Fitting the pieces together: developing better service for end users

Volume 20, Number 3 • March 2000

Fitting the pieces together: developing better service for end users
by Peggy Bass Bridges and Suzette Morgan

Discusses a change in focus towards empowering end users at the Resource & Information Center at Harcourt Inc. of Orlando, FL. Says that an initial step was to purchase Web-based subscription service databases, but it was quickly realized that the world of information delivery is similar to a jigsaw puzzle. Notes that products and services are interrelated, and adding a new element often requires that something else be developed. Provides an example that the database required a corporate intranet, which required a knowledge of HTML and Web page design, and so on. States that marketing library services and being proactive in database and application instruction have become the Resource Center's responsibilities. Offers tips on building a corporate intranet and using marketing to facilitate access to information and engage end users in the search process. Includes three sidebars, two screen displays, and a list of references.