The professional of information in the knowledge society: aspects and proposal for their role in the mediation of information

Abstract

The new context points to more dynamic and complex tasks for the librarian work. The paradigm in the communication process was the mediation provided by the librarian, being one of the actors in the transfer of information and mediation in the construction of knowledge. The role of the librarian was to intermediate actions of communication of information, acting on the structure of the process, and between the emitter/ producer of knowledge and the receiver/consumer of knowledge. With the new technological paradigm, the phenomenon of disintermediation in traditional relations of communication and ownership of knowledge is advocated by some authors. The role of mediator librarian in the channel of communication flow has been questioned since the user can be emitter and receiver of messages, a producer and a user of the information. The purpose of this paper is to discuss issues relating to the performance of the model of the professional of information in the knowledge society seeking answer whether in this society the model of communication responds users’ needs, rescuing the social role of librarian and defining the characteristics of this work. The methodology used is the theoretical research through the construction of a frame of reference on brokering. The results show that the process of ownership of information and knowledge are committed without the mediation of a professional because the tendency is aggravated by the limitation of reading.