About the ReviewerState of the Modern Information Professional, 1992‑93; An International View of the State of the Information Professional and the Information Profession, 1992‑1993.. Compiled by the FID Special Interest Group on Roles, Careers and Development of the Modern Information Professional (FID/MIP). The Hague: International Federation for Information and Documentation (FID), 1992. viii, 175 p. ISBN 92‑66‑00‑7013.
This collection contains 12 papers from the authors in Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, and Africa, and thus presents a global perspective on problems and opportunities for information professionals at the present time. Ten papers are in English, one in Spanish, and one in French, with summaries provided of the two non‑English papers. Both the academic and administrative environments are represented among the authors.
The situation in countries at varying stages of development is discussed in the collection and so it is not surprising that several different perspectives emerge. From the developing countries some concerns about the lack of the resources and infrastructure within the country which would enable the professional to provide the information services consistent with modern professional practice. Traditional library schools are seen as lacking the dynamism and practical orientation needed to attract the kind of student that will meet current challenges, namely those with an extrovert and entrepreneurial bent. Professionals in Eastern European countries must, as well, cope with the disintegration of a highly centralized information sector.
Authors from both developed and developing countries, however, see a paradigmatic shift in the information profession, from a focus on relatively static collections to one which is user‑centered and technology‑intensive, from a scholarly perspective to a business perspective. In part this change has arisen as a result of the recession of the early 1990s and the need to justify information services in immediate quantifiable terms. Information professionals have become entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs. As users are increasingly able to access information directly via technology, the role of the professional shifts from one of an intermediary to one of a producer, distributor, and consumer.
The implications of the new paradigm for professional education point to major restructuring of the curriculum. Graduates of programs must know how to manage an organization, how to integrate their goals with those of the organization, how to market, and how to apply knowledge based on scientific research to practical concerns. Most graduates will follow career paths as managers or as subject‑area experts. M. Hill suggests, in the concluding chapter, that in order to create information professionals for the 1990s and beyond, we need full three‑year degree courses in information studies, “of a standard which stretches the mind,” to be followed by a one‑ or two‑year advanced degree. He says: “Taking people from other disciplines and tacking on a one year course in information techniques is no longer adequate.”
The authors provide those teaching in programs of information and library science with much to think about. The writing itself, as is usually in such collections, is a bit uneven. Some contributions are coherent, well‑reasoned presentations while others are fragmentary. However, overall, this is worthwhile reading for anyone concerned with the direction of the information profession.
Jean Tague‑Sutcliffe is Dean, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario. She has a B.L.S. from McGill University and a Ph.D from Western Reserve University. She has taught mathematics as well as library science. Dean Tague‑Sutcliffe is the author of more than 30 papers in various areas of information management and policy. Her conference presentations have taken her to Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, India and the US.
© 1994 Dominican University
Citation
Tague‑Sutcliffe, Jean. “Book Reviews: State of the Modern Information Professional, 1992‑93; An International View of the State of the Information Professional and the Information Profession, 1992‑1993.” Third World Libraries, Volume 4, Number 2 (Fall 1994).