Demand and supply in information work

Abstract

The pattern of demand for information workers in the U.K. has been altered by financial constraints and restructuring, and this has reduced employment opportunities for those trained in traditional library and information science (LIS) skills. Information handling, however, has been identified as a priority area in official reports on skills shortages and demand for information management expertise is likely to increase, especially in the corporate private sector. LIS departments must address this mismatch of. demand and supply, and the authors suggest some strategies—a shift of emphasis to employer-oriented training, focussing of departmental expertise, change of role for professional bodies from validation to political support, a new industrial classification for information work, a revision of funding mechanisms, and vigorous marketing of LIS departments as a training ground for managers.

[French, German, and Spanish translations of this abstract can be found on pp. 111–112.]