Corporate library

A corporate library is a special library serving the staff at a corporation. The information services provided by corporate libraries save employees time, and can aid in competitive intelligence work.[1]

By offering a corporate library to employees, the corporation is able to encourage learning and give people opportunities for growth and development that may not be offered elsewhere. Corporate libraries also offer the opportunity for employees to share ideas in regards work related tasks or special projects needing to be completed.

Corporations began to establish their own specialized libraries around the year 1900.[2]

One major issue in corporate libraries relates to the difficulty of putting a dollar value on the intangible services the library provides to its parent company.[3] The librarian at a corporate library should be prepared to justify the return on investment of an organization hosting such a library.[3] In terms of size, they are seldom very large, and most library departments employ fewer than five full-time staff.[4]