Converting a physical library into
an electronic information network can save money, improve productivity,
and even turn a cost center into a profit center
This article by Jean Graef
was published in the November, 1999, issue of Laboratory Design.
Sooner or later you’ll ask the
question – should we replace our room full of books and technical
reports with a "virtual library?" Many facilities managers say
yes, for one of the following reasons:
Space is needed for another purpose.
People in other locations need quick, 24-hour access
to information.
Information resources need to be combined after
a merger or acquisition.
Senior management wants to increase the return on
investments in the R&D function.
Usage analysis shows that some very expensive books
are rarely used.
Downstream vs. upstream information
management
Downstream strategies focus on providing cost effective access to information
used by everyone. Tasks include:
digitizing internal reports
negotiating volume discounts with information providers;
licensing information resources on the desktop;
copyright compliance.
Upstream strategies focus on supporting
the specialized information needs of individual experts and small teams
to leverage the firm’s intellectual assets. Tasks include:
acquiring and acting on technical intelligence;
capturing and using know-how captured from project
teams;
identifying experts;
developing and exploiting knowledge-based profit
opportunities.
Virtual libraries at Owens Corning
and United Technologies illustrate the downstream approach. Business intelligence
applications at National Semiconductor and Hewlett-Packard illustrate
the upstream approach. For more information on upstream knowledge management,
see "Upstream knowledge management."
Owens Corning: cost savings
For Owens Corning, the motivation for a virtual library was the desire
to generate pre-tax savings of $100 million during 1998. Achieving that
goal involved licensing existing technology, acquiring new technology
through mergers and acquisitions, encouraging more employees to become
mobile by working out of their homes, and reducing the expense of a physical
R&D campus. So in March, 1998, Research Library Supervisor Nancy Lemon
and her staff of four moved off the R&D campus and started working
out of their homes.
At the same time, Lemon moved quickly
to convert as many print publications as possible into electronic format.
To help people acquire articles and reports not available electronically,
she operates a "brokerage" for commercial table-of-contents
and document delivery services. Vendors are, in effect, given a "franchise"
to sell directly to R&D staff. In addition, Lemon and her staff help
find answers to questions, acquire patents and research reports on request,
and provide orientation sessions on the company’s information resources.
The move saved $150,000 in the first
year and gave more people – including executives from corporate headquarters
-- access to information services.
United Technologies Research Center:
better services
At the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) in East Hartford, CT,
the primary motivation to go virtual was the need to provide more value-added
services to more people on a cost-effective basis. By 1996, Noreen Steele,
Manager of the UT Information Network, began to notice the following trends:
R&D staff was asking for new services, citing
information overload as a major problem.
Desktop access to commercial information services
was available but difficult to use because of hardware and software
incompatibilities.
Scientists and engineers knew that there was a lot
of valuable information within the company, but they lacked the skills
to capture or use it.
With the cost of print journals rising, some titles
were getting only sporadic and infrequent use.
More scientific publishers were offering electronic
versions of their publications on the Internet.
In a benchmark study, librarians discovered that
they lagged behind similar companies in offering a variety of value-added
services, such as analyzed reports, current awareness alerts, internal
knowledge bases, and desktop access to a variety of internal and external
sources over the Internet.
More services to more people
The goal at UTRC was not to save money but to use existing funds to provide
more services to more people. Like Owens Corning, UTRC converted as many
print subscriptions as possible to electronic formats and worked with
vendors to supply a rich menu of "just-in-time" resources from
around the world. However, the UTRC librarians did not move into their
homes. When their physical libraries were closed, they moved into "mini-libraries"
within business units. Instead of waiting for people to call with a question,
they became more proactive, participating in cross-functional teams by
anticipating information needs and offering help on the spot. In addition,
a new Research Analyst service was launched in five offices around the
globe. Research analysts write reports that summarize and filter information,
point out trends, make recommendations, and capture team know-how.
At UTRC, the transition from a traditional
to a virtual library was accomplished in 18 months, though much information
was already in electronic form. As the library staff became more proactive,
visiting clients and making presentations on the benefits of the new system,
demand for the new services skyrocketed.
Hewlett-Packard:
dealing with information overload
A virtual library turns information scarcity into information abundance.
But as Hewlett-Packard discovered, abundance comes with a price -- information
overload. As one H-P manager put it, "We’ve tried various approaches,
such as providing better searching tools. We have also looked at keyword
profiles and filtering, but we get far too many hits…. The meaningful
filters are not based on key words; they are based on significance. We
just can’t trust the software to determine significance."
To help cope with information overload,
H-P turned uses a "Knowledge Chart," gatekeepers and knowledge
base publishing – upstream information management techniques that
complement the approach used by Dow Corning and UTRC. The "Knowledge
Chart" is a taxonomy similar to the subject headings in a library
card catalog or the entries in a back-of-the-book index. Its purpose is
to provide consistency as multiple experts (gatekeepers) add information
to a team or electronic knowledge base. In one business intelligence application,
H-P has eight gatekeepers assigned to monitor specific companies. Gatekeepers
(also called "knowledge stewards") also monitor products, technologies,
or market segments. For more information, see "Hewlett-Packard
Promotes Knowledge Management Initiatives."
Knowledge base publishing is a method
of sharing information that uses print, Web, and database formats to provide
rich, in-depth communications to decision makers. Knowledge base publishing
highlights the more important issues for the attention of others and indicates
linkages between different issues or subjects.
National Semiconductor: grassroots
business intelligence
At National Semiconductor, staff from the Technical Library helped to
create a business intelligence taxonomy and are active participants in
knowledge base publishing. The initial focus is external information,
and the goal is to help everyone participate in gathering, filtering,
and sharing business intelligence. Like H-P, National plans to assign
gatekeepers to evaluate and publish relevant information on products,
competitors, customers, and markets. To keep the scope manageable, the
business intelligence team postponed the attempt to capture and disseminate
engineering information. For more information see "National
Semiconductor Builds a Competitive Intelligence Network."
Emerging role of the knowledge
base editor
Although physical libraries may shrink or even disappear, companies whose
technical libraries "go virtual" find that the librarians are
more valuable than ever. Freed from the clerical details of shelving and
circulating physical volumes, they move into new roles, such as:
Electronic information purchasing agent
Super sleuth
Course developer/instructor
Strategic Business Unit consultant
Knowledge base editor
The Knowledge Base Editor is an emerging
role filled by information-savvy scientists and engineers, technical librarians,
business analysts, and others. Individuals in this function coordinate
both upstream and downstream information management systems, develop knowledge
base taxonomies, train gatekeepers and teams in business intelligence
gathering and publishing, capture tacit knowledge through interviews and
stories, and evaluate new technologies for leveraging intellectual assets.
From cost center to profit center
For many companies, virtual information services are the first stage in
a process that leads to a new source of revenue – an information
profit center. One example is DuPont Safety Resources, which offers consultants,
workshops, tools, and a safety feedback process to external clients. Another
is Buckman Laboratories, whose Applied Knowledge Group helps customers
and other firms create and apply the information management tools –
a virtual library and global knowledge network – it developed to
help customers tap technical know-how for problem solving.
Tips for "going virtual"
Migrating from paper-based libraries to electronic knowledge networks
involves integrating several different technologies and incorporating
both downstream and upstream strategies. For best results, use a cross-functional
team for planning and implementation that includes representatives from
information technology, information content (scientific and technical
libraries), and line-of-business and corporate management. The following
Web sites are useful in researching the issues, identifying vendors, and
finding case histories:
