Vast Active Library and Information Science blog. From a recent library science graduate in Wellington, New Zealand. A focus on reference and current awareness tools and issues, especially free, web-based resources.

 
So, I'm writing an essay on the problems caused by information overload in the pre-electronic era, and whether or not information technology has ameliorated those problems. My first search for relevant references returns approx 500 hits, in full-text. Overloaded with information about information overload? Does that count as irony?

(As part of this research I read Craig Brod's Technostress (1984). Brod argues that excessive use of computers is making people anti-social, impatient of imperfection, and generally tired and introverted, preferring to interact with machines. And this was years before the 'net went mainstream. It made me pause for a few minutes, and re-think whether I really needed to update my P2 and hook up broadband. For a few minutes, anyway.)

| posted by Simon at 6:00 pm