Concluding Thoughts

Information retrieval was once the province of skilled professionals. Now, millions of searches are conducted every day by library patrons or end users of the information. But the role of the information professional has not been diminished. The overwhelming number of resources from which to choose, and the difficulty of sifting through an enormous amount of information for relevant content of acceptable quality has lead to users being overwhelmed. The ability to find and retrieve relevant, reliable information has never been more important. Organizations and businesses need to acquire and act upon information quickly, and individuals need easier access to the quality resources that are hard to find. And although advancements have been made in information retrieval systems and search engines, they remain merely tools. As information continues to be produced at a staggering rate, access to that information must become more efficient, and as a result, I believe the need for skilled information professionals will continue to grow.

This study of information professionals and information retrieval has been beneficial and interesting. I have barely been able to scratch the surface in this blog. These selected postings represent only a small portion of the practices in place or under development.