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Title:
Creating a successful e-information service
Review:
This book is about creating a successful e-information service.
Sheila Pantry and Peter Griffiths are both experienced information
professionals and they write from that viewpoint, mostly with the
larger organisation, with existing library systems, in mind.
The book is presented in an easy-to-read format, with each of the
eight chapters having a bullet point summary of content at the
beginning and a summary at the end. Extensive use is made of case
studies giving practical ideas. While these may not fit in with the
reader's particular requirements, they do provide a useful starting
point and, indeed, readers are encouraged to look further afield for
answers to their specific questions.
In setting up an e-information service, Pantry and Griffiths recommend
that an information audit be undertaken, as described in their
previous work on this topic. They provide some useful examples of
checklists for defining what sort of information service you want to
create; these include analysing business managers' information
requirements, current sources of information used, and the current
means of distributing information.
Several key issues are identified and revisited from different
angles in the course of the book. A virtual service can be based
anywhere, have any target audience, and has the potential to be a 24/7
service (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). There are
implications for staff development, identifying and retaining the
target audience, and practical issues of financial management.
Change management is vital, keeping all levels of staff and also
service users informed of developments. Staff must have assistance to
adjust to new ways of working, and appropriate training and
development must be provided. The target audience must be defined and
appropriate instruction and support services provided, in order to
avoid the threat of users bypassing the service and accessing the
web directly, or indeed going directly to product suppliers for their
fee-based services. It is therefore important to keep in touch with
customers, and one way to do this is by evaluating and monitoring the
service.
If a 24/7 service is offered, counterparts in different time zones can
augment the service outside the normal working day. However, if the
service is physically provided in a specific location, a local help
desk may well be required, and consideration must be made of the
security of equipment in antisocial hours. A suitable time for backup
procedures must be identified.
An e-information service does not necessarily save money. The service
must be costed, taking into account the types of equipment required,
the restrictions of license agreements, and the important issue of
continued access to files of back issues of journals.
There is a glossary of sample electronic services, covering examples
such as Athens, for the UK higher and further education sector, the
National Electronic Library for Health (NeLH), and the New
Opportunities Fund (NOF).
A lot of ground is covered at a basic level in this book, but I would
have liked more information on topics such as the evaluation of
internet resources, and the issues of appropriate staff qualifications
and training. The bibliography has some useful references, with
details of books, articles and some web sites, but it is a little
limited and at least one of the web sites I checked was no longer
available.
I'm not quite sure who the target audience for this book is; while it
claims to be for the successful information professional, it reads in
many places like a student text-book. However, all groups should find
some items of interest.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Celia Hukins is manager of the Small Business Gateway Information
Service in Aberdeen, Scotland, where she provides business
information, market research and training services to start-up and
existing businesses. She writes here in a personal capacity.
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