The COVID-19 pandemic has had limited effects on access to and use of information. In the last few decades, much information has been digitised, if not created and produced, online. Confined in physical space and sitting at a desk (or kitchen table), people are able to connect to the outside world through various applications on a laptop and other…

This paper argues that medium for information access becomes central to library and information science. The author discusses the notion of medium, medium neutrality, and personalization and suggests that the dominating paradigm of providing fast, efficient, and neutral systems and services for retrieving information has sidetracked opportunities…

Amid the sea change that libraries and information centers currently face, people are starting to see compelling solutions and bold initiatives from their colleagues. The challenge now becomes how to "spread the gospel"--how to inform widely dispersed information professionals about the successes they record. In 2011, volunteers within the Special…

The information age has given library media specialists an unprecedented opportunity to play a leading role in helping teachers, administrators, and especially students access and use information intelligently. As the school's premier information specialist; the library media specialist has a unique role to play in helping everyone in the school…

This dissertation contributes to the society by providing mechanisms that can potentially increase the availability of valuable personal level information without sacrificing the privacy of citizens. We consider two settings by which personal level data can be made available to its users such as researchers, who then may use it for the benefit of…

Information professionals need to be reachable through email (through cell phones, laptops, Treos, and BlackBerries) and customers' questions have to be answered in "real time," meaning that once the question is sent, an answer is expected that moment. A library in a Google environment allows this to happen. It also allows the information…

The Information Group at Millipore has been successfully using a digital rights management tool to secure the email distribution of archived laboratory notebooks. Millipore is a life science leader providing cutting-edge technologies, tools, and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Consisting of four full-time…

Discussion of the effect of glasnost on the availability of business information from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe highlights online services.These include general information sources, specialized business services, industry-specific services, new services, and forthcoming developments. Problems in dealing with the increased availability of…

Presents a new client-centered typology of the information professions with special emphasis given to the empowering professions, including librarianship, which enable clients to use knowledge to take control of their lives. Topics include increasing self-efficacy; reducing self-blame; developing group consciousness; and assuming responsibility…

Examines changes in libraries due to information technology and discusses the need for partnerships between librarians, information scientists, and technologists. Topics include access to information as the core concept for communication; research into how library systems are actually used; testing libraries' use of technology; and how library…

Discusses the work of independent information professionals, or information brokers, who provide research services to clients. Topics include evaluating information brokers, including their expertise, access to resources, and what types of added value they can provide; and suggestions for starting an information brokerage business. (LRW)

This book contains the following papers in honor of Pauline Atherton Cochrane on subject access issues in library and information science: (1) "Obstacles in Progress in Mechanized Subject Access and the Necessity of a Paradigm Change" (Robert Fugmann); (2) "On MARC and the Nature of Text Searching: A Review of Pauline Cochrane's…

Examines the provision of information on disability to users with or without disabilities, and the role of information professionals. Highlights include obstacles to finding appropriate information; why access to information is important; differences between advocacy and information; and how the provision of disability information is being handled…

The Special Libraries Association 1987 conference had the theme "Global Information Access--Expanding Our World." Topics discussed included: information access in the Third World, the value of information professionals, copyright fees and fair use, CD-ROM technology, and military libraries. (EM)

Describes seven activities that offer opportunities for entrepreneurs working with information: leveraging database information; customizing information; facilitating access to information; speeding up the flow of information; repackaging information; providing around the clock delivery; and integrating computer, telephone, and electronic funds…