From Needles and Haystacks to Elephants and Fleas: Strategic Information Management in the Information Age

Abstract

Over the last twenty years, the Internet has transformed the way in which information is created, stored, and accessed. We are now all experiencing a “data deluge” on a global scale. The “needles” of information that we require may be the same size as before; but the “haystack” in which they are contained has grown infinitely larger and will continue to grow. How do we cope in a world where information is often the key to success? This article looks at the subject and discipline of strategic information management. It will begin with some background on the development of digital libraries and ways of accessing their content and then will introduce the key concepts and terms of the topic, navigating through the development of strategic information management, its techniques and approaches, and concluding with a personal view of its future potential and major areas for further research.

Keywords:

• digital libraries
• academic libraries
• information management

This is an abridged version of David Baker's inaugural professorial lecture at University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, given October 2, 2007.

Notes

1. Information supplied by the university librarian; see also THES 12 October, 2007, p. 9.

2. http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/stories/index.cfm?key=168; quoted in G. G. Chowdhury (2002).