The implementation of information technology in the corporate engineering library

The corporate engineering library has been shaped by a variety of recent business and technology trends. The increasing globalization and focus on efficiency in the corporate world has resulted in the consolidation or organization of corporate libraries and the outsourcing of non-essential functions. The rapid adoption of Intranets and other in formation technologies in corporations has created opportunities for libraries to develop new services, expand their scope of influence, and serve non-traditional customers across the enterprise. This refocusing of the corporate engineering library based upon corporate objectives and technological opportunity has resulted in a dramatic redefinition of the corporate library and its emergence as a novel information organization. Given recent technical advances and the expanding pace of corporate consolidation, it is expected that the corporate engineering library will develop a stronger focus on information technology in the coming decade. © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.