Information Services: Economics, Management, and Technology

As information service management becomes increasingly critical in the 1980s, its attention is no longer limited to the acquisition, indexing, and storage of documents. Instead, it is taking on an expanded role in the understanding and analysis of economic issues and the management of technological innovation, This collection defines the dimensions of this expanded role and suggests strategies for improved information service management. Three principal areas related to information policy and decision making are covered: economics and government policy, management and marketing of services, and innovations and the impacts of technology. The book provides a practical and comprehensive background and framework for librarians, students of information science, information center managers, and others who are concerned with effective management of information services.

Preface -- Introduction: The Challenge of Information Service Management -- Economics and Government Policy -- Information as a Commodity: Public Policy Issues and Recent Research -- A Theory of the Market Demand for Information Analysis Center Services -- Regulation of the STI Industry: A Historical Basis and Some Possibilities -- The Government's Role in Providing Information: A British Academic's View -- Management and Marketing -- Marketing Research in the Design of STI Systems: A Case Study -- The Case for New-Product Planning in the Information Industry -- Organizational Buying Behavior and STI Marketing Decisions -- Implications of User Behavior for the Design of STI Products and Services -- Economic Pricing Models and Their Application to Library Services -- Innovation and Impacts of Technology -- Potential STI Innovation: A Behavioral Perspective -- The Behavioral Impact of Organizational Innovations for STI -- Information Management: An Organizational Innovation -- The Prospect for Technological Innovation in Scientific and Technical Communication -- Networking and Information Services: Prospects and Pitfalls