Points to the bewildering range of job titles that information professionals carry and which appear in job advertisements, yet identifies a current trend for the terms ‘library’ and ‘librarian’ to be returning in popularity after many years in retreat. An analysis of job advertisements reveals five factors which have brought about the various changes in library and information terminology: professionalization of modern library and information practice; growth in the range and complexity of educational qualifications, with associated competition between institutions; impact of other disciplines or professions; developments in information technology; and the developing role of information within society. Expands on these factors and weighs their relative importance in driving the perceived changes in the profession.