Quantum² : InfoStars : Bain & Company's Dr. Toby Pearlstein

Bain & Company's Dr. Toby Pearlstein

Moving Outside the Library Walls

Bain & Company's Dr. Toby Pearlstein

It's no longer solely a reference desk operation. The Boston-based strategic management consulting firm Bain & Company has begun taking information services outside the confines of the library walls under the leadership of Dr. Toby Pearlstein, Director of Information Services. In addition to processing reference and research requests in the library, librarians now are also assigned to case teams to work on client projects.

"The librarian becomes a working member of the team, becoming acquainted with the client environment, and adding his or her insight into the final results," says Pearlstein. "In addition, the librarian instructs team members in a growing array of desktop services, empowering them to use these tools on their own for a more effective process. We still, of course, do more sophisticated research for the team as they need it. The unique experience and skills of our information services team allow us to bring a lot of information under control that had not previously been controlled—enabling the company to maximize its intellectual assets."

Case team support is one example of a value-added service at Bain. Pearlstein and her team, along with other managers, currently are reevaluating how information services can continue to add value, and contribute more, to the company's results. Pearlstein says she wants their information services to be flexible, to provide customized services, and to deliver synthesized products with the best information available, whether it's external or internal.

"We are trying very much to grow with the needs of the company—to be market driven within the company," says Pearlstein. "I think that's going to be crtitical for us, especially if you look outside and see what's happening in other corporate libraries. This is a place that is very data driven and information services has a big role to play. But we have to continue refining and developing that role to make sure were always meeting the needs of our clients. If we don't do that, we face the danger of becoming less integral to what's happening in the company."