FOR THE BUSINESSPERSON, information is mainly a tool to be used to create and sell products. For some professions, however, information is not something that helps produce things—it is the product itself. As the way information is gathered, organized, and delivered changes, professions such as library science and journalism are having to change as well.

Plugged-in librarians

Librarians have traditionally had the important job of collecting and organizing information and of helping people find the information they need. The information has generally been in the form of books, magazines, and newspapers, although in recent years sound recordings and videos have become more important.

From the 1980s on, many libraries converted their card catalogs into on-line catalogs that library users could use to quickly and easily find materials by author, subject, title words, and so on. Meanwhile...