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Organizations are beginning to realize the potential benefits of big data and harnessing all of the data they are creating. However, a major impediment for many organizations is understanding where to start in big data and analytics implementation. In many respects, starting a successful implementation is not much different from any other project managed within the organization. The major stumbling block is knowing what questions to ask to get things going. This paper aims to help libraries and information organizations that are considering big data and analytics implementation to begin their journey by following a checklist of eight aspects to be considered in the development of a big data and analytics strategy.

The eight aspects to consider in big data and analytics implementation were developed using a combination of existing project management common knowledge, consultant recommendations and real-life experiences.

Organizations considering big data and analytics implementation need to explore aspects related to the data they have, what organizational problems they are trying to solve, how data governance will work in the new environment, as well as how they will define success in terms of their implementation. These are in addition to the technical issues one would normally expect in a systems implementation.

While there have been many articles written about the implementation of big data and analytics in organizations, most of these focus on technical issues rather than managerial and organizational concerns. In addition, none of these other articles have been from the perspective of library and information science. In this article, the focus is specifically on how information professionals may approach this problem.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical example of how big data and analytics can help answer questions related to a relevant problem many libraries and information organizations have: How to evaluate the effectiveness of social media efforts?

Drawing upon a number of disciplines, including marketing, consumer decision theory and evidence-based practice, the utility of big data and analytics is applied to a practical application in libraries and information organizations: the evaluation of social media presence.

There are a multitude of techniques (social network analysis, statistical analysis, geographic coding) that can be used as part of a project to evaluate the effectiveness of social media presence. Each technique provides its own “lens” on the data. By combining techniques, powerful analyses can be performed.

Practical applications of big data and analytics to problems in libraries and information organizations are still being developed. This paper provides one perspective on how this emerging area of study can help in understanding and improving the perception of products and services in information organizations.

The purpose of this article is to explore the relevance of information technology (IT) governance to informaticians. In most organizations, informatics is part of the IT function. Therefore, an understanding of IT governance is of benefit to informaticians in their day-to-day work. In addition, while IT governance is not data governance, informaticians often are responsible for data governance efforts. Understanding the larger picture of IT governance can be useful to informaticians, as it provides a solid context and many models that can be used or adapted for data governance efforts.

This paper is a general review of IT governance based on industry best practice and the author’s experience.

IT governance is critical to success in IT as it helps ensure all stakeholders have a voice and appropriate decision-making rights in guiding the IT efforts across the organization. Implementing and maintaining an IT governance structure requires commitment from the organization at all levels and requires time and resources for management and implementation.

This paper provides an overview and introduction to IT governance concepts specifically for the informatics professional.

Information professionals are increasing called upon to provide access and services for information that, by its nature, must be restricted to certain uses or classes of individuals. This paper aims to explore the six major compliance regulations in the USA that information professionals should have a basic understanding of to manage a restricted information environment effectively.

This paper is a general review of laws and requirements in the USA related to information security that may affect information professionals in their work.

The world of information security is complex and there are multiple laws, guidelines and standards that apply. For information professionals managing or deploying digital repositories or information archives, all of these need to be considered because plans and systems are being developed. Information professionals will increasingly be called upon to lend their expertise to emerging preservation problems related to restricted data, so understanding the basics of information security law is a requirement to successful information practice.

This is the first general overview of this area of information practice.

The purpose of this paper is to address the problems associated with informatics and analytics projects that are developed in an “organic” manner. As such, this often circumvents formal project management principles and practices. The decision to do this is determined by organizational factors; however, even in an informal environment, ensuring that adequate disaster recovery and business continuity plans are in place for all mission-critical applications is vital to ensure the long-term survival prospects of an organization in the event of a disaster.

By adapting the principles and techniques of traditional disaster recovery and business continuity planning, an informatician can develop plans that integrate the requirements of their projects into a larger, organization-wide plan to recover from incidents and ensure continuity of business operations.

The use of disaster recovery planning and business continuity planning can help ensure the long-term viability of informatics and analytics projects within an organization.

Most business continuity planning is focused on projects that are formally developed and relatively large in scale. This paper applies these principles and practices to informatics and analytics projects that are developed informally and managed casually. Thorough an example, the point that more traditional disaster recovery and continuity practices can and should be applied in this less-formal environment is demonstrated.

Informatics work introduces information professionals to taxonomies and other classification systems outside the boundaries of traditional bibliographic systems. This paper aims to provide an overview of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) for informaticians and information professionals who may not have worked with the system previously.

In this paper, the author reviews the purpose, history, current use and future trends of the ICD classification system.

ICD is used globally as a standard vocabulary for medical diagnoses and, in the USA, for medical procedures in hospitals. Understanding the classification system is vital to working with clinical medical data.

The ICD classification system is not commonly used by information professionals. This paper provides a brief overview that will familiarize the information professional with the standard and its uses related to medical practice.

Informatics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field which is not very well understood outside of specific disciplinary communities. With a review of the history of informatics and a discussion of the various branches of informatics related to health-care practice, the paper aims to provide an overview designed to enhance the understanding of an information professional interested in this field.

The paper is designed to provide a basic introduction to the topic of informatics for information professionals unfamiliar with the field. Using a combination of historical and current sources, the role of informatics in the health professions is explored through its history and development.

The emergence of informatics as a discipline is a relatively recent phenomenon. Informatics is neither information technology (IT) nor information science but shares many common interests, concerns and techniques with these other two fields. The role of the informaticist is to transform data to knowledge and information. Consequently, while the outcomes may be different, there are many commonalities in informatics with the work information professionals perform.

Most introductions to informatics assume the reader is either an IT professional or a clinical practitioner in one of the health science fields. This paper takes a unique approach by positioning the discussion of the history and application of informatics in the health sciences from the perspective of the information professional.

The current study aims to analyze the curriculum of selected knowledge management (KM) programs at universities in the USA, Europe, Australia and Asia within current and historical contexts to understand the scope and nature of the requirements in KM programs. By comparing the results from programs, a baseline understanding of what the overall requirements within these programs has been developed. This may provide benefits for the profession, as this baseline can provide a clearer understanding of the skills and knowledge elements that are present or absent in the current academic programs. In addition to better informing the KM community of what graduates of these programs may know, this information can provide a basis for academic program improvement and, ultimately, better use of KM in professional practice.

The basic approach in this study is a comparative analysis of curriculum in master-level programs in English that are focused on KM. In the current study, historical references to programs in KM were identified through prior research in the topic area. Current programs were identified through standard reference sources. The course titles and program descriptions for current programs are further analyzed using text analytics tools to understand the relationship of topics within and between programs.

The concept of KM as a distinct program of study appears to be stable but the number of programs is declining. The number of new master degree programs in KM has not significantly increased in the past 15 years, whereas many programs have been discontinued or have been reduced to the certificate/diploma level. Of the programs that exist today, we see that a greater variety in home locations of these programs which tend to imply coverage of the field is becoming increasingly diverse in its approach. Overall, it appears that the KM programs are moving toward transformation or integration with allied fields.

There has been very limited study of the curriculum within KM programs. Most of the research performed dates from 2010 or earlier. The current study adds a unique contribution to the literature by looking at earlier iterations of KM programs and compares those to the current state of the curriculum in KM programs and their successor programs in an attempt to understand how the field may be developing and changing.

This paper seeks to define and describe decision tree analysis as a method for decision making when there are multiple, linearly or hierarchically related decision points that must be considered when determining the optimum choices within a project.

Using theory and example, the paper relates the use of decision tree analysis to the successful selection of decision points in complex, multistage digital library projects.

Decision tree analysis is useful as a method for both determining the various courses of action within a project and visualizing these choices in an easily understood format. Decision tree analysis can help a team understand the relationships between issues in a project as well as the consequences of various courses of action.

The paper fills a gap in the digital library project management literature by providing an overview of a tool used in operational research that helps identify an optimal course of action within a complex system of interrelated decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to define and describe Pugh matrix analysis as a method for decision making when there are multiple criteria that must be factored into a decision.

Using theory and example, the author relates the use of Pugh matrix analysis to the successful selection of prioritized criteria in digital library projects.

Pugh matrix analysis (PMA) is useful as a method for determining a course of action as well as gaining consensus with a project team. Because it is based on multiple criteria decision analysis techniques, PMA can help a team understand the relationship of multiple issues within a project as well as the individual perspectives project team members and the user community bring to the issues at hand.

This paper fills a gap in the digital library project management literature by providing an overview of a useful tool to prioritize the issues, factors, and courses of action within a project that has multiple criteria decision points.