Internet, intranet, extranet: managing the information bazaar

Abstract

The web has brought to the business world an inexpensive way of distributing corporate information to employees, business partners and customers. The term intranet describes a closed computer network built upon World Wide Web technology in which access is restricted to a particular group of users, typically employees of a company. The term extranet is used when access is extended to a privileged user group: customers and suppliers for example. This paper examines the role of the World Wide Web in the Research Library at Scottish Media Newspapers, in particular how it complements the portfolio of traditional online sources, CD Roms and books. It also describes the extent to which searching has moved from the intermediary to the end user. In the mid 1990s, just as the web was beginning its spectacular rise to fame, Scottish Media Newspapers developed a browser‐based interface to the in‐house database of newspaper stories, a process that led to the creation of a corporate intranet. The creation of the intranet has been accompanied by a redefining of staff roles in an attempt to change the image from passive librarian to dynamic research specialist. The paper concludes by examining the role of the information professional/librarian in a world where end users will have a vast range of information from internal and external sources at their fingertips.