This special section includes seven articles that discuss reinventing information services. Highlights include linking information services to business strategies; meeting client initiatives; information services at the Ottawa laboratory of Bell-Northern Research (BNR); product service strategies; information management and transition economies;…

Describes the Harvard Program on Information Resources Policy (PIRP) that studies how public policy and strategic corporate decisions affect information systems, including computer technologies; postal and mechanical transportation systems; information use by civilian and military organizations; effect of new technologies; international politics;…

Discusses the role of information in knowledge creation; distinguishes between individual and organizational knowledge; addresses the importance of an organizational learning culture. Recommends that managers use self-managed teams, understand organizations as socially flexible systems, and analyze knowledge from multiple perspectives. (Contains…

Describes DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model), a set of interface standards that addresses information or work management and workflow. Topics include cross-platform development for client-server applications based on object-oriented technologies; new Microsoft server products; and the future of workflow. (LRW)

Discusses issues related to knowledge management and organizational knowledge. Highlights include types of knowledge; the knowledge economy; intellectual capital; knowledge and learning organizations; knowledge management strategies and processes; organizational culture; the role of technology; measuring knowledge; and the role of the information…

Compared to our ancestors, we live in an era of unprecedented change. This change brings with it opportunities both for success and for disaster. If individuals, organisations and nations are to court success and avoid disaster, it is imperative that we identify useful mechanisms that will enable us to amplify the possibility of one while…

Information security management consists of identifying an organization's electronic informational assets, as well as the planning and programs that must be carried out to ensure its continued availability, confidentiality and integrity. Whether the organization is a commercial enterprise, governmental agency or educational institution, these…

The second a student enters kindergarten, a set of vital records is created, and this body of information expands throughout a child's academic career. Vital school records contain highly sensitive, private information, and there is no shortage of laws and policies to govern the handling, management and protection of such information. Schools…

In this article, the author discusses the benefits offered by integrated library systems (ILS) for making more informed decisions. Library software vendors, realizing ILS products can reveal business intelligence, have begun to offer tools like Director's Station to help library managers get more out of their data, and librarians are taking…

The computer-managed IEP systems described in this article provide a good sample of what is currently available. After previewing several of them and reviewing the rest, the authors believe that these types of systems have the potential to benefit teachers, administrators, and parents as well as students. They create reports in a more timely and…

This article is a partial look at what the future of education might be if educational resources become open online. Intertwingularity is discussed as a general term for what OER will do online. Predictions about an open education future are based on nine quotations from books by popular writers about our networked age. When the network mechanisms…

School Management System-SMS (Sistem Pengurusan Sekolah) is a system developed by Ministry of Education Malaysia in order to reduce teachers' burden and for Educational Data Integration. SMS is a type of Management Information System (MIS) and is pivotal for efficient and effective running of schools in Malaysia. As SMS is newly introduced, no…

While mission statements for various libraries and information centers necessarily vary, all librarians face "two very pressing charges: make voluminous numbers of electronic resources as visible as possible in a landscape of multiple access points and simultaneously manage all the technology, tasks, and data necessary to facilitate such…

The third Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) conference gathered at Georgia Institute of Technology's Global Learning and Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia, March 18-21, 2008. Over 360 attendees, from six countries and from 80% of the United States, represented their libraries and organizations resulting in a diverse and…

The management of information in the business world constitutes a single consolidated area within undergraduate and graduate study programs in Librarianship and Information Science. This article describes information studies for the business sector within Spain, including the university programs known as Diplomatura in Librarianship and…