Information Explosion and University Libraries: Current Trends and Strategies for Intervention
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This study examines the causes and effects of information explosion as well as strategies for intervention in university libraries. It identifies the following as causes of information explosion: the invention of printing in the mid-15th century, the growth of literacy among the middle classes in the 17th and 18th centuries, the increasing relationship between information and the competitive economic advantages of nations, and the advent of information and communication technology (ICT). It also examines the effects of information explosion on library users, such as damaged health, bad judgments, and information anxiety. Information explosion also poses challenges to acquisition, cataloguing and classification, and reference services in university libraries. It recognizes that information explosion provides users with an opportunity to select from a wide range of resources. The paper suggests subject specialization among librarians, library cooperation, outsourcing, and use of ICT as strategies for intervention
Keywords
Z665 Library Science. Information Science