Blog Post #4 The Job of Organizing

   There was a question recently asked by my professor. “What would be the implications for Librarians if everyone was able to organize information".She also asked if Diigo Tags would be helpful in that"

  Diigo tags are themselves useful tools in organizing information, as are many other formats and feeds. The question itself is a problematic one. Humans have always been capable of organizing information. Businessmen, artists, bureaucrats and others have organized information for many many years. In many cases they did not have “Librarians” by name but perhaps by profession.

 Information organization comprises three main tasks. First, where to place the information once you have it.  Second you must determine who will oversee the information gathering process.  Finally, how will the information be analyzed?  These concepts are the center and core of information gathering.

People can find information they want. A user can place information in various formats or with varying connections and a patron can easily analyze the information for themselves. Diigo tools for tagging information, wiki’s, RSS feeds, twitter accounts, blogs etc. are all part of this information gathering. However, the problem and solution are perhaps tied up in the word “Librarian”.

As it stands now when you say the word “Librarian” the average person thinks of a stack of library books, and few realize that those with the title “Librarian” already do more with organizations and electronic media. A “Librarian” is not only able to organize the materials, but able to set it for wider consumption.  A six year old child knows where to put their games or favorite toys, thus “organizing” but only sometimes can they find it for themselves let alone others. 

We are all librarians of a sense in organization of materials and information.  A true “Librarian” prepares it for access for all.