InfoThink:  Practical Strategies for Using Information in Business
		By Mary Woodfill Park Foreword by James M. Matarazzo       Profiles
		InfoThink is based on research conducted through personal interviews with three groups defined as executive users of information, information professionals and practitioners, and information educators and pioneers. Listed below are profiles of the many users and experts who contributed their professional insights and experiences.   PART 1: EXECUTIVE USERS OF INFORMATION Paul Houston, President, Results Management Consultants, Denver, Colorado Paul Houston, business information expert and management consultant to CEOs, says a corporate strategic plan without focused information is like "firing when blind and crippled." Houston's military education, his experience as a naval intelligence officer in the Far East, and his years as a business executive now enable him to gather business intelligence about a company's opportunities and competition, to analyze the meaning of information, and then to translate the information to improve corporate strategy. Alan M. Rifkin, Managing Partner, Rifkin, Livingston & Silver, LLC, Attorneys at Law, Annapolis, Maryland An attorney for legislative advocacy, Alan Rifkin describes how he and his staff gather and analyze a broad variety of information related to the 90-day state legislative process, why information is the critical basis for decision making, and how it can have long-lasting positive or negative implications. Steven L. Lubetkin, Director, Global Ratings Development, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, New York, New York A corporate (de facto) information gatekeeper, Steven Lubetkin explains that one of his roles at Standard & Poor's Global Ratings Services is to identify and communicate critical information to help bond and credit analysts analyze and present complex financial and credit methodologies to their corporate clients, including financial intermediaries, investment bankers, brokers, portfolio managers, institutional investors, analysts, and executives. Samuel B. Hopkins, President, Hopkins & Associates, Baltimore, Maryland Information technology consultant Sam Hopkins provides analysis and implementation of computer technology to law firms. He describes the many information resources he must use to keep up with the ever-changing world of computer technology and software for his clients. Barbara E. Doty, President, Majority Asset Management, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland Investment advisor to individual and corporate clients, Barbara Doty believes that "successful investments and acceptable ideas to investors are a function of what people are hearing or appear to believe." She provides insight into the world of investment information and shares techniques and resources she uses to determine people's perceptions. Susan J. Ganz, President, Lion Brothers, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland As CEO of a major emblem manufacturing company, Susan Ganz discusses the importance of ideas gained through reading and personal contacts and the difficulties of translating information from the nebulous world of concepts into the concrete world of specific products for her company. Phyllis Brotman, President, Image Dynamics, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland Public relations executive Phyllis Brotman explains how her childhood experiences prepared her for a public relations career and formed her knowledge base for working in media. She also provides examples of programs she has created and the information resources used to create them. PART 2: INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTITIONERS Marjorie L. Hill, Director, the Ben Franklin Business Information Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Director of an economic development information center, Marjorie Hill tells how in 1990 a market study conducted by an economic development organization in Pennsylvania revealed that 80 percent of small businesses did not use online searching of any kind and that 18 percent used very little. As a result of this study, she was hired to help establish a program to provide electronic information to the business and technology community, and it became one of the most highly respected economic development programs in the country. Daan Boom, Manager, Informatie & Research Centrum, KPMG, Amsterdam, Netherlands Manager of an information center in a "Big Six" multinational consulting firm, Daan Boom describes how his professional staff has become more proactive in meeting the information needs of accountants and consultants, not only in the local office but globally, and how partnering with functional teams for strategic planning support has added new efficiencies to the company and strengthened the value and image of the information professional throughout the corporation. Denise Cumming, Founding Partner, Connect Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota A former "knowledge analyst" at Teltech in Minneapolis, Denise Cumming discusses her matter-of-fact views about the value of hiring and experienced information searcher for highly specialized electronic research. She provides examples of database nuances and why it is important to know about them when doing sophisticated research. She also discusses why she thinks human intelligence is better for information gathering than is artificial intelligence. Sue Rugge, President, The Information Professionals Institute, Oakland, California Information brokering has been reported in the press as one of the hottest entrepreneurial opportunities of the Information Age. Sue Rugge has been a trailblazer in defining this business niche and is regarded by her colleagues as "the mother of the information brokering industry." Rugge has been as information service provider, but more recently serves as a teacher/mentor to aspiring information brokers and as an advisor to the information community. Allan E. Rypka, Vice President, Research, Focused Research International, Leonardtown, Maryland Director of research for his own company, Allan Rypka specializes in law enforcement, intelligence, and information technology. He explains how his education in military intelligence and his experiences in communication and navigation systems have enabled him to work in the rapidly emerging field of information warfare. Guy St. Clair, President, InfoManage/SMR International, New York, New York A provider of library and knowledge management services, Guy St. Clair's professional career has been dedicated to working with academic and corporate librarians in some of the world's finest collections of knowledge. Now a consultant, author, and publisher to the library/information services profession, St. Clair discusses the important need for companies large and small to have an information policy, and he explains the importance of conducting an information audit to identify users' information needs and to help determine the focus of the information policy. PART 3: INFORMATION EDUCATORS AND PIONEERS Steven J. Bell, Assistant Director, The Lippincott Library of the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Director of a business school library, Steven Bell provides a firsthand view of how business librarians at the Wharton School's Lippincott Library are accomplishing their mission to ensure that every student who graduates with an MBA or a business degree from Wharton knows what business information resources are out there and what basic skills are needed to retrieve these resources. Patricia Senn Breivik, Dean, Library System, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan Patricia Senn Breivik, dean, educator, librarian, author, and early advocate of "information literacy," explains the concept of resource-based learning and how universities, schools, and businesses are beginning to recognize its value. Paul O. Zurkowski, President, Ventures in Information, Chevy Chase, Maryland Paul Zurkowski, a pioneer in the information industry, discusses the early events in the 1960s that would impact a new universe of information users and would engender new technologies for the organization and delivery of information. As founding president of the Information Industry Association, Zurkowski provides insight into his early efforts to help define the new information industry. Paul Wasserman, Professor Emeritus of Librarianship, College of Library and Information Services, College Park, Maryland Professor emeritus of librarianship, founder and former dean of a library school, professor, world-renowned researcher, and author on the subject of books, libraries, and institutions that house the written word, Paul Wasserman says that "connections" -- not "collections" -- will become a unique challenge for providers of business and information services in the future. For further information, go to: [InfoThink Home] [Table of Contents] [Reviews]