Who? Whom? Or, Who's Teaching What to Whom and What Information Services Will They Need

Abstract

This paper examines the university in the context of postmodernism. The integrated ideal of the past is contrasted with the fragmentary reality of the present, both in terms of educational institutions and individual students. To further examine students' postmodern beliefs, the results of two studies are briefly presented. One examines general student beliefs around the world, the other is a preliminary report of a similar study focusing on information and libraries that the authors commenced in January 1997. Though students are described as traditional and modern in some respects, postmodernism also informs student values, especially in the area of the radical equality of ideas. A postmodern age may well find less value in the traditional library and especially in the hierarchical ordering of materials that has been the chief intellectual endeavor of the library professional.