Documentalist

Information specialists (synonym archivists from the French documentaliste or English documenta list, relatively common in the French-influenced Switzerland ) are information professionals and have to select the task information and documents by relevance and quality, to develop, prepare and make available as needed. You create and maintain information storage, usually databases. They research in conventional and electronic information systems and procure sources such as literature, research reports, property information and other relevant documents. They design and organize information systems and information flows ( information management).

Your work, Information and Documentation ( I & D ) is dominated by the subject- scientific background and overlaps with the areas of archives and library. The job description is diverse; it was divided in about the 1960s in the divisions Documentation Assistant (now occupation " Fachangestellte / r in media and information services " ), Diploma documentary and scientific documentary.

Information specialists are mostly active as a scientific employee in enterprises, academic and research institutions, specialized information centers, in political parties, associations, parliaments and in public administration.

Demarcation

Archivists describe them archived material primarily based on formal criteria as well as librarians, the priority a formal acquisition data (for example, by means of classifications, nomenclatures - about the rules for Cataloguing (RAK ) or the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC ) ), while information specialists are also specialized in the subject heading of the so-called documentary reference units, ie by means of so-called documentation languages ​​( thesauri / tag systems, abstracts, etc.) and work (basic) knowledge or interface skills eg purchase etc. in the areas of information management, information law, computer science.

Training

Scientific documentation specialists (English: Information Specialist ) have completed usually a professional studies at a university and learn the profession as a part-time further education measure. Training center is the Institute for Information and Documentation ( IID) at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, formerly as LID ( Learning Institute for Information and Documentation ) based in Frankfurt am Main. Professional association, the German Society for Information Science and Information Practice (DGI ), formerly the German Society for Documentation ( DGD ).

General information specialists complete an 8 -semester degree program at a technical college, which ends with the name of "Diplom- documentary ". Some colleges also awarded the title of " Diploma in Information Engineer ". The training includes, for example, the acquisition of skills in formal and content development, but also knowledge about the importance of documentation in science, economics, management, and in the media. To the degree program usually includes an internship.

In addition to the general documentalists there are media information specialists ( in journalism also "Documentation journalist ", eg internal training at the news magazine Der Spiegel ) and Medical ( Life science ) information specialists. The latter undergo a similar design as the former, however, have a scientific and medical topics focus, such as anatomy, pathology, pharmacology, clinical chemistry, botany.