E-Reference Sweet Success at Hershey Foods

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E-Reference Sweet Success at Hershey Foods

• Colleen T. Shannon
• Information Analysis Center
• Hershey Foods Corporation

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IAC Where We Fit
Hershey Foods Corporation
Research Development
RD Planning Info. Analysis
Technology Planning
Projects Administration
Information Analysis
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IAC Mission

• Gather, Analyze and Distribute information that
  assists and enhances business and technical
  decision making.
• Motto Information at the Desktop.

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IAC Main Services

• Information Research
• Document Delivery
• Current Awareness
• Project Support
• Document Imaging

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IAC Staffing

• Two professional librarians
• One part-time temporary administrative person
• Intern during summer months

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IAC User Groups

• Who Our Users Are
• Entire Corporation
• More than 50 of IAC resources dedicated to RD
• Where Our Users Are
• Hershey Campus
• Corporate and Manufacturing Locations
• Beyond Hershey PA
• Hershey Canada
• Hershey International
• Manufacturing Locations

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IAC User Group Profile

• Disciplines
• Computing Resources
• Common Desktop Architecture
• Culture

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Reference Stats

• Goal--Identify trends or changes in various user
  groups focus on who utilizes our services
• Average 30 reference requests monthly
• Approximately 90 requests initially submitted by
  e-mail
• less than 1 intranet form
• 3 phone
• 6 in person

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E-Mail Reference

• Immediate Response
• Ideal
• Include all reference interview points of
  clarifications and questions in initial email
• Minimum
• Note expressing when you will be contacting
  requestor to discuss the request.
• Standardized Results

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This is where Ill show our search results form.
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IAC Intranet Forms

• IAC involvement in Intranet increased
• Department site
• Other departments sites
• Overall RD gatekeeper function
• Related professional associations conferences
• Input requested to aid in Corp.s move towards
  portal concept

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Available IAC Intranet Forms

• Patent Request (search or document delivery)
• Document Request
• Information Request
• Book Request (in-house loan, ILL, purchase)

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IAC Intranet Forms--Underutilized

• Difficult to locate IAC Intranet site
• Form daunting
• Mistrust of technology--whered my request go?
• E-mail culture

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Why IAC Isnt Forcing the Issue

• Intranet Request forms almost always require the
  same follow-up as incoming free-form email
  requests
• Mistrust of technology see Bittersweet Lessons
  Learned!

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Bittersweet Lessons Learned

• Where do the Intranet forms go? Or lost in
  cyberspace
• They cant use em if they cant find em
• No incentive--why not just e-mail?
• Gratuitous technology?

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Top Ten Points of Advice

• 10. Know your client base in terms of technical
  resources
• 9. Know your client base in terms of technical
  ability
• 8. Know your client base in terms of culture
• 7. Be flexible
• 6. Be consistent
• 5. Be organized
• 4. Be communicative
• 3. Closure is critical
• 2. Take advantage of ease of extras factor
• and

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the number one piece of advice...

• When all else fails, eat chocolate!