1 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access © FAO 2005 IMARK Investing in Information for Development Information Access Introduction to Information Access

2 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Learning Objectives At the end of this lesson you should be able to: acknowledge the need for the development of an Information Access Plan; describe the main features of information as a commodity.

3 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Today, many organizations are moving from printed to electronic media. Also, the Internet has introduced new ways of accessing information. How do these new conditions influence a managers decisions regarding access to all types of information? Introduction

4 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Here is an example. Yelena is a director of research in an agricultural organization based in Brazil. 2-3 years ago, the organization received a large government grant, and investments could be made. Lets see what kind of decisions she had to make. A scenario

5 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access A scenario We decided which books the library would buy, to which journals it would subscribe, and how much it would spend.....how much time the organization could spend to teach people how to use the library…... how much time library staff could spend to classify these materials for easy retrieval...

6 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access A scenario...we had to think about external acquisitions, but also about keeping track of our internal information, so that we could easily locate it...

7 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access The need for an Information Access plan...we had to make decisions on other issues as well: where to acquire this new information; how to move from printed journals to access to electronic journals; how to train people to use a new digitalized library; how to organize our internal documents and records for easy retrieval......we had to make decisions on other issues as well: where to acquire this new information; how to move from printed journals to access to electronic journals; how to train people to use a new digitalized library; how to organize our internal documents and records for easy retrieval...

8 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access The need for an Information Access plan From Yelenas example, we can see that good information access requires planning. The basis for such planning is an organization-wide Information Access Plan.

9 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Information access planning occurs in three phases: 1.assessment of information needs; 2. consensus on the formats of information to meet these needs; and 3. analysis of where and how to acquire and mobilize information in these formats. The need for an Information Access plan

10 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access One consideration will be most important throughout the planning process: Information often comes with a price. Information as a commodity

11 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access If information is a good in the economic sense, then there is a market for it. We will distinguish between two different kinds of markets: EXTERNAL information INTERNAL information Information as a commodity

12 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Relevance; Timeliness; Ownership; and Long-term Usability. The features of information as a commodity In an information market we must consider four special features of information as a commodity:

13 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Relevance of information Four features of information as a commodity In a digital environment, there is the danger of information overload. We can use three types of resources to improve our information selection: Internal alerting services; Publishers alerting services; and Subject-oriented portals.

14 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Another important factor when acquiring information is its relevance in time. Currency of information will affect its probably cost more than out-of-date information. Timeliness of information Four features of information as a commodity

15 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Many organizations are prepared to pay for access to a digital version of an information product, rather than ownership of its printed version. Also, the move to a digital environment has introduced at least two new challenges, regarding: Intellectual property rights. Previous Issues. Ownership of information Four features of information as a commodity

16 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Long-term Usability of information Will the information that you are buying or licensing today still be accessible in years? What can an organization do to ensure the long-term usability of digital information? Four features of information as a commodity

17 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access RELEVANCE OF INFORMATION TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION OWNERSHIP OF INFORMATION LONG-TERM USABILITY OF INFORMATION + CRITERIA FOR INFORMATION SELECTION During the development of an Information Access plan, it is important to keep in mind the implications of each of these four features. This can help analyze whether the benefits of accessing certain types of information outweigh the costs. + + Conclusions =

18 of 18 Information Access Introduction to Information Access Summary It is important for an organization to have an Information Access Plan. Development of such an Information Access Plan include: assessment of information needs; agreement on the formats of information; and analysis of where and how best to access the required information. One of the underlying assumptions is that information is a commodity with a market price. Four features of information as a commodity are: Relevance Timeliness Ownership Long-term Usability.