Becca Tedesco
IS 510
Exercise 1: Description of Relationships of IS to Other Domains
American Library Association:
The American Library Association (known as ALA) is an organization that focuses on the
professional development and collaboration of librarians, library staff, patrons, and library supporters.
According to the ALA’s mission statement, it strives to provide information and tools to improve
information science and library practices in the hopes of producing open information access for all. In
addition to its current practices, the ALA has a vision to build “a world where libraries, both physical
and virtual, are central to lifelong discovery and learning and where everyone is a library user
(American).”
Since the ALA encompasses an array of library types, including academic, public, school, and
special, it has a challenge of presenting information that is relevant to each of its members. One way the
website has managed this information challenge is by offering divisions, such as the American
Association of School Libraries and the Public Library Association, and roundtables, like Government
Documents and Library Research, that are specific to a member’s needs. Through these divisional tools,
members can receive targeted information that is more directly specific to their field, therefore
increasing the value of that information. ALA also seeks to add value to the information they provide
through the existence of the social media toolbars that are present on their website. This allows
individuals to easily share any information they come across in networks such as Facebook, Twitter, or
Linked In, making the information more visible and marketing it to others who haven’t necessarily been
to the ALA website. As pointed out in the textbook, “the more efficient an information service is at
adding value in these ways, the less its work may be obvious to its users (Bawden 253).”
The ALA website also strongly markets its upcoming Annual Conference, which seems to be
emphasizing creativity through imaginative speakers such as Alice Walker, Ann Patchett, and Oliver
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IS 510
Stone. This event will allow experts to share their tacit knowledge and experiences with others through a
process of knowledge management that utilizes “‘community practice’: a group of practitioners who
come together to share knowledge and experience, largely informal (Bawden 262).”
In addition to the ALA’s focus on professional development, it also covers management policies.
One menu item is labeled “Advocacy, Legislation and Issues,” which has links to documents such as
“The USA PATRIOT Act,” an example of how political issues generate environment scanning within an
organization (American). Due to the content of the Patriot Act, many libraries have changed their
records management practices in order to protect their users’ rights.
"American Library Association." American Library Association. ALA, n.d. Web. 15 June 2013.
<http://www.ala.org/>.
Special Libraries Association:
The Special Libraries Association (known as SLA) is an organization for libraries that don’t fall
into the academic, public, or school categories due to a specific and predominant emphasis in their
collections, such as medical or law resources. The SLA’s mission is immediately present on the
homepage of the website. “Find out how an information professional can help your organization turn
information into intelligence and gain a competitive advantage (Home).”
The SLA seems to heavily emphasize career management and development through its journals,
webinar database, and even its 2013 Conference, with sessions such as “The Experts Are In!: One-Off
Career Advice (Home).” The conference is marketed to specific information and knowledge scientist
professionals.
"Home - Special Libraries Association Special Libraries Association." Special Libraries
Association Home Comments. SLA, n.d. Web. 14 June 2013. <http://www.sla.org/>.
Becca Tedesco
IS 510
Association for Image and Information Management
The Association for Image and Information Management (known as AIIM) is an organization
that strives to support and all information professionals and enlighten them in a time of growing and
developing technologies. Their mission is “to ensure that information professionals understand the
current and future challenges of managing information assets in an era of social, mobile, cloud and big
data (AIIM).”
With its emphasis on new technologies, one of the most prominent features on AIIM’s website is
a “Free Checklist” of tips to manage your social media presence. Social media is a development that
brings about a new aspect of information management; allowing for information to be more readily
shared without creating additional work for the source organization.
Some of the “hot topics” within the AIIM website include big data, the cloud, information
governance, digitizing processes, and social technologies. Their emphasis of the digitizing process is a
form of enterprise content management, in which “The refer to a processes of creating, revising,
tracking, dissemination and storing electronic documents, which may sometimes be images of paper
documents (Bawden 255). The information regarding these issues is organized first by topic and is then
broken down into research, events, and current news. A community section is also included and features
blog posts by various contributors, allowing for a wider scope of information perspectives (AIIM).
"AIIM - The Global Community of Information Professionals." AIIM - The Global Community
of Information Professionals. AIIM, n.d. Web. 15 June 2013. <http://www.aiim.org/>.
ARMA
ARMA is a non-profit association that is dedicated to “governing information as a strategic asset
(ARMA).” Their major focus is information governance along with record management practices and
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IS 510
procedures. Along with documents, news updates, and certification programs, they have a large archive
of webinars available for professional development.
Additionally, ARMA has a
publication entitled Information Management, which is available both as a physical periodical and in an
electronic format. It includes articles such as, “Managing and Collecting Social Media for E-Discovery”
and “Exploring the Principles for Increasing Integrity, Objectivity in External Audits (ARMA).” There
are issues that have become inactive records and have therefore been added to the archive collection,
ranging back to 2005, consequently becoming part of the organizations archive management process.
"ARMA International Home." ARMA International Home. ARMA, n.d. Web. 15 June 2013.
<http://www.arma.org/>.
The Association for Information Management and Technology:
The Association for Information Management and Technology (known as ASIS&T) is an
organization for information professionals who are seeking better theories and techniques in order to
improve information accessibility (ASIS&T). It has several special interests groups listed, including
Library Technologies and Information Architecture, each of which leads to a description of how the
topic is relatable to information science. The organization also consists of regional chapters, allowing for
a more valuable process of information distribution; Taipei Chapter and the Indiana Chapter likely have
different information needs for their specific demographics (ASIS&T).
ASIS&T seeks to distribute its information to as many users as possible by publishing brochures
in thirteen different languages, with more to come (ASIS&T). This practice allows information to be
managed into more accessible components and focuses on individual users’ personal information needs.
In addition, the organization also has a listserv available in order to promote information en masse
(Bawden 254). ASIS&T has publications, such as JASIST, the Journal of the American Society for
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Information Science and Technology and the book From Documentation to Information Science,
available in both physical and electronic formats.
Strategic and Competitive Information Professionals:
The Strategic and Competitive Information Professionals (known as SCIP) is an organization
dedicated to “creating and managing business knowledge” and to improve the knowledge of its members
through “leadership, education, advocacy, and networking (Strategic).” It has a direct mission and vision
plan and a detailed code of ethics that the organization adheres to. Its bylaws are available on the
website in pdf format.
The organization has two publications available: Competitive Intelligence, a subscription
periodical with topics including “acquisition, management, and distribution of competitive information”
and SCIP.Insight, a monthly e-bulletin. By offering two publication formats, SCIP is expanding its
audience. This website also has social network sharing capabilities, though not as comprehensive as
those of ALA, which allow for more information visibility. In addition to its focus on competitive
intelligence, SCIP’s upcoming European Summit in Rome has a track dedicated to “managing
intelligence to drive decisions” (Strategic).
"Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals Home." Strategic and Competitive Intelligence
Professionals-SCIP. SCIP, n.d. Web. 16 June 2013. <http://www.scip.org/index.cfm>.
HIMSS:
HIMSS is a non-profit organization that uses information technology to promote better health
awareness. Its website lists special interest groups, including Air Force CIO-s, E-Health, and Supply
Chain Management, which allow HIMSS members to obtain the information that is most suitable to
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their needs, making it more valuable for the users. This is also achieved through the organizations local
chapters and roundtables (HIMSS).
HIMSS’s online store features a vast variety of publications, all of which are divided into
categories based on the respective product’s featured topics, making the desired information more
efficient to find. The website also includes a resource library for professional development and includes
archived webinars, podcasts, and industry research. It also features e-newsletters, blogs, and Health IT
news, making it apparent that the organization attempts to distribute information through a variety of
channels.
"HIMSS." HIMSS. HIMSS, n.d. Web. 16 June 2013. <http://www.himss.org/Index.aspx>.
Other Source Throughout Assignment:
Bawden, David, and Lyn Robinson. "Chapter 12." Introduction to Information Science. United
Kingdom: Facet, 2012. 251-85.