Celebrating National Library Week

By Sue Wilkinson, Senior Director, Information Service & Research, Food Marketing Institute 

Every year since 1958, the American Library Association sets aside a week to celebrate libraries and library workers.  This year’s theme is Unlimited Possibilites@yourlibrary.  Why celebrate? 

Personally, I’ve had the great privilege to oversee the operations of the FMI Information Service for a very long time. Over the years, I’ve come to learn a lot about the food retail industry through the unique, rich resources housed in it and I’ve answered over 31,000 questions for members, staff and the general public using those resources.  I celebrate this library every day when it reveals the answer to a challenging question, or when it reminds me of a bit of industry history useful for a current project.  From history to emerging issues, it has it all.

In this world of 140 characters, quick deadlines and “you can find anything on Google,” the FMI Information Service staff work to find the best resources to verify the research data in a speech, Tweet or a blog post; provide operations benchmarks; offer a snapshot of consumer trends over time; produce company profiles; curate the best collection of industry information; and ensure that the Voice of Food Retail is grounded in good research. 

The FMI Information Service offers unlimited possibilities for uncovering anything you want to know about the past, the present and the future of food retailing.  Ask us a question at information@fmi.org or access the collection.