CORPORATE LIBRARIES AND
INFORMATION CENTRES
A Student’s Handbook
CORPORATE LIBRARIES AND
INFORMATION CENTRES
A Student’s Handbook
Khaiser Jahan Begum Professor
Consortium eLearning Network Private Limited A-118, 1st Floor, Sector 63, Noida, U.P., 201301
Published in India in 2019 By NOLEGEIN A-118, 1st Floor, Sector 63, Noida, U.P., 201301 NOLEGEIN is an imprint of Consortium eLearning Network Private Limited Printed at LAXMAN PRINT O GRAPHICS C-293, Sector-10, Noida-201301 ISBN 978-93-87376-75-5 For sale in India only
contents
CONTENTS
Preface Acknowledgement Chapter 1: Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
Page no. 3
Chapter 2: Collection Development and Book Selection
37
Chapter 3: Information Searching and Access
67
Chapter 4: Web-Based Information Services
89
Chapter 5: Web 2.0 and Social Media
103
Chapter 6: Information Consolidation, Packaging and Delivery
125
Chapter 7: Corporate Communication Systems and Tools
147
Chapter 8: Zotero Software for Research Users
201
Chapter 9: Instagram
221
Chapter 10: Strategic Marketing and Library Services
233
Chapter 11: Promoting In-House Library Use
245
Index
257
PREFACE The University of Mysore, Department of Library and Information Science has a soft core paper called Corporate Libraries and Information Centre for MLISc II semester students, which is introduced as part of the innovative curriculum design and revision that takes place to keep pace with the newly emerging libraries and learning resource centres. The school of library and information science at the University of Mysore has been a pioneer both in designing and revising the curriculum to suit the changing library job markets. MLISc students, when they join the course, do not have any library background nor do they have any knowledge of what corporate libraries are, their basic objectives, functions and services etc. After completing the MLISc program they will be absorbed in different types of libraries such as academic, special and public libraries. There are many published papers and materials available on the internet on special libraries, academic libraries etc., but a student’s handbook on corporate libraries is rare, and a ready reckoner is yet to be published. This book will be an inspiring work for other LIS schools to offer a course on corporate libraries. The students after reading this book will be able to get a primary idea about what corporate libraries are. They will be ready to face a modern and unconventional job environment and will be able to perceive as to what the
salient features of specialized libraries of a corporate or business school are. The basic objective of preparing this book has been to simplify the understanding of the corporate libraries offering innovative services to the readers who are generally scattered across various project rooms and locations. The book is also like a students’ handbook, which prepares them to be very specific and focused on what jobs to take up after completing the MLISc program. After studying about corporate libraries the MLISc grads can choose to go to corporate and business school libraries for training in the initial stages for a duration of six months to a year and can later be absorbed in an open environment. This book will be useful to all Library and Information Science students in general and corporate library students in particular. There are interesting topics which will inspire the students studying this syllabus-based book, oriented to the course offered at the University of Mysore, Department of Library and Information Science
(KHAISER JAHAN BEGUM)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I
take this unique opportunity to acknowledge
the encouragement and support of all those who directly or indirectly have helped me to complete this work. I remain indebted to my mentors starting from my parents, my school teachers, my professors at the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Mysore, Mysuru. I remain highly thankful to my alma mater, the University of Mysore for financially and infrastructurally supporting me to pen this work. I remain extremely grateful to Prof. K. S. Rangappa former Vice Chancellor, University of Mysore for granting me sabbatical leave. I am humbled to mention the encouragement of all my senior faculty in the university, Deans of different faculties of the University of Mysore, the Chairman of the Sabbatical Committee. I would also like to thank the then Chairman of the Department Professor Shalini R Urs who was very encouraging in forwarding my proposal of writing this book to the university. I thank my colleagues in the department, the library staff at Mysore University Library and all my students who have been a source of strength all through my teaching career and research work.
I would like to make a special mention of Late Prof. P. K. Patil, Prof. H. A. Khan, Late Prof. N. B. Panganayya and Prof. B. Nagappa who were instrumental in personally guiding me all through my
service. I would be failing in my duty if I do not express my gratitude to my research guide Prof. V. G. Talawar, former Vice Chancellor, University of Mysore, who has been a big source of strength and compassion. Last but not the least I am highly obliged to remember my parents and my siblings at this point of time in life. When I started this work, it seemed very simple, but as the work progressed I realized the amount of discipline, dedication, devotion and the commitment that is needed to meet the deadline, for which Mr. Nandeesha B, Asst. Library and Information Officer, All India Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysuru was the soul witness. I also would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the university administration for being a pillar of support in the completion of this work.
Chapter 1 Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
A special library is a term for a library that is neither an academic, school, public or national library. Special libraries include corporate libraries, law libraries, medical libraries, museum libraries, news libraries and nonprofit libraries. These libraries are usually not open to the general public, though many are available to specific sections of the public or people having scheduled appointments. Special libraries are also sometimes known as information centres. They are generally staffed by librarians, although many librarians employed in special libraries are specialists in the library field rather than trained librarians, and are often not required to have advanced degrees in any library-related field due to the specialized content and clientele of the library. CONCEPT OF CORPORATE LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTRES
A
corporate body or institution, simply put is an organized body or an assembly of persons known by a common or collective name; that is to say a corporate name.1 Essentially the activities of corporate bodies suggest their characteristics and information needs. Because of their corporate nature, they often present some degree of uniqueness. In light of the above, corporate libraries and information centres are regarded as ‘specialized information systems’ which provide focused services to their communities. Special Library Association (SLA) defines special libraries as libraries maintained by corporate bodies or institutions, professional associations or special government agencies or departments. Such libraries are distinguished by their focused collection and services for the proper dissemination of information. To broaden the scope of special libraries the SLA has identified any library which is not academic, commercial, national or public in nature to be a special library (Shumaker, 2011).2 3
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
NATURE AND FUNCTIONS OF CORPORATE LIBRARIES
Special
libraries often have a more specific clientele than libraries in traditional educational or public settings, and deal with more specialized kinds of information. They are developed to support the mission of their sponsoring organization and their collections and services are more targeted and specific to the needs of their clientele. Special libraries may or may not be open to the general public. Those that are open to the public may offer services similar to research, reference, public, academic or children’s libraries, often with restrictions such as lending books only to patients at a hospital or restricting the public from parts of a military collection. Special libraries are ‘special’ in their collections, users and services. For example, a research institute’s library may supply information to scientists who lack the time to visit the library. Current Awareness Service (CAS) and Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) are very common. The listing of special libraries in this article is not comprehensive. Special libraries are defined by not being public, school, academic or national libraries. Special libraries may be called libraries, information centres, information resource collections or by other names, typically decided by the institution that the library is attached to, and may or may not have a trained and qualified librarian on staff. A corporate library is a collection of resources contained within a corporate entity. Corporate libraries help to organize and disseminate information throughout the organization for their own benefit. They often support the company in areas related to finance, administration, marketing and technical specialization. In terms of size, they are seldom very large, and most library departments 4
Chapter 2 Collection Development and Book Selection
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
WHAT IS A COLLECTION?
Collection means the action or process of collecting something. For example: ‘the collection of data’. It also means a group of things or people. Collection or collections also refers to: items collected for posterity and future use. In case of libraries it is referred to as collection of books useful to the readers in a library developed over the years.
TYPES OF COLLECTIONS
Types of collections1 include: a) Books (hard cover, paperback, monographs, text books)
b) Manuscripts and related archival materials
37
Collection Development and Book Selection
c) Newspapers; periodicals, conference proceedings
d) Government documents (local, state, federal/central/union, international, multinational) e) Pamphlets; printed music f) Maps, vertical materials
g) Pictures, photography, audio visual recordings; oral histories; rare books h) DVD & video collection; classic and contemporary feature films 38
Chapter 3 Information Searching and Access
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
Information is the life blood of human existence; it is one of the essential needs of modern man. It is said that information is the sixth basic need of mankind, next to air, water, shelter, clothing and food. In the rapidly growing and deluge of information present in the internet and print media, it is difficult to identify, locate and retrieve appropriate and relevant information. Hence, there is a dire need to use effective search techniques and tools to search and access information. Search techniques like Boolean operators and other advanced searches are handy in searching the needed information at the right time. There is lack of statistics on the amount of information available on the internet. No standard indexing system is used. There is no ‘direct’ searching of other computers – access is only by search tools. The problem with search tools is that the search tools search through limited lists of sites. The information on the internet is driven by machines, which is created by people. So, searching information and accessing the appropriate information, largely depends on the search mechanisms.
SIGNIFICANCE OF INFORMATION ACCESS: THE PRESENT SCENARIO
According to Koutras (2018)1 access to information resources has become a modern necessity that needs to be met to share equitably the wealth and information. The directives with intellectual property provisions to enhance copyright law policy makers are the foundation of the copyright regime. In a digitally driven world, behaviours of future teachers for blended learning (both face-to-face and on-line classes) need to be examined (Ateş Çobanoğlu, 2018).2 The first is to examine student teachers’ preferences for community-of-inquiry model-driven blended learning via Edmodo. Second, predicting student satisfaction on b67
Information Searching and Access
learning (blended learning is an education program that combines online digital media with traditional classroom methods) from a combination of four variables (gender, having internet access, using the internet for information access and previous experience in online learning) was questioned. And third, b-learning orientations of participants were investigated. One of the mixed methods, the concurrent triangulation design was employed in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied for student teachers satisfaction for blended learning. Roncevic (2018)3 proposes free reading zones to provide access to e-books. The reading apps that provide access to books, the organizational sponsorship that supports such programs and the use of virtual libraries to expand exposure to libraries are to be initiated and sustained in future libraries. Access to information via social media, Twitter, etc. are other ways of accessing and sharing information and will spread faster than the traditional means (Gul et al., 2018).4 Another attempt to provide free access to information as in case of Liberian Freedom of Information (FOI) law 2010 has led to a transparent government and increased the free flow of government information. Freeing government information is expected to create transparent and accountable governments. It brings forth democratic and inclusive government institutions that work for the people. Inclusivity, transparency and accountability are expected to address sustainable development challenges and democracy deficits (Svärd, 2018).5 Libraries act as facilitators of access to information and services (Mugwisi et al., 2018).6 This is seen more in case of public libraries which are important institutions to support access to information and services. Many communities, especially in rural areas, cannot afford to access information services and rely on free libraries in their communities in their quest for information 68
Chapter 4 Web-Based Information Services
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
Libraries
and information centres are known for providing free services to their readers. There are several traditional services offered by the libraries. They are: lending services; inter library loan services; consultation services (reading book with in the library premises); compilation services etc. Of all the above services, lending and browsing of books from the library is a basic service. If the books required by the library users are not available in a particular library, such books can be obtained on an Inter Library Loan basis from the neighbouring libraries for use and return. Sometimes users are simply satisfied with using the reading room facilities for browsing newspapers, magazines, light fiction, and vernacular reading materials. Today in the age of the internet, the role of libraries is fast changing. The functions and activities of libraries and the type of services to be provided are different from the traditional ones. The web in general and Google in particular seem to be the answer for all information-related questions. The internet provides quick and exhaustive information scoring several hits, but how relevant the information is and how authentic the information is to be decided by the information seeker. Google on the other hand is called the public library for searching information. Everything is digital and online. In this environment, libraries cannot lag behind. They too have to cope with the changing times and provide web-based information services. The web gives equal opportunity for information access and sharing via email, real-time interaction and conferencing. Easy and quick data access is possible.
LIBRARY SERVICES
Library services refer to facilities, which are provided by a library to the users for the use of books and other resources, to satisfy the needs of the users. There are 89
Web-Based Information Services
two types of activities in a library (i) front-end activities (ii) back-end activities. Front-end activities involve circulation of books, borrowing of books, reading room, periodicals section and newspaper browsing facilities, reference service, document delivery service, interlibrary loan service, current awareness service (CAS), selective dissemination of information (SDI) service, bibliographic services, indexing and abstracting, access to OPAC and WEBOPAC. Back-end activities include selection of books, acquisition, technical processing, indexing and abstracting. For providing innovative services libraries purchase CD-ROM databases, online databases, online journals, and reports. All these activities of the library are rapidly changing to a large extent in the web environment.
Web-Based Library Services
The internet seems to be a boon to the library users to quickly search and access information online. World wide web is the other name for internet. On the web, websites are the important component in communicating information to the users. Websites include information in the form of regular text, hyperlinks, images and sounds. To access this information the users will use a browser to reach to the information stored in web pages. Every library today has its websites. Library websites are sometimes a part of the parent organization websites or they are individual websites. The web today is a new medium which is extremely dynamic in nature. Keeping in mind the library users of the internet era, libraries have to rise up to the occasion and provide web-based library services. Some of the examples of web content are hypertext document (text, pictures, sound and animation). The unique quality of webbased information is that it provides an equal opportunity for access to information to one and all without any 90
Chapter 5 Web 2.0 and Social Media
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
The first stage of internet growth is web 1.0 which is about connecting information and getting on the internet. The web connects to information. Websites are static and content was generated only by web designers and web site owners. Web 2.0 is about connecting people – putting the ‘I’ in the user interface and the ‘we’ into webs of social participation. Social web connects people. Bring interactivity and collaboration into the mix. Website readers and users are now able to comment on and participate in the creation of websites. Web 3.0 is about representing meaning, connecting knowledge and putting them to work in ways that make our experience of the internet more relevant, useful and enjoyable. The semantic web connects to knowledge. Web 4.0 will be about connecting intelligences in a ubiquitous web where both people and things can reason and communicate together. Thus the ubiquitous web connects intelligence. WHAT IS WEB 2.0?
Web
2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the world wide web that is focused on the ability of people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML web pages to a more dynamic web that is more organized and is based on serving web applications to users. Web 2.0 is mostly a social revolution in the use of web technologies, a paradigm shift from the web as a publishing medium to a medium of interaction and participation. Web 2.0 is a place where everyone can add or edit information. It is a web where digital tools allow users to create, change and publish dynamic content.
WEB 2.0: TERMINOLOGY
The term Web 2.0 was first coined and conceptualised by Tim O’Reilly and Dale Dougherty in 103
Web 2.0 and Social Media
2004 to describe the terms and business models that survived the technology sector market in the 1990s.1 In 2004, the term Web 2.0 began its rise in popularity when O'Reilly Media and MediaLive hosted the first Web 2.0 conference which refers to the second generation of internet-based services – such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools and folksonomies – that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. The term Web 2.0 is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centred design and collaboration on the world wide web. World wide web inventor Tim Bernes-Lee coined the term a ‘piece of jargon’ – because he intended the web in this vision as ‘a collaborative medium, a place where we all meet and read and write’. He called it as ‘Read/Write Web’.
USER INTERACTION AND COLLABORATION
A
web 2.0 site gives its users the free choice to interact or collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators (prosumer) of user-generated content (UGC) in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (consumer) are limited to the passive viewing of content that was created for them.
CHARACTERISTICS OF WEB 2.0
One
of the major characteristics of Web 2.0 is individual production and UGC. UGC refers to selfpublishing, personal publishing and self-expression. A second characteristic is its capacity for ‘harnessing the power of the crowd’. A further characteristic is that of its 104
Chapter 6 Information Consolidation, Packaging and Delivery
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
INFORMATION CONSOLIDATION
The
word information consolidation is part and parcel of information analysis. Very often information scientists use the phrase Information Analysis and Consolidation. There are several types of information products, centres and systems. A scientist is always on the lookout for new knowledge, up-to-date and latest information. The reason is that this enables them to go through each and every product, service and information available in primary sources. Therefore there is a need to assist the information users in providing secondary information products and services. Before going for information analysis and consolidation, the information scientist must understand the subject background of the information users. This process is called users’ subject analysis, based on which information required by the scientist is indexed. The purpose of creating a subject index is to specifically denote the information available to meet the needs of the users. In the subject analysis part, the primary information is thoroughly evaluated, analysed and the inputs are prepared in a structured manner. This results in secondary information sources. The process of analysis refers to a systematic study of the nature and essential features of the subject matter, which leads to classification, categorization and explanation in a logical manner. Thus the process of analysis is essentially an intellectual one, to be carried out by a subject specialist. Consolidation refers to a process of gathering and unifying firmly and coherently loosely aggregated pieces of information. This is eventually converted into a new form of information (output). Similar to information analysis, consolidation is an intellectual activity which is to be carried out by a subject expert, resulting once again in a new form of information. Consolidated information is 125
Information Consolidation, Packaging and Delivery
factual in nature, non-critical and highly informative and non-indicative in its style and presentation. Information analysis and consolidation is based on subject analysis and indexing; content analysis is for extracting/digesting and abstracting and information analysis is for consolidation and critical evaluation. Subject analysis for indexing is necessary for creating need-based and purpose-oriented subject descriptors which lead to preparation of entries for various types and sources of information. This results in a set of systematically arranged entries and concepts. In content analysis for extracting, abstracting and digesting information products are deeply examined to extract information, prepare abstracts and digests. Subject experts have to be engaged for preparing such compilations. The extracts, abstracts and digest are thus, the result of information analysis and consolidation. They are the products of intellectual processes which are always factual, non-critical, non-evaluative and highly informative in nature. The information analyst and consolidator must have a sound knowledge of a specific subject; must know the art of extracting, abstracting and digesting; must be aware of the essentials of technical writing and must possess the skill of applying knowledge to meet specific information requirements and wants of the library users. Information analysis for critical evaluation is a primary function of the Information Analysis Centre (IAC). The functions of IAC are to gather everything in a field; to organize information in a systematic fashion; to analyse the content leading to creation of new information or knowledge and lastly to maintain this activity as long as possible as a commitment in the professional career. Thus IAC is a formally structured organizational unit established for the purpose of acquiring, selecting, sorting, retrieving, evaluating, analysing and synthesizing information to meet 126
Chapter 7 Corporate Communication Systems and Tools
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
The
main aim of a library is to serve its readers anytime anywhere. In the internet age there are multiple channels to disseminate information and to stay in touch with the user community. Public relation (PR) is an important tool which comes handy in keeping the users of a library aware of the functions and current programs. Whatever books and journals are purchased and whatever different programs are organized should me made known to the clientele. In the globalised world the term PR is renamed as Corporate Communications. So also Public Relation Officers are renamed as Corporate Communication Managers. Similarly, PR methods are called Corporate Communication Systems and Tools. Corporate communication1 is a set of activities involved in managing and coordinating all internal and external communications aimed at creating a favourable point of view among stakeholder (library users) on which the company (library) depends. Corporate communication is about the messages issued by a corporate organization, body, or institute to its audiences, such as employees, media, channel partners and the general public. Organizations aim to communicate the same message to all its stakeholders, to transmit coherence, credibility and ethics. Corporate Communications helps organizations explain their mission; combine its many visions and values into a cohesive message to stakeholders. The concept of corporate communication could be seen as an integrative communication structure linking stakeholders to the organization. • The responsibilities of corporate communication are: o Build corporate branding: To flesh out the profile of the ‘company behind the brand’ to minimize discrepancies between the company's desired identity and brand features 147
Corporate Communication Systems and Tools
•
• • •
o Delegate: To delegate tasks in communication o To formulate procedures: To formulate and execute effective procedures to make decisions on communication matters o To build support: To mobilize internal and external support for corporate objectives o To coordinate with international business firms A Conference Board Study of hundreds of the US’s largest firms showed that close to 80 percent have corporate communication functions that include media relations, speech writing, employee communication, corporate advertising and community relations. The public is often represented by self-appointed activist non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who identify themselves with a particular issue Most companies have specialized groups of professionals for communication The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing or using some other medium Means of sending or receiving information, such as telephone lines or computers
Communication is sending and receiving information between two or more people. The person sending the message is referred to as the sender, while the person receiving the information is called the receiver. The information conveyed can include facts, ideas, concepts, opinions, beliefs, attitudes, instructions and emotions.
148
Chapter 8 Zotero Software for Research Users
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
INTRODUCTION
In the model of scientific enquiry, literature survey is an important part. From a very long time researchers are carrying their studies based on the results of the research reported in scholarly journals and other sources of information. The review of literature helps in evaluating the subject background of a general theme of the research. There is a huge amount of information available in a given subject both on the web and off the web. In fact the scholars and professionals have been faced with the problem of how to keep their research in order. Researchers study hundreds of articles during their research. With the increase in electronic collection and freely available material on the net, the reading behaviour of researchers is on the rise. To add to this, the researcher also has access to many databases. To keep pace with voluminous information, researchers earlier used to maintain 5 Ă— 7 cards and write the abstracts and file all their citations. As the use of personal computers increased, reference management software (also called as citation management software, personal bibliographic management software, reference database software and by many other names) took birth. Software such as EndNote, RefWorks, Connotea and CiteULike, custom styles are very much useful to researchers. So also new reference management software has emerged in the recent times and is called as Zotero. It is developed by the Centre for History and New Media at George Mason University. It tries a new approach to handle the task of citation management. It is not a stand-alone application. It is an add-on to the Firefox web browser that tries to integrate the best parts of older reference manager 201
Zotero Software for Research Users
software (like EndNote). It has the ability to store author, title and publication fields and to export that information as formatted references and the best parts of modern software and web applications (like iTunes and del.icio.us), such as the ability to interact, tag and search in advanced ways.
DEFINITION Zotero
The name Zotero is derived from an Albanian verb meaning ‘to master’. Zotero is a free and open-source reference management software to control bibliographic data and such other related research materials (like PDF files).
INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
Zotero
(pronounced zoh‐TAIR‐oh) is a free Web 2.0 citation management tool that is an extension for the Firefox web browser. This means that you need to first have Firefox. If you do not, you can download it for free at www.firefox.com. However your citations are stored on your computer so you can access Zotero when your research takes you to places far removed from wi‐fi. Similar to the popular citation management tool EndNote, Zotero stores citations from library catalogues, proprietary databases like ATLA and JSTOR, websites, blogs, and even videos and stores them in an easy to use format similar to iTunes. You can also import and export citations, create bibliographies and insert citations into your word processor. Step 1 www.zotero.org: 202
Chapter 9 Instagram
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
Instagram is a mobile, desktop, and Internet-based photo-sharing application and service that allows users to share pictures and videos either publicly or privately. It was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and launched in October 2010 as a free mobile app exclusively for the iOS operating system. A version for Android devices was released two years later, in April 2012, followed by a feature-limited website interface in November 2012, and apps for Windows 10 Mobile and Windows 10 in April 2016 and October 2016 respectively.
221
Instagram rapidly gained popularity. Post its launch it has one million registered users in two months, 10 million in a year and ultimately 700 million users and Instagram Direct has 375 million active users as for April 2017. As of June 2017, the Instagram Stories functionality has over 250 million active users. Instagram was acquired by Facebook in April 2012 for approximately US$ 1 billion in cash and stock. The popularity of Instagram has sparked an engaging community, including dedicated ‘trends’, in which users post specific types of photos on specific days of the week with a hashtag representing a common theme. Instagram has received positive reviews for its iOS app, and it has been named ‘one of the most influential social networks in the world’.1
FEATURES OF INSTAGRAM 1. Face Filters. Face filters is the latest feature in Instagram Stories. These filters apply crazy effects to your face. 2. Rewind and Hashtag. Rewind and Hashtag are the other new features, and again, these are only available in the new Instagram Stories. Rewind, as the name suggests, plays any video in reverse. Hashtag lets you add a new sticker to any story, and type a hashtag in it. Your Story is then tagged with that hashtag. 3. The New Eraser Brush. Instagram Stories also added a new brush: the eraser. It is yet another creative tool to edit images; take a photo in stories and use the other brushes to add anything you want. Tap the eraser brush and erase just the parts that you want. It can be a cool way to highlight something by darkening out all the other parts of the image. 4. Save or Bookmark. When you come across a photo that you like, you can save it for later. Instagram now has 222
Chapter 10 Strategic Marketing and Library Services
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
INTRODUCTION
Libraries and information centres are the dynamic agencies of change. They have the potential to enthuse and excite human minds. The public libraries of 2000 A.D. have a very active role to play in shaping the future of the modern society setup. The traditional techniques followed so far, by the public libraries will have to be replaced by innovative mechanisms and strategies to serve the users of public libraries. The public libraries have to use various management techniques and tools to fulfil the user needs. Marketing of library products and services is one such handy tool which can be used effectively to promote public library use.
MARKETING AS AN EXCHANGE PROCESS
Libraries
are non-profit making proactive organizations. They form an integral part of the social sector, which consists of social agencies like hospitals, museums, schools, colleges, etc. These agencies have started considering the implementation of some of the tools that have made it possible for profit making organizations to operate efficiently and profitably. One of the tools which is appropriate is marketing. Until recently, the usual tags that have applied to marketing are public relations or promotion (Conduos, 1983, p. 408)1. Many thought marketing was not applicable to non-profit institutions like libraries and information centres. Marketing as a technique is based on the central concept of ‘exchange’. It is a process by which two parties freely give something of value to one another to satisfy some of their needs and wants (Kotler, 1980, p. 17).2,3 This is the basic model of marketing. However, in the classical model, goods or tangible objects are exchanged for money. One of the moves of Kotler and Levly4 have been to 233
Strategic Marketing and Library Services
include the intangibles, so ‘an exchange takes place whenever something of value – whether money, goods, information or attention – is offered for something else in order to satisfy a need’ (Rachman and Romano, 1080).5 In a much wider sense, the library services and products are included. Libraries offer books, movies, audio-visual materials, answers to questions, story time for children in return for user time and attention. As stated by Condous,1 marketing has been an intensive promotional campaign aimed to draw in consumers. The marketing process relies not only on promotional campaigns undertaken by the libraries but also on well-defined marketing strategies.
STRATEGIC MARKETING
Marketing is an integral part of the total planning process. Strategic marketing makes use of many of the concepts and functions of strategic planning. Strategic marketing techniques ensure viable market positions and programmes for the survival and success of the library or information centre. Strategic marketing has been defined by Kotler (1980, p. 50)2,3 as ‘A managerial process of analysing market opportunities and choosing market positions, programmes and controls that create and support viable business that serves the organization purposes and objectives’.
SITUATION AUDIT
The
strategic marketing process starts with an environmental and resource analysis and situation audit, which allows the library or information centre to identify opportunities which are in line with the basic mission of service. A SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities and 234
Chapter 11 Promoting In-House Library Use
Corporate Libraries and Information Centres
INTRODUCTION
The present day economy is called the ‘knowledge economy’. We are living in a knowledge-based economy. The present age is also called as the knowledge era. What is common in the knowledge era is knowledge management. Many leading research institutions, corporate houses and library and information centres are busy organizing seminars and conferences on this topic. Therefore, in the future, libraries have to work in a knowledge-based economy or knowledge era. Libraries have all through sustained the onslaught of different eras of human civilization, such as the agricultural era, industrial era, the post-industrial era and the IT or internet era. But today they have to operate in the knowledge era. Conventionally, libraries are the storehouses of knowledge. This knowledge is available in the form of books and other non-book materials. Apart from this, today a lot of information is available in the electronic and digitized form. In fact we are faced with the problem of information overload. Heaps and heaps of information is available on the net. This information needs to be effectively accessed. The user, who is the boss, needs to be directed and made aware of the right type of information at the right time in a right manner. To do this one has to promote the use of information resources in libraries and information centres. Promoting the use of libraries and information centres is a part of information marketing. Marketing is the management process which is responsible for the identification, anticipation and satisfying of the consumer requirements profitability. WHAT IS PROACTIVE LIBRARIANSHIP
Libraries are non-profit organizations. They belong to the third and one of the most important sectors. That is 245
Promoting In-House Library Use
called the social sector. The agencies coming under this sector are educational institutions, hospitals, museums, social work organizations and libraries. Therefore, marketing of libraries is not a profit-making enterprise. But it is a management process. It involves identifying, anticipating and satisfying the customer requirements. The job of a proactive librarian is to be sensitive to the needs of the customers. He has to anticipate customer needs by predicting the books they will want to read, the current services they would use and by inter-linking sources and people. It also means ensuring the best and the most viable services to the library clientele. Thus once we accept that we are in the marketing business, it means that we shall manage the information business professionally.
KEY CONCEPTS OF MARKETING
There
are five main key concepts of marketing.1
They are: • Market Segmentation • Market Positioning • Market Analysis • Market Program • Market Audit
MARKET PROGRAM
Marketing is the other name for market program. It is also called as marketing mix. It is a way of satisfying consumer requirements. There are four elements of marketing. These are: 1. Product 2. Price 3. Place 4. Promotion 246