Supporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorUnderwood, Peter Gen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-29T17:43:10Z
dc.date.available2014-11-29T17:43:10Z
dc.date.issued2009en_ZA
dc.descriptionThis is a post-print/preprint of an article published by Emerald in Library Review, VOL. 58(8): 569-580, available: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/00242530910987064.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractPurpose - The Library Business Corners (LBC) service for entrepreneurs in the Western Cape of South Africa uses public libraries as a channel for information and expertise. It is a 'grass roots', community-driven, approach which has been adopted elsewhere in South Africa. Similar services have appeared addressing the same, or similar, groups of users, often concentrating on the use of information and communication technology. Design/methodology/approach - Developing an effective service for entrepreneurs depends critically on the quality of staff and their contacts. The opportunities and problems of the LBCs' approach are identified and a response to the emergence of similar services is considered. The 'balanced score card' model is used to explore the vision and strategy of the present services and the potential contribution of information literacy. Findings - Financial support for LBC work is scarce and unlikely to increase. The challenge is to create a sustainable service by the LBC team as points of presence, using the existing or reduced financial base. Concentration on increasing capacity at the point of delivery of information through knowledge of the business environment and information literacy is essential. Originality/value - The paper describes the first application of the 'balanced score card' technique to a public library business information service in South Africa.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationUnderwood, P. G. (2009). Supporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africa. <i>Library Review</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9863en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationUnderwood, Peter G "Supporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africa." <i>Library Review</i> (2009) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9863en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationUnderwood, P. 2009. Supporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africa. Library Review.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0024-2535en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Underwood, Peter G AB - Purpose - The Library Business Corners (LBC) service for entrepreneurs in the Western Cape of South Africa uses public libraries as a channel for information and expertise. It is a 'grass roots', community-driven, approach which has been adopted elsewhere in South Africa. Similar services have appeared addressing the same, or similar, groups of users, often concentrating on the use of information and communication technology. Design/methodology/approach - Developing an effective service for entrepreneurs depends critically on the quality of staff and their contacts. The opportunities and problems of the LBCs' approach are identified and a response to the emergence of similar services is considered. The 'balanced score card' model is used to explore the vision and strategy of the present services and the potential contribution of information literacy. Findings - Financial support for LBC work is scarce and unlikely to increase. The challenge is to create a sustainable service by the LBC team as points of presence, using the existing or reduced financial base. Concentration on increasing capacity at the point of delivery of information through knowledge of the business environment and information literacy is essential. Originality/value - The paper describes the first application of the 'balanced score card' technique to a public library business information service in South Africa. DA - 2009 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Library Review KW - South Africa KW - information literacy KW - balanced scorecard KW - business support services KW - public libraries LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2009 SM - 0024-2535 T1 - Supporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africa TI - Supporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9863 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/9863
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationUnderwood PG. Supporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africa. Library Review. 2009; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9863.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherEmeralden_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentCentre for Information Literacyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyCentre for Higher Education Developmenten_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceLibrary Reviewen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/00242530910987064en_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Africaen_ZA
dc.subjectinformation literacyen_ZA
dc.subjectbalanced scorecarden_ZA
dc.subjectbusiness support servicesen_ZA
dc.subjectpublic librariesen_ZA
dc.titleSupporting the information needs of entrepreneurs in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourcePostprinten_ZA
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