Information consolidation is defined as the process of evaluating and compressing relevant documents to provide users with reliable and concise information. It involves defining responsibility for analyzing documents and packaging information appropriately for users' needs, levels, and time constraints. The benefits of information consolidation include increasing the effectiveness and use of information for various activities, as well as expanding the circle of potential users by providing evaluated and synthesized information. The basic processes involve studying user needs, selecting relevant sources, evaluating and analyzing information, restructuring it into a new whole, and packaging and disseminating it to encourage use.

1. UNIT 2
Information Consolidation
Kishor Sakariya
VBT’s Institute of Library and Information Science
C. U. Shah University
Wadhwan city

2. What is Information Consolidation?
• Information consolidation is defined as the
process of evaluation and compression of
relevant documents in order to provide
definite user groups with reliable and concise
information in usable form

3. What is Information Consolidation?
• UNESCO Symposium on Information Analysis and
Consolidation in Sri-Lanka has given the following
definition :
“ Information Consolidation activities are used to define
the responsibility exercised by individuals,
departments or organizations for evaluating and
compressing relevant documents in order to provide
definite users’ groups with reliable and concise new
bodies of knowledge. Individuals or groups of
individuals performing consolidation activities would
each constitute an Information consolidation Unit.”

4. What is Information Consolidation?
• Consolidated information aims at being more
appropriate to users, their needs and levels,
the capacities and time allotments given to
information absorption and similar user
related activities. In other words consolidation
and repackaging of information refers to
providing right information for the right
person in the right form and at the right time.

5. Value and Benefits of Information
Consolidation
• As the amount of information presented to the decision
maker is increasingly consolidated, its value increases.
• For instance a summary has a bit more value in comparison
to the original document. Merger of excerpts from a
number of documents may have still more value. Evaluated
information further increases the value while studies
addressing the topic such as reviews, state-of-the art,
market studies, statistical summaries and correlations,
increase this value considerably. Most valued information
which provides alternative choices summarised from all
sources and make recommendations for decisions or for
resolution of the problem.

6. Value and Benefits of Information
Consolidation
User Benefits
• As information is increasingly expressed in
everyday language and the social and cultural
framework of the user, its value increases for
that user.
• As the information is increasingly packaged in
a way that will make its use easier, its value
increases.

7. Value and Benefits of Information
Consolidation
General benefits associated with information
consolidation are as follows:
• To increase the effectiveness of information
transfer;
• To encourage the intensive use of information
in variety of developmental activities; and
• To increase the circle of potential users by
fulfilling information requirements for
evaluated and synthesized information.

8. Some Examples
• Annual Reviews: Annual Reviews of Biochemistry; Annual Review of
Clinical Psychology; Annual Review of Immunology; Annual Review
of Biomedical Engineering; Annual Review of Astronomy and
Astrophysics, etc.
• State of the Art Reports: TRB (Transportation Research Board)
State-of-the-Art Report 9: Utilities and Roadside Safety.
TRB State-of-the-Art Report 8: Guide to Earth Work Construction.
TRB State-of-the-Art Report 5: Lime Stabilization.
State-of-the-Art Report on technology for the efficient management
of geo-spatial 3D
data on commodity and distributed platform. EU Project. V-PLANET
(IST-2000-28095). March 2002.

9. Some Examples
• Market Reports: The U.S. Environmental Industry and Global
Market Report. 2000.
EBI Environmental Market Report. Environmental Business
International Inc
• Statistical Reviews:
Indian statistical Review
• Trend Reports:
Trends in Tuberculosis -United States, 1998-2003. Division of
Tuberculosis
Elimination, National Centre for HIV, STD and TB Prevention.
Eisenberg, Michael B. (et al) (1990).
Trends and Issues in Library and Information Science. ERIC Report.

10. Some Examples
• Technical Digest:
Management Digest: Published bimonthly by
SENDOC
Innovative Technology: Published bimonthly by
SENDOC
TERI Information Digest on Energy and
Environment: Published quarterly by TERI

11. Information Consolidation Process
• The basic processes involved in information analysis and
consolidations activities are:
1) Study of potential users to find their information needs and decide
on the information product(s) suitable to fulfill those needs.
2) Selection of relevant information sources, both primary as well
secondary
information sources, containing the most useful information for the
given user’s problems and information needs.
3) Evaluation of information contained in these sources for its merit,
validity and reliability.
4) Analysis of information to identify and extract most salient features
conveyed by the given source.

12. Information Consolidation Process
5) Restructuring (if necessary) the analysed and extracted information as a new
whole, which differ from original presentation and can be used most effectively
and efficiently by the user. This may involve synthesis, condensation, rewriting,
simplifying, reviews, state-of-the-art presentation, etc. During synthesis the
analysed information from one or more sources is condensed and presented in
a new arrangement or structure with an interpretive or evaluative point of view.
Condensation is derivation of short summary of information from a source or
extraction of key statements i.e. sentences, paragraphs, figures, etc.
6) Packaging and/or repackaging of restructured information in a form that will
increase its use. (Restructuring deals with contents or substance of information
while packaging deals with the form of its presentation.)
7) Diffusion or Dissemination of information in ways that will encourage and promote
its use. This may also involve educating the users in the use of information and
marketing of information.
8) Feedback from the users and improve the product based on the feedback.

13. • http://www.academia.edu/6825264/Informati
on_Consolidation
• IGNOU study material