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Mary Ellen Bates
Bates Information Services, Inc.
8494 Boulder Hills Dr.
Niwot, Colorado 80503 USA
Tel: 303.772.7095
Email: mbates@batesinfo.com
Skype: Mary.Ellen.Bates
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mebs
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/maryellenbates
Bates Information Services, Inc.
8494 Boulder Hills Dr.
Niwot, Colorado 80503 USA
Tel: 303.772.7095
Email: mbates@batesinfo.com
Skype: Mary.Ellen.Bates
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mebs
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/maryellenbates
Everyone's faced it at one point or another—the library client from Hades who you just can't deal with today; the research project you'd like to do but don't have the necessary subject background or access to the specialized online services; the client you really can't afford to say NO to, but who needs the work done in a shorter time frame than you can handle. And what about the time when your best researcher takes 3 months off to care for a newborn? Or when you face a downsized staff and an increase in the number of research requests? All of these situations may leave you needing to contract with an outside information professional.
A Rose by Any Other Name
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of selecting someone to help you out, I must briefly address what I call the Nomenclature Problem. Just as some librarians shy away from using the L-word in their job title, so too do independent information professionals grapple with the question of what to call themselves. Some hesitate to use the phrase "information broker" because of the negative connotations sometimes attached to the name in the press. Some use titles such as "information consultant," "independent researcher," "freelance librarian," even "informationist." I will refer to them as information brokers or IBs for simplicity's sake. Note, too, that this article focuses on the research end of the information professional business, not services such as on-site library staffing or consulting services.
Information brokerage companies come in a number of forms. Most are one-or two-person businesses, and the person you talk with on the phone is most likely the one who will do the work. Some function more like clearinghouses—you call the main office to discuss your project, and they farm the work out to appropriate researchers, either an in-house employee or a subcontractor. Both of these models have their advantages and disadvantages; you can decide whether you prefer the consistency of having a single person handle all (or most) of your projects or whether you need access to a number of expert researchers available through one company.
What services can you expect from an information broker? It depends. Most IBs specialize in a few areas of research or a few types of services. If your needs fall outside their expertise, either they will handle them through subcontracting or refer you to top-quality IBs who provide the specialized services you need.
I'll Know It When I See It
Knowing what services information brokers provide is fine, but how do you find an information broker in the first place? As with any professional service, your best source may be word of mouth. Ask colleagues who they use and why. A satisfied customer is the best reference for a good information broker.
Keep your eyes open for information brokers who demonstrate an expertise in your subject area. If you need an IB experienced in marketing research, look for likely prospects in the speakers' roster of professional conferences you attend and in the professional journals you read. Some information brokers, especially IBs whose bushiness focuses on online and Internet research, also participate in electronic discussion groups.
There are two major directories of information brokers—The Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers and the membership directory of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP). The Burwell directory contains about 1,000 listings; abbreviated listings are free, information brokers pay $75 for detailed listings.
AIIP's directory, of course, runs a bit smaller, since it limits itself to members of the association. The association has approximately 700 members, about 85 percent of whom are located in the U.S. [An abbreviated version of the AIIP membership directory is available online or you can purchase the complete print directory for $75.
AIIP also offers a free referral program; you can describe the type of researcher you need and AIIP will send you the names of up to three participating members who meet your criteria. Call the referral program at (888) 544-2447.
In Search Of
Once you have identified candidate information brokers, then you need to evaluate each IB to decide which one(s) best meet your needs. Consider the following factors in your decision:
For Love or Money
If the truth be told, most IBs do what they do for money, although most also love what they do. What should you expect to pay when hiring an TB? The final cost will depend on a variety of factors:
Most information brokers use a time-plus-expenses calculation when charging for a job; that is, they charge $X/hour for their research time, plus any direct expenses such as online searching, royalty payments for photocopies, and telephone calls. Some IBs, especially document delivery and public records researchers, charge a flat fee for a project instead of using the time-plus-expenses formula. Regardless of how they calculate the total charges, an IB should be able to work with you to establish a not-to-exceed budget that you can both agree to.
Will You Do Windows?
In addition to the issues discussed above, there are other ways that IBs can work with you to ensure that you get the most value for your dollar. There is no check list of add-on features, but a few are important to many people who contract with information brokers.
First, ask your IB if they will work behind the scenes as your "stealth employee." This is particularly important in library and information centers. It means, for example, that they will agree to not contact your client without your authorization. If they do contact the client with your authorization, they will make it clear that they work for you and are not a free agent available for hire by employees who simply wish to circumvent the library. This also means that all work goes to you first rather than the client, if need be, and is delivered in the format and medium that you use to deliver material to your clients.
Second, consider establishing a password for your IB to use when accessing any online services for which you have flat-fee contracts. Since you have already paid the vendor for access to the service, why pay twice by being invoiced by the IB for online searching done on his own account? Obviously, this assumes that you have established a level of trust with the IB and feel confident that the password will only be used for work on your research projects.
And finally, decide whether it is important that your IB be available to work on-site. If you need an IB to handle research projects while you are out of the office, and if most research requests come in person, you will probably need someone who can work at your office during the time you are away. Likewise, you may have printed material they must use for research projects. If your IB cannot come to your office to use the materials, nor find the information electronically, then your research needs simply can't be met by that IB.
All of this advice may seem like a lot to worry about when selecting an information broker. But a good IB can help you accomplish far more than you could do alone, can bring a valuable outside perspective to a difficult project, and can broaden your research capabilities without requiring additional staff or office space.
So, You Want to Be an Information Broker?
Entire books have been written about starting an information brokerage business. The leading book on the subject was written by the late Sue Rugge, The Information Broker's Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 1997) (Unfortunately, the information profession suffered an enormous loss when Sue passed away recently at the age of 58.) [Ed: You should also check out Mary Ellen's book, "Starting and Running a Successful Research Business".]
Rather than attempt to distill Sue's wisdom, I will simply list a few of the steps that I believe you should know before you launch your business:
There are still far fewer information brokers than there are business opportunities; the biggest challenge is in finding the clients who need your specific set of skills.
A Rose by Any Other Name
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of selecting someone to help you out, I must briefly address what I call the Nomenclature Problem. Just as some librarians shy away from using the L-word in their job title, so too do independent information professionals grapple with the question of what to call themselves. Some hesitate to use the phrase "information broker" because of the negative connotations sometimes attached to the name in the press. Some use titles such as "information consultant," "independent researcher," "freelance librarian," even "informationist." I will refer to them as information brokers or IBs for simplicity's sake. Note, too, that this article focuses on the research end of the information professional business, not services such as on-site library staffing or consulting services.
Information brokerage companies come in a number of forms. Most are one-or two-person businesses, and the person you talk with on the phone is most likely the one who will do the work. Some function more like clearinghouses—you call the main office to discuss your project, and they farm the work out to appropriate researchers, either an in-house employee or a subcontractor. Both of these models have their advantages and disadvantages; you can decide whether you prefer the consistency of having a single person handle all (or most) of your projects or whether you need access to a number of expert researchers available through one company.
What services can you expect from an information broker? It depends. Most IBs specialize in a few areas of research or a few types of services. If your needs fall outside their expertise, either they will handle them through subcontracting or refer you to top-quality IBs who provide the specialized services you need.
- The main types of information services available include:
- Online research (using both commercial online services and the Net)
- Manual research (using local libraries and other information resources)
- Document delivery (look for those assurances that the establishments pay copyright fees)
- Public records research (both online and manual)
- Telephone research (for finding the person who has information not available in published sources)
I'll Know It When I See It
Knowing what services information brokers provide is fine, but how do you find an information broker in the first place? As with any professional service, your best source may be word of mouth. Ask colleagues who they use and why. A satisfied customer is the best reference for a good information broker.
Keep your eyes open for information brokers who demonstrate an expertise in your subject area. If you need an IB experienced in marketing research, look for likely prospects in the speakers' roster of professional conferences you attend and in the professional journals you read. Some information brokers, especially IBs whose bushiness focuses on online and Internet research, also participate in electronic discussion groups.
There are two major directories of information brokers—The Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers and the membership directory of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP). The Burwell directory contains about 1,000 listings; abbreviated listings are free, information brokers pay $75 for detailed listings.
AIIP's directory, of course, runs a bit smaller, since it limits itself to members of the association. The association has approximately 700 members, about 85 percent of whom are located in the U.S. [An abbreviated version of the AIIP membership directory is available online or you can purchase the complete print directory for $75.
AIIP also offers a free referral program; you can describe the type of researcher you need and AIIP will send you the names of up to three participating members who meet your criteria. Call the referral program at (888) 544-2447.
In Search Of
Once you have identified candidate information brokers, then you need to evaluate each IB to decide which one(s) best meet your needs. Consider the following factors in your decision:
- Expertise. What is the IB's background in the subject area you're involved in, or, if the IB subcontracts the work out, the backgrounds of the subcontractors? Find out how many years they have done this kind of research, any advanced degrees acquired, and so on. Likewise, find out how long the IB has done research in general. Obviously, you don't want to be paying for someone else's learning curve.
- Access. What resources does the IB have access to? Find out what databases the online researcher subscribes to, or the special collections the manual researcher or document delivery company can access.
- Added value. Can the IB provide more than just "rip-and-ship" service? Can they provide an executive summary of the material retrieved? Can they deliver the results in a PowerPoint presentation, a spreadsheet, or in HTML if needed? Will they use your own specialized templates or formats to ensure the quick integration of results with other material you send to clients?
- Needs-evaluation skills. How good is the IB at the reference interview? Do they approach it as an order-taking interaction or work with you to determine the best information that will meet your (or your client's) needs? While it seems a simple thing to call an IB to pass along a reference request you don't have time for, it is critical that you and the IB both understand all the parameters of the project, the not-to-exceed budget, what research has already been done, the format needed for the information provided, and so on. Be sure that the TB with whom you work addresses all these issues.
- Chemistry. No, not that kind of chemistry! Do the two of you work well together? Do you feel comfortable with the IB and confident in their abilities? Since this represents someone who will represent you to your clients, or at least someone whose work will reflect on you, you want to find someone with whom you work seamlessly.
- Commitment to the profession. I will show my bias here as a long-time member (and past president) of the Association of Independent Information Professionals. I tend to limit my own subcontracting to fellow ALIP members; that is, when I need to find an IB, I tend to call on other AIIP members. Partly, that is because I need to subcontract to someone I know and trust, and that tends to be someone I have met through my network of AIIP contacts. But partly, I take membership in AIIP as an indicator of that person's commitment to the profession and to the business. AIIP does not offer an accreditation program—nor in my opinion could it—but it offers opportunities for continuing education and professional development. Working with AIIP members means that I will more likely find someone who takes a project as seriously as I do, and who has a network of other experienced IBs to tap into if necessary.
For Love or Money
If the truth be told, most IBs do what they do for money, although most also love what they do. What should you expect to pay when hiring an TB? The final cost will depend on a variety of factors:
- The depth of research needed. A job that requires identification of the top players in the soft-drink market will not require the same amount of time and resources as will one that requires an analysis of the five critical factors in successfully introducing a new soft-drink targeted to Asian-American teens, for example.
- The background and expertise of the researcher While most IBs have an hourly rate (or equivalent) in the range of $70 to $150, someone who does highly technical research in an area that requires an advanced subject-area degree and years of experience may charge significantly more.
- The resources that the IB will need to use. A research project that involves scouring a competitor's Web site involves no more than the IB's information-gathering skills. On the other hand, if he is asked to compile information on the competitor's major products and relative market share, he will probably rely on costly market research reports, which will significantly increase the total cost of the project.
- The amount of post-processing and massaging of the information required. A simple compilation of articles on a subject requires little work beyond downloading and word-processing the documents. However, if you need the significant points highlighted in each article, an executive summary prepared, and the final results converted into an HTML document with live links to additional resources, well ... count on significantly more hours than what would be required to merely obtain the articles on which to base a report.
Most information brokers use a time-plus-expenses calculation when charging for a job; that is, they charge $X/hour for their research time, plus any direct expenses such as online searching, royalty payments for photocopies, and telephone calls. Some IBs, especially document delivery and public records researchers, charge a flat fee for a project instead of using the time-plus-expenses formula. Regardless of how they calculate the total charges, an IB should be able to work with you to establish a not-to-exceed budget that you can both agree to.
Will You Do Windows?
In addition to the issues discussed above, there are other ways that IBs can work with you to ensure that you get the most value for your dollar. There is no check list of add-on features, but a few are important to many people who contract with information brokers.
First, ask your IB if they will work behind the scenes as your "stealth employee." This is particularly important in library and information centers. It means, for example, that they will agree to not contact your client without your authorization. If they do contact the client with your authorization, they will make it clear that they work for you and are not a free agent available for hire by employees who simply wish to circumvent the library. This also means that all work goes to you first rather than the client, if need be, and is delivered in the format and medium that you use to deliver material to your clients.
Second, consider establishing a password for your IB to use when accessing any online services for which you have flat-fee contracts. Since you have already paid the vendor for access to the service, why pay twice by being invoiced by the IB for online searching done on his own account? Obviously, this assumes that you have established a level of trust with the IB and feel confident that the password will only be used for work on your research projects.
And finally, decide whether it is important that your IB be available to work on-site. If you need an IB to handle research projects while you are out of the office, and if most research requests come in person, you will probably need someone who can work at your office during the time you are away. Likewise, you may have printed material they must use for research projects. If your IB cannot come to your office to use the materials, nor find the information electronically, then your research needs simply can't be met by that IB.
All of this advice may seem like a lot to worry about when selecting an information broker. But a good IB can help you accomplish far more than you could do alone, can bring a valuable outside perspective to a difficult project, and can broaden your research capabilities without requiring additional staff or office space.
So, You Want to Be an Information Broker?
Entire books have been written about starting an information brokerage business. The leading book on the subject was written by the late Sue Rugge, The Information Broker's Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 1997) (Unfortunately, the information profession suffered an enormous loss when Sue passed away recently at the age of 58.) [Ed: You should also check out Mary Ellen's book, "Starting and Running a Successful Research Business".]
Rather than attempt to distill Sue's wisdom, I will simply list a few of the steps that I believe you should know before you launch your business:
- Know your client base, Identify people who need a specific service or product and who have the budget to pay for it.
- Unless you already have the research skills needed, develop a network of expert researchers whom you can work with. This is not something you can learn on the job, nor is there a market for researchers proficient only in searching the free portions of the Web.
- Start developing your contacts now, even if you don't plan on starting your business for several years. You'll need a list of prospective clients. It's never too early to start building that list.
- If you don't already have good marketing skills, take courses in business-to-business marketing, Particularly focused on how a small business can market itself.
- Plan on a supplementary income (or depletion of savings) for the first 3 years. This is a business not known for explosive revenue growth within the first year.
- Know yourself, if you are self-motivated, don't mind working alone, are comfortable marketing yourself to prospective clients, can handle a fluctuating income, and can devote all your energy to starting and building a business you can build a profitable information brokering business.
There are still far fewer information brokers than there are business opportunities; the biggest challenge is in finding the clients who need your specific set of skills.
