Practical Action on Jinfo's Research Focus "The information team with the right stuff", from an information services manager
Jinfo Blog

By Catherine Dhanjal

Abstract

The Research Focus, "The information team with the right stuff", concluded at the end of June and the Insights and Actions report is available now for all site visitors. We asked Mandy Webster, an information services manager in the legal sector, how she and her team have been using the resources from the Research Focus.

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How are the articles, webinars and Community sessions from Research Focus, "The information team with the right stuff", being used?

We spoke to one of our subscribers, Mandy Webster, library and information services manager at law firm Browne Jacobson, who shared with us what she has learned from the current Research Focus and how she will use this in her work moving forwards.

Jinfo: What did you find most valuable about the Research Focus?

Mandy Webster: I have particularly enjoyed the webinars. A lot of useful and practical insights are provided in return for a small time commitment, which is very convenient when time is in such short supply. The slide decks with notes are an invaluable refresher tool to highlight key areas to discuss at team meetings or investigate further.

I lead a small team and this Research Focus resonated with a number of challenges we have been focused on. The diagrams and charts form an excellent basis to break down processes clearly and formulate action points.

Jinfo: How did it affect your thinking?

Mandy Webster: It has helped to focus on what we should be doing as a team to become internal consultants in a centre of excellence, adding value in the areas where AI can't compete with humans.

This is an area we were already working on, but the Research Focus provided some guidance and tools to help. It provided an additional reminder about the value of making time for planning and training end-users to free information professionals to work with users on a more strategic level. It is a timely spur to focus on the essentials.

Jinfo: How does Jinfo help you to stay ahead of the curve on technology developments and gain other insights?

Mandy Webster: Jinfo is great for keeping up to date with new products through reviews. Current awareness of wider information trends beyond the legal sector provides useful insights which can be adapted. It is an invaluable CPD tool with a good balance of thought-provoking and practical resources.

About Mandy Webster

Mandy Webster is an information services manager with over 20 years of experience in the legal sector. Enjoying a busy but varied workload of training new users, providing current awareness services and negotiating deals with suppliers, she puts her first degree in law to good use carrying out legal, business and competitive intelligence research at Browne Jacobson. A regular reviewer for CILIP's "Information Professional" magaazine, Mandy has also contributed articles to the BIALL journal "Legal Information Management", and chapters in the first and second editions of BIALL's "Handbook of Legal Information Management".

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