Service in cyberspace

January, 1999

How do people around the world get help with business research, learn new skills, and manage R&D projects when libraries, classrooms, and laboratories "go virtual?" This article discusses the tools, techniques, and lessons learned from the Internet Public Library, Highsmith, Inc, the Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro law firm, and Unilever.

As these four cases show, servicing clients in a virtual environment involves such challenges as:

• Finding out what clients really want without the visual clues of face-to-face interaction
• Training clients to use electronic tools when their expectations and backgrounds vary widely
• Educating clients in auxiliary skills, such as writing for a global audience and valuating information sources
• Greasing the wheels of social interaction when clashes occur among cultures (geographic and professional) and levels in the corporate hierarchy.

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