The first step to satisfying a user group is to know the
group you are serving. To be in a sustainable information
broking business, the library should therefore identify and
understand the attributes of the group she is serving or to be
included in her services, through research and personal
contacts. This is due to the fact that if you cannot
understand the people, you cannot serve them effectively.
Therefore for you to serve your clients effectively, you
have to go after them, “read” them as individual human
being, and as a member of a target group (Psycho-analysis)
in order to design customized information packages that
will suit them. The library can borrow a leaf from corporate
organizations like banks, insurance companies and pension
administrators. They do not always wait for their customers
to come to patronize them, instead they go after their
potential clients. It is high time libraries and information
centers started canvassing for customers and strategically
tailor their information packages to meet their peculiar
needs, due to many of the users who can afford the price of
their needed information are either very busy or may not be
privileged to access the physical library and information
centers effectively and efficiently.
References