Information disparity: research and measurement challenges in an interconnected world

With the proliferation of new information channels such as the Web, e‐mail and wireless, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the impact of these technologies within information‐seeking and retrieval contexts. This issue of Aslib Proceedings presents research that begins to address the notion of “information disparity”. It aims to weave a common thread between the challenges of reconciling disparate information needs in an environment complicated by fragmented or disparate data sources. This article lists several emerging trends that should begin to challenge traditional notions of our research field.