On the Roles and Concerns of the New Information Professional
Back to Roles of the New Information Professional NEXT presentation PREVIOUS presentation ALISE home	Larry C. Faulkner Provost and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Faulkner's presentation provided a balanced view of the place information technology should occupy in the educational process and how graduates of library and information schools will provide crucial evaluation and organization functions. Faulkner stated that while there has been enormous increases in available information, computer processing speeds, and local command of information, there has been a serious lag in our ability to manage the results of this explosion. Quoting Emerson, Faulkner explained that we do not benefit from vast amounts of available information because "not the fact avails, but the use made of it." We need new ways to evaluate and organize these masses of data, ways that will have to take into account human cognition. If we do not understand human behavior in relation to the information forms we create, then we will not accomplish our traditional goal of providing people access to the information they need. Because information is a foundation but not a mission, university educators in all fields should reject predictions about an information technology revolution that will make residential programs unnecessary. Faulkner said that factual knowledge is not the only product of a college education. For those in undergraduate education, residence provides a socialization process that leads to independence and this process is necessary for the maturation of young adults. A university campus is also an arena where standards of excellence and achievement are learned, a true "community of minds" that fosters creativity and allows friends and colleagues to build relationships that last a lifetime. None of these things are found in pure curriculum; none can be replaced by information technology. But for lifelong learning after a formal education, the technology provides great possibilities, and educators will need to adapt to a new clientele of "students" who will be learning via electronic means. Those who design information products for distance or asynchronous learning must do so with sensitivity to the human capacity for absorbing information visually, and push the digital medium into a shape that complements how people learn. Faulkner presented his remarks as an invited speaker at the ALISE '97 conference. If you have Shockwave you'll see a player below. If not, click on the Shockwave icon and download the appropriate plug-in for your machine. Click "play" to hear the presentation Top of page || Next presentation || Previous presentation
	This page last updated 4/29/97. Please send any questions or comments to ALISE