Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pacs-l
Date:         Tue, 20 Apr 1993 14:01:00 CDT
From:         Michel.Bauwens@dm.rs.ch
Subject:      Cybrarians article

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Dear Pacs-l:

I've just been surprised by reading a reference to an article of mine.
I do not feel that the cited syndicated column article by Tom Peters,
accurately represents my point of view (some of the quotes refer to
what I see as management viewpoints, that does not mean I agree with them).
I therefore enclose the original article, which has appeared (and is
copyrighted) in Business Information Review, April 1993. An interview
based on the same ideas will be published in the Internet Business Journal.

Sincerely, Michel Bauwens

<BEGIN TEXT

THE CYBRARIANS MANIFESTO

Towards a new organisational model for corporate libraries?

Many corporate libraries regularly face the survival challenge.
The information centre (despite all the talk about 'information
as a strategic resource'), is usually seen as an overhead cost
and in times of recession may be an easy target. Much of the
information that is provided by corporate libraries is seen to
belong to the 'nice to know' category, hence not considered
'critical' to the survival of the firm in tough times. Often, the
library manager is not part of senior management, and the
services that are provided are 'filtered' through middlemen
(junior managers, assistants, secretaries). They get the credit
for the work done, not the librarian. Finally, the new philosophy
of 'outsourcing' leads quite a few managers to conclude that
information is not a core competence, but something that can be
carried out, cheaper and in a more efficient manner, by outside
information brokers.

This is actually what happened in my own corporation, where the
corporate centre Business Intelligence Unit, once counting a
large staff exceeding 15 people, was trimmed down to one person.
On a corporate-wide basis, the staff has been reduced from 200+
to less than 30, and half of those no longer perform information-
related functions. This situation is echoed at other corporations
too. It would be to easy to blame a 'short-sighted' management
aiming at quick savings in the budget. If we cannot convince our
management of our usefulness, then surely we are also responsible
for this state of affairs. It is not my intention to blame
anyone, but to point out that the fault may be in an outmoded
organisational model that finds its expression in the existence
of a central corporate library.

Indeed, librarians are the only profession whose job title is
linked to a building, and we are obviously emotionally tied to
the product in that building, i.e. the Book. Moreover, we are the
last centralists, adepts of an organisational model that sees the
'library' as an institution which is centrally located and where
our customers should transport themselves to find the required
information. It is time to look for a different organisational
model, more in tune with the needs of our customers, and in
harmony with the technological tools at our disposal.

To take an analogy from the world of industry, we could say that
the traditional library view is centred on the production
process, rather than on the consumer. We are infatuated with the
product and the source of that information (whether it is a book
or an electronic database). What is objectionable about this
orientation is that the means have become more important than the
ends.

The new view should be client-centred and process-oriented. For
corporate librarians the clients should be first of all our
senior management. They are, after all, those who have to make
the critical decisions involving the very future of our
companies. They want information that is actionable, recent, and
readable, no matter where it comes from. Thus it is our task to
build an information refinery, which directs the right
information to the right person, while making its different
origins and formats invisible to the data recipients, blending
several sources in one in-house product if necessary. Client-
centredness also means personal service and avoiding middlemen.
The new data communications technology such as internal email
allows us to cut through the hierarchy and to develop such direct
contacts in a networking model. From the limited - paper-based -
 library we are evolving towards a potentially unlimited, virtual
library based on electronic information sources. Where as
traditionally we are tempted to build expensive collections 'just
in case' a piece of information might be needed, we could and
should focus on 'just in time' delivery of information on the
basis of proven need.

Books and databases are no longer sufficient to carry out our job
well. The new corporate librarians could be seen in the middle
of a concentric circle of cyberspace (i.e. the electronic
information space or ocean), consisting not only of external
databases, but also of Email, Bulletin Boards, and Computer
Conferencing systems. We do not only need Dialog and FT Profile,
but also the Internet and AMIX! 'If you're not on the net, you're
not in the know' (dixit the Economist's year-end issue). Or as
stated in the Times Literary Supplement recently: 'Researchers
with access to these forms of communication are making progress
while other researchers, still awaiting information through more
traditional slower channels, have not yet begun to work'.

Initiatives such as the Data Mail BBS for translators point to
the online services of the future, which permit a dialogue
between information users and information providers.

From our very own desktop we can now send email (text and data
files), faxes, telexes and even ordinary mail. Automated fax
broadcast systems such as recently instituted by Dunsprint free
us from the worry of waiting in line for a fax to be sent. More
and more fulltext is available online, and new document delivery
initiatives such as CARL's UNCOVER, Epic's ArticleFirst /
ContentsFirst service, and Faxon Finder, promise 24-hour delivery
times of faxed copies. The material that is downloaded
electronically can be send to the information requesters through
email and can be integrated in their PC packages. A productivity
tool such as Information Partner automates the search procedure
to the point that no human has to be present. It also reformats
the material in a high quality DTP newsletter -- all this in a
matter of minutes with a few keystrokes. Personal scanners with
ICR are now available, allowing us to eliminate paper and routine
procedures even further. This description is not science fiction,
but the way an information centre can work today. Such an
electronic library, what we could call 'a total electronic
environment' is in place in my corporation (without the scanner
though).

But these advances in productivity come with a price: if we can
do more, less of us are needed. Other trends may be working in
that direction too, such as the increase in the number of end-
users and the emergence of information brokers. On the other
hand, the ever increasing availability of information, accessible
in ever more ways, argues for the future of our profession.
However, we will perhaps be judged, not by the amount of
information that we deliver, but by the amount of information
that we filter out? Our success would then be determined by the
amount of 'information seeking' time that we save our executives
from performing themselves.

The new technology makes us location-independent. Thus instead
of huddling together amongst colleagues in a central location
(the old model), or working at home (teleworking) as some other
have suggested, we should use the telepresence technologies to
be closer to our customers, working in the ad hoc working teams
that are increasingly common in modern corporations, hot-desking
if need be! That way we are closely integrated into the corporate
fabric and gain an intimate knowledge of the individual
information needs. The new informational model thus becomes
clear. A corporation that is serious about its information needs
may contemplate having at its disposal a network of cybrarians
(i.e. librarians able to navigate in 'cyberspace'), strategically
located throughout the company. These well-trained, IT literate
individuals will be integrated into management teams. They will
be networked in a three-fold manner: first of all amongst each
other, second with the teams mentioned above, third to a network
of outside information providers (other cybrarians and experts
on the Internet, information brokers). Using the Infomapping
techniques, such as those developed by Woody Horton, these
cybrarians will manage the network of information and knowledge
that exists within the company, i.e. the various data collections
but also the human experts. They will not only be information
providers, but also the gatekeepers (some prefer the term
gateway) to internal and external expertise, and as such they
will be an indispensable institutional memory, that corporations
will hate to miss. Such a model would be very flexible, as the
different networked librarians could specialise themselves or be
re-assigned as new needs and teams arise. Thus, such an
organisational model, fits the 'necessary disorganisation' model,
which Tom Peters claims to be vital for rapid and continuous
adaptation in a 'chaotic' world.

As stated before, we believe that such a vision does not belong
to the domain of science fiction, but that it is a real
possibility. It requires well-trained librarians with very high
ethical standards. Indeed what we must strive for is to become
obsolete. By rigorously eliminating all the tasks that can be
better performed by others, and by automating the routine
information provision, we will paradoxically achieve the opposite
effect, i.e. we will be entrusted by the high-quality 'added-
value' work that will ensure high professional status. Thus
eliminating the routine drudgery, so often associated with our
job, we free our creative capabilities even more and become real
agents of constant innovation.

Peter Drucker sees the future corporation as a symphony
orchestra, in which the conductor is in direct contact with a
core group of experts, and surrounded by temporary workers. The
challenge facing corporate librarians is indeed to which category
to belong? We believe that the proposed model of a strategic
network of cybrarians to be a way forward for integrating
ourselves in such a network of experts. It requires from us a new
attitude, centred on serving our clients and an openness both to
technology and to people, as expressed in the concept of
networking.

The model is probably not applicable in all circumstances: I am
not implying that all central libraries should be abolished.
Rather, I see a new role for them: not as the centre of the
information world, but in a supporting role vis-a-vis the
networked cybrarians: providing back-up for difficult queries,
managing contracts with information providers, offering
technological support as a testing centre for the evolving
information and communications technology. Thus, and this is a
crucial difference, in this model the periphery (the cybrarians)
becomes the centre, and the centre (the central corporate
library) becomes the periphery.

The Cybrary Network model is a potentially powerful alternative,
as it incorporates modern management practices to the information
domain: cfr. its focus on working in teams, networking,
outsourcing, business process redesign (i.e. don't use IT to
automate your work, but rethink your working practices in harmony
with the new possibilities), core competencies (i.e. we focus on
our strength, thus allowing our management to focus on their
competence, i.e. decision-making). When applying these
principles, we achieve a 'lean and mean' organisational model,
already 'right-sized', that will be able to resist much better
the onslaughts against overhead. Close to our customers, we
achieve the necessary human 'bonding' with our management.
Instead of nameless clerks, we have become crucial partners and
colleagues.

END TEXT