Library's industrial technology information service in science parks—Taking NSL's practice as an example

Purpose:The purpose of this paper is to explore how libraries can develop service and product strategies and the service support mechanism to provide industrial technology information service in science parks.Design/methodology/approach:The analysis is based on a case study of a large Chinese research library,National Science Library(NSL),the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS),in serving high-tech companies in Zhongguancun Science Park(Z-Park).Findings:NSL’s practices suggested that in serving business clients,libraries’ product and service strategies should be based on the understanding of users’ needs.Aside from those services that have been recognized by clients such as document retrieval & delivery and novelty search,libraries may expand their service and provide in-depth information analysis and consultation for some key clients.Moreover,a service and product development system should be established,which differentiates the libraries’ products and services from those of their competitors.In providing industrial technology information service,libraries need to construct the service support mechanism,publicize their service and learn to cooperate with clients to meet their demands for knowledge management and innovation.Research limitations:The generalizability of the findings is limited because they are based on an individual case study.Practical implications:Our service practices provide useful information for other libraries to expand their information service to high-tech companies in the new information environment.Originality/value:Z-Park is the first and one of the largest science and technology parks in China.Hence NSL’s practices in serving high-tech companies in Z-Park can be valuable to other libraries that intend to take up the similar service.