04/17/2002

-- TODAY is International Special Librarians Day. I thought that it might be an opportune time to discuss how our profession is changing -- and staying the same -- in the world of the ever-expanding Internet. Although I speak as a librarian in the corporate world, I think that my colleagues in the public sector will agree with most of the following.

We librarians (or, if you prefer, information professionals/knowledge workers/research specialists) are supposed to be the experts at organizing, finding and disseminating useful information. We pride ourselves on our ability to help our clients find just the nugget of accurate information they need as fast as possible.

Electronic resources, including the Internet, have made finding targeted information for our constituents easier and quicker. However, increased access to the chaos that is the Internet has given rise to a new class of novice searcher. In this environment, where it's every man for himself, our jobs have become infinitely more difficult. Instead of training just the information gatekeepers -- the traditional librarians and library workers -- we are also struggling to train all of those in our particular clientele who wish to retrieve and disseminate every mote of information ever committed to a chip.

Our very nature is to provide access to as much information to as many people as we possibly can. We want to open all the gateways to all the information in the universe to our clients. But we also have an in-bred need to make sure that our clients use the information that we make available to them responsibly. And here is the dilemma. There is way too much garbage on the Internet that is way too easily confused with factual, vetted, researched, footnoted information.

No matter how many times we look over a client's shoulder and ask, "What is the origin of that information?" or "Whose Web site is this and what is his agenda?," we cannot be sure that our message has sunk in. We cannot hold each library patron's hand as he fetches what he thinks is a scholarly essay on a subject, only to find that it is some high school student's term paper.

This is a long way of saying that we're still out here -- we librarians. We're still interested in helping you to find that nugget of information that you may or may not be able to find on your own after an exhausting and time-consuming search. We understand that the thrill of the hunt is invigorating: It's why we chose our profession in the first place. But we have years of training and education behind our research skills. We want you to experience the thrill of the hunt, but we're more than willing to lead the safari.

That said, here are some secrets to the Internet that we librarians are happy to share to avoid information malpractice:

Know the origin of the Web site you are looking at. Know how to read a Web address. Is it an organization espousing white supremacy disguised as a Civil War history site? Is it ananonymous person's home page sitting on an Internet service provider (ISP)'s computer?

Know the origin of the material on the Web site. Can you contact the owner of the Web site for more information? Is there a source cited for all information? Can you confirm the information using another source?

Use the old standbys first. The federal and state governments are wonderful sources of tried and true information. Many of the print sources that you have always trusted have a Web presence now. The Encyclopedia Britannica is online for a small fee, for example. Go directly to a company's own Web site first for information about that firm.

Use subject-specific sites, such as Findlaw and Medscape, instead of casting about in Google or Yahoo. Or, use the subject directories in Yahoo or About.com to narrow your search.

It's our mission to help you, the Internet adventurer, to explore the vast, chaotic World Wide Web. Give us a call. You know where we are.

Linda Henderson is The Providence Journal's library director.