Mary Ellen is the owner of Bates Information Services, providing strategic business research and analysis to business professionals and special librarians, and consulting services to the information industry. She also offers strategic busines coaching for entrepreneurs.

She is a prolific writer and speaker, having keynoted at conferences around the world and written six books and innumerable articles on the information industry. She is a regular columnist for ONLINE magazine and contributing editor for Information Advisor. She received her MLS from the University of California, Berkeley, and worked in special libraries for over a decade before starting her own company in 1991. She currently serves on the board of directors of SLA.