It is not too difficult to produce and package information to help businesses, nor to put it into approximately the right places. The greatest problem lies in getting the information to the right people at the right time (remember Ranganathan) and so ensuring that the recipient might use and act on the information received, simply because it is both pertinent and timely. And there is still plenty of need for advice and information: there is evidence that some firms which fail, fail through poor information sourcing and poor information management, while firms which are doing well enough could often do much better with suitable information systems. But then, from the business man (or business woman’s) point of view there is a bewildering array of agencies and firms out there, either to be found by them when needed or which are hammering on their door; among them are libraries of various descriptions. How are business executives to reach these people and this information when they need it? Personal contact, Internet or through publications? The probable answer is that all (and more) of these sources will be relevant at various times.
There is still a useful place for printed publications in this information chain. They might sit on a desk or in an office unread for some time, but they are still lying there waiting to be noticed and used by their recipient or a colleague when the time is right for them. But any approach to the provision of information for business must have clear aims and objectives and know who is being targeted, why and how. Two different publications are reviewed here with apparently similar aims, but different objectives. Each is well enough thought out and targeted at particular sectors or for particular needs.
The Innovator’s Source Book brings us back to the complexities of information provision: an awful lot of people are trying to help, many at a price of course. This book offers a series of short introductory articles, each followed by a contacts directory with information on various relevant schemes and initiatives. The government and European Union schemes covered include the Link and Smart Awards initiatives, followed by articles on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Scotland the article concentrates on the One‐Stop Shops, on the Welsh Development Agency in Wales and on the LEDU in Northern Ireland. A series of blue pages offer a directory of support, technical and professional services. There is then a series of presumably purchased articles on various specific service providers. All this is useful enough as far as it goes, but the directory seems to rely on space purchased by advertisers so that it is nowhere approaching being complete (and makes no claim to be). The aim is “to guide those seeking help and assistance in the exploitation of new ideas”. The directory’s success in achieving that will be limited by its coverage, although any industrialist or business executive who does not have a specific contact when needed will at least be given an idea of where to go to seek help. Distribution of the directory is apparently free through “UK main and academic libraries” as well as various other outlets such as the Department of Trade and Industry, Scottish Enterprise, and Chambers of Commerce, among others.
The PIRA publication is more focused: it deals with the packaging, printing, publishing and paper industries. It is not a directory but a series of articles on state‐of‐the‐art techniques and services across the sometimes surprisingly wide range covered by this industry, with profiles of a wide range of firms including details of their products and services. There are also some reviews of trends (for example, employment trends in the publishing industry). It is rather miscellaneous in its compilation but it does contain much useful information and background, and, as befits its publisher and subject, all is well packaged and attractively and clearly presented.
