EBIB   Business information - EBIB No.11/2002

   

Janusz Glapa
Economic information at the Pomeranian Library of Szczecin

Pomeranian Library of Szczecin
This article was translated thanks to the grant received from the Open Society Institute

Why economic information?

Even a surface analysis of the use of terms "economics" information [Pol. informacja ekonomiczna], economic information [Pol. informacja gospodarcza] and business information and, therefore, the extent of their meanings, reveals a certain vagueness in their conceptual fields. Furthermore, it suggests a possible identicalness or relatedness of meanings, as well as, a synonymy of notions with distinct and thus named categories of information. From a certain perspective and leaving simple lexicographical conclusions behind, it could be said that the above terms are distinguished by a semantic "blurriness," an overlapping of meanings. There is a clear lack of a terminological paradigm for this type of information.[1] The issue of sensible use and understanding of these terms brings about the question of whether they denote some other objects, other types of information, other field areas? It can be said that business information is understood synonymously with economic information.[2] However, it is not claimed consistently and unequivocally since it is also stated that economic information has a broader meaning, includes more characteristics/properties.[3] Therefore, this would indicate that there exists a partitive relationship[4] (part-whole) between the two terms, or one of equipollence of meanings. Consequently, given its characteristics already "established" in professional literature, instead of "business information", in this essay, the term "economic information" will be used.

It seems that "economic information," often described as used and understood intuitively,[5] lends its semantic characteristics and its case of expressing a "blurry" notion to the term "economics information". The confrontation of these two terms will become a significant issue to be dealt with in this article. The crucial and underrated difference between these two terms is that economic information, as opposed to economics information, is a factual kind of information.[6] Defining both terms entails a listing of as many distinctive characteristics as possible. In this case, this is probably the best method of defining and comparing the terms.

The professional literature and the library community often use the term economics information. Similarly to its quasi-term[7] economic information, the uses of "economics information" are an indication that the term has a very broad meaning and does not have a clear definition. The following are some of the explanations offered by Jacek Czerniak:

  • The observer's knowledge about the economic system and its environment;
  • The content of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the economic system components;
  • The overall character of interrelated components of the economic system;
  • Information on an economic subject, needed for the observer to resolve a given managerial problem;
  • Information, which diminishes the inability to define a situation in an economic system from the viewpoint of resolving a given managerial problem.[8]

Słownik matematyki i cybernetyki ekonomicznej offers a definition of economics information as "information about social processes of production, distribution, trade and consumption of material goods."[9] However, this description is imprecise. Słownik terminologiczny informacji naukowej[10] calls it "information about the accomplishments of the science of economics and their application in economic practice." [11]

The definitions of economic information found in professional literature are also usually rather general and they are based on approximations.[12] One such description offers a broad meaning for the concept by stating that economic information deals with social processes of production, distribution and consumption.[13] Wojciech Januszko presents an interesting explanation arguing that economic information is an information about businesses, their products and services, cooperative needs of businesses, trade shows and exhibitions, economic missions and visits, on education and training, on services in the field of managing special documentation on foreign trade, statistical and analytic, on financial support, legal statutes, on various organizations, associations and other institutions that support the activities of economic entities, on countries, bibliographic and documentational, reference information, about people in the economy.[14]

Considering the above comparison of meanings, the degree of descriptional precision and the characteristics of categories of information represented by the two terms, there is an inevitable inclination towards using the term "economic information." An additional argument supporting its case, above all, is the pragmatic aspect of the adequacy of the concept in relation to the profile and the scope of information services offered by the Economic and Legal Information Center, described below.

Economic and Legal Information Center at the Pomeranian Library of Szczecin

Rozmiar: 17469 bajtów
Economics collection and business directories		 Rozmiar: 20211 bajtów
Legal collection and standards publications

Economic and Legal Information Center at the Pomeranian Library in Szczecin was opened for operation in the fourth quarter of 1993. The idea behind its founding originated among librarians in Szczecin at a time when political and economic changes in Poland were just beginning to take place. The transformation of the Polish economy resulted in the establishment of thousands of new businesses in the Western Pomeranian region. These companies, either newly founded or developed in the process of change from public to private ownership, have to function on the basis of completely new conventions in Poland. In countries with well-developed market economies, these rules have already been followed for a long time. In 1991, at the 1st International Symposium of Librarians, the concept of creating the center at the Pomeranian Library caught the attention of Mr. Carleton Earl of Great Britain (Director of Dorset County libraries). His consideration presented the librarians in Szczecin with their first opportunity of finding a Western partner with extensive experience in the field of economic information. At that point, Mr. Earl informed the librarians in Szczecin of the possibility of receiving financial support from the Know How Fund for the establishment and development of the Economic Information Center. After the political shifts of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe, the British government launched funding opportunities, which supported the democratic process and stimulated the private business sector in this region of Europe. The project to form the center, developed jointly by the British and Polish, received the support of the Know How Fund. Hence, the Center is an outcome of collaboration between the Pomeranian Library and the Dorset County in Great Britain. Economic information centers, similar to the one in the Pomeranian Library, have a 30-year old history of operating in public libraries in Britain and the United States. Outside the US, Britain and Poland, economic information centers also exist in public libraries in Scandinavia (Denmark and Sweden) and in Holland. The Pomeranian Library has formed partnerships with centers in those countries. The exchange of experiences in this area has brought positive results for all parties involved. The basic aim of the British-Polish cooperation was to develop a strong relationship between the center in Poland and the business information system of Dorset County. As a result, in 1994, the Center became a member of HATRICS, a business information network of Southern British counties of Dorset, Hampshire, Avon, and Sommerset.[15] During the 2nd International Symposium of Librarians titled "Business information in libraries," organized in Szczecin in 1994, the Pomeranian Library had an opportunity to participate in a direct exchange of experiences with librarians from eleven countries. The symposium produced a very interesting and recommended publication.[16] In 1996, the center in Szczecin expanded its offer by adding legal information to its services, resulting in the formation of the Economic and Legal Information Center.

The Economic and Legal Information Center occupies a space of 100 sq. meters, located on the first floor of the Pomeranian Library. It is furnished with modern equipment, such as: computers with CD-ROM and DVD drives, CD-ROM burner, network laser printer and color printer, black and white network scanner servicing the A3 format and color scanner for the A4 format, digital copy machine, fax machine. The equipment is intensely used in the everyday work with the readers. Also, the Center maintains a fast Internet connection of 10MB/s. There are five full-time employees with educational credentials in library science, economics and law. The Center consists of a reading room and a small room used for cataloging the collection of standards. The guiding principle behind its organization was to create a friendly working environment for the readers, an open access to collections to be used in the library. The subject arrangement of collections is not associated with any information retrieval language. Within each subject area, materials are organized in a chronological order. The spatial organization of the collection distinguishes different types of publications arranged by subject: specialized books, language dictionaries and general encyclopedias, periodicals, directories and guidebooks, official government and local administrative publications. Also, there is a collection of standards. The Center offers users free access to its collections from Monday to Saturday. There are symbolic fees for using certain electronic databases (such as Lex, Kompass), as well as, for printing and copying services.

The Pomeranian Library of Szczecin became the first public library in Poland to expand its traditional library services by offering economic information. The success of the endeavor can be judged by the high user statistics. In 1994, 1300 persons used the Center and, in 2001, the number grew to 8455. As one can see, within its eight years of service, the number of visits increased by 550%. In 2001, the Center provided 24,329 volumes of books, 16,380 volumes of journals, answered some 3000 questions and sent 185 queries. Moreover, the Center gave access to over 3500 copies of Polish, European and international standards and related publications. The Center's membership in HATRICS, the British economic information network, provided 178 users with access to collections of ISO standards, British Standards, patents and business directories.

On December 31, 2001, the collections of the Economic and Legal Information Center numbered 4350 volumes of monographic documents (economics - 3150, and law - 2000), 980 volumes of business directories, 180 guidebooks, as well as, 63 journal titles (Polish and foreign, including 25 legal journals). The most popular magazines are: Bank, Bank i Kredyt, Businessman Magazine, Business Week, Doradca Podatnika, Gazeta Prawna, Firma i Rynek, Manager, Marketing i Rynek, Monitor Podatkowy, Poradnik Gazety Prawnej, Profit, Prawo Przedsiębiorcy, Prawo Spółek, Puls Biznesu, Rynek Kapitałowy, Rzeczpospolita, Twój Pienišdz, Vademecum Przedsiębiorcy i Podatnika. Compared to the Center's early days, when it opened with 150 books, 10 journals and 25 directories, the current collection of books and journals seems quite substantial. The Pomeranian Library is the only library in the region that maintains a complete collection of regularly updated standards (Polish Standards in all subject areas, Trade Standards, ISO standards, EIC and EN standards - total of 63,200 volumes). Furthermore, readers have shown great interest in the collection of 2800 volumes of business and cost-estimating directories. It has the most complete collection of standards and related publications in the Western Pomeranian region. Moreover, the Center contains 86 titles of encyclopedias, dictionaries and other databases on CD-ROM. However, the dream of librarians and users to gain access to international on-line databases, such as Dialog, Datastar or STN, is restricted by the library budget. The Center's key sources of acquisitions are: the national depository program, purchases, grants and exchanges (domestic and foreign).

The users of the Center are students and researchers from Szczecin's academic institutions, business owners, individual users and high school students. The composition of Center users presents itself in the following way:

  1. 50% - students and researchers from Szczecin's academic institutions.
  2. 30% - business owners.
  3. 20% - individual users and high school students.

Students and researchers from academic institutions. In the Zachodniopomorskie Province, there are about a dozen of institutions offering undergraduate and graduate studies in economics and law. The majority of, mainly private, schools do not offer well-resourced libraries. External students have to pay for their education and nearly 80% of them are professionally employed in order to do so. It is crucial for the success of the economy to have an educated workforce of economists and lawyers. Students mainly use books, journals and economic databases (management, economics, marketing, finances, logistics, accounting) and legal databases (international, civil, economic and tax law).

Businesspeople. In 2001, there were about 179,000 business ventures in the Zachodniopomorskie Province.[17] A business venture can include any undertaking entitled by different regulations to participate in the economic process.[18] 75% of these entities are small and medium-size enterprises, mainly, small family businesses with 5 to 15 employees. These small and medium-size business owners cannot afford to manage their own marketing departments. Therefore, they use information available to them at the Center, as well as, the entire provincial network of economic information. Obviously, the Economic and Legal Information Center is the main source of economic information they seek. They are interested in literature on economics (among others, management, business, product quality, marketing, finances, TQM) and on law (especially, economic, customs and tax law), as well as, Polish and foreign business databases essential to finding customers and business partners. The collection serves as a tool for improving business management and marketing. Several years of working at the Center has given the present author an understanding of user needs. Thanks to grants, the Center has been able to realize some of the user needs. However, the main obstacle for users, as well as, the Center has been limited financial resources, especially now, that the Polish economy is experiencing a deep recession.

The unemployed (age 18-60). The Center's main service to the jobless population involves counseling on how to write resumes, how to prepare for job interviews, how to start a business, which banks offer the most profitable business loans, how to prepare business and marketing plans required by banks. The Center has access to job listings of private employment agencies and regional employment offices. Job listings are very popular among high school graduates and, more often, university graduates. Lack of job experience required by employers places them last in line for employment. The Center provides assistance in finding information on adult courses for the unemployed, organized by the state employment office, as well as, non-government institutions. The information can lead them onto finding different employment or opening their own business, considering that some poviats (counties) in the province experience over 40% unemployment rate.

The remaining users are high school students and other individuals. High school students have access to a database of academic institutions in the region. They often use the collection to expand their knowledge in the area of economic theory. The Center's broad information services can help them decide on their future career. Other individual readers come to the Center mainly to use legal acts (civil, family, housing law) and to find assistance with writing legal letters, civil and legal contracts.

The resources of the Center include documentational and factual information represented by:

  1. Electronic catalogs and indexes:
    • Catalog of books of the Economic and Legal Information Center;
    • Index of periodicals relating to economics and law held by the Pomeranian Library;
    • Index of articles on issues in economics and law, developed on the basis of original source descriptions, which includes articles from regional press and specialized periodicals not registered in the Index to Periodicals (Bibliografia Zawartości Czasopism);
    • Business index containing brief information on the most important businesses in the region.
  2. General catalog of the Pomeranian Library (card and on-line catalog).
  3. Print materials:
    • Basic reference (encyclopedias, dictionaries, lexicons);
    • Monographs and periodicals on economics and law;
    • Business catalogs and directories;
    • Standards and related literature.
  4. Reference publications and databases on CD-ROM.
  5. On-line databases, for example, Kompass, EBSCO, Bibliographic Guidebook (Przewodnik Bibliograficzny), Index to Periodicals (Bibliografia Zawartości Czasopism).

In 1999, the Pomeranian Library purchased ALEPH, an integrated library system, a perfect tool for processing and providing user access to collections.

The main group of users of economic information provided at the Economic and Legal Information Center is the SME sector (Small and Medium-size Enterprises, as defined by Polish law).[19] The following is a list of several of Center's economic information resources, most popular with this group of users.

1. Yellow Pages

The first step in researching for information on a business involves browsing through telephone directories or, the so-called yellow pages. The best known business directory in Poland is Panorama Firm. Its 2002 edition covers areas of 16 provinces providing telephone numbers and addresses of businesses. The trade and alphabetic indexes makes it very easy to use.

Other similar publications are Branżowe Książki Telefoniczne and Polskie Książki Telefoniczne for all the provinces. They follow an arrangement that is similar to Panorama Firm. Other helpful resources are provincial telephone books, published by Telekomunikacja Polska SA. Their use poses more difficulty since it is necessary to know the name of the business and the yellow pages section is not as well developed as in Branżowe Książki Telefoniczne. The yellow pages are published in the majority of the industrialized countries of the world. The Center maintains these books for Berlin and five counties of Great Britain. All publishers of yellow pages release CD-ROM versions of their products and provide access to them on-line.

2. Business directories (print version)

As mentioned earlier, telephone books are the easiest source of information. However, with the exception of paid advertisements, they offer data that is too brief for a businessperson. Some of the more important information includes how long a potential business partner has been active in the marketplace, what was the initial capital of a firm, its annual turnover, its debt, who are its managers and what products it offers. This and other information can be found in business directories. Some of the oldest publishers in this category include Compalmanach, Hoppenstedt and Kompass, which have been on the Polish market for a few years. They offer directories of businesses in other countries, as well as, Poland. A standard entry for a business contains its name, address, telephone and fax, number in the National Office Register of Economic Units (REGON), tax number (NIP), commercial register number, bank account numbers, founding date and initial capital, information about managers, number of employees, annual turnover, business profile. Below is a list of the most popular publications of this kind in the Center:

  • Duże i średnie przedsiębiorstwa w Polsce 2002, published in one volume by Hoppenstedt Bonnier Information Polska, contains over 10 thousand large and medium-size companies operating in Poland. The listed businesses fulfill at least one of the two criteria, over 10 million Polish zloty in annual turnover or over 150 employed persons. The same publisher offers Almanach menedżerów polskich 1999, listing 40 thousand Polish managers in over 15 thousand businesses.
  • Katalog Kompass Polska, published by Kompass Poland Ltd., consists of two volumes. One contains information on businesses and, the other, on products and services. The 2001/2002 catalog provides information on 43,600 businesses. It costs to list a business and one volume of the catalog comes with a price tag of several hundreds of PLZ. The area of Poland is divided into 10 regions, each of which is covered in its own separate directory. The Northwest regional directory, covering two provinces of Zachodniopomorskie and Lubuskie, lists 5106 registered businesses and institutions. In 2001, Kompass introduced national industrial directories (e.g. transportation, farming), also present at the Center. Additionally, Kompass offers business directories of 70 countries, some of which are not available right away; ordering can take about a month. In addition to print, Kompass publishes CD-ROM databases. The program enables finding businesses by any kind of search criteria. The data is protected with a password, comes with a counter of printed sets of information and a system of blocking the use when the limit is reached.

The above-mentioned publications have the same weakness, they are heavy and inconvenient to use. Aside from that, they demand a lot of space on the shelves. In the last decade, electronic databases have become popular. In the beginning, they were distributed on floppy diskettes and, later, on the more convenient CD-ROMs. Currently, the majority of publishers are abandoning the idea of print directories.

3. CD-ROM databases[20]

The Center maintains a collection of 86 CD-ROMs, including 68 databases. The following is a selection of most interesting products in this collection:

Summary

Smaller enterprises in Poland have slowly been warming up to the idea and value of business information and its application in complex problem-solving. Not all of them, however, are ready to name the sources they have been using, so as not to inadvertently help outside economic watch take advantage of Polish inside market. This refers to firms with foreign investments and export companies.

Eastern Europe Business Database
Publisher:American Directory Corporation
USA

The database is very user-friendly. It contains information about over 120 thousand businesses from the Eastern European region (Albania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, the Baltic countries, Hungary, and the Commonwealth of Independent States). The database can be searched by six criteria. The characteristics of these economies between 1988-2000 are very interesting. The database is recommended by the US Department of Commerce to all those, who are interested in building business partnerships with countries in Eastern Europe. It is possible to print data. The product is in English and it is updated annually.

EKOD CD-ROM (European Kompass On Disc)
Publisher:Burea van Dijk Electronic Publishing
Belgium

The database contains information about 412,331 businesses in 16 Western European countries, as of June 2002. Searching is very quick and it uses 9 criteria to do so. It can be viewed in the following language versions: English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. It allows printing and it is updated twice a year.

EEKOD CD-ROM (East European Kompass On Disc)
Publisher:Burea van Dijk Electronic Publishing
Belgium

The database includes information about 327 thousand businesses from 19 countries in Eastern and Central Europe, as of June 2002. The product is easily searchable, using 9 criteria. It exists in 20 language versions, with the possibility of using the national language and English. It is possible to print from it and it is updated twice a year.

CD-ROM Market 1
Publisher:Kompass Poland Sp. z o.o.
Poland

The database covers 41 thousand Polish businesses, 50 thousand products, and 90 managers, as of June 2002. Searching by 32 criteria is fast. It exists in 5 language versions. Printing is allowed, and updated twice a year.

CD-Marketing
Publisher:Wer liefert was? GmbH
Germany

The database provides information on 305 thousand businesses in 11 European countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary), which includes 197 thousand businesses in German-speaking countries. Searching can be carried out using six criteria. The product can be browsed in one of 11 language versions. It is possible to print, updated twice a year.

European Business - Who's Who 2000
Publisher:Dr. Lothar Rossipaul Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH
Germany

The database includes nearly 40 thousand entries, which offer short biographical information of managers running the biggest businesses in Europe, as well as, some information on their establishments. Searching, which uses 10 criteria, is quick and it is possible to print. The product is in English and it is updated annually.

Przedsiębiorstwa 2002
Publisher:Hoppenstedt Bonnier
Poland

The database contains information on over 22 thousand large and medium-size business establishments (having either 30 employees or 6 million PLZ in annual turnover). Six criteria make searching possible and it is updated twice a year.

Firmy 2002. Marketing CD
Publisher:Hoppenstedt Bonnier
Poland

The database provides information on over 70 thousand businesses and 200 thousand managers. There are 36 criteria to search by and printing is possible. It is updated twice a year.

Business CD 2002
Publisher:Hoppenstedt Bonnier
Poland

The database contains information on over 62 thousand businesses and 140 thousand managers. Searching can be done using 10 criteria and printing option is available. It is updated twice a year.

40000 FIRM POLSKICH
Publisher:Dun & Brandstreet
Poland

40000 FIRM POLSKICH is a professional tool, which enables identifying and making connections with potential business partners. It provides data on 40 thousand most active businesses on the Polish economic market. The information comes from the Center's regularly updated business reports. Several search criteria facilitate finding data and printing is possible.

MARKETING 2002
Publisher:Dun & Brandstreet
Poland

MARKETING 2002 is a professional marketing tool supporting sales office operations by making it possible to prepare and carry out an effective mailing and telemarketing campaign. It contains data on 40 thousand businesses that are most active on the market in Poland. As above, the information comes from the Center's regularly updated business reports. Several criteria enable searching and printing is possible, as well.

System Informacji Prawnej Lex
Publisher:Wydawnictwo Prawnicze Lex
Poland

System Informacji Prawnej Lex consists of three databases:

  • Lex Omega, containing:
    1. Register of 206,008 legal acts and drafts of statutes.
    2. Texts of 26,259 legal acts from Dziennik Ustaw [Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland-transl.] and Monitor Polski [Official Journal of the Republic of Poland-transl.] with the history of previous versions, including:
      • Selected drafts of statutes accepted to the third term of the Polish Sejm [lower house], and all drafts accepted in the current term;
      • Uniform version of texts of 6,155 legal acts, published in official legal journals of various divisions of the government;
      • Uniform version of texts of 119,162 local legal acts, published since January 1999, in official legal journals of 16 provinces;
      • English version of 529 selected legal acts of the European Communities;
      • Samples of 700 legal letters and contracts.
      The database allows performing searches by the following criteria: subject, subject group, information about the acts, glossary, identifier, year, most requested acts, bookmarks. Lex Omega is presented in Polish and it is updated bi-weekly. There is a printing and saving option.
  • Temida, containing:
    1. Judicial decisions of the courts and administration.
    2. Over 37,500 statements supporting the judicial decisions.
    3. Legal bibliography including citations of:
      • Articles published in 32 legal journals from 1990-2002;
      • Books listed in the Polish legal bibliography (Polska Bibliografia Prawnicza), published in "Państwo i Prawo."
    4. Over 31,500 thesis statements appearing in legal publications, i.e. quotes expressing the author's position on the covered subject.
    5. Nearly 2,200 official tax-related documents from the Ministry of Finance. The database can be searched by the following criteria: subject, article, topical tree, and glossary. It is presented in Polish, updated monthly, with the option to print and save information as needed.
  • Informator Prawno-Gospodarczy (legal-economic information service), containing:
    1. Financial reports and decisions of the Ministry of Economy published in Monitor Polski B since January 1, 2001 - over 10,600 documents.
    2. Legal notifications published in Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy [Court and Economic Journal-transl.] since January 1, 2001:
      • Entries to the commercial register;
      • Entries to the National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy);
      • Notifications required by the Polish Commercial Companies Code (Kodeks spółek handlowych);
      • Notifications required by the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (Kodeks postępowania cywilnego);
      • Other notices.
    3. Address and telephone information for courts and government offices throughout Poland. The database contains directory information for over 5,500 institutions and 2,000 court divisions. Informator Prawno-Gospodarczy is updated on a monthly basis.

Other CD-ROM databases, recommended because of their popularity among the Center users, which cannot be presented here in detail due to lack of space, are: Lex Polonica Maxima, Profesjonalny Serwis Informacyjny, Program Legalis (Kodeks Spółek Handlowych and Podatki published by Beck), International Statistical Yearbook 2002.

On-line databases available at the Economic and Legal Information Center

  • Agencja Informacyjno-Wydawnicza BOSS is a publishing agency offering economic services. It provides broad economic information, especially, about financial markets and legal regulations that are essential in running a business. A yearly subscription guarantees monthly updates on the purchased services and databases. http://www.boss.com.pl
  • Kompass, a company familiar for its print and CD-ROM business directories, offers on-line access to its databases, as well. The Internet database contains information on 1.5 million businesses from 70 countries. It is accessible on subscription, which the Center maintains. http://www.kompass.com
  • Wer Liefert Was offers information on over 305 thousand businesses from 10 European countries. Access is free, searching uses three criteria and can be used in 11 languages. http://www.wlwonline.de

If the user is searching for a specific company on the Internet and does not know its WWW address, he or she should use a search engine. The Internet offers hundreds of sites that can help users find economic information.

The most commonly used addresses, websites and search engines are:

Selected Polish sites:

Other selected Internet addresses:

  • Central Statistical Office (Główny Urząd Statystyczny) in Warsaw offers free access to selected statistical information. The office's electronic bulletin is available on a paid subscription.
    http://www.stat.gov.pl
  • Sejm of the Republic of Poland offers free access to its official publications, Dziennik Ustaw and Monitor Polski
    http://www.sejm.gov.pl
  • Ministry of Finance
    http://www.mf.gov.pl
  • Ministry of Economy
    http://www.mg.gov.pl
  • Office of Public Procurement (Urząd Zamówień Publicznych) offers an on-line version of its Public Procurement Bulletin (Biuletyn Zamówień Publicznych)
    http://www.uzp.gov.pl
  • Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości) offers services geared towards business owners
    http://www.parp.gov.pl

Many businesspeople are interested in the so-called economic "intelligence." There are many economic intelligence services on the Polish market. The Center offers two of the most known and most user-recommended:

  1. Dun & Bradstreet [http://www.bdn.com.pl] is the largest organization in the world providing economic information in a variety of ways, hence the biggest economic intelligence service in the world. It should be pointed out that the name economic "intelligence" service does not have anything to do with distributing confidential, secret or media-available information. It is a customary name used to refer to an organization that collects business information on request and from legally available sources. Since confidentiality is the principle guiding the operations, the entity requesting information about a certain company is kept confidential from the investigated company. Economic intelligence organizations often develop their own confidence indicators. While providing a broad analysis of researched companies, the indicators only reflect the organization's evaluation, not a significant criteria for a genuine assessment. Currently, Dun & Bradstreet employs 60 thousand workers and conducts its operations in 300 offices located in over 200 countries. Since 1992, it has been doing business in Poland, where it offers clients a wide range of products and services that can be used to evaluate economic risk on all possible levels of a company or a country. Some of these products are:
    • Reports on Polish and foreign businesses;
    • Publications on CD-ROM;
    • Marketing data - contact information to Polish and foreign companies, delivered on the basis of the client-defined criteria (e.g. industry, geographical region, annual turnover, workforce, etc.);
    • Debt research - information on outstanding dues of Polish and foreign companies, including a payment monitoring service.
  2. Polish Chamber of Commerce (Krajowa Izba Gospodarcza - KIG) [http://www.kig.pl] Within the Polish Chamber of Commerce, an economic information provider InfoData was created to address the information needs of the Polish and foreign business community. In 1997, the office became a limited liability company by the name of Info-Net KIG. At the present time, KIG holds a well-established position on the economic information marketplace, evidenced by the variety of Polish and foreign regular customers, who have made checking on their partners a necessary part of their contract procedures. For many years, world-renowned corporations, as well as, smaller companies have applied this practice regularly. Their experience indicates that spending small amounts of money to research the economic well being of a potential business partner can greatly prevent huge losses caused by financial insolvency or business fraudulence. The database contains about 2 million records with basic information on businesses and over 100 thousand full economic profiles, which enables a quick creation of reliable business reports.

In Poland, there are several systems of economic information. The Economic and Legal Information Center has good working relations with the following institutions:

  1. National SME Services Network (Krajowy System Usług - KSU) The National SME Services Network was founded in October 1996, on the initiative of the Polish Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion and Development (Polska Fundacja Promocji i Rozwoju Małych i średnich Przedsiębiorstw), since 2001, known as the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości). Currently, it consists of 131 organizations and institutions (centers), which provide advising, training, information and financial services, which support small and medium enterprises. The aim of KSU is to increase competition on the Polish SME market by supplying high quality services in many different areas, thus making sure that companies are better prepared to function in the market economy. The KSU centers are recognized in national competitions, which evaluate the centers' experiences and the quality of rendered services in support of SMEs. The services offered by KSU centers are:
    • Advising;
    • Training;
    • Information;
    • Financial services;
    • Other types of services.
  2. Nationwide Business Information System (Ogólnopolski System Informacji Gospodarczej - OSIG) The Nationwide Business Information System was implemented in the years 1991-1992, within the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) and its over 20 regional divisions. It was formed as a database of national and foreign business ventures, including producers, exporters and importers of goods and services, as well as, their cooperative, export, import and joint-venture offers. The system underwent many revisions. Independent databases are used in 31 regional chambers of commerce. OSIG contains information on businesses, such as, their official name, contact information, legal structure, description of activity, products and services expressed using the European Classification of Activities (EKD). It also includes other information supplied by the company itself, such as, type of desired partners, information on business owners, the organizational structure, a brief history, basic financial information and cooperative potential, contact persons, and cooperative, export, import and joint-venture offers.

Economic information systems are also experiencing a rapid growth in the former Russian republics. The article "Informacja biznesowa w wybranych krajach Europy Wschodniej"[21] talks about the state of economic information in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Byelorussia. Similar systems exist in the remaining former socialist countries.[22]

It is not possible for libraries to develop their own economic information systems that could compete with commercial services available in Poland. Nevertheless, the Pomeranian Library has decided to do support the SME sector of the local administrative areas. Its efforts have resulted in the founding of the Pomeranian Network of Economic and Legal Information Centers.

Pomeranian Network of Economic and Legal Information Centers

The plan to form the Pomeranian Network of Economic and Legal Information Centers was designed at the Pomeranian Library in 2001 and its implementation was completed in the current year. It is the continuation of the project "Expanding the activity of the Economic and Legal Information Center at the Pomeranian Library." Both ventures were partially financed by the OSI Network Library Program in Budapest. The project covers the entire Zachodniopomorskie Province. It is being realized on two axes at the same time. The horizontal axis involves two large libraries, the Pomeranian Library with headquarters in Szczecin, and the Koszalin Public Library, situated in Koszalin. The vertical axis incorporates nine poviat (county) libraries located throughout the Zachodniopomorskie Province, with head offices in Dębno, Goleniów, Gryfice, Kamień Pomorski, Myślibórz, Nowogard, Police, Stargard Szczeciński and świnoujście. The project to create the Pomeranian Network was met with support from city, poviat and provincial authorities. The city authorities secured resources to co-finance the project. The Pomeranian Library received a grant from OSI - Network Library Program to complete the project along with nine libraries from the vertical axis. Because of its 9-year experience with providing legal and economic information, the Center serves as a model to the remaining centers participating in the network. The collections and services available in all the centers are open to thousands of users in the region. It is planned that, during 2003, other poviat libraries located throughout the province will join the network. The ultimate dream is to create a network of economic and legal information centers for the entire region of Pomerania, which would include libraries from the Pomorskie Province (Gdańsk) and the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province (Bydgoszcz, Toruń). Small and medium enterprises, which, as mentioned earlier, constitute 75% of businesses in the Zachodniopomorskie Province, are the potential users of the Pomeranian Network of Economic and Legal Information Centers. Since owners of small and medium enterprises cannot afford marketing divisions, they have to satisfy their business needs in special centers. The remaining users are high school and university students, and other individual readers.

Considering their good location within the province, collections and professional staff, the Pomeranian libraries decided to expand their services by offering economic and legal information. The preparation of library staff for this additional activity included special training that was placed in the hands of cooperating professional associations and economic organizations. The network of Pomeranian centers will benefit the local community in fulfilling its needs for economic and legal information, as well as, in reducing its high unemployment rate and promoting economic activity.

Project goals:

  • Providing open access to economic and legal information to all interested public library users;
  • Enabling quick access to information using electronic technology (CD-ROM and Internet);
  • Promoting the Internet as a source of economic and legal information;
  • Enabling fast information delivery via e-mail and fax-modem;
  • Library staff training in the field of economic and legal information;
  • Improving the status of libraries in local communities;
  • Integrating libraries with local communities;
  • Disseminating knowledge about the European Union in local communities.

Expected effects of the project:

  • Developing large collections of resources in every center;
  • Establishing good working relations between public libraries and sponsors, businesses and private education institutions;
  • Easy access to print collections and databases;
  • Satisfying user needs for information;
  • Assisting all interested users in the process of starting a business;
  • Helping users find business partners in Poland and abroad;
  • Providing users with the possibility of expanding their theoretical and practical knowledge by using the collections.

As public libraries, the Pomeranian Library and the remaining libraries in the network cannot use commercial advertising (costs also make it an unattainable option) to promote its collections and information services. Instead, libraries practice the following promotional activities:

  • The libraries are preparing a guidebook about the network (members, types of services, collections) that will be available in city administrative offices, libraries, chambers of commerce and trade, economic institutions and business organizations.
  • Information on new collections and activities of the network centers is regularly prepared for public radio and television.
  • Information on new collections and services is regularly distributed to the local press (newspapers, magazines).
  • Center spokespersons give interviews to local media in regards to network activities.
  • Local journalists and reporters from radio, television and print press are invited to visit the centers, which should produce coverage in the above media.
  • The network collaborates with regional chambers of commerce and trade.
  • Cooperative relationships have been formed with business organizations, such as, Business Center Club, Association of Business Owners (Stowarzyszenie Przedsiębiorców), Zachodniopomorskie Merchants' Chamber (Zachodniopomorska Izba Kupców), etc.
  • Meetings with business owners organized in library centers provide a chance for business owners to familiarize themselves with services, as well as, the needs of the centers. Hopefully, these relationships will generate new sponsorship opportunities.

Each participating library provides the physical space and qualified personnel to operate its center. All members of the Pomeranian Network of Economic and Legal Information Centers were provided with new computer equipment and peripheral devices (printers, copy machines).

Basic specialized textbooks, catalogs and directories were purchased for the nine poviat libraries. It should be stressed that, for the majority of library users in local communities, the economic and legal information center will be the only place with Internet access and reference materials on this subject. All network participants were trained in using the Internet (web pages, electronic mail), as well as, other sources of economic and legal information (print and electronic). Training sessions were held at the Pomeranian Library and they were conducted by specialists in the area of computer science, as well as, economic and legal information.

The Economic and Legal Information Center at the Pomeranian Library has many working partners, such as:

  1. Other departments of the institution.
  2. Other public libraries with similar centers in Poland and abroad.
  3. Academic libraries (in the field of information related to the economy, standards, patents and innovation).
  4. European Information Centers.
  5. Polish and foreign chambers of commerce and trade.
  6. Business organizations.
  7. Employment offices.
  8. National government and local administration offices.
  9. Non-government organizations (foundations and associations).
  10. Regional press, public radio and television.

Among some of the benefits of these cooperative activities are new experiences and concepts, the exchange of collections and experiences, promotion and advertising, more effective public relations, developing a library lobby, creating a new perception of libraries, information about economic and legal resources available in other institutions and organizations, strengthening the importance of libraries in local communities.

May this be an encouragement to colleagues in other libraries to consider the possibility of expanding their library services by offering economic information. Such an endeavor calls for patience, lots of determination, support from co-workers and financial assistance from local authorities, but the satisfaction from helping the unemployed and all those who want to start their own businesses is guaranteed.

The field of economic information is a broad area and only some of the issues related to it have been touched upon in this essay. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to revisit this subject in the future. Comments and questions are appreciated.

Availing himself of this opportunity, the author would like to thank the editors of EBIB for the chance to guest in its publication. Furthermore, he wishes the editors continued success.

Footnotes

[1] Języki specjalistyczne. Słownik terminologii przedmiotowej. Ed. by J. Lukszyn. Warsaw 2002, p. 84.

[2] W. Januszko: Systemy informacji gospodarczej. Warsaw 2002, p. 23.

[3] Ibid., p. 38.

[4] Języki specjalistyczne..., p. 84.

[5] Encyklopedia Biznesu. T. 1. Warsaw 1995, p. 338; W. Januszko: Systemy..., p. 22.

[6] B. Bojar: Słownik encyklopedyczny informacji, języków i systemów informacyjno-wyszukiwawczych. Warsaw 2002, p. 90; W. Januszko: Systemy..., p. 23.

[7] Języki specjalistyczne..., p.85.

[8] J. Czerniak: Informacja i zarządzanie. Warsaw 1976.

[9] Słownik matematyki i cybernetyki ekonomicznej. Warsaw 1985.

[10] Słownik terminologiczny informacji naukowej. Ed. by M. Dembowska. Wrocław 1979.

[11] Ibid., p. 53.

[12] W. Januszko: Systemy..., p. 23, 58.

[13] Encyklopedia Biznesu..., p. 338.

[14] W. Januszko: Systemy..., p. 58-60.

[15] HATRICS: The Southern Information Network. Winchester 2002.

[16] Informacja biznesowa w bibliotece.Materiały II Międzynarodowego Sympozjum Bibliotekarzy, Szczecin 19-21 paŸdziernika 1994. Warsaw 1995.

[17] Data collected from the Provincial Statistical Office in Szczecin.

[18] Encyklopedia Biznesu..., p. 628.

[19] Statute "Prawo działalności gospodarczej" [Law on Commercial Activity], dated November 19, 1999. Dziennik Ustaw 1999 no. 101, pos. 1178, pp. 5454-5468.

[20]Short information about the databases was gathered from publisher catalogs and from the database directions for use.

[21] E. Mostowicz, A. Grzecznowska, M. Balińska: Informacja biznesowa w wybranych krajach Europy Wschodniej. Praktyka i teoria Informacji naukowej i Technicznej 2002 no. 1/2, p. 15-21.

[22] B. Collinge: Business Opportunities In Central And Eastern Europe. Managing Information 2001 no. 5, p. 48-49.

Bibliography:

  1. J. Bendkowski: Informacja ekonomiczna w przedsiębiorstwie. Gliwice 1993.
  2.  B. Bojar: Słownik encyklopedyczny informacji, języków i systemów informacyjno-wyszukiwawczych. Warsaw 2002.
  3. B. Collinge: Business Opportunities In Central And Eastern Europe. Managing Information 2001 no. 5.
  4. J. Czerniak: Informacja i zarządzanie. Warsaw 1976.
  5. Statute "Prawo działalności gospodarczej" [Law on Commercial Activity], dated November 19, 1999. Dziennik Ustaw 1999 no. 101, pos. 1178.
  6. Encyklopedia Biznesu. V.1. Warsaw 1995.
  7. J. Glapa: Informacja gospodarcza. Bibliotekarz Zachodniopomorski 1998 no. 1/2.
  8. Hatrics: The Southern Information Network. Winchester 2002.
  9. Informacja biznesowa w bibliotece. Materiały II Międzynarodowego Sympozjum Bibliotekarzy, Szczecin 19-21 października 1994. Warsaw 1995.
  10. W. Januszko: Systemy informacji gospodarczej. Warsaw 2002.
  11. Języki specjalistyczne. Słownik terminologii przedmiotowej. Ed. by J. Lukszyn. Warsaw 2002.
  12.  E. Mostowicz, A. Grzecznowska, M. Balińska: Informacja biznesowa w wybranych krajach Europy Wschodniej. Praktyka i Teoria Informacji Naukowej i Technicznej 2001 no. 1/2.
  13. R. Pagell, M. Halperin: International Business Information. Chicago 1999.
  14. Słownik matematyki i cybernetyki ekonomicznej. Warsaw 1985.
  15. Słownik terminologiczny informacji naukowej. Ed. by M. Dembowska. Wrocław 1979.

Translated by Marta Sobieszek


Economic information at the Pomeranian Library of Szczecin [Electronic document] . - Access mode: http://ebib.oss.wroc.pl/english/grant/glapa.php
Last modification: 6.02.2003