There's Gold in That There Information - Making the Case with Three Answers by:Roxanne Ansolabehere

Q. What can an information professional do for me

?

A. The briefest and most accurate answer is: Save you money, Save you time, Make your employees more productive, and Minimize your risk from competition by providing the following services:

Current news articles and analysis from major sources on a daily basis

Access to powerful specialized information aggregators that offer worldwide information

Company information for possible new markets

Competitive information on other companies

Document delivery of full text articles

Full financial profiles on companies

Q. There is so much information online. Why should I pay for it? Isn't Google free?

A. Not really because time is money. A 2004 study released by FIND/SVP, a knowledge service company, found the following:

67% of business executives search online for financial information and reports

71% of business executives feel that web searches take longer than they should

74% of business executives are not confident that the information they get from search engines is reliable

28% of the respondents spent between 6 to 10 hours per week researching online

39% felt that information found online is outdated

Q. In real dollars, how much is the estimated annual loss of productive time to businesses using search engines?

A. According to the same study from FIND/SVP, last year businesses lost productive time worth 31 billion dollars by using search engines to conduct online research.

The real question is, "Can you afford to conduct research in an inefficient manner? A Biotech company, like any other company, needs current, accurate information in a timely manner. If you're doing business like the companies mentioned in the study above, you can change the trend. An informational professional's business is your business. They can save you money and time by providing current news alerts on topics designed by you, in-depth company profiles to give you the edge on the competition, or access to full text scientific articles. You don't have to be one of the major players in your field in order to have your own library. Level the playing field by consulting an information professional. Your information professional will search the best sources, then compile, analyze, and deliver timely results.

If you would like more information, please call or email Iusas Information Retrieval Services, an information retrieval business and a new member of BayBio. Call (510) 841.4717 or email roxanne@iirs.info and feel free to visit our web page at http://www.iirs.info

About the author

Roxanne Ansolabehere, M.L.I.S. is the principal owner of Iusas Information Retrieval Services and has been a librarian for eight years. She has experience working with small and large businesses, nonprofit institutes, institutes of higher education, and with private individuals. Her goal at IIRS is to search, compile, and synthesize current business and marketing information into concise executive reports tailored to fit the clients' needs.

roxanne@iirs.info

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