Progress in telecommunications and information technology hasextended computer communication networks and increased networkspeed. With the resulting increase in networked information, questionsarise as to who will control it, who will supply it, and who will haveaccess to it. The role of the library in this electronic networkedenvironment is changing from providing access to traditional paperbasedholdings to directly acquiring material in electronic form andproviding access to it. Questions arise about interlibrary cooperation,clientele, and competition for patronage. In addition, the developmentof the end-user workstation that will access a range of networkedinformation resources may lead to new information markets (such ascompetitive intelligence) and to the potential of multimedia informationaccess and personal scholarly publishing. The traditional role oflibrarians will also change. Librarians will become informationspecialists, skilled in the management, searching, evaluation, andorganization of information. Finally, library schools must expand andrefocus their roles in training these information specialists.
展开▼
