RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
7.12 Information packs
Information packs are an economical way of providing information about a
particular subject area to users who cannot visit the resource centre.
Information packs usually take the form of folders (cardboard wallets) or
envelopes containing a variety of materials, such as articles from newsletters
and journals, photocopied pages from books, factsheets, posters, leaflets,
materials developed within the organisation, or materials distributed free by
other organisations working in the same subject area.
When developing an information pack as a resource to distribute to users, it is
important to obtain permission from the publisher to include an item (text or
illustrations) in a pack, unless the publisher has indicated that this is not
necessary. The publisher will want to know the purpose of the pack and its
target audience, the number of copies to be produced, and any charges to users
(for example, to cover the cost of photocopying and distribution, or to make a
profit to help the resource centre).
If producing a single pack to respond to an individual enquiry, it is not
necessary to request permission from the publisher, provided copyright laws are
followed (see Section 7.6: Photocopying).
Before any information packs are prepared, it is important to be sure that the
right materials have been selected to go in them. This can be done by discussing
the contents of a proposed information pack with members of the resource
centre advisory committee, and or other key users. It can be useful to include a
short evaluation form in the pack for users to complete and return. This can
point to ways of improving future information packs.
Information packs should always include a contents list that provides details of
the original source of each item (such as a book or periodical title, publisher
and year published).
An information pack is not a static thing. It will need to be updated by adding
new materials, as well as or instead of existing materials. It is important to keep
the master photocopy of each of the materials included in an information pack,
to ensure that each copy is of the same quality, and that time is not wasted
looking for the original material each time a copy needs to be made.
Alternatively, if the resource centre has a bibliographic database, codes could
be added to the records of new materials to indicate that they are suitable for
inclusion in the information pack.
SECTION 7: INFORMATION SERVICES
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