Information Assets Available to Purchase

An organization's value structure is measured in terms of assets or lack of assets. Assets are items that have an exchange value. In a more strict accounting sense, assets are the resources of a person or business. Common types of assets are cash, equipment, real estate property, inventory, and good will. In the service industry employees are often described as assets to their company because their skills and personal contacts produce value for the firm. Information is considered an asset by organizations ranging from CBS or NBC to the Central Intelligence Agency. For many companies information is an asset, a type of raw material that contributes to the product development process. Information, of course, also may be that company's product. The concept of assets can provide a valuable way of viewing the management of a library.