Taking a Long View: Traverses of 21st Century Chemical Information Stewardship

The introduction of the Internet into the publication environment has greatly increased the breadth of concerns around stewardship of information. Not only are research libraries dealing with an overall expansion of more traditional scholarly publication genres, an unprecedented number of other information venues are focusing attention on networking pre-published research data. In addition to communication of the latest ideas, significant value lies in appreciating both the super- and substructures emergent in the vast knowledge bank of chemical research. Happily we don't have to reinvent too many wheels to leverage this information as the discipline has constructed itself around systematic organizing principles. Translating the value of these structures into digital utilities and engaging the broader community of research chemists and students is the work of today's information stewards, much as it has been over the course of the chemical information profession. Now more than ever is the worth of such stewardship apparent in the wake of blossoming information opportunity and resource conservation.