Moving Libraries into Modern Knowledge Services

Abstract

Libraries are expanding their horizons. They are striving to work with knowledge and information in a myriad of forms to become an even more vital resource. They are growing nontraditional services to create, communicate, and capture knowledge for their parent institutions. When we, as librarians, focus only on information produced through traditional publishing processes, we limit ourselves and miss huge opportunities to be an effective knowledge resource. We can no longer view ourselves as professionals who only bring external information into our organizations; this is nothing more than a one-way path for information, and for our profession. Instead, we need to be information and knowledge professionals, observing our organizations' core activities, determining the information implications of those activities, analyzing information flows and needs, and diffusing new knowledge and information. We must be the providers of the solutions demanded by our organizations. This paper will introduce you to the odyssey of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology's (IPST) former William R. Haselton Library and Information Center and its experience of developing new knowledge-building services. The drivers behind developing the new resources and services will be discussed, as well as how the library was opportunistic in identifying the Institute's needs, marketing its ability to provide the services, and integrating them into the library's repertoire to create the new and improved Haselton Library and Knowledge Center.