Directory Design for Networks of Information and Referral Centers

In the last few years, we have seen the very rapid, but surprisingly little publicized, growth of information and referral centers. These agencies, whose purpose is to help citizens with almost any question they may have, have been developing without careful planning. Operations research provides a means for assisting such planning. A model is presented that indicates the increase in use to be expected for a given level of service. Another model shows that a network of consultants can improve the performance of a single consultant, even if the single consultant is much more able than the others. The final model analyzes a directory to a data base and introduces the concept of "zoomability" as a means for improving directory performance. A computer program useful in designing directions for a network of consultants is described as an example of the tools provided by operations research.