The problem with being smack, dab in the middle of one of the biggest revolutions in human history is that it is really hard to make decisions. Every day there is a new vision of the future that wipes out all the assumptions the last one made. In the meantime we information professionals have cultural institutions to run. They are big, tradition-bound beasts, with enormous amounts of material to be organized, processed, stored, preserved, and made available to the publics we serve. And if that isn't bad enough, our public is reading the same prognostications we are, and expects us to deliver on that promised land where all information is going to be online, seamlessly integrated and readily accessible to users all over the world.
Cultural institutions serve a critically important function in our society.
Over the years we have developed systems and standards for acquiring, describing, storing, preserving, and providing access to these materials. We used to do these things manually, but increasingly the functions have migrated to an online environment. Libraries have been pioneers in using technology to manage collections. Up until now, we have been using new technology to handle familiar routines in more efficient ways. That's the period in which new technology is put to old uses, perhaps in a slightly different way.