Academic Libraries At a Critical Juncture in Their Support of Teaching and Research.Business Editors/Technology Writers BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2002 Outsell out·sell tr.v. out·sold , out·sell·ing, out·sells 1. To surpass (another) in an amount sold: a book that outsold all others of its kind. 2. Study Suggests "Best Practices" and Business Planning Approach to Remaining Relevant in Higher Education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. Institutions Despite leadership in digital library innovations and outreach Outreach is an effort by an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. to users on the Web, academic libraries are but one piece of the information environment in today's universities. As university populations change their patterns of information use, budgets shrink, and users demand more digital resources, academic libraries risk marginalization mar·gin·al·ize tr.v. mar·gin·al·ized, mar·gin·al·iz·ing, mar·gin·al·iz·es To relegate or confine to a lower or outer limit or edge, as of social standing. unless they adopt critical business practices. Those findings come from a study by Outsell, Inc., the leading Information Content Industry research and advisory firm, as part of a seven-part series on content deployment functions. "The research shows a significant strategic management and marketing gap," said Leigh Watson Healy, Outsell Vice President and Chief Analyst. "Most respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. conduct informal user studies, but few do formal business planning or systematically evaluate their service portfolios." Many rely too heavily on anecdotal evidence anecdotal evidence, n information obtained from personal accounts, examples, and observations. Usually not considered scientifically valid but may indicate areas for further investigation and research. to show value to their institutions' teaching and research missions. Only a few cutting-edge respondents report using systematic techniques such as quantitative needs assessment, segmentation studies, performance metrics Performance metrics are measures of an organizations activities and performance. Performance metrics should support a range of stakeholder needs from customers, shareholders to employees [1]. , or benchmarking. "The data shows, however, that academic information professionals are ahead of their counterparts in other segments in adopting digital technologies," said Healy. They are integrating digital media into collections and reference services, enabling digital libraries for Web access, and applying metadata (1) (meta-data) Data that describes other data. The term may refer to detailed compilations such as data dictionaries and repositories that provide a substantial amount of information about each data element. to digital collections to improve access. The survey also shows that academic libraries serve fewer users per staff member than content-deploying functions in other segments. The research is part of Outsell's study of critical content deployment functions including librarians; market, business, and competitive intelligence professionals; corporate trainers A corporate trainer is a specialized skill development position in a corporation where the goal is to help improve the "soft skills" or "people skills" of the workers in the corporation. ; and knowledge managers. It is based on interviews with over 1,800 U.S. information professionals. Availability "The Changing Roles of Content Deployment Functions: Academic Information Professionals" is part of Outsell's Content Deployment Series, consisting of six segment Briefings plus an overview. The first segment Briefing purchased, which also includes the overview Briefing, costs $1295. Additional segments cost $895 each. The entire series can be purchased for $5200. To order, contact Outsell at (650) 342-6060 or info@outsellinc.com. About Outsell Outsell is the only research and advisory firm that focuses exclusively on the Information Content industry. As an independent advisor, we emphasize close relationships with our clients and deliver high-quality, fact-based research, analysis, and advice about every aspect of content strategy, deployment, and use to a wide range of vendors, buyers, and users of information. Founded in 1994, Outsell helps world-class content vendors, Global 2000 companies, and leading education institutions increase their understanding of users and end-markets, assess content quality and effectiveness, benchmark operations, hire and retain executives, and develop more successful internal and commercial content products and services. Visit us at our headquarters at 330 Primrose primrose, common name for the genus Primula of the Primulaceae, a family of low perennial herbs with species found on all continents, most frequently in north temperate regions. Road, Suite 510, Burlingame, CA 94010 phone (650) 342-6060, fax (650) 342-7135, or at our website http://www.outsellinc.com. |
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