Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
As systems have become more sophisticated, new technologies provide new
types of information. For example, technological advances have benefited the
medical community. A physician can visualize the small bowel, to detect abnormal-
ities without sedation or invasive procedures, with PillCam Capsule Endoscopy,
which may someday be used to monitor and diagnose gastrointestinal tract disor-
ders (Given Imaging 2014).
Information professionals are using smart-phone applications and social media
to showcase the content of their collections, to announce and widely disseminate
the digital collections that are openly available in their repositories, to communicate
the library's programming, or to read and/or contribute to the Twitter stream of a
national conference, providing valuable insight for colleagues who were unable to
attend.
Information professionals provide information for decision-making after dia-
gnosing information need, identifying an appropriate information source, and re-
packaging that information to address the information need of the client. The client
may be a manager in factory, a school principal, a university faculty member, an
attorney, or a nurse. Technology facilitates the search for the information and the
repackaging of the product into a format suitable for the client and intended pur-
pose. While technology can expedite the search process and enable shaping the
information into an appropriate package for instant delivery via the Internet, the key
to the success of the information function is the work of the information profession-
al.
Bibliographic or Organization Function
The library is traditionally known for its strict use of subject headings that identi-
fy topics in the catalog. Such indexing terminology is in a state of flux as clientele
become more involved in contributing natural language tags. Some have come to
understand this level of public involvement, also known as “crowdsourcing” tech-
niques. One example involved an online puzzle video game where gamers contrib-
uted to the biochemistry and structuring of a protein. In the emergent paradigm, the
static cataloging system with vocabulary-controlled subject headings is replaced
by a more fluid system driven by technological advances. This can be seen in in-
stitutional repository software that enables text documents to be full-text searched
by the Web crawlers picking up terms matching the words used in a search.
The Digital Herbaria database was created by the National Park Service and
the University of Wyoming to organize and make publicly available high-resolution
digitized plant specimens. This vascular plant herbarium collection was created to
handle the unique need of identifying plant specimens and is built to meet Smith-
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