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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 01 This article appeared in the December 01 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. Information profession associations, bodies and publications provide coherence to the eclecticism of the information industry. They offer a channel through which we can step out of the mundane matters of office life and engage in the somewhat ineffable issues we face. It's therefore heartening to witness a trend away from the more narrowly defined 'information economy' to the broader, more inclusive 'information society'. In a sense this nascent social engagement is part of a wider trend within western societies - for example, in finance the principles of corporate responsibility and social accountability are firmly ensconced and growing. After the technology stock bubble burst the 'virtual' organisation was severely tempered by reality. Communications and computing technology compressed the temporal experience and speeded-up society, but after years of high-stress burn-out we're left wondering what kinds of connections really matter. High-bandwidth or human? Isn't it more rewarding to reach out and do something that's, well, more personally rewarding? The shift can be sensed all around; within the pages of this and other publications (hurrah for Jonathan Gordon-Till), at the professional bodies (the UK Library Association has set up a number of cross-sectoral Policy Advisory Groups on topics such as regionalism, social inclusion and national information policy), and with collaborative efforts such as www.inclusionandlibraries.org.uk. Just as well. Despite a lack of convincing empirical evidence, in recent years the UK government introduced the restrictive Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act and disgracefully diluted the Freedom of Information Act on blunt, yet vague, assertions of cybercrime. Hardly what you'd call steps towards an open information society. As a profession, we stand accused of supine acquiescence. Which is odd. Our profession has a long history of social activity, most notably combating censorship and promoting universal access to information through a strong tradition of public libraries. I suppose that like everyone else, we were suckered by the undeserved uber-gurus of management theory literature fame. The interests of big business have dominated in recent years - more vocal critics are conveniently drubbed 'anti-globalisation' which is something of a misnomer when one considers that many of these protestors were early adopters of the Internet - long before the corporates clicked on. As societies we need to better balance the needs and issues we all face, not just a few. What kind of world do you want to live in? In the words of Tim Owen; (social inclusion) is the 'kind of fundamental issue that links all branches of the (information) profession.' Other perspectives articles: Perspectives 00 | 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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