Author:

Abstract

Based on a paper presented at the 30th UKSG Conference, Warwick, April 2007

In the digital world, the librarian is no longer bound and confined by physical location and a physical library. Definitions that equate the function of a librarian with the management of a library are no longer sufficient.‘Building collections’ and ‘providing access’ are being replaced by the creation of user- centered environments, both physical and virtual. In the digital world, individuals have access to many more sources of information than they could find in any individual library. The complexity of the resulting information space has become so great that the particular skills of librarians in connecting people to the accumulated intellectual, scientific and creative wisdom of other people are more necessary than ever. To fully take advantage of the new possibilities open to them, librarians will have to explore roles that take them far beyond the boundaries of libraries.