Information Overload and its Implications for Librarians:- Nwankwo, U. Chioma

Abstracts

Technological advancement and digitalization have endowed us with an almost infinite amount ofinformation, which is accessible anywhere, anytime. The quantity of accessible information in a given amount of time is much higher than the user can process, thereby leading to information overload. The paper examined information overload; it identifies the causes of information overload as existence of multiple sources of information, over-abundance of information, difficulty in managing infonnation, irrelevance/unimportance of the received information and scarcity of time on the part of information users to analyze and understand information. It also examined its implication for librarians and the roles of librarians to overcome information overload such as embarking on aggressive information literacy programmes, provision of vital and current information resources, provision of effective information service delivery, and serving as gatekeepers to valued and authentic information. A number of recommendations were made to address the challenges.

• Keywords: Information, overload, information overload, implications, librarians.