CE - We read the news so you don’t have to!

Activity:
The library receives a large around of magazines/journals per week and 35 daily newspapers in one week. We also get a number of magazines which we don't actually subscribe to but receive for free. Any information that comes into the library is scanned by human eyes....... which is what makes the CE: "We read the news so you don’t have to". Cutting Edge is a weekly digest of marketing, business and other news from sectors as diverse as the environment, leisure and tourism, financial services, and transport and travel. It is a member benefit and has recently experienced 3139 clicks in the month of February 2008. Compared to other sections of the website this is a high click rate (...and as this part of the website "belongs" to the library I would like to say HOORAY!) Although Cutting Edge is to be going through many changes in the next couple of months, I got a chance to work on it. This is how CE works: 1) articles are scanned 2) articles are selected 3) articles are re-written 4) CE is proof read 5) CE is uploaded and emailed to subscribers.

Learned:
My colleague who does the CE every week introduced me to writing the CE and uploading the CE on Contentis which is the corporate web publishing software used. Although my colleague selected the articles (usually between 10-12 articles out of the 80 per week) for me, I took part in the scanning of the articles as well (The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian). I would then summarise the articles using my own words, give a new title and add the source.
Normally I look at what terms to use from the thesaurus to index a particular article, now I would have to think how to re-write it.

Example of a CE entry:
Give her a treatCadbury Milk Tray is to be relaunched and positioned as a gift for older women, aged 35-45. Will you thank your hubbie for giving you a box, knowing you’re considered to be an ‘older woman’?
Marketing, 2 April 2008, p8

I managed to squeeze this task into my schedule still dealing with my usual tasks as an information officer along with the admin tasks I have been taking on board. Despite all the sweating (English is not my first language but number 3 on the list! :s) and the complex I started with, it actually helped me improve my abstracting skills and given my written communication skills a boost!

I experienced that it is much easier to summarize the article, but difficult to choose different words, or "say it in your own words" .....
The outcome? I can include this experience in my portfolio as suggested by my Mentor. I better get some screen shots just in case changes happen quicker than I expect! It also means that in my colleagues' absence I can help with CE, writing it as well as uploading it. I actually like the internet related element in my role, so I am quite pleased I have had a go and maybe it will encourage more trys.
Working on CE increased my knowledge of the publications we receive and also what type of information our users tend to be looking for. This is something I can use in my research for users.
Cutting Edge is not only about latest news in the industry, but in a way also a a reminder of what the library subscribes to and what is new in our collection (excluding books of course) or new agenda papers. It also reminds people every week that "hey, hallo! the library is here if you need any info......" so I have also taken part in marketing of the library as well.

Applied:
I also had to use the style guide for consistency which gave me a couple of things to change when I write emails to users. I tend to keep a daily eye out for the type or articles I know would be particularly suitable for CE and which ones wouldn’t. I have also uploaded CE enough times to know what I am doing and to troubleshoot if needed, and I know what to do when, which means I can be used as a back up person when needed.

As I said, it has given me more confidence as I am shy writing in English and find it difficult to express myself, but the proof is out there in people's inboxs now, we haven't had any complaints yet, so I will assume my English can't be that bad?