Information Outlook recently sat down to talk with Bill Pardue, president and CEO of Corporate and Federal Markets for Lexis Nexis Group. Lexis Nexis is the first member of SLA's John Cotton Dana Circle.
Named in honor of SLA's founder, the John Cotton Dana Circle, recognizes outstanding corporations and individuals demonstrating extraordinary generosity and support of SLA and its members over a five-year period. Members of the John Cotton Dana Circle take a proactive role in providing continuing education to information professionals worldwide.
Information Outlook: What did you do before coming to LexisNexis?
Bill Pardue: I worked for the Associated Press and Times Mirror as a journalist. I took a hiatus and went to law school and practiced law in Washington, D.C. Then I went back into the newspaper business, but on the commercial side of things, rather than as a journalist. I spent another 18 years in newspapers before I came to LexisNexis four years ago.
IO: What is your company's vision for the future?
BP: Our goal is to be the preferred provider of enterprise-wide information solutions to legal, corporate, academic, and government professionals.
I think if one looks at what has happened during the last ten years to the information business and the customers who buy information, it is extraordinarily challenging to project forward into the next decade.
Ten years ago, for example, the Web obviously was not at the forefront of people's minds. If you look back over the last few years, there has been a significant evolution in how people think in terms of Web capabilities and focus.
Our primary focus is to make sure that we listen to our customers and anticipate what their needs are going to be. At the same time, we know we have to continue building more and different kinds of content.
I think the huge challenge that is facing all of us, both the information industry and our clients, is ensuring that end-users get the information they need.
There is an enormous tidal wave of information coming at most of us. There is simply more information than ever, and it is more accessible than ever.
Trying to decide how to access the information and get just what you need, without a plethora of unnecessary information beyond the scope of the decision you need to make, is increasingly important.
Our focus at LexisNexis includes making sure that we have the tools available that end-users can customize for themselves or that information professionals can leverage for a whole organization. It is having the tools available to integrate the content into your function and integrate it into your organization's information.
The question is not aggregation anymore as much as it is integration. What do you need to do your job, to make the decisions? For LexisNexis, that would include some of the publishing tools that we offer to allow our customers to access our archives and our information about current events and publish that information on their Intranet, their Extranets, and, with selected information, on their public Websites.
IO: What do you think is happening with print material? Do you think it is dying in the face of electronic publishing?
BP: I think that we will continue to see the true archival storage of data move towards digital formats with printed content going out of favor for many information users. The fact is that an electronic library can be so vast and so accessible and so easy to use that it cannot be anything but the preferred format for the future of most users.
I don't believe that printed material is ever going to completely die. Part of this is driven by my own consumption behaviors. When I read for pleasure, I elect not to scroll down an electronic screen. I still enjoy the serendipitous pleasure of turning the newspaper pages at the breakfast table. There is that tangible pleasure of touching the printed page for me and I think for millions of other people.
IO: What kind of perspectives does your newspaper background bring to this job, to your current role at Lexis-Nexis?
BP: Somebody once said journalism is the first draft of history, and that draft can be and has been the cornerstone of a free society. But the documents produced by newspapers are constrained by time and access.
Therefore, they are by definition incomplete and occasionally not totally accurate.
I think all journalists know that their work is a snapshot of an evolving event. The experience that I had at newspapers underlines how information makes a real difference in people's lives, the choices they make, as consumers, and in government and civic affairs.
One of the real pleasures for me at Lexis-Nexis has been helping lead an organization that brings together the billions of pieces of important information that aren't all needed by everyone, but are at some point needed by someone. And we create the tools that help people find the right swath information they do need.
Also, it has been important in our discussions with content providers that I understand the business they're in and what they're trying to achieve. There is nothing like living the life of your partners before they become your partners to really have some insights and empathy and understanding about what they are trying to achieve.
IO: What are you looking at LexisNexis' relationship with SLA? Where do you see it going in the future?
BP: We took several important steps forward this year that really took us to a new level. Because the role of information professionals has changed so rapidly, we inaugurated a new leadership symposium on "New Skills for a New Economy." It is a biennial, intensive exploration of the new dynamics of business models in the knowledge economy. It also provides an overview of new career opportunities for information professionals, highlighting the skills and competencies they need to seize those opportunities.
I believe, for example, that in many organizations, the role of the information professional now is essentially a publisher role. Their medium is often an intranet, and they are making selections about the type of content that their users need to be successful. They then are making decisions about how to package that content and how to make it accessible to as wide a variety of users as possible. Often, the information professional is playing the lead role in building and constructing the distribution system.
Also, we became a 21st Century partner for the SLA. That means that we are sponsoring new member orientation on the Web and the new member welcome kit. We also are sponsoring the Information Resource Library.
We have undertaken the funding of a number of learning symposiums. We also provide information for significant portions of the SLA's website.
We have in the past provided, and very much want to continue to provide, significant support to the annual conference that is typically held in June.
IO: How does it feel to be the first member of the John Cotton Dana Circle?
BP: It is a tremendous honor. The most important aspect was it highlighted that the information professional is our best and our toughest customer. We feel like we are recognized for that reason, all the different ways we try to partner with special librarians.
Mr. Dana's background as an ALA president, as a public librarian, as an organizer of the SLA, and as an advocate for children's libraries spoke to what we believe we can continue to contribute to the librarian community.
IO: What are some of the last books you have read?
BP: Reading is my primary leisure activity other than time with my family. I typically read five or six books at a time.
Here are some of my recent favorites: Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball, A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss, and The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman. Those last two were particularly interesting because Ms. Holman and Mr. Liss participate in a dialogue about each other's work in the backs of each novel.
So, in A Conspiracy of Paper, Ms. Holman interviews Mr. Liss about his approach to writing that novel, and then in the back of The Dress Lodger, Mr. Liss interviews Ms. Holman about her perspective and challenges in writing The Dress Lodger.
Contemporary fiction follows, and, when time permits the attention span and ability to focus, political biographies. For example, I read Robert Caro in the summer. I finished his masterful volumes on Lyndon Johnson.
Those were incredible. It was very interesting this year in light of some of the recent turmoils and tragedies to revisit the Vietnam War years and the activities that led up to our engagement in Asia and the roots of colonialism that contributed to that conflict.
Then, for escapism, I love Christopher Moore. Coyote Blue is my favorite, but I have read all of his novels. When I need something that is going to be "literature-lite,"
Christopher Moore is my choice.
RSS
Feedback form
