What's the Deal With Adding Value?

The law librarians talked about it in Portland earlier this month. The specialty librarians talked about it in Seattle last month. The independent info pros talk about it regularly on their association discussion list. So what's the deal with adding value? Information professionals are coming to realize that the old rip and ship model of information delivery is no longer sufficient. Attaching a hodge podge of documents, PDFs, and URLs to an e-mail is not adding value.

In responding to a research request, it is incumbent upon the info pro to deliver answers, not just information. Delivering answers means taking time to create a document that summarizes findings and puts the desired information front and center. Doing this takes time, but it also brings to light our ability to separate the wheat from the chaff, summarize findings, draw conclusions, and provide insights.

Add value. It's good for your organization, your decision-makers, and your career.