
Qualitative value-added for users/clients
Quantitative value-added for users/clients
Contribution to targets
Qualitative value-added for internal teams/colleagues
Overall £ value of services provided (benefits/efficiency)
Book issues
Number of active users/clients
Contribution to corporate goals
Number of enquiries answered
Usage of electronic resources
Which metrics do you use to advocate for your Information Service?
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

23. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Which of these advocacy activities do you do/plan to do/no longer do?
Do already Plan to do in next 12 months Used to do
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

24. Winning strategies (part one)
• Demonstrate how much the service is used
• Collaborate with other teams
• Be consistent in order to build trust
• Nurture relationships with champions/advocates
• Share your expertise in communities of practice
• Contribute to impact measures & case studies
• Adopt a ‘marketing’ mindset for the service
• Prepare for new staff before they start
• Show real-terms cost savings for the business
• Review subscriptions & identify ROI & VFM
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

25. Winning strategies (part two)
• Support new business initiatives
• Be active & visible on Social Media
• Advise on Data Protection
• Support new products/services
• Do your best for every enquiry
• Create internal products
• Provide insights on competitor strategies
• Current awareness bulletins
• Run an ‘Awareness Week’
• Liaise with teams to select/evaluate resources
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

26. Top 5 technologies for advocacy
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018
1. Intranet
2. Email
3. Yammer
4. Sharepoint
5. Internal social media

27. “Understand senior management priorities”
“Make time for your team by developing self-service”
“Get out into your user group and be helpful!”

28. “Don’t be disheartened – sometimes you have to play the long game”
“Build relationships”
“Make your Information Service a brand, even if its just you!”

29. What are the most effective strategies for
advocacy in your institution? How many of
these are you doing already?

30. More from CILIP in 2018!
• CILIP is launching a campaign this month to build our support
for Information Professionals in HE and later this year for the
Corporate sector
• New tools and resources designed to help you future-proof
your career, build your network and share your expertise
• Launching ‘Chartered Information Professional’, ‘Chartered
Information Manager’ and ‘Chartered Knowledge Manager’
status
• New opportunities to develop your leadership and
management skills in partnership with the Chartered
Management Institute
Come along to the CILIP stand at #UKSG18 to find out more!
http://www.cilip.org.uk/join