The mission of astronomy librarians typically is to provide access to selected information resources according to the needs of our users, to collect and preserve material, to organise it, and to deliver it to the requester. This mission statement refers to all available media and document formats and therefore is not limited to particular technologies or specific software applications. Librarians are system-independent information specialists, aiming at fulfilling the information needs of library users. Our experience indicates that user needs and expectations are very similar in the paper-based and in the electronic environment:
Users' needs will continue to be what they long have been. Users will want information reliably locatable [...] (and) easily accessible [...]. In the electronic environment the need for access tools will be more evident [...]. Users will expect information to be available that was placed in the library's care a long time ago; and they will expect that the integrity of the information they get from the library will be assured. (Graham, 1995)
As in the paper-based environment, digital services must be ``planned, implemented, and supported'' (Hastings and Tennant, 1996), and instead of being the ``gatekeepers'' to material, librarians now follow new directions which were identified by Ching-chih Chen (1994) as follows:
Chen continues to add another important aspect, namely ``from access to selectivity''. It is not lack of information we have to cope with, but an information overload that needs to be mastered. ``End-user searching'' is a frequently used term today, since (at least seemingly) user-friendly retrieval technologies are evolving. However, recent studies revealed that ``the preferred method of receiving information by many of our clientele is person to person'' and that ``service is personal'' (see Enyart and Smith, 1996). A report about the University of California Digital Library draws the same conclusion: ``Experience indicates that, despite the availability of intelligent systems, increasing remote access will also increase demands for service, both online and face-to-face'' (University of California Library Council, 1996).
Since the beginning of our profession, librarians have been in direct contact with users seeking information. We have learned to understand what they need, not what they say they need (which can be considerably different). Our services are personalized and targeted for our clientele, and up to now no ``interface agents'' and ``personal filters'' as described by Nicholas Negroponte (1996, pp. 149-159) are in place that are able to substitute person-to-person mediation.
Technology for producing and distributing information is useless without some way to locate, filter, organize and summarize it. A new profession of ``information managers'' will have to combine the skills of computer scientists, librarians, publishers and database experts to help us discover and manage information. These human agents will work with software agents that specialize in manipulating information - offspring of indexing programs such as Archie, Veronica and various ``World Wide Web crawlers'' that aid Internet navigators today. (Varian, 1995)
What Hal Varian overlooks is the fact that this profession exists already. The ``human agents'' he mentions are the librarians of today, no matter whether they call us information navigators, information officers, cybrarians, or librarians, a term most of us still prefer (Ojala, 1993).
In the electronic environment, our role comprises at least three major working areas: We offer services for those users who want to be guided to the most suitable information resources; we provide research assistance for those who prefer to conduct searches themselves and only turn to librarians in case their repertoire of search and retrieval techniques did not lead to satisfying results; and we closely collaborate with Information Technology (IT) departments that design new and enhance existing systems. These working areas encompass the following aspects:
The second aspect of our role encompasses identifying, locating and
obtaining publications not owned or leased by the library.
No resource, be it electronic or on paper, can be called ``complete''
today, and if we don't find particular information on the Internet,
this does not mean that it doesn't exist. It is the librarian's duty
to know which additional
sources can be queried to make a search as complete as possible.
Publications ``not imbedded in a formal journal context'' (Rusch-Feja,
1997) as well as electronic equivalents to today's ``grey literature''
need to be retrieved, which requires the librarian's
experience in locating information as well as technological skills.
Research assistance in
this sense also includes helping our users to become familiar with
handling new technologies. Various methods for providing user support
for networked library services can be developed,
for instance distance support (by telephone or e-mail), printed or
online manuals, and on-screen instructions (Mackenzie Owen and Wiercx,
1996). Face-to-face end-user training already has become an
important part of our work.
Librarians are in direct contact with users of information retrieval
systems. Often users report difficulties to us which they encountered while
using a system, or we recognize what needs to be redesigned while we are
explaining a system to our users. When IT departments design new
databases, application programs and user interfaces for us, we must be
able to explain precisely to them ``how language works and how to use
layout, typography
and design principles'' (Moore, 1996) in order to provide the required
functionality.
The information flood can only be mastered with appropriate tools
that are capable of matching user needs with the available information,
no matter whether these tools will be operated by librarians or users in
the end.
Access to global networks and the availability of information to scientists through these networks have changed vastly how science is done today. Despite the many advantages of electronic publishing, there are still many problems to be solved. The information overload results in a need for specialists who are experienced in retrieving information and therefore can guide end-users through the jungle of available resources and technologies. In the Information Age, professional librarians are likely to be more in demand than ever.