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Publications: Newsweek Internet guide Financial Times The Independent Knowledge Management Magazine CILIP - Content Management Dialog IWR - Semantic web IWR - Pay-for placement IWR - Search optimisation IWR - Search revenue models IWR - XML IWR - Agents and peer-to-peer IWR - Perspectives 01 IWR - Perspectives 00 IWR - Perspectives 99 IBS Publications

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Perspectives Information World Review - Dec 00 This article appeared in the December 00 issue of Information World Review under the section called "Perspectives", where IWR asks people in the information profession to share their views of the year just gone, and their predictions for the year to come. That constellation of computers, the Internet, will deliver astronomical advances in both content and connectivity. It is the one aspect of globalisation that everyone agrees is positive. The electronic ether has become a skin that stretches across society, transforming as it envelops it. Or does it? Am I merely stargazing, rather than extruding a straight-line extrapolation of current trends? This is now my fifth year writing a Perspectives piece for Information World Review and over that time I've observed an interesting development. Conjecture based on current trends may indeed prove true, but the growth of the Internet and the information society has held surprises for everyone. Even the boldest imaginative futurology did not forecast some of the marvels that we enjoy, or issues that we face today. The society that surrounds us Yet this is not to say that we should simply sigh and surrender to the momentum of events. To do so would be to cede our responsibilities as information professionals, not to mention denying ourselves a personal sense of involvement, development and empowerment. Au contraire, we can, and should, be actively involved in directing this nascent information society. Social and technological progress does not occur in a vacuum. It is the net culmination of the efforts of individuals, interest bodies such as associations and membership groups, governments and corporations. As 'citizens', the information society offers us a greater opportunity for democratic involvement, rather than the prevailing once-every-five-years opportunity we have to make our voices heard. As 'consumers', it enables us to demand greater corporate accountability, (e.g. collation, use and redistribution of personal data) - after all, more and more decisions that affect our personal lives are made by large corporations. It is partially for these kinds of reasons that the proposed merger between the Institute of Information Scientists and the Library Association is to be welcomed and supported. The proposed name for the new body, The Library and Information Society, was chosen (after much deliberation and consultation) as a reflection of the origins of the new body and as a recognition of the growing sphere of responsibility for information professionals of all hues. We can all play a significant role in shaping the information society - whether we choose to do collectively do so remains to be seen. I hope it is. Other perspectives articles: Perspectives 01 | Perspectives 99 Information World Review is Europe's leading information industry publication. This article is reprinted in its entirety with permission from Learned Information Europe Ltd. All material copyright Learned Information Europe Ltd.

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