Libraries and information: national development tools

Information is a crucial factor in national development and the ability to use information tools is considered a source of power (Bordban (n.d) in Malekabadizadeh, Shakraneh and Hosseini (2009). Information is a link pin of national development as suggested Achitabwino (2007) who later pointed out that for a nation to develop it needs to have and provide relevant, updated and adequate information on food, security, health, population, education, family planning, youth empowerment, gender equality, and environment among other sectors. The dogma that libraries are there for proper management, provision and dissemination of such information become a reality to achieve national development.  It therefore becomes apparent that the role of libraries in national development is unquestionable. The work endeavours to outline the critical role of libraries in national development, referring to circumstances in the Zimbabwean context. Discussion shall focus on the role of the public, academic and special libraries in fostering development and mentioning their roles in improving society’s thinking, shaping a knowledgeable people and impact of special libraries in economic growth. In addition the terms national development and library are to be defined to provide working definitions for this particular discussion.

 Adio and Olasina (2005) gave an elementary definition of library as “a collection of literary documents or record kept for reference or borrowing.” A more comprehensive definition was specified by Omojuwa (1993) in Adio and Olasina (2005) as a learned institution equipped with treasures of knowledge maintained, organised and managed by trained personnel to educate the children, men and women continuously and assist in their self-improvement through an effective and prompt dissemination of information embodied in the resources. A library is an instrument of self education, a means of knowledge and factual information, a centre of intellectual recreations and a beacon of enlighten that provides accumulated preserved knowledge of civilization which consequently enriches one’s mental vision and dignifies his habit, behaviour, character, taste, attitude, conduct and outlook on life (Islam (2004) in Adio and Olasina (2005). It can therefore be summed up that a library is an active information centre that collects, organise, preserve and disseminate information stores in different media to a target audience.

The Online Dictionary refer to national development as the ability of a nation to improve the social welfare of a people, for instance by providing social amenities, good education, water and environment. According to Mohammed (2001) national development simply implies the advancement or growth of a country especially socio-economically, politically, literally (educational), culturally and technologically. Rodney (1973) attests that development in human society is a many sided process. Malekabadizadeh, Shakraneh and Hosseini (2009) coin that development is gradual growth toward advancement and power . . . has economical, political, social and cultural aspects. Sharif al Nasabi (1996) in Malekabadizadeh, Shakraneh and Hosseini (2009) development is all actions that lead society toward an organised system of individual and collective living conditions relating to desirable values. Hudson (2007) stated that development . . .   means higher GDP’s, better quality of life and a state of national being and consciousness in which information and knowledge are both cause and effect. Several authors (Krolak, 2005; Pyati, 2009; Jain and Nfila, 2011 and Rodney, 1973) agree that development is both an economic and a social equation. The author conclude that national development point to the growth in political, economic, social and technological aspects of a nation and how they are positively affecting the people in daily life, business, environment life and competitiveness of these compared to other nations.

It is irrefutable fact that libraries and information centres play unquestionable role in national development through providing an integral component – information – required in decision-making and mapping the way forward in societies. Unagha and Okon (2006) in Jain and Nfila (2011) note that the role of libraries and information centres in disseminating information needed for formulating development programmes, addressing development problems and informing communities, as beneficiaries are crucial for national development programmes. Achitabwino (2006) assume that libraries are a pivotal point in democracy promotion and socio-economic development in a country. Phiri in Achitabwino (2007) argue that for democratic process to make sense, those that govern must be aware of the needs of those that are governed, whatever or whenever they.  This can only be achieved if the politicians and electorates are provided with information relating to democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Zimbabwe has made significant strides to inform the electorates about government activities and projects through the establishment of Parliament Constituencies Information Centres (PCIC). PCICs play a critical role of informing the general public in a named constituency with information to spur development at the same time informing the Member of Parliament fort he respective constituency with demographic, economic, social and cultural information pertinent in drafting developmental projects. Further contribution by Achitabwino (2007) are that libraries are the corner stone of democracy in communities because they assist the public in locating diversity of resources and in developing the information literacy skills necessary to become responsible, informed citizen who can participant in democracy.

Okiy (2009) view national development as involving economic growth, modernization, equitable distribution of income and national resources and socio-economic transformation for improved living standards of people though the use of a country’s human, natural, and institutional resources. The defined parameters are achieved only by educated nationals who work toward achieving stated goals for instance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). According to Okiy (2009) education is an instrument par excellence for national development . . .  it involves the development of the whole person intellectually, psychologically, socially, vocationally, religiously or morally. Achitabwino (2007) opine that libraries play a great role in national development through the support they offer to the education sector. Library services are needed to keep the skills that have been acquired through literacy classes alive by the provision of good literature (Adio and Olasina, 2005). The library is the focal point for literacy programmes and the librarian is concerned with those programmes to provide an effective information system to create a literate community. Nyangoni (1981) noted that the public library has particular value in relation to educational work, not only because of its widespread accessibility but also because of its general acceptability at all levels of society. The need for libraries to support adult education is crucial to initiate community centred development through providing information on agricultural techniques and crafts, health education, political education and food processing. This would have a positive impact in the community being served as it is likely to cause development. In Zimbabwe several such programmes has been launched to provide the rural folk with pertinent information through the bookmobile libraries under The National Library and Documentation Services (NLDS) in areas of Nyanga, and greater areas of Matebeleland among other places. In addition to this programme the other programme was initiated by the Rural Libraries and Resources Development Porgramme (RLRDP), a community based not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation. According to Moyo (2006) The RLRDP is generally active throughout Zimbabwe, with concentration in Manicaland and Matabeleland North Provinces. Other libraries are also dotted throughout the country. The significance of these programmes are that they are the only source where rural citizens can visit in order to get current news, access books to improve their academic education or access any knowledge necessary for self-development. Moyo (2006) further noted that libraries are capable of assisting nations address the MDGs. The role of education in national development is as good as the role of libraries such that Adio and Olasina (2005) concluded that ‘education’ and ‘libraries’ are two inseparable indivisible concepts, both being fundamentally and synchronically related to and co-existent with each other . . . both of them together are a means to an ultimate end.

The role of the public library is paired to national development through providing knowledge that is critical in shaping the community, developing workforce capacity and improving early literacy as well as school readiness. The public library has been identified as a natural partner in economic development. According to Nair (1995) public library is an institution which offers to people free access to information . . . to a large extent is related to the principle of access . . .  Unesco Manifesto for public library (1994) proclaims public library as an institution which is the principal means whereby the record of man’s thoughts and ideas and the expression of his creative imagination are made freely available to all. The objectives of public libraries are crucial roles in educational, economic, political, social, and cultural development of the country. The public library in Zimbabwe has supported the economic and social development by providing information at the right time to the right people. The role has also been assumed by local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that have established information centres to make information available freely to locals in pursuit of information to fulfill different agendas.  For instance the Zimbabwe Women Resource Network (ZWRN) provides information regarding to human rights, gender violence and equality in order to change social and economic status.

Nair (1995) attests that economic growth is not possible without extensive use of scientific and technical know-how embodied in books, and other mediums . . . access to right book or information at the right time for scientist, engineer or agronomist could have multiplier effect on the economy. It is at this juncture that the role of special libraries becomes a cornerstone for development by collecting knowledge valuable to the engineers, entrepreneurs and scientist alike. A good example is the Empretec information centre that provides timely information to entrepreneurs and Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) about markets to provide urgent issues related to economic growth. Another information service worth mentioning is the Zimtrade Information centre that plays a pivotal role in supporting trade through providing local SMEs with trade information. Zimtrade has two functional information centres located in the metropolitan cities of Harare and Bulawayo. Ifidon (1998) affirms that libraries are the most important institutions that contribute to a nation’s economic and industrial development.

Achitabwino (2007) opine that there is need for management and provision of agricultural information to communities as a positive step towards improving the declining food security. Zimbabwe like most of the Southern African countries – Malawi, Zambia, and South Africa - depends on agriculture for economic development and poverty alleviation. Agricultural libraries become instrument institutions that provide information on climatic changes, crop production and available markets. Achitabwino (20070 affirms that agriculture is the backbone of nations and we need libraries to that can harness information on marketable crops, agri-business, agri-economics, diseases affecting crops and irrigation. The information if used intelligently would boost the economic investments giving rise to GDP and improved livelihood. The Ministry of Agriculture in Zimbabwe has established libraries in different provinces and information workers to guide farming activities with up to date and correct information on farming activities with the aim of improving harvest that would have direct bearing on food exports and gearing toward achieving MDGs.  Information is critical in changing economic prosperity and if used wisely national development can be achieved. However there is need to invest in the libraries to continue providing a valuable service to sustain the growth.

Information is a valuable asset in fighting HIV/ AIDS in all nations and failure to disseminate information would thwart prevention and awareness programmes that are run by a wide community. A vibrate health sector needs a well-documented and organised health information meant for dissemination to users and potential users in order to consolidate health records, planning and management (Achitabwino, 2007). Libraries play an imperative role in national development through the support they offer to the health sector. Sithole (2011) underscored the role played by libraries and information centre in disseminating HIV and AIDS information as the strongest when they establish partnerships with other organisations already involved in dissemination and education activities. In actual fact access to health information is valuable for a creating a health human capital that contribute toward national development. Achitabwino (2007) recommended that with HIV/ AIDS pandemic retarding socio-economic growth measures to avoid the scourge and the enhancement of behaviour change can yield a positive impact if information on such issues was accessible to rural masses through rural libraries. It is envisaged by Sithole (2011) that libraries in Africa should expand the scope of information resources they collect and distribute to include, sources outside the role of traditional libraries, taking a leadership role in using ICTs for sharing digital materials, providing information in formats that are accessible and interesting to children and young adults who are making decisions about their own sexual behaviour.  In Zimbabwe several initiatives has been undertaken, first and foremost, with the SAFAIDS that has established HIV/AIDS information centre that continuously provide information to fight, prevent and more awareness. Other initiatives are undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in setting up information centre in hospitals, district clinics and rural clinics that provide information on diseases, prevention and medication.

According to Mchombu and Cadbury (2006) nations are creating strategies to ensure that information and knowledge are used effectively, shared and made accessible . . . to empower people to act as agents of their own development. Mchombu and Cadbury (2006) further articulate that development information, in particular, can enable people to fight poverty, deprivation and illiteracy. This is a clear testimony that underscores the role of libraries and information centres in national development. 

The foregoing discussion outlined the importance of libraries and information centres in economic growth, agricultural activities, health sector, education and SMEs as well as achieving MDGs. In the discussion information and knowledge has been considered as key ingredients for achieving national development and as such libraries are the key institutions entrusted with the selection, collection and dissemination of information. Therefore there role in national development is unquestionable and consequently require more funding to continue playing such a vital function. A lot should also be invested in the information personnel to be able to tackle head-on challenges posed by emerging information trends. In emphasizing the role of libraries and information centres in national development, Nkiko and Yusuf (2008) noted that “information is vital resource in stimulating socioeconomic development” and that “a society without developed libraries is tantamount to a person without a brain and memory” (Jain and Nfila, 2011). The public library has been identified as the most used and proper institution playing a fundamental and pivotal role in achieving national development through the various services it offer to the public in literacy, education, political role through promoting democracy and cultural functions. Basically the writer concurs with several authors (Achitabwino, 2007, Sithole, 2011, Mchombu and Cadbury, 2006, Hudson, 2007 and Nyongani, 1981) that libraries are instrumental for national development as they harness information which is considered an imperative component in the development cycle. Thus libraries and information centres are crucial for national development.

Reference

Achitabwino, Patrick (2007) “Libraries and national development.” Available at http://pachitabwino.blogspot.com/2007/03/libraries-and-national-development.html (Accessed 2/04/2011).

Adio, G. and Olasina, G. (2005) “The Role of libraries in educational development.” Library Philosophy and Practice, vol. 29; no. 2.

Hudson, W. (2007) “Libraries networking for national development: the role of the National Library of Jamaica.” Libraries: Networking for National Development Conference, November 22-23, Jamaica National Conference Centre.

Jain, P. and Nfila, R. B. (2011) “Developing strategic partnerships for national development: a case of Botswana.” Available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ (Accessed 11/04/2011).

Malekabadizadeh, F; Shakraneh, F. and Hosseini, A. (2009) “The Role of library and information science education in national development.” Library Philosophy and Practice. Special issue, p. 1 – 5.

Mchombu, Kingo and Cadbury, Nicola (2006) “Libraries, literacy and poverty reduction: a key to African development.” A research paper looking at libraries in Africa. Available at http://eprints.crlis.org/ (Accessed 26/04/2011).

Mohammed, Zakari (2001) “The Book industry in national development: Nigerian perspective.” Samaru Journal of Information Studies, vol. 1; no. 1, p. 27 – 38.

Nair, R.R. (1995) “Public library development.” Available at http://eprints.rclis.org/ (Accessed 27/04/2011).

Nyangoni, C.K. (1981) “Libraries for national development: the Zimbabwe case.” Zambezia, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 49 – 58.

Okiy, Rose (2009) “Using libraries in Nigeria as tools for education and national development in the 21^st century.” Library Philosophy and Practice. Available at http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ (Accessed 12/04/2011).

Rodney, Walter (1973) “How Europe underdeveloped Africa.” Available at http://www.marxist.org/ (Accessed 29/03/2011).

Sithole, N. (20011) “Libraries role in fight against HIV.”  Available at http://www.newsday.co.zw/ (Accessed 21/02/2011).

Unesco/ IFLA public library manifesto (1994). Available at http://www.ifla.org/ (Accessed 16/04/2011).

Ethical dilemma for information professionals in Zimbabwe

The subject of ethics has received international recognition to provide working conduct in executing daily responsibilities in differing organisations and professions; however others have decided to put more emphasis on their professions to build a ‘how-we-are-to-do-it’ approach in some circumstances. Similarly, the library and information fraternity through various organs, such as International Federation of Library Association (IFLA), American Library Association (ALA) have drafted and adopted ethical codes to provide a uniform approach of undertaking responsibilities in an ethical manner. Despite the astounding efforts both at national and international level information professionals still find themselves with unique, challenging circumstances to deal with in the existence of other laws such as censorship, copyright, intellectual freedom, and right to access of information. The purpose of this work is two-fold. Firstly, it attempts to define ethics as applied to library and information profession. Secondly, it seeks to analyse the ethical dilemmas that are faced by library and information professionals in Zimbabwe. Possible working examples are to be drawn from the Zimbabwe experience; however a major drawback has been a lack of literature covering this area of ethics in relation to Zimbabwe.

Ethics has been referred to as a branch of philosophical enquiry that relates to the “choices and made and the actions undertaken by the individual and how these impact on wider society” (McMenemy, Poulter and Burton, 2007:1) in Ngulube (2000). Ngulube (2000) identified that ethics in a records management environment encompass the commitment of the practitioners to the standard that is expected of them. Penman (1995) in Ngulube (2000) defines ethics as standards of conduct of a particular group of people in society. In elaborating this point Pojman (1995) in Ngulube (2000) states that ethics explain how things should be done and provide justifications for actions by providing the rationale involved.  Ngulube (2000) opined that ethics seeks to establish principles of right behaviour that may serve as guides for individuals and groups. Further discussions by Guy (1990) in Ngulube (2000) identified that ethics are about honesty, accountability, pursuit of excellence, loyalty, integrity and responsible citizenship. According to the Oxford Dictionary (2003), ethics are a set of moral principles. Trushina (2004) pointed out that ethics provides a basis for actual value attitudes, and ethical principles govern professional conducts in situations free from rigid social standards, such as legal. Basically ethics denote the values attached to people in the society the conduct business and may be codified as well to form a code of ethics.

A code of ethics is basically a set of company values and beliefs that is intended to guide management and employees in making sound ethical decisions and ensuring responsible business conduct in order to achieve a professional and productive work environment (Mhonderwa, 2011). In organisations ethics are meant to address a variety off issues in the organisation that include the work environment, gender relations, employee management relationships, conflict of interest and financial practices among other aspects. Ethics generally are enforced by the individual’s own conscience. Library ethics has become a familiar term giving birth to library profession code of conduct also known as code of ethics as a supporting tool, a “framework to help information professionals manage the responsibilities and sensitivities which figure prominently in their work (CILIP, 2003) in Trushina (2004). According to Ball and Oppenheim (2005), “a library profession’s code typically includes the need to protect the public, the need to be responsible to the profession and to one’s employer, the need to support and guide professional, and the need to express its service orientation.  Trushina (2004) identify library ethics as providing a framework for professional values, a paradigm of national library development  in countries and the aims and goals of library services, principles of relations with patrons and ccolleagues, library and government authorities, attitudes to cultural heritage and developing information flows, the use of the internet, and similar things. A fascinating definition of ethics was given by Ocholla (2009) who opined that ethics define what right actions and wrong actions people may take under the different circumstances. Ethics seem to primarily focus on the norms and standards of behaviour of individuals or groups within a society based normative conduct and moral judgment: principles of wrong and right, moral consequences of human action and responsibility and accountability (Ocholla, 2009). However, the role of ethics in society is to promote what is considered good in people. The extensive continuum of ethics is to provide norms and standards of behaviour based on morals and values that are unifying. The profession of library and information science survive on ethics which the professionals observe in their conduct which clients. The evolution of ethics in the library and information profession has given birth to terms such as information ethics and code of conduct that spell out the expected behaviour as pinpointed by the given aforementioned definitions of ethics in general.

Despite the existence of code of conduct library and information personnel encounter difficult circumstances they can not solve in relation to the access to information, internet usage, and censorship. Miltenoff and Hauptmun (2005) pointed out that ethical challenges presented to information workers have increased dramatically. Information proliferation, advent of the internet and global challenges has but brought an ethical dilemma in the practice of information related fields.  The ALA has recognised that “ethical dilemmas occur when values are in conflict.” Hamilton (2005) also pointed out that;

The dilemma librarians face is what’s known as a right-versus-right dilemma: it is right to support the community/nation’s quest for security and law and order, but it is also right to honour confidentiality as it is found in librarian’s professional codes.

Ocholla (2009) noted that ethical dilemmas in modern information environment are raised in different circumstances and include the following:

Should internet filters be put on all the computers in a public library?

Should law enforcement officers investigating a potentional terrorist be allowed to know what particular person checked out?

Should books donated by a racist be allowed added to the library collection?

Should a homeless person who smells very bad be allowed to use the library?

Should holocaust denial literature be included in the library collection?

Should there be charges for specialised information services in a public library?

Should a warning label be placed on an encyclopedia that contains clearly inaccurate information?

The above indicate only a snapshot of ethical dilemmas that are encountered by library and information professionals and they differ from nation to nation. Zimbabwe library and information professionals are not immune to ethical dilemmas irrespective of library that is academic, public and special library. The ethical issue presented in Zimbabwe concern plagiarism. Whilst it is difficult to control plagiarism information professionals face a mammoth task to enforce rules on putting an end to it. Plagiarism is repent in academic libraries particularly at university where students write assays for undergraduate and postgraduate thesis. Due to the big environment at University Of Zimbabwe it becomes difficult for the librarians to control thereby creating an ethical challenge. Similarly dealing with copyright issues in today’s information environment is difficult in Zimbabwe particularly against the right to access to information as described in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The librarians’ dilemma relate to access versus interpreting Copyright and Neighbouring Act which restrict the reproduction of published material at will. Due to the cost and overpricing of learning materials librarians would enormously improve access to documents but due to the restrictions provided under the Copyright Act an ethical dilemma would erupt though it was for a good cause – of increasing access to information.

Access to information has been coined as a universal and key issue for many international organisation (UN and UNESCO) whilst “on the other hand extended access to information has been the subject of concern to governments, security bodies and advocates of conservative public morals regarding information networks as endangering their concepts of just society” (Trushina 2004). Aforementioned instances create an ethical dilemma for an information professional in Zimbabwe, worth pointing out is the continual suppression of information for the gay and lesbian society who also seeks information from various centres but due to the fact that the Government of Zimbabwe does not tolerate such practice and therefore does not promote access to information for groups. The librarian would be in between providing access and enforcing the country’s needs. Other circumstances arise where teenagers require information considered immoral for their consumption against their right to access to information however in most instances the code of conduct suffers as the librarian would want to protect society upright.

Public librarians are the most affect due to the nature of their clientele that has differing information needs and that in it generate ethical dilemma. Furthermore the proliferation of information on the internet create a rather inquisitive  situation for the librarian to monitor against let alone to introduce filtering and blocking information facilities on the internet. A peculiar situation erupted in the US after the September 11 bombing of the Trade World Centre, following conspiracy that the people behind acts of terrorism used public library computers via the internet to lunch the attack. This was revealed after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that a librarian had identified one of the suspects (Miltenoff and Hauptman 2005). Miltenoff and Hauptman (2005) revealed that she was lauded by some, but others felt that she should have remained silent, because her actions comprised the confidentiality of her patrons. However in Zimbabwe there haven’t been such acrimonious acts of terrorism but instance of clientele tempted to view pornographic images via internet of which librarians would act according by applying the code of conduct. In Zimbabwe viewing of pornography and nudity material has been deemed a criminal offense under the Codification and Criminal Act of 2003 and let alone collection development librarian’s self-censor controversial, political, sexual or racist materials.

 Library and information professionals in Zimbabwe have an obligation to the society they stand to serve of free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations and committed to intellectual freedom. In view of this, ethical dilemma emerges when users want to download files from the internet yet the library policy prohibits such actions as well as intellectual property rights. In most cases the librarian would not know what to as they also have a mandate to provide access to information but still want to do their job in an ethical manner.   

Even though the ethical dilemma affects information professionals in Zimbabwe instance are limited due to lack of sophisticated information networking environment. The writer admits that the situation has been exacerbated by a lack ethical code that the Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) has failed to promote and enforce. The whole act has left the library and information fraternity more vulnerable than before leaving the practitioners more confused. At least practitioners can still rely on the codes set by IFLA and ALA which are discriminately applied at large because they do not know about their existence. Information workers in Zimbabwe are staunch supporters of access to information and make every effort to provide information to the society but other legal framework undermine the efforts particularly censorship which is mainly applied by Government agencies and departments. Censorship is practiced to restrict access to information coded sensitive and socially damaging the social fabric, somehow making librarians interfere with the freedom to access of information as stated in the World Summit on the Information Society. Trushina (2004) postulates that the key aspects of library ethics of superior ethical significance were the principle of free access to information and principle of confidentiality of private user’s information. Basically, the country’s statutes normally supersede the professions code of ethics in most cases leaving a void in the execution of responsibilities.  Nevertheless in Zimbabwe there is special need to inculcate in library and information professionals an awareness of the ethical dimension of their work in differing societies. Further contributions by Ngulube (2000) reveal that there is no code of ethics to complement the staff appraisal system and challenges faced by staff in discharging their duties raise many ethical questions. Ngulube (2000) further pointed out that some of the problems encountered include unauthorized access, mutilation, mishandling, denying access and use, compromising security, use for criminal activities and unauthorized destruction and disclosure giving the impression that the Official Secrets Act does not have a significant impact on preventing records managers from disclosing information in the records they keep. Definitely an ethical dilemma exists where a lack of training has profound implications on ethical issues together with a reflection of a lack of ethical behaviour in records managers’ activities.

Ethical dilemmas emerge when values conflict and are “often shaped most significantly by customs and habits thus only appear with special circumstances” (Ferna’ndez-Molina, 2000). Particular groups find material purchased by librarians in conflict with their values and norms at the same tine conflict with the library collection development policy and duty of providing information to people deemed necessary.  Ferna’ndez-Molina (2000) postulates that the library can best defend them against such censorship pressure by establishing an acquisition policy which is well defined, detailed and explicit moreover such a policy should be elaborated together with those responsible for the institution, in an integral manner. Numerous libraries in Zimbabwe have acquisition policies that help to provide clarification where extenuating circumstances arise. A fascinating situation can be in the reference desk where a highly depressed student asks for information on suicide. The big question would be should the reference librarian deny the client access to information or break the confidentiality oath by information the parents or family concerning the situation. That in it provides an ethical dilemma that cannot be solved with easy but still a service needs to be provided, such are circumstances that Zimbabwean information professionals go through on a daily basis.

The increase of information on database, CD-ROMs, OPAC and other online journals and abstracts the library fraternity at one point requires copying and transferring of information from such sources while on the other hand authors, editors, producers and distributors of databases want to benefit financially from the use of such products. In  Zimbabwe such incidence has occurred with the electronic database that University libraries acquire under the Zimbabwe University Library Consortium (ZULC) which some have restrictions in number of print out against demand of articles. It creates a tension between desire of information professionals to obtain information at the lowest cost possible and the interest of the owners of the information (Ferna’ndez-Molina, 2000). It is further stated by Ferna’ndez-Molina (2000) that this is a problem of ethical nature, the more so the greater the difficulty of obtaining the required material without infringing on authorship rights.  The library is found in the middle of a critical issue that it paid for resources with limitations and wants to provide the information to its community.

The aforementioned express the ethical dilemmas faced by library and information professionals in Zimbabwe on a daily basis but are not limited to these ones, but maybe more sophisticated depending on the environment. The most critical thing is to uphold to the code of ethics that national organ on library and information professionals should promote and enforce to close the void gap. Interestingly the body to spearhead such activities is dysfunctional creating a more complex environment to the information professionals. Nevertheless, ethics are the strengthening pillar in a profession that is purely society driven and orientated. It still remains a mystery to library and information ethics to grasp the information ethics without a formal method to inculcate them. Several proponents of information ethic opine that the library schools should commence to provide information ethics courses to students to circumvent the future dilemmas. This work provided a working definition of ethics and examined the possible ethical dilemmas that are encountered by library and information professionals in Zimbabwe. The author opine that Fallis (2007) conclude it all by arguing that in order to deal effectively with these ethical dilemmas, library professionals need to engage in ethical reasoning and to have a good working knowledge of information ethics which code of ethics provide but are not sufficient.

Reference

Ball, K. and Oppenheim, C. (2005) “Attitudes of UK librarians and librarianship students to ethical issues.” International Review of Information Ethics, vol. 3; no. 3, p. 54 – 61.

Ferna’ndaz-Molina, J. (2000) “Ethical concerns and their place in the training of information professionals” Available at http://www.cilip.org/ethics.htm (Accessed 12/03/2011)

Fallis, Doris (2007) “Information ethics for twenty-first century library professionals.” Library Hi-Tech, vol. 25; no.1, p. 23 – 26.

Hamilton, Stuart (2005) “Information ethics : librarians’ professional principles for freedom of access to information” Available at http://www.doc.google.co.zw/ (Accessed 16/03/2011)

The Herald (2011) “Comprehensive corporate ethics programme” Harare: Zimpapaers.

Miltenoff, Plamen and Hauptman, Robert (2005) “Ethical dilemmas in libraries: an international perspective” The Electronic Library, vol. 23; no. 6, p. 664 – 670.

Ngulube, Patrick (2000) “Professionalism and ethics in records management in the public sector in Zimbabwe” Records Management Journal, vol. 10; no. 3, p. 161 – 173.

Ocholla, Dennis (2009) “Information ethics education in Africa: where do we stand” The International Information and Library Review, no. 41, p. 79 – 88.

Oxford dictionary (2004) Oxford: Oxford Press.

Trushina, Irina (2004) “Freedom of access: ethical dilemmas for internet librarians” The Electronic Library, vol. 22; no. 5, p. 416 – 421.

Censorship impedes intellectual freedom: the librarianship dilemma

Intellectual freedom is fundamental for the development of society and democracy. It is well articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration states in Article 19 that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas though any media and regardless of frontiers.” Equally important and at times controversial is censorship, to a greater extend that limits, although purely restrict access to materials deemed inappropriate to societal, political and religious values. In that context the subject of censorship has come under spotlight in libraries, conferences, families and at national level debates. This work endeavours to discuss the relationship that exists between intellectual freedom and censorship citing relevant examples from the global perspective. However the terms intellectual freedom and censorship are to be defined. Issues to be discussed include intellectual freedom as the cornerstone of the library profession, its mechanism for socializing society and forging cultural and economic unity among other issues.

According to Cain (2006) “intellectual freedom is the right of individuals to express freely ideas and beliefs without restriction from government or other authorities. It includes the corresponding right of individuals to have unrestricted access to information and ideas regardless of the communication medium used . . .” Bryne (1999) opine that intellectual freedom encompasses academic freedom but extend beyond the academy to the essential principles of freedom of thought, freedom of inquiry and freedom of expression. ALA (2007) in Pooley (2007) attests intellectual freedom in the right to freedom of thought and of expression of thought. It further mentions that it is a human right. The basic definition given by IFLA (2002) in Fitzsimmons (1996) is that;

Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restrictions. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or movement may be explored . . . . Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas.”

Fitzsimmons (1996) corroborate that intellectual freedom is the fundamental right . . . to have access to all expressions of knowledge, creativity and intellectual activity and to express their thoughts publicly. According to Draper (2001) intellectual freedom is understood to be the right of all individuals to formulate and articulate their own understanding of the character of the world and of society, and to have unrestricted access to the information necessary to develop this understanding.

The author deduce that intellectual freedom constantly describe the free access and publishing of intellectual material at will without any strings attached and is well articulated in various declarations and conventions as a basic human right.

Censorship on the hand is denoting, according to Fitzsimmons (1996);

. . . effort by a government, organisations, groups or individual to prevent people from reading, seeing or hearing what may be considered as dangerous to government or harmful to public. It further entails efforts to ban, prohibit, suppress, prosecute, remove, label or restrict materials.”

According to Staples (2001) censorship is the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society. ALA (2004) attests that censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons – individuals, groups or government officials – find objectionable or dangerous. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom refer censorship to the deletion or excision of parts of published materials but also efforts to ban, prohibit, suppress, proscribe, remove, label or restrict materials. Sens (2010) discuss censorship at length and coined that “in a democratic society it is not just removal of information, it is also an attitude that is counter to the notion of an open society, as it discourages informed participation, honest dialogue and criticism and results in conflict that for the short-term benefit of a false sense of security actually hampers the peace and happiness of individual and is counterproductive to their institutions. A more vivid understanding of censorship was discussed by Byrne (1998) who pointed out that censorship may be broadly be defined as any action that works against a climate of intellectual freedom. He went on to mention that censorship is both the process and the practice of excluding material that is deemed by someone to be objectionable. In the closing Byrne (1998) coined that censorship is the most powerful nonmilitary tool that is available to governments. Interesting contributions by Ristarp (2000) states that in modern thought, censorship is an effort by a government, private organisation, group, or individual to prevent people from reading, seeing, or hearing what may be considered as dangerous to government or harmful to public morality. Ristarp (2000) further attests that in a restricted sense censorship refers to the work of a person or agency with the authority to come between the producer to publish, and the consumer to acquire knowledge of, the censored materials.

From the above it can be deduced that censorship is both a process and practice that is suppress intellectual freedom through varied means, some perpetuate law and enforcement agency. It is considered to be a negative act which denies access to information.

Several authors (Pooley, 2007; Fitzsimmons, 1996; Cain, 2006; and Draper, 2007) share that in every society, in every age – from ancient Rome to modern American – the climate of intellectual freedom has been constantly threatened by acts of censorship. The threat referred to speaks volumes of the perspective that intellectual freedom and censorship are comparable to water and oil. In scientific terms water and oil do not share similar atom formation therefore they do not bond either by electron transfer or sharing.

The definitions given specified that censorship is diabolic as it denies access to intellectual imaginations that are crucial in society to institute development. Information by its nature is a crucial commodity critical in national political, economic, scientific and technological (PEST) growth. It is available through freedom of expression that is a key element as articulated in the e in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1950 that clearly states that;

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers (Ristarp, 2000).

There is widespread condemnation of censorship as a restrictive, undesirable practice that suppresses ideas and information to impose [the censors] view of what is truthful and appropriate (Pooley, 2007). It is the restrictions that spur the water and oil relationship as the other is trying to provide unlimited access as far as possible, and the other component is restricting and at some instances completely bans the item. The general public requires information for different purposes, of which in a democratic society it is functional requisite. Failure to have access to information is tantamount to authoritarian rule. Censorship has been used by several governments to restrict spread of information that seek to clarify the position of the political warfare in a nation. This is normally instigated through suppressing the media both electronic and print. The destructive results were penned by Bryne (2000) who stated that; “In a nation in which we cannot express an opinion for or against a government, ideology or dogma, we do not have the freedom to select a government, ideology or dogma.” It is the failure to democratically make a choice that is bemoaned at in censorship.

Information per se is imperative as a primary mechanism for socializing children and forging a sense of cultural unity in society. In this context Draper (2000) opined that libraries and schools play an instrumental function of inculcating in the society an understanding of the complexity of human systems and interaction to provide an environment in which critical thinking and effective problem solving skills (both moral and practical) can be effectively developed. Socialisation is possible to the fullest were intellectual freedom is not interfered with. The basis of societal growth and purveying of a culture pivot on freedom of expression of ideas that are transmitted from one generation to the next. ALA in Ristarp (2000) signify intellectual freedom is the basis of a democratic system that leads people to be self-governors but to do so citizenry must be well-informed.  The significance of intellectual property has been outlined that is being threatened by censorship in the pretext that we are protecting soceity yet in actual fact they are disadvantaging the new generation. Most of the cultural materials are enshrined in books that are housed in libraries but are censored thereby pulling them off the shelves depriving the public what is fundamental. This clearly put forward the undesirability of censorship to deny what is right others. Instances in the United States of books banned and pulled off the shelves are tip of an iceberg of how censorship can be draconian. In Zimbabwe too books and musical recordings have been pulled-off air as they are considered insulting on moral, political and religious grounds. The album by Hosiah Chipanga “Xenophobia” was pulled of the air as well as other musical recordings of Thomas Mapfumo and Learnard Zhakata among others.

Ward (1990) articulated that censorship is wrong because it makes it less likely that truth will be discovered or preserved and it is wrong because it has destructive consequences for the intellectual character of those who live under it. The aspects that it separate people from the truth and information, censorship make it difficult for information reach to all people. Therefore it becomes an enemy to intellectual freedom, so to say. This further affirms to the notion that intellectual freedom and censorship are like water and oil. Staples (1996) testify that reading what she liked to read helped her learn whom she was and where she fit into the world. The testimony outlined how critical intellectual freedom is in shaping society and the individual in pursuing their goal. Censorship may be preemptive (preventing the publication or broadcast of undesirable information) or punitive (punishing those who publish or broadcast offending material) (Pooley, 2007). The identifies forms of censorship provoke the intellectual property rights, creating an unconducive environment to write, act and do theatre as whatever theme being portrayed in the scene is subject to censor. Censorship restricts creativity, imaginations, and largely suppresses academic freedom. Instances in Zimbabwe that have negatively affect academic freedom are when the political situation has fundamentally negative impact on academic freedom and has significantly reduced the scope of free inquiry (Moyo, 2009). The actions stifled academic development in universities as intellectual capital fled to exile as Moyo (2009) highlighted that the high levels of human rights abuses has put scholars at risk negatively affecting operations of universities.

Libraries are avenues that promote intellectual freedom through acquisitions of information sources to implement the IFLA and UNESCO manifestos on public and school libraries and the internet and multicultural manifesto.  These efforts are met with resistance from government bodies and local activists who from time to time monitor what books, internet resources and discussions are held in public libraries. The librarians are faced with an ethical dilemma that eventually would be superseded by circumstances. To avoid confrontations with law enforcement agents and parents, librarians end up neglecting controversial books. Staples (1996) noted that by far the most common type of censorship involves books quietly disappearing from libraries and frequently a librarian removes the controversial book to safeguard their jobs. This is  what Staples (1996) termed “stealth censorship.” Examples of books that have been banned due to moral and religious concerns are Satanic verses, Daddy’s roommate, Scary Stories to tell in the Dark  and a local book by Edgar Tegere. Sens (2010) noted that censorship from the professional perspective of a library professional is not only a moral issue, it is also practical issue, because the practice of censorship puts a real constraint on the selection of materials . . . a librarian could decide to avoid acquiring materials that represent a risk. From Sens (2010) point of view library collections should contain materials representing a variety of perspectives on subjects that may be considered controversial. Censorship practice does not foster a sense of open dialogue and infantilizes patrons in direct contradiction with “critical thinking” expectations discussed Sens (2010).

In modern society there is widespread support for intellectual freedom. Malley (1990) in Pooley (2007) identified intellectual freedom as the essence of the profession of librarianship a view also shared by other authors, Bryne, (2000), Sens (2010), Fitzsimmons (1996) and Bryne (1999) noted that intellectual freedom is a responsibility for librarians. Despite the above assertion censorship may be practiced on political, religious, moral and legal ground making the offence one of treason, heresy, or obscenity, according to Rispat (2000). Thus censorship has little or no respect for intellectual freedom as noted by Bryne (2000) that China has an appalling record of intimidating activists for democracy and practice strong censorship. This has been substantiated by a recent event reported by CNN that China has blocked all  social media and blogging website to slow down peoples communications. The event has demonstrated that true indeed, intellectual freedom and censorship are water and oil. Similar instance are happening Zimbabwe were journalists are arrested and criminalised for publishing stories that are considered degrading and likely to cause or facilitate efficiency of the Rwanda genocide wrote the News Day. News Day (2010) concluded that it is the freedom of the press and intellectual freedom on trial. The situations vividly portray the water and oil circumstances under scrutiny in the discussion.

The comments on censorship apparently state that it is an undesirable practice that restricts access to information thereby stifling development and impeding freedom of expression. The practice of censorship is still controversial in modern society as it was in the early years considering that declarations and covenants having been passed to promote intellectual freedom. The thought was expressed by Malon (2010) that the universal philosophical embrace of free expression is reflected in the many covenants and declarations that have been passed in support of freedom and human rights; these include the UN Charter (1945), the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the UN Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966), the European Convention on Human Rights (1953), the Helsinki Final Act (1975), and the American (Western Hemisphere) Convention on Human Rights (1978). The internet, a tool designed to allow free flow of information is under threat from censorship and already terms such as “internet censorship” are finding their way into the censorship terminology. Bryne (1999) observed that censorship battles have shifted to the internet with propositions to erect barriers to the intellectual frontiers, filtering what people may access. According to Bryne (1999) such measures strike at the right to know, our right to freely access information and to openly express views . . . they strike at the core universities, at academic freedom itself. The water and oil is registered here as the impositions of internet censorship would limit access to information for research and study.

However, Malon (2010) also observed that despite its many disreputable uses, censorship also serves a more benign end. The argument is that many suggest that censorship is necessary for a healthy society and in some cases may be for the protection of the public highlighted Malon (2010). One such example is in the broadcasting of explicit material, be it violent or sexual in nature even it may be argued that broadcasters should be free to broadcast content, parents should also be free to have their children watch television without the fear that they will see inappropriate material. Another benign use of censorship is that of information that is secret for national security purposes. Malon (2010) maintains that governments should uphold a level of secrecy in regards to much pertaining to the national defense so as not to reveal weaknesses to any security risks.

The foregoing underpinned the standoff in modern literature concerning intellectual freedom and censorship. It emerged that censorship suppress intellectual freedom due to political, moral and religious pressure in the name of creating a habitable intellectual climate though punishing though giving birth to the controversy. Intellectual freedom has been identified as a necessity and a human right to foster development and create informed citizenry. Information has been identified as the avenue for sustainable development thus needs to be made available as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Right. The picture of water and oil referred to has been fashioned  by the fact that censorship restricts and in some instances completed ban the circulation of intellectual property whilst intellectual freedom advocate for free and uninterrupted flow of information in any medium and form. The restrictions threaten media freedom, academic freedom and any other freedoms articulated in the declarations and covenants. It also emerged that censorship is a tool used by governments; however it is not as bad as it has been portrayed as it necessary for a healthy society.

Reference

American Libraries Association (2004) “Intellectual freedom and censorship Q and A.” Available at http://www.ala.org/. (Accessed 12/4/2011).

Byrne, Alex (1999) “See librarian.” Australian Academic and Research Libraries, vol. 30; no. 2. Available at http://archive.ifla.org/faife/papers/others/byrne2.htm (Accessed 5/4/2011).

Byrne, Alex (2000) “Promoting intellectual freedom globally through libraries: the role of IFLA.” Libri. Vol.50; no. 50, p. 57 – 65.

Cain, Charlene C. (2006) “Librarians and censorship: the ethical imperative.” Louisiana Libraries, p. 6 – 8.

Draper, Lincoln (2001) “Intellectual freedom, censorship and the schools: an American values conflict.” Available at http://pages.swep.com/~ldraper?slum/biblios/draper.html (Accessed 10/4/2011).

Fitzsimmons, Richard (1996) “Censorship, intellectual freedom, librarianship and the democratic state.” Paper presented at the international conference: “Libraries, Books, Ideology During the Second World War (1939 – 1945), National library of Latvia, Riga, Latvia. October 8 – 12. Available at http://archive.ifla.org/ (Accessed 5/4/2011).

Malon, T. (2010) “What is censorship?” Available at  http://gilc.org/speech/osistudy/censorship/. (Accessed 12/4/2011).

Moyo, Jabulani (2009) “Academic freedom and human rights in Zimbabwe.” Social Research. Available at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/. (Accessed at 14/4/2011).

News Day, 14 June 2010, Harare.

Pooley, Alexandra (2007) “Ethical training: censorshiop and intellectual freedom in public library.” A Master of Arts in Library Science, University of Sheffield. Available at http://idagda.shef.ac.uk/dissertations/2006-07/External/Pooley_Alexandra_MALib.pdf. (Accessed 15/4/2011).

Ristarp, Jan (2000) “Libraries and the intellectual freedom.” A Key note paper at the conference “Literature to Politics – Politics to Literature,” Copenhagen, 10 – 11 November. Available at http://archive.ifla.org/ (Accessed 5/4/2011).

Sens, Jean-Mark (2010) “Not I” said the pig: who detects intellectual freedom for librarians?” Library Philosophy and Practice. Available at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/. (Accessed 14/4/2011).

Staples, Suzanne-Fisher (1996) “What Johnny can’t read: censorship in American libraries.” The ALAN Review, vol. 23; no. 2.

Ward, David V. (1990) “Philosophical issues in censorship and intellectual freedom.” Library Trends, vol. 39; no. 1 and 2, p. 83 – 91.

Competitive intelligence the new information science funtion

Competitive intelligence (CI) is critical for organisations to stay abreast of changing market conditions and avoid costly mistakes. CI is not a new phenomenon but can be traced back to the writings of Sun Tzu who several centuries ago wrote, The Art of War, which provided a detailed description of how to develop intelligence for military applications (Sun, 1988 in Calif and Wright, 2008). To date CI has gathered much momentum as a valuable strategy to provide valuable knowledge rather, for making decisive decisions. Oder (2001) mentioned that CI has long been practiced in some form and its increasing importance may be seen in the growth of The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), which has increased from 150 members in 1986 to nearly 7 000 in 1999. Equally vital is information science that has dramatically changed due to CI even though they encompass similar activities. This work endeavours to discuss the values of CI in the perspective of information science practice. However the terms competitive intelligence and information science are to be defined to provide working definitions for this work.

Oder (2001) opined that CI involves not only the collection of information (from both primary and secondary sources) but also analysis of how that information affects the company’s competitive environment and communication of that anal to decision-makers. According to Kahaner (1996) CI is a systematic programme (sic) for gathering and analysis information about your competitors’ activities and general business trends to further your own company’s goals. A more elaborate definition of CI was coined by Gilad and Fuld (1998) in Alexandra, Andreea and Anca (2002) that CI is the action of ethically and legally gather, analyse and communicate information about third party players in one’s competitive arena – from competitors, to suppliers, customers, influencing parties, distributors and so forth to be used by companies in their planning and decision-making. In addition Prescott and Gibbons (1993) in Trimberger (2010) maintained that CI is the “evolving process by which the management teams assess the evolution of its industry and capabilities and behaviour of its current and potential competitors to assist in maintaining and developing a competitive advantage. A working definition by Santos and Corriea (2010) that CI is,

. . . the conversion of data and information, gathered by an organisation from its external and internal environment, into intelligence that supports the organisational decision-making process. . . . process of monitoring the competitive environment and analysing the findings in the context of internal issues, for the purpose of decision support.

It can be summerised that CI is an ongoing activity that gather intelligence with the aim to categorise it for dissemination to users in an easily interpreted form to influence decision-making. The concept of CI has its roots in marketing where it is commonly used to gather data to map marketing plans.

According to Bates (1999) information science (IS) is a field devoted to scientific inquiry and professional practice addressing the problems of effective communication of knowledge and knowledge records among humans in the context of social, institutional and/or individual uses of and needs for information.  He further outlined that IS is the study of the gathering, organising, storing, retrieving, and dissemination of information. The IS wiki identified IS as consisting of the knowledge and understanding of how to collect, classify, manipulate, store, retrieve and disseminate any type of information. The Wiki maintained that IS focuses on understanding problems from the perspective of the stakeholders involved and then applying information and other technologies as needed. According to the Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science (2004) IS is the systematic study and analysis of the sources, development, collection, organisation, dissemination, evaluation, use, and management of information in all its forms, including the channels (formal and informal) and technology used in its communication.  According to Zins (2006) IS is;

An interdisciplinary field concerned with the theoretical and practical concepts, as well as the technological, laws, and industry dealing with knowledge transfer and the sources, generation, organisation, representation, processing, distribution, communication, and uses of information as well as communications among users and their behaviour as they seek to satisfy their information needs.

Simply stated information science is the practice that is concerned with the gathering, manipulation, classification, storage, and retrieval of recorded knowledge.

The given definitions show similar activities in CI and IS that are critical in pronouncing them as meta-disciplines that collect, analysing and disseminate information for utilisation. The fact that is shared between IS and CI is that they recognise information as a critical aspect of life in the 21^st century contributing immensely in the knowledge economy. Above all the disciplines adhere that information is contributing as the fourth key component driving economies of several nations and that there is need to develop information systems that can acquire, organise, maintain and disseminate information with minimum effort and costs to users through adjusting the traditional perspectives substantially. Aspects of CI that are common in IS are related to information retrieval which in the disciplines play a critical if not a substantial role in the quest for locating the information fundamental in the emergence of an information-based economy. Moon (2000) maintained that few organisations have truly integrated information into their strategies and planning processes in a substantial way to obtain sustainable competitive advantage.

According to Mooers (1951) in Saracevic (1995) information retrieval (IR) embraces the intellectual aspects of the description of information and its specification for search and also whatever systems, techniques or machines that are employed to carry out the operations. IR is relevant in the age where information explosion has continued unabated with the evolution of sophisticated electronic databases, texts and networks that has prompted information professionals to incorporate CI to better manage information for competitive advantage in organisations. CI becomes invaluable in the collecting of information for use in organisation to support and lead management in the decisions and actions. Trimberger (2000) identify IR as the selection of resources, the evaluation of the quality, biases and authenticity of those sources, finding data that is useful. Due to sophisticated methods of IR demonstrated in CI, “ it has been seen as a critical function by senior management at firms as it harness the information, within and external to an organisation, and culls it down to nuggets of intelligence – intelligence that is delivered to management for action” (Moon, 2000). The value of CI has been articulated by Havenga and Botha (2000) who stated that;

In order for organisations to remain globally competitive, new tools for decision-making are required. Of these tools, it is internationally recognised that Competitive Intelligence (CI) is fast becoming a norm rather than the exception to assist management with decision-making in the modern knowledge-based organisation.

To numerous organisations CI is generally relevant to the competitiveness through providing sustainable competitive advantage. The value of CI in modern IS can not be overruled as a synergy between the two promotes availability of intelligence critical for organisations to remain or become truly globally competitive. According to Santos and Correia (2010) CI can be seen as an information processing routine that looks forward to prepare the organisation to compete (and win)  in changing environments, whose dynamism is the result of systematic monitoring. Santos and Correia (2010) further maintain that the process of acquiring, and structuring information and knowledge are central as an activity within broader planning process. The practice of modern IS can be enhanced through CI to enable organisations to “identify new opportunities leading to innovation and ultimately benefiting the competitive status of the organisation” (Havenga and Botha, 2000).

Miller (1996) identified that the components of the intelligence process include identification of users and their needs, the collection and analysis of information and dissemination of intelligence to decision makers and for strategist. It become clear that CI is a narrow activity in IS that sieve for relevant information from both primary and secondary sources to capture and communicate this information on a consistent basis with minimal cost. With the increasing need for information in organisations information professionals are required to be competitive information leaders utilising both CI and IS to communicate information for strategic purposes and remain purposeful in their capacities. Chochrek (2000) opined that CI is the ability to gather the facts, see into the future, and convince your audience that you hold the key. Perhaps a definition of information professional would make an impact in discussing the value of CI in modern IS practice. According to Lindsey-King (1998) in Havenga and Both (2000), “an information professional can be defined as the individual who is primarily responsible for harnessing the organisation’s information sources and information capabilities to enable it to learn and adapt to its changing environment. In most cases the information professional add value to IS through employing intelligence to provide information by responding with a sense of urgency to critical information needs. However, in order to accurately assess the exact extent and nature of the information professional’s involvement and responsibility towards the delivery of competitive intelligence it is necessary to consider the existing skills of the information professional in comparison to the skills needed by the competitive intelligence professional (Havenga and Both 2000).  Correia (2005:38) in Chisita (2011) observed that the new information driven economy presents insurmountable challenges to information professionals as they have to rebrand, redefine their roles and titles, developing skills and identifying functions and tasks to adopt and eliminate, developing relationships with different categories of clients and colleagues, establishing a new process and gathering and applying new resources and techniques. Nevertheless, the instrumental participation of the information professionals in CI and IS relate to the communicating of the information to the users despite their skills and competences.

The value of CI is attributed to the communication of intelligence that is required by managers which is an enhancement to IS which communicate mainly information which when collected form knowledge or intelligence. Communicating intelligence is the prime function of CI that is necessary in the knowledge-based economy for decision-making particularly. Miller (1996) noted that the final phase of the intelligence process consists of communicating the analysis effectively. Trimberger (2000) also noted that communicating the CI product to the customer is comparable to delivering information to a client must be done in a timely fashion and in an effective format. Saracevic (1995) noted that social and economic roles of information [intelligence rather] activities are becoming more and more pronounced; their strategic importance in increasing. Further contributions by Saracevic (2000) are that there are fundamental economic and social changes afoot in which knowledge and information is becoming the base, the prime valuation, for economy and even society as a whole. This is further expounded by Drucker (1994) in Saracevic (2000) that;

The basic economic resource - “the means of production” to use the economist’s term – is no longer capital, nor natural resource (the economist’s land), nor “labour.” It is and will be knowledge . . . . Value is now created by “productivity” and “innovation” both applications of knowledge at work. The leading social group of the knowledge society will be “knowledge workers” – knowledge executives who know how to allocate knowledge to productive use, just as the capitalist knew how to allocate capital to productive use; knowledge professionals, knowledge employees . . . .

In this view the communicating of intelligence should be well calculated distributing the intelligence product to those who requested it as it is “critical to understanding of competitors’ actions and customers’ desires” (Moon 2000).

IS been drastically changed by information and communication technologies thereby increasing the capacity to store information with out the need for physical object. Several authors opine that IS comprise “library without walls”; its “collection” is the entire world of information and the “information scientist” acquires, organises, and disseminates that information to help people meet their needs. In actual fact, this purpose can be seen as a defining characteristic of both IS and CI. However the significance of CI is that it identifies threats. Havenga and Both (2000) suggested that CI should be positioned in the organisation to identify threats in the external environment capable of impacting negatively on the future of the company or organisation. Intelligence is required definitely to give the organisation a competitive advantage over other companies for example a joint venture partnership, innovation and probably for research and development.  According to Havenga and Both (2000) a new intelligence process is required, keeping in mind the fundamental differences and understanding the needs of business to be proactive and to search for new opportunities.  The understanding that CI supports the strategic process in companies addressing to top-level management if the company is still competitive provide value to modern IS functions. At most the intelligence is used to defend against competitors attempting to achieve surprise, the creation of new advantages, the changing of the rules of engagement and the luring of partners (Havenga and Both, 2000).

The usefulness of CI in modern organisations can not be overstated bearing in mind that the knowledge-based economy require knowledge to remain competitive and for informed decisions. CI and IS share similar characteristics that allow information professionals remain relevant to the organisations to play the influential information role more in a fashionable manner of resenting the intelligence in helpful format. Basically the value of CI is critical to the survival of the organisation and to compete with other companies in a sound more informed position.  In most cases CI may be subsumed under the broader concept of IS even though CI analyses business events outside the company. However the bottom line is that intelligence is gathered, analysed and disseminated to the end user more similarly as the IS processes. The perfect features of CI and IS are that the information professional do the gathering then the CI professionals do the cool neat stuff like placing it in the bigger picture (Oder, 2001). The work summarise that CI is an ongoing process that support the decision-making at top level management.  It further summarise that CI has an imperative value in the practice of IS that require information professionals to have immaculate skills and good knowledge of internal and external sources of intelligence. An interesting observation was that the knowledge [intelligence] continuum is from data to information, critical in IS to knowledge [intelligence] which is the basis of CI.

Reference

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Miller, Jerry (1996) “Information science and competitive intelligence: possible collaborators?” Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science, p. 11 – 13. (Accessed 21/03/2011).

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Oder, Norman (2001) “The Competitive intelligence opportunity.” Library Journal, p. 42 – 44.

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Santos, Miriam and Corriea, Ana (2010) “Competitive intelligence as a source of competitive advantage: an exploratory study of the Portuguese biotechnology industry.” Proceedings of the European Conference on Knowledge Management, p. 867 – 879.

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Zins, Chaim (2006) “Redefining information science: from “information science” to “knowledge science.” Journal of Documentation, vol. 62; no. 4, p. 441 – 461.