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Information needs and information seeking of ICT-professionals/entrepreneurs.

Influences on the development of library and information services for SMEs.

Eeva-Liisa Eskola & Leena SallasLibrary, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland

CREATING KNOWLEDGE 21.8.2008


TOPICS OF THE PRESENTATION

• Description of the project “E-information services for SMEs 2006-2008” (ICT- information centre as a regional information service)

• Results of the study on information needs and information service needs among the SMEs in the ICT-branch in the South-West region of Finland.

• Application of the results


• Financed by Ministry of Education and Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS)

• Thematically connected to a building project:

• ICT- HOUSE of several universities in Turku

• ICT-house was opened in August 2006

• Located in Turku Science Park area

• HEIs, ICT- and biotechnology companies

PROJECT BACKGROUND


PROJECT MOTIVE

• Information is a crucial factor in succesful business

• Small companies don’t often have information

services of their own

• In the region several libraries incl. the new ICT-library with up-to-date collections (print & e) and educated staff and as well library and information service education


PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

1. Integrate research & development and education

2. Develop new service concepts for libraries, SMEs as target group, e.g. tailored information service through network or mobile technologies

3. Support entrepreneurship through R&D projects

4. Strengthen regional cooperation of higher education institutions

5. Enhance R&D in the libraries of higher education institutions


PARTNERS:

• Library of Turku University of Applied Sciences

(project management)

• Library of Åbo Akademi University

• Library and information services of Turku School of Economics

• Library of Turku University (2006)

• Degree Programmes of Library and Information Services and Information Technology at Turku University of Applied Sciences

• Participating companies


VIEWPOINTS TO STUDY ”INFORMATION PROCESSING” IN ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTERPRISES

• Environmental scanning (ES)

• Competetive/Business intelligence activities (CI , BI)

• Knowledge management (KM)

• Information management (IM)

• Corporate information competence/literacy

• Professional information seeking


PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION SEEKING (Leckie, Pettigrew and Sylvain (1996)

- work roles and related tasks are the prime motivators of information seeking

- worker’s status in the organization, years of experience and specialization, familiarity and prior success with the source and its packaging, timeliness, cost and accessibility are important variables


WORK TASK CATEGORISATION (Järvelin 1987, Byström & Järvelin 1995).

Simple categorisation of the complexity of work tasks:

- simple tasks are routine information processing tasks, where the inputs, process and outcomes can be determined in advance

- difficult or complex tasks are new and genuine decision tasks, which cannot be determined in advance


INFORMATION TYPES & TASKS & INFORMATION SOURCES (Byström, 1999)

- Task information

- often in factual form: contact information, circumstances, places, numbers

- Domain information

- in form or facts or interpretations: characteristics of the task domain, known facts, concepts, laws, theories

-Task solving information – aspects of task treatment

- in form or facts and interpretations

- describes how tasks should be seen and formulated

- describes what task and domain information should be used and how i.e. instructional information


INFORMATION TYPES & TASKS & SOURCES

-Task complexity determines which information types are used for performing a tasks

- Simple tasks are performed either without information seeking or with the help of task information

- The more complex a task is perceived the more surely domain as well as task solving information is needed besides task information


- Documents are mainly used as sources for task information

- The higher the task complexity, the more popular is the use of people as information sources (experts, meetings)

- Experts are sources of all three information types; task information, domain information and task solving information

- Lack of time affects source use: for example journalists decreased the use of experts and electronic archival records and increased the use of people involved under time pressure


INFORMATION NEEDS AND INFORMATION SERVICE NEEDS OF

ICT-PROFESSIONALS/ENTREPRENEURS

• SMEs in South-West region of Finland

• Small-scale web survey (151-34)

• Theme interviews with 9 respondents

• ICT-branches: industrial production, service production, telecommunications and content providing


• Background

• Information needs in different topics

• Needs for ICT-specific information (open-ended question)

• Importance of different information sources and channels

• Use or desired use of specific databases

• Problems in seeking information

• Information service needs

• Ideas for an ICT-portal and other possible information

services (open-ended questions)

WEB-QUESTIONNAIRE


INTERVIEWS

- Futher elaboration of the questionnaire questions

- Emphasis on tasks and information seeking and use of internet in information seeking


RESULTS: Respondents’ work tasks

- Because most of the studied enterprises were micro or small enterprises, one person had several tasks:

-79 % of the respondents reported that they have managerial/administrative tasks

- 52% were specialists (doing R & D or consulting)

- 15 % was doing other vocational tasks (e.g. client service/support, programme maintenance)

- Task variety and number of cognitive and skills demands are factors of task complexity


RESULTS: INFORMATION NEEDS

• Most: clients, development of their own branch and market future, competitors, and partners

• Next most important topics were products, events of the own branch, R & D, marketing, and experts

• Least information was needed about patents, consumers, statistics, taxation and funding.


RESULTS: INFORMATION NEEDS

• Specific work-related information: technical device development, open source code programs, terms of contract of IT branch and manufacturers.

• In the interviews: cooperation partners in EU-projects, information about EU-projects and funding, information about the invitations to tenders, trends in the branch, market situation, competitor information and customer information, technical information, content development


RESULTS: IMPORTANCE OF SOURCES

• Most important: persons (clients, colleagues and partners of the own enterprise and colleagues outside the own enterprise) and internet’s search engines

• Least important: trade unions, different libraries and databases

• Databases were generally not seen as important information sources


RESULTS: PROBELMS IN SEEKING INFORMATION

• Information access and usability:

• missing rights to access, price, unanalyzed information

• Where to seek/find information

• Lacking skills in information management or seeking

• Lack of time to seek information

• Reliability of the information was not a problem.


RESULTS: INFORMATION SERVICE NEEDS

• Web-portal for information services

• Individual guidance in information seeking

• Updating the own skills in information seeking

• Professional information searches

• Information analysis performed by an expert


RESULTS: IDEAS - ICT-PORTAL & SERVICES

•The portal should include or allow access to information

• cooperation partners, EU-information (programmes, projects, partners and funding)

• Forum for networking, incl. a company register

• The portal should be tailored to the users’ needs (e.g. young/established companies)

• Possibility of own profiles and to get rss -feeds of partners or new information sources

• Possibility to order information searches on specific topics

• Help in information seeking problems through the portal


INFO TYPE

Task information

Domain information

PURPOSE

- e.g. taxation, vat

- Contact information:

clients - marketing

competitors – products

partners – cooperation

compoments production- Development of the branch

- Market prospects

- Competitors’ patents- International client and competitor information

SOURCE- Internet, phone,colleagues

- Internet: registers, websites of communes and companies

-Internet: news sites and events information,

printed journals- Internet- Internet- Databases (library)

Work tasks & information seeking

OWNERS, CEOs – (managerial/administrative tasks)


OWNERS, CEOsINFO TYPE

Task solving informationPURPOSE

- Technical information

- Research & Product development(e.g. client’s database content)

SOURCE

- Internet- Internet,

database (library)

Work tasks & information seeking


Respondents’ work tasks & information seeking

- Owners and CEOs used internet in information seeking for various work tasks (different business operations and domain-specific information) and all the three information types

- In the questionnaire people and the net search engines were of equal importance, in the interviews internet was emphasized


RESULTS: information APPLICATION in the project

service needs

• Information service pilot

• ICT-portal

• Preliminary plan – ICT-student

• “Information evening”

• Marketing and productization

• Thesis - LIS-student

• Professional information searches

• Web-portal for information services

• Individual guidance in information seeking

• Updating the own skills in information seeking


APPLICATION OF THE RESULTS IN THE PROJECT:

•“Information evening”

- Topics? User needs questionnaire and interviews

- Date? Integration to the LIS curriculum? – Course in “Pedacogic skills” late in autumn

- Presenters? – Experts, student participation

- Use of the library’s e-resources, licences? – Permission from the publisher

- Marketing? - E-mail invitations to companies, web-sites,

poster advertising, brochures in business events


”Information evening”TOPICS 2006

• Web 2.0, Deep web, Open access business sources – LIS-student

• EU-information- Expert from an regional non-profit business service

• Finnish commercial e-resource on business and juridical information – Information specialist

TOPICS 2007

• Web 2.0 from the point of view of SMEs – Expert

• Patent information on the net – Expert

• Finnish commercial e-resource on business and juridical information – 2 LIS-students


BRITISH EXAMPLES & PROSPECTS

-British Library Business and IP Centrehttp://www.bl.uk/bipc/index.html

- Events & Workshops

- Free e-courses: e.g. ‘Searching the Databases’, a guide to patent searching

- Ask an Expert

- Business & IP Information Clinic

- Join us on Facebook

- Watch our Inspiring Entrepreneurs on YouTube

- Business & IP Blogs

http://www.bl.uk/bipc/index.html



- Neil Infield, Manager of Business and IP Centre:

”As more and more content is digitized and available over the web, and technology becomes ever more sophisticated, this [moving from old to new roles] will become a necessary survival tactic for information professionalsOld NewGatekeeper CollaboratorOnline searcher TrainerCustodian of collections FacilitatorService provider Information advisorsInformation gatherer Problem solverLibrary process Business processInward looking Networker (Lesley Robinson, 2006)”IN: Business Information Review 25(2) 2008



- City Business Library London

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Libraries/City_of_London_libraries/cbl.htm

- CBL manager Goretti Considine: ”CBL is expecting to become busier as credit problems cause companies to decrease information services” (Library & Information Update May 2008)




Thank you!

Eeva-Liisa Eskola

Library, Turku University of Applied Sciences

[email protected]

www.turkuamk.fi information needs and information seeking of ict- professionals/entrepreneurs....

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