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Information scientist

Information scientists are responsible for managing the acquisition, supply and distribution of information within an organisation or section of an organisation, and for making that information accessible to its' clients and/or customers.

The Arts and Humanities Research Board fund a limited number of information science/management course places.

Information scientist job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Information scientists typically work across the breadth of a company. A lot of their time will be spent communicating with colleagues, or carrying out research in archives of documents.

Key duties of the job include:

evaluating, organising, classifying, managing and distributing information in a variety of formats
answering Freedom of Information (FOI) requests
carrying out audits, inquiries and internal commissions
answering enquiries
maintaining statistical and financial records
writing reports
using specialist computer applications
searching for and retrieving information from the internet and online databases
promoting and marketing services.

Typical employers of information scientists

private and public sector organisations
public libraries and information services
government departments
professional associations
research establishments
charities
academic or school libraries
commercial organisations.

Vacancies are advertised via the internet, by careers services and specialist recruitment agencies such as TFPL and INFOmatch, in local/national newspapers, in The Times Higher Education Supplement and in the Library Association's fortnightly bulletin. Speculative and early applications for traineeships and postgraduate courses (particularly where funding is sought) are essential.

Qualifications and training required

A Library Association/Institute of Information Scientists accredited degree or postgraduate qualification in information science/management or librarianship is usually required for entry into the profession. Specialist knowledge may also be needed for some vacancies.

At least one year of relevant experience is often necessary prior to postgraduate study. This can be gained by working as a library/information assistant, or via a graduate training scheme (the Library Association publishes an annual list of training vacancies).