The Information Infrastructure - Evolving Global Information Infrastructure and Information Transfer - page 67

versities prepare people for professions and disciplines through their educational
programs. Doctoral programs prepare researchers to conduct research, creating
new knowledge, and to diffuse this knowledge to students in undergraduate and
graduate programs.
Diffusion of information is the critical function whereby people understand in-
formation so that it can be put to use. We investigate diffusion further in Chapter 6.
Utilization
The role of professions in society is to facilitate the use of information. Profes-
sionals apply knowledge to use for the betterment of humankind. For example,
medical doctors acquire knowledge of the human body, treatments, and medicine,
and apply that knowledge to the treatment of human illnesses. Similarly, informa-
tion professionals convert knowledge about the creation, dissemination, organiza-
tion, and utilization of knowledge to using knowledge effectively.
Individuals must be able to take information that has been diffused through lib-
raries, schools, or through other channels of communication and use that inform-
ation in their lives. It is the role of information professionals to help people under-
stand information, to give it meaning, so that people can use information in the
personal or professional lives (see “Diffusion,” above).
Use of information is the result of understanding the message received and ap-
plying that knowledge to solve problems. We discuss facilitation of utilization as a
role of library and information professionals in Chapter 7.
Preservation
Preservation is concerned with the retention and storage of recorded informa-
tion for future audiences. When thinking about preserving records for future users,
we must think in terms of three aspects of preservation: (1) preservation of the ar-
tifact or physical information package (e.g., book, journal, etc.); (2) preservation of
the content, the ideas; and (3) the context of the work, its meaning at the time of
its writing or production.
As with other stages in the information transfer cycle, preservation is changed
by technological advances. Bibliographic control is impossible for social media,
Web sites, and blogs; furthermore, preservation is complicated for organizations of
all sizes. What types of e-mail should be preserved, and for how long? Which parts
of a corporate Web site should be preserved? Organizations should have policies
for retaining and preserving information according to the organization's mission.
Often, such policies are not developed, and a great deal of information can be lost.