Information Management Best Practices: Tailoring Services For Digital Natives

Digital natives are the under-30 technology users who grew up using electronic technology and whose information habits, behaviors, and preferences are increasingly redefining workplaces. This Briefing, based on Outsell's research on end users and information management (IM) functions, analyzes digital natives' impact on the workplace and the extent to which information managers are responding to their needs. It identifies a number of areas where the content and services that information management functions offer digital natives don't match their needs. A striking finding is that more younger employees than older ones value a physical library, and they rank it as the second most valuable IM offering after making information available to their desktops. The Briefing also examines digital natives' use of wireless handheld devices, their preferences for self-seeking information, the criteria they use when selecting sources, and their view of the Web as a two-way medium. It concludes with five Imperatives for Information Managers, highlighting the steps IM functions can take today to increase their level of service to this group of clients.