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One of the engaging features of information work is that the principles remain constant even as the tools and context in which we use them change all the time. At the recent SLA annual conference, we filled up the calendar for VIP's product reviews with brand-new offerings as well as enhancements and updates. (There's still time to tell us what you learned and experienced at the event, when you contribute to the FreePint SLA 2010 Special Report.) Every week we learn about new products, resources and sites. A personal favourite -- though no longer completely new -- is the Wolfram|Alpha computational search engine explored in detail in a current FUMSI article.
Every new development, every new tool gives us and our contributors plenty to write about. And yet it's equally meaningful to review classic wisdom on creating excellence in the information field.
That's one of the reasons we're so pleased to have the opportunity to publish a glowing review of the second edition of Mary Ellen Bates' classic, 'Building and Running a Successful Research Business: a guide for the Independent Information Professional'. As our reviewer, Joanna Ptolomey, points out, Mary Ellen's book is as much change agent as how-to guide. Read it if you're ready to examine not just building an independent business but your beliefs about what work means.
Joanna notes that, as someone who has run her own business for over a decade, she welcomed the chance to use Mary Ellen's book to reexamine the fundamentals: business model, client and project mix, and new directions to explore.
Every healthy business needs to undergo periodic reinvention. FreePint itself is constantly evolving, and each change brings challenges and opportunities. It was just over a year ago that we quietly launched FreePint Research. Today, that division of the business has published reports on copyright, resources for regulatory compliance, and content buying patterns. In-progress projects are examining the demand for mobile content in the enterprise, as well as revisiting and expanding VIP's past research on preferences and requirements for news content.
Those major projects are in addition to periodic smaller surveys on search engine preferences, networking, intranets and more.
If you haven't yet done so, please register your interest in participating in Freepint Research - you'll get an invitation to participate whenever we begin data gathering for a new project.
Smaller enhancements appear weekly. Visit the FreePint Shop to try out the just-launched Google Checkout feature. It's just one of the ways we're working to make it easier to get what you need from FreePint.
Have a suggestion on another way we can help? Another improvement you'd like to see? Email me your thoughts.
And whenever you run across a cool new tool on the Web, share it with the whole FreePint community. Post your tip to the FUMSI Forum, where everyone who Finds, Uses, Manages and Shares Information can benefit.
Robin Neidorf
General Manager
FreePint
View the rest of the FreePint Newsletter No. 305, in which this editorial first appeared >>
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