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traditional role of the librarian, and sometimes in other ways. It is the
latter that this project will investigate in the hope that these corporate
entities may have something to teach the intelligence community about
gathering, storing and retrieving information. Corporations have their

financial well being at stake, and this is often the impetus needed to
combine cutting edge technology and human experience to create a new
paradigm. Even the title “librarian” is being dropped in favor of terms

like “knowledge manager” or “information specialist.” Regardless of the
title, however, it is clear that business practices of some companies
warrant a review by the intelligence community. By looking at some of
their policies, new methods of information retrieval and management

may come to light which may prove useful as the intelligence
community struggles to adapt to the information age.
For example, the marketing research industry relies heavily on

competitive intelligence to give their clients the data needed to make
appropriate decisions. Nigel Culkin and David Smith, both business and
marketing faculty at University of Hertfordshire and Jonathon Fletcher,

Associate Director at DVL Smith Ltd, write the following: [T]here is also
going to be a competitive advantage to those market research and
information professionals who, at the outset of studies, can help define the

problem in a manageable way, whilst at the end of the study helping the

decision maker through the decision‐making process. This is done, in part,

by listening carefully and factoring in the manager’s own intuition and
prior knowledge on the subject, and also by helping set the information in

a wider analytical framework context, together with helping the marketing
decision maker present and win the case in the arena in which the
argument must be presented.
By actively including information professionals in the entire process

of the marketing study, they acknowledge the fact that the expertise
information professionals bring is critical. An information framework is
useless without the trained staff that can utilize the data effectively and

turn it into useful intelligence.
Angela Cleaver, an information manager at Watson Wyatt LLP (a
global consulting firm) has this to say about her position as an information
professional: “At the end of the day we are able to contribute most to our