The Internet: it's early days, but there are some surprises

The Internet looks set to have a major influence on information seeking behavior, although there is very little hard data around as to what these changes will be or where they will occur. This British Library funded study set out to gather such data from the media using open‐ended interview techniques. Several hundred journalists, editors and media librarians were interviewed. The early findings indicate that the Internet is not impacting in the way forcasted. Change appears to be slow and variable; the issues of information overload and the authority of Web data seem not to worry users; and there is little evidence that other information sources are being significantly displaced because of Internet use. However, it is still too early to determine the full impact of the Internet although it is best judged away from the Information Centre/Library.