ERIC Number: ED411855
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1996
Pages: 7
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Disintermediation in the Year 2010: Using Scenarios To Identify Key Issues and Relevance of IMPEL2 eLib Project.
Edwards, Catherine; Day, Joan; Walton, Graham
Among information workers, the term "disintermediation" has been used to describe the diminishing role of the intermediary associated with the electronic information environment. IMPEL2 is a JISC-funded e-Lib Project investigating the social, organizational, and cultural impacts of the growing electronic library in United Kingdom higher education. This paper forecasts possible developments and changes in disintermediation through the year 2010. The use of structuring scenarios has been identified as a useful tool to identify key issues. The IMPEL2 team used a scenario-building technique to identify issues surrounding disintermediation. Six stages comprise the production of scenarios: (1) deciding on drivers for change; (2) bring drivers together into viable framework; (3) produce initial mini-scenarios; (4) reduce to two scenarios; (5) write the scenarios; and (6) identify issues arising from the scenarios. Issues identified as important include: the intermediary will still exist; the intermediary might not be a librarian; the intermediary might have a very different role to play; and the control of the flow of information may be restricted by a number of factors. The scenarios show that the issues are as much social and political as personal and individual. The use of scenarios as a means of involving groups in exploring both the wide and narrow contexts is a valuable tool. The potential for a greater appreciation of both the threats and opportunities for librarians working in a changing environment is evident. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/SWC)
Descriptors: Access to Information, Change, Cultural Influences, Electronic Libraries, Foreign Countries, Futures (of Society), Higher Education, Information Retrieval, Information Scientists, Information Technology, Librarians, Library Development, Library Services, Online Systems, Organizational Development, Search Intermediaries, Social Influences
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
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Author Affiliations: N/A