What do You Want to Know Today?
by Keith Londrie
An
answer to the question: What is an Information
Broker?
The
term "Information Broker" is really a
misnomer. If any profession prides itself on
accuracy, it is the profession of Information
Brokering. An Information Broker doesn't actually
broker anything.
Webster's
pocket dictionary defines a broker as "an
agent who buys and sells for a fee". An
information broker actually has far more in common
with an attorney or a doctor than with brokers who
deal in such things as real estate. They don't
sell information and they don't take a fee for
arranging such a sale. Just like doctors, lawyers,
CPAs, and the like, they charge a fee for
professional services. They are not actually
"brokers" of anything.
An
Information Broker isn't simply a librarian,
though there is nothing wrong with librarians. An
Information Broker isn't simply one who "goes
online" and searches for the answers to your
questions and problems; although this may or may
not be a part of his/her duties. An Information
Broker isn't someone who "has all the
answers", and to say so would be ridiculous
because no one has ALL the answers to any given
problem.
An
Information Broker, or IB as it is known in the
profession, is a professional who is skilled in a
number of areas, that combined, provide you with
the best chance of obtaining the information you
need.
IBs
use a combination of online, offline, and physical
search techniques depending on the clients' needs.
Every assignment is different and the IB must
determine the appropriate method of obtaining the
clients' requested information, while remaining
within the clients' budget.
Once
the appropriate method of obtaining the
information has been determined, the IB forms
his/her plan and goes after the necessary
information. Obtaining one piece of information
may lead the IB in the direction of another. So
the process is repeated and the IB approaches the
information gathering process again.
Once
all the required information is located and
retrieved, the IB then presents it in the manner
most appropriate for his/her client. This may mean
summarizing the information or verifying the
correctness of it. Many times raw information must
be "cleaned up" and most IBs are very
good at this.
Why
do I need an Information Broker?
Although
most people connected to the Internet or an online
service such as Compuserve or America Online have
the ability to do online searches, they simply are
not aware of many of the avenues available to find
the needed information. Yes, people can locate
information in many cases, but it is the
experienced IB that knows and has access to many
many many more avenues of information retrieval
than the average individual or firm. After all,
this is the IBs' specialty. And remember, online
searching is not the only way of accessing
information.
So,
just as you would use an attorney for legal work
or a doctor for medical work, you would use an
Information Broker for access to needed
information. Certainly, if you had a major
laceration on your arm requiring stitches, you
would not attempt to sew it up yourself. You would
seek the services of the appropriate professional
(a doctor in this case). So the next time you need
information services, seek the services of the
correct professional, an IB!
Brought
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This article was written by Rev. Keith Londrie,
owner of Information Services, your full service
information firm.
Contact
us for a FREE quote on your research project today
by sending an email to infoserv@info-resource.com
You
may also call us toll free at 1-800-440-3861 or
1-319-524-1763 or visit us on the web at http://www.info-resource.com/
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