How the Information Infrastructure Has Changed in the Digital Age - Evolving Global Information Infrastructure and Information Transfer - page 80

Newspapers, books, and periodicals still may be published in a paper format, but
electronic versions are available for most titles available on paper, and the elec-
tronic format is becoming more prevalent and economical. These digital docu-
ments can be disseminated to laptop computers, tablet computers, and cell phones
anywhere in the world.
We continue to see the traditional forms of dissemination: libraries, newspa-
pers, television, radio, hardback and paperback topics, oral storytelling, bulletin
boards, signs, billboards, newsletters, telephones, and movies. However, these
more traditional means of dissemination have been augmented with a dizzying ar-
ray of new technology-assisted methods. Instantaneous transmission is also a new
and common phenomenon.
Social media have infiltrated the traditional dissemination systems mentioned;
for example, Twitter feeds accompany newspaper reports, television news pro-
grams, and other broadcasts to provide various perspectives along with the report
of events. News media and entertainment media often invite reader response; a
dialogue is encouraged in media that traditionally have supported one-way com-
munication. Newer social media like Flickr provide pictures to accompany the
verbal communication. The opportunity for multiple voices to participate simultan-
eously in communication is a phenomenon of the emerging paradigm.
Involvement of information consumers in the dialogue, along with the prolifera-
tion of communication channels and formats, creates a confusing deluge of inform-
ation—a tidal wave of information that can overwhelm the populace. How can an
information consumer assess the many perspectives and sources of information?
What should one believe? Indeed, the concept “drowning in information, starved
for knowledge” (Naisbitt 1982) is truer today than when it was written. The “inform-
ation anxiety” described by Wurman (1989) has grown to the point that anxiety
may overwhelm an individual, causing paralysis. How can society address poten-
tial information paralysis? Information professionals have a leadership role, as dis-
cussed in the diffusion process.
Bibliographic Control
Defining Bibliographic Control
In Chapter 4 we defined “bibliographic control” as the organization of informa-
tion so that information users can access it. It's an inventory that a culture needs
in order to have access to its past. This term has a long history in the library and
information profession because bibliography, the organization of topics and other