From researchers to strategic advisors – information managers at a crossroads
Jinfo Blog

By Anja Chemnitz Thygesen

Abstract

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In recent conversations with Jinfo members, a consistent picture has emerged:

The value of information professionals is increasingly defined less by finding information, and more by how they frame questions, interpret context and guide decision-making.

Jinfo's new report explores this shift in depth, along with other trends in the information profession. We draw on interviews with Jinfo subscribers to:

• examine how information professionals are redefining their value
• learn where professional judgement continues to matter most.
  
  

From researchers to strategic advisors

AI can generate text at speed, but it cannot think critically. That distinction matters.

Across my conversations, critical thinking was repeatedly cited as the foundation of the profession. It is the skill that anchors quality, trust and relevance in an AI-enabled environment.

Alongside this sits a growing need for AI literacy, applying skills that are already familiar to the information professionals:

• Asking a good research question results in good prompting skills. The underlying skill is not new, but its application is evolving.
  
  
• Adaptability also features strongly. Information professionals have lived through successive waves of change – from the arrival of the internet, to Google, outsourcing and now generative AI. The ability to move with these shifts, rather than resist them, remains essential.
  
  
• Communication and influence may be regarded as "soft skills" but are more important than ever. Advising managers, setting realistic expectations, and educating end-users are becoming central parts of the role. This is strategic work, even if it is not always labelled as such.

Taken together, these skills point to a profession in transition. Research expertise still matters, but it is increasingly expressed through context, judgement and advice, rather than retrieval alone.

Read the full report to find out the concerns and opportunities reported by your peers, around:

• Job security and professional identity
• The threat and opportunity of artificial intelligence
• Shifting roles and administrative tasks
• Becoming strategic advisors
• The value of the Jinfo community.

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