A Guide to Excellent Creative Business Libraries and Business Centers

Since opinions of what qualifies as innovative vary, we asked what innovative services were currently being offered. At the top of the list was electronic resources. The recommended resources suggested by each type of library are indicative of the populations they serve. Special libraries tailored their resources according to type of business or parent organization. Public libraries use local resources more frequently than others. Academic libraries lead in offering new technology, which again is not an unusual finding given that academic libraries are in a setting that encourages innovation and learning. Yet, despite the fact that emerging technologies and electronic resources topped the list, innovative ideas took on many different forms. For example, some academic libraries have embedded librarians in academic departments and residential halls. Author cafés were held, which encourage faculty members to speak about their work. Business plan competitions and collaborations with third parties are popular in public and corporate libraries. On-demand and pointto-point service and workshops, better business collections, and a comfortable library space were mentioned as being necessary for moving toward a more innovative environment.

Cohen and McDonough describe how effective collaboration and partnership, thinking outside the box, and listening to their clients’ needs helped create the New York Public Library’s Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL).¹⁸ The SIBL targeted the small business community and shifted away from just being an Internet-café type of facility to become a tiered service center. This involved revamping the existing website, developing skills of staff, partnering, and intense marketing. The SIBL implemented various services and resources, including workshops given by business experts, individualized attention, and additional database offerings. Some of these enhancements were suggested by librarians responding to our survey. The SIBL also recognized that staff development and ongoing partnerships were necessary for the SIBL to be successful.

Services or resources lose their value if the intended users do not know of their existence. Consequently, outreach effort is necessary to promote the services and resources that a library offers. The Undergraduate Market Council (UMC) was established by Emory University Library as a tool to reach out to undergraduate students. The UMC’s charge was to “describe and explore the embedded college library, from the perspective of both the library and the user community, with the aim of enhancing the undergraduate experience of the research library.”¹⁹ Innovation requires creative thinking. An example of an innovative activity by the UMC was the exhibit the library assembled on horror and suspense titles.²⁰ The library displayed these titles in the new book area during the Halloween season. Decorations (ranging from cauldrons filled with candy to tombstones) were used to draw attention to the collection. The goal was to encourage reading. The library also created the Student Library Guide, an informational newsletter. While it is specifically targeted to freshmen, it is appropriate for all students. This guide evolved over time to become its own publication rather than a newspaper insert. These are just a couple of simple but effective innovative approaches to drawing in users and showcasing collections and services. It is important to remember that innovation is not restricted to technology. As libraries embark on providing and creating innovative services, it will be critical for them to market themselves effectively.

Further Research

Library environments change at a fast pace, making continuous and ongoing research a must to keep libraries moving forward. We hope that our survey will serve as an impetus for further research. Because of the rapidly changing environment, it would be difficult to create an inclusive best practices guide for business libraries. However, it would be possible to expand our research to put together a current trends guide or newsletter. Also, a similar survey conducted with patrons would help to reconcile what libraries are doing and what patrons want and need. As budgets become more constrained, it is important to make sure that funds are expended on services and resources that fulfill the information needs of patrons. Listening to our patrons and seeking their feedback should happen continually. It would also be beneficial to investigate issues related to human resources, such as professional development for support staff or helping library employees adjust to organizational change. There are other questions that deserve further attention. For example, how does the role of a business librarian differ by library type? Why do many business librarians feel that subject expertise is not needed when studies argue the opposite? Should librarians get certified as business advisors? If so, how should libraries support this? And, with the increased use of Web 2.0 technologies, how are these technologies being used? Finally, how do business libraries define innovation and how is that process supported?

Acknowlegdments

We would like to thank Chris LeBeau (University of Missouri– Kansas City) and Patricia Kenly (Georgia Institute of Technology), business librarians who served as formal mentors to our Emerging Leaders group. Their guidance, support, and encouragement was much appreciated.

Correspondence concerning this column should be addressed to Editor Diane Zabel, Schreyer Business Library, The Pennsylvania State University, 309 Paterno Library, University Park, PA 16802; e-mail: dxz2@psu.edu.

Adriana Trujillo Gonzalez is Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University Libraries in College Station. Vincci Kwong is Assistant Librarian, Franklin D. Schurz Library, Indiana University South Bend. Julie Strange is Statewide Coordinator, Maryland AskUsNow! Julie Yen is a student enrolled in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

References

1. Eileen G. Abels and Trina J. Magi, “Current Practices and Trends in Top 20 Business School Libraries,” Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship 6, no. 3 (2001): 3–19.
2. Ibid., 18
3. Johan Olaisen, Hugo Lovhoiden, and Olav A. Djupvik, “The Innovative Library: Innovation Theory Applied to Library Services,” Libri: International Journal of Libraries & Information Services 45, no. 2 (1995): 80.
4. Carla Dunsmore, “A Qualitative Study of Web-Mounted Pathfinders Created by Academic Business Libraries,” Libri: International Journal of Libraries & Information Services 52 (2002): 137–56.
5. Janet Williamson, “Changing Roles in an Academic Business Library: Delivering the Goods via the Web,” Business & Finance Bulletin 125 (Winter 2004): 26.
6. Ibid.
7. Eileen G. Abels, Marilyn Domas White, and Soojung Kim, “Developing Subject-Related Web Sites Collaboratively: The Virtual Business Information Center,” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 33, no. 1 (Jan. 2007): 27.
8. Ibid., 38.
9. Michael Halperin, Linda Eichler, Delphine Khanna, and Kathleen Dreyer, “Just the FAQs, Ma’am: Sharing a Business Knowledge Database,” Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship 12, no. 1 (2006): 34.
10. Ibid., 33–40.
11. Karen Anello and Brett Bonfield, “Providing Reference Service in Our Sleep: Using a FAQ Database to Guide Users to the Right Resources,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 46, no. 3 (Spring 2007): 28–33.
12. Jackie Marfleet, “Roadmap for the Future—Where to Next?” Business Information Review 23, no. 4 (2006): 258–63.
13. Ibid., 263.
14. Neil Infield, “Moving from Readers to Customers to Clients in the Business & IP Centre at the British Library,” Business Information Review 25 (2008): 125.
15. Christopher LeBeau, “Transitions to Academic Libraries for Business Librarians and Librarians’ Response to Adjunct Teaching,” Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship 13, no. 3 (2008): 295–309.
16. Michael R. Lavin, “Improving the Quality of Business Reference Service,” Reference Librarian 48 (Winter 1995): 71–98.
17. Gail M. Golderman and Bruce Connolly, “Briefcases and Databases: Web-Based Reference Sources for Business Librarians and Their Client Communities,” Reference Librarian 44, no. 91/92 (2005): 235–61.
18. Madeleine Cohen and Kristin McDonough, “Information Start-Ups Need to Succeed,” Business Information Review 24, no. 3 (2007): 193–203.
19. Jennifer Jones Elder, Charles Forrest, and Steve Thomas, “Students are Users, Too: A Research Library Reaches Out to the ‘Undergraduate Market’ at Emory University,” C&RL News 66, no. 3 (Mar. 2005): 214.
20. Ibid., 214–18.

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