The mediation of the information professional in the forests of the information society

Abstract

This article discusses the identity and the mediation of the information professional, according to the Information Science questioning, and the treatment of museological objects in the research line thematic organization of information. The well-known image of the tale “The Ugly Duckling” from the children’s classic by Hans Christian Andersen was used as a metaphor of the self-recognition process of the information professional’s transforming identity. The character used to explain the professional transformation, the ugly duckling, seeks new ways
within an environment of uncertainty, before the Information Society. The geese stand for computer machines, and play the role of “extras” in the contemporaneous society context. By distinguishing the different aspects of
the Information Science (librarianship, archiving and museology) this professional is the main organizer and mediator between user and information. The text explores the organization of information, it questions the limits facing the conceptual scope of Information Science, it states that it is necessary to think about and carry out the maturation process before one of the difficulties faced by the area: the social role of the thematic organization in the field of museological objects.