To me, an information society means one where there is a saturation of information resulting from changes in the way that information is disseminated and consumed. According to Rouse (2005), it is a society in which the ‘creation, distribution and manipulation of information has become the most significant economic and cultural activity.’ It is a society where technological changes and other societal or cultural shifts result in the almost constant transmission and reception of information. Thus, the information landscape is not separated from our lives, but rather is an integral part of it. Certainly, we will probably all agree that this is true within our current lives; indeed, I will admit that I routinely check my news app and social media every morning, sometimes before even getting out of bed.
The information is there, but we don’t all have the skills to safely navigate it, and be discerning consumers of information. One of the most important jobs of a Teacher Librarian is assisting students to navigate the information world safely and to develop the information and critical literacy skills necessary to make judgements and evaluations about the information they are exposed to. Throughout our careers, it will be vitally important that we continue to evolve and upskill ourselves as the information landscape continues to change. I don’t think anyone could have imagined twenty or thirty years ago just how radically different the availability and quantity of information could be. Who knows what changes will take place over the next twenty years!
To end on a positive though, I am already working as a Librarian and while I absolutely love it, I have realised it is a job that has the potential to be quite professionally isolating. As the sole Librarian in my school, I don’t really have people that I can talk to, share ideas or dream about what’s possible – certainly not in the same way that I had when I worked in the English faculty. However, I have developed an online PLN which enables me to regularly communicate with other Librarians. The information society can be overwhelming at times, but it’s not without its positives!
References
Rouse, M. (2005). Information Society. WhatIs.com. https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Information-Society.
Walker, W. & Wagner, W. (2019). Information overload in the Legal Sphere [Image]. Fifteen Eighty Four: Academic Perspectives from Cambridge University Press. http://www.cambridgeblog.org/2019/08/information-overload-in-the-legal-sphere/