Role of librarians

[The Big Glee Bopper]

On Thu, 19 Oct 1995, Elizabeth Padilla wrote:

> I don't think we'll be rummaging through each others directories
> any more, nor be nailed down to a cite location/path/url.
> All we'll need is a name.  You define where you are.
> Intelligent agents can find you (or any organization) by your (orgs) name.
> It'll be up to my the agent to know my interests, in order to weed out
> unrelevant hits.
> 
> Just the name like MESH 1996. That should be easy for my agent to find.
> The future always sounds so much easier - perhaps because by then
> we'll have finished all the hard work needed to get there.
> 

I think this is an interesting way to look at URLs, URNs, and URWs. If you
start from the user point of view, someone who doesn't really want a
catalog to get in the way of what they want and definitely don't want
http://etcetc to get in the way then what does the system look like? What
are the scenarios of use? It's the difference between old fashioned data
modeling, entity-relationship [ER] modeling, and user-centered scenario
based participatory design. ER design doesn't disappear, it works in
service to user-centered design. Big difference. 

--Thom