It seems fair to say that most elements of an organisation will probably need to justify their existence at various points in their life, and this includes information centres. It is thus vital for them to raise their profiles within an organisation and to present a more user-friendly yet professional image to their patrons - otherwise an information centre’s very existence within an organisation could be under threat.

With this in mind, a panel of speakers from diverse backgrounds gathered at Eversheds in London to discuss how to survive and thrive in a competitive environment.

Charging

Roger Cook, Head of Information at Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw, started off the discussion of survival with a look at how some information centres, including his own, have decided to charge for their services.

Lawyers charge for their time and knowledge so why shouldn’t information professionals, goes the argument - especially those working in law firms where the infrastructure to charge back already exists.

When a librarian/information professional is charging back to their enquirer for providing information from an online service, there are different models that can be used to calculate that charge. It is possible to charge the same amount as will appear on the bill from the service provider, and then if required the librarian could also add on extra for overheads. Roger also mentioned that some firms charge a flat fee for a Lexis or
press search, but there do seem to be some copyright and licensing issues if this model of charging is used.

It is also possible that the librarian will want to charge a percentage of an hourly charge for the time they have spent answering an enquiry (it was suggested that a rate similar to that which a paralegal charges would be reasonable). This is important, bearing in mind that certain enquiries that a librarian completes are done using hard copy sources and/or the Internet, and not using online databases that charge per transaction or per annual subscription fee. At Roger’s firm, the more experienced members of the information centre charge a higher hourly rate than, for example, the graduate trainee. This has implications for the fee-earner - a copy of an article supplied by the graduate trainee is cheaper than if supplied by the head of department.

Some information centres charge back direct to the firm’s client. But it is possible to set up a structure where you charge the cost of the information (and/or time) you provided direct to the fee earner and it is their decision as to whether that charge is passed onto the client or not. Either way, it allows the Information Centre to keep track of how, and by whom, its resources are being used. It is even possible for a librarian to record how much time is being spent on cataloguing, dealing with invoices, and other house-keeping tasks by charging back the time spent on these activities to themselves.

Though charging for services can be positive, there may also be some drawbacks. For instance, the administrative task of recording how your time is spent can be an unwelcome burden. There may also be a huge resistance to charging - Roger reported a large fall-off in library service usage when charging was first introduced because users felt that they did not want to be charged for a service that they had up until now received gratis. Added to which, many users believed that they could do legal research just as well as an information professional, though they soon realised their mistake!

Researching

Julian Hope, director of Outsell Inc, discussed how to determine whether a library’s business model is working and what factors should be assessed. First of all he looked at the information content sector and dissected the various sub-sectors, seeing how much the industry is actually worth. His company has undertaken and published research on the industry, producing specific benchmarks for libraries and information centres. Data for 2002 is based on 1,803 total completed survey responses.

One of the more interesting points that Julian discussed was whether the executive management committee actually understands what the information services department in their organisation actually does, or how that department spends their budget. Because many libraries and information centres do not have a high profile or brand presence, the executive management may find that it can too easily forget exactly what that department’s role is. Therefore it is important to collect ‘critical data’ that can be used to assess the level of service provided within the organisation as well as providing proof that the information department is required - data such as lists of services offered (e.g. current awareness, licence negotiations, research consultations, training) and who uses what services both in terms of departmental and individual usage. Researching and storing such ‘critical data’ may provide the means to justify the value of the information service to the executive committee in the long term.

Marketing

Cole Hanrahan, a consultant and marketing trainer, ended the evening’s session with a lively and interactive talk about basic marketing principles that can be employed to formulate a structure for a marketing plan.

Cole talked of some of the key issues that all service providers should remember: firstly customer satisfaction - the basic concept of marketing that involves not only selling your service but also communicating with and understanding your customer. In this scenario, the librarian is offering a service to their customer the enquirer. It is also key that once you have acquired your customers that you retain them. Therefore viewing the situation from their perspective and identifying what they want and need is critically important.

Identification of new customers was also discussed: recognising who your existing best customers are to enable you to target new customers; identifying how to attract them to the services which you offer; and how to target the decision makers in an organisation. For instance, this might be identifying the head of a fee-earning department and persuading them that you can fulfil more of their research needs. When they see how useful and essential your services are to an important pitch or deal, they will then tell colleagues about your services who in turn will pull in more people to use your services.

Cole rounded off his talk by explaining in detail how to structure a long term marketing plan: situation analysis, defining target groups; setting the objectives; and finally implementing your plan. Once a marketing plan is activated, you have taken action to try to ensure your survival.

CLIG would like to thank the speakers at this event, especially Roger Cook for stepping in at the last minute.

• Roger Cook, Head of Information, Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw solicitors
• Julian Hope, Director of Business Development, Outsell Inc., an independent adviser focusing exclusively on the information content industry,
• Cole Hanrahan, consultant and trainer, a course director for the Chartered Institute of Marketing. His company Nirvana Marketing Support specialises in marketing support to businesses.