LIBRARIES AS CONSULTING CENTERS FOR BUSINESS SECTOR
Authors: Kerimova S. G. 
Published: January 2021

Information consulting is very important in the effective implementation of business processes. Its emergence provides an opportunity to talk about new trends in the management and development of socio- economic processes in Azerbaijan. Information consulting is a dynamic, interactive process that facilitates teaching and research in which librarians and information professionals have a common language. Librarians need to be effective advisors to stay up to date. Libraries and librarians who are not effective in business processes will, of course, be left out of these processes. Information consulting is a model that reflects both the classical and experimental period of libraries. The title “Information Consultant” reflects a business approach to information services. The importance of information consulting is that the consultant is very valuable for clients and their businesses by interacting extensively with clients and actively supporting their information needs. Information consulting transforms the business goals of leading companies into innovative solutions. In the past, information consultants were usually librarians who conducted a full survey for clients and prepared the information. For decades, information consultants were considered to be the ones who conveyed accurate information by examining obscure information. Companies hired them to find information in libraries that was difficult or too expensive for staff. However, as information technology advances, information consultants are required to provide information in a narrower range, i.e. on only a few key topics. During this period the librarian’s help is needed in any field of research. Because libraries have more opportunities to conduct research in any field of knowledge. Otherwise, it will take a lot of time to find the relevant area, which can be more useful, by obtaining the necessary information and moreьdetailed information from the innumerableьinformation. The creation of the Internet inьlibraries has stimulated the development ofьconsulting services for various categories ofьreaders. This requires professional knowledge of modern technologies from the library staff.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to analyze the role of library activities in the formation of the business environment and information support in the field of management and business, study the features of information consulting in the information support of the business environment and ways to improve the efficiency of libraries inthe field of information support for business structures.

Methods. Methods of research- complex methods were used in preparing the article. Profiled publications were analyzed and structural analysis, method of analysis and synthesis, method of interpretation were used. In the course of the research, the experience of National Library of Azerbaijan named M. F. Akhundov was taken as a basis, attention was paid to the results of observations. At the same time, the methods of interviewing, questionnaires and interviews with users of bibliographic information in the relevant field were discussed.

Results. In the process of providing information and consulting services, there is a tendency to improve traditional information products and services through the intellectualization of information and library activities, the use of new technological approaches and the perception of more complex consumer requirements by library specialists. Thus, library specialists can determine priority types of services, based on the requests of readers, and, on their basis, forecast and develop information and consulting activities. Determining the specific benefits of these services, that is, their assessment and monitoring allows the library to manage its activities, to determine its strategy depending on the current situation.

Scientific novelty. This article is the first article examining the activities of library consulting centers in providing information to the business environment in the Republic of Azerbaijan. On the basis of marketing research, specialists of the National Library of the Republic can determine priority types of services in accordance with the requirements of readers and develop on their basis information and consulting activities through forecasting. Evaluating and monitoring these services allows the library to manage its activities and determine its strategy depending on the current situation.