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Twilight of the Gods? Bibliographers in the Electronic Age

Speculation about libraries' futures is often simplistic, relying on caricature rather than careful analysis. This article looks at bibliographers and collection development in terms of seven sometimes overlapping contexts in order to gauge how and why their roles have changed in the past and to speculate about what we might expect in the future. The dimensions examined here include the system of scholarly communication, the information marketplace, the library and university as organizations, technological change, cooperative programs, the nature and availability of resources, and communities of peers. Shifts within these contexts and the ensuing interplay with basic library functions and with the skills that subject specialists bring to the library table suggest that bibliographers will continue to play a crucial role.