Legal Research

Risk and Innovation in Law Firm Law Libraries

By Ted Tjaden

I will be speaking next month on February 25, 2009, in New York at the Ark Group conference Best Practices & Management Strategies for Law Firm Library & Information Service Centers.

I chose to speak at the session entitled “Risk & Innovation: Aligning Technology with Explicit Business Goals” in part to give and receive ideas on some of the technology-related initiatives we are undertaking in my department (and I will not necessarily focus just on technology since such a focus can distort the importance of non-technological ideas).

From the 40,000 foot level, innovation with technology in law libraries has revolved around the increasing digitization of primary and secondary sources of law, the impact of the Internet, the organization of access to information via an Intranet portal and the delivery of services and training using technology.

While I have largely prepared my presentation, I am still hung up on the conference organizers use of the words “Risk and Innovation” and what those words mean (and I realize I may be reading too much into what is likely a “teaser” lead-in to the topic by the conference organizer). However, what does it mean for an “information centre” to take risks? By nature, most “information centres” are ordinarily quite risk-adverse since risk contemplates mistakes. Clearly, a risk that is not innovative is likely foolhardy. In relation to technology, is choosing a search engine from Vendor/Product ABC over Vendor/Product XYZ a risk? Perhaps, but generally any decision of consequence (i.e., involving a lot of money) generally entails a fair bit of due diligence and “buy in” by others in the organization, so the risk is minimized. Is this then proof of lack of innovation (by being too careful)? In other words, does good innovation involve risk?

I am looking forward to the conference and will blog my impressions afterwards.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on February 04, 2009 (boomark / email).