This sector is represented by the following types and sources:

1. Exchange and financial information - information on securities quotations, exchange rates, discount rates, commodity and capital markets, investments, prices. The sources of such information are exchanges and special exchange and financial information services that serve them. The main factor ensuring the commercial value of such information is its completeness, accuracy and efficiency.

2. Economic and statistical information - numerical economic, demographic and social information. Provided by economic management bodies and statistical services (state and non-state) in the form of time series, reports, estimates, forecasts, etc. Along with such factors that ensure the commercial value of information as completeness, accuracy and efficiency, accessibility (not secrecy) to the consumer is of particular importance.

3. Commercial information - address details about industries, enterprises and their responsible employees (including data on areas of activity, range of products, prices, etc.). Its sources are government and a number of non-governmental organizations. Many collections of commercial information offered on the information market as independent products are secondary processing of information collected by various government agencies (usually responsible for registration, licensing and/or inspection of various aspects of the activities of enterprises and organizations of various forms of ownership). The main factor determining the commodity value of information is completeness, accuracy and adequacy to the changes taking place.

4. Information on commercial offers comes from specialized companies - information resellers. In the simplest cases (for example, in market research that does not involve immediate purchase and sale as an integral part), only information about goods and prices is sufficient. In most commercially significant cases, potential sellers and buyers are also interested in the address details of counterparties, without which contact between them and, consequently, the transaction simply will not take place. Today, an integral part of the services related to the provision of such information is the possibility of immediately concluding a transaction based on the results
searching or selecting data. The quality of this related service determines success in this sector of the information market.

1st sector– business information, consists of the following parts:

• stock exchange and financial information - securities quotes, exchange rates, discount rates, commodity and capital markets, investments, prices. Suppliers include special stock exchange and financial information services, brokerage companies, banks
• statistical information – time series, forecast models and estimates for economic, social, demographic areas. Suppliers are government services, companies, consulting firms
• commercial information on companies, firms, corporations, areas of work and their products, prices; about financial condition, connections, transactions, executives, business news in the field of economics and business. Suppliers are special information services

2nd sector- information for specialists, contains the following parts:

• professional information – special data and information for lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, teachers, engineers, geologists, meteorologists, etc.
• scientific and technical information – documentary, bibliographic, abstract, reference information in the field of natural, technical, social sciences, industries and areas of human activity
• access to primary sources - organizing access to sources of information through libraries and special services, the possibility of purchasing primary sources, obtaining them through interlibrary loan in various forms

3rd sector- consumer information, consists of the following parts:

• news and literature – information from news services and press agencies, electronic magazines, reference books, encyclopedias
• consumer information - transport schedules, reserving tickets and hotel rooms, ordering goods and services, banking transactions, etc.
• entertainment information – games, teletext, video text

4th sector- education services, includes all forms and levels of education: preschool, school, special, secondary vocational, higher, advanced training and retraining

Information products can be presented in computer or non-computer form: textbooks, methodological developments, workshops, educational computer games, computer training and monitoring systems, teaching methods, etc.

5th sector- providing information systems and tools, consists of the following parts:

• software products - software complexes with different orientations - from a professional to an inexperienced computer user: system software, general orientation programs, application software for implementing functions in a specific area of ​​belonging, for solving problems using standard mathematical methods, etc.
• technical means - computers, telecommunications equipment, office equipment, related materials and components
• development and maintenance of information systems and technologies - survey of an organization in order to identify information flows, development of conceptual information models, development of the structure of a software package, creation and maintenance of databases
• consulting on various aspects of the information industry - what information technology to purchase, what software is needed to implement professional activities, whether an information system is needed and what kind, on the basis of which information technology it is better to organize your activities, etc.
• preparation of information sources - creation of databases on a given topic, area, phenomenon, etc.

Any type of access can be organized in each sector:

• direct to paper-based information storage
• remote to computer databases located remotely or located in the given premises

The information market, despite different concepts and opinions regarding its infrastructure, exists and develops, which means we can talk about the business of information products and services, which means not only trade and intermediation, but also production.

Information business functions:

• financial management and accounting
• HR management
• logistics
• production organization
• marketing research
• leasing operations
• consulting service
• property and information insurance
• organization of information security service
• service

Last lecture

Design
Bottom up

The main goal of the projects carried out in accordance with this project is to create replicable products, and to serve the needs of a specific institution, this approach has been partially preserved today. By creating their own departments for optimization, enterprises tried to organize themselves on their own, however, periodic changes in work technology and job descriptions, difficulties associated with different user ideas about the same data, led to continuous modifications of programs to satisfy more and more new desires of individual workers. As a result, both the work of programmers and the information created. system, caused dissatisfaction among managers and users of the system. When using this method, support for individual functions is provided quite well and almost completely. There is no development strategy for the integrated development of the optimization system, and the integration of functional subsystems becomes a complex problem.
Associated with the awareness of this fact, there is a need for sufficiently standard programs. means of optimization of various institutions and enterprises. In accordance with this method, systems began to be designed from top to bottom, i.e. the assumption that one program should satisfy the needs of many users. The very idea of ​​using a universal program imposes significant limitations and opportunities for developers to create database structures, screen forms for choosing algorithms for calculations. the framework laid down from above does not provide the opportunity to flexibly adapt the system. specifics of a particular enterprise. Solving these problems requires serious modifications to the system, so the material and time costs for implementing the system and bringing it to the customer’s request usually significantly exceed the planned indicators.
Association.
The purpose of this methodology is to regulate the design process and ensure the management of this process. The main tasks to be solved, which the methodology of the information design method should contribute to. systems are as follows:
ensure the creation of corporate information. systems that meet the goals and objectives of the organization, as well as the requirements for optimizing the customer’s business process;
1) Guarantee the creation of a system with a given quality within a given time frame within the established budget;
2) Maintain a convenient maintenance discipline, modification of system expansion;
3) Ensure continuity of development i.e. use in the information being developed. system the existing infrastructure of the organization.
The introduction of this methodology should lead to a reduction in the complexity of the information creation process. systems, due to an accurate and complete description of this process, as well as the use of modern methods and technologies for creating information. systems throughout the information life cycle. systems from concept to implementation. Information design The system covers three areas:
· Design of data objects that will be implemented in the database.
· Designing programs, screen forms, reports that will ensure the fulfillment of data requests;
· Taking into account specific environments or technologies, namely: network topology (schemes), hardware configuration, etc.
According to modern methodology, the process of creating information. system is a process of constructing a sequential transformation, a series of coordinated models at all stages of the life cycle (LC). At each stage of the life cycle, models specific to it are created - organizations, information requirements. system, project information. systems, application requirements, etc. process of creating information The system is divided into a number of stages:
1) Formation of system requirements;
2) Design
3) Implementation;
4) Testing;
5) Commissioning;
6) Operation and maintenance;

Who is who and what is where,
or the information space of Russian business

Main sectors of the information resources market

The modern information market can be divided into several main sectors based on the nature of the data:

1. The BUSINESS INFORMATION sector is represented by the following types and sources:

1.1 EXCHANGE and FINANCIAL information information on securities quotes, exchange rates, discount rates, commodity and capital markets, investments, prices. The sources of such information are exchanges and special exchange and financial information services that serve them. The main factor ensuring the commercial value of such information is its completeness, accuracy and efficiency.

1.2 ECONOMIC and STATISTICAL information numerical economic, demographic and social information. Provided by economic management bodies and statistical services (state and non-state) in the form of time series, reports, estimates, forecasts, etc. Along with such factors that ensure the commercial value of information as completeness, accuracy and efficiency, accessibility (non-classification) to the consumer is of particular importance.

1.3 COMMERCIAL information address details about industries, enterprises and their responsible employees (including data on areas of activity, range of products, prices, etc.). Its sources include government and a number of non-governmental organizations. Many collections of commercial information offered on the information market as independent products are secondary processing of information collected by various government agencies (usually responsible for registration, licensing and/or inspection of various aspects of the activities of enterprises and organizations of various forms of ownership). The main factor determining the commodity value of information is the completeness and accuracy (adequacy of the changes that occur) of the data.

1.4 Information on COMMERCIAL OFFERS comes from specialized companies information resellers. In the simplest cases (for example, in market research that does not involve immediate purchase and sale as an integral part), only information about goods and prices is sufficient. In most commercially significant cases, potential sellers and buyers are also interested in the address details of counterparties, without which contact between them and, consequently, the transaction simply will not take place. Today, an integral part of the services related to the provision of such information is the ability to immediately conclude a transaction based on the results of data search/selection. The quality of this related service determines success in this sector of the information market.

1.5 POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, MILITARY, etc. NEWS that is of interest to representatives of various social groups, in particular entrepreneurs. The main success factor here is efficiency (“tomorrow’s data should be published yesterday”), accuracy (correspondence to facts, absence of distortions) and reliability of the forecast component (only those forecasts that come true are bought).

2 Sector of LEGAL (REGULATIVE) information with subsections by types of legislative and by-law (departmental) documents on various aspects of economic activity:

2.1 GENERAL ECONOMIC ACTS (civil, arbitration and tax law).

2.2 ACTS REGULATING SPECIFIC TYPES OF ACTIVITY (for example, foreign economic, trade, banking, exchange, licensing of various types of activities, customs problems, copyright protection, etc.).

2.3 ACTS REGULATING TRANSFORMATION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS during the transition period (privatization of means of production, land, etc.).

2.4 REGULATORY and RECOMMENDING DOCUMENTS ON STANDARDIZATION, including the procedure for certification of products, problems of liability for non-compliance with standards and problems associated with the increase in demand for those goods whose quality is properly certified, etc.
The main factors in all subsections of this sector are:

the opportunity to obtain not only metadata (data about the content and location of data of interest to the consumer, for example, bibliography), but also the texts of the relevant acts themselves;

tracking by data providers of numerous changes, additions to changes and amendments to additions; the ability to receive a summary document containing all current modifications of the document;

tracking not only legislative, but also departmental acts that are not brought to the attention of those who are punished for violating them.

3 Sector INFORMATION FOR SPECIALISTS (bibliography and primary sources). Its difference from business and regulatory information that answers the questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and ON WHAT CONDITIONS is that it answers the questions WHY, HOW and WHAT WILL BE, IF and is not intended for entrepreneurs and commercial service workers, and for employees of functional (including engineering and research) services.

4 The sector of SOCIAL AND HOUSEHOLD (SERVICE) information is intended (unlike previous types) to serve the personal needs of people.

5 The sector of TECHNICAL and SOFTWARE TOOLS for automation of office and management activities (collection, processing and use of data) is closely adjacent to the four above.

What problems do business libraries face when creating a reference and information collection?

(1) The need to select a physical representation of data (printed materials, AV materials, data on special microfiche media, machine-readable media, etc.

(2) The high cost of the initial acquisition of a data set (one of the commercial foreign language reference books distributed by the State Public Library for Science and Technology costs $400) and the cost of obtaining their updated versions. As data becomes outdated, directories and databases have to be replaced. The price of 6-12 computer database updates per year ranges from 50-200% of the purchase price. Printed directories are updated 1-2 times a year by purchasing (occasionally at a discount) new editions of the directory. Many information products on the market cost $50-200 or more.
The general rule is that the fewer potential consumers may need an information resource, the more expensive it is. Libraries should keep in mind that the spread in price of information resources of the same type (in terms of content and quality) can be tenfold (full-text databases on legislative and by-laws cost, including annual updates, from $50 to $500);

(3) It is impossible for a library to have all the data that its clients could potentially need. Therefore, it is necessary to establish partnerships with owners/distributors of information resources (at the level of an agreement on the procedure for receiving information collections from them based on customer orders in printed/machine-readable form). Unfortunately, in most cases such services are not cheap (many owners/distributors of address-detail databases ask $0.2-1.0 for one card describing one enterprise (Note: in the USA the cost of performing a search in information systems ranges from $40 to 100).
The cheapest in the range of 0.2 0.3 dollars per card are the services of GPNTB. But this potential business library partner has a good selection of information resources in print form. The range of information resources available in funds (available in machine-readable form, especially in the form of databases) is still small.
Services from MBIT International Bureau of Information and Telecommunications cost two to four times more. But it has, perhaps, the widest range of available information resources in printed and, especially, machine-readable form that we know of.

(4) High costs (in time and finances) associated with the need to use both own and borrowed information resources to serve clients. It should be taken into account that the user does not need META INFORMATION (data about where and how he can find and collect the data he needs), but INFORMATION COLLECTED AND PROCESSED BY THE CONTRACTOR (often the volume of wishes reaches the level of information and marketing research).

Set of wishes of potential users:

DEPTH OF SEARCH and VOLUME of collected/processed data must be MAXIMUM;

TIME FOR COLLECTING/PROCESSING data and PRICE of paid services MINIMUM;

THE RESULT IS DELIVERED “TO THE DESKT” in a consistent (either all in machine-readable or all in printed) form according to the principle: “maximum information from the manufacturer at a minimum of costs on the part of the consumer.”

These wishes arise from the buyer’s side not at all from the fact that he does not understand the complexity of order execution and/or the high commercial value of the obtained data. On the contrary, many people are well aware of the value of information. But it is precisely these, the most civilized, groups of entrepreneurs who are experiencing the greatest shortage of investment resources today. They are clearly aware that their initial capital is simply not enough to extract the potential profit contained in it from the information received.
The paradox that the library will certainly face is that the cost for the customer of the information services provided to him almost does not depend on the amount of work that he plans to do in connection with the use of the collected data. As a result, only for a company with a large turnover, these services will constitute an acceptable part of the cost.
Entrepreneurs with high turnover claim to receive services at the level of reputable information and marketing firms. They can only be attracted to the library by specific offers of high-quality service based on a thorough multidimensional marketing study of, on the one hand, the needs of clients, and on the other, the library’s capabilities to satisfy them.
The ways to resolve these contradictions boil down, in our opinion, to the following:

(1) Serious initial funding is required to thoroughly prepare the library for the transition to information service mode. The importance of concessional funding (at the level of grants and/or at the level of sponsorship) remains in the initial period of operation of a business library. The provision of information services, despite all their objective usefulness, cannot be completely self-sustaining.
One possible way to resolve this contradiction is to carefully consider the options “Public Business Library” and “Corporate Business Library for a narrow circle of sponsoring organizations.” Mixed options are possible. However, we should not forget that the most solvent clients may leave if they do not receive preferential treatment.

(2) It is necessary to carefully study both the demand (with special emphasis on identifying its solvency) and the supply of information services in order to form a not too large and not too expensive core of the library’s business collection (on printed and machine-readable media). This fund will allow it to provide a basic range of services to the bulk of potential clients, as well as form a set of agreements on the possibility of the library using the resources of other information centers (on a paid and free basis) to satisfy other information requests.

(3) Today, systems of so-called teleaccess (remote access to specially collected data) and telecommunications (remote information interaction of various users of such systems among themselves and with database owners/distributors) are of particular interest. In the context of a relative increase in prices for printed sources of business information and, conversely, a decrease in prices for computers and telecommunications services, only working with these systems can ensure reliable fulfillment of user requests at an acceptable cost.

Information centers, markets for developers and main owners of databases and data banks in Moscow

The number of information centers in Moscow is very large. However, most of them reflect the previous sectoral structure of production management (industry CSTI and CSRI TEI). With the collapse of this structure, they were unable to find their place (primarily, orders supported by financing) in the information market that did not exist at that moment. There is a huge information potential accumulated there, which has a considerable market value. However, having failed to provide jobs/salaries to their most qualified performers, they lost specialists.
Many centers not only did not carry out work on analyzing the consumer market for their information and, as a result, did not restructure their data, did not adapt it to the needs of solvent consumers, but did not even update the accumulated information to the required extent. The consequence of this was its low suitability for satisfying serious information requests. (For example, TsNIITEI Legprom, which oversees today’s priority light industry, has survived and has orders, mainly from divisions related to the publication of customized small-circulation literature).
Many information centers that were previously closed (VIMI, VNTI Center, Central Research Institute of Prices, Center for Market and Market Research, etc.) or provided services only within “their” industry (industry GICC, leading institutes of industries with a powerful information service, etc.) have become publicly available .p.).
In particular, information has appeared about the availability of data from registration chambers and employment services - ideal sources for reconciling address and details files. These structures have accumulated huge amounts of valuable data and have largely managed to maintain its relevance.
The main drawback is the antediluvian organization of data storage/retrieval in these centers. Information is stored on paper (not even on microfiche/microfilm), occupying huge areas. Most of the reference and search data is stored in primitive file cabinets. The use of PCs in many of these centers died out before they even began, due to a lack of funds and trained personnel.
Many new information services have appeared or emerged from the regime “underground”.

(1) The resources of the converted defense industry have become available. Of greatest interest are the communication networks ISTOK-K and ISKRA-2 as a technical base for many information centers, especially for those involved in the rapidly developing information infrastructure of Russia. Information from the TsNIITEI of closed ministries (for example, the Ministry of Aviation Industry) became available.

(2) A number of joint ventures are engaged either in telecommunications (usually with a converted defense industry - such are many satellite communications projects), or in educational, consulting and information publishing activities (RAU - a Russian-American university - is known for its reference and information publications with machine-readable equivalents under the RAU-PRESS trademark).

(3) Small firms emerged from large state organizations. These firms, often located in the territory of their “parents”, provide services, usually of a very narrow range, for the selection of market price information in their market sector. (For example, NTK POLINOM, which was spun off from the educational institution of the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, deals with data on the computer market and the telecommunications market, publishes price lists, reviews and brochures, and is even the owner of a small information center with teleaccess to data BBS "POLINOM").
In addition, they are engaged in the collection/processing of interesting information focused on effective demand (for example, the Informregister STC specializes in collecting meta-information on Russian databases and database certification).
This group also includes companies whose personnel base is a group of qualified specialists from state-owned enterprises. They did not receive support from the “ancestors” and, as a result, at the time of their creation they had neither premises, nor equipment, nor money. Often they have to show maximum ingenuity in order to earn from scratch what they were forced to leave at the abandoned workplace.
These centers are willing to cooperate and undertake to satisfy any solvent information needs of clients. The work is usually completed with high quality and on time. The main problem for them is the lack of investment resources, which prevents them from working for the future. The main way out is to search for large state or municipal orders.
There are also many teams operating in the information services market that do not have a legal entity. As a rule, they act in the form of temporary creative teams of customer companies or so-called “roof” companies. Orders are carried out during working hours and at the workplace using the resources of the enterprise in whose staff they are registered.
A “native” enterprise that is unable to provide employees with orders and wages often turns a blind eye to the actual theft of its resources. Such teams can afford to reduce the price of services within the limits of the cost of these resources. For firms that pay fairly for the resources they use, these are the most undesirable competitors.

(4) In many companies, non-core structural divisions have appeared that deal with information resources (books, periodicals, directories, prospectuses, card indexes and databases). This is WA-2 motor transport enterprise, which is a co-publisher of the RAU-PRESS register.

Thus, the tendency towards increasingly narrow specialization of firms offering information services becomes obvious. Meanwhile, the consumer requires a comprehensive solution to his (and not company) problems. As a result, a low-competition niche has emerged - the provision of a COMPLEX of information services. Without exorbitant investments, it is quite capable of housing a business library.

Telecommunication networks and their resources: preliminary analysis

An important component of the success of a business library is the ability to teleaccess commercially valuable data. It allows the library to provide its clients with the required level of efficiency in obtaining data. Today in Moscow through the system
“MODEM+TELEPHONE” is available to about a hundred information centers and more or less global information networks. Libraries located in other cities of Russia will have to clarify the possibilities of local long-distance telephone communication to access these information networks or whether they have their own in the region.
A marketing feature of teleaccess systems is the high cost of registration (up to several hundred dollars) and the high level of monthly payments, which do not depend on the time spent using the system or on the volume of data found and received.
Therefore, it is economically feasible for a business library to exist in a region (municipal district, city) as a REGISTERED OWNER OF ENTRANCES to several teleaccess systems, selling the data found there and/or providing the right to access these entries for a fee. This is beneficial both to users with their limited needs for teleaccess (obtaining the necessary data in this case is cheaper), and to the library, which is quite capable of not only recouping costs in this way, but also making a profit.
Many telecommunications systems provide their users with access to other television networks. Their services are very similar, as is the subject matter of the data they contain. Despite this, the analysis of the suitability of such systems for the needs of the library, the task of identifying groups into which it should buy the right to enter, is extremely difficult and uncertain.
The main CRITERIA for selection should, apparently, be not only the SUBJECT OF THE DATA provided, its compliance with the needs of library users, the LIST OF SERVICES, but also THEIR QUALITY (including the structure of the data, their completeness and reliability, the quality of the interface, the convenience and completeness of selecting the data the user needs and etc.).
The following TYPES (classes) of TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS are of greatest interest to libraries:

I The so-called “TELETEXT” network. This is the cheapest network available in today's telecommunications market. Information is transmitted circularly, in one path with a standard television signal. (For its transmission, the “TV signal pause” section is used, corresponding to the period of return of the television scanning beam from the lower right corner to the upper left corner of the screen). The amount of data available via teletext during the day is small, but it is of some commercial interest. The user does not have the ability to order a search and selection of data of interest (from large volumes available in the information center).
Modern TVs usually have a built-in teletext box. For those devices where this is not available, it can be purchased for a small fee. Information is received in frames the size of a TV screen (usually text, no worse than 16 lines of 64 characters per screen). From the circularly transmitted information, the user can select and view on the screen the frames of interest to him. The output of such simple systems on a personal computer with the ability to select/save data in memory for repeated use is usually not provided.
Teleaccess to data is especially appropriate for social and everyday (service) information. In the near future, the Russian information market is expected to see the emergence of inexpensive systems similar to teletext (intended for receiving data on a household TV), but with the possibility of “request-response” interaction. In particular, “Videotext” type systems are expected to begin operating on cable television networks. In them, using a cheap set-top box for a household TV via a cable through which regular television broadcasts are carried, a dialogue is possible (with the result displayed on the TV screen) between the user and the system. This exchange is very similar to teletext, but the amount of information available to the user is much higher.
Data is stored in the form of a hierarchical (tree) structure. The user has the means to navigate through it in search of the necessary data. They can also be used to organize and conduct simple but very effective public surveys: the technology is simple, there is a large number of respondents, hence the low cost. (In the West, they are usually carried out by municipalities, trading and manufacturing firms).
Instead of a household TV with a video text set-top box, you can use a PC with an inexpensive set-top box. In most “Videotext” type systems, only operators serving the central information hub of the system have the opportunity to enter some data into the system (thus making it available to other users). As a result, there is no possibility to connect two (or more) users with each other.
In more complex (usually using a PC as an end device) video-text systems, along with means of navigation through tree-organized data, there is the possibility of a more complex request for data selection. A special case of this is a request to enter data (usually no larger than a TV screen) into an area accessible to other users of the system. Thus, an ELECTRONIC BOARD of publicly available (with a small subscription fee) announcements is organized. If users have identifiers that allow them to determine who exactly the information is addressed to, then an analogue of e-mail appears.
Unlike “real” email, in which information can be delivered to a subscriber anywhere in the world via communication networks, this “home” email is available only to subscribers of a given, usually very local, Videotext system.
The main advantage of such systems is their low cost and general availability. You can start working with them almost immediately. The most tempting option for the library may be an agreement with the owner of the local cable network, with investment support for this project from the local administration and/or association of entrepreneurs, to create a business-oriented “videotext” network. The library could take on the role of a system operator, responsible for selecting new and updating existing data.
The most promising area of ​​work seems to be the dissemination of social and everyday information received from local authorities, paid advertisements from organizations, and the creation of a non-profit electronic bulletin board for individuals.
If the library plans access to global television networks (an event that is unprofitable for many individual consumers), the video-text network can serve as a cheap communication channel between data consumers and their “getter” - the library. This project may be of interest:

the owner of a television cable network (increasing the number of consumers and, therefore, gross income), entrepreneurs as potential subscribers of a cheap information channel with access to global information networks, local administration receiving a circular notification channel with feedback up to the possibility of express -surveys, the library, which receives not only its niche in the information services market (with minimal investment costs), but also the potential opportunity to occupy an additional niche.

The latter is associated with the provision of services for access to global telecommunications networks. The most famous Russian analogue of such a system is the TeleTASS system, which provides access to TASS resources.

Types of payment: * The user pays for the set-top box that provides access to data (in the Teletext system usually to the TV manufacturer, in the Videotext system to the owner of the cable network and “in share” to the system operator. Often the system operator charges only advertisers , and therefore its share in the cost of the set-top box is zero. * In the Teletext system there is no connection with the user, and, therefore, there is no way to track the use of the data provided. Therefore, receiving data does not require either a monthly subscription fee or a fee for the actual volume received. data. Payment for “free” data is made by those who are interested in bringing them to consumers (local administration, advertisers, etc.) * In the simplest Videotext systems, the principles of payment are almost the same. However, there are more complex systems that make it possible. not only to detect the fact of access, but also to give or not give a specific user access to certain data. At the initial stage of operation, a fee may be introduced for access to a closed part of the information. For access to the open part, as in Teletext, the interested organization pays: local administration, marketing or sociological services conducting an express survey, advertisers, etc.

When deciding to create networks of this type, the library must clarify the following: * what investment resources will be required to create a system of the “Videotext” type and what are the expected costs for the ongoing operation of the system; * does the potential consumer of information services have the resources (television receiver with a special set-top box) necessary to start working with the system; * how sensitive it is to the threshold value of the investment resource required to start working with the system. (Today, when the cost of an inexpensive PC-compatible computer with a modem is about $ 700-800, it is necessary that the Videotext set-top box (for a TV and/or PC) cost no more than $ 100 this is the price of an inexpensive modem built into the PC case Otherwise, the project is unprofitable. An interesting option is to use a cheap household PC (built into a keyboard and using a household TV as a display) as the basis for an inexpensive hardware and software implementation of the Videotext terminal); * what kind of data the potential consumer would like to receive from the system, to what extent he is satisfied with the actual unidirectional data exchange (Circular data from the system to the user gives the user minimal opportunities to control this flow, usually by navigating through the data based on selection from the menu); * how interested he is in the possibility of more complex flow control (for example, the ability to independently set an algorithm for searching/selecting the necessary information); * how much does he need the opportunity to put his data into the system, bypassing the system operator, is he willing to pay for these additional opportunities and, if so, how much; * is anything known about the presence and expected appearance of analogue systems. (They can be considered as competitors to library services. It is also important that their absence raises fears in the potential user that if he is not satisfied with the services of our “Videotext”, then he will be able to use the TV, but the set-top box will have to be thrown away. A PC-based terminal in This plan looks more preferable for the user: the ability to work with a PC remains, regardless of whether he is a subscriber to the system or not. In such a package, the share of the cost of the video text set-top box is much lower).

II Information resources can be available via teleaccess (usually using the “COMPUTER + MODEM” scheme). However, simple (inexpensive to create and maintain) systems that provide access to such resources may not provide the communication functions characteristic of a full-scale telecommunications system.
Typically, such a system is a local (within the company) network that ensures the creation and updating of information resources. It has several (in the simplest case one or two) modem outputs to the public switched telephone network and/or several gateways (software and hardware systems that provide access to communication networks or telecommunication networks). Thus, it is possible to organize information services for users relatively cheaply at the expense of the system, shifting the execution of their requests to communication networks.
A typical example of this kind of system is the telecommunication access system of the State Public Scientific and Technical Library of Russia (STD-2 GPNTB). The system provides remote access to a number of databases located on the host (host PC) of the GPNTB local network. The main type of information provided is bibliographic.
The gradual connection of commercial databases available to the Business Information Cabinet (BIC) of the State Public Library for Science and Technology is planned for 1994. In the first and second quarters of this year, STD-2 operates in testing mode (entrance to it is free for now). Starting from the third quarter, it is planned to switch to the planned operation mode of the system, and entry into it should become paid.
This is a prototype of that form of information interaction with data consumers, which in current conditions may well compete with Videotext. It is quite possible that the library will collect this data on its own initiative and/or at the request of consumers from both printed and electronic, including telecommunications, sources. Creating such a simplified teleaccess system for data does not require too much investment.
The organization and operation of simplified versions of STD can be even cheaper than the creation and operation of a “Videotext” type system. For the user, access to the latter will require significantly higher initial costs (computer + modem) and may cost more in monthly payments.

Types of payment: * The user pays a fixed amount for registration in the system establishment of an account name/password (part of the registration payment can be counted as a non-refundable prepayment for subsequent services actually performed by STD). * The user pays a fixed amount monthly in the form of a subscription fee for maintaining his registration in the system saving his account name/password (part of the subscription payment can be counted as a non-refundable prepayment for subsequent services actually performed by STD). * The user pays (including non-refundable prepayments) for the time spent in dialogue with the system and for traffic (the volume of data selected according to his instructions and received through the communication channel). * Differentiation of payment can be made depending on the sections of data to which the user is allowed subscriber access, on the type of user (individual, commercial, non-profit, charitable organization), on the expected time of interaction (the period during which the connection is established, the duration of the connection per month /year) etc.

When deciding to use teleaccess, the library must clarify: * whether the potential client uses the services of any teleaccess systems. (If yes, then the services of which of them; under what conditions; what data does he need; how does he evaluate the data received and the payment for them; what guided him when choosing a teleaccess system; is he satisfied with the systems at his disposal; is he ready to change the teleaccess system and what will be guided by (price factors, quality of data and service, etc.) * what investment resources are needed to create a system like STD and what are the expected costs for the ongoing operation of the system; * does the potential client need information services, involving teleaccess to data; * does the potential consumer of information services have the resources (computer + modem) necessary to start working with the system; how sensitive is he to the threshold amount of investment resource (computer/modem/registration fee/software) required to start working? with the system; * what data the potential consumer would like to receive from the system; how interested he is in those capabilities of STD that create advantages for it over “Videotext” (active search, the ability not only to receive data from the system, but also to enter data into the system himself and through the “electronic bulletin board” mechanism to actively interact with other subscribers of the system) ; how much, finally, he is willing to pay the owner of the STD for these benefits; * is the potential user ready to limit himself to teleaccess capabilities, or does he necessarily need telecommunications (e-mail, teleconferences, sending data certified by a so-called digital signature, electronic trading, etc.); how highly he values ​​the capabilities of telecommunications; is he ready to share access to the telecommunications network with other users (or does he need these inputs for exclusive possession); how much you are willing to pay for each of these opportunities.

III Of particular interest to the business library is the international amateur network FIDO-Net - a set of interconnected BBSs. BBS (Bulletin Board Sistera) or EDO (“electronic bulletin board”) is a “computer+modem+program” system that allows users who have similar sets to enter information into a public area and/or read from there information entered by other users.
There are privileged users SYSOPS (system operators), who organize the communication of individual BBS with each other (this is a simplified version of e-mail, which allows us to talk about the totality of BBS as a FIDO-Net network). They also set the rules for other (non-privileged) users to use the BBS. Most EDI are free, existing on the funds of sponsors whose products they advertise, or on the enthusiasm of sysops.
Some EDI have two entrances: paid and free. In the first case, all information is available to registered users. In the second , they have access to advertising and/or publicly available (not requiring a distribution license), as well as a stripped-down version of commercially valuable information available through a paid entrance. (In this case, the address details and/or data for the last few days, which have the greatest commercial value, are usually “cut off”; the remaining part is intended mainly for advertising complete information).
The main advantage of EDI is the low investment cost of their creation. The amount of initial investment to create an electronic document is small: a PC, a modem, a communication program and a telephone channel are needed, which easily fits into $2000.
The disadvantage is that cheap electronic document management provides only single-channel service (serves only one client at a time; average service time is tens of minutes).
For effective operation of EDI, a multi-channel telephone channel and an appropriate number of modems are desirable. But they (together with service programs) are not included in the volume of initial investments and can be added gradually as they gain fame.
FIDO-Net is of interest to libraries in the following areas. Firstly, as a cheap (often free) source of data to satisfy the needs of its clients. Secondly, as an inexpensive way to independently enter the information services market, especially if it is possible to find sponsors interested in advertising their products among EDI adherents and/or in an inexpensive channel of communication with each other. Thirdly, as an option that is competitive with systems like “Videotext” in terms of communication between the library (and/or its sponsors) and clients.
Such a system should apparently have two inputs: public (preferably with sponsorship fees) and corporate (for communication with library clients).
When a library makes a decision to be included in the FIDO-Net network, it is necessary to: * clarify the list of public and commercial BBS, the direction, volume and quality of the information offered, its suitability to satisfy the Information requests of potential library users; technical ability to access this information (system operating time, channel load, etc.); * conduct a comparative analysis of the “Videotext” and “BBS” ​​options and work out a project for creating an electronic document library as an information telecommunications base for the library (including an agreement to join FIDO-Net), select potential investors/sponsors and draw up a business plan to attract various categories of potential investors/sponsors.

VI In addition to teleaccess to information, many potential users are interested in the possibilities of TELECOMMUNICATIONS. These include EMAIL; access to TELEX/TELEFAX; TELECONFERENCES; ELECTRONIC CHALLENGE BOARDS and DATA SENDING MEANS, certified by an authorized digital signature, and various systems based on them, including a TV market/exchange/shop/clearance center, etc., ensuring confidentiality, etc.
Unlike the situation in the late 80s, when only global defense networks and the network of the Academy of Sciences were partially accessible in the USSR, today there are over three dozen networks in Moscow alone.
With a fairly similar list of capabilities and services and resources offered, there is a very large variation in the price of the offer.
The undoubted price leader is the SEDAB network, which only asks for 25 thousand German marks for registration (for the full range of services, which mainly boils down to access to international information resources).
The minimum registration price for the full-scale KATYUSHA network (MBIT), which provides both teleaccess to data and electronic commercial services, and communication services through the IAS-Net network, of which it is a subset. Payment within tens of dollars, including actual services rendered.
Of undoubted interest for companies entering the information market without excess financial resources is RELCOM, the exclusive branch of EUNet (the European branch of InterNet global telecommunications network). In fact, all e-mail within the CIS, to one degree or another, goes through RELCOM channels. The network has already gained a critical mass of users and, as a result, can afford a low registration fee ($10-20).
Through the RelARN association, a non-profit organization (including a business library) can register on preferential terms (paying only the registration fee, but without paying for traffic, time spent in the system, and the amount of data sent to the system and/or received from it) . Such preferential conditions, valid until traffic exceeds a threshold value, will make it possible to provide library clients with bureau-fax services from a local email post office. It is possible to create a local mini-host or branch one registration address to several library clients.
The important thing is that these services can be provided by the library both within Russia and the CIS countries, and at the international level. The cost of such services (especially for international shipments) will be significantly lower than similar ones provided, for example, by the post office. (So, the Moscow post office is registered with SovAmTelePort (registration fee is over $1000) in a system that mainly provides access to international networks and, above all, to the global network EUNet/InterNet, the Russian fragment of which is RELCOM).
It is equally significant that RELCOM accumulates huge volumes of unstructured commercially valuable information. This information is organized in the form of so-called. "teleconferences", some of which are publicly available, while others are available only to those who have paid for a subscription. A niche has already emerged for providing end users with services related to the collection of unstructured information from various sources (most of which are available through RELCOM), its analysis and structuring for a specific user request. The library could begin to provide such a service without large investment costs.
The SITEK chain (NPF Mastak), popular in Moscow, is somewhere in the middle of the price range and is not yet the undisputed leader in terms of the range of services offered.
TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS (TCN) can and should be of interest to business libraries in the following qualities:

(1) TKS as a source of data necessary to satisfy user requests. In this regard, it is extremely important to determine the expected range of requests and the degree of their commercial attractiveness for the library (the ratio of the resource intensity of the search and the funds that can be hoped to be raised from the sale of search results) and for potential users (what information they want to receive and how much they are willing to pay for it).

It is quite possible that the most cost-effective (in terms of cost/return ratio) will be CONSULTING SERVICES in the user’s choice of a telecommunications network and SERVICE (purchase/installation of a modem and software, training, preliminary development of contracts with telecommunications networks, etc.). The costs of collecting information and training necessary to implement such a micro-project are small. The demand for services can be noticeable.

Price-sensitive consumers of information services will apparently be the most relevant for the library.

(2) TKS as a potential partner in servicing the business information needs of the population and organizations in the world of telecommunications.

Such cooperation, for example, is offered by the Delovoy Mir information bank, RELCOM and the SITEK network. This is, in particular: purchasing a group entry from a network (a kind of information wholesale, with a discount for each member of the pool of up to 50 percent or more of the cost of an individual entry). There can be many options for such a purchase, from simple ones associated only with the organizational efforts of the library to create a pool and hardware and software solutions of the owners, to more complex and commercially riskier ones associated with the purchase of a hardware and software complex (costing from thousands to tens of thousands of US dollars ) and organizing a network node on your own; renting a fragment of a large network and creating your own small network on its basis. (For example, the Katyusha network was created on rented fragments of IASNET network of the Institute of Automated Systems). An analogue of a library library with global access can be created; it is possible to organize, for example, a network of business libraries (for example, based on the same IASNET), spreading to cities where there are already regional nodes of the core network. This is a logical development of the idea of ​​a business library as an information broker.

(3) TKS as a channel for delivering “at home” to the consumer the results of the data search he ordered, regardless of the material form of their presentation and the search method. Delivery via e-mail channels of networks such as RELCOM to library subscribers is ensured;

(4) TKS as a communication channel between the head library and branch libraries to provide readers with access to remote catalogs and services, as well as to use branches as points for receiving orders and issuing results of information services.

Types of repayment: * The basic types of payment for information services are the same as in a purely informational STD (see above); * When using communication channels, telephone network services are paid additionally. According to current regulations, the telephone channel used with the modem must be registered.

When making a decision, the library must clarify: * possible options for cooperation with TKS and expected investment resources for initial actions (entry threshold), as well as expected operating costs for ongoing cooperation; * expected demand for services that require access to TCS: what kind of data a potential consumer would like to receive from the system; how interested he is in the capabilities of TCS, which are its advantage over STD (e-mail, teleconferences, sending data certified by a so-called digital signature, electronic trading, etc.); how highly he values ​​the capabilities of telecommunications; is he ready to share access to the telecommunications network with other users or does he require exclusive possession of these inputs; how much he is willing to pay for each of these opportunities, and most importantly, how much he is willing to pay the owner of the STD for these advantages; * comparative characteristics of the “BBS” ​​and RELCOM (group registration with individual addresses) options as communication channels between the library and its clients: here it is important not only to compare direct material costs/income, but also to take into account the interests of local authorities (the possibility and feasibility of a circular communication channel them with entrepreneurs, and the interests of the latter (whether they want to have a corporate network inaccessible to outsiders, what implementation options are provided * what is preferable for the consumer: an individual BBS or a confidential teleconference within the framework of RELCOM);

© ANO "Institute of Information Initiatives"
© Russian State Library for Youth

Features of the structure and regulation of the information market. Main sectors

The strategic nature of information as a resource for economic and social development determines a high degree of government regulation, a significant level of concentration and monopolization of information production.

Main sectors of the information market

The modern information market includes three interacting areas:

1. information;

2. electronic transactions;

3. electronic communications.

Market of electronic transactions(operations, transactions) includes ticket reservation systems and places in hotels, ordering, selling and exchanging goods and services, banking and settlement transactions.

On electronic communications market it is possible to distinguish various systems of modern communications and human communication: data networks, email, teleconferences, electronic bulletin boards and newsletters, networks and remote database access systems etc.

In the global information market, it is customary to distinguish the following main sectors, which are also typical for Russia:

1. Business information sector.

2. Information sector for specialists.

3. Sector of mass, consumer information.

An entrepreneur needs information from all 3 sectors, but the success of his activities is determined by the timely use of business information.

Business Information Sector

This sector is represented by the following types and sources:

1. EXCHANGE and FINANCIAL information - information on securities quotations, exchange rates, discount rates, commodity and capital markets, investments, prices. The sources of such information are exchanges and special exchange and financial information services that serve them. The main factor ensuring the commercial value of such information is its completeness, accuracy and efficiency.

2. ECONOMIC and STATISTICAL information – numerical economic, demographic and social information. It is provided by economic management bodies and statistical services (state and non-state) in the form of time series, reports, estimates, forecasts, etc. Here, the accessibility (non-classification) of information to the consumer is of particular value.

3. Commercial information – address details about industries, enterprises and their responsible employees (including data on areas of activity, product range, prices). Sources: government and a number of non-governmental organizations. The main factor determining the commodity value is the completeness and accuracy of the data.

4. Information on commercial offers comes from specialized companies - information resellers. In most commercially significant cases, potential sellers and buyers are interested in the address details of counterparties, without which a transaction between them will not take place. Today it becomes possible to immediately conclude a transaction based on search results.

5.Political, economic, etc. news of interest to representatives of various social groups. The main factor here is the efficiency, accuracy and reliability of forecasts.

Information sector for specialists

Legal information

The legal information sector operates in accordance with subsections by types of legislative and regulatory documents:

1. general economic acts (civil, arbitration, tax law)

2. acts regulating certain types of activities (foreign economic, trade, banking, exchange, licensing, copyright protection, etc.)

3. acts regulating the transformation of property rights (privatization of real estate, land, etc.)

For this sector it is important:

the opportunity to obtain not only data on the content and location of the data of interest to the consumer, but also the texts of the acts themselves;

tracking by data providers of numerous changes, additions and amendments to additions;

tracking not only legislative, but also non-departmental acts that are not brought to the attention of those who are punished for their violation.