Lisa A. Raney

I was reading the new Information Outlook yesterday and while I was impressed by an article on embedded library services, I started to consider the relevance of print trade publications in the digital age. News updates in particular seem outmoded. They become outdated as soon as they are written, which are often months before the magazine goes to print. 

For instance: there is a bit in the May/Jun issue about the pressure on Harvard to embrace open access back in mid-April. Harvard did in fact embrace the open access model before the month was up, and I tweeted an article about it on April 24. Reading this news update in Information Outlook two months later is a blast from the past – but feels like it's something that happened 2 years ago instead of 2 months ago.

With technology enabling people to receive news at lightning speed, it beins to feel like IO and other print trade publications (and more than likely non-trade publications also) are lagging behind the times.

From another angle, perhaps IO includes these updates for those who may have overlooked key bits of news. In this case, it would be helpful for the editor to include an update. I am assuming by the print trade magazine model that readers will have to wait until the next issue - in August - to hear about Harvard's commitment to open access.

I'd love to hear some more thoughts on this. 

photo credit: me, edited in instagram photo app.