Search services and roles of searchers
Changes from traditional to new services
tefkos@rutgers.edu; http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/
Tefko Saracevic
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Central ideas
• Change is constant. Change is inevitable.
– no place is this more evident than in the world of
searching and searchers
• The world of professional searchers has changed & is
changing profoundly
• New services and activities are emerging
– requiring additional competencies
Tefko Saracevic
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ToC
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Changes, concerns
Management of information resources & services
Information literacy & help
Competitive intelligence
Real example: competitive intelligence (CI) activities
in a medical device company by Rengin Konuk
6. Conclusions
Tefko Saracevic
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From traditional to evolving new services
1. Changes, concerns
Tefko Saracevic
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Traditional
• Professional searchers did searching as
intermediaries – mediated searching
• For this they needed to have competencies & master
a number of processes
– from user modeling, to selection & effective searching of a
variety of databases, to presentation of results, to guiding
of users
– they also needed to keep up with relentless changes in
information resources
Tefko Saracevic
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But significant changes are happening
• End user searching is rising explosively
– everybody is a searcher
• Mediated searching in academic & public libraries is
falling of to the point of disappearing
• Not so in the corporate word, but the role of
searchers is changing
• Reference inquires are dropping constantly
Tefko Saracevic
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End users & information resources
• All kinds of libraries are providing an increasing
number of digital resources – databases, reference
sources – geared toward end user searching
• Plus the Web is an endless source for searching by
anybody for anything
• End user searching of digital library resources is
growing significantly
• All providing dilemmas:
– What are searchers to do?
– What services to provide?
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Changing & shifting roles of searchers
Traditional
mastering
interfaces
databases
technology
searching for users
diagnosis
as in reference
counseling
packaging
delivery of results
© Tefko Saracevic
Evolving
(due to rise in end-users)
mastering
networking
managing inf. resources
selection etc.
instruction; information
literacy
assisting; guiding; enabling
system administration
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Illustration of changes from RUL
librarians
Myoung Wilson in an email response on search services:
RUL dropped intermediary search services several years ago --all I can find on the RUL Web is two
retired(!) RUL policy statements regarding online search services for Rutgers and NonRutgers folks in the past. So we no longer offer this service.
What used to be traditional intermediary search services (typically with fee structure) basically
morphed into more instruction and reference service formats since users have the same
access to all the available databases that we offer-- Librarians still do searches for students
(more as instruction and research assistance) and faculty ( very rarely in my case--since SCILS
faculty seem to be very able or I may assume too much)--the venues of online search
assistance also changed--many individual librarians do research consultations in their offices
which involves initial identification of which databases are appropriate for the topic and
searching different databases with very different scope and different interfaces. We
also attempt to do this at the reference desk (diminishing number of hours of desk service
at this point) and during our chat reference sessions but with difficulty because of the nature
of the chat reference and its accompanying software. We play more of cyberintermediary
role as some call this --since many of us search non-library supported websites as well in
order to get where we want to go.
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Illustration .. another RUL librarian
Martin (Marty) Kesselman in an email response on search services:
I know that we have not done any searching on commercial vendors like Dialog in years – maybe as
long as 10 years. It seems that all the important databases that focus on scholarly resources are
now owned by the Libraries The areas where we might fall short are in some of the databases
that might be needed in corporate libraries, such as Pharmaceutical News Index. This is where
services like Dialog and others are probably being used or companies are outsourcing this
function to other companies and brokers that provide both searching and document delivery
services.
Although we are not searching remote services, we are still providing search support to RU
students, faculty, and staff with the myriad of databases we own. And for those that are
interested, we provide in-depth research consultations. we also do quite a bit of teaching that
focuses on the important databases to search for a particular class, comparing the scope of each
database, effective search strategies, evaluating results, and finding the documents you need.
Also, there are some major resources that are freely available such as Google Scholar, Medline,
Agricola as just a new. A fairly large list is available on the library's alumni page:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/alumni/databases.shtml
I am pretty certain that our experience at Rutgers is quite similar to academic libraries in general
and probably for most public libraries as well except for those that may provide fee-based
services on behalf of businesses.
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Searchers did not go out of business
• Not at all!
• But they are providing an array of new services
– for which they also need an array of new competencies
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Designing, selecting, running
2. Management of information
resources & services
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As all resources, digital resources need to be
managed
• Selected, acquired, organized, controlled, handled …
• But they are accessed and searched significantly
different than traditional resources
• They also have a different economic base
– e.g. licensed (often cooperatively) rather than bought
• Thus, their management differs as well
– in many cases searchers are involved in their management,
particularly in respect to databases and reference sources
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Selection, evaluation
• To be selected, kept &
licensed databases &
reference sources need
to be evaluated along a
number of criteria
– a continuous process
– with a hard look at $$$
• Web resources need to
be carefully evaluated
as well
• Searchers are main
participants & decision
makers in these
processes
• Searchers also became
evaluators
• A value added service
not only for the library
but for users
– often annotated
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Reporting, statistics
• All libraries create
reports of various kinds
– many elaborate
• needed for justification,
among others
• Libraries always created
statistics (e.g. circulation)
• Now statistics include
digital resources, use of
databases …
• RUL maintains an
elaborate system of
reports & statistics
– very illuminating
• E.g statistics on:
– Attendance at Information
Literacy/Library Research Sessions
– Database Use
– Website Requests Received
– Reference Services
– Current Subscriptions – print &
electronic
– searchers generate
many of those
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Example of RUL statistics on database use
(no. of searches – where a search is each text entered)
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Example of RUL statistics on reference services
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Software for libraries in the 21st century:
searchers participation critical
• Many limitations of
current commercial
Integrated Library
Systems (ILS)
• libraries license them
– built on model of library
functions now 15-20 years old
• developed with focus on
print publications
• inadequate for integrating
digital resources &
services
Tefko Saracevic
• Customization, integration
– hard, costly work
• Alternatives sought
– a library consortium is
developing new & open source
ILS to best serve libraries’ needs
called Open Library Environment
(OLE) project (RUL participates)
• workshops: what to
integrate in OLE?
• working on an Open Library
Management System design
document – Summer 2009
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Changes in scholarship
“Scholarly practices across an
astoundingly wide range of
disciplines have become
profoundly and irrevocably
changed by the application
of advanced information
technology.”
Clifford Lynch (2008) in The
Institutional Challenges
of Cyberinfrastructure and EResearch
Tefko Saracevic
• Academic & research
institutions are
adjusting & creating
own infrastructure
• includes databases, web
sources, and searching
• in various ways searchers
play a role in that
infrastructure – still evolving
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Everywhere library
• Key aspect of digital
libraries & their
resources is networked
access – from anywhere
– includes searching of
databases & reference
sources and document
delivery
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• Access is provided
through library portals
– including various search
tools (e.g. federated searching)
• Searchers play a role in
participating in design of
effective portals & tools
– particularly in search
access
– team effort
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Product & service development
3. Information literacy & help
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Information literacy
• Knowledge how to find, evaluate and process
information
“The ability to identify what information is needed,
understand how the information is organized,
identify the best sources of information for a given
need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources
critically, and share that information. It is the
knowledge of commonly used research techniques.”
University of Idaho,
Information Literacy Portal
UI Core Curriculum
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Importance
Wikipedia
• Information literacy is becoming a more important
part of K-12 education
• It is also a vital part of university-level education
– in our information-centric world, students must develop
skills early on so they are prepared for opportunities,
whether in the workplace or in pursuit of higher education
• Broadly: information literacy is a set of competencies
that an informed citizen of an information society
ought to possess to participate intelligently and
actively in that society (Shapiro & Hughes, 1996)
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The big 6 of information literacy
Mike Eisenberg & Bob Berkowitz
1. Task Definition
1.1 Define the information
problem
1.2 Identify information needed
2. Information Seeking Strategies
2.1 Determine all possible
sources
2.2 Select the best sources
3. Location and Access
3.1 Locate sources (intellectually
and physically)
3.2 Find information within
sources
Tefko Saracevic
4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view,
touch)
4.2 Extract relevant information
5. Synthesis
5.1 Organize from multiple
sources
5.2 Present the information
6. Evaluation
6.1 Judge the product
(effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)
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Role of searchers
• Putting their search
knowledge &
competencies to work in
creating tools to enhance
information literacy
– covering the “big 6”
• But that requires also
additional competencies
for creating & evaluating
those tools
• Examples of information
literacy tools developed
by searchers :
– tutorials for a field
– or for specific courses
– information guides for
given fields, areas
– conduct if inf. literacy
courses or modules
• including in distance
education
– orientation for students
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Example of a tutorial for a field created by RUL
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Example of a tutorial for a course created by RUL
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Example of a research guide for a subject created by RUL
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Example of a course guide in a subject created by Ying Zhang
(SCILS graduate) at U of California, Irvine
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Various other services
• Job searches by users
– assistance with relevant
sources
– creation of databases,
link portals
– particularly in public
libraries
Tefko Saracevic
• Computer use
– great many libraries
have banks of computers
for users
• some categorized for use
by age or other aspects
– searchers provide
assistance in their use
– & maintain them as to
content & access
– increasingly popular
library service
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Gathering, analyzing & using information in
organizations, particularly companies
4. Competitive intelligence
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What is competitive intelligence? (CI)
• Systematic program for gathering and analyzing information
about
– competitors and their activities
– environment - local, national, global
– general trends in domains of interest
to further organizational goals
• Essential for DECISION MAKING
• More on Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals
• Particularly applied in corporate environments
– many special libraries are doing this as one of their critical service
– some special libraries have been restructured just for that service
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Objectives of CI
• Collect information
– effectively, systematically, economically
• Analyze it
– appropriately for given contexts, purposes
• Disseminate it
– to defined users & through effective presentations &
channels
• Use it
– to make informed DECISIONS
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Why is it important?
• Increase in complexity
– following environment, interconnection
• Rapid speed, pace
– requirements for faster accomplishments
• Information overload
– need for analyzing, filtering, focusing
• Global competition
– rise of global economies and organizations
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Why is it important? (cont.)
• Competition more aggressive
– capitalizing on conditions, weaknesses
• Effects of political changes
– national, international laws, conditions, regulations - wide,
forceful
• Technological changes
– rapid; many breakthroughs
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Process cycle
Planning, direction:
USERS
Collection
Dissemination
Analysis
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Planning, direction:
USER based
• Identification of users
– their characteristics; information needs
•
•
•
•
•
What information needed, required?
Monitoring changes in need
Evaluation of direction
Continuous improvement provisions
Economics: costs, effort involved
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Collecting information
• Gathering, acquiring information from all kind of
sources, including from databases & way beyond
them:
– Primary sources
– Secondary sources
– Public domain information sources
• government documents; & other highly diversified sources
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Examples of sources
• Primary sources
– experts, customers, suppliers, key staff members &
specialists, consultants …
– annual reports; speeches; TV & radio interviews; financial
reports; personal observations; scholarly publications;
original technical reports ...
• Secondary sources
– databases; directories analyst reports; industry analyses;
patents; publications generated by competitors - print &
electronic …
– newspapers; magazines; press releases; trade show
materials; projections; forecasts ...
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Analysis of information
• Assessment of quality, reliability, accuracy
• Identification of key, relevant elements
• Macro & micro analysis
– search for & modeling of patterns,
– hypotheses formulation and testing, e.g. if-then
• SWOT analyses:
– Strengths. Weaknesses. Opportunities. Threats.
• Identification of need for further information
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Dissemination/communication
• Determining effective presentation and/or
development of internal portals
• Packaging; focusing; timeliness
• Choice of channels
• Understanding preferences of decision makers
• Adjustment to the requirements & culture of
organization, and individuals or groups
• Follow-up; evaluation
• Feedback to other processes
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Ethical concerns
• What goes on in practice of collecting information?
– legal & illegal practices are well defined
– but if it is legal is it also ethical?
– increase in competition - incentive to cut corners
• Need to formulate & adhere to code of ethics or
ethical principles
– several are formulated as reviewed in lecture on ethics
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Slides by Rengin Konuk (MLIS graduate)
5. Real example:
competitive intelligence (CI) activities
in a medical device company
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Following 10 slides:
• Made by Rengin Konuk at Ethicon, a medical device
company in New Jersey
– Rengin also teaches Principles of Searching at LIS as PTL
• Illustrate what an information professional –
searcher – does in a corporate environment
– search for relevant items of information in multiple
sources
– organize & index selected items
– incorporate them in a corporate database, she helped to
create, called MosaIQ
– provide this as a service to users
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“Searching” for Competitive Intelligence
Rengin Konuk, Ph.D., MLIS
Associate Director, Competitive Intelligence
Building Infrastructure for Competitive Intelligence
• Management team of a Medical Device Company facing
increased fierce competition from established companies
and new comers identify the need to create a Competitive
Intelligence Team
• Team is formed by 2 professionals. Company does not
have a Library or Librarians since the last one has left the
company
• Team is tasked to create a CI program from scratch with
very little support or budget
How ?
Plan and Actions
• Collecting Competitive Intelligence on Medical device Companies
“Product Pipeline” is difficult because there is NO vendor that sells
such a database (Pharmaceutical sector has several databases one can use for
Drug Pipeline)
• CI team decided to identify “Milestones” in a device development
lifecycle where information can be found from publicly available
sources and construct our own pipeline using these milestones such
as:
•
•
•
•
Patent application and patent grants
Regulatory approvals from FDA Databases
Clinical Trials initiation and finalization from “ClinicalTrials.gov”
Company news and press releases about the status of the product
launch
• Collecting information from disparate sources and putting them
together for a large number of companies can only be sustaind by
using Information Technology for “Automation”
Information Management – MosaIQ
Raw data comes
from LN to
InfoDesk
Raw data goes
through pre-set filters
Editorial analysis and
selection
Indexing, image selection &
publishing
Vendor Selection,content licensing (News Council &
Procurement)
Extended Team Members:
Software updates & scripting (IT)
CI Team: 2FTE (Oversight and QC)
Search Strategy and Query dev’t (CI Team)
Contracting Consultant: 0.5 FTE (Daily Updates)
Continuous updates & modifications to search strategy (CI
Team)
BioInformatics: As needed
MosaIQ platform enhancements (Bioinformatics)
IT: As needed
MosaIQ Screen Shots – Home Page
MosaIQ Screen Shots – Competitors’ Products Page
Field Searching within MosaIQ
MosaIQ – Putting Pieces Together – Creating a Story Line
MosaIQ’s Strengths & Advantages
• Fully Customized to include only the most relevant
information
– Competencies required: Subject knowledge, Knowledge of
News Vendors’ Products & Search Syntax; Advanced
Search Skills
• Value-added
– Information is tagged with controlled vocabulary index
headings (subject categories, event categories)
• Cost savings
– A record is created once and displayed under different
views several times
• Value Creation
– In story line, when pieces put together, market insight
emerges (predictive analysis)
Thank you!
Searching is fun ….
6. Conclusions
Tefko Saracevic
Trends & responses
Trends
Responses
• End user searching
increased dramatically
• Professional searching in
many institutions declined,
even disappeared
• Reference transactions
declined dramatically
• Digital resources for
searching are a major
component & expenditure
in libraries
• Searchers participate in
development & running of
new services
• Also in management of
digital resources & in their
access
• Becoming important
participants in development
of new cyberinfrastructure
• All requiring additional
competencies
Tefko Saracevic
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Giuseppe Arcimboldo
(1527-1593):
The Librarian
circa 1570
see his other pictures at
http://nanimots.canalblog.com/
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