It s what the librarians and professionals do. In a session on The Library of the Future and the World Network, Elish said that it was reasonable to analyze the situation of libraries from a business perspective because technological changes have had a huge impact on the business world as well. Libraries used to have a monopoly on information, Elish explained. Basically, there was no place else to go. Alas, he said, The monopoly has been broken.
Information is no longer available in a place.
Librarians help you navigate through the great sea of information that has become available, said Elish. The ubiquity of the Internet means that pointing users to vetted, screened, and organized information is more important than ever. People are having trouble finding their way through the Internet, Elish said. He described the misadventures of a student using the Web for research on Asian cultures, who discovered that the Taj Mahal was completed in 1982 and it s in Atlantic City, New Jersey. And, said Elish, I am convinced that the situation is only going to get worse.