Special Librarianship
Special Librarianship
SPECIAL LIBRARIANS Putting Knowledge to Work ®
Special librarians are information resource experts dedicated to putting knowledge to work to attain the goals of their organizations. They are employed most frequently by corporations, private businesses, government agencies, museums, colleges, hospitals, associations and information management consulting firms.
Adding Value to Information: Today's special librarians do far more than locate and collect data. Using the Internet and other current technology, they also evaluate, analyze, organize, package, and present information in a way that maximizes its usefulness.
A few examples of the diverse services that special librarians may perform include:
- Preparing research reports in response to staff requests for specific information;
- Gathering competitive intelligence;
- Identifying research done at other organizations to avoid unnecessary duplication;
- Verifying facts for external and internal reports and publications;
- Creating databases for organizations to access their internal information;
- Searching patents and trademarks;
- Evaluating and comparing information software and sources of data prior to purchase; and
- Training other staff to efficiently and cost-effectively use online databases.
Facilitating Better Decision-making: The value of information provided
by special libraries was demonstrated dramatically in a study conducted at five
large corporations. Four out of five of the surveyed executives felt that the
information provided by their special librarians helped them decide upon a course
of action. And three-quarters of them felt the information helped them avoid
making a poor business decision.
Equally important, special libraries save money. Extensive research has shown that special libraries are likely to save several times their cost of operation by reducing the time that employees have to spend to acquire needed information. That's time that can be spent on the employees' primary duties.
Research also was done regarding to what extent special libraries can save staff time. Approximately two-thirds of the executives and managers surveyed at five large corporations felt that the information supplied by special libraries helped them avoid wasting their own time and other people's time.
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