Linking library users: A culture change in librarianship.

This article explores how the evolution of information technology enables and requires changes, both in the design of information systems and in the way librarians define their roles. Apparently, technology has developed to the point that librarians can improve their library information systems' selectivity and performance. As a result, patrons will expect from librarians and information systems advice about the authoritativeness, or intellectual worth, of material by making available user-supplied data (USD). Apparently, cynics might say that librarians must develop USD-friendly systems because library users will want them whether they need them or not. Allegedly, the information explosion in the U.S., as of October 1990, has continued undebated, despite the 1963 prediction that the exponential growth of scientific literature would have to level off. Conversely, it has been speculated that the growth of information technology will cause information to increase. But while the information explosion continues to grow, the ability of librarians to selectively retrieve is allegedly not keeping pace. Apparently, librarians have attempted to devise systems that enable their patrons to effectively judge the relevance or likely utility of materials.