The Library attempts at all times to personalise the service ? our own research into MPs needs has told us that each MP has specific preferences for the information wanted, how they process it (if at all), and how they want information delivered. Feedback shows that the individual, speedy and confidential response is the most highly regarded service the Library performs.

We also keep a watching brief on issues as they develop ? MPs who are opinion leaders ask individual questions which can often lead to questions in the House, media releases and ?issues of the day?. Information supplied by the Library as answers to questions can later become the basis for updating an electronic subject portal, or a short I-brief, available to all. It could be argued that this ?democratisation process?, the spreading of knowledge, is one of the key, although often unnoticed, services that the Library provides .

While some MPs are major users of the Library, and utilise the information gathered from specific questions to develop their parties? policies ? the free good of research allows them to spend in other areas ? others rarely if ever ask questions or use other library services. Maori MPs are also noticeable by their absence from many user statistics. There is much work still to do in matching our services with individual needs.

One area of research work that is developing rapidly in New Zealand's Multi Member Proportional voting (MMP) environment is the greater role of Select Committees. This more prominent role was freely predicted at the time of the first MMP election in 1996, but has taken time to develop. Select Committees have major information needs. Their analysis of draft legislation, and their increasingly proactive role in instigating their own inquiries ? cannabis, tertiary education, organic agriculture are a few of the most recent - has put a huge research workload onto Select Committee staff. Research requirements for Select Committees, while they may not be addressed directly by Library staff, will imply further work for the Library, given the collection resource and experience within the Library. (The average tenure of Select Committee clerks is now down to 14 months).

So, to return to the question, this is what we think they need. What though, do MPs really want? This is where the nature of oppositional politics makes itself felt. Want is about discrediting the government (if in opposition),

? I want the electoral roll for Wellington Central? - (to discredit the Minister apparently residing at two different addresses and owning four houses).

Want is about looking good, keeping up with the story of the day ? or hour ? having information that noone else has. Knowledge in a political environment is therefore less about objective, factual information than about timing and scarcity value.

In a political environment, we need to be very aware that knowledge is created through received paradigms, often competing. We in the Library also have our own beliefs, values, stories, and ?received wisdom?, not all of which is still relevant or even true. Paradigms also shift, often confusingly fast, especially in the area of national economic performance, one of the key subject areas for MPs? questions. How we can translate ?objective information? through a political paradigm which speaks directly to MPs needs, while still preserving our reputation for an apolitical stance, is a key issue in developing our approach to research.

We need to be able to understand not only their information needs, but how this information is used ? turned into knowledge ? and then anticipate this process, and put it into context.

The ?whole picture? is often not apparent, especially at the time the issue is ?hot?. MPs in this environment often exist on a meagre diet of fragments of information, corridor exchanges, and what as been called a ?cottage industry of miscellany? produced through debatable and unfocused research (Not the Library's!). There is therefore a place for a cooler look at an issue, a research paper on a topic that hit the headlines but is now relegated to the inside pages. (Whether it is then read is another matter ? a paradox between what MPs want, and what they need for their decision making through legislative processes).