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The corporate library as a source of new technology
102
Long Range
Planning
Vol. 13
April 1980
The Corporate Library as a Source of New Technology Linda M. B. McKinnon”
In an inflationary economy of declining R S D expenditures, effective transfer of innovative ideas from the literature to the laboratory can significantly complement an R & D budget. This paper discusses an efective library management organization and practical mechanisms for improving technology transfer from the corporate library. Experience at Sanders Associates Inc. with the techniques presented has been most favourable. Substantial savings in R 8 D dollars have been realized.
During the past 2 years we at Sanders Associates, Inc. noticed that the corporate divisions which took full advantage of our technical library facilities had the most new business activities and seed programs. The reverse was observed with those divisions which used the services infrequently. The differences in library utilization and resulting new business success each were more than a two to one ratio. This suggests a direct correlation between the number of technical library users within a company and the number of innovative projects that evolve. To increase R & D return on investment we have required that a literature search precede each R & D effort. This process has generally resulted in modifications and improvements to proposed R & D programs. In some instances where available data satisfied our requirement, R & D dollars were saved for other worthwhile projects. To be effective a library must continuously be sold to top management and to the total user community. The sale to each dictates a different sales approach; management must be convinced that there is an attractive return for the total library investment while the users seek knowledge which will make them more valuable and productive. Advantage must be taken of every opportunity which arises to promote the services of the library.
‘Linda McKinnon is on the staff Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
of Sanders
Associates
Inc.
of
In addition the library should take a positive approach toward motivating company personnel to become avid readers. It should initiate a program which impregnates innovation and breeds creativity. It must abandon library oriented bureaucratic practices such as chasing after lost books (which generally are insignificant costs annually) and hiding expensive reference text-books. The modern company library must not be confused with the academic library with respect to purpose. The function of an academic library has been to preserve technology for curious readers to come and educate themselves at their own convenience and initiative. In contrast the dynamic company information center of today not only preserves technology but also attracts users and motivates them to develop their expertise. It is this motivational factor that differentiates the ‘new library’ from the academic. The pace of modern technology confronts the modern library with unique challenges: high specialization of scientific professions, broad overlapping of scientific disciplines and the enormous number of annual publications at the international level. To meet these challenges the new library must provide more personalized services, motivate readers to be more creative and aware of competition, and continually evaluate literary holdings in light of the company’s business pursuits. The staff must be ‘user orientated’, know how to eliminate useless literature and set up new reference areas paralleling the product lines of the corporate divisions. The new library staff is always knowledgeable of R & D directions and technical problem areas. It must be advised on 5-10 year long range plans by top management. Thus the new library must be appreci.ated and endorsed by management-and not just tolerated. Management attitudes toward libraries are related to innovative productivity as was witnessed at Sanders during the past few years. Encouraging technical personnel to utilize the library is a function of management; maintaining interest in the library is a function of the library staff. The much publicized information explosion makes it impossible for one individual to keep up with all aspects
The Corporate of his specialty. For example, in 1977 Electrical & Electronics Abstracts published 45,733l abstracts and Computer & Control Abstracts number-cd 27,989.2 Our own data base on Solar Energy alone contains over 17,000 unique articles3 including books, patents, government documents, journal reprints, etc. More than 6000 of these have been published since 1974. Assuming that the average published article contains 5000 words and the average reading speed is 300 words/min, it would take about 5000 man-hr or more than 2.3 man-years to read the literature on solar technology. However, for the solar information to be useful, a person must also have an understanding of power technology, heat transfer and possibly other scientific areas. At this pace no human alive can possibly read and understand all that is being published throughout the world in these technologies. And no management staff wants to hire an individual who reads 100 per cent of his time and produces 0 per cent. This information explosion can be tackled effectively by a good library staff which scans the literature, shrinks the volume, sorts it and disseminates only the important articles to key personnel who can select relevant literature. One function of the modern library is therefore to regularly feed new ‘ideas in print’ to the innovative scientists and engineers. This should reduce the user’s reading time to between 2 and 20 per cent; a far more realistic effort under an effective library program such as this. Significant increase in the efficiency of worldwide technology transfer should result. The library organization of effective technology transfer is best accomplished by trained specialists (information scientists) in scientific and engineering disciplines working in a technical literature research group environment. The major tools necessary are handbooks, abstracts and classic references. Usually this group is incorporated into the library line management as indicated in the accompanying illustration. The manager of the operation should report to the Vice-President of Science &
Vice President Science 6 Technology
Research
Group
Management
Structure
Technology, Engineering or Research & Development so that the library holdings will be in accord with corporate objectives during technical planning stages. Top management endorsement adds to library status in the eyes of the user. This image in itself is an incentive to the engineer to read more technical literature. Functionally, the technical literature research group sets the environment for the entire library system since it is directly involved with ongoing R & D projects and
Library
as a Source of New Technology
103
manufacturing engineering. This library research group directs the efforts of the non-technical personnel by interpreting corporate directions. The staff in turn proceeds to purchase those items covering the statc-of-theart in the company’s new areas of research. It is the duty of the technical literature research group to keep abreast of the contracts and R & D technical goals. This is accomplished by reading projected corporate plans, interfacing frequently with R & D, marketing and patent department staff and keeping current with the papers published by the employees of the corporation. Some of the services which provide for technology transfer are : current awareness profiles, literature searches, (computer and manual) referencing and telephone chases.
One of the foremost methods of keeping abreast is a system of current awareness tailored to each individual’s needs (current awareness profiles). A company can set up its own system of awareness. Some of the major abstracting services are Physics Abstract, Chemical Abstracts, Engineering Index, Electrical & Electronics Abstracts and the U.S. Government Research Reports (issued by National Technical Information Service) or the NTIS Weekly Newsletters each of which covers a specific subject category. For 8345.00 per year $20bn worth of U.S. Government research is available for review.* NTIS also sells matching full microfiche reports on a demand or subscription basis. By subscribing to both NTIS services (abstracts and microfiche) the company will experience fast reaction time-a key criterion for high priority projects and programs. SDI Computer Search An alternative method of keeping abreast is the SD1 (selective dissemination of information) computer search, a fast and inexpensive way to extract abstracts from files of international literature. As an example of the volume of literature available in computerized abstracts, M. Williams has cited that from December 1975 to December 1977 the number of available data bases grew from 301 to 362 and the number of on-line abstracts grew from 33 to 50 million5 The major computer search services include : Lockheed’s Dialog, SDC’s Orbit and the Bibliographic Retrieval Services (BRS). Although each of these services overlaps in its file selections, they all have unique features which make them attractive for various applications. Dialog has the Frost and Sullivan’s Defense Market Measures System and the Predicast Files (marketing and statistics information). SDC has the Library of Congress file, the Congressional Information Service, and the Derwent Patent file. BRS, relatively new in the business and growing rapidly has the Medlars file (the National Library of Medicine). The computer search must always be edited by the technical literature information scientist for relevance and quality of search strategy before it is given to the scientist or engineer.
104
Long Range
Planning
Vol. 13
April
1980
The Manual Search Since not all good bibliographic sources of information are computerized, it is necessary to maintain a manual literature search capability. As in the case of computer searches, cost-effectiveness is increased when a technically trained person is available to search the sources relating to the problem. One of the main duties of the information specialist is to know which classical technical handbooks relate to the technical problem at hand. One good textbook is worth several journal articles. Manual searches are more costly than computer searches, but if the right information is found in a timely manner, the benefits far outweigh the costs and can sometimes save thousands of dollars for the company. Referencing and Telephone Chases Answering questions over the telephone has always been one of the expected services of a good library. If knowledgeable personnel are handling this function, much time can be saved which would otherwise be used for several individual trips to the library. Some reference questions require several telephone calls to various information sources and technical societies before the answer can be provided (hence the use of the term ‘chase’). A Use-Your-Library-Promotion-Campaign to stimulate technology transfer should include some or all of the following : Informal Technical Library Committee, presentations on ‘How to Use Your Library’, Call for Papers-Acknowledgments, The Roaming Bookcart, and the Library Brochure. Informal Technical Library Committee. Management provides the library staff with the names of the most productive experts in all of the scientific or engineering specialties important to the company. In collaboration with these technical people, the library sets up an informal committee for recommendations of good authoritative literature. A listing of committee members and their expertise is posted on the library bulletin board. Throughout the year these committee members are approached for journal and book recommendations and evaluations pertinent to their expertise. Poor reviews may lead to the elimination of some books, while good reviews prompt acquisition of multiple copies. This type of committee demands little time from scientific personnel since it is informal; and employees find it very motivating. Many of them are proud to be considered ‘expert’ and to be allowed to participate in the literature selection process. Presentations on ‘How to Use Your Library’. As part of the orientation program for new employees, the library
should help promote its services by giving short presentations on its resources and personalized features on a monthly or semi-monthly basis. Older employees can also benefit from these presentations since the ‘new library’ should be changing as rapidly as the corporation.
-
Call for Papers-Acknowledgments. Good technical people are attracted to a company which appreciates their achievements. The library staff should encourage employees to publish papers by keeping them up to date on future conferences and ‘call for papers’ announcements. This type of information should be up-dated weekly and made accessible in the technical library. The Roaming Bookcart. On a monthly basis, a member of the library staff should bring a bookcart to various departments of the company to show new technical literature and to communicate with those who are not regular library users. This personalized attention enables the librarian to evaluate his/her services in view of the potential user’s needs. Library Brochure. A library booklet should be given to new employees on their first day of work. This booklet should contain descriptions of all of the information centers of the corporation, i.e. department address, personal contact, telephone number and type of information held. In conclusion, a total library management plan as described in this text has been tried at Sanders Associates and has contributed to substantial savings in the R & D area. Often the research and development a company needs but cannot afford may already have been done. Very possibly it has been published and is now shelved somewhere in the company library. A few dollars spent in exploiting this enlightening resource would avoid duplication of past research. At a time when R & D dollars are being heavily scrutinized, the-key for increasing innovation by effective technology transfer is a technical library which accepts the challenges of today.
References (1)
Electrical (1977).
(2)
Computer (1977).
(3)
L. McKinnon,
(4)
Now only $345 gives you access to 2 billion dollars worth of U.S. Government scientific and technical research, Spec. Libraries, 66 (5/6), 9A. May/June (1975).
(5)
Martha Williams, 1977 data base and on-line statistics, Am. Sot. inform Sci., 4 (2), 21, December (1977).
& Electronics
8
Control
Sander’s
Abstract,
Abstracts,
81
12
(960).
2816,
December
(131).
1692,
December
Solar Energy Data Base (1856-l
977).
Bull.
Long Range
Planning
Vol. 13
April 1980
The Corporate Library as a Source of New Technology Linda M. B. McKinnon”
In an inflationary economy of declining R S D expenditures, effective transfer of innovative ideas from the literature to the laboratory can significantly complement an R & D budget. This paper discusses an efective library management organization and practical mechanisms for improving technology transfer from the corporate library. Experience at Sanders Associates Inc. with the techniques presented has been most favourable. Substantial savings in R 8 D dollars have been realized.
During the past 2 years we at Sanders Associates, Inc. noticed that the corporate divisions which took full advantage of our technical library facilities had the most new business activities and seed programs. The reverse was observed with those divisions which used the services infrequently. The differences in library utilization and resulting new business success each were more than a two to one ratio. This suggests a direct correlation between the number of technical library users within a company and the number of innovative projects that evolve. To increase R & D return on investment we have required that a literature search precede each R & D effort. This process has generally resulted in modifications and improvements to proposed R & D programs. In some instances where available data satisfied our requirement, R & D dollars were saved for other worthwhile projects. To be effective a library must continuously be sold to top management and to the total user community. The sale to each dictates a different sales approach; management must be convinced that there is an attractive return for the total library investment while the users seek knowledge which will make them more valuable and productive. Advantage must be taken of every opportunity which arises to promote the services of the library.
‘Linda McKinnon is on the staff Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
of Sanders
Associates
Inc.
of
In addition the library should take a positive approach toward motivating company personnel to become avid readers. It should initiate a program which impregnates innovation and breeds creativity. It must abandon library oriented bureaucratic practices such as chasing after lost books (which generally are insignificant costs annually) and hiding expensive reference text-books. The modern company library must not be confused with the academic library with respect to purpose. The function of an academic library has been to preserve technology for curious readers to come and educate themselves at their own convenience and initiative. In contrast the dynamic company information center of today not only preserves technology but also attracts users and motivates them to develop their expertise. It is this motivational factor that differentiates the ‘new library’ from the academic. The pace of modern technology confronts the modern library with unique challenges: high specialization of scientific professions, broad overlapping of scientific disciplines and the enormous number of annual publications at the international level. To meet these challenges the new library must provide more personalized services, motivate readers to be more creative and aware of competition, and continually evaluate literary holdings in light of the company’s business pursuits. The staff must be ‘user orientated’, know how to eliminate useless literature and set up new reference areas paralleling the product lines of the corporate divisions. The new library staff is always knowledgeable of R & D directions and technical problem areas. It must be advised on 5-10 year long range plans by top management. Thus the new library must be appreci.ated and endorsed by management-and not just tolerated. Management attitudes toward libraries are related to innovative productivity as was witnessed at Sanders during the past few years. Encouraging technical personnel to utilize the library is a function of management; maintaining interest in the library is a function of the library staff. The much publicized information explosion makes it impossible for one individual to keep up with all aspects
The Corporate of his specialty. For example, in 1977 Electrical & Electronics Abstracts published 45,733l abstracts and Computer & Control Abstracts number-cd 27,989.2 Our own data base on Solar Energy alone contains over 17,000 unique articles3 including books, patents, government documents, journal reprints, etc. More than 6000 of these have been published since 1974. Assuming that the average published article contains 5000 words and the average reading speed is 300 words/min, it would take about 5000 man-hr or more than 2.3 man-years to read the literature on solar technology. However, for the solar information to be useful, a person must also have an understanding of power technology, heat transfer and possibly other scientific areas. At this pace no human alive can possibly read and understand all that is being published throughout the world in these technologies. And no management staff wants to hire an individual who reads 100 per cent of his time and produces 0 per cent. This information explosion can be tackled effectively by a good library staff which scans the literature, shrinks the volume, sorts it and disseminates only the important articles to key personnel who can select relevant literature. One function of the modern library is therefore to regularly feed new ‘ideas in print’ to the innovative scientists and engineers. This should reduce the user’s reading time to between 2 and 20 per cent; a far more realistic effort under an effective library program such as this. Significant increase in the efficiency of worldwide technology transfer should result. The library organization of effective technology transfer is best accomplished by trained specialists (information scientists) in scientific and engineering disciplines working in a technical literature research group environment. The major tools necessary are handbooks, abstracts and classic references. Usually this group is incorporated into the library line management as indicated in the accompanying illustration. The manager of the operation should report to the Vice-President of Science &
Vice President Science 6 Technology
Research
Group
Management
Structure
Technology, Engineering or Research & Development so that the library holdings will be in accord with corporate objectives during technical planning stages. Top management endorsement adds to library status in the eyes of the user. This image in itself is an incentive to the engineer to read more technical literature. Functionally, the technical literature research group sets the environment for the entire library system since it is directly involved with ongoing R & D projects and
Library
as a Source of New Technology
103
manufacturing engineering. This library research group directs the efforts of the non-technical personnel by interpreting corporate directions. The staff in turn proceeds to purchase those items covering the statc-of-theart in the company’s new areas of research. It is the duty of the technical literature research group to keep abreast of the contracts and R & D technical goals. This is accomplished by reading projected corporate plans, interfacing frequently with R & D, marketing and patent department staff and keeping current with the papers published by the employees of the corporation. Some of the services which provide for technology transfer are : current awareness profiles, literature searches, (computer and manual) referencing and telephone chases.
One of the foremost methods of keeping abreast is a system of current awareness tailored to each individual’s needs (current awareness profiles). A company can set up its own system of awareness. Some of the major abstracting services are Physics Abstract, Chemical Abstracts, Engineering Index, Electrical & Electronics Abstracts and the U.S. Government Research Reports (issued by National Technical Information Service) or the NTIS Weekly Newsletters each of which covers a specific subject category. For 8345.00 per year $20bn worth of U.S. Government research is available for review.* NTIS also sells matching full microfiche reports on a demand or subscription basis. By subscribing to both NTIS services (abstracts and microfiche) the company will experience fast reaction time-a key criterion for high priority projects and programs. SDI Computer Search An alternative method of keeping abreast is the SD1 (selective dissemination of information) computer search, a fast and inexpensive way to extract abstracts from files of international literature. As an example of the volume of literature available in computerized abstracts, M. Williams has cited that from December 1975 to December 1977 the number of available data bases grew from 301 to 362 and the number of on-line abstracts grew from 33 to 50 million5 The major computer search services include : Lockheed’s Dialog, SDC’s Orbit and the Bibliographic Retrieval Services (BRS). Although each of these services overlaps in its file selections, they all have unique features which make them attractive for various applications. Dialog has the Frost and Sullivan’s Defense Market Measures System and the Predicast Files (marketing and statistics information). SDC has the Library of Congress file, the Congressional Information Service, and the Derwent Patent file. BRS, relatively new in the business and growing rapidly has the Medlars file (the National Library of Medicine). The computer search must always be edited by the technical literature information scientist for relevance and quality of search strategy before it is given to the scientist or engineer.
104
Long Range
Planning
Vol. 13
April
1980
The Manual Search Since not all good bibliographic sources of information are computerized, it is necessary to maintain a manual literature search capability. As in the case of computer searches, cost-effectiveness is increased when a technically trained person is available to search the sources relating to the problem. One of the main duties of the information specialist is to know which classical technical handbooks relate to the technical problem at hand. One good textbook is worth several journal articles. Manual searches are more costly than computer searches, but if the right information is found in a timely manner, the benefits far outweigh the costs and can sometimes save thousands of dollars for the company. Referencing and Telephone Chases Answering questions over the telephone has always been one of the expected services of a good library. If knowledgeable personnel are handling this function, much time can be saved which would otherwise be used for several individual trips to the library. Some reference questions require several telephone calls to various information sources and technical societies before the answer can be provided (hence the use of the term ‘chase’). A Use-Your-Library-Promotion-Campaign to stimulate technology transfer should include some or all of the following : Informal Technical Library Committee, presentations on ‘How to Use Your Library’, Call for Papers-Acknowledgments, The Roaming Bookcart, and the Library Brochure. Informal Technical Library Committee. Management provides the library staff with the names of the most productive experts in all of the scientific or engineering specialties important to the company. In collaboration with these technical people, the library sets up an informal committee for recommendations of good authoritative literature. A listing of committee members and their expertise is posted on the library bulletin board. Throughout the year these committee members are approached for journal and book recommendations and evaluations pertinent to their expertise. Poor reviews may lead to the elimination of some books, while good reviews prompt acquisition of multiple copies. This type of committee demands little time from scientific personnel since it is informal; and employees find it very motivating. Many of them are proud to be considered ‘expert’ and to be allowed to participate in the literature selection process. Presentations on ‘How to Use Your Library’. As part of the orientation program for new employees, the library
should help promote its services by giving short presentations on its resources and personalized features on a monthly or semi-monthly basis. Older employees can also benefit from these presentations since the ‘new library’ should be changing as rapidly as the corporation.
-
Call for Papers-Acknowledgments. Good technical people are attracted to a company which appreciates their achievements. The library staff should encourage employees to publish papers by keeping them up to date on future conferences and ‘call for papers’ announcements. This type of information should be up-dated weekly and made accessible in the technical library. The Roaming Bookcart. On a monthly basis, a member of the library staff should bring a bookcart to various departments of the company to show new technical literature and to communicate with those who are not regular library users. This personalized attention enables the librarian to evaluate his/her services in view of the potential user’s needs. Library Brochure. A library booklet should be given to new employees on their first day of work. This booklet should contain descriptions of all of the information centers of the corporation, i.e. department address, personal contact, telephone number and type of information held. In conclusion, a total library management plan as described in this text has been tried at Sanders Associates and has contributed to substantial savings in the R & D area. Often the research and development a company needs but cannot afford may already have been done. Very possibly it has been published and is now shelved somewhere in the company library. A few dollars spent in exploiting this enlightening resource would avoid duplication of past research. At a time when R & D dollars are being heavily scrutinized, the-key for increasing innovation by effective technology transfer is a technical library which accepts the challenges of today.
References (1)
Electrical (1977).
(2)
Computer (1977).
(3)
L. McKinnon,
(4)
Now only $345 gives you access to 2 billion dollars worth of U.S. Government scientific and technical research, Spec. Libraries, 66 (5/6), 9A. May/June (1975).
(5)
Martha Williams, 1977 data base and on-line statistics, Am. Sot. inform Sci., 4 (2), 21, December (1977).
& Electronics
8
Control
Sander’s
Abstract,
Abstracts,
81
12
(960).
2816,
December
(131).
1692,
December
Solar Energy Data Base (1856-l
977).
Bull.