Computer professionals and librarians

Abstract

A paper presented at the 10th New Zealand Computer Conference in Christchurch on 28 August, 1987. Computer professionals are seen as dynamic, brash, at the cutting edge of technology and usually male. Librarians are seen as quiet, self effacing, orderly and usually female. Leaving aside the validity of these generalisations, how is it that the two disparate groups each consider themselves to be the major contenders in the information industry, increasingly dealing with the same technology, using the same vocabulary, but quite possibly meaning quite different things by the common language that they employ?