Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Peter Drucker - What He REALLY Thinks about Libraries and Librarians

"Drucker points to where the knowledge in libraries lives - in the librarians:

In a special library, the librarians have the knowledge that enables them to convert the data in the library into information for the clients. I am always amazed how much topical knowledge special librarians have about the international trade that is the business of their customers.

Librarians in a special library know what their customers need and often they know it much better than their customers in the organization do. They can -- and do -- anticipate the customer's information needs. They can -- and do -- reach out to the customer and point him or her in the right information direction. They can -- and do know what new data is in their customer's field or sphere of interest."