Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/87421
Although the position was primarily focused on the above tasks, my IA experience was a key factor in bringing me on board. At the time, the firm had a long- term plan to develop its first intranet, and the library director knew my skills would be an asset. I started out by developing an online library resource guide that highlighted the library's resources and showcased services the library team could provide to attorneys. The online guide was well-received and it provided a segway for our department to be put in charge of the intranet project in 2008. The library director and I designed a framework for the new intranet working with focus groups, practice leaders and other departments to ensure the finished product would meet the users' needs. My experience with IA allowed me to map out the information flow while my boss put her project management skills to work. We successfully launched the intranet in 2009, and its management quickly became my primary job. Even for a firm our size, there was a great deal of content floating around begging to be organized, and I began spending more and more time with the various administrative departments to make their unique information accessible. MANAGEMENT The library director and I were developing an interest in knowledge management since these principles are so in line with what librarians do every day. We are fortunate that the library team is highly valued at Nossaman, and we were able to expand our responsibilities into being the knowledge management department in 2011. Our new department title included a new role for me as an enterprise content manager, a position that focuses on the strategies, processes and tools for organizing and storing print and electronic content throughout its lifecycle to help the firm achieve its business goals. My first assignment was to project manage our ALONG COMES KNOWLEDGE InterAction upgrade in conjunction with the IT and business development teams. In most law firms, the business development team is responsible for managing InterAction; however, at Nossaman, InterAction was being maintained by several different departments. The HR team was using it as our employee database, BD used it as a marketing tool, and the library was maintaining service provider folders that tracked internal knowledge about judges, law firms, business consultants and vendors. One of the main reasons our department was asked to lead the upgrade is because I became very familiar with InterAction during the intranet implementation. We wrote a SQL script to pull employee information from InterAction each night, and that was how we populated our people directory on the intranet. The upgrade was an incredibly complex project because the firm was on quite an outdated version of the software, but this made for a fabulous learning experience. Reviewing all the information in the system showed us that InterAction was a powerful knowledge management tool — one that could allow us to provide meaningful information to the attorneys, which, in turn, would allow them to enhance their business development goals. Along with members of the business development team, we continue to work with the attorneys in further developing information in the database. UNDER A NEW UMBRELLA In April 2012, the department entered another new phase and moved under the direction of a newly hired chief information officer. The department now includes IT, records, docket and research and information services. I am excited to be working with these teams and to share my unique knowledge and skills. Our team has had a long history of successfully partnering on projects with IT, and I know we will continue to be successful in the future. With the change came another new title. I am now the Information Manager, and I feel it best epitomizes what I do. After a year away from working directly with the library, I now manage the research librarians and am responsible for the library budget. I also continue to manage the intranet and am in the beginning stages of a design upgrade. JACK OF ALL TRADES In my nearly six years at Nossaman, I have held a variety of positions and had to be a "jack of all trades." Through it all, I have always focused on how information flows through the firm in an effort to make it accessible and useful to our attorneys and staff. I am extremely fortunate to be working in an organization that looks beyond the traditional librarian role and has allowed me to develop new skills and branch out to other areas of the firm. AALL/ILTA White Paper 49