Information Counseling and the Outsourcing Challenge to Corporate Librarianship

Abstract

The outsourcing of information services challenges corporate libraries to shift their focus toward those services that are not readily “outsourcable.” An analysis of library services indicates that the diagnostic level of service is potentially the least outsourcable. To effect this level of service, it is suggested that corporate librarians serve as information counselors on multifunctional project teams. A framework for an expanded model of the information counselor role integrating information diagnostic and repackaging services is presented.