Abstract
M.Inf.
The research study investigates the importance of information as a resource in academic
institutions. The study serves to answer questions appertaining to management of
information as a resource, such as, what is information resource management? How should information as a resource be managed in academic institutions? How should information be audited? Which stages should be followed in developing information policy? The interrelationships of information as a resource, information auditing and information policy as managerial components are discussed. Information audit and information policy become the major components of management of information as a resource. Information in various enterprises is becoming increasingly recognized as a resource. The study purports to indicate that information as a resource can be managed like other traditional resources such as labour, entrepreneurship, capital and natural resources to use it for competitive advantage. The aims of information audit and information policy are to serve as fundamental development of an information managerial strategy. The information audit enables the information service to pursue the most significant strategic marketing of its information resources. The necessary breadth of information auditing techniques, such as Burk and Horton's "Infomap" are required to fulfill a wide variety of objectives. They analyze the effective methodology for auditing information resource controls and help to identify relevant and accurate information
resources for the purpose of learning, teaching and research. The purpose of developing
information policy is prompted by the objective of which the information enterprise would
successfully like to achieve. It is more appropriate to develop a set of information policies,
each of which is concerned with a specific area of operation or focussed on other topics of
interest and informational value within the academic institution. At the ultimate end the
University of the North is singled out as a model for the development of information policy.