Although a small minority of tech-savvy, analytically inclined users may incorporate Boolean searching into their web search, most won't. Real people want advice, not technique. They want us, the information professionals, to simplify their lives. They want us to help them identify a few really great resources quickly and help them avoid false drops and crass promotions.They want a simple methodology for information retrieval that they can use repeatedly to deliver selective, high quality information quickly and efficiently. Rita Vine explains.

24 Information Professionals: Changing Tools, Changing Roles

No profession will undergo more radical change between 2000 and 2010 than will the Information Professional. This presumptuous prediction is based on a set of convergent trends that, taken together, imply a coming new world for information professionals. We associate these trends with a series of studies we have performed for industry, government, and academia to draw implications for information professionals. Authors Nils Newman, Alan Porter and Julie Yang make the case for dramatic changes, then recommend particular actions to the profession and to its individual members.

Brandingthat seemingly magical process that teaches us to buy a specific product in the first place, and then return to it unwaveringly. Every one of the products we chose today has changed since the first time we purchased it. Perhaps it has a "new and improved" formula? A new type of delivery mechanismflip top or "push down while turning"? New packaging? Would you buy our association? The Branding Task Force explores this question.