I don't have time to get involved in this thread but i make one passing
comment.
In my experience, working largely in the border regions between IT
and Library and & Information Science, the vast majority of IT personnel
have no idea what the "I" stands for and very few have much idea about
information handling etc.
LIS professionals tend to avoid the techie side of IT but there
are far more librarians who understand and are competent in IT than vice versa.
The two professions / industries / whatever continue, in the
main, to inhabit parallel universes, to the detriment of both.
John Ross
PS
Is this a possible theme for selecting contestants for the next
Big Brother???? Just a thought.
JDR
-----------------------------------------------------------
At 06/08/2004 16:16 +0100, you wrote:
>Ian,
>
>I was just using a simple analogy to describe the relationship between
>information and the technology that enables access to information. Please
>consider my specific comments below:
>
>On Fri, 6 Aug 2004, HAYDOCK Ian (Information Systems Manager,
>Staffordshire University) wrote:
>
> > > >>"I would disagree with your conclusion that this means
> > > computing staff
> > > >>are information staff. The relationship between information
> > > and CIT is
> > > >>the same as the relationship between water and pipes."
> > >
>
>I was just using a simple analogy to describe the relationship between
>information and the technology that enables access to information. Please
>consider my specific comments below:
>
> >
> > I was rather surprised to read J.W.T. Smith's comment. I think he
> > falls into the same mistake that many people do when they think the only
> > thing librarians do is to stamp books.
>
>My first degree included programming (studying artificial intelligence).
>I've been using computers since 1973 and e-mail since 1983. I helped
>install a mainframe base Office Automation system in a major research
>laboratory in 1984 including building a collection of full text databases.
>I provided an information service to AI researchers in the UK using e-mail
>and USENET in 1985, etc, etc. I know a little bit about computing and
>using CIT to provide information services.
>
> > IT staff not only sort out the
> > networking (the "pipes"), but they also design databases,
>
>Do they usually provide the contend for these databases or maintain this
>content directly?
>
> > set up websites,
>
>ditto
>
> > create search engines,
>
>ditto
>
> > build metadata thesauri,
>
>Do they intially provide or maintain the content of the thesauri?
>
>The point I am making here is that there is a difference between the
>content (information) and the container/carrier (CIT). To the extent that
>computer professionals provide or maintain the content they are doing
>information work.
>
> > These demand some knowledge of information, how it is intended to be
> > used, and also user behaviour. They also often teach users how to use
> > these resources.
>
>Experts on database and human interface design would argue that to be good
>at this one needs to be a computing person, an informtion person, a
>psychologist, an educationalist and it would help to have the talents of a
>graphic artist. As someone who initially built our Library web pages and
>now maintains the content of many of them I am very aware of the extent to
>which I don't have some of these skills.
>
> > Surely the roles of the librarian and the 'information
> > technologist' are coming together.
>
>They have areas of overlap and areas of difference. I am currently working
>with a computing colleague to build a local Directory of Online Resources.
>This will provide the access point to subject and type sorted and quality
>graded resources selected from the hundreds we have access to. It will
>bring to their attention many services that are currently underused and
>hopefully prevent them wasting time search resources not relevent to their
>needs. I am inputting my specialist knowledge and he is inputting his
>specialist knowledge and we are building something which neither of us
>could achieve alone. This doesn't mean we are doing the same jobs though.
>
> > Comments such as J.W.T Smith's are
> > not helpful for either end of the spectrum.
>
>As you would expect I must disagree with this final comment. Clarity of
>thinking and communication requires that we are clear what we are thinking
>and talking about. It is better that we are clear that information is not
>the same as the technologies that enable us to store, access and deliver
>it than it is to allow these two different ideas to become confused.
>
>Regards,
>
>John Smith.
************************************************
Infologistix Ltd
4 Wesleyan Chapel Walk
Stapleford
NOTTINGHAM NG9 8BQ
England
tel: +44(0)115 939 9907
fax: +44 (0)115 939 9117
web: http://www.infologistix.co.uk
Information Management Consultancy
************************************************
|