Exploring opportunities in intelligence
Jinfo Blog

By Aileen Marshall

Abstract

The field of intelligence work is one of those big secrets that everybody knows but don't really know much about. For some people, intelligence equals James Bond and espionage. Another common notion is that librarians are not analysts, and not capable of fulfilling this role, which in some ways reflects the stereotype of librarians pushing book cards, shushing people and sitting behind a desk, reading all day long.

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When I first mention the topic of intelligence (INTEL) in transportation – and more specifically INTEL for subway systems – I usually get one of two questions:

• So, you mean intelligent transportation systems?
• Why would you need intelligence for transportation?

The field of intelligence work is one of those big secrets that everybody knows but don't really know much about. For some people, intelligence equals James Bond and espionage. Another common notion is that librarians are not analysts, and not capable of fulfilling this role, which in some ways reflects the stereotype of librarians pushing book cards, shushing people and sitting behind a desk, reading all day long.

The intelligence community has its own reservations about information professionals getting into the business of intelligence. Their main argument is that we are not specifically trained to analyse. Whereas this might be true, it does not mean that information professionals can't learn these skills and the intelligence community is beginning to realise that librarians can be shaped into great analysts. With proper training, they can go beyond the retrieval, organisation, dissemination and storage of information.

If you are curious, love solving puzzles and are able to piece together bits and pieces of information and place them within greater contexts (political, economic, social, geographical and cultural), then you possess the very basic traits every analyst must have; and it does not matter if you call yourself librarian, information specialist or knowledge manager.

With the rise and power of Web 2.0and the emerging semantic web (Web 3.0), intelligence analysts can tap into virtual gold mines. Librarians are already involved in – and recognise the value of information found in – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, location-based social networks, live-casts and virtual worlds. From an intelligence perspective, consider the fact that extremist organisations have established a presence within social media to recruit new members, solicit financial support and spread their general message.

With proper training, your expertise and experience combined with gut feeling, information professionals can become great analysts. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can't do it just because you do not hold the title "Intelligence Analyst" yet. I highly recommend watching the Video Recording: Library Science and Intelligence Analysis: Converging Educational Paths. This colloquium was facilitated by the Catholic University, School of Library and Information Science.

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