However the environment has become so dominated by business rules that many librarians can no longer operate as they have in the past. The Science Environment To illustrate changes in my customer base, I offer two recent vignettes. Another very senior research administrator proudly reported that he had written a paper in one afternoon that previously would have taken 2 weeks before the advent of electronic journals. At the end of the day however it is customer satisfaction that counts. Our scientists are reporting increased value through access to more titles.
Access seems to be key.
Responding to Change Science has also become more competitive with organisations chasing the same research sponsorship worldwide. On the information side there is an increasing need for competitive business information. One scientist recently expressed this as a need for 'more than science' information. Some organisations have responded to the changing information needs of researchers through the outplacement of information workers. In these cases, librarians leave the physical library and become members of the research team, located with the team and assisting in their information needs.