Sue Rugge, widely regarded as the founder of the independent research profession, died in Oakland, California on Saturday, June 12^th, 1999.

A founding partner in the Information Professionals Institute, her book, The Information Broker's Handbook, is considered the definitive guide to establishing, running and marketing a successful information business.

Through her seminars, tapes, personal appearances, and one-on-one consultations, she reached and influenced thousands of people seeking to put their love of research to work in a creative and entrepreneurial way.

She was an active member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals, and served as its president in 1988-1989.

Sue was co-founder of Information Unlimited, an early, Berkeley-based independent research firm, and went on to establish Information on Demand, a pioneering full-service information company offering electronic, telephone and library research in all subject areas, as well as document delivery from a global network of libraries. In the mid-1980s, IOD attracted the attention of British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who eventually acquired the company and managed it through one of his holdings, Pergamon Press.

Faced with a three-year non-compete contract that restricted her activity in the information industry, the entrepreneurial Sue turned to another of her passions, hospitality. She started Innkeeper's Respite, a "burnout service" for bed and breakfast proprietors who found it difficult to get away from their highly personalized, hands-on profession. Sue would visit an inn, learn the routine, let the innkeepers get to know her, and later take the helm whenever the innkeepers had to get away. As Innkeeper's Respite grew, Sue hired assistants, and eventually sold the business to a member of her staff.

As soon as her non-compete agreement with Pergamon expired, Sue plunged back into the information business as principal in The Rugge Group, a consortium of independent research professionals providing complementary skills and services. She eventually sold this business, too, and devoted herself to yet another entrepreneurial venture, Italia Reservations, an Italian travel and villa-booking service that she ran from her home-based office in Oakland.

Sue was fearless, stubborn, and unflinchingly honest. She was extraordinarily generous, not only with her financial resources, but with her time, expertise, and unflagging friendship. Yet, whenever the subject of success in business and her role in shaping the independent research profession came up, Sue turned modest and self-effacing, almost self-deprecating. She never seemed to acknowledge, in her own heart, what a difference she had made.

Sue was 58 years old. She is survived by her husband, Hank, her sons Jim and Bill McKinney, her sister Beth Callow-Soles, and the members of the information profession she founded and the many others whose lives she touched. 

Georgia Finnigan's remembrances	Stories from Information industry colleagues
Photos from IOD days	More photos
Press clippings	Other remembrances

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