Business Information Review recent issues

The Editorial Team

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

The Editorial Board

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Overture

Sippings, G. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Winners

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Business support service of the National Diet Library in Japan: Including the outlook for the partnership with the British Library

Nagasaki, R., Spencer, N. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

This article describes the growth of business support services in Japan, and the service of the National Diet Library in particular. It describes the users of the service, and the types of print and electronic resources available to them. The success of the service is demonstrated by the annual user survey.

Unlocking the business value of information: Information On Demand

Hulme, T. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Tony Hulme defines Information On Demand as the ability to deliver trusted information to the right people and processes, at the right time, relevant to the task, for better decisions. He shows how most organizations fall at the first hurdle as there is a lack of trusted information and explains why this is the case and the effects it can have on the business. He looks at the key information management disciplines that can be used to solve these issues and shows how these disciplines can be applied to industry specific business imperatives from a functional capability perspective. Illustrating how these functional capabilities fit within a reference architecture for a comprehensive Information Management strategy. He concludes by suggesting how organizations can establish an Information Agenda or an approach to begin treating information as a strategic asset.

Manchester Business Answers 24/7: A case study in providing online enquiry support at an academic library

Greenwood, M., Bradshaw, K. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

The Manchester Business School (MBS) library service of the John Rylands University Library at the University of Manchester has a wide variety of customers, some of whom are not in a position to visit the library buildings frequently. Manchester Business Answers 24/7 is an online enquiry-type service to help them get the most out of a large range of e-resources and, crucially, the expert specialist knowledge of library staff. It is based around a searchable database of frequently asked questions and answers. For any online service, technology is important: we have adopted the ‘Business FAQ’ system from the University of Pennsylvania library. We focus on a service perspective, as our experience is that two general service issues are more important than technology. The first is service definition: how users will understand what the new service can do for them. The second is the service monitoring and improvement process: this is essential for deciding how to develop the service based on how it has actually been used rather than on the assumptions of service providers.

Contributor profile

Bradshaw, K. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Contributor profile

Greenwood, M. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

What's most businesses' missing link? -- a filing strategy: A practical approach to hard copy records management in today's evolving and ever changing environment

Vallis, C. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Records and Information Management have become buzzwords in today’s modern business environment. Although they have been topics of debate through the decades among our often cosmopolitan and diverse working forces across the globe, the issue is now more than ever making its importance and impact felt and known across just about every sector due to compliance regulations and statutes. So the question currently posed, is just what is Records and Information Management and how can it be effectively managed or brought up to speed (inline with current definitions) without upsetting an organization’s expediency?

Is the bell tolling for the death of the Corporate Information Unit?: Can Google really fill the gap? Has turning east accelerated the demise?

Edgar, S. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

The short article attempts to offer up a potted history of how Corporate Information Units find themselves increasingly under the spotlight, under threat or with a closed sign on the door. By looking at the early 2000s and into this current climate it is clear that circumstance, technology, economics and resistance to change have been major factors in the demise. Going forward there will be challenges and excitement for those Information Managers who have a thirst for adventure. With thanks to those corporate librarians in London and New York for sharing their observations and predictions.

Inspiring entrepreneurs at the British Library: News from the National

Infield, N. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

In this article, Neil Infield describes the ways in which the BIPC has successfully inspired people who want to start their own businesses through a series of high profile events.

Initiatives -- September 2009: Information industry: structure, partnership & change

Foster, A. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Finale

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Erratum

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:36:20 PDT

Overture

Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

Winners

Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

Market data and business information: Two peas in a pod?

Ainsworth, M. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

Market Data and Business information have traditionally been two disciplines that have been very separate with no overlap. However, changes in content and delivery now mean that the two professions are much closer than previously and many of the issues and content sets are now common to both. Looking at some of the issues involved we can see how each side can benefit from the experience of the other.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO)'s guide to growth in challenging economic times: Seven strategic steps

Dickinson, J. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

In this article Jamie Dickinson outlines the seven strategic steps to delivering growth in a market downturn. This is a framework for CEOs to follow when times are hard, but they still need to deliver growth. It also applies to all managers who support the CEOs' ultimate objectives.

Competitive advantage and its conceptual development: An exploration

Yolles, M. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

This article explores the competitive advantage of businesses. Current understanding of competitive advantage arises from the strategic management paradigm. However, the early theory that underpins this comes from optimising economic theory, the inadequacy of which led to the resource-based view. The next development came from knowledge management, which sees knowledge as a valuable strategic resource recognizing the need to look more inside the organization qualitatively. However, a new paradigm has arisen that couples knowledge processes with cybernetics. This recognizes that achieving competitive advantage requires that an organization's pathologies must be recognized and addressed.

Using research: Supporting organizational change and improvement

Wheeler, S. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

Explores the importance of organizational research as a tool to support business change and improvement. Describes a tried and tested research methodology that has been used within public and private sector organizations and can be easily adapted by in-house research and information services. Demonstrates how research can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of learning and development products and services. Includes a case study from a central government department that investigates the role of the line manager in learning.

Contributor profile

Wheeler, S. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

Marketing of library and information products and services: A theoretical analysis

Islam, Md. S., Islam, Md. N. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

The article considers the concept of marketing in the light of library and information services and mentions the necessity of marketing techniques in library and information centres. It outlines the principles of information products/ services marketing and discusses the key steps of marketing for library and information centres. The article indicates the methods of applying marketing techniques to library and information centres and marketing difficulties to library and information services in developing countries are also discussed, with particular reference to those in Bangladesh.

BL BIPC column: Information professionals, information and the entrepreneur -- bringing the three together

O'Reilly, P. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

News from the National: in this article, Peter O'Reilly looks at the use of information by small and medium-sized enterprises, and how information professionals can guide the entrepreneurs who run them to critical published information not freely available on the web.

Initiatives -- June 2009: A round up of products and initiatives

Foster, A. — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

Finale

Thu, 21 May 2009 09:29:09 PDT

Overture

Sippings, G. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

Battening down the hatches: The Business Information Survey 2009

Foster, A. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

Survey of corporate business information services based on in-depth interviews with leading information and knowledge managers. Key findings are:

1. Greater coordination and management of global corporate information management networks

2. Although information budget reductions in the light of the recession have been relatively modest so far — 50 per cent of respondents have experienced cuts of 10 per cent and upwards — most predict more substantial reductions in their 2009 budgets

3. The business climate is still rather uneven — banking and financial services are struggling whilst some other sectors, most notably corporate law, are generally busy

4. Great efforts to establish very tight cost control

5. Constant search for ways for Information Department to add more value to the business

6. Rolling back of desk-top deployment of data sources in some companies due to financial pressures and non-use; other companies continue to expand desk-top access to information products

7. Financial restrictions have affected service development capability and speed of response

8. Use of sophisticated metrics to track and assess costs and use for client feedback

9. Seventy-five per cent of respondents have already lost staff or expect to do so in 2009

10. Information discovery skills, that most traditional part of the Library and Information Service (LIS) professional's armoury, are increasingly being recognized as a key priority by senior information managers looking at their skill mix

11. Twenty per cent of companies committed to offshore operations are consolidating; 80 per cent have no immediate plans to follow this strategy but don't necessarily rule it out further into the future

12. Some sustained Knowledge Management (KM) initiatives ongoing in 50 per cent of respondent companies, albeit if sometimes of a `Guerrilla KM' flavour

13. Social technologies for corporate deployment — a third of respondents are believers, a third agnostics and a third atheists

14. Vendor management and relationships: respondents demand more creativity and understanding on charging levels and flexibility

15. Brokers' reports becoming unaffordable and therefore unavailable

16. Information risks such as password misuse, Intellectual Property (IP) and copyright breaches and licensing violations should be better understood and managed

17. BvD ousts Factiva in ranking of top three vendors

18. There's a continued commitment to user training albeit in terms of coaching and support rather than formal programmes

19. Strategic concerns focus on organizational management and financial issues above all else.

Making the complex simple: For better business decisions

Caputo, A. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

In this article, the author considers the important trends that are reshaping the way information and knowledge workers consume and use information. She looks at the way in which the first generation of digital natives are approaching work activities in a different way from earlier generations, and exploiting the advances in technology across the spectrum to deal with the explosion in the volume of available information. She focuses on the way in which the combination of these factors emphasize the need for good quality, timely and relevant information, and how they affect the role of the information professional.

Securing information assets: The great information game

Desouza, K. C. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

In today's competitive environment, organizations succeed or fail based on how well they manage information. To address this reality, organizations spend millions, if not billions, on securing their information advantages. New information technologies and methodologies are adopted, while old ones are dismantled or upgraded. To win, the information manager must constantly seek to outperform his or her competition. In this article the author asks how he or she does it? Perhaps by acquiring the best new technologies, hiring the most intelligent information professionals, and continuously keeping a watchful eye on the future. But, he asks, does having the best information, the best information systems, and the best information professionals, really pay off? Is there victory in sight? Or, is this just a continuous game with no clear winners?

Contributor profile

Desouza, K. C. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

Online customer communities: Perspectives from customers and companies

Paterson, L. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

This article describes how the author investigated the business case for the operation of online customer communities, and evaluated their impact. This was achieved through analysis of opinions from members in company-sponsored and member-initiated online customer communities. The research aimed to understand the relationship between customer and company in online communities, explore the motivations of customers to participate in online customer communities, and the benefits of these communities to companies. The main findings of the research revealed that online customer communities are beneficial to both company and customer. The evaluation concludes with a set of recommendations to companies on how online customer communities might be effectively created and managed.

The contemporary library and information services manager: Skills and knowledge requirements

Knight, J. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

The contemporary Library and Information Services (LIS) environment employs a multifaceted group of employees who are better educated and more expensive to recruit than in previous times. In order to maximize these talents and resources available, this modern setting requires managers — at all levels — who are versatile and fitted out with the right skills and knowledge to maintain group cohesion and to propel this dynamic environment to continuously move in unison with the society. This article identifies and discusses the required skills and knowledge of the contemporary manager. In doing so, the concepts of skill and knowledge are defined and their interrelationship is highlighted.

Engaging with social media in the Business & Intellectual Property Centre (BIPC) at the British Library: News from the National

Infield, N. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

In this article, Neil Infield shares with us the way in which the BIPC has successfully used social media to reach its diverse audience of inventors, entrepreneurs and small business owner.

Initiatives -- March 2009: Information industry strategies, performance, structure and use

Foster, A. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

Finale

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:02:51 PST

Overture

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

Business information through Spain's Chambers of Commerce: Meeting business needs

Munoz Canavate, A., Hipola, P. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

From different public and private requirements, mechanisms have been set in action that allow for companies to obtain information in order to make decisions with a stronger foundation. This article is focused on the description of an entire information system for the business world, developed in the realm of the Chambers of Commerce of Spain, which has given rise to the creation of an authentic network of inter-chamber information. In Spain, the obligatory membership of businesses to the Chambers of Commerce in their geographic areas, and therefore the compulsory payment of member quotas, has traditionally generated some polemics, above all because many firms have not perceived a material usefulness of the services offered by these Chambers. Notwithstanding, the 85 Chambers currently existing in Spain, as well as the organization that coordinates them — the Upper Council or Consejo Superior de Cámaras de Comercio — and the company created expressly to commercialize information services online, Camerdata, have developed genuinely informative tools that cover a good part of the information demands that a business might claim, and these are described here.

Why it's not naive to be green

Gabriel, C. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

This article aims to promote awareness of the environmental impact of IT. It illustrates the impact of extensive use of IT in homes and organizations, and considers the ways in which a business could address IT efficiency and at the same time benefit from Green IT. It looks at the organizational, process, cultural and ICT efficiencies which Green IT offers. It sets out a best practice framework of five steps for a programme that will after the first stage become part of the standard processes of IT operations. The author draws attention to the responsibility of organizations to audit their information and look at information lifecycle management as a key element of greening IT.

Ethics and information: An encyclopedic overview

Hauptman, R. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

This article gives a detailed encyclopedic overview of the many areas and concepts that fall within the domain of information ethics. Thus, it offers brief synoptic remarks on, for example, privacy and peer review, rather than in-depth discussions of these topics, many of which have generated thousands of studies, articles, and monographic treatments.

Catalyzing innovation and knowledge sharing: Librarian 2.0

Cullen, J. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

Generation Y are the first generation to fully put the process of `prosumption' into practice. Individuals are proactively seeking to generate and share creative outputs as a result of their online activities, and this produces a set of fundamental questions for business librarians, information management specialists and consultants: does our profession adhere to a logic of service-delivery, which is rapidly becoming obsolete in the context of service-innovation. Suggestions for how information specialists (called librarian 2.0 in this article) can participate in the creation of value for users are offered.

Risk assessment: Trading carefully in an uncertain world

Rarity, B. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

This article reminds us that risk needs to be identified before it can be quantified. It points out that risk models are only as good as the people who devised them and the basic assumption needs to be frequently re-examined. Points out the advantages of using well-researched credit scoring based on current — and not just on statutory filings — and of the value of monitoring trends. It reminds the reader of the valuable risk-relevant information held in corporate trees and of the advisability of discovering what kind of corporate companions any given director has promotes awareness. Aware of the unfortunate effects that the counsel of perfection can have on cash-strapped Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in difficult times — with some suggestions as how to avoid the perfect hamstringing the good.

Organizational change: The challenge of supporting staff

Lane, G. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

Change management is the subject of many books but what is it like to have to lead staff who are finding it difficult? Gina Lane has extensive experience of change in local government, and Non Departmental Public Body and a charity, and in this article provides insight and practical tips for how to support and lead your team as the organization undergoes change.

Contributor profile

Lane, G. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

BL BIPC Column: The changing nature of commercial research

Spencer, N. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

News from the National:

In this article, Nigel Spencer compares and contrasts his experience of delivering fee-based business information research from 1987 to 2008. Although the article is written from the perspective of the British Library priced research services, many points made could also apply to the changing role of the business information professional.

What's new: A round-up of new products and initiatives

Foster, A. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST

Regular readers of this column will realise that this is not a random ragbag of business information news stories. There are clear recurrent themes and strategic directions being taken by both the consumers and providers of business information. We have grouped the items under the key agenda areas — the way the information industry is restructuring in the face of the harshest economic climate in more than 20 years; the richness of the many new business information products that have been developed or reworked in some way; the myriad paths of technology development, through software and hardware innovation, affecting business information use; and, last but not least, the growing impact of social networks and their nexus with established business information products.

Finale

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:14:23 PST