Argues that, with the trend toward viewing reference librarians as information brokers and the reification and privatization of information, the traditional goals of libraries and librarianship are being lost, i.e., providing free and open access to books and information to promote informed democracy and the public good. (63 references) (EAM)

Describes a report (published in 1993) on British university libraries. The report addresses funding problems, the growth in desktop and electronic publishing and resulting archiving and preservation issues, the increased number of university students, the impact of information technology on the transmission and storage of information, and the…