Quantum² Highlights
A newsletter of the Thomson Scientific leadership development program for information professionals

Dear Quantum² Member...
October is here already, so it's likely that everyone is thinking about planning next year's budget and outlining goals and objectives. At this time of year, it can seem like we are short on ideas on how to promote the value of information. But don't despair! Our feature article this month is designed to help you understand and communicate the value you provide organizations as information professionals. Read on for more insight.

Nominate a Quantum² InfoStar
Do you know an InfoStar?

Recognize their success by nominating them for the Thomson Scientific Quantum² InfoStar Award

InfoStars are information professionals who are inspiring examples of creativity and innovation. Their stories provide insight into their professional achievements and leadership qualities, and enable them to serve as role models for others. InfoStars are also enthusiastic and positive about the value and future of information services, regardless of their level within the organization. They can be staff level librarians who inspire their colleagues, information center managers who act as catalysts for change, or senior managers in the organization who champion and support the information center.

Their key characteristics are:

• Strategic involvement in organization
• Proactive relationship building
• Innovative information services
• Continuous change and development

Thomson Scientific is now seeking nominations for the InfoStar Awards, which will be announced at the London Online Information show in December 2007 and the ALA Midwinter meeting in January 2008.

Nominate a colleague at http://scientific.thomson.com/quantum2/forms/nominate/

Quantum² Topic of the Month
FUMSI Your Way up the Value Chain

In the August issue of Quantum² Highlights, we introduced you to the concept of FUMSI — Find, Use, Manage and Share Information. This month, guest writer Robin Neidorf of Free Pint Limited discusses how to use FUMSI to emphasize the value of information work.

We often hear about the need to provide 'value-add' when providing service to internal and external customers. Information professionals who neglect to remind their colleagues and clients about the high value of information skills run the risk of being considered an expensive human search engine. With so much information at everyone's fingertips, focusing on the added value you bring to information work can mean the difference between pay increases and redundancies.

FUMSI provides an excellent framework for surfacing the value of skilled information work and making it more visible across an enterprise. Information itself can be perceived as a commodity, but FUMSI interactions with information are all about skill, training and experience.

For those who specialize in finding or using information, here's a quick overview of how using a FUMSI orientation can help you demonstrate value:

• Finding Information: "It's all on the web for free" may be the naïve belief, but information professionals know that high-quality information can be difficult to track down. With knowledge of specialized databases, search best-practices and resources off the beaten path, professionals who excel at finding information save their colleagues and customers time — which is money.

• Using Information: A pile of data is just a pile of data, until someone makes sense of it. Information professionals who use information to make and support mission-critical decisions save their organizations and customers money while helping them manage the risks of business. More and more information technologies support using information through data visualization, federated search and other innovations — and information professionals can be on the vanguard of these advances.

If you don't yet know where your skills or interests lie within the FUMSI framework, complete this free online self-assessment to gain new insight into how you Find, Use, Manage and Share Information: http://digbig.com/4thrc.

Next month's article will take a closer look at demonstrating value through Managing and Sharing Information.

About the Author
Robin Neidorf is the General Manager of Free Pint Limited, publisher of Jinfo ( http://www.jinfo.com/), a resource for Jobs in Information. Jinfo offers a free weekly Jobs Update and a free monthly career tips newsletter (subscribe at http://www.jinfo.com/subs/). Free Pint Limited publishes a range of sites and publications serving the business information industry. Learn more at http://www.onopoly.com/. FUMSI is a trademark of Free Pint Limited; learn more at http://www.freepint.com/fumsi/.