Program Review – “The Business Library of the Future,” a presentation by Leslie Barrett, VP of Outsell, at Babson College, Thursday, January 15, 2004 
as reported by Jill Coghlan, j7coghlan@yahoo.com

Outsell, a unique information analysis company, provides decision support at the intersection of Information Content (IC) and Information Technology (IT). Leslie Jacobs Barrett, Vice President and Lead Analyst, is responsible for analytical consultation in the financial services and government market sectors at Outsell.

Outsell is convinced the IC business has moved into transition mode, again. The “Old World” model, which is comfortable for most of us, depends on a stable information delivery model, from creators, through publishers, to indexes, aggregators and delivery services, into corporate purchasers, who distribute full channels to their corporate user base.

The components of the “New Model” are now clear, and are in a shape Outsell calls a “spaghetti” chart, while the channels connecting them are subject to change.

Leslie noted that Outsell is confident this spaghetti chart will likely change over time in ways none of us can even imagine

Users want information that is content specific to their needs. Although more and more users are searching for information on their own, that mode of behavior isn’t necessarily their preference.  They would prefer information to be available in a way they can readily use it.  Throughout the presentation, Leslie stressed the Outsell view of the importance of focusing on user applications and embedding content into those applications. 

The primary trends affecting the future in this new, more fluid model are now the following:

A.  Digitization

B.  Reality vs. Users’ Fantasies

C.  User’s Quest for Simplicity

D.  E-Content Logjam

E.  Information - Business Interface

Leslie reminded the audience that the subject of the presentation, Business Libraries, tend to be in the vanguard of trends.  Specifically, financial services libraries usually have sufficient funds to actively support their “real time” clients, who require information from the most current sources on the newest platforms.  Librarians in the financial services sector continually advance in both delivery methods and content currency, and to a large degree, have already transitioned into the “New Model.”

A.  Digitization

Throughout the previous two years’ downturn, spending on electronic content in the academic sector has remained flat. This is in spite of the fact that content deployers had been expecting their spending on electronic content to increase.  In order to improve service levels in this period of level funding, both academic and corporate libraries have re-evaluated their purchases and their reference policies. 

One finding is that in corporate environments, user portals have developed a greater sense of community. An Outsell survey discovered that academic libraries are distributing both external and internal content, while continuing to build communities. Hope Tillman, Director of Babson College Libraries, volunteered that one of their goals is to set a corporate standard for their business students, so they understand their copyright responsibilities when they take jobs in a corporate setting.

B.  Reality vs. Users’ Fantasies

Leslie reminded us that paying attention to our users is of primary importance. In order to meet their resource preferences, ask for their “fantasy delivery model,” as you plan goals and alternatives.  For example, users frequently say they want a single interface for all their content. They key is to uncover exactly how users expect that interface to function  prior to building one. Test different kinds of current awareness models targeted on your users’ day-to-day business processes. 

And remember, people not using your library resources are the greatest opportunity to learn about new delivery models and to expand library and information services throughout the enterprise. 

C.  Users’ Quest for Simplicity

Users pray you can make their lives simpler because they are overwhelmed by the ocean of information and don’t want to plow through it all, and they are frustrated if you ask them to learn how to use different tools from unique content distributors. The bottom line is that users “want it their way,” in the context of their business life where they need it, and when they need it.

New generations coming into the workplace expect fully interoperable electronic interfaces with their colleagues and business processes integrated.  Some firms are developing templates for routine tasks, with automatically populated  fields which provide the specific information required in each business group, such as mortgages, sales and service.

D.  E-Content Logjam

Today, many content integration efforts are thwarted by the e-content logjam—the inability to obtain content from publishers in an easy, cost-effective manner. Providing useful channels through this e-content logjam will require new technologies, such as XML and other markup languages. Users are looking for information professionals  in the “e-space” to help them locate the targeted data they need, provide that  content within a contextual delivery format, based on their roles, with implementation models that interface with their daily tasks.

In this year’s transition from the “Old World” model, Outsell does not expect publishers to act first in distributing granular data. Rather, specific aggregators will test how to “destructure” content from its original documents, without human intervention. 

This “New Model” has the potential to become the automatic delivery of information into a contextually-aware workspace, such as in CRM (Customer Relationship Management), where users pull data about customers, transparently onto their desktop. Outsell expects that much of this effort will come from traditional IT players, such as Microsoft and IBM, who are entering the information content space.

Financial services are experimenting with providing all the required information for an investment professional within a template on his desktop.  For example, investment banks are already creating deal books on the fly by pulling appropriate external and internal content together.  Alacra Book and Thomson Financial’s e-PIB are commercial solutions already on the market. 

E.  Information - Business Interface

In the new rules of engagement, much more attention is being paid to business rules and how information fits into business processes.  The delivery of business information into business processes has fostered the creation of new flavors of XML.  For example, RI-XML (Research Information XML) is a specific mark-up language that links the financial buy-side with the sell-side.

There is also a new requirement to train people to use electronic tools and data correctly. It is necessary to keep in mind the users’ perspective on training. Keep in mind that as you plan your library’s training, users generally want training at the point of need, and when they do agree to be trained, they respond best when training is simple, intuitive and of short duration.

When proposing to apply information to decision making within a fully integrated information environment, start with major processes that use repetitive or similar information sources, choose the appropriate technology, the optimum content source(s), and transfer method for each new template. Technology companies developing integrated models are Microsoft, IBM and Oracle.

How this Transition will happen

 A transformation of place, context, use, and access is underway; how will each library create its own future?

1.  Now that Content Delivery is almost exclusively virtual, what happens to the physical space?  Some librarians are developing an information commons to incubate ideals and knowledge, where food, drink and talking are encouraged.  The library becomes a collaborative meeting space while information itself is virtual.

2.  What becomes of the Professional Librarian role, with the evolution of virtual content?  (a) Fortunately, not all needs fit into business process templates, requiring librarians for special projects and anomalies.  (b) Another strategy will be to assign research specialists to business or academic units.  (c) Content librarians will be required to evaluate IC choices, assist virtual users and confirm data is being used appropriately.  This is a good time to survey your portfolio of services, to confirm that what you do truly benefits your users.

3.  Who integrates the new technology? Librarians are at the center of this “e-space,”  the interface of  Information Technology and Information Content. We need to develop analytical skills akin to IT business analysts, as well as staying abreast of new technologies and content integration developments.

4.  What are new virtual delivery methods?  Content vendors will move beyond “repository based” delivery, and investigate how to meet users’ preference for the specific data elements they need, rather than always delivering the full document.  Publishers and content creators will work with clients to understand which pieces of their products are needed, in which format, and how to create a mutually-acceptable cost structure, whether transaction-based, token-based, or subscription.  Discussion of copyright management, accountability and entitlement will need to find mutually agreeable solutions under the “New Model.”

5.  How to develop change processes?  Librarians, at the interface between content and users, need to identify a target market for a trial, develop a new delivery concept, develop and test the new prototype, market and produce the new offering, build customer loyalty, and evaluate the product for further segmentation or development.

In many respects, Financial Service libraries have almost completed the transition to the “New Model,” developing a complete model appropriate for their information sources and user base.

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