An Evaluation of the use Patterns of a Specialised Information Centre in Biodeterioration

Abstract

In the 1960s several Specialised Information Centres (SICs) were established in the UK to provide information services to workers in interdisciplinary subjects. The first SIC was the Biodeterioration Information Centre (BIC) and it has gradually developed a range of services for the biodeterioration community. Its service development was accompanied by investigations into BIC organisation and input but the present study is the first to evaluate BIC services and external effectiveness. By investigating service levels and use patterns the study examines the extent to which the BIC has contributed to the growth of the study of biodeterioration. The study also considers the hypothesis that BIC development can be used as a practical model to aid the development of information services in other subject areas: the working example of the BIC is used to identify general principles appropriate to other SICs. BIC services investigated, through questionnaires and interviews with users and potential users and the services monitored are: Biodeterioration Research Titles, a quarterly bibliography, International Biodeterioration Bulletin a primary journal, and the enquiry, photocopy and contract research services. Results show that the BIC has benefitted from its links with the scientific community; that it has penetrated a significant proportion of its potential market; and that it produces a range of services capable of serving a variety of users, including industry, higher education and the general public. However, potential for BIC growth exists in certain industrial sectors and the developing countries, and the implications of this for future BIC growth and the growth of SICs in general is considered. Finally, the study shows that the BICs service range is more comprehensive than that of any other SIC and indicates that there is potential for future SIC growth in other subject areas, based on the BIC model.