What is the importance of the information sector in today’s world?
Let’s first unpack information technology (IT) to understand the contributions of the information sector. IT is the study and application of digital devices or communications that enable us to store, retrieve, analyse, manipulate, transmit, and catalogue information. It involves both hardware and software that enables people to perform significant tasks on a daily basis – granted you’ve probably used IT today in your personal or professional lives. IT provides us with increasing productivity and efficiency, and equips us with faster and more reliable forms communication, data, and information (Aeologic, 2022).
The information sector is responsible for two sectors: Sector 1 – the development of hardware, software and information systems; and Sector 2 – professionals who engage in the processing and cataloguing of information (IGI Global, 2023). In short, the information sector really is “core to the success of civil society“.
Activity 1 – What type of work takes place in information agencies?
Choose one or two of the following short videos to get an idea of the work of information professionals.
Video 1: Grovedale West Public School Mini Library
What struck me the most about this video, was how the school supported a child’s mission to improve civil society (in Malaysia) through engaging with a range of medias, information and pedagogical techniques, the wider community. The ongoing communication between the Grovedale school and the community in Malaysia, after the arrival of their mini library, reflects the aim of information agencies, such as libraries, and their abilities to meet global needs.
Additional notes:
- Narrowing down the creativity of teacher and the opportunities for children
- Approaches – visible thinking, Reggio approach to learning, project based learning, authentic learning opportunities, problem solving, 6E’s, auditing the process, backward planning,
- Mini library was created to support community (Malaysia) – JPod
- Global impact, connecting communities
- Curriculum outcomes aligned with the project through auditing planning
- Communication, organisation, creation, persuasion, donations
- Children can adapt and that their actions have real purpose
- Bigger picture project
- Organisation with Malaysia to help expand the mini library.
Video 2: Digital Preservation
Notes:
- Active management and maintain of digital objects
- Ensure accessibility
- Key feature of effective digital preservation is that it is an active and ongoing process
- Digital data on robust and secure storage
- Care and upgrading
- Preserve and provide access to the archives
- Safeguard digital archives against risk to protect investments
- Unique digital resources
- Preservation of permeant and non-permeant records
- Focus here on: Judicial cases records, judicial process records, administrative records
- Particular archive totals approx. 3 Petabytes uses both born-digital and digitised materials
- Priority in authenticity and trustworthiness
- Organisational commitment which requires investment in skilled staffing and technology
- Time consuming
- Challenges – volume, diversity, and complexity of materials
- Automation and batch processing
- Global practices
To ensure that the information sector is providing appropriate services, qualified, well-educated and innovative information professionals are a necessity.
Activity 2 – What is a profession?
The following two readings discuss issues associated with ‘defining’ a profession. One is about audiovisual archiving and the other about different roles involves in maintaining a healthy profession.
Edmonson, R. (2018) Is film archiving a profession yet? A reflection – 20 years on. Synoptique. 6(1), 14-22.
Notes on profession:
- Perceived profession or actual profession (debated)
- Distinctive skills, expertise and standards
- Code of ethics and character
- Appropriate training and accreditation
- Distinctive body of knowledge and literature
- Defined principles and values, and terminology and concepts
- Codification
- Skills, methods and standards (best practice)
- Importance of discussion, standard setting, and issue resolution
- Commitment to profession/task
(2016) Engaging with our future: the role of educators, practitioners, professional associations and employing organisations in the co-creation of information professionals, The Australian Library Journal, 65(4), 317-327.
Notes on profession:
- Passion for practice
- information practitioners and professional associations can enculturate students
- Good citizenship
- Effective transition from academy to workforce
- facilitate nurturing through teaching and work practices and programmes which focus on process of learning to be professionals, as well as learning to do the job. (Learning-to-be and learning-to-do)
- Employment motivations
- Passion-based learning
- Hybrid learning – practice and industry co-creating 21st century information professionals
- Participation within community
- Maintaining passion and developing good citizenship
- Encourage professional development opportunities
- Model seamless integration of learning and practice
- Employer support and accommodation
These two articles highlighted the diversity in which it means to be a professional within the information sector. A stated in Module 2, professional associations perform several functions:
- They act as the ‘governing body’ of a profession,
- They represent the members collectively, and
- They actively seek to promote and develop the profession.