internet has provided researchers with a vast
database of information. The problem for them is to find what they are
seeking. Never has the information overload been so obvious as when one
tries to find information on a topic by searching the internet. When
one uses a search engine like Lycos or AltaVista or a directory like
Yahoo!, it soon becomes clear that it can be very difficult to find
valuable sites on a given topic. These search mechanisms work well if
one is searching for something very precise, such as information on a
person who has an unusual name, but they produce a confusing number of
references if one is searching for a topic which can be quite broad.
Try and search the web for Russia AND transport to find statistics on
the use of trains, planes and buses in Russia. The first references you
will find are freight-forwarding firms who have business connections
with Russia."

What about the future? "The internet is impinging on many peoples'
lives, and information managers are the best people to help researchers
around the labyrinth. The internet is just in its infancy and we are
all going to be witnesses to its growth and refinement. (...)
Information managers have a large role to play in searching and
arranging the information on the internet. I expect that there will be
an expansion in internet use for education and research. This means
that libraries will have to create virtual libraries where students can
follow a course offered by an institution at the other side of the
world. Personally, I see myself becoming more and more a virtual
librarian. My clients may not meet me face-to-face but instead will
contact me by e-mail, telephone or fax, and I will do the research and
send them the results electronically."

= At the Institute Pasteur Library

In 1999, Bruno Didier was the webmaster of the Institute Pasteur
Library. "The Pasteur Institutes are exceptional observatories for
studying infectious and parasite-borne diseases. They are wedded to the
solving of practical public health problems, and hence carry out
research programmes which are highly original because of the
complementary nature of the investigations carried out: clinical
research, epidemiological surveys and basic research work. Just a few
examples from the long list of major topics of the Institutes are:
malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, yellow fever, dengue and poliomyelitis."
(excerpt from the 1999 website)

In August 1999, Bruno wrote